First, welcome to Flyertalk!
Enjoy your first time on a plane & int'ly. You've gotten some good advice by others in the thread, and if the boyfriend is picking you up at the airport (hopefully w/ flowers in hand
) you should be fine.
A few generic tips:
* Make sure your debit card has a 4-digit PIN for ATM withdrawals. 6 digit ones aren't common overseas.
* Contact your credit card companies just before you go over to let them know you'll be in the Netherlands. That way your card won't get declined for 'activitity outside your normal spend pattern'. Most of the restaurants I go to in Amsterdam accept credit cards, but I don't know about other cities.
* At Schiphol & at least in Amsterdam, everyone speaks English very well.
* Schiphol has a lot of shops/restaurants/bars. It's actually one of my favorite airports.
* I normally get $$ from ATM when I'm at Schiphol, but I've got friends that get it from their local bank branch to have some Euros in hand when they land. If you've got an account w/ the bank there's usually no charge for the currency exchange & they go w/ the prevailing daily exchange rate.
* If you've got a laptop w/ you, load Skype on it in case you need to call back to the US. It's free computer-to-computer, and cheap computer-to-landline. I called my godmother from Amsterdam, and think it was only 2cents/minute via Skype.
* Also, make sure you've got a plug adapter so if you need to recharge your laptop you can plug into an outlet & do so. You can buy one for about $10, or ask your boyfriend if he has one. Ask him if you can use his blowdryer to dry your hair; one less thing to bring. Make sure you have enough batteries for your digital camera because you'll probably take a lot of pictures.
* If you have a Kindle, bring it w/ to read on the plane in case you can't sleep (a book if you don't have a Kindle) - or watch some of the lame movies that you're glad you didn't pay $$ to see at the movie theater.
* I've crossed the Atlantic many times. Sometimes it's totally smooth; sometimes there might be turbulance. I'm not a big fan of turbulance, but it's normally not extreme. I just think of it like the plane version of a boat going through some waves & bouncing/surfing the waves a bit. I also remember that these planes go through a LOT of stress testing, so they're able to handle the turbulance. When you are in your seat, keep your seatbelt on.
* Sometimes planes can be chilly, so have a sweater or shawl to wear or to use as a make-shift pillow.
* When out & about, don't have all of your cash w/ you or all of your credit cards. Leave some at the boyfriend's place or, if you'll be in a hotel, in the hotel safe. Make a xerox of your passport & keep it in the safe. Don't carry the actual passport w/ you other than when at the airport.
* Make sure your boyfriend has your parents' phone #/email & they have his, in case of emergency.
* You'll be tired when you land. Try to stay awake through early-mid evening vs. taking a long nap, as it will be easier to adjust to the time zone difference. If by chance you wake up during the night, don't look at the clock! It's hard to explain, but if your brain doesn't know what time it is, it doesn't know if you've been asleep 2 hours or 8 hours & it's easier to fall back asleep. If you look at the clock, then your brain has a time to associate w/ & you start thinking, geesh I've been up x amount/am losing x amount of sleep. Again, it's hard to explain but the take-away is don't look at the clock.
Have a great time! Report back when you return & let us know how it went.
Cheers. Sharon