Day 1 - Tuesday 4/17/12

We have made it to the Hotel Van Walsum in Rotterdam where it is cold and rainy. We intend to soldier on and have a great time anyway.

The flight wasn't as bad as it could have been since we were in an exit row with more legroom. Only one guy got in after us, so we are glad to be here. We landed in Amsterdam at 7:30 this morning, got the car, and headed out. We drove down hwy 208 which is known as the tulip road. As tired as we were, we were still impressed with the tulip and hyacinth fields, windmills, canals, and small quaint towns. We were killing time until we could check in at the hotel.

We needed a potty break and some food, but there are not nearly the easy stops we are used to. We did come across a service plaza that served us well. The restaurant was called The Place and was a wonderful buffet. We both had a wonderful fish and tomato soup and shared a really good egg salad sandwich on a neat bun.

We arrived at the hotel with only a couple of wrong turns. The hotel is a small one made from two old buildings. It is family owned and run. Two 40ish brothers checked us in. While Bill moved the car to the hotel lot, brother Tony got me a coffee, sat across from me with a map and gave some excellent touring and eating options. They gave us a room with a balcony when they learned Bill smoked cigars. We settled in, unpacked, made sure my plug would work to charge our toys, napped.

At 6, we walked down the street to a "brown cafe" - an inexpensive cafe frequented by locals – called Ari’s. Our waiter was very friendly and helpful and we had a delightful meal. We got the bread board - brown bread and white bread with 3spreads - garlic butter, tapenade, and aioli mayo. Bill got a huge veal cutlet with a salad and fries. I got a yummy beef stroganoff that was quite red with paprika and had green beans, mushrooms, and bell pepper. It came with a baked potato and sour cream. We had the local beer - julpilner. We came back to the room and crashed.

Day 2 - Wednesday 4/18/12

It was another cold and semi-rainy day, but we had fun anyway. We got up at 8:30, showered, dressed, and went down for the hotel breakfast buffet. Bill has a slight cold, but he is powering through it. The buffet had cold cereal, breads & sweet rolls, yogurt, fruit (apples, bananas, grapes, etc), scrambled eggs, bacon, meat and cheeses. So we had a good start to the day.

At 10, we left for the 20 min drive to Delft. We found a place to park (which is NOT easy here) and had to put in a 5 euro coin for 6 hours parking. Better safe than sorry. It was just a short walk down the street to The Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles

- The Royal Delft factory. We bought tickets for 12 euro ($16) for the museum/factory tour which was really quite interesting. We saw 2 short movies on the history of Delft porcelain and the making of Royal Delft. We saw a woman painting vases with what looked like black paint but contains cobalt oxide that turns blue when fired. There were many displays of various Delft pieces including a 13' by 16' 480 tiled replica of Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watchman". In the factory itself were tons of molds, greenware drying, a woman cleaning greenware, and several large modern kilns. Of course the tour ended in the gift shop. The least expensive item was a tiny vase for $106. They did have lots of non-Royal Delft items, and I bought several Xmas balls for Xmas presents. We had a cup of coffee looking out on the courtyard. The coffee came with a small square of good chocolate wrapped in Delft-like paper.

We decided finding a new parking place would be too difficult so we walked the mile to the market square. It was still cold (48 degrees) and sprinkling periodically, but we didn't mind. The main area of town does have several canals with bridges at most streets. The market is typical of Germany and the Netherlands - a huge square with a church at one end and town hall at the other with shops and restaurants lining the sides.

I took photos and then went into a delightful cheese store. After tasting a few, I liked a farmers cheese and a pesto Gouda (but didn't buy anything!) We then found the tourist center, talked to the lady behind the counter, bought a walking tour book for the map and info.

First we went to the Oude Kerk (old church). For $4.30 each we got tickets for both the old and new church. The old church was built around 1250 and has been (like most European churches) expanded, destroyed, rebuilt, remodeled, etc. I thought the stained glass windows were amazing if not that old. Delft had a huge fire in 1536 and then a huge explosion at the gunpowder depot in 1654, so all the old stained glass was destroyed. Most of the awesome stained glass was replaced in the 20th century. The other cool item about the old church is the beautiful 75'tower. A canal in front of the church was filled in before construction and during the tower construction it started to list (at one point 2 meters off plumb). It has been stabilized but is monitored carefully.

