What got the best of Marc? An automated ticket machine in Amsterdam.

During the incredibly long flight home to Salt Lake City from Mumbai, India Lindsay and I had a layover in Amsterdam. Schiphol International Airport is an easy place to burn a few hours but we just couldn’t resist heading into the city on the incredibly efficient train system. Having just spent a successful 2 weeks in India I was feeling like a very savvy traveler. Basically if you can survive your way through India you can tackle any travel experience (that is what all the travel guides will tell you). During our trek through India we had very few “travel flops.” However, the automated ticket machines in Amsterdam totally got the best of me. We walked up to the ticket machines with total confidence and expected to be on a train heading into “A-Dam” within minutes. However after 15 minutes, countless swear words and a numerous fits we were still standing at the ticket machine while I tried putting in my credit card over and over. Lindsay was getting a kick out of the whole thing but I was about to loose it. We finally figured out that these particular machines only took European credit cards (the ones with pin numbers) and that if you didn’t have one of these you needed to purchase your ticket at the counter. I walked up to the counter and within seconds had tickets in my hand and was on the train. We spent the rest of the morning laughing about how this simple machine had gotten the best of me after spending 2 weeks trekking through one of the most chaotic and complicated countries in the world. :)


Marc enjoying Amsterdam a few minutes after the "unpleasantness" at the airport. :)