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spiderbraidsToday, we're still in the immediate wake of a pandemic that has really put a damper on all things travel, but exactly 10 years ago today, my family and I went to Europe :-) Thought it was high time to free those old vacation pictures from the blight that is Photo-suck-it, so starting today, let's flashback to a simpler and more exciting time :-)
All commentary as originally posted (except with occasional extra thoughts), but now with higher resolution pictures :-)
We begin at the airport, where our flight to Amsterdam is scheduled to leave at 2:25am. *yawn*
Check-in at the counter...
Here's the duty-free in the passenger area...
And here's some planes waiting to depart (ours is 3rd from the front)
(2020 extra thoughts: You can just make out that it's an iconic 747... don't see much of those anymore :-) China Airlines no longer flies this "fifth-freedom" route anymore either...)
And away we go!
A bit after take-off, a little midnight meal to tide us over until morning: Rice with oriental-style fish in tomato sauce, plus fruit, salad, bread roll, OJ... and some coconut cream based dessert.
(2020 extra thoughts: Those white cubes in the fruit plate are pitaya :-))
A random view taken mid-flight outside one of the cleaner windows...
(2020 extra thoughts: Based on the photo timestamp, probably somewhere over Turkmenistan)
Breakfast time, with eggs, sausage, fried potato and mushrooms, bread, yogurt, cubed fruit, and tea.
Landing in Amsterdam...
The major landmark in the airport is a big checkermarked red and white cube. It also has pictures of similar-styled cubes, apparently used for instrument landing system equipment.
The airport has its own train station, with underground platforms. You'll see the view from the train later.
Scenery from the train.
And (out of sequence) here's our destination, the Rotterdam Centraal train station. You'd think that the one of the most important cities in the Netherlands would have a much better-looking train station... and you'd be right, as this station is a temporary construction while they're replacing this old building with this one.
(2020 extra thoughts: Since finished as of 2014 :-))
Our first meal on European soil: bagel sandwiches. The Dutch love to put things between two halves of a bun (they call them "belegde broodje").
Two photos of scenery from Rotterdam: A humanoid figure made of oil barrels...
...and a tram passing in front of a C&A clothing store (a mostly European chain). I thought it meant Clothes and Apparel, my sister called it Cheap and Awful, Wikipedia says it's the initials of its founders (who also happen to be from the Netherlands). As for trams, Rotterdam has an extensive network of tramlines, and they've also got more "modern" trams than the "San Francisco" styled tram here.
And a nice twilight shot of Rotterdam... at 10:30pm. Since this was summer the sun was setting as late at 10pm, and rising as early as 5am.
All commentary as originally posted (except with occasional extra thoughts), but now with higher resolution pictures :-)
We begin at the airport, where our flight to Amsterdam is scheduled to leave at 2:25am. *yawn*
Check-in at the counter...
Here's the duty-free in the passenger area...
And here's some planes waiting to depart (ours is 3rd from the front)
(2020 extra thoughts: You can just make out that it's an iconic 747... don't see much of those anymore :-) China Airlines no longer flies this "fifth-freedom" route anymore either...)
And away we go!
A bit after take-off, a little midnight meal to tide us over until morning: Rice with oriental-style fish in tomato sauce, plus fruit, salad, bread roll, OJ... and some coconut cream based dessert.
(2020 extra thoughts: Those white cubes in the fruit plate are pitaya :-))
A random view taken mid-flight outside one of the cleaner windows...
(2020 extra thoughts: Based on the photo timestamp, probably somewhere over Turkmenistan)
Breakfast time, with eggs, sausage, fried potato and mushrooms, bread, yogurt, cubed fruit, and tea.
Landing in Amsterdam...
The major landmark in the airport is a big checkermarked red and white cube. It also has pictures of similar-styled cubes, apparently used for instrument landing system equipment.
The airport has its own train station, with underground platforms. You'll see the view from the train later.
Scenery from the train.
And (out of sequence) here's our destination, the Rotterdam Centraal train station. You'd think that the one of the most important cities in the Netherlands would have a much better-looking train station... and you'd be right, as this station is a temporary construction while they're replacing this old building with this one.
(2020 extra thoughts: Since finished as of 2014 :-))
Our first meal on European soil: bagel sandwiches. The Dutch love to put things between two halves of a bun (they call them "belegde broodje").
Two photos of scenery from Rotterdam: A humanoid figure made of oil barrels...
...and a tram passing in front of a C&A clothing store (a mostly European chain). I thought it meant Clothes and Apparel, my sister called it Cheap and Awful, Wikipedia says it's the initials of its founders (who also happen to be from the Netherlands). As for trams, Rotterdam has an extensive network of tramlines, and they've also got more "modern" trams than the "San Francisco" styled tram here.
And a nice twilight shot of Rotterdam... at 10:30pm. Since this was summer the sun was setting as late at 10pm, and rising as early as 5am.
