I heard Tinna leave the house this morning at 7:30, which woke me up. So I got up and got ready to leave Copenhagen. I shaved, showered, got dressed and saw that Emil was still at home, so I asked him if I could borrow his laptop again so that I could blog. I really hope that the next time I travel to Europe I will have a laptop of my own to blog with. It has been difficult keeping my blog without one: in Helsinki, I had to try to use the only available computer in the hotel; in Stockholm, I was always heading to the 7-Eleven; in Copenhagen, I had to borrow Emil and Tinna's. Not the best...
After having finished updating my blog, and saying goodbye to Emil, who left for work, I started getting all of my stuff ready for my impending departure. But before leaving the premises for good, I ventured out and got two bouquets of roses, to surprise my hosts: a dozen orange roses and a dozen pink roses (together, they were only about 20 dollars Canadian). I really wanted to make this small gesture to thank them for taking care of me when I fell ill. I came back to the house, signed their guest book, placed the open guest book with my message on the kitchen counter, next to the roses, and deposited my key on my bedroom dresser. Although I cannot say that I really enjoyed my time in Copenhagen, I will forever be grateful to Emil and Tinna for being so warm, caring and genuine.
I got a banana and a bottle of water at the 7-Eleven, and hopped a bus that took me to Norreport. From there, I was able to take the subway directly to the airport, where I arrived around 1:40 p.m. My flight was not scheduled to depart for a few hours, but this gave me time to scout the airport for lunch and for additional souvenirs. I got my Dad another gift here, and bought myself a Eurovision 2013 scarf that I can use for decoration at home. I was hoping to get my hands on the Eurovision CD, because it would be a good memory of my night in Malmo, but I was unable to find one. Perhaps in Amsterdam... In the meantime, I had lunch at the airport: two more smorrebrod (of the shrimp and egg variety), and an alcohol-free Tuborg. My meal was sublime, but, as usual in Denmark, expensive. Roughly 25 dollars for lunch. Earlier, when I was at the 7-Eleven, I noticed they had Haagen Dasz ice cream. I always think that at 7 dollars for a tub at home, it is kind of pricy. But here in Copenhagen, the same tub sells for 20 dollars. Suffice it to say I did not get any.
My flight departed as scheduled at 3:20 p.m. It was only a short 80 minute flight to Amsterdam, so I passed the time by reading a chapter in the Benny Andersson biography, and by napping. We got in to Amsterdam on schedule. At the airport, I accidentally exited the arrivals area without having retrieved my luggage: I thought the carrousel was located beyond the set of doors. Fortunately, they let me in again to get my suitcase, which by this time, was one of only two pieces of luggage going around and around.
I inquired at the tourist information office and got a map to the city. I also bought my ticket for an excursion into the Dutch countryside, to see the real Holland. I bought my ticket for Friday, so that way, my weekend will be free for when my friend Nick comes up from Brussels to see me. Incidentally, it is his birthday tomorrow.
I took the bus from the airport directly to Leidseplein, near the site of my new lodgings on Max Eweplein. I had told the owner of the apartment I rented that, erring on the side of caution, I would arrive at the flat at 7:00 p.m. to meet with her and to get the keys. I got there around 6:15, with plenty of time to spare, so I sat at the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, where I was able to take advantage of their free wi-fi (only after I had been asked to like their site on my Facebook page).
At 7:00 p.m., I was greeted at the door of the flat by Yael, whom I am assuming is the girlfriend of Claire, who owns the apartment. Yael let me inside and gave me a tour of the amazing two-bedroom apartment I have rented. It is located in a very nice neighbourhood, and from the little I have seen of Amsterdam, I like the city way better than Copenhagen already. Then came the issue of payment. Claire and Yael had requested that I make a cash payment for the apartment, in addition to the 10% down-payment I had made when I booked the flat. I had been very uneasy with the whole idea of carrying 700 euros (about 1000 dollars) cash with me in a travel belt for two weeks, and I was still a little uneasy about making this payment without a receipt. But that's me, always nervous. Anyway, Yael told me she would send me an e-mail message when she got in, stating that the payment had been made in full. She kept to her word and sent me that e-mail confirmation later in the evening.
I was getting ready to go out and grab dinner around 8:00 p.m., when I tried unlocking the front door to get back in to the flat. Try as I may, I could not get the door to open. I wondered whether the key simply did not work. I called Claire on my iPhone, and asked her if there was a trick to opening the door. She said that she could come over whenever I wanted, just to see what the problem is. So, I told her I was just on my way to get dinner, and she suggested she come over at 9:30, which I agreed to. I had my dinner at a nice little restaurant that promised traditional Dutch fare. The waiter recommended I have the Hutspot met een Sukadelapje (Carrot and onion with tender beef), which was served with a mound of mashed potatoes and gravy. Was it ever good! And for dessert, I tried a Dutch delicacy I was hoping to try when I was here in the Netherlands, poffertjes met roomboter, poedersuiker en vanille-ijs (Poffertjes with butter, powdered sugar and vanilla ice cream). The poffertjes are minuscule, thumb-sized pancakes. They taste great with the powdered sugar and ice cream. I quickly cleaned my bowl.
When Claire showed up at 9:30, I was really ashamed to see that the problem was that I had to pull on the door handle to get the key to make that last little click, in order to open the door. Claire was good-natured about the whole thing, and said there was no problem at all. Furthermore, she said if I needed any other assistance, I would just need to call her and she would be there shortly, as she lives nearby. I was glad that that was sorted out, so I thanked her and walked a bit in Amsterdam to familiarise myself with my new surroundings.
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