We walked back to the market square in search of lunch - warmth, a bathroom, and poffertjis (a small fat quarter-sized pancake sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with butter). We found all of the above at a cafe called Het ABC. I got toasted grilled cheese with tomato and Bill got mussels. The poffertjis were good, but not much different than fat pancakes. On the menu they had poffertjis a la Bill Clinton (served with strawberries and cream). Clinton came to Delft 15 years ago, and they are still impressed.

We went in the Newue Kerk on the square. It was also impressive except I liked the stained glass better in the old church. Here are buried famous royalty and persons of the Netherlands in crypts below the floor. There is a large monument to William of Orange. On the four corners of the monument are statues of ladies depicting 4 virtues. One of them was rather hysterical because it looks like she is holding a gold cowboy hat with veritas written on it.

We walked back to the car with a slight rain and wind. No ticket on the car. We made the drive back to Rotterdam and the hotel with a bit of traffic. We crashed in our room for a while. Finally at 8pm we decided that we should eat something so we went to a different restaurant down the street where we each got soup and split a burger. Bill got coconut curry soup and I got tomato/basil/cream soup. Both soups were spicy but quite good. The burger was decent too. We had wanted the famous Dutch pea soup, but apparently it is only served in the winter. We asked our charming waitress about it, and even though she spoke beautiful English, she did not know the word pea. Once she realized what we were talking about she was very excited to add that word to her vocabulary.

I am typing this on the shared computer in the hotel lounge since I can type so much better on a keyboard. A few items to note. Bicycles are almost as prevalent here as they are in China. They have the same bike lanes - wide and separated by medians from regular traffic lanes. So when one crosses the street we have to be very careful not to get hit by a bike. Also....no washcloths in the hotel bathrooms. I had thought about bring one from home and then forgot it. We had the same problem in Ireland. Go figure.

Tomorrow we will probably drive to Gouda to see the longest church in Holland with a ton of beautiful stained glass windows, a weigh house with a neat cheese museum inside, and then a windmill driven mill. It is something that Barbara and Holger weren't excited to do, so we will check that off our list and maybe buy some cheese!

Day 3 - Thursday 4/19/12

It was a great day even if it is still cool and sometimes rainy. We were up at 8:15 and went to breakfast at 9. It was the same buffet as yesterday. Bill is still feeling under the weather, but we left for Gouda (pronounced How-da as in Cow-da here) at 10:30. The drive wasn't bad - only about 17 miles.

We found a place to park on the street, but the ticket dispenser would only give us 2 hours - until 1:10pm. We walked the short distance to the market square which was full of vendor tents selling fabric, clothes, purses, etc.

We first came to the Waag - the weigh house- built in 1667. It was originally used for weighing goods (especially cheese) to levy taxes. On the bottom floor was a small shop selling various cheeses and cheese items - cutting tools, boards, and other small souvenirs.

There is also a cheese museum on the upper floors. We paid $10 for both of us, and a lovely old gentleman led us up a long, narrow spiral staircase to the next floor. He first showed us the original relief that had been on the front of the building. Pollution has taken its toll, so it was moved inside to preserve what remains. A replica has been installed outside. The relief shows a merchant having cheese weighed with the bookkeeper holding his foot down on the cheese side to make it appear heavier.

Our guide then showed us candles for which Gouda is also famous. Who knew? Then he showed us clay pipes and how they were made in Gouda a long time ago. Up on the top floor our guide showed us a 10 minute film on how cheese is made on farms in Gouda. We looked around at old cheese/candle/pipe-making items. Then it was down the back spiral staircase.

We walked through the market square where I got some lovely photos of the stadhaus - the old city hall. This is supposed to be Holland's oldest town hall and parts of the facade date back to 1449.

Just off the square is St John's Church - the longest church (120 meters) in the Netherlands. We paid to go inside ($10 for both), but no photos were allowed. This was a shame because this church has some of Europe's most beautiful stained glass windows - 64 in all. The church started as a Catholic church but became Protestant church in 1573. We could have spent days looking at the windows and listening to an audio tour, but our 2 hours of parking was running out.

