Hullo all,
We're off to Amsterdam next Tuesday for three nights so would appreciate any recommendations for things to do and see, as well as places to eat and drink.
We're staying here ( tinyurl.com/3fg4pkr ) on a room-only basis so if anybody knows of a nice place to go for brekkie nearby, feel free to pipe up!
I should say that we're not in the least interested in Amsterdam's, ahem, traditional attractions so we don't need to know the best places to go for that! Having said that, I daresay curiosity will lead us into the red light district for a short while...
Cheers folks.
Last edited by: Badwolf on Wed 1 Jun 11 at 11:11
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One idea is to take one of the canal cruises and note the locations of places and restaurants that look like your style, to visit later.
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I was there about 10 years ago. There were 2 canal cruise companies, one charged 20 euros and the other 10.
The red-light area was full of women standing behind glass doors, they looked like boxed commodities. A lot of the tourists were sniggering like they were some sort of freak show.
Amsterdam has a reputation for being a liberal city but it's just lost the fight against organized crime, that's all. The whole place is sleazy and I was glad to leave.
By the way, check your change. If you've got an English or American accent they'll know your from outside the Euro zone and try to short-change you.
Last edited by: Chris S on Wed 1 Jun 11 at 12:20
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Ann Frank house. Surely a must?
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I was there a few weeks back.
The queues for Ann Frank's house were pretty long, even on a cold March morning, so try to get there early. I think it is a "must" and found it very moving.
The other top places for me were the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum, both close to each other south of the city centre. The former has a vast collection and the latter is a beautiful modern building which houses the world No 1 collection of the artist's works.
Being a classical music freak, I would have gone to a concert in one of Europe's major venues, the Concertgebouw, but there was nothing on.
As for the Red Light district, it's definitely worth a visit, in the evening preferably, if only to do a spot of people-watching. It's entirely unthreatening, though you'd be well advised to keep your wallet out of reach of pickpockets if you mingle with the crowds. We watched a "flat" being raided by the police, which apparently was the outcome of a "customer" making a nuisance of himself in some way. (Don't try to photo any of the girls/"girls"* in their windows - apparently someone may well then snatch your camera/phone and check if it floats in the nearest canal.)
We ate a couple of times at the ridiculously cheap Wok To Walk (tinyurl.com/3hff5e9) - tasty, real food from fresh ingredients cooked in front of you. There are a couple of branches, but the biggest is just north-east of the Leidseplein, up Leidsestraat on the left - look for the orange and white sign. There are very many restaurants of all styles near the Leidseplein, but Amsterdam generally is pretty well provided for anyway.
Overall, it's a lovely, relaxed city where you can take life at whatever pace suits you. You can walk pretty well everywhere you need to go, but the trams are efficient and cheap - get a season ticket, sold for various periods of time at hotels and shops.
*Some of you will know what this means.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Wed 1 Jun 11 at 13:24
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Of course I respect your point of view, CS, but I don't share it and didn't have the feelings you obviously did when I was there.
Maybe your "sleazy" is my "relaxed" and perhaps this says as much about our differing attitudes as it does about the place.
It will be interesting to see what Badwolf thinks.
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Unfortunately Badwolf is too late to think of a trip to Keukenhof. I've been twice and thoroughly enjoyed the visits:
www.keukenhof.nl/
Apart from the red light district in Amsterdam (as stated after dark is the best time to savour the "atmosphere"), there are even porn museums, although we didn't bother going in any of them.
The canal cruise is, of course, a must and you really see the magnificent buildings at their best.
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The Reijsmuseum is an absolute must. Rembrandt et al.....you'll regret not going, especially as the Night Watch has to be on anyone's bucket list.
You can get an organised tour of the Heineken Brewery.
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Although when I went I was told the brewery was closed for good and no beer is produced there anymore.
As I recall the brewery admits 144 visitors per day (12 groups of 12) at about 9am. The groups are admitted at intervals of 5-10 minutes then the doors are closed.
Going round the brewery takes all of 10 minutes or so and you end up in a large hall at the top of the building. When you reach this point you get a mug of beer.
As each succeeding group arrives more mugs of beer are given out along with breakfast snacks.
