Traveling is a funny thing, for me it is the height of joy but it is also challenging. I start off my travel day in a frenzy, furiously driving to the airport, high on the excitement of starting out my vacation. Then about 10 hours later reality hits (at least for trans-Atlantic trips) that I have been surrounded by people in tight spaces with no fresh air and I am on the verge of a total meltdown. Tired, uncomfortable, overwhelmed, lacking a shower and so very ready to get to my destination, stopping yet again for another layover is often the worst part of the whole trip. I am not a shopper of luxury goods or terribly interested in paperback romances. So airport shops hold little drawn for me. After hours of sitting and consuming overly starchy airplane foods sitting in an airport restaurant consuming MORE food I don’t actually need is certainly not the answer. And as much as I love walking, walking a busy airport full of stressed out travelers often stresses me out more.

So imagine my surprise and delight while walking around the Amsterdam with my parents on our last trip overseas I found a small space where I could actually step outside and get some fresh air. Without warning I headed to the door and forced them outside. It may have existed for the purpose of smoking but lucky me there was no one else there. So while it was freezing cold (it was December after all) we sat outside in the sun and watched the planes move around the tarmac for a while. It is the little things, the small breaks back to normalcy that helps relieve the stresses of travel and for me something like this small outdoor rest area made all the difference to me. So thank you Luchthaven Schiphol for creating this space. I will always try to layover through Amsterdam when possible for this reason alone.