Landed at 3am in terminal E and wandered upstairs to the transit desk. Since I was on two separate tickets, they were not expecting me. Had to rouse the attendant out of the room next to the desks.

She checks my papers, onward BP, etc and rings for Immigration and Security to come up. They show up after about 5 min or less. Immigration checks that the names all match (BP and passport) and that the passport is not fake (looked at over half the pages under UV) and waives me through. I am in transit for 6hrs, so no visa needed.

Security woman gives me the standard, "belt, phone, shoes" grunt and my stuff goes on the belt. Not sure what she's going to do if I set off the WTMD since she's alone, but I make it through no problem.

Short walk across E and downstairs to good old F. Classic Lounge was closed, with lights off and blinds pulled across the door, so I had a coffee right next door. Asked what time the lounge would open and got a standard Russian shoulder shrug (meaning anything from "I don't know" all the way to "as if I would tell you") and left it at that.

Around 0415, a Russian passenger walked up, opened the door, switched on the lights and took a seat. Pleasantly amused at my own lack of oversight in not pushing appearances to ensure things were what they seemed, I attempted to also gain entry. Of course, the now awakened lounge matron insisted that I go halfway around the terminal to the F Transfer desk and procure myself a lounge pass.

Off I go for my pass. Lights off and door locked at the transfer desk/office. Now that I have been reminded to not let appearances scare me away, I knock on the window with my ring a few times. Success. A woman opens the door, takes my BP and Plat card and then proceeds to spend the next 10 minutes repeating the same exercise three or four times on her pc (screen is facing me, so I can see all of this). She is apparently not having any luck with whatever she is trying to check and comes back to the door "transfer from Amsterdam? Flight?". Now I understand that the famous PNR issue is at play again and hand her my KLM BP. This obviously does the trick and 1 minute later I have my papers back and am armed with the coveted lounge pass. Now the other two ladies sleeping in the transfer office can go back to sleep and I can enter the lounge.

Happy days. Now completely awake, the lounge matron takes my pass and waves me into the lounge for my 5 hours of listening to two other passengers snore on the sofas and the persistent hum of the various refrigerators, pc's and coffee machines.