FRITES! FRITES! FRITES!

Or French Fries as we may call them - french fries served in a paper cone and over which a vairety of optional things can be slathered - like Mayo, ketchup, peanute sauce, curry sause, relish, onions and more - I often get a Frites Speciaal - mayo, ketsup, relish and onions all on one - a veritable meal in itself served from ubiquitous Frites shops, like the all-pervasive FEBO.

THE TROPPEN MUSEUM

Though a bit off the radar of most touirsts because it is not right in the tourist-oriented town center to me this museum makes a wonderful visit - it is not your typical stuffy museum but one that makes foreign places come to life.

The Troppen Museum I think must take its name from the Tropics as it showcases life and artifacts from the third world and tropical areas - perhaps originally Dutch colonies in the tropics.

Anyways the exhibits re-create street scenes in places like South-East Asia, etc. and there is often an eclectic avant-garden display dominating the main hall.

A great great place for kids and families.

I love the Tropenmuseum! One of my favorite museums ever. We were there in 2006 with kids 10 and 12 and it was just a fun, curious place to visit. It felt like we were in the middle of an Indiana Jones set at times.

Tropenmuseum
tropenmuseum.nl/ - Translate this page - Block all tropenmuseum.nl results
Maak kennis met de Braziliaanse cultuur tijdens het Brasil Festival Amsterdam. Het Tropenmuseum mag tijdens dit festival natuurlijk niet ontbreken! Meer over ..

Yes like travelgirl2 I am always delighted by the Tropen Museum and it is also in a neat area of Amsterdam that few tourists get to - a swank area in and around the University of Amsterdam buildings - the museum building is impressive in and of itself!

Bad news is that the government has just announced a huge cut (40%) in the subsidy for the Tropenmuseum. So it's future is not looking good. It could merge with one or two other museums, one in Rotterdam and one near Arnhem, but it's all abit vague at the moment.

hetismij2 - thanks for the however bad news! I do hope the museum can stay pretty much as is.

PalenqueQ thanks for the helpful tip, I am sorry that I have missed the Troppen on my visits to Amsterdam. Sorry, but your description of the contents of the frites special made me want to throw up.

I forgot to mention that Amsterdam is my second favorite European city, right behind London. Wish I lived close enough to visit regularly.

The Dutch Resistance Museum! A fascinating look at what life was like in Amsterdam during WWII. Shouldn't be missed!

And the Dutch Resistance Museum is just a short stroll from the Tropen Museum!

Dutch Resistance Museum - Verzetsmuseum
www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/en/museumPocket booklet 'Anne Frank walk': € 0,50. Walk Dutch Resistance Museum - Anne Frank House describes WWII events in Amsterdam.

I agree with tom18 on the Dutch Resistance Museum being a fascinating visit showcasing the grim life of Amsterdam during the Nazi Occupation. Hard to believe this all happened not really that long ago in this lovely town.

PalenQ, thanks for starting this thread. We leave on Wednesday for Amsterdam and Paris. We will definitely see the Tropenmuseum while it is still intact.

This trip has been postponed twice on the day before we were leaving, so it is difficult to get too excited until I am on the plane.

thanks Itr!

folks going to the Dutch Resistence Museum, Jewish Historical Museum and Ann Frank House can buy a pocket walking guide that will take you between those three sites via a scenic pedestrian-oriented route of about two miles it seems.

Learning about a few things for another visit whenever! My favorites: Rijksmuseum with Rembrandt, Steen, and special Vermeer exhibit...also VanGogh museum nearby (not to be missed)...Anne Frank House as a reminder of Nazi terror and perseverance...Oude Kerk 1306, now that's old!...Floating Flower Market in May...Cruising the canals.

Bill in Boston

Museum Our Lord in the Attic - I amsterdam
www.iamsterdam.com/...our-lord-in-the-attic/b7a62bea-62d7-4092-8...Our Lord in the Attic is one of the oldest and most remarkable museums in Amsterdam. Behind the characteristic facade of the canal house lies a 17th-century ...

