June 27 – Day 1, Leg 2

The flight was uneventful. Once we settled in and were on the plane, I read and daydreamed and slept a little. I knew the next while would be fairly sleepless, as there were things to do and so much to see. Because we flew north, the view was stunning. While it was night time, because of the time of year and our flight path, at no point did the sun dip below the horizon, making it seem like dawn for hours.

We landed in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam around mid-day on Friday the 27^th. As we had originally intended to arrive in Frankfurt and travel via train to the wedding destination in Freudenberg from there, we were a much longer way from where we needed to be—many hours worth. But I was grateful to have a stamp on my passport—the first one.

We worked out a train route that ran from Amsterdam, across Holland into Köln (Cologne), then on to Siegen, and finally Freudenberg. I was with seasoned travelers, so didn’t want to appear too excited, but I was secretly glad for the long train ride so that I could see a bit more. Looking out the windows alone was beautiful. What they say about Dutch light in art is so true. It doesn’t look like anywhere else I’ve ever seen.

It became clear we crossed the border into Germany after a while, as there were German flag hanging everywhere—out of windows, in shops, on people’s cars. The Euro Cup finals were to take place in just a few days, and everyone seemed excited.

Before even speaking with anyone, I realized just how different things were where I now was. From the window of the train, I watched the buildings go by. The architecture was so different. There were old buildings that looked as if they came out of a storybook—half timber houses, or slate shingled homes—but even buildings that were clearly new seemed to have been built with an eye to the future.

As we entered Köln, I could see the spires of the Cologne Cathedral and I could feel my heart flutter in my chest. This was the first time of many that I wondered to myself why I had waited so long to come here. But it took over 600 years for the Cathedral to be built, so in those terms, waiting 31 to come to Europe suddenly didn’t seem so long.