Like most people, I have a list of places I’d like to travel to in this wide world. An African safari has never been on that buckle list. Yet, somehow, on Valentine’s Day, Jason and I found ourselves in route to South Africa. How did this happen? How do you find yourself on the way to Africa without long-term intentions to do so? Here’s the recount of our unanticipated journey.

The company Jason works for bought another company with a facility in Cape Town a year or so ago. Jason needed to go to this Cape Town office, along with some of his coworkers. So, a trip to Cape Town with a safari extension in the not-too-far-away Sabi Sand Game Reserve was offered up to us like a golden lion on a plate. We took it; golden lions are shiny.

When undertaking an expected or unexpected safari, planning is paramount and a little overwhelming. You’ll have to get shot up with vaccines and loaded with malaria pills. The green and khaki items in your closet will multiply faster than leprechauns on St. Paddy’s Day. Despite a preparation to-do list we added lines to on a daily basis in the month leading up to our trip, 104 lines in all, we found ourselves up to 3:00 AM the night before our flight packing and arranging. Yes, we started our trip exhausted and just kept adding layers of fatigue in way of jet lag, overnight flights, early game drives, etc.

South Africa is about as “other side of the world” as you can get. It certainly felt like that when we were voyaging there. Within 11 days of travel, we packed seven flights, over 30 hours in airports, and 53 hours in the air. Crisscrossing 18 time zones messes with your internal clock in a big way. We were fortunate to get a 24-hour respite in Amsterdam both directions. Our day in the Netherlands on our outgoing journey is the focus of this week’s post.

Although we never expected it to be the case, we’ve been to Amsterdam enough times in recent years that it feels familiar. Hence, we thought it would be an excellent place to dodge planes without being drained further, and it was indeed.

We’ve learned from experience that when you are trying to force yourself to stay awake for 27+ hours in an effort to acclimate to a new time zone, museums are a poor choice of activity. Thus, we bypassed the many fantastic museums in Amsterdam and took a train to the town of Utrecht, the fourth-happiest city in the world according to BBC Travel. Utrecht was founded by Romans in AD 47, but it’s a lot livelier than most 1,972-year-olds. We liked its relaxed yet cultured vibe. St. Martin’s Cathedral, tasty fish and chips, and quaint medieval architecture all kept our senses engaged and our eyes open. Before returning to Amsterdam, we climbed to the top of the Domtoren, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands with 465 steps. Both Jason and I became dizzy and had difficulties staying conscious as we spiraled up the stairs of this belfry. In retrospect, maybe it was a poor choice of activity for the severely jet lagged too.

Amsterdam’s canals, oddly enough, seem customary and comfortable to us now. That friendly city, and its accessible neighbors, was the perfect stop on the way to an exotic continent. Next week, I will explore our explorations in Cape Town, the subsequent stop in our global escapades.