Our Lord in the Attic Museum is another of my favorites - a church hidden away in an attic to hide it from folks who were not tolerant of that type of religion.

Hopefully the restoration of a few years ago is done?

And all of the above sights so far mentioned are covered in full by the National Museum Year Pass - valid at practically every major and many minor museums and attractions in Holland - only a few museum visits will make its 39 euro fee for a whole year pay off - and you can come and go rather than exhaust yourself in say the Van Gogh if you had to pay everytime. The Ann Frank House is now fully covered, being a recent addition to the scheme (thanks to Hetismij for that update).

Buy the pass at any participating museum.

Museumkaart, Museum Card Amsterdam Museum Pass ...
www.amsterdam.info › MuseumsThe Museum Card represents a personal pass to enter more than 400 museums ...
Amsterdam Museums and Galleries | Amsterdam.info
www.amsterdam.info › Attractions › MuseaThere are over 50 museums in Amsterdam, which belong among the main tourist ...

Much like Venice, my favorite thing in Amsterdam is Amsterdam itself. That is, just walking around the city and discovering it up close and on foot (especially the canal rings and the Jordaan area).

Also, another vote here for Our Lord in the Attic. Fascinating place!

The Dutch sense of humor and friendly attitude

Dodging those aggressive byciclists with killer instinct!

Their pancake and poffertjes

Their famous brownies!

Amandel staf and gevulde speculaas durino the holiday season

Yes, PalenQ, that is a less known site we liked. As people may know, the Dutch were strongly Protestant, having gained independence from Catholic Spain, and yet maintained a tolerance of other religions. So it was OK for Catholics to gather for Mass so long as it was hidden from view such as in that house. A little later came a strong Calvinist revival with less acceptance and yet it was to Leiden that the English Separatists sailed, later to continue on as Pilgrims settling Plimouth Colony. We did enjoy the Pilgrim's House in Leiden. "Caleb's Crossing" is a good description of this struggle for religious expression.

Correction on book...it is "Making Haste from Babylon" by Nick Bunker. "Caleb's Crossing" is about a Native American from Matrtha's Vineyard entering Harvard.

Got home two weeks ago, and want to go back...charming, historical, laid-back, and beautiful - what's not to love???


Apple cake/pie at Winkel - so good I schlepped one across the Atlantic for our Thanksgiving, and the chocolates at Puccini Bomboni, especially the tamarind.

VONDEL PARK

Amsterdam's 'Central Park'. Vondel Park is one of my favorite places in Amsterdam - either to just take a stroll or people watch or bike watch as a major bike route goes right thru the park and is perpetually thronged with all kinds of bikes and bikers, from young tykes to old grannies and grandpas - bikers with no hands rolling cigarettes (or other smokables!) - bikes carrying friends on their backs - often sitting sideways - big thick Dutch Tank bikes - weirdly painted bikes, etc.

In nice weather the park is often thronged with locals and tourists seeking to relax in the sun - or folks roller blading or skateboarding - on weekends there are often free concerts for the younger folk.

The Melkhuis is a unique outdoor cafe - the Milk House but really a cafe with booze and caffeine - it overlooks a young kids playground so mums can put their kids in the sand pit and sit back with a drink and watch them!

Vondel Park is also one of Amsterdammers favorite jogging and aerobic exercise venues.

Vondel Park has been going thru a restoration phase with lots of nice flora and fauna being put in - there was last I knew some cows in the southern portion and there is a large beautiful Rose Garden in the southeast sector.

