Hey, hey kids! Sorry, I had to get a Krusty the Clown reference in there. Anywho, it’s Day 2! Thanks to the miracle of modern air travel and Sir Sandford Fleming all those years ago, it’s the next day. So I’m running on about 4 hours sleep, which means I have no idea how coherent my thoughts are, but whatever. I don’t get paid to write this.

Anyway, it’s 0700 local time, we’re just off the coast of Norway and 1100km from our destination. We certainly took a very adventurous route, not the usual more direct one. Normally we pass below Ireland, but this time our flight plan took us on a big sweeping arc to the north, over Greenland, Iceland and toward Germany from the northwest. I would assume the guys driving er flying the plane know what they are doing. I’m sure it’s not their first rodeo.

Morning over the North Sea, April 2017.

So I’m sitting here half awake waiting for breakfast to arrive. God I’m dying of thirst! I don’t feel too bad, as what little sleep I got wasn’t too horrible. The neck pillow really helped, though the accommodations here in steerage aren’t the greatest. You just can’t seem to get comfortable…my butt is sore! I guess we’ll be on be ground soon enough and I can stretch my legs and my posterior.

The kids are crazy hyper right now, probably since most of them haven’t really slept much. I’m sure they are driving everyone around us nuts with their teenager conversations. Maybe they’ll be happier with some breakfast. Apparently it’s the good ole standby, banana bread. Not that I don’t like banana bread, but it’s not my usual morning meal. Hold on, it’s cinnamon banana bread. Fancy. I guess it doesn’t matter, since I’m not really that hungry but rather thirsty. So I had myself like 6 or 7 Dr. Peppers…wait, wrong movie.

We’re on the ground now in Munich. Gluten tag! It was really nice to get off that airplane after 8 hours…it was getting a little stuffy. It was also nice to stretch my legs and get the blood going. I demolished a whole bottle of water; I guess I was thirsty. Anyway, Munich has a nice airport; very modern. The kids had a chance to get some food, look at the shops and relax.

Unfortunately when we landed we got some bad news. I received a text from the St. Ignatius group and their plane had to turn around 1.5 hours into the flight overseas. They were supposed to go to Frankfurt, and beat us to Amsterdam. Now we’re waiting to hear when they’ll meet up with us. Hopefully it won’t be too long. Our fingers are crossed.

Alright, we’re up in the air and on our way to Amsterdam. I think all of the hyper energy from before is passing into exhaustion. We have been going for more an 24 hours now, many of us with very little sleep. Some of the kids did grab some sleep in the airport, but I’m sure everyone will sleep much better tonight.

A frequent topic of conversation has been our agenda once we land. After retrieving our bags and meeting our Tour Director Jason, we are supposed to proceed to the hotel. Beyond that I had to tell the kids I did not know. Maybe something is happening before, after or in conjunction with dinner, but that’s up to Jason to decide. For myself it will be nice to get out of airports, breathe some fresh air and relax. Not that I will ever relax on this trip, but it makes me feel much better that we are almost at our destination. Well, they are coming with snacks and beverages (except for Zach, who managed to end up in business class and gets meal), so I’m shutting down for now.

Amsterdam airport, April 2017.

Amsterdam airport, April 2017.

Okay, so it’s almost time for bed. The last part of the day was a lot more relaxed and easy. So we’re all checked into the hotel and the kids are getting ready for lights out. Our hotel is literally 5 minutes from the airport, which made things very simple. It took us a bit to get checked in, but we’ve been spending a lot of time waiting the last few days anyway. The hotel is very nice, though the rooms are a bit tight. I know Mr. Marcon and I could use a bit more space in our room.

Amsterdam rooms, April 2017.

We had dinner in the hotel, which was very good. It was buffet style, which let the kids eat their fill. There was all kinds of salad, chicken, roasted potatoes and fish. Quite the spread! Desert was awesome too.

After dinner we had a chance, with our Tour Director Jason, to brief the kids on tomorrow’s agenda. The good news is that St. Ignatius finally made it to Europe, and should be here from Frankfurt very shortly. So we will leave the hotel after breakfast for a guided tour of Amsterdam in the morning. Following lunch, we will have a canal cruise which will take a few hours. Then there will be more walking and time for some shopping. Should be a nice day.

Hotel fountain, April 2017.

Anyway, I better get running. Our hotel has tons of EF travellers in it, so it will be an early morning and a busy breakfast. I’ll be back tomorrow with all the details. Until then…