Hello from Amsterdam. Yep, I’m back in Europe, which puts me a bit more than halfway home.
I made it here this morning after a relatively painless overnight flight from Cape Town. I actually managed to get a decent night’s sleep on the plane, and the eleven hours passed quickly. For once, my screaming baby magnet was taking a break; the only baby in my section cried at takeoff and landing but stayed quiet the rest of the flight.
So, now I’m at Schiphol Airport, which is actually a really awesome airport for connections. Not only does it have great restaurants and free WiFi, but you can actually be a transit passenger here and not have to deal with customs, unlike, say, in the US. I browsed the shops selling cheesy Dutch souvenirs, like wooden shoes and windmills. And I’m now eating the most expensive meal of my trip, at a pizzeria on the upper level. That exchange rate back to Euros really hurts.
I’m quite sad to be on my way back. My few weeks there was a great, if slightly Disneyfied, introduction to the vast, amazing, maddening and beautiful continent that is Africa. (My trip to Morocco a few years ago doesn’t count, in my opinion. That’s North Africa. It’s totally different. But I digress.) Namibia and especially South Africa are the most developed, westernized and prosperous countries on the continent, and while I saw many of the highlights of the former, I barely scratched the surface of the latter. I know there will be more African travel in my future; my appetite has been properly whet. But meanwhile, it’s back to reality for me.
One more flight to go. See you guys soon!