Vondel Park borders one of the very nicest neighborhoods in Amsterdam IMO - a sedate and for Amsterdam very safe and quiet neighborhood - the link I give below lists several hotels that border or are near Vondel Park with rooms from 40 to 60 euros and up




ON TAP - Biking, Canals, Ijs Tram, Museumplein, Rembrandtsplaein, Leidesplein, Coffeeshops, Red-Light District, Amsterdammages, Centraal train station.



http://www.amsterdam.info/parks/vondelpark/

REMBRANDTPLEIN

Not on most tourists lists to see but the Rembrandtplein nevertheless amazes me - this is a large typical city square but one that on many sides is lined by cafes with outdoor terraces - on a warm night the square is literally SRO with mainly younger Dutch folk coming out to drink and socialize the night away.

It is just off the Muntplein and even in daytime a visual delight - awfully quiet in mornings.



http://www.amsterdam.info/sights/rembrandtplein/

PalenQ:;

Your detailed posting, the publication (and my acquisition) of the new Van Gogh biography (by Naifeh & Smith), a recent viewing of Minnelli's "Lust for Life", and a desire to break free of my travel comfort zone (Italy/France/Spain) have inspired me to set my sights on Amsterdam (with sidetrips — Haarlem, Delft, The Hague, it would seem) as my next European destination, probably in May.

On one of our visits we stayed in a Canal Boat on the Amstel. What an intersting perspective.

THE CAT BOAT

distahl, who could be a dentist I believe, talks about the wonderful adventure of sleeping on a houseboat on a romantic canal - brings to mind the Cat Boat, a houseboat given over to rescued cats who live there in the hundreds. Has become quite a tourist draw as well.

http://www.poezenboot.nl/?taal=uk

ALBERT CUYP STREET MARKET

Amsterdam's famous Albert Cuyp Street Market, called the largest in all of Holland, also fascinates me - not only because of the lower-end clothes and goods being hawked but for produce and exotic edibles since the market vendors come from all over the Europe as do their clients.

At the market you will see neighborhood locals dressed in native garb from places they immigrated from - especially the Dutch West Indies and Africans and South Asians, Asians, etc.

The market is close to Museum Plein thus easy to fit in with a visit to say the Rijksmuseum and is just a few blocks from the ever-popular Heineken Experience, where tourists learn all about Holland's famous pilsner beer and gulp some down as well.

De Pijp is what the multi-ethnic neighborhood that surrounds the market is called - built in the early 1900s or so it offers brick rowhouses all looking in great symmetry. De Pijp has also been called Amsterdam's Latin Quarter for its many trendy (with a young and or ethnic) folks to its cozy pubs, coffeeshops and pubs.

(Coffeeshops legally sell marijuana but may well not coffee - a koffie shop sells coffee.)

So for something different, a cheap meal or to gather picnic supplies check out the Albert Cuyp Market in the town center's southeeastern area.

http://www.albertcuypmarkt.nl/ac_english.html

THE HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE

Though I much preferred the tour thru the old now demolished Heineken Brewery, once the flagship brewhouse for Heineken in Holland the Heineken Experience is still a lot of fun, especially when guests get to drink some fresh suds in the post-experience cafe.

Popular especially with younger folk I nevertheless enjoyed the experience - not nearly as much as the old brewery tour but still a bit of piss and vinegar. Right close to the Rijksmsueum and Van Gogh Museum this could be an aparitive to one of those or an apres museum thing.


http://www.heinekenexperience.com/

http://wikitravel.org/en/Amsterdam#b

a site with lots of good practical info on Amsterdam!

SHOPPING STREETS

Like all larger Dutch cities Amsterdam has an oft thronged main pedestrian shopping street as well as other shopping enclaves. I do so enjoy strolling along the main shopping street during business hours - but after stores close it becomes a ghost town.

GOOD INFO ON SHOPPING
http://www.amsterdam.info/shopping/

Along with museums mention, we also enjoyed the National Martime Museum. We have only been to Amsterdam twice. However the first vist my sister foirced me to visit her in Amsterdam and that was our first vist to Europe. Our trip to Spain next year will be our 33rd. We gained the fever after that first trip.

