There’s waking up on a ferry… and then there’s waking up on a ferry when you’ve splurged on a proper cabin. I opened my eyes slowly, stretched across a bed that didn’t fold out of a wall, and thought, “Yes. This is the version of me I aspire to be.” For a blissful moment, I forgot I was somewhere in the middle of the North Sea. Then the gentle hum of the engines reminded me: I’m on a boat. I’m heading to the Netherlands. And I won’t see home again for four weeks.

⏰ Morning at Sea

The upgraded cabin made everything feel cinematic. I padded over to the window expecting a glorious sunrise… and instead found fog thick enough to hide an entire continent. But honestly? From my fancy cabin, even the fog looked like atmospheric mood lighting.

I took a moment to enjoy the novelty of having actual floor space — enough to do a full spin without hitting anything. Luxury.

🍳 Breakfast Buffet: A Second Round of Questionable Decisions

After sleeping like royalty, I floated down to breakfast with the confidence of someone who absolutely got their money’s worth. The buffet welcomed me back with open arms and an alarming number of pastries.

On offer:

• Eggs in every possible configuration
• Bacon with the tensile strength of steel
• Fruit, for people who pretend to be healthy
• Coffee strong enough to power the ship

I ate like someone preparing for a long day of manual labour, not a gentle disembarkation and a 40‑minute drive.

🛳️ Approaching IJmuiden

As we glided toward IJmuiden, the fog finally lifted to reveal the Dutch coastline — flat, tidy, and suspiciously well organised. After the wild drama of Skye, it felt like stepping into a country designed by someone who alphabetises their spice rack.

🚗 Disembarking: The Great Car Shuffle

Disembarking a ferry is a ritual of patience. You sit in your car, engine off, staring at the bumper ahead like you’re in a very slow, very polite parade. Eventually, the ramp lowers, the light turns green, and suddenly — boom — you’re driving on Dutch soil.

And just like that, the European leg of the adventure had officially begun.

🇳🇱 First Impressions of the Netherlands

The Netherlands greeted me with:

• Roads smoother than a freshly ironed bedsheet
• Cycle lanes painted with military precision
• Cyclists who appear silently and instantly, like teleporting ninjas
• Wind turbines spinning gracefully like they’re doing tai chi

It’s a country that radiates calm competence.

☕ First Stop: Coffee

After a night at sea — even a luxurious one — the first order of business was caffeine. Dutch service stations are immaculate, efficient, and stocked with pastries that make you question your loyalty to the ferry buffet.

🚗💨 Off to Amsterdam

With caffeine in my veins and the GPS confidently telling me what to do, I pointed the car toward Amsterdam, my home for the next two days.

The drive from IJmuiden to Amsterdam is short, smooth, and scenic in a “look how flat everything is” kind of way. After the rugged drama of Skye, it felt like someone had ironed the entire landscape.

Rolling into Amsterdam was like entering a different universe:

• Bikes everywhere
• Canals glinting in the sunlight
• Buildings leaning at charming, slightly concerning angles
• The smell of stroopwafels drifting through the air

It’s a city that hits you with beauty, chaos, and charm all at once.

🏨 Settling In for Two Days

After the short drive from IJmuiden, I checked into my place in Amsterdam and immediately felt that surreal travel‑shift hit me. Yesterday I was on Skye, dodging sheep; today I was in Amsterdam, dodging cyclists who move with the speed and precision of trained assassins. The contrast was almost comical — from wild landscapes to elegant canals in less than 24 hours. It feels surreal. One day I was on Skye, dodging sheep; the next I was in Amsterdam, dodging cyclists who move with the speed and precision of trained assassins.

There’s a moment on every long trip when it hits you: I’m really doing this. I’m really away for four weeks. Day Two is exactly when that moment arrives.

🌅 Closing Thoughts

Day Two was a transition — from sea to land, from Scotland to the Netherlands, from the familiar to the wonderfully unknown. A day of fog, ferries, pastries, and the first taste of Dutch roads before diving into Amsterdam for a two‑day city adventure.

Tomorrow, the exploring truly begins.

And yes, the Toblerone survived another day.

Update: A Reality Check in Amsterdam

I’m adding this part from a little café in Amsterdam, where I’d been happily people‑watching and enjoying the cityscape — canals glinting, bikes zipping past, the whole postcard scene. I’d literally just finished writing up Day Two, feeling quite pleased with myself, when the news alerts started popping up on my phone.

An attack. Here. In Amsterdam.

No injuries, thankfully, but someone had deliberately planted an explosive device outside a Jewish school. Reading that while sitting in the middle of the city — a city that felt so calm and charming just moments before — hit me harder than I expected. It was like the world tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Don’t get too comfortable.”

I realised how easy it is to drift through a trip in a little bubble of excitement, novelty, and stroopwafels, assuming everything around you is safe and predictable. But the world doesn’t stop being chaotic just because I’m on an adventure. And sitting there, coffee in hand, watching everyday life carry on around me, I felt that reminder land with a thud.

Amsterdam didn’t freeze. People kept cycling, chatting, laughing. But there was a subtle shift — a quietness under the surface, a shared awareness that something awful had happened nearby. And it made me pause. It made me pay attention. It made me remember that I can’t be aloof to the world just because I’m travelling through it.

The city is still beautiful. The trip is still exciting. But this is now a reminder that the world is messy and unpredictable, and I need to stay present — not just for the fun parts, but for the real ones too.

I am safe.