Europe 2026 – Day 1 & 2 – Toronto to Amsterdam

We all arrived at the airport at about the same time. Alina came by public transit, Wayne’s son dropped him off, Cindy’s daughter dropped her and Mark off. My husband Michael drove David and Dayle, and me. KLM flies out of terminal three and it wasn’t overly crowded. It didn’t take long to get our luggage tags, drop our baggage, and make it through security. There was a lovely, but fleeting, sunset as we walked toward the gate. 

We were sitting at the gate long before boarding. Some people ate, and drinks were ordered. The time flew by.

For the first time, I decided to put an apple AirTag in my luggage and it was fun and reassuring to see that it was on the airplane before I boarded.

Even though the acute phase of the pandemic is long over, I am still careful in certain situations and use the CO2 monitor when I’m flying. The carbon dioxide level can be used as a proxy to determine good ventilation. Outside air has about 400 ppm of carbon dioxide. Good indoor ventilation can lower the risk of infection because it reduces and degrades aerosols in the air. CO2 above 1000ppm can harm well-being. It can cause headaches, fatigue, and lack of attention. Therefore, good ventilation is desirable even in the absence of disease. The levels on this flight range from about 1000 to 1300, which is more than is desirable, but much less than I have seen on flights in the past.

I spent the last week getting up half an hour earlier each subsequent day to try to get over half of the six hours of time change, which was ahead of me. The flight left just before 11 and once we were in the air, I went to the bathroom, then put on a sleeping mask, ear plugs and my neck pillow,and was able to sleep through dinner – waking as breakfast was being served. It’s probably the best sleep I’ve ever had on a plane.

Breakfast was neither appetizing, nor filling.

The lineup for immigration took a while, but our baggage was coming onto the carrousel as we arrived in the baggage hall. We were able to purchase tickets for the train in the baggage hall. We didn’t have to go outside to get to the train station. There were fresh tulips for sale.

Fortunately, Wayne noticed the sign on the floor and the machine for tapping our train tickets which you can see here as Alina approaches it.

We rode two stops and emerged from Amsterdam Sloterdijk M to the most incredible scene of bicycles parked. This was only one of three large bicycle parking lots at this station. This station is outside the centre of Amsterdam.

It was only a 10 minute walk to our hotel down a street which had two narrow lanes for cars, two very wide bike paths, and wide sidewalks.

We are staying at the Teleport Hotel, a very colourful and friendly place. Everyone got a cranberry shot when we checked in. Most of the rooms were ready, but Alina and I start our suitcases in Cindy‘s room. Then we all went out to a nearby restaurant for lunch. I had a delicious brie sandwich, and everyone else seemed quite pleased with their meals, as well.

We asked the waiter if he could recommend somewhere to walk and he guided us towards  Westerpark.

We passed quite a few midrise buildings. Traffic was separated, between cars, bikes, and pedestrians. When we got to the windmill, we turned around and walked back through Westerpark.  

Tuinpark Nut en Genoegen is a serene, gated community garden park in Amsterdam West, featuring over 200 allotment plots (volkstuinen) with small cottages along 23 gravel lanes. It serves as a recreational, non-residential green space with canals, offering city residents a place for gardening, nature, and overnight stays from April to October. 

There was car parking outside of the park. And people had wheelbarrows and bike trailers locked up for taking things from the car into the park.

As we returned, commuter, trains were running along these tracks every few minutes.

As we passed the train station, we went into jumbo, a local grocery store, and picked up things that we could eat for breakfast for the next few days.

Then we went to our rooms to unpack and rest for about an hour and back out for dinner. Cindy found a delightful place called Flavours. This took us back to the train station area once again.

We stopped in the lobby of the hotel to decide on tomorrow’s plans. We decided on a relaxed start at 10, taking the train into Central Amsterdam, and visiting the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history.

As I finish writing the blog at 10:30 local time, I find myself surprised not to be sleepy, yet. Fingers crossed, the three hours I transitioned my wake time over the last week, to minimize the impact of the jet lag, has been successful.