One of the values of the National Museum Year Card mentioned above is that it covers museums like the excellent National Maritime Museum iris mentions above - with the pass you can just go to any museums without being sure you will love it or not and not worry about the often expensive entry fee.

The National Maritime Museum is not far from the Troppen Museum or Dutch Resistance Museum if I recall correctly.

Don't forget the library .

This is awesome! Will be transiting AMS in two weeks and have a day to burn there, so will most definitely be parsing this report for information. Thx PalenQ

A new museum opens this week - www.amsterdamtattoomuseum.com.

It is Henk Schiffmacher's dream come true. He is a top tattoo artist and the museum could be a quirky place to visit.

Yup the new high-rise library on the east side of Centraal Train station is something to behold - open to all and from the top floor cafe is one of the neatest views over Amsterdam I have seen.

I remember some construction going on in the Centraal Train station vicinity. Is it a high-rise museum...but what's this about a tattoo museum? Not the same I hope.

Ozarksbill - the library is on the Oosterdokseiland east of the station.
It has been there since 070707.
It has a couple of cafés and free wifi too.

The tattoo museum is near the zoo.

the Tattoo Museum joins the like of Amsterdam's Sex Museum, Torture Museum (actually for a good cause and sobering) and the Hash Museum as unique museum offerings - I read there is now even a museum in the Red-Light district on the lives of women of the night who work there. The Red-Light district is, for good or bad, one of Amsterdam's top tourist attractions but has been scheduled to be largely demolished by the current Amsterdam government - perhaps hetismij, who is a Dutch resident though of Welsh heritage I believe, would kindly give an update on the status of the Red-Light district, which has been around I think since Amsterdam's founding - formerly called the Sailor's quarters because it served the needs perhaps of sailors sailing into Amsterdam's port with high expectations of "the girls of Amsterdam" as one rock sound calls them!

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR COFFEESHOPS FOR FOREIGNERS!

Amsterdam's unique coffeeshops - where cannabis is sold in dozens of varieties from posted menus - quite legally to anyone but laws are changing and supposedly after Jan 1, 2012 you will not only have to be a Dutch citizen or resident to buy marijuana from coffeeshops but also have to be a member of a certain shop at a cost of 80 euros a year or so.

so one institution in Amsterdam - for some thirty years or so now bites the dust in its present operation at least.

The information about coffeeshops is not entirely correct. The new law (that you need to become a member of a coffeeshop which is only open to Dutch residents) is a) introduced gradually starting in the South of the Netherlands (not in Amsterdam) and b) heavily objected to by everyone who has a brain.
So during 2012 everything will stay the same in Amsterdam (meaning locals and tourists can freely buy cannabis) and it remains to be seen what changes will be made from 2013.

My favourite bit of Amsterdam is The Oude Kerk ("old church"); the oldest church in the city, 14th century, beautiful stained glass windows, and the roof is the largest medieval vaulting in Europe. But best of all it has an amazing tower you can go up for a fantastic view of the city - be warned the tower climb is not for the fainthearted or broken-winded!

PalenQ, you did not mention

THE RAW HERRING STALLS

Only in season (starts in May?) but delicious with chopped onion. My favourite is on a bridge over the Singel near the flower market.

TULIPS IN THE FLOWER MARKET

GARDENS IN GENERAL

The Dutch are fabulous garden designers and horticulturalists. I go to Amsterdam during the open gardens weekend.

LICORICE

Salted and double salted (really, a bit too salty.)

WHEAT BEER

PAUW

Wonderful, expensive women's clothes, on the Leidsestraat. Try to aim for sale time. Just across the street from Sissy Boy.

INDONESIAN FOOD

Why has it been so long since I've been to Amsterdam?

tarquin - thanks for the great input! I am not familiar with the Licorice but will look next time and even though licorice ain't my cup of tea generally will go for a double salty one!

about flowers and plants - I did enjoy the Amsterdam Botanic Garden that showcases '4,000 species from all over the world,' according to its web site - www.dehortus.nl

If doing the Troppen Museum or Dutch Resistance Museum this rather tiny garden is easily included - National Museum Year Pass honored.

