Settling In…Finally

After leaving Charleston on June 29 at 4pm, we finally arrived at our apartment in Vienna on July 2 at 7:15pm! All was going well until an hour before we were supposed to leave Amsterdam for Vienna when the pilot told us there was a mechanical issue with plane that couldn’t be fixed and since they didn’t have a backup plane, our flight was cancelled.  To our surprise and that of the KLM gate agent, people took it very well. While she was helping me rebook (they sent everyone else to the Transfer Desk but she helped us…it pays to be nice to the gate agents), I asked if the response was normal and she said “NO, I am very surprised”.  Between KLM and Delta, it took about an hour to find us a flight (it’s summer holiday season in Europe so flights are full) and then we were on our way to baggage assistance as we needed our bags pulled from holding since it was going to be 2 days before we could get on a flight to Vienna. Not a bad way to start a trip…two days in Amsterdam compliments of KLM. 

It took about an hour and a half for our luggage to get pulled so we enjoyed lunch and people watching in the airport. With bags in hand, we headed to Uber pick-up and were on our way to the Marriott. I asked the KLM reps if rather than staying at their airport hotel I could book a hotel in town and get reimbursed and they said “of course and keep all transfer and meal receipts too”. They were so accommodating and apologetic for the inconvenience. I don’t know about you but an unexpected stay in Amsterdam is a pretty good trade out for not being on a plane with mechanical issues. 

The hotel had these complimentary
refillable water bottles in the room.

 

We spent the morning and early afternoon on the hop-on/hop-off bus and boat as this was LuLu’s first time in Amsterdam.  Tuesday afternoon we went to mass at the Basilica of  St. Nicolas (first time I’ve been to mass at this church in English as on previous visits they only had Dutch) before heading to the airport. Here's a few pics from our short time in Amsterdam.

A little snack of crispy chicken (aka chicken tenders)
and mini frikandellen (basically a fried cocktail sausage)

Police in Dutch

After collecting our luggage and meeting our driver in Vienna, we were off to our apartment where Thomas met us and gave us a quick tour before leaving us to unpack and settle in.  Here are a few pics of our home for the next 4 weeks.

Time to rest our weary heads...more to come as we begin exploring Vienna!