The earlier the group you join the more beer you get.
There is a Heiniken film show and if you can prove that the day you are there is your birthday then you get a gift beer stein.
My memory of it is very hazy as I got a place in the first group of the morning and imbibed freely.
If I recall correctly by about 11.30/Noon you are kicked out and it shuts up shop until the next day. Although there may or may not be a small gift shop near the door that stays open all day.
As always
Mark
Last edited by: Mark on Wed 1 Jun 11 at 16:29
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>>My memory of it is very hazy as I got a place in the first group of the morning and imbibed freely.>>
Why am I not surprised...:-))
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Thread drift re Keukenhof - next year is the once every 10 years Floriade exhibition when they really put on a show! I went to the last one and the weather was all wrong ie no bulbs out in the fields but there was enough on show in the vast glass-houses to make the trip worthwhile.
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Wifey and I had our "honeymoon" there; to be precise, we stayed an extra night after a weekend of Harley-Davidson club business in Utrecht. Well worth a visit.
We enjoyed it; the citizens are very friendly, English is spoken or at least understood virtually everywhere; keep your eyes peeled for cyclists, they're well-mannered enough but can come at you from all directions. Agree about the canal trips, reasonably priced and very informative.
If you're a fervent non-smoker, it's probably not the ideal place for you though. Smoking tobacco is officially banned inside bars now but as you probably know there are some places where other herbs can be enjoyed inside, and some don't draw much of a distinction. Might make some of you grit your teeth but it was nice for once to be able to prop a bar up with a pint in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Red light district is a must, wonderfully tacky. Do check out the "Condomerie"!
If you happen to go there in November, try to catch the St Nicholas Day parade, a wonderful carnival spectacle.
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I've been going there once every month or so, on average for the last couple of years, as we have a major European HQ and a training centre based there. There are quite a few locals now that I consider friends, but on the whole, I find the Dutch among the friendliest, most relaxed, welcoming people I've met anywhere. The general standard of English is excellent, and unlike many countries, they actually seem perfectly happy to use it.
I agree with the comments above - canal trips are a great way to see the sights, and to get your bearings. In the city, everything seems to "fan out" from the Centraal Station, so this can be a good starting point / base for excursions.
There is crime like in all big cities, and if you wander in to some of the rougher parts on your own, you are probably in for trouble, but in the city centre and tourist areas, it feels clean, safe, and friendly. In 2008, Mercer famously ranked Amsterdam 22nd out of 215 world cities for personal safety. London was 69th.
The Damrak is a wide street lined with all manner of shops and restaurants, and this leads from the Centraal Station to Dam Square, which contains the beautiful Royal Palace, and a lovely 15th century Gothic church, called Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). There's also a very impressive department store whose name escapes me at present.
The Red Light District has to be seen to be believed, and if you're can cope with the odd shady character approaching you to sell you drugs (it's happened twice to me in four visits), you won't have any problems. They are not persistent or threatening, and a firm "no thanks" is all you need. The Red Light District is only a short walk from Dam Square.
Wonderful city. I love it.
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You get served much quicker if you speak English rather than German!
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It's been a known fact for many years that many Dutch people prefer to watch BBC and ITV more than their own country's television programmes output.
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Just checked - not near Rotterdam, the usual venue, but in Venlo.
www.holland.com/uk/press/floriade-2012.jsp
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Thank you for all your tips, folks :-)
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We are off for a long weekend 25/27 June, courtesy of Jet2.
thanks for all your tips..all we need do is find a nice B & B now. Any recommendations, as all the hotels seem very expensive.
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www.booking.com/hotel/nl/botel.en.html
Stayed here once, its ok but not pretty! but failry cheap - about €70 a night
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I looked at that one but I think it's changed location in the past couple of years. It used to be quite near to Centraal Station, but is now further north.
We're staying at The Seasons Hotel - I'll let you know what it was like when we get back next Friday!
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Yeah, thinking about it it was in the basin just to the front right of Centraal Station, and much smaller. I drove into Amsterdam twice, and both times had the car broken into.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 3 Jun 11 at 22:23
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I stayed on the Botel when it was near Central Station and it was good, but as you say it appears to have moved.