Sjoerd - thanks a lot for the uplifting info on the coffeeshop situation in Amsterdamned! Will re-insert Amsterdam into my upcoming 2012 trip - I actually stay in a lovely cosy B&B in Haarlem for about 35 euros and assume Haarlem may have the same approach, being the self-anointed Cannabis City of Holland.

anyway Dank u very wel!

Bookmarking!

IMHO the Dutch Resistance Museum is one of the most interesting museums in Europe...not just in The Netherlands.

SS

Just talked with John Sinclair, American pot guru and poet and he recommends Coffee Shop 420 on Olde Brugge Straat not far from the main train station - John says whenever he is in his home base of Amsterdam he is there. See an American icon of the anti-war and hippie movement. the shop used to be called Cannabis Cafe but Dutch law says the word 'cannabis' cannot be used for names of such places so they changed it to the universal meaning to get stoned - 420.

The European Hotel is something special and was the subject of an article in the Dec 4, 2011 NYTimes Travel section. Unique location and look and appeared in Hitchcock films. Right across from the Stopera and on the Amstel River - right at intersection of Amstel and a large canal.

Content removed was not mine but an Amsterdam guy who was pushing his individual boat rentals - there are several places in Amsterdam where you can rent a pedalo or individual small boat to do your own canal tour and this can be loads of fun as long as you keep out of the way of larger tour group boats that regularly ply the narrow canals.

At night these individual boats are popular with young adults who often have lots of beer with them, etc. The canals being especially neat when illuminated after dark.

There are several companies offering DIY boats - and you need no reservations to get them.

and taking a canal boat tour IMO is an absolute must in Amsterdam - but your have choices - I would consider going at night when the canals and humpbacked bridges are wondrously illuminated and also a tour that goes out into the Harbor - some do not.

There is also in the daytime a Museum Boat that docks near several popular museums and sites like the Anne Frank House. You buy a day ticket on it I believe.

There are also dinner cruises with wine and cheese.

anyway taking a canal boat tour is a must in Amsterdam.

PalenQ: I have enjoyed reading your recommendations, and will take you up on many when we visit next spring.

I indeed found the canal boat tour to be a very memorable highlight of my previous visit. Besides the great sightseeing, I encountered a group of British sailors on the boat, with whom I engaged in some lively and hilarious banter.

Also, if one is in the vicinity of the Neuwe Kerk, and is of the inclination, consider visiting De Blauwe Parade Bar for a jenever tasting. They have gins ranging in age from practically "newborn" to well into their twenties. Highly interesting and informative (although some of the older spirits can get costly).

thanks Dave - yes jenever tasting is great - and check out the iconic Brown Bars in the Jordaan, the area to the south and west of the train station - also arguable the nicest canals in Amsterdam.

I guess men take unflavored gin (jenever) and the perfumed ones are for ladies!

Again thanks for the comments.

New Year's Even in Amsterdam is bombastic! Fire crackers and fireworks going off everywhere from early afternoon to early morning - I have never seen anything like it - same in most Dutch cities like Haarlem where I spend New Year's Eve two years ago - next morning streets are strewn with remains of fireworks - burnt wrappers, launchers, etc.

Amsterdam also I believe has a large concert for younger folks on Museumplein - free I think with lots of beer - saw the big beer lorries - huge 18-wheeler beer vans parked in readiness for a night of revelry!

