We arrived into Amsterdam a little ahead of schedule which was a nice surprise since we had left late. Sue had suggested that we ask the flight attendant if she could help us figure out which gate to go to. The flight attendant found out that we needed to follow the signs for the Transfer Desk and that would enable us to skip going through security again. After looking at the departure signs, we found our flight number and departure time and headed for the Transfer Desk T-3, Gate C 315 (which was a Scandinavia Airlines flight).

We walked and walked and walked some more, and finally saw Transfer Desk T-9, so we all thought, "okay, T-3 will be just up ahead." NOT!! We finally got to T-3 (after a quick trip through customs) and were told we just needed to go straight to the gate, so off we went again. At this point it was almost 9:50 a.m., and we had no idea how much further we had to go. We knew that our flight was to begin boarding at 10:05, though, so we were all a little nervous by this time. We began to see signs for the gates that included ours, and of course, C 315 was at the very end of a corridor. The gate attendant wasn't helping anyone so we were able to get service right away. I'm sure we looked a mess--sleepy, sweaty and nervous all in one--make that four--faces. He was very nice, assured us all was well and gave us our boarding passes. I think we had time to go the restroom and waited about 5 minutes, then they started boarding us. That was cutting it just a little too close for comfort!

The flight to Copenhagen was uneventful and pretty quick, only an hour and a half, and it was sunny and cool upon arrival--nice change from the heat and humidity of Houston! We made our way down to the baggage claim area and after waiting for 30 minutes, the Honnert's bags came out but ours didn't. :(( My pet peeve of checking a bag. Thank God we aren't sailing out until Monday! (This was now Friday).

We found the place to make a claim and were told that one bag was in the system in Amsterdam as being found, and the other was probably there too, but it hadn't been updated yet. We filled out all the forms and were told we would get a text when the bags arrived and again when they were to be delivered. So off we went via taxi to the apartment.

Our taxi guy, Frank, was quite the character! He drove like a maniac and then slammed on the brakes, slowed way down and started telling us about how the fines were so steep for speeding! He chatted the entire way about this and that--very entertaining, although his accent was very thick and I only caught a portion of what he was saying.

We got to the apartment and met the owner (we rented through FlipKey) who showed us all around. It's very spacious and we found out they live here and go to their summer house when they rent it out. Maybe I should start calling the lake house my summer house! LOL

We dumped our stuff off and headed out for a quick lunch at a place really close to the apt called Granola. Open faced sandwiches are very popular here, so we all ordered one and agreed it was delicious. You eat it with a knife and fork...and so we did. :))

Next was a walk to Tivoli Gardens. It looked a LOT closer on the map! We were all amazed at how many bicycles there are here and just like in Amsterdam, you have to be very careful not to get hit by a cyclist!! The cars will stop, but the bicycles--not so much. And they are really zooming, too.

Tivoli Gardens is one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. It was a gorgeous day, so we strolled around and enjoyed looking at all the plants and flowers while listening to the squeals of the people riding the roller coasters, dungeon drops, etc.

Rich was looking at his phone and radar showed that a big rainstorm was headed our way. We couldn't believe it because it was so pretty, but soon enough, the wind was blowing like crazy and then the rain came. We found a gift store/restaurant to hang out in and before long, it cleared up and was pretty again.

We walked back to the apt., freshened up a bit and left to go find a place for dinner. We were all really tired, so we didn't venture far. Found a trendy looking burger place called Halifax and decided to give it a try. It wasn't your typical burger joint at all--you chose your type of meat, toppings, bread, side and dip. Pam and I decided to share and good thing, because the burgers were HUGE! We were all falling asleep at this point, so we didn't linger. Rich and I were really antsy to get back, too, just in case our suitcases were delivered.

We had no sooner returned than Rich got a call saying they would deliver a suitcase (yes, just one) between 9:30 pm to 12:00 am. :(( We went to bed but didn't really sleep because we were listening for the doorbell. No one ever came. So bummed!!