Amsterdam to Edinburgh

So, the party's over!!! The tour has finished and now we move on again.

There  were two transfers to the airport today and I was lucky that I could catch the second one which arrived at Schiphol airport at 10am, in time for my 12.15 flight to Edinburgh.

Amsterdam to Edinburgh

BTW, the origin of the name of the airport is interesting!!! The airport is actually over 3 metres below sea level and there are a a few theories as to what its name means.....
This one is from 6 things you should know about Schiphol Airport

Schiphol literally means “Ship Hole”. There is, as with most place names in the Netherlands, some history is involved.
The name “Scipholl” already appeared in 1447. It can mean different things. The area around Schiphol is referred to in most cases. One theory is that ships could go here in emergencies, as a safe haven: that this area is a “ship hall” which then later would have mutated to Schiphol. Another theory is quite the opposite: ships would sink here at a high rate, and it is therefore a Schiphol, where hol refers to an old Dutch word for graf (grave) – so Schiphol then means “ship grave”. Related to this is a third theory that says the area w as a scheeps-hel, a “ship hell”, where many naval disasters happened.

 Anyway, I survived the vagaries of checking in for International flights ok. I learnt my lesson last time I was at Edinburgh airport when I lost my jar of Vegemite!!!! So I made sure it was in my packed case. I thought I  wouldn't even be able to take my water on board but they let that through no worries.

The flight was easy... smooth and quick. Only a bit over an hour. The plane was absolutely full, but I decided to go against my usual practice of booking an aisle seat and booked a window seat, and it was great. Could watch out the window the whole way. Although, much of the journey was over the water. I was wishing I could've used my Google Maps to show where we were.

My  plane

Schiphol Airport

Taking off from Amsterdam.. showing the water

Got through Customs in Edinburgh no probs and walked the long journey to where the Hire Cars were processed. This time my travel agent had booked a car with Europcar. Not sure that I would be asking her to do that again next time... First of all there was at least a half hour wait to see the person at the desk.... Then they said "Oh sorry, the cars aren't quite ready yet" So there was another wait. In the meantime, this very arrogant and condescending man tried to bully me into taking the extra insurance, which I had been advised not to take. Then he tried to fob me off with a very small car (Fiat 500), with the sweetener being they would give me an extra tank of petrol... No thanks!!! I was hanging out for what I had booked... which was a medium 4 door car.  Eventually he almost threw the keys at me and told me where my car was to be found. When I got there, I nearly fell through the floor, because it was a big people mover van.... I was getting a bit upset by this stage, and, as always happens to me when I hire a car, the rain was beginning to bucket down.  Anyway, this nice lady in the Europcar car lot took pity on me and found that he had quoted the wrong lot number and actually my car was there... it was just in another spot!

Nice little red Peugeot - Hey hey Paula!!! Just like yours!

So, anyway, I spent the next hour or so in that car park just trying to work everything out. First thing that stumped was how to take off the handbrake. Next thing that took heaps of time was how to make my music come through the audio system. I paired the phone pretty quickly, but it took a while to work out how to make the music happen. After half and hour or so, I went back into their little shed and a lovely lady came out and together we worked it all out..... So, there were some nice people in Europcar, but my bad experience at the beginning has put me off them completely!

So, after all that taradiddle, it was time to move off. Of course I had carefully packed the gadgets that held my phone and Google Maps, so I went back to my trusty Gaby Garmin and she got me to my hotel very promptly and easily. Yay for Gaby... I still love you Gaby!!! 💗
The car is a manual, and I love driving manuals, but I just had to re-adjust a bit as I now have an automatic at home, and my last car in the UK was automatic.... Just  have to remember to change those gears!!!!

And my hotel is just lovely... very old, but very lovely.
It was recommended to me by friends of Tia  - Margaret and Alistair - a Scottish couple who live in Perth and always stay here when they return to Scotland. Great choice guys!!!

Hawes Inn

History and connection to R.L Stevenson

And just outside the front door are the three bridges that cross the Firth of Forth

Bridges across the Firth of Forth

Two Bridges across the Firth of Forth

Bridges across the Firth of Forth

And it' still  a ferry terminal...

Place where the ferries come in....

 Not sure about all those trains that actually go past this inn at regular intervals. But train noises have never bothered me too much. After all my Dad's dad was a Station Master and trains are in our blood!

It feels good to be back in Scotland. Nice little village feel about South Queensferry. When I arrived and settled in, I had to find somewhere to top up my O2 sim card for the UK as it would run out tomorrow. Someone suggested you can do it at Tesco's (big supermarket chain), so I googled the nearest Tesco's ( as you do) and found it was only 7 mins away. So, set sail for there and now I have that sorted and I've topped up also my Weet-a-bix so I'm ready to rock and roll in Scotland, starting tomorrow.

The next part of Wattle Wanderings is about to take shape.