Our Europe Trip Report, Day 18!
Posted by
Mop🧹 (aka rburriel)
Oct 24 '24, 12:33
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It's not over yet! Iceland feels like a long time ago, but we have one more destination on our list! Amsterdam!
We have a train trip in the morning. It's not super early, but traveling is stressful. We get up, get packed and head over to the Royal Banquet for breakfast. This time we're seated at the far end of the restaurant. This place is massive. There's two steps down into this part of the restaurant and I can't help but notice that even though the whole Disneyland Paris Hotel has been remodeled and just re-opened this year, these steps are uneven. Once again, I'm dumbfounded at how it is that this could be possible. Even without the remodel, this isn't some ancient building. It's only a couple of decades old. How is it they can't build two steps of the same height and yet, in "land of the free!" America, it's just an expected standard building practice?
Anyway, after breakfast we step out into the atrium and there's Disney princesses in the balconies above waving. I like these little touches.
We gather our luggage and move to checkout when my middle kid remembers that they wanted to buy the Disneyland Paris Minnie Mouse ears they saw at the World of Disney the day before. We have time, but not a lot. There's a Disney shop in the walkway-bridge near the restaurant and while it seemed more like an upscale store - jewelry and crystal - I remember seeing some merch there. I suggest they go back and check it out while we check-out. I'm concerned that if we have to go back to World of Disney, it either won't be open yet, or the checkout will take forever. Anyway, success! They get their mouse ears, we get checked-out.
We still have 30 minutes before our appointed train departure time, but getting out of Disneyland Paris is harder than you'd think. You have to walk past the entire security island, at which point you arrive at the World of Disney store in the Disney Village, but it's opposite from where the train station is, and the entire plaza between World of Disney and the train station is boarded up. We walk along the boarded walls, worried that perhaps we should go back to the security island and see if they'll let us out through there. Signage is basically non-existent. But we finally arrive at a gap in the wall and a path to the train station.
Getting to the train platform is as straight forward as can be. There's a person camped at a small stand by the escalators leading down to the platforms. They scan the tickets on my phone and down we go. The platform is broadly labeled to reflect where the train cars will land, so when the train arrives, we get right on board.
The first part of the train trip is on an SNCF TGV. Not a lot of people get on at Disneyland Paris, which is surprising. But the train car is pretty full. We're lucky in that nearly every train that I've pre-booked, we get 4 seats facing each other across a table. Sitting next to us in the matching set of 4 seats is a couple with two pugs. Somehow, they're not managing the space as well as we are, with four grown-ass people. The dogs barely have any space under the table and keep straying into the corridor where I'm constantly stressing that someone's going to step on them.
The TGV steps at Charles de Gaulle which explains where it is that everyone is going. A lot of the train empties out here. It's a long stop, long enough to get out and stretch your legs. Then we're back on board and headed to Brussels.
It's maybe 2 hours to Brussels, where we arrive at the Brussels South train station. Then it's basically a layover, as we switch to another train, this one a Eurostar. You can take the Eurostar from London to Amsterdam, for instance, and it stops in Brussels. We're joining the Brussels to Amsterdam leg.
It's nearly a 2 hour layover in Brussels and initially the train station looks barren, and is certainly confusing. In one direction is a platform, but it all appears to be local trains, although some are also going to Amsterdam. Our train isn't on the screens yet, but that's because it's nearly 2 hours out. As we explore the train station further, we realize that it's essentially an underground mall with restaurants and shops. While in Belgium, you must have Belgian waffles. Frankly, any fried batter hits the spot. And there's also a whole super market down here, where we stock up on soda and snacks.
Soon enough, we see the train come up on the screen and now we're rushing again. Worst of all, the markings on the platform that indicate where each car arrives are wrong, so we have to scurry half way down the platform to get onto the right car.
The Eurostar cars, for whatever reason, feel nicer than the SNFC cars, even though I believe it's all the same. Maybe Eurostar maintains their interiors better?
The cityscape out the window does Brussels no favors. It looks very industrial and run down. But soon we're in Amsterdam and it's a whole lot of large pastures which, I assume, are covered in tulips during other times of the year.
Soon enough, we arrive at the Amsterdam Centraal station where we meet our next challenge. The exits all direct us to the north side of the station, which seems unusual as that's also the side away from the city. And we can't exit! You can to scan your ticket to exit but the first challenge is finding your ticket. The SNCF app where I had the ticket is showing that I have no current bookings, because of course our trip has ended, so I have to find the old tickets and then find the QR code but when I scan it, it won't work, but when I press my phone to the turnstyle, it seems to be trying to scan me as if I'm trying to book in for a new trip and my credit card pops up. I find an attendant and ask how do I get out, and they just scan their device and let us out. Once again, terrible signage, no guidance, no instructions. But now we're on the wrong side of the train station and there's a bunch of railroad tracks in the way. Finally we discover that there's an underground passage about halfway down the station that gets you to the other side. We're all frustrated and tired. A little signage would go a long way.
