Discovering the country on a train

One wouldn’t think of an airport as a tourist destination. Airports are not really associated with chilling out, unwinding, and having fun.
But I discovered one. I went to Amsterdam for a short weekend. It is a city which is a marvel for all kinds of tourists. Amazing museums stand next to coffee-shops and if you’ve been to Amsterdam, you probably know that it's a café where one can smoke a joint. I usually enjoy strolling among some cultural attractions, and so the allure of an airport escaped me entirely. I didn’t plan on spending anytime in it, as let’s think for a second: who in their right mind plans to spend some quality time next to the planes?
In retrospect, I do regret that I didn’t schedule more time into the experience. I should have checked that apart from the usual stuff such as restaurants and shops, they also have express Spa centres. Yes, the proper Spa experiences where one can have a massage, a manicure, and even a facial.
I didn’t even notice them at first. I went straight to the small Japanese restaurant, those quality is impressive not just for an airport but also in comparison to other Japanese restaurants I had the pleasure to visit before. And so, once I proceeded closer to my gate I was quite shocked to realise that the biggest fun laid elsewhere. In front of me were spreading the Spa centres, yes, not just one but two!
I quickly checked my watch. Why not to treat myself to something nice when I had half an hour to spare? I approached one of the two spa centres and looked at the list of treatments and prices. It wasn’t cheap but they had good stuff: total unwind for the plane, a facial, a detox treatment, a foot massage, a back and neck massage, and more. After a small deliberation I decided to try a back and neck massage. I had a small headache and this treatment was more likely to help me to get rid of it.
And wow, it was good. It was so good that when my original fifteen minutes expired I asked for fifteen minutes more. You see, I forgot that the boarding time started and that I was due on the plane.
The reality struck me when they called my name. “Last call for…” I heard my name, with the plane to Manchester almost ready to depart without me. So, I quickly paid for the massage and run towards my gate, which thankfully was only a minute away.
So, I got on the plane, which took off immediately and thus, avoided all the usual queuing and waiting, and my headache was totally gone.