Talking above about the Amsterdam branch of St Petersburg's vaunted Hermitage Museum, in a lovely old town house on one of those impossibly cute canals, check out the web site to see which of the rotating collection is one view in the Dutch branch - www.hermitage.nl

THE MILKY WAY (MELKWEG)

Ah with older travelers who came to Amsterdam as younger folk in the 70s and 80s the Milky Way is very very famous as this was a great place to spend the night - not only were there live concerts but the tea house where hash (no pot then just hash) was sold like in today's coffeeshops - from a house dealer who sat in the tea house - all quite above the board though technically illegal - but was a regular feature of a visit to the Milky Way,

The Melkweg was and is a city-sponsored youth club with in it cinemas, a nice restaurant with wholesome food and still as its marquee attraction the concert hall which hosts many famous acts from all over the world.

The building itself is novel - it an old warehouse of some kind whose front door is accessed by an old drawbiridge - ironically the Milky Way is located smack opposite one of Amsterdam's main police stations - ironic in the 70s at least when sales of cannabis where not as open as they are now.

So for a look inside a cultural icon check out the Milky Way - free entry most days to the restaurant and coffee shops - at night can be a daunting entry fee if there are popular concerts.

And still today for younger folk a great place to hang out at night and mingle with local youths who still flock here in large numbers as do folks of older ages!

http://www.melkweg.nl/artikelpagina.jsp?infoid=35430&subinfoid=196213

Never had that opportunity. But our first trip to Europe was to Amsterdam. After finding our hotel, we then walked into Dam Square. In process on stage was the musical, Cabaret. What a welcome for our first trip, with many more trips to come.

http://www.paradiso.nl/web/English-Agenda.htm

THE PARADISO is similar to the Milky Way in its history from the 70s as a wild youth cultural center now become mainstream - it has a constant selection of really good groups - mainly a concert hall and not multi-media emporium like the Milky Way is. Indeed some really top groups - again in 70s was one place folk went to buy hashish, sold in the upstairs landing by a house dealer.

In an old church - for years an illuminated cross on top rocked back and forth - but now gone as the venue has become more yes mainstream.

http://www.febodelekkerste.nl/catalog/

FEBO!

Whilst strolling in Amsterdam I am fond of stopping by the icon FEBO snackbar chain of fast-food tasty treats - my favorite being Frites Royal - french fried potatoes smothered by mayo, ketsup, onions and relish. but there are so so many other treats as well - such as the ones from the automats - you put in a euro coin and out pops some warm treat - anyway click on the link to see what savory delights await in Amsterdam and any Dutch town.

FEBO BTW gets its name from Ferdinand Bols Straat, according to Wikipedia - it was started by a guy who was an apprentice in a bakery on Fredinand Bols Straat - which runs by the famous Albert Cuyp Straat street market at its west end.

FEBO! FEBO! FEBO!

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/147-amsterdams-brown-cafes

AH AMSTERDAM'S LEGENDARY 'BROWN CAFES'

You hear so so much about these intimate cozy pubs with their local clientele and having changed little for centuries it seems - so be sure to check out some Brown Cafes - such as in the Joordan, which is especially known for them (area west and south of the Singel - an area with some incredibly q

incredibly quaint and gorgeous canals.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amsterdam-travelogue.cfm

For a view of what some Fodorites found in their Amsterdam trip read this Trip Report - like OP said on thread ain't for the sky or up tight! The Black Crows BTW are a known cannabis band - songs celebrating that noxious stuff and no doubt a big hit in Amsterdamned!

Amsterdam in world war 2 walk. We had the guide all to our selves one cold november and it was excellent, really inspired me to take more interest in history as i really enjoyed this walk and was sad when it ended even though it was ice cold and near snowing!!

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g188590-d1758423-Reviews-Amsterdam_in_World_War_II_Walking_Tour-Amsterdam_Noord_Holland.html

the guy that does it, Peter has a totally genuine interest in what he teaches, even on booking i was sent a really interesting long article about the difference between how holland and other countries-reacted to war events,

If anyone interested...

Peter's email address

historywalks.eu <info@historywalks.eu>

We LOVED our 5 night stay in Amsterdam, a few years ago. What a refreshingly pleasant artitude we met every time we spoke with residents there. Beautiful little canals, fantastic restaurants, safe streets. It is heaven for people who enjoy just walking and wandering through.