On the way back to the car we stopped at the Waag and bought a small round of farmers cheese. Bill wanted to see the Red Lion Windmill which is still in use (since 1727) as a grain mill. Our GPS got us right there with a parking spot. The streets were quite narrow and we never would have gotten there without the GPS. Unfortunately the mill and store were both closed contrary to the info in the guidebook. We looked around, took some photos, and got back in the car to leave. There our luck abruptly ended. Bill backed into a concrete corner of a building and scraped the back bumper of the brand new rental care we were in. Hopefully the insurance won't be too difficult.

We made it back to the hotel at 3. After a short break, we went looking for a grocery store. Tony, one of our hosts, walked us to the corner (I think he wanted a smoke break) and showed us the way to Coop, a fairly good-sized grocery. I was looking for hagelslag - chocolate sprinkles that are very popular here at breakfast. One butters bread or toast and sprinkles on the chocolate. I had read about it before we left home, and it was on my list of "to try". I had it this morning at breakfast, and it was pretty good. It is much better than the chocolate sprinkles in the US. At the store there was a large area with all brands/sizes/packages of hagelslag. I got several boxes for Xmas presents. I love going to grocery stores in foreign countries. One can learn so much.

At 6:30 the sun was out so we went for a walk to the Witte area where Tony had told us were lots of pubs and restaurants, sort of like the East Village in NYC. On the way next to the architecture museum was a green grassy fenced in area. I had to look twice to believe what I was seeing. On the grass were some sheep statues, but right next to them grazing away were at least a dozen real sheep. I have no idea what that was about. We ended up at a Vietnamese restaurant called ViVu. It was small, lovely, and almost full. I got 3 of my favorite Vietnamese dishes: Vietnamese iced coffee, summer rolls, and a small bowl of pho. It was all delicious and made me homesick for Hale Vietnam in Honolulu. The pho was quite a bit more spicy than usual, but it was a good thing. I actually finished my small bowl of pho which I never am able to do when I get a regular (huge) bowl. Bill got the regular bowl and couldn't finish his.

We walked back to the hotel in the rain. It stopped just as we arrived back. Holger and Barbara arrive tomorrow. We hope to take the canal boat to Kinderjik to see the windmills there. The boat leaves at 2:15, so we will just hope they arrive early. We are excited about seeing them.

Day 4 - Friday 4/20/12

We were up at 8:15, showered, and down to breakfast at 9:15. Same buffet, but still good. We got to relax a bit on our balcony while we waited for Barbara and Holger Puhl to arrive from Bremen Germany. From the balcony I saw a green parrot flying around which was a surprise. We also have a few magpies and lots of gulls and doves. When I went down to the lobby to wait for Puhls, I asked Tony about the parrot. He said in the past few years, pet parrots that had sadly been released have managed to survive and reproduce. They are now considered pests. But it was fun to see it today.

Puhls arrived early at 11:15. Their room was not ready so we had coffee and chatted in the lounge. After they got in their room, we started walking at 12:30 for the tour boat to Kinderdijk to see the windmills. It was a pleasant walk with lovely bridges, old boats, and an old lighthouse boat. Holger had knee surgery 2 months ago, so we had to stop and rest a few times. Bill definitely didn't mind that.

As we neared the boat it really started to rain. Boooo! We boarded a 2 story boat which was old but quite nice and headed up the river. The trip took an hour and poured rain the whole way. It was still raining when we reached Kinderdijk, but we all took off to walk to the windmills. The rain did let up, and we really enjoyed seeing the 19 windmills on the canal here. They were built around 1750 to regulate the water level and protect the surrounding fields on reclaimed land. Some were made of wood and others of stone. All seemed to have living quarters on the ground floor. We only had an hour and a half here, but we had time for a warming cup of coffee and for me to buy a windmill t-shirt. There were a few other boats and many buses dumping off tourists, so it was fairly crowded even in the misty weather. I did seem a few neat birds which I will have to identify when I get home.

On the trip home, the sun came out and we were able to be on the open deck to take photos. The river is a main mode of transportation of goods south, so it is mainly an industrial area with some homes mixed in. There was a huge flock of sheep in one area along the bank.

We arrived back in Rotterdam at 5:30 without rain which was good since we had the long walk back to the hotel. Holger's back was causing him a bit of pain since he had favored it while his knee was injured. We went to dinner at the Western Pavilion just down the street from the hotel where we had eaten Wednesday night. I had a wonderful bowl of cream of onion soup. I know that sounds awful, but it was great. I also had a decent burger and mainly ate the burger. The other 3 had steaks with salad and fries. We were all rather wet, cold, and tired so the stop was a good one.

