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zow's 2015 Europe and Israel TR (my first TR!)

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zow:
Part 3: AMS and AMS-TLV

In Amsterdam, we had just about 36 hours.
Amsterdam:
Crowne Plaza City Centre (2 free nights from last summer's challenge promotion...was it called Into the Night?). I have Platinum status from the IHG MC. (Don't we all?!)
I was really glad we stayed here. Location was outstanding. Just 5-minute walk from the Central Train Station, maybe 15-minute walk to Dam Square, 15-20 minutes to Anne Frank House, 45 minutes to the Rikh and Van Gogh museums and Heineken Experience, and about an hour (15 minutes past the Heineken experience) to Sal Meijer sandwich shop.

I originally booked the award room online, but I couldn't get it to acknowledge that my DW and I would be traveling with one child, so I called and spoke with rep, who assured me that the reservation would indicate 2 adults plus one child. The reservation never did update online, so when the hotel sent the pre-stay email, I responded to clarify that we would be three. I received back a very nice reply within hours, indicating that they would update the record, make sure we had a rollaway bed (to go into our room with two single [twin] beds, and looked forward to our arrival. Well, when we got there they did even better. They automatically upgraded us to a room with two queen beds, so no need for a rollaway. They also gave free wifi (maybe free for everyone?) and a welcome gift of 600 points. I asked about free breakfast but was told that it would be 50% off for Platinum members. Okay, no worries. They also provided guaranteed 2pm checkout but unfortunately we would be leaving VERY early in the morning, so late checkout was a nonissue. The room itself was spacious and clean, view of the street, good soundproofing, and Nespresso machine. The staff were very pleasant. I appreciated that I could buy our train passes from the concierge and the manager on duty provided helpful guidance about the train to the airport. There was a very good fitness center (2 treadmills, one elliptical, one bike, two cable type machines (one for push and one for pull), dumbells, exercise ball, and mat for stretching. All equipment was relatively new and in excellent condition. 

Our sightseeing in Amsterdam was pretty extensive given the limited time we had. After settling into our room, we first walked down Damark, following Rick Steve's audio tour. Watched a street performer for a while, then went into the department store and then down an alley to Foot Locker, where I could partially replenish my wardrobe. We then went back to the room, got some snacks, and did Rick Steve's Red Light District audio tour. For the record, very not tznius. 

On our next day (our only full day) we got up early, worked out, stopped at the Albert Hijn (something like that) supermarket for some provisions (not much there...they did have Sabra hummus imported from Israel. I didn't see a hecsher, but that must be kosher, right? Didn't buy, as it was 9am and wasn't in mood for hummus yet!). We walked to the Anne Frank House, and boy were we glad that we had bought our tickets online way in advance. Long line, maybe two hours, to get tickets to get in. But we walked right up and in. Let me just reiterate: BUY YOUR TICKETS ONLINE WELL IN ADVANCE. I tried 6 m early but they were only available about 3m early, and there was plenty of availability and options at that time.  We enjoyed the museum and tour. Took about two hours. Not nearly as emotionally draining as, say Yad Vashem, but still moving and educational. 

We walked from Anne Frank House to Sal Meijer, under an hour, where we had an excellent lunch. Hamburger, meatball sandwich, hot corned beef sandwich, croquettes (these are amazingly delicious, sort of like a fried mozzarella stick, but obviously with meat and some kind if potato sauce, not cheese). We had a beer and three soft drinks. Total bill was €36. Pretty darn good, I thought. 


After lunch we walked to the Van Gogh museum. Here we hit another snag. I hadn't bought tickets in advance, so while we were at Anne Frank House (on their free wifi) I went online to buy tickets. The Van Gogh site itself was not selling tickets for same day, and I should have realized that was an indicator of how busy the place would be, but I saw that a ticket broker Tiqets.co.nl, IIRC, was selling priority tickets. Well, this was a mistake (maybe I'm just not savvy, or maybe the advertising was misleading, or maybe both), but these priority tickets did not let us walk right into the museum as we had done at Anne Frank. Rather, they only enabled us to stand in a separate line, along with a few hundred other "priority" guests who had also bought online, or maybe had the MuseumCardt or something. Well, suffice it to say, I was not going to wait in line for upwards of two hours, not in the light rain, and not even if the weather had been pleasant and sunny. So, I now need to fight the ticket broker to get my money back! (Update: email requesting a refund to Tiqets was responded to immediately with a "no-- we told you it might not be guaranteed no queue" and no refund, only ability to use the tickets until 12/31. I subsequently disputed the charge with the CC, which happened to be Citi, and they fully credited me -- nice outcome!)



