It's all wrong, but it's all right.
John was looking outside the window of the airplane, wishing he had chosen a seat at the aisle. He wondered to himself why it was that he always wanted the window seat. The view is nice, but after half an hour tops, the novelty wears off pretty quickly and a few hours later the longing for some extra leg space seems to outweigh the view by far.
He was a little annoyed to be tucked away on the side of the plane, unable to see and participate with what was going on in the cabin.
Phil however was leaning over a little to the side to bridge the space of the aisle between him and the lady he had been chatting to for the last three hours.
With a sigh Johnathan looked out the window, seeing nothing but a whole lot of black.
It was only a week ago that they booked this flight. The trip was far from planned, it just kind of happened. It was often that Phil and John hung out together during their off time in between fishing seasons. They shared the same interests and had been friends for what it seemed a lifetime.
Johnathan was at Phil's place doing something close to nothing, looking up all the places he had been to or was connected with on Google Earth.
He found his hometown and Phil's place. He looked up the strip in Vegas and the ranch of his brother in Indiana. When he looked up 'Dutch Harbor' he expected to see some ships and the familiar mountains of Unalaska.
He didn't expect to find a hotel come up on the search results. Apparently there was a hotel called 'Dutch Harbor'.
He checked the website of the hotel and liked the sight of it. The rooms seemed to be spacious and luxurious and the city seemed to breathe all the wrong rights.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amsterdam Airport. Local time is 20.30 and the temperature is 17C.
For your safety and comfort, we ask that you please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the Captain turns off the Fasten Seat Belt sign.
Please check around your seat for any personal belongings you may have brought onboard with you and please use caution when opening the overhead bins, as heavy articles may have shifted around during the flight.
If you require deplaning assistance, please remain in your seat until all other passengers have deplaned. One of our crew members will then be pleased to assist you.
We remind you to please wait until inside the terminal to use any electronic devices. Smoking is only allowed outside the airport or in the designated areas.
On behalf of KLM Airlines and the entire crew, I'd like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future. Have a nice stay!"
After a smooth landing the plane taxied it's way to the gate. The cabin doors opened and people were gathering their stuff. Phil and John were the first ones to get off the airplane.
The long flight had knackered both men and without a lot of words they followed the signs to the convertor belt to reclaim their luggage.
The two men continued walking with their duffle bags on their shoulders towards the passport check. The last thing between them and what was hopefully going to be a good time.
Honestly, they didn't have a clue what to expect of this trip, but they were both convinced it was going to be one of those trips that would be spoken of after years to come.
They were now in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For such a little country in Europe, The Netherlands had built quite a reputation for itself. A reputation that Johnathan and Phil could both relate to. Like themselves, the Dutch have always been challenging the water and the dangers of the sea. Hell, they built half their country beneath sea level.
All throughout history the Dutch have proven themselves to be rebellious and strong minded.
Between 1595 and 1602 The United East-Indian Company (VOC) contained 65 ships that sailed out to Asia to run the pepper trade that they had taken over from the Portuguese.
In 1652 Maarten Tromp, the fleet commander, picked a war at sea with the English because he refused to salute the English ships. During the German occupation in World War II, the resistance, an underground organization was very strong and active even though the Dutch suffered immensely.
Nowadays the Dutch still held their own within the European Union. Their liberal attitude towards drugs and prostitution was something unique within Europe and often a thorn in the eye of other countries.
For Phil and Johnathan those were the right wrongs to book a flight and go out on an old fashioned 'lets get wasted' trip together.
Phil and Johnathan made it outside the airport. Before they hauled a taxi, they first fulfilled their much challenged nicotine addiction.
The taxi took them to this average sized hotel where they headed for the reception.
'Captain Harris and Captain Hillstrand I presume?' the receptionist asked.
Both men nodded in agreement.
'Welkom to Dutch Harbor' she couldn't suppress a little chuckle in her voice and her eyes twinkled as she said it. 'We have been expecting you. I have taken the liberty to complimentary upgrade your rooms to the penthouse suite, this contains a large living room, two bedrooms with separate bathroom facilities. If you allow me I will take you up to your room, you can leave your luggage here and I will have someone take it up for you.'
'That's alright, we got it.'
'As you wish gentlemen, please follow me' she said as she walked off towards the elevator.
Johnathan and Phil followed her up to their suite. No word of a lie, it was absolutely gorgeous.
The living room had all the facilities to make you feel right at home. A big television screen, ceiling lights that could be dimmed as pleased and the sofa's were huge and looked very comfortable. The windows offered a stunning view over the city.
The bedrooms also were equipped with a television screen and had a bathroom connected. It would be no problem to feel comfortable for the next 1,5 weeks of their stay.
While she showed them around, she explained that the reception was manned 24 hours a day and if there were any requests or questions they shouldn't hesitate to contact them.
'Right gentlemen, I will leave you to it. If there are any questions, just phone the reception.' With that said she smiled at them and turned around towards to door to exit the room.
Johnathan looked at her, she was wearing a black skirt just above the knee, a black blazer over her black blouse. It was stylish, suitable for her function. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, some strays of hair had fought their way out of the band that should of kept her hair together.
'Hey Cheeks!' Johnathan said.
She turned around looking at him with a questionable frown.
'You never told us your name, but Cheeks seems to do the trick just fine' he said with a boyish grin on his face.
Phil laughed 'don't bother telling us your name now dear, because from now on, it will just be Cheeks'.
'Where do we go to have a couple of quiet drinks, exploring the city can wait till tomorrow.'
She looked at them and sized them up. She had seen them on the Discovery show, she knew about their jobs and their bad boy reputation. There was no real difference seeing them now in real life. Apparently what you see is what you get.
'Turn into the little alley across the street' she pointed it out through the window. 'At the end of it you will find a bar called 'Sharky's Lounge and Liquors' it's a bit of a rough place, they aren't very keen on strangers, but I figure you two will have no problem fitting right in. If there are any problems, just say Dutch send you there.'
She said goodbye, wished the captains a nice evening and left the room.
Johnathan and Phil were both knackered. As their jobs kept them up for days on a row, they were used to the feeling. To them it was a kind of tiredness that didn't require sleeping, however being on holiday they allowed it to slow them right down. By the time they were ready to go out it was a couple of hours later. They walked passed the reception to see Cheeks wasn't at her place. Instead this young guy with a boy band-like look was manning the desk. When Phil and Johnathan walked past he smiled at them and wished the captains a good night out.