AMSTERDAMAGES!

A local one told me what locals often call the many posts put up along narrow streets like those lining the canals to keep folks from parking everywhere, I guess, "amsterdamages" because they often are hit by cars that often it seems roar along these tiny lanes.

I've seen a number count in the many thousands of how many such posts - with a bulbous top - there are in Amsterdam but I forget how many but it is many many many.

And a popular postcard in shops in this gay mecca invariable has a young stud guy with his rear plopped right on top of an Amsterdamage - also a phallic symbol for some!

I heard that Amsterdam has the best Argentinian Steak house - opinions???

On this I admittedly know diddly - restaurants in general so I would advise posting this question on a separate thread and you will attract someone who knows something about it.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d967130-Reviews-Keuken_van_1870-Amsterdam_Noord_Holland.html

No don't know much about Amsterdam restaurants but have gone to one that is really famous with locals - Keuken van 1870 - a one-of-a-kind place serving was is billed as authentic Dutch food and at a super low, for Amsterdam, fixed price - down-home Dutch cooking and located right in the heart of Amsterdam.

Roz, I've been to THE Argentinian Steak House in Amsterdam a few times, but years ago. It seemed to have closed or moved the last time I was there (near the flower market.) There are several other steakhouses I believe.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amsterdam-argentinian-steak-houses.cfm

though from 2009 this Fodor's discussion may help?

THE RIJSTAFFEL

One traditional Dutch food treat I do know a bit about however is the Chinese-Indonesian Rice Table - Rijstaffel in Dutch that was brought to Holland from the Dutch colony of Indonesia long ago and remains a favorite with Dutch today.

You will see Chinese-Indonesian restaurants all over Holland - even in smallish towns and the most popular thing for tourists is to sample the famous Rice Table - a Rijstaffel where you get a heaping mound of rice on which you put zillions of things from zillions of dishes - exotic fare and no so exotic fare - along with various meats.

So for something unique to Holland try a Rijstaffel - there are several restaurants in Amsterdam's centrum serving up this unique and very filling meal!

http://www.amsterdamtravelguide.net/category/general-information/article/traditional-dutch-food-the-rijsttafel

ttt

bookmarking

bookmarking

We just came back from our second visit to Amsterdam—we had a great time. The highlights:

If you're staying more than a few days and like museums the Museumkaart (as mentioned) is a GREAT buy. It was 45 Euros but I totalled up how much we would have spent and it was 119 Euros (we spent one night in Rotterdam, a day at the Hague and 4 nights in Amsterdam). It enabled us to see museums we wouldn't normally visit—plus it let us skip lines at all the biggies (Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, the Hermitage). It was probably the smartest choice we made on this trip.

And I'd like to add another vote for the apple cake at Winkel—we loved it so much we went back the next day for another piece.

If you like falafel, be sure to try Sonny's in the Pijp—great falafel and a thoroughly charming guy.

We came to the Netherlands from Paris and the difference in atmosphere was immediate—it's so relaxed and friendly—such a great feeling.

Probably the number one highlight was our visit to the Six Collection. I read about it in a very old guidebook so I googled it and asked if we could visit. We were the only people on our tour. Baron Von Six himself answered the door and shook my hand, and an art history student gave us a one-hour tour of their incredible collection of art and furniture. What a great experience!

outwest - thanks for the neat report!

PILS, PLEASE!

When you want a glass of beer in say a Brown Pub you politely say "can I have a pils, please?"

Pils being the universal word for a beer in any Dutch or Belgian pub I've been in - short I guess for 'pilsener' the type of beer common in the Lowlands (as opposed to our more Lager or German type beer.