AMS-TLV: Transavia, revenue ticket. About $250 pp. I didn't realize it when I bought the tix but I think I saw in the flight magazine that Transavia is a partner of Delta (which would make sense, as Transavia is, AFAIK, a low-cost version of KLM), so I will need to remember to try to claim SkyPesos ex post facto. (Does anyone know if this is correct, that I should be able to get Delta credit?) Well, our flight departure time was 0600. We left our hotel in Amsterdam (Crowne Plaza City Centre, more on it below) at 0325, walked to the train station (5 minutes) and seamlessly boarded the intercity train that took all of 18 minutes to get to Schiphol. Only €5 pp (taxi would have been ~ €50). Glad we got to the airport early, as there was a lot of walking, but we got to the gate in amply time (more than an hour before our flight), and passed the secondary screening (El Al style) at the gate. We even had time before that to pick up a snow globe for one of my daughters and also stopped in the mini grocery store, where I was pleasantly surprised to find Snyder's of Hanover pretzel pieces. (If you have ever experienced these, you may agree that they should bear the Surgeon General's warning label as an addictive substance.)



In any case, in the gate area, I ascertained that we would not be boarding for at least 30 minutes, so I proceeded to daven. Davening completed, I was standing in the queue to board, just barely digging in to my pretzel pieces, when an elderly woman in a wheelchair just a few feet behind me proceeds to faint, or at least almost lose consciousness. Having been a physician for more than 20 years, this is not the first time I have been traveling and encountered a medical situation. So, I introduced myself to the worried daughter of the ill woman, engaged the assistance of the security team to transfer the woman from wheelchair to the floor, and was gratified that she remained arousable and oriented, that she had no other symptoms other than exhaustion, that she had no medical problems and took no medications (a sign either of someone very healthy, which I think is the case here, or someone who neglects health and avoids health care, thankfully not seemingly at play in this situation). After determining that she did not have a stroke or seizure, and reassuring myself that it was very unlikely that she had or was having a cardiac event, and confirming that she had a strong regular pulse, and in consultation with the flight's purser, who clearly had some experience in this kind of situation, it was obvious that this woman needed to drink some fluids, eat something, and most importantly, get some sleep. So, after that excitement, the boarding process continued and eventually we were on our way to Israel, not really too long past our scheduled departure time. 

To be continued, which will include:

The WA Jerusalem.
TLV-LHR: BA, Avios
The Hyatt regency London
London

LHR-FRA, BA, Avios
An unexpected night in FRA

FRA-BOS, UA/LH, Mileage Plus rewards.
#

zow:


--- Quote from: Yaalili on August 24, 2015, 09:00:09 AM ---Thanks for writing, the attendant in the BOS lounge sounds too attentive to me, if she is refilling after every one bottle is taken.

--- End quote ---
It was a little weird. Maybe she was bored or suffered from OCD or had an overbearing supervisor.

zow:


--- Quote from: Marco Polo on August 24, 2015, 08:54:57 AM ---If you enjoyed the shower in the lounge so much, wait till you try it on EK F during the flight.

--- End quote ---
Definitely high on our bucket list.

zow:


--- Quote from: Marco Polo on August 24, 2015, 08:36:03 AM ---I like the start :)

--- End quote ---
Thanks. I am inspired by you and others who take the time to write and post. I fee like I have benefited so much from you all that I want to try to give something back that provides at least a modicum of value.

Yaalili:
Good job on the Amsterdam installment, doesn't seem half expensive as other nearby European cities.

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