We awoke at around 7am to 1 degree temperatures in this beautiful city and set out to find Winkel, the cafe that Michele and Teresa had eaten in on a previous visit in 2014. The streets were dimly lit and empty, since the sun really doesn’t rise until around 9am, and people in the European Winter are usually yet to get out of bed. After Michele’s phone took us on a big detour we found Winkel and enjoyed a breakfast of croissant, toasted sandwich and omelette (Scott had decided to remain resting at the hotel).

After breakfast it was time to find a hair salon! We met up with Scott and walked the increasingly busy streets, holding our breath as we passed the various “coffee shops” until we found a place that would cater for our needs. Amsterdam is packed with Europeans shopping at this time of year because of the holiday season. Michele got an appointment within half an hour so she stayed in town while Teresa and Irene walked back to the hotel to check out (with Teresa managing to find a blow dry on the way back).

After becoming salon ready, Michele met Irene and Teresa back at the hotel bar where we enjoyed expresso martinis and veal and prawn croquettes. Once again we had a cheeky but very attentive bartender called Richard. Scott had met Selenka and another one of his friends, Kristie, for lunch so we were meeting him afterwards for the drive back to Frankfurt. We had checked out of our room prior to lunch but were reluctant to leave. The Ambassade is a highly recommended hotel, perfectly situated, friendly and comfortable. Scott has vowed to only stay here in the future.

We broke up our drive back with a stop in a McDonald’s. It’s always interesting to check out the menu in a different country….not much difference really. Scott tried to make up for lost time by speeding up on the autobahn, but road works along the way slowed cars down to 120km/hr and even 80km/hr (crawling!).

Scott dropped us back near our hotel after 9pm and we looked forward to getting into our room and resting. The two men on the front desk smirked at us as we walked into the lift. At the room Teresa tried her key…..it didn’t work…..Irene tried her key……it didn’t work……Michele tried her key…..no avail. Teresa went back downstairs to find out that she can’t count, she had booked for 6 nights when we were really in there for 7 (cue eye roll). Luckily the hotel staff had anticipated this and had left our luggage in our room and just reserved us another night. Thanks Excelsior!

We finally retired to our room for our last night. Tomorrow Helsinki. Guten Nacht!