After a 7 1/2 hour flight for our first leg,  we touched down in Amsterdam a little before noon.   During the trip’s planning stages,  I was very excited about the prospect of a 10 hour layover in the old city.   It had been several years since I’d been here,  so I thought it would be nice to spend 6 or 8 hours hoofing around the city centrum, taking a few pics, eating some herring or croquettes  and admiring old world charm.

Well we were forewarned, it was going to be a HOT day in the Netherlands.  With the temperature hovering around 90 degrees,  it was a real challenge maintaining enthusiasm to push our sleep-deprived bodies too far.

We did manage to make it over to Dam Square for some good Dutch food and people watching.  But by 4 o’clock we were all spent and ready to take the train back to Sciphol Airport and grind out the remaining two hours of layover in the comfort of air conditioning.