Day 1: May you live in interesting times

Well, where to begin...

Today was really intense. My alarm clock burst off at 4:45 am. I somehow managed to close my suitcase overflowing with random things that I could not leave behind. Then there was a trip on a Tube. Kind of. I mean I even went down the escalators, hoping to catch the very first train on that morning at 5:30 (according to tfl website, or 5:26, as I found out from a poster at a station). And I was patient: I waited until 5:38 before giving up and dragging my suitcase back up the escalators. And ended up in a taxi. The good thing is I've reached the train station on time. The worse was that it costed me 25 quid instead of 2.20. Oh well. Better than missing a train costing over 80!

What followed was probably the most relaxing part of the journey, to a point that I've done some law reading. Honestly, I recommend splashing out on a Premier class in Eurostar - the breakfast did not know me over (maybe that's actually good), but it's so much more comfortable (two of me could fit into a seat) and there are less people in a coach, meaning less shuffling (and cleaner toilets on a practical side).

Having reached Brussels, I've embarked on a journey to Rotterdam with Thalys. Comfort wise - fantastic. Otherwise the experience was so-so. I mean, this was my first journey in first class on a international train, right? And it could have been nicer. I've only just boarded the train when one of the staff ladies rushed after me, asking what coach I was booked on. And then I got a very evil eye from a rather posh-looking lady sitting a few seat away. I don't know, I really felt out of place then. But I got a muffin later, a muffin makes everything much better.

The real mess started after reaching Netherlands. First of all, surprise, surprise, every one speaks Dutch. After over an hour at a station I've started to understand all  the announcements, but that's about it. Though I'm quite good at reading, my knowledge of English, Polish and little bits of German comes in handy. But no, speaking is not good at all. Definitely something I need to work on.

I've managed to buy my OV-chipkaart (like an Oyster card, but can be used in the whole of Netherlands). Never ever have I seen such a queue at a ticket office, especially given the number of ticket machines on that station. Then I was to experience a terrible mess on the Dutch railways, combined with rather poor information.

Transport issues continued into Leiden, with a bus being considerably late. I slowly realise that the Dutch are not the Swiss - time is definitely not a strong side of the Dutch. And then the buss driver completely ignored my request to stop by the hotel and I had to get off at the next stop and walk over to the place. Normally I wouldn't mind, but it's not fun with a big heavy suitcase. Point to note: if  you want to get off the bus, indicate this will by almost forcing the doors to open while the bus is still in motion. This should be a sufficient indication of our will to get off at the nearest stop. Caution: merely pressing a 'stop' button is not enough.

And finally I've reached a hotel. Quite frankly, I've never been in such a strange place before. I've been in quite a few strange places in my life, but in terms of a hotel, I think this Holiday Inn Leiden scores the top marks for strangeness.

When you walk in it's as if someone crossed-over the Taj Mahal Palace with a Travel-lodge style place and added some random pieces of furniture. Like a grandfather clock. I really don't know what it goes with, but it's  there, standing near the patio. Yes, there is a patio. In the middle of the building. And so is a children's playground, right next to a restaurant. I'm not entirely sure the layout of this place was really thought through.

Even when it comes to rooms. Have you ever stayed in a hotel room without any windows? Well, here the window technically exists, but not in a form you would have expected it to be in. The window faces the corridor! Yay! Only after another metre of space there is a window actually looking out of the building. Really bizarre. Like a rather poor holiday house. Especially that some of the rooms actually face inwards. I really hope no one ever stays there, it must be rather grim. On the plus side, at least the air conditioning works and there is a bath in the bathroom!

It will be a very interesting year, I reckon. I’m not sure whether to laugh at all this or cry. It’s a funny place, Netherlands. But I’m slightly anxious about what tomorrow (and the remaining year, for that matter) will bring.

Disclaimer:  Please take this post in with a (rather substantial) dose of humour!