Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Checked out of Radisson Blu Falconer in Copenhagen. Internet worked inconsistently during my stay and was annoying in that each day I had to reauthenticate each device. Speed was about 600 down / 300 up when it worked. Metro to Lufthavnen station at Schiphol airport. Bought snacks for the plane at World of Delights Fine Food: blueberry yogurt beverage, chicken caesar sandwich: about $10. On the flight I also received a small bag of pretzels and a cup of water. CPN to AMS via KLM: 1 hour. Tried purchasing a train ticket to Amsterdam Central but the machine would accept neither of the cards I brought. I went to the train ticket window but was told they would not accept my cards, either. Each of my cards lacked a microchip. I got euros at an ATM, then returned to the train ticket window. I received my ticket and found the right track but the sign wasn't clear to me, and the train that had soon arrived in the station left before I could ask someone if it was the right train. It turned out to be the right train, so I had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Train to Amsterdam Central. Stopped briefly at the tourist info office, picked up a few brochures. Found the Park Plaza Victoria pretty easily—it's directly in front of the train station. Slightly too early to check in, so I stored my bag with the concierge and walked down Damrak and got some fries and fresh-squeezed orange juice: 4 euros. Before accepting my cash, the cashier ran my bill through a machine that checks for counterfeit money—weird. This street is much more crowded and much cigarette-smokier than the neighborhoods I left behind in Copenhagen. Fewer blonds, a lot more tourists, a whole lot more bicycles. On my way back to the hotel there was some drama in a side alley. I couldn't see exactly what was happening, but it sounded as though a crazy person was causing a scene. People gathered to watch a few minutes, but nothing more exciting happened, and I returned to the hotel. More waiting in line first for my room key then for my bag. Checked into my room, which is in the modern section of Park Plaza Victoria. The room is very Vdara-Las-Vegasy: deep red carpet, floor to ceiling mirror, rocker light switches that I haven't seen before. Colors: dark brown fake wood, black and gray plastic, beige and textured walls, white ceilings, designer chairs. My room, 417, looks eastward across rooftops and is not a very interesting view. My desk chair is squeaky enough to be annoying. The temperature of the shower water is not consistent—it cycles from colder to hotter then repeats enough to be annoying. The shower drains slower than I expect. I measured the internet included with the room price at 236 down / 244 up, which is miserable. I will need to pay for the internet speed upgrade, I think. Unpacked. Nap. Called the front desk to ask about the internet speed upgrade and discovered that if you sign up with Club Carlson (which I did when I was at Radisson Blu Falconer) I'll receive the internet speed upgrade for free. I gave her my card number and she entered it into the system. My MacBook Air and iPhone still connected only at the slower speed, and I spent perhaps half an hour troubleshooting it before calling the front desk again. This time she connected me with an internet support person and he asked me for my IP addresses, made another change in the system, and said it should be fine in the next 5 minutes and last the rest of my stay. Nice, now I'm getting 1715 down / 486 up. Much better. Nap. Dinner with Neil at Brasserie Harkema: Appetizer: we shared shrimp croquettes. Entree: Neil had a lamb dish, I had a fish dish. Dessert: we shared a tarte tatin with cinnamon ice cream. 67,10 euros (about $83) and left a tip of 4 euros. Neil says tipping is not customary, and if you do then no more than 10% is necessary. Barhopping with Neil along Reguliersdwarsstraat and Nieuwmarket: a drink at Taboo where I met Michael and (Jos?), briefly visited or acknowledged Montmartre and a bunch of other bars, a drink at The Queen's Head. Back to the hotel. Another speed test: 909 down / 388 up. Downloaded and installed Spotflux. Upon launch, I received this notice: "WELCOME TO SPOTFLUX. Please note: We are currently undergoing maintenance. Privacy and Malware Filters are currently offline. They'll be back soon!" Handled an important work issue involving admin credentials reset. Another speed test: 122 down / 463 up. Uploaded photos to Flickr.