AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 2018 – PART 3

an afternoon in Amsterdam

Arriving early, we had just around 9 hours before our flight to Kuala Lumpur & Jakarta. Once off the plane we headed towards “Holland Boulevard” as the terminal map I downloaded indicated airside lockers were available. Upon arrival though the map was correct, it was out of date.

Locker time

The lockers had been taken out of service, and after walking to a second location, we determined that there were no lockers airside at Schiphol. No big deal.

After passing through immigration and past the baggage carousels we entered the main area of Schiphol Plaza. The left luggage area available is in the basement, under Check-in area 1 & 2. There are both stairs and an elevator to bring you to the left luggage area. As we arrived around noon the place was busy with 5-10 other passengers dropping off luggage. After approximately 10 minutes we were at the front of the line and dropped off our carry-on, and headed to the train station portion of Schiphol.

Schiphol – everything under one roof

Schiphol functions both as a transit hub and a shopping mall. From buses to trains and planes, Schiphol’s got it. If you have time before you check-in for your flight, or train, or bus, there is a look-out in addition to the many shops, cafes and restaurants available. We didn’t have lunch here as the train was taking us to our lunch location – Sea Palace.

NL Trains

Tickets for the NL Rail are available from any of the many ticket machines. Several languages are available and almost all machines accept credit cards, with a few accepting cards as well as coins. The ticket you are issued has a small contactless item that is required for you to check-in and check-out of your trip. This is no different than Presto in the GTA, or Oyster in London. The check-in/out points are located on the main level at Schiphol, before taking the stairs or escalator down to the platforms, and at Amsterdam Central they are required for you to exit the paid area of the station.

The train trip from Schiphol to Central station is around 20 minutes and in both of our cases was express between the airport and downtown.

Lunch – Dim Sum at Sea Palace

I first visited Sea Palace restaurant with my brother in 2008. He had already been living in the Netherlands for over a year and suggested this place based his previous experience. Although service wasn’t the greatest, the food was worth the wait. In 2012 we stopped in during our honeymoon. Amber enjoyed the food so much that we returned the following day for Dim Sum lunch. Since then, any time we have been in Amsterdam we make sure to stop here for lunch.

The Sea Palace cannot be missed. It is a short walk from the train station and is easily found as it is the 3 storey floating pagoda style building on the canal.

We arrived near the end of the Friday afternoon lunch rush, and were quickly seated. Our server, Kim, was friendly and attentive. As usual our lunch was delicious and very filling. It was so filling that our eyes were hungrier than our stomachs as one of the wait staff teased us for not eating enough of the Wonton Soup. Even though we polished off the Wontons, the majority of the broth remained.

As we finished lunch, and having had less than 3 hours of sleep we did not venture into the city. We had joked on the train ride in that we should make the most of our time outside of the airport and go for an extended walk around the downtown section. Instead we returned to the train station and boarded a train and back to Schiphol airport.

KLM Crown Lounge Amsterdam

After retrieving our luggage (it’s very quiet in the middle of the afternoon), going through security and passport control we were on the airside of the airport. We headed straight to the KLM Crown Lounge to refresh and relax before our next big flight.

The lounge is currently undergoing renovation work, however with the majority of KLM intercontinental flights occurring either early or late in the day, the lounge was not at capacity and we had the pick of the seats to relax.

Before we selected our seats though both of us went and had a shower.

Although the individual shower rooms are tiny, they are functional. Most importantly the rainfall showerhead and water pressure was excellent. Once cleaned up and presentable we ended up locating ourselves near the second, or smaller bar and buffet area. This spot was near the back of the lounge where the business center, smoking room, and washrooms were located. This space was one of the cooler locations in the lounge, and also provided enough space for her to have a quick nap. The wifi was excellent as I was able to complete everything I needed while we were in the lounge.

The food was predominately snacks such as nuts, bread, pretzels, and cookies, to help tie you over between meals, however a few hot items did appear around 6-7pm as the lounge started to fill with fellow Asia bound passengers.

Having little sleep must have caused me to forget to take any pictures of the spread of items, both beverages and snacks available. I’ll try and remember when we visit on our return leg.

With the clock approaching our departure time, we checked for our gate on an information board by the entrance and then left for our flight.