Originally written February 2020
I arrived in Amsterdam at 7:20 pm but didn’t get to my accommodation until 10 pm. Yes, aside from having a very poor sense of direction, none of the words around me seemed to make sense. I think the only familiar words I saw at the airport were Exit and Baggage, so I simply followed the arrows. 
The good thing about the Dutch is that they can easily switch from Dutch to English, so asking for directions wasn’t difficult. I managed to get out of the airport alright, and the bus driver dropped me at the tram station and told me to take Tram 14.
I waited at the first tram stop I found for 20 miserable minutes. Amsterdam is surrounded by canals, it was raining, the wind was ghastly and the temperature was about 5 degrees. The stop had a roof, but there was nowhere to hide from the wet, freezing wind.
Two trams stopped, but neither was number 14. I tried to talk to the drivers, but the doors were already closed.
Then I saw a tram approaching from the other side of the road.
Number 14!
I moved so quickly I was already across the road before it reached the stop. 
That was when I discovered there was actually a customer service person in the last carriage who could answer questions and issue tickets.
I told her where I was going and asked if she could tell me when it was time to get off. But just to be sure, I also consulted Siri.
When Siri indicated that I was only five minutes away from my destination, I asked the customer service lady if I should get off at the next stop.
She said no.
Now, you have to understand that Siri is my constant driving companion back home. She may be clueless sometimes, but I’d say she’s about 80% reliable.
So naturally, I trusted my old pal Siri.
Except Siri was in walking mode.
At least I now know that five minutes by tram is approximately 45 minutes walking through freezing Amsterdam rain.
The next morning I woke up determined to make the most of Amsterdam.
I thought I was very clever because I had managed to book an Anne Frank tour at the last minute. Most people had told me it was almost impossible to get tickets to Anne Frank House without booking well in advance.
So I congratulated myself. 
I left my accommodation early to allow plenty of time for the things I am particularly good at: getting lost and asking people for directions.
In fact, I arrived at Anne Frank House 30 minutes early.
The queue was already long, so I checked my booking confirmation to see exactly where my group was supposed to meet.
Surprise, surprise.
I wasn’t that clever after all.
I had booked an Anne Frank walking tour. The meeting place wasn’t Anne Frank House—it was near the Jewish Historical Museum, about four kilometres away.
By the time I discovered this, it was already 10:16 am.
The tour started at 10:30.
I rang the tour company and they gave me the guide’s mobile number. Eventually the guide told me to proceed to Hollandsche Schouwburg, the former theatre that later became a deportation assembly point for Jewish people during the Nazi occupation.
Of course, I arrived late.
There were groups coming and going and I had absolutely no idea which one was mine.
But there was a consolation.
It was warm inside.
And the woman at the information desk was incredibly kind. She showed me around and gave me what felt like my own private history lesson. Perhaps she realised I was genuinely interested because I kept asking questions.
Sometimes getting lost gives you something you weren’t looking for.
Thankfully, Henk—a Dutch backpacker who had worked for me when he was travelling around Australia—took a day off work and travelled about two hours by train just to catch up with me.
Considering my limited time, we managed to squeeze quite a lot into the rest of the day: a canal cruise, the Royal Palace from the outside because it was already closed, Madame Tussauds from the outside because I decided the entrance fee was too expensive , and finally a walk through Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District.
Before coming here, the only thing I really knew about Amsterdam—apart from tulips—was that there were women standing in windows like merchandise.
Naturally, I had to see it for myself.
I also asked Henk if he could take me to the tulip gardens.
He informed me that I was already pushing my luck.
It was getting late.
Stories Along the Way 