My journey on departing Stornoway was uneventful. I left Lewis by plane at 11.30 local time and following a stop-over at Glasgow during the afternoon, touched down at Amsterdam Schiphol airport at 7pm local time the same day. Holland is an hour ahead of the UK. Whereas it was fairly clear and sunny over northern Scotland, there was nothing but clouds all the way from Glasgow to Amsterdam, and it was in fact tipping it down in Holland. It was also about 10 degrees warmer there than in Scotland. On arrival, the pilot advised us it was 20C / 68F. At 7pm.
Armed with my pre-purchased NS (Dutch Railways) ticket, I jumped on the train to Enschede which left Schiphol station at 7.49pm, changed at Amersfoort (30 miles east of Amsterdam) and enjoyed the ride north to Leeuwarden. In my compartment was a group of east African folks who spent the entire trip chewing qat, and were clearly under the influence of the stuff. It was stifling warm and muggy on the train, as I advised those of you who follow me on Facebook at the time. The train pulled into Leeuwarden station at 10.15pm. A 30 minute walk took me to the hotel, but roadworks at a nearby junction had me trudging through mud. Not their fault. Anyway, I had a shower and went to sleep - the alarm was set for 5.45 am.
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1 comment:
You can't always choose your travel companions. More's the shame!
I have heard or read about qat. I'm not sure if it is a dangerous drug or not?
It seems as though these travellers were used to taking it since they took it so brazenly in front of you.
That was an early rise for you the next day.
Jeanie
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