Back at the hotel Bill had a scotch, Puhls had beer, and I had some coffee. Sergi, the night manager whom I had talked to last night (he just graduated college, been doing an internship for a consulting firm, and interviewed yesterday for a permanent job) found out today that he had been hired, so he was on cloud nine.

The folks here at the hotel could not be nicer or more helpful!!!! Tomorrow Holger is driving us all to Amsterdam for a day of sightseeing!

Day 5 - Saturday 4/21/12

The alarm went off at 7 and we met Puhls downstairs for the usual breakfast buffet at 8. After we ate and got our act together we left in Puhls car for Amsterdam. Before we left Rotterdam we dropped Bill off at the train station to find a currency exchange. We were running out of Euros and it has been much harder to change money this trip. In Holland banks no longer change money, and the ATMS now require a credit card with a chip in it that the US doesn't issue. So now it is only currency exchange kiosks where one can change money, and most of those are at train stations and airports. Bill came back in 15 minutes to say the currency exchange at the train station wouldn't open until 10am, so we headed on to Amsterdam.

It was cold and partly sunny. Traffic wasn't too bad. On the way (on the freeway) we saw lots of sheep and a couple of pairs of Egyptian geese. There were also lots of modern windmills. Holland now gets 9% of its power from wind. We did see one old windmill right next to a tall modern one. We made it to Amsterdam in about 40 minutes. Luckily Holger was driving and with the help of the GPS we found a street parking spot near most things we wanted to see. One uses a credit card or money in a machine at corners to pay for and print a receipt that one puts on the dashboard. Parking is very expensive in Amsterdam - 30 euros ($40) for all day street parking. But we had a good spot, and the machine took Bill's credit card, so we headed out at 10:45.

First we went to Anne Frank's house. We just saw it from the outside as the line to go in was huge and the wait had to be a couple of hours. The line stayed that way for hours. Next to Anne Frank's house was a beautiful old church called Westerkerk. So we took photos of the house and church and moved on.

We bought tickets for a one hour canal cruise (of which there are many) and boarded at 11:30. Now it started to rain heavily, but we enjoyed the cruise anyway. I could open the window next to my seat and got lots of neat photos.

Things we saw: lots of houseboats along the canals, locks to keep out salt water when the tide comes in, neat bridges including Magere Bridge (the skinny bridge), the mayor of Amsterdam's house, the old train station, Montelbahn Tower, house of the two sisters (2 identical caps on top), the modernistic new film museum on the outer harbor, old beautiful homes, a group of old homes leaning into each other called the dancing houses, The Rembrandt house. By the time the tour ended, it had stopped raining.

We walked a couple of blocks to the Magna Plaza shopping center to use the toilets - 75cents each. Then we walked across the street to Dam Square between the Royal Palace (17the century) and Nieuwe Kerk (new church) built in the late 14th century.

There was a festival going on in the square - lots of rides, food booths, and tons of people. Puhls chose a lunch booth and ordered us "curry wurst". This booth had 2 large round charcoal pits and many men were cooking a variety of wurst. Curry wurst is a long cooked wurst put through a special grinder resulting in dime sized chunks. Then a curry ketchup sauce (a real product) is poured over it and served with a roll. A rather interesting lunch.

When we headed across the square to a hotel to find a currency exchange, Bill spied one, and we exchanged enough money to last us the rest of the trip, I hope. To celebrate I bought a plate of poffitjes (small pancakes - same as in Delft) from a fair vendor. We were about toured out and had seen most of what was important to us, so we walked back to the car. Barbara and I popped into a souvenir shop where I got Mandy a surprise!

Then it was on the road back to Rotterdam. On the way we saw one field of red tulips. We arrived back at 3:30, had a beer in the hotel, and then went to rest. At 5:30 we walked to the corner to Ari's for dinner. It was asparagus night, and I had a bowl of wonderful, fresh white asparagus soup. I also had a small steak, baked potato, and a good salad. Bill had the special - ribs. Barbara had a good veggie lasagna and Holger got the veal cutlet. We went outside to have coffee and so the Puhls could have a cigarette and their after dinner drink called Jenever (a schnapps). I ordered my coffee and asparagus ice cream. The waiter came out and said the ice cream was not ready yet (he may have been pulling my leg when he talked about the specials of the day!), but he promised a good surprise for dessert along with my coffee. He returned with a beautiful plate containing a poached pear, lots of fresh whipped cream, cinnamon ice cream with crushed walnuts and caramel sauce as a plate garnish. We all shared, and it was truly good. I love cinnamon ice cream, and I usually never see it. We lingered over my coffee and their Jenever and then walked back to the hotel. It was 8:30, so we called it a night.

