Railbookers put me in the Amstel Hotel overnight before my flight to Istanbul. Of all the hotels that I have been in so far, this one was the best in terms of service and amenities; I think it was also the most expensive per night. It’s on the Binnenamstel near the Singelgracht in a beautiful homey neighborhood of boutiques, bars and cafes. I was able to get to the hotel from Centraal by two tram rides; there was no need to buy a ticket in advance since you could just tap your wifi enabled credit card on the sensor to board the train and again to check out of the train. When I looked at my online charges, I had been debited the cost of a single one hour train ticket. On my next visit to Amsterdam, I will definitely look for accommodations away from the city center in a real neighborhood like this one.  

My flight to Istanbul was due to leave around noon on the 22nd. The Amstel had a taxi ready to take me to the airport and I arrived in plenty of time check in and navigate Security. I decided that I’d risk checking my bag this time; I had toiletries, meds and money in my backpack, and I thought that losing the luggage of a Business Class passenger would be a big no-no for an airline. Certainly, I was able to move more easily thru the airport without my bag and that eased the stress on my knee. I had been told my departure gate and the location of the airline lounge when I checked in, so I made my way to the lounge to wait. The lounge was crowded, but I hadn’t had breakfast before leaving the hotel; the free coffee and fruit in the lounge were welcome. I stayed in the lounge long enough to eat and cool down, then walked to my departure gate. The lounge was near Gate E but my flight was leaving from Gate G; it was a long ~20 minute walk with my knee complaining all the while. Flight time to Istanbul from Amsterdam is a little over two hours. I thought about the fact that I could have flown from Vienna to Istanbul in a shorter amount of time, if I’d understood the Star Alliance RTW flight planning app better when I booked, but then I would not have had the experience of the Nightjet train.

The new Istanbul airport is really big; that’s not surprising given the number of airlines and destinations it serves in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. I had a long walk, even with moving walkways, to get to the main terminal, passport control and baggage pickup. Travel tip: you never know how long you’ll have to wait in a queue at passport control and customs so it’s best to hit a restroom before getting in line. Since first and business class deplanes before everyone else, all the lines were short ones. I was out of passport control and customs quickly. I just had to pick up my bag and go to the right location for a ride that I’d booked through the hotel. Getting to the right place from the customs exit was another long walk for me – closing Apple watch exercise/move rings in airports is my new norm. Door 14 was the last door of the terminal and I was happy to go outside to find my ride. I’d hurried to get to the door since the email instructions I’d received cautioned that you had to be at the pickup point by 1.5 hrs after the plane landed or call if you were delayed – given the size of the Istanbul airport, the usual holdups and lines in passport and customs control, I suspect a lot of people either miss their ride or have to call to say that they are held up somewhere along the process. My driver was late but I was content to sit outside – it was warmer and sunnier than in Amsterdam. The driver appeared after about 15-20 minutes of waiting and drove me into Istanbul and to the hotel. The airport is about a 45 minute drive from the city so it was dark by the time we arrived at the Sultania Hotel. I couldn’t see much of Istanbul though I could tell that the streets were busy, sinuous and narrow. Dinner was at the hotel restaurant, Olive, complete with live music.