I slept for about 2 hours and had some catnaps, but Jan didn't sleep at all. We receive the minimalist breakfast of a small yogurt and a dry croissant in a brown paper bag. Quite embarrassing for Premium Economy. Even for Economy, I find it lacking.
We arrive late due to the delayed departure, and we have a short layover in Frankfurt. However, there are ladies holding a sign that says "Amsterdam," and 9 passengers, including us, are taken by bus to the gate for check-in. This is mainly because we are seated at the emergency exit, and they want to ensure that we speak English and are capable of assisting if needed; otherwise, we could have gone directly. Then, we are placed back on the bus and driven literally across the entire airport to the airplane parked in the outer area. We keep thinking each stop will be ours, but the bus continues further. It took us at least 20 minutes to get there.
Apart from us nine, everyone else is already seated, and it's not easy to find space for luggage. Someone apparently found it too difficult and came up with the bright idea to leave their trolley in the aisle. Very convenient. We have seats at the emergency exit and receive extra instructions. In exchange, we have some extra legroom. Our belongings are scattered throughout the bins because we are not allowed to place anything under the seats in front of us. Lufthansa is kind enough to distribute bottles of water and a chocolate on this short 55-minute flight.
We arrive safely at Schiphol, so fortunately our assistance in an emergency was not needed. We wait until almost everyone has disembarked and gather our belongings. Both suitcases arrive on time, and then we try to buy a train ticket online, but NS.nl isn't working. So, we opt for a more expensive one from the machine. The train arrives promptly, and 25 minutes later we are at the station where Peter comes to pick us up. Upon greeting us, he informs us that our dog, who was supposed to stay with them for the last 1.5 weeks, passed away last Sunday. That's a different homecoming than expected.
To avoid having a completely empty house, we pick up the cats from Idse tonight and try to process our grief. We've been on our feet for a long time now, so thankfully sleep comes relatively easily after an unfamiliar evening routine.