It was time to start my mini-European tour and the first stop was Amsterdam!
After my friend dropped me off at Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE), I went straight to the KLM check-in desk to get my boarding passes. As a Delta Platinum Medallion, I get plenty of benefits on SkyTeam partners like KLM. I quickly found the SkyPriority check in line and was quickly given my boarding pass. I then went to security where there was another Priority lane for elites. The rest of the lines had long queues so this was definitely a nice perk!
After less than 5 mins I was already checked-in and past security. I headed over to the airline lounges to kill some time. First stop was the Marco Polo Club lounge. I have a Priority Pass membership which I got from the American Express Platinum that gives me access to hundreds of lounges around the world for free and this was one of them. Nothing really special inside the lounge, just some snacks and refreshments. I then headed over to the Alitalia lounge. I got access to this one since I’m a SkyTeam Elite Plus. The lounge was a lot nicer than the previous one as it had more space and more food options.
Finally, it was time to board. As a Delta Platinum Medallion, I got upgraded to an Economy Plus seat a day before the flight. The seat has more legroom and increased recline. Nothing special about the flight as it was so short. After about an hour and change, we land on time in Amsterdam.
One of the first impressions upon deplaning was that the Airport is huge! Once I was outside, I quickly found the waiting area for the hotel shuttles. After 15 minutes, our shuttle arrived to take us to the Hampton by Hilton Hotel. I arrived at the hotel and after a quick check-in, I dropped my bags in the room as I wanted to maximize the time I would have in the city. The hotel concierge gave me some directions on how to get to Amsterdam Centraal station and also gave me a map.
The train station was 2-minute walk from the hotel. When booking lodging in places that I don’t know, I always try to find a place that is close to the train/bus/ports. This just makes traveling around the city that much easier.
After 20 minutes, the train arrives at Amsterdam Centraal and tourists were greeted by local information guides. They were very helpful as they told me the way to the Anne Frank House.
After about a 15 minute walk, I saw a long queue that leads to the museum. I grabbed a quick bite and stood in line for the next 30 minutes. The entrance fee was 9 euro and it was definitely worth it. They were very strict about taking pictures of the actual house so I only have pics of the lobby. It was amazing to see the actual diaries, furniture and everything else that was preserved all these years. The best part was seeing the fake book shelf that was in front of the hidden door.
After the Anne Frank Museum, I took a bus to the Van Gogh Museum. The entrance fee was 15 euro. Inside were 4 floors of nothing but Van Gogh. We saw a short film about his life and then proceeded to check out all his creations.
After this, I headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe to grab some dinner.. The Hard Rock was by the famous canals of Amsterdam and it was a pretty unique dining experience.
I then took a tram to go back to the Centraal Station to check out the canal cruises and the souvenir shops where I bought my mandatory fridge magnets. After this, I took the train back to the hotel to rest for the night.
Woke up around 6 am to check-out and get some breakfast. Boarded the free hotel service to the airport. Since I already checked-in online, I went straight to the SkyPriority security lane and then to the lounges. The first lounge is the Servisair lounge.
Next one is the KLM lounge where I proceeded to catch up on some school work while waiting for my next flight.
Soon enough, it was time to board and after a little over an hour in the air, we land in Frankfurt Main Airport. I took the Skytrain to Terminal 1 and went straight to the USO where my shuttle to Spangdahlem Air Base was waiting. After 2 hours, we finally get to the base hotel and promptly check in.
It’s been a lot of traveling the past 2 days but it is only the beginning of my mini-european adventure! Here’s some more pics of the trip.
TravelhackRR 