Netherlands Trip Day 1 - Departing LAX to The Netherlands (Friday, July 19th-Saturday July 20th, 2019)

August 06, 2019

Netherlands Trip Day 1 - Departing LAX to The Netherlands (Friday, July 19th-Saturday July 20th, 2019)

Netherlands Trip Day 1 - Departing LAX to The Netherlands (Friday, July 19th-Saturday July 20th, 2019)

After taking our usual meal at MoMo Paradise in RH, we boarded our transport at 2:30 pm for our evening flight (Delta 78) to The Netherlands. We were flying to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The flight time was just over 10 hours and we were flying the A330. After getting our boarding pass and passing through security at terminal 3 (super fast with our Global Entry), we headed to the Delta Lounge - The Delta SKYCLUB to wait for our flight. The food at the Delta Lounge was - ok, but at least we were able to wait for our flight in a more quiet environment.

Getting our boarding pass from the kiosk at Delta Terminal 3

Delta SKYCLUB, located at the upper floor of terminal 3

SKYCLUB entrance

View from the Delta SKYCLUB

Greek Salad Bar

Taco Bar

Ramen Bar

Cold Sandwiches

Clam Chowder

Self-assembled tacos

Hard liquor Bar

Espresso machine, which we would be using in the coming days in Europe instead of drinking brewed coffee from a pot (an American custom)

Saying goodbye to the Lounge - ready to board our flight!

Delta flight 78 to AMS took off on time. We were flying the Comfort Plus class which is premium economy class of Delta Airline. There was more leg room but the food was quite mediocre. We managed to entertain ourselves via the entertainment system and slept maybe a few hours. We landed at AMS on time around 2:30 pm local time.

Flying the A330

Our Comfort Plus seats

Mom at the Comfort Plus seat

Shortly before take off

Shortly after take off - over Playa del Rey

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean

Gaining altitude

Overland again

International Cabin Menu

Our flight path

Snacks

Entree - Chicken Breast

Chicken Salad

Pre-arrival meal

Preparing for landing - over the North Sea

Overland shortly before landing

Making to our gate at Schiphol

MM in good sprit

Photo with our friendly flight attendant

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was not a super modern and new airport comparing to some of the newer Asian airports. Most of the terminals were expanded in the 1960's and 1970's and are still in use today. We proceeded from terminal 2 pier E (non-Schengen entry) to the immigration area. Since we had no checked luggage, we were able to exit immigration and the luggage area very quickly.

Once we exited the immigration area, we proceeded to exchange some money (Euro) and purchased four SIM cards. With money and internet connection, we were ready for Netherlands. We got a quick bite to eat at Doner Kebab & Pommes Frites. We sampled the local fries and sandwich. This was our first meal on ground in The Netherlands. It was a bit greasy but not too bad.

In addition to serving as an International Hub for flights, Schiphol is also a major train hub. Trains were departing for various cities such as den Haag (The Hague) or Utrecht. The airport has an incredible International vibe. We saw people from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia all converged here to embark on their summer travel in The Netherlands.

After getting some food we went to pick up our car. The rental car service had a long queue and it moved slowly. It seemed like everyone had some issues. The weather was cloudy and it started to rain pretty hard. But by the time we picked up or car-Mercedes C200, the rain had totally cleared. We were on our way to our first stop - Haarlem.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Getting some fries at Doner Kebab and Frites

Doner Kebab wrap

Kebab sandwich

Awkward picture by a jet engine

Moving pathway leading to the rental car parking area

Haarlem is located in the North Holland province of The Netherlands. It is one of the major cities that emerged from of the wealth obtained by Dutch Merchants during 17th century "Golden Ages". The city is centered around the Saint Bavo Church (St. Bavo Kerk in Dutch). The Kerk is located next to the Grote Markt (or main Market in English). Small alleyways radiate from the main church and square. We will see this layout in all the cities that that we will be visiting in the coming days.

We will be staying at Malts Hotel, a boutique bed & breakfast hotel run by a Dutch couple Henk and Annmarie. This was one of our favorite hotels during this trip. Henk and Annmarie truly took care of the property and made the guests feel welcome.

We parked our car at Parkeergarage Raaks which was about a 5 minute walk from Malts Hotel. When we drove into Haarlem, we began to see the canals and the bicycles, we knew we were truly in The Netherlands.

On the street corner of Gedempte Oude Gracht and Zilstraat, Malts Hotel is located on Zilstraat by making a right turn on the building with the dome

Arrived at Malts Hotel

Entrance to Malts Hotel, a key is provided to unlock the front door

Double room shared by Joanne and mom, very spacious and clean

Breakfast area overlooking Zilstraat

After freshening up at our hotel, we set out to explore the town a bit and hopefully find a dinner spot. We walked down Zilstraat towards the Grote Markt/St. Bavo. The city did not seem particularly busy to us on a Saturday evening. We had missed the Saturday farmer's market (Grote Markt). After meandering through the streets, we ended up at the Indonesian restaurant Flamboyant for dinner. Indonesian food is everywhere in The Netherlands. Since the Dutch was a pioneer in colonizing Indonesia in the 17th century, it's not surprising that one can find Indonesia food in almost every town in the Netherlands.

Stepping out onto Zilstraat towards St. Bavo

St. Bavokerk at sunset, the Grote Markt just wrapped up

St. Bavokerk with statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster (c 1370-1440), a Haarlem citizen who invented early printing press technology. Laurens is holding the letter "A" in this statue.

Back of St. Bavokerk. St. Bavokerk is dated back to the 14th century.

On Damstraat walking towards the River Spaarne to our dinner location

On Hoogstraat over Melkbrug. Teylers Museum can be seen on the left bank

River Spaarne with Teylers Museum on the left bank

After passing the River Spaarne, we decided that it was long enough walk for the evening so we walked to our dinner spot - Flamboyant Indonesian Food. There's beautiful chocolate and ice cream shop right next to Flamboyant called Chocolaterie Pierre. According to the store clerk, they have two shops - one shop makes the chocolate and the other shop makes the ice cream. We did not get a chance to get our treat there but we would get our ice cream fix at another local favorite at another spot.

Chocolaterie Pierre, beautifully hand crafted chocolate

Flamboyant, our first dinner meal in The Netherlands

Menu at Flamboyant

We ordered the traditional Rijsttafel (rice table), a spread of many small dishes served over hot chafing dish. We had our meal with both fried and white rice. The food was delicious. We thoroughly enjoyed the Rijsttafel as our first dinner meal in town. After dinner, we slowly strolled back to Malts Hotel and called it a day.