There was a floating chinese restaurant near to it, called The Sea Palace IIRC and that was excellent, dont know if that is still there.
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Yeah, I had a chinese duck fest in there.
We wanted roast duck, the kind you get with pancakes and plum sauce?
We ended up with every course containing duck, The Soup, the Main courses, even I think duck ice cream.
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Late rooms have a decent selection
www.laterooms.com/
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The last time we went to Amsterdam we took the car and thanks to a 6 hour delay at the Tunnel due to strike action (French side of course !) by the time we got there fatigue was kicking in and after driving round and round the city trying to find the hotel the atmosphere in the car was getting tense to say the least. Seeing a parking space by the side of the road opposite a cafe i dived into it before we killed each. An hour later after a coffee and a beer in the cafe and feeling quite relaxed we looked at the map again and after a while we realised that we were in the same street as the hotel was and infact had parked right outside the entrance to it.
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Nice subject interesting comments.
A neighbour of ours who used to live opposite us was a Amsterdammer.He married a English girl and lived in the UK a few years.He got homesick and lives in Amsterdam again with his English wife and childeren.
A true Amsterdammer is a character great sense of humor outspoken and not afraid to take action when needed.Dutch goverments have always been weary if there is a problem in Amsterdam it tends to spread to the rest of the country.Amsterdam always had a big jewish community living in the (Jordaan) unfortenately WW2 took a lot of them away.A nice song (Bij ons in de Jordaan sang by Johnny Jordaan tels all about Amsterdam.I havent been to Amsterdam for years last time working on the Hook of Holland ferry we went to Amsterdam through the Amsterdam Rijnkanaal to Amsterdam a queens visit in Amsterdam opening the new canal.On my next visit to see my sister in Rotterdam I will fly from Doncaster to Amsterdam and take the train to Rotterdam I might have a walk in Amsterdam have a coffee listen to their accent which I like and get the feel of the place again .
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It's one of the few cities I actually enjoy being in.
I lived and worked there for a year in the mid-90's
The Sea Palace mentioned was always a must do as were a few of the cruises with meals included. Never had a problem with parking though you do have to be choosy which street if it is not on Amsterdam plates.
Lovely city with a laid back manner but as you say Dutchie the people stand up when they need to.
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Thanks gmac.
I know some people look at Amsterdam as the drug capital and sex city of Europe which can give the city a unfair reputation.
When I left Holland in the sixties there where big riots in Amsterdam,due to a housing shortage people moved into empty homes left by the rich.Tremendous fights and violence occured battling the riot police who only did what they where told to do.What the Dutch goverment forgat was that it reminded the Amsterdammer of fighting the Gestapo and they wouldn't give up.A bit like the miners strike in the UK battles only worse.
Abit like are you working for a boss? A Amsterdammer would say only a dog has a boss.:)
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Sorry about the a bit like old age creeping up;)
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Well, we had a fantastic time. We loved the place, and found the vast majority of the people there to be so friendly and welcoming. We will definitely be going back.
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We found a great small B & B, the Blue Moon, and enjoyed the weekend so much we are returning August BH for 3 nights.
My review of the place has been posted on TripAdvisor.
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Only place I've ever been offered drugs for sale.
And this was heroin, at lunchtime, just off the main square, whilst I was wearing a business suit.
Funny old place.
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>> Only place I've ever been offered drugs for sale.
I found them not in the slightest bit pushy or aggressive though. A polite but firm "no thanks" and they shuffle off to the next potential client, without so much as a murmur.
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"The reported number of deaths linked to the use of drugs in the Netherlands, as a proportion of the entire population, is together with Poland, France, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic the lowest of the EU."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands#Results_of_the_drug_policy
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DRD table, lucky guess, we're near the top ! How come we're always top of "bad things" and bottom of "good things" ?
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Maybe our morals have been allowed to go down the pan R.P.
Just a guess.:)
Had a walk in town today never seen so many woman with tattoos, is this a machoo thing?
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>> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands#Results_of_the_drug_policy
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Interesting link, madf.
Also worth noting that nearly 5% more young adults use soft drugs at least once a month here, where they are all illegal, than in the Netherlands where some are legal.
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Amsterdam - Meldrew