I went to the room to write this long missive and then came down to type it on the hotel keyboard. Tapping this much on the pad is not fun and would have taken all night. We are meeting for breakfast at 7:30 to get an early start for Keukenhof Gardens to see the tulips and the surrounding fields. Hopefully we will have decent weather, although there is a 60% change of rain.

Day 6 - Sunday 4/22/12

It was an incredible day - just what I came to Holland for. We actually got sun today even though it was still cool. We met Puhls for the breakfast buffet at 7:30 and left for at 8:30. Holger drove his car but his GPS got us lost a few times. We made it to the Garden before 9:30. We got a great parking spot near the back entrance since we were early. On the way there we saw lots of colorful tulip/hyacinth/daffodil fields. I got some pretty good photos even from the moving car.

Keukenhof Garden has to be on the list of places to see before one dies. It is 79 acres of incredibly beautiful gardens with lots of walkways and trees. I truly am at a loss for words to describe all the glorious beds of flowers. I never knew there was the huge variety of tulips/daffodils/hyacinths. There were beds of all one color with different kinds of flowers. There were very structured beds and very mixed beds. There was a good sized lake plus other water features.

The first hour we were there was not very crowded, but then the hordes came. This is the busiest weekend of the 2-month season. The crowds were large but mostly manageable.

There are approximately 11 areas that run seamlessly into each other. In many areas is a restaurant/toilet/souvenir complex. At the main entrance there was an old-time organ wagon with a complex wood relief side with wooden moving figures.

An historic garden was interesting and informative. Each area had something unique - a working windmill, a farm animal petting zoo/children's play area, a view of flower fields. It was almost too much to absorb.

We got a 'small lunch' from a kiosk that Puhls chose - warme beenham. I was expecting nothing from the ham sandwich everyone got, but it was delicious - fresh bread, yummy mustard/mayo sauce, and some really good shaved ham. Sitting down to eat was a blessing. There seemed to be plentiful seating throughout the gardens.

Then it was on to the greenhouse. That was a huge spectacular array of all kinds of bulb plants of a million varieties including amaryllis, jonquils, daffodils, tulips I had never seen before. It was all jaw-dropping amazing. Have I used enough superlatives yet?

More walking to the orchid building. All the buildings seem modern and full of light. Orchids of every color, size, shape were on display. By then we had been walking for 4 hours, and Holger's knee was bothering him, and we were all tired and very much overwhelmed. This place was way above any garden I have ever seen in both sheer size and beauty.

After the drive back to Rotterdam (Bill slept the whole way), we dumped our stuff at the hotel and went for coffee and cake at Western Pavilion on the corner. Puhls and I got chocolate mousse cake that was to die for, and Bill got carrot cake. We came back to the hotel at 4:30 and rested until we left for dinner.

Holger really liked the looks of the hamburger I had at Western Pavilion the other night, so we decided to go back to Western Pavilion. The food is good and much cheaper than any place around except Ari's. Holger and Barbara both had hamburgers and fries. Bill got the steak 'bonne femme', a filet with a vegetable sauce along with a salad and fries. I got the leek soup which was thinner than other soups I have had on this trip, but still quite tasty. I also had to try the "bitterballen". It was on Ari's menu, too, and is supposedly a typical Dutch snack. I asked the waitress what they were, and she tried really hard to explain. I ordered them anyway, and they were quite good. According to Wikipedia it is Bitterballen (plural of 'bitterbal') are a savory Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef (minced or chopped), beef broth, flour and butter for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper. This is also called ragout. Some recipes also include nutmeg and/or curry powder. The ingredients are combined and cooked, then refrigerated so the mixture can firm up. Once firm, the filling is then rolled into balls roughly 3 cm in diameter, and battered in a breadcrumb, milk and egg mixture and deep-fried. They are typically served with a ramekin or small bowl of mustard for dipping."

