Once we boarded the giggling set in. Nerves can easily be to blame, but it was probably because for the last six months we have been ranting and raving about 'Scotland' and how we can leave 'any day now.' Good movies were played, food was marginal, and the service was expected... short, quick, no funny business. During the eight and a half hour flight we only experienced mild turbulence at worst- kudos to the captain and mother nature.
Flew into Amsterdam and didn't even get checked by customs, it was beautiful- yet quite surprising. It was probably a good thing that we didn't due to the fact that we were already in awe from the culture shock. Night and day over here on many levels. Scarves are worn like blaze orange hats in Wisconsin and that one Brett guys Viking jersey in Minnesota. The weather is like our mid to late fall, but that hasn't stopped all the guys from slickin their hair back like they're on their way to a Grease Lightning audition. I'm not say... just sayin...
Upon arrival, we roamed the Amsterdam airport. It was awkward. Hearing numerous languages was nuts. As we walked around, we decided to catch a train into the the heart of Amsterdam. We kept just looking at each and saying 'guys, we made it, we're doing this.' While waiting for the train, we met up with two guys, both DJ's like Guertis- how ironic. Seth, was originally from Michigan, the other, Louis, from Connecticut. They were headed to the same direction, so we extended our wolf pack to five deep and took the 15 minute long train in to the city.
The atmosphere of the city was surreal. Pubs every few buildings, local fast food stops all over and of course, and the infamous 'coffee shops' littered the streets. It'd be safe to say that everyone who walks those street got a bigger smile on their faces and felt a little lighter. Our group was lead by Seth, who by the sounds of it, has been all over the world and knew more about Amsterdam than the wikipedia page we had recently read over. We all stayed together until Seth had work to do in a record shop. The four of us then went on and toured downtown. Before continuing here, earlier in August we researched top hostels in Amsterdam for places to stay during our layover and one named "Durty Nellys" was on the top 5. We were going to reserve a room, but chose not to. So now as we roamed the street we turned down one of the hundreds of, and a big sign caught Nate's eye, it was "Durty Nellys!" We started to go nuts, obviously. We went in, bellied up, grabbed a pint, bs'd with the barkeep then went on our way. We proceeded to walk all over and see as much as we could. One of the coolest parts were the Canals. They were all over. It was amazing and beautiful.
As we cruised the streets, the sun began to fall. Streets lights now illuminated the roads. We soon noticed that a majority of the people crowding the streets were now only men. But where did the women go? It was as if they disperced into thin air. We passed a dark alley... a red tint glowed from almost all the street level windows. We stopped in awe, turned towards one another with a blank stare and realized we were... in the... Red Light District! We were now in the mother land of literal window shopping. Men from all over the world surrounded the windows. These women were 10's... 10s! And if they were to come back to America, probably would be rated at a high 12, low 13. This is no joke. Sadly, and probably thankfully, we only had 40 euros between the three of us so we decided to [errortripod] and then ran to the train station. It's safe to say that the Red Light District was an experience of a life time.
Once arriving back to the airport, we tried to smuggle ourselves into the lounge area to get some rest. We didn't make it far, and was forced to sleep in the baggage storage area. Boy was that comfortable to sleep on a cold tile floor with the lights on. Come 5 AM we all woke up from our comas. Only sleeping five hours in the last 48 hours, a nice warm bed was all that was on our minds. Five hours later we got ourselves together and headed to the terminal. An hour later we arrived to SCOTLAND! It was a crazy quick flight. Upon arrival, we cruised through Customs, got our bags and bought a bus ticket to Edinburgh.
Driving on the opposite side of the road was a tad weird. Not to mention they drive like Dale Jr. so it was scary at times as well. The bus dropped us off at the heart of Edinburgh. The history buildings and roads were amazing. After a short walk to the next bus stop, we hoped on another bus and cruised to Dalkeith. A nice, little, old lady sat next to Jordan during the trip and they talked about where we need to get off. The bus didn't have a PA letting the passengers know where or when the next stop was. This was a problem. We learned that she was getting off at the next stop and would show us to our destination. This was clutch, though we didn't know what exactly we were getting into. We got off the bus and followed the woman... and we kept following... and following. Mind you we all had a full suitcase, a large carry on, and backpacks. Not a light load at all. After about a mile, she stopped at a corner, told us that she was headed the other way and that at the end of the road we would be at the Dalkeith Palace. So, after another 3/4 mile, we finally arrived!
We're now here, unpacked and acting like third graders with our constant giggling and exploring of our new home.
NOTE TO READER: [errortripod] = WOLO
