Day #2: October 25, 2012 Arrival at Schiphol Airport

The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful and we were very happy to exit the plane.  We have rearranged our itinerary to give us a 9-10 hour layover in Amsterdam instead of the usual 4-5 hours.  Doing this allows us to arrive in Nairobi at 6:00 am and take off immediately for the 4 hour bus ride to Tenwek Hospital.  In years past, we arrived in Nairobi in the evening and spent the night at the Menonite Guest House.  A little oasis in the heart of Nairobi.  Although it was wonderful to reach the guest house after nearly 48 hours of usually sleepless travel and enjoy a shower and a good night's sleep.  Now we are able to have some extended time in Amsterdam to leave Schiphol airport and take the train into the city.

We did our "1st annual" Amsterdam city tour last year with Mary and Michael Taylor and here are some photos of our visit this year...

Michael, David Dr. Mary, Tony, Rebekah and that's me (taking the picture) at the train station in Amsterdam after leaving Schiphol Airport.

Amsterdam is a city of bicycles.  They're everywhere, and if you're not careful crossing the street or the sidewalk (or walking out of a cafe) you'll get to meet them up close and personal!

Pretty cool packaging, wouldn't you say?

It was very overcast and in the upper 40's on day trip through Amsterdam.  The fall colors were in full swing and the leaves in the canals were beautiful.  Amsterdam is somewhere I would definitely like to spend more time than our 9 hour layovers...

Wow!

OK everyone, more later.  Been up since 3:00 am Nairobi time getting caught up on the blog.  It's 7:40 am and we've got a full day of unpacking to do in the OR.  The internet connection is hard to get later on in the day as more people log on, so I'll do more as I get access.  There are a lot more photos waiting to be uploaded.

Don't forget to post and let me know you're out there!