I shared with the others, and they liked them as much as I did. We had a walk around the block before coming back to the hotel lounge for beers for Puhls, coffee for me, and a scotch for Bill. We chatted until 9:30, and then we all went to bed.

It was an amazing day, and I will post photos as soon as I get home and get them processed. We are meeting Puhls for breakfast tomorrow at 8am before they head back to Bremen. We are not sure what we will do tomorrow. Bill is seriously considering going back to Keukenhof Garden. We covered a lot of ground today, but 79 acres is a lot to see.

Day 7 - Monday 4/23/12

It was a great last day in Holland. We were up at 7:30 and met Puhls at 8 for the hotel breakfast buffet. They were already there, and as we went to sit down, Tony came out with an amazingly orange, amazingly tacky hat with orange tulips on it. It still had the tag on, and had gotten it for me because I was "just a wonderful, enthusiastic tourist to Holland". He was so pleased to give it to me, and I was really tickled to receive it. Pictures were taken of me in the hat and Tony, and the few other guests at breakfast just smiled at the crazy American. I wore it all through breakfast. Orange is the color of the Netherlands (think William of Orange) and the Queen's celebration is April 30th every year - a huge national party, so I am sure these kinds of things are sold all over. It was great fun, and I was proud to wear the hat.

Puhls left at 9. We were sad to part, but we all agreed it was a great weekend except for the cold and rain. Bill decided it would be fun to go back to Keukenhof Garden today to see some of what we missed yesterday. We left at 10:15 and were in the park at 11:15. It wasn't as crowded as yesterday, and even though it rained a few times, it was mostly sunny.

First we went to the windmill to buy tickets for the boat ride on the canals through the flower fields. The next one left at 1:30, so we signed up. We both climbed to the viewing platform on the windmill where I took photos of the fields. Bill got a freshly made stoopwafel. This one was larger than the normal cookies we have seen sold. The girl heated up the very thin waffles, smeared honey syrup on them and pressed them together. Pure sugar, but Bill enjoyed it.

We headed to the Orange Nassau Pavillion, one of 11 or so large buildings scattered around the 79 acre park to see the Chopin display since this year's honored country is Poland. It was raining a bit, so we went inside to see the daffodil display. I never imagined there were so very many varieties of daffodils. Outside the pavilion was a large headshot of Chopin done in flowers. It was impressive. We walked down the Walk of Fame where there are small beds of tulips named after famous people. Our favorites were Mickey Mouse (his bed was in the shape of mouse ears) and Vladamir Putin. We wandered around paths we had not taken yesterday and grabbed a "warm beenham"sandwich like we had yesterday.

Then it was time to line up for the canal boat ride. This was in an open, shallow boat holding about 40 people packed in tightly. We got seats in the center at the front. We first passed the hyacinth fields and the scent was heavenly. The fields were amazing in color and fragrance. The cruise lasted about 45 minutes, and I got some beautiful shots.

After we disembarked, we went through the small Japanese garden. Then Bill went to see the orchids again while I went to the souvenir shop and finished much of my Xmas shopping. We wandered down more paths we had not seen yesterday, and it all was just as jaw-dropping as yesterday. We left about 3pm.

Traffic was heavy on the way home, and we stopped for gas, so we didn't get back to the hotel until 4:30. Tony was still here, thank goodness, because I wanted to thank him again for his hospitality and the hat. We chatted for a bit about our families, our vacation here, while Bill went to the room. Tony asked if Bill drank liquor, and when I said yes, he said he had a small gift for Bill. We came down a bit later, and Tony poured us all a small glass of orange bitter. It was an interesting drink. He then left with his girlfriend after exchanged pleasant farewells.

Bill wanted spaghetti for dinner, so we went around the corner to Spaghetatta. It was really quite nice and inexpensive. Bill got his spaghetti carbonara, and I had gnocchi with spinach, mushrooms, cream, and parmesan. Both were excellent. We also shared a salad. It seems the salads here are much more interesting (various greens and great dressings) than we have in the US.

Now we are back at the hotel packing. I will send the email and head to bed since we are getting up at 4:30 for the 45 minute drive to Amsterdam airport to hopefully catch the 9:15 flight to Newark. There are 6 seats open in business first and overbooked by 2 in coach, so keep your fingers crossed. The loads look even worse the rest of the week.