Traveling

So after 18 hours of traveling and close to 24 hours of not sleeping, I've FINALLY arrived in Maastricht! I was super exhausted yesterday and tried with all my might to not sleep too early. Eventually, I gave in and fell asleep around 8PM only to wake up again at 1AM. Not cool...

Anyways, here are the details on my super long journey here. My flight was scheduled for 12:20 from YVR. Once we were all on the plane, the captain announced to us that there was some mechanical problems and that we need to get it checked out. By checking it out, the plane was delayed for an hour. Just great. I had a connection time of an hour in Detroit. Pretty much meant that I would not be able to make my connection.

Sunset over Mid USA

The flight was pretty quiet. I was too worried about what I was going to do once I arrived in Detroit that I couldn't rest. Nothing too exciting happened, until landing came. The whole flight, the paneling above the seat behind me was slowly coming loose. The lady sitting under it mentioned it to a flight attendent and the put some tape on it. Apparently not enough because as we were landing, the panel came all the way loose and fell between the lady sitting next to me and me. Right where our chairs met. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but talk about sketchy plane ride!

Loose paneling behind me

In Detroit, there was another flight to Amsterdam, half an hour later than the one I was scheduled for. I think there were enough people trying to catch that plane that they held the flight a bit. It was pretty funny watching a crowd of people running from one side of the aiport to the other (why couldn't they have chosen a closer gate?!). Problem was that I didn't have a ticket for that flight. Thankfully, I was able to secure a seat (the next one after wasn't until the next day!) and off we went with no problems. The plane was newer (thank gawd) and was roomier. I somehow still got a window seat, which was pretty awesome. Only bad part was that the lady sitting directly behind me kept on periodically kicking my chair and making loud noises. I would be drifting off to sleep and then BAM kick in the back. Lets just say Adie was NOT a happy camper. Thankfully, he flight arrived early, almost earlier than the one I was originally scheduled for. No complaints from me.

Once I got off the plane and through customs (literally two questions: why are you in NL and how long are you staying?) I was able to pick up my bags. I was half wishing that they didn't make the connection (so I wouldn't have to carry them on the train), but there they were going around the trolley.

I was able to haul my stuff to the train station and I bought my ticket to Maastricht (29,10 Euros).

My massive pile of luggage

I had problems trying to figure out which train to take. The guy at the ticket counter was not very helpful. I had asked what train to take and he only told me the time. I had asked again phrased differently and he only told me the time. Maybe he didn't understand what I meant. Once I got on the platform (thankfully I picked the right one), I asked someone just to make sure. Soon enough my train came and a hauled my bags onto the train.

I knew I had to change trains, but I didn't know how long before I need to change. I couldn't sleep for fear of missing my stop. Soon enough (30 mins) we arrived at Utrecht Centraal where I got off to wait for the train to take me to Maastricht.

Waiting for the train to Maastricht

Trains here are pretty cool. Reminds me a bit like the skytrain, just only longer distances and much faster. Plus there are bathrooms aboard. This train was larger than the previous one I took. It had two levels. I think it was an express train as it skipped a bunch of stations. I knew that this leg had to be longer (I had been told the whole trip takes about 2.5 hours). I allowed my droopy eyes to close and I think I finally got some sleep.

The second train

And now I'm all settled. I've unpacked and explored (and gotten lost) the town a bit. More about that later!