Once the flights were booked, and the visa secured, the adventure was on the horizon. Nothing but non-stop traveling for 14 days lay ahead.

Our first leg of the adventure was from Detroit to Amsterdam. Driving to the airport with my suitcase and backpack I was filled with anxiety. “What if we miss our flights, what if they lose my luggage, what if, what if, what if,” were the thoughts that plagued my mind. All of which were unwarranted.

Sree and I arrived at DTW, checked our bags in, and said goodbye to his parents. Once the goodbyes had been said, we walked through airport security with the world in front of us. Waiting at the gate we made out final social media posts and waited with unbounded anticipation for the Boeing 747 that would take us across the pond.

Boarding the plane with my grey neck pillow(the neck pillow wouldn’t survive the trip) and blue backpack(which basically contained my life), we meandered our way to our seats and got comfortable. The pilot made his opening remarks, which I ignored, and we watched our pre-flight safety video(hoping to whatever God that exists that we never have to take the precautions that were instructed).

Lifting off of the the tarmac, I immediately plugged in. Listening to Courtney Barnett and playing solitaire-this endeavor occupied me for just about half of the flight. The second half was spent eating the always tasty airline food(what’s the deal with it anyway?), and watching Trainwreck as well as Mad Max: Fury Road.

The plane ride was 7 hours long, and at 7 A.M. local time, we landed in Amsterdam. Contrary to what people usually do in Amsterdam, we did not smoke dope. Instead, we searched for a place to drink(it did not take long).

After much wondering about the airport we found a quaint restaurant named: A taste of the Lowlands. Walking in I asked the waiter: “Do you guys serve beer this early?”

To which the waiter retorted: “Yeah, why not?”

The next course of action was deciding on the beer. Me, being the ignorant American that I am and being from Michigan (the home of the micro brew) asked: “What do you recommend?”

To which the waiter answered: “The tall one.”

A tall pint of Heineken it was then, with a buttered croissant for breakfast. Sree and I regaled in our miniature feast and happily drank our beers, toasting our adventures to come.

Finished, and a little buzzed, we searched for a place to have a quick nap. Low and behold we chose the one spot in the Amsterdam airport that was under construction. With the sound of high powered saws and hammers, we slept, well one of us did.

Once Sree woke up we went back to the same place we had breakfast and ate lunch. Heinekens and another choice of food was the course of action.

At noon, we went to the gate of our flight that would take us to Delhi. After standing in a long queue, and probably annoying the people in front and behind us, we boarded the plane, but not without the attendants pointing out the Dutch origin of my last name.

Once again, we sat in our seats and laid back as our plane lifted off the tarmac and rocketed to 15,000 feet. I fell asleep knowing that when I woke up I would be halfway across the world. No longer did I feel anxious, instead I felt the thrill of the unknown, the thrill of adventure.

Signed,

A Wandering WILB