Amsterdam to Maastricht

Gatwick was the worst airport I’ve ever been in. Amsterdam’s Schiphol is by far the best.

Flying in was gorgeous. I have never been to Europe at all before; the scenery over East Anglia, the North Sea with its tiny tankers, and the perfectly flat and orderly farmland on the coast of the Netherlands were all absolutely picturesque. Customs at Schiphol were five minutes, there was ample luggage carousel space, and the entire airport was spotlessly clean.

Everything was primarily in English, so finding my way about was easy.

The only difficulty was with the trains, which were much more Dutch-oriented. I managed to get my ticket, but finding what platforms to use was slightly more complicated. But the trains were absolutely on time, and once I figured out how to read the boards, it wasn’t a problem.

I changed trains in Utrecht and Maastricht Central, and I was finally dumped off at Maastricht Randewyck at about 22:15 local time. I wandered around until I found a street that was on the map to the hotel and managed to get to bed at midnight.

My father is at his conference all day, so I plan to take the rest of the morning and the afternoon to just wander around Maastricht. From what I understand, it is primarily a university town, but it is very old and well-preserved from medieval times.