Once we exit the train station, the hotel is just opposite the entrance, less than a 2 minute walk. It's a heavy traffic area, with lots of pedestrians, bicycles, trams, and even cars and motorcycles. And the corner of this heavily trafficked area is also boarded up and under construction, which makes getting around very unpleasant.
We pop into the hotel and check-in. I was most worried about this hotel because I had booked the two rooms separately using frequent flyer miles and the AA site is a goddamn mess and for the longest time couldn't find confirmation that I even had a booking. But I had found how to contact the hotel online and they were able to confirm our bookings. The hotel is the "Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam". That's a mouthful. I feel like they want to go with a new name, Park Plaza, but it used to be known as the Victoria Hotel Amsterdam, so now it has both names. It's an old building, but pretty fancy. But you still have to deal with some unusual things. Like the first desk you encounter when you arrive isn't concierge or check-in, but the desk for Viking Cruises. Check-in is in a room around the corner. And the elevators are small. We can't fit 4 people and luggage in them. And there are spots on the floor in the hallways that lead me to believe that under the carpet, there's just a hole. And, I suspected when I made the booking, for the first time, one of our rooms doesn't have two beds, but rather a bed and a cot. But the rooms are connecting, and the cot is fine. I knew it was a possibility when I made the booking. And we have a great view overlooking the street and the train station.
Everyone's tired and not ready to go out, but I've got a mission. It's laundry time! Laundry options at Disneyland were few, so now we have a big pile of clothing. I load up the big suitcase and head up. There's a laundromat just down the street. It's perfect! Except I have to make it through the crowds that are squeezing through the construction on what's probably the most trafficked street in all of Amsterdam. Is I head down to the alleyway here the laundromat is located, I make a note of an ATM on the way. When I arrive at the laundromat, I see an older guy by the door eying me. I step inside and quickly assess the situation. It's cash only. I head back to the ATM with my luggage in tow. And I leave nothing to chance. Rather than withdrawing 20 Euro, I withdraw 10, then do another transaction and withdraw 10 more. Surely the fees will be higher, but what if the machine doesn't take 20s?
I return to the laundromat and being investigating the token machine. Indeed, it doesn't take 20s! Being prepared pays off. Turns out the washers require one 7 Euro token, and the dryers take only coins... 3 Euros. Nice how that works out, right?
The older guy who's eying me introduces himself and starts explaining the system. It's the universal way tourists introduce themselves. He's Australian... you need to buy a token... it's cash only... the machines (allegedly) provide their own laundry soap... remember to put in the token after you've closed the door or you may lose your token...
I fill up the biggest machine and add one of my washer detergent sheets and I spend time shooting the breeze with the Australian guy. He's here with his wife. They're here for one of those Viking river cruises. She does all the planning. He's never left Australia. He's from the interior but now lives in suburban Sydney since things have gotten terrible in the interior (I finally gather that he's complaining about all the native aboriginals everywhere... Uhm, ok, sure.) He's got 3 kids. One of them has had a bit part in a movie and is living in the house of some rich guy now.
A couple of younger fellows arrive to do their laundry. They're Australian! Older guy and younger guys hit it off. He explains the system and they're off to the ATM to get cash. They're back soon enough, and I'm content to let them chatter.
Another fella arrives. This guy's English. He gets the explanation. He's got a 20 Euro bill but he needs change. Stores won't give him change unless he buys something so he has to go shopping. He's back soon, but the token machine won't take his money. I finally deduce the machine is out of tokens. "TOKENS UIT" is what it says. So this guy jumped through all these hoops and he'll just have to come back tomorrow.
After the laundry is washed and dried, I return to the hotel. It's dinner time. There's a McDonald's practically downstairs (turns out, there's McDonald's at virtually every corner in Amsterdam) but not tonight. Back to the street, back to the crowds. There's noise, and cigarette smoke, and a little (not a lot) of marijuana smoke, which is overwhelming to my kids who haven't lived in "the city". There's a dozen restaurants within a block and we find a place where everyone orders pasta and then dessert case beckons... two large slices of chocolate cake to share.
As night falls, we go for a walk. French fries seem to be big in Amsterdam. There's lines a number of "famous" French fry stands. We go down one street, down a few alleys, past well kept residential doors which are all probably AirBNB's now, and back up around street, making our way back to the hotel. We didn't get mugged or pick-pocketed. It's been a successful first day in Amsterdam!
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