When going thru the Heineken factory in old days when they actually bottled something there (weird they were bottling Amstel the last time I went - after the merger!) they explain for the American export market they make Heinies with more a lager taste than a pilsener taste like in Holland - only the beer actually bottled in Holland and then exported is the original pils like in Amsterdam.

the canals in the snow, went end of november and had lovely proper pretty snow, which hugged all the bridges and parked bicycles....so pretty

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g188590-d1758423-Reviews-Amsterdam_in_World_War_II_Walking_Tour-Amsterdam_Noord_Holland.html

this walking tour....the guy was so interested in his job made it a real pleasure

HG001London, thanks for the link. This is what makes this forum so useful: separating the wheat from the chaff.

Yes HG001London - thanks for that link - WW2 in Amsterdam during German occupation - I was walking thru Vondel Park one day and an old Dutch guy - this was years ago - stopped and chatted about his memories of the days when Vondel Park was full of Canadian troops, after the Germans were given the boot - hard to imagine not long ago a lovely park like Vondel Park was a military barracks!

So happy i found this thread. I am going to Amsterdam for the first time in September. I am really looking forward to it and this info is really great!

no problem guys, it was very interesting tour despite it being truly freezing!!

Even when we booked from london the guy sent us a really interesting piece on how the dutch during the war compared with other nations.

Thank you to all for these wonderful posts. We are going to Amsterdam in June - all this info is so helpful!

Dave in Ohio makes some nice suggestions about Jenever tastings:

<Also, if one is in the vicinity of the Neuwe Kerk, and is of the inclination, consider visiting De Blauwe Parade Bar for a jenever tasting. They have gins ranging in age from practically "newborn" to well into their twenties. Highly interesting and informative (although some of the older spirits can get costly)>

JENEVER

Is a famous Dutch bar drink - served in tiny glass cups this is basically gin from plain old but potent plain gin to various flavored perfumes like lemon and other fruit-based flavorings. But be warned that many Dutch have told me that straight gin or jenever is for men and that only women drink the 'perfumed flavored jenevers."

But note that all pack a potent punch.

PalenQ,
re JENEVER:
On our recent visit, my wife and I did a "jenever tasting," trying a variety. It was all good, although some might be considered "acquired tastes." I hope the Dutch don't snicker at me when they find out, but we shared a PEAR jenever at happy hour with our traveling companions. Served very cold, it was a pleasant aperitif. By adding some to a dry white wine or prosecco, we had variations of kir cocktails. It went over well enough that we had to go out and replenish our supply!

Dave - I often sip the flavored jenevers as I like them better than the plain ones - but I have been told that only women do that. But what the heck if it tastes good why not? Thanks for your comments!

MODERN AMSTERDAM

The best way to see modern Amsterdam, and most of the town outside the old center is ultra-modern, being one of Europe's business capitals, is to take the Ring Railway around town.
Start at Centraal Station and take a train to Duivendrecht, change there for the WTC World Trade Center station, from where you can take a tram back to centraal station, passing thru a neat part of town built around the 1920s - a very unique Amsterdammer architecture very different from the neat centuries old centrum.
On the Ring Railway you'll pass by many gleaming modern office buildings - the World Trade Center is one such sparkling complex you may want to poke around.

THE IJS TRAM AND EASTERN DOCKS AREA AND NEW TOWN

Another area of new architecture is the newly redeveloped eastern docks area - for the best view of this take the new Ijs Tram from Centraal Station to its end - it goes by lots of new residential areas that are novel - some look like a new Venice - islands with tiny canals and humped iron bridges - the tram goes under and over the Ijs - the body of water that is Amsterdam's seafront by tunnel and bridge to a completely new city at its terminus being built on filled in lands. On the Ijs Tram route you'll also pass by, near Centraal Station redevloped old warehouses and Amsterdam's spanking new Cruise Ship terminal

At the eastern terminus of the Ijs Tram is a whole new city being developed on artificial sandy islands - a work in progress - it's neat on the tram as it soars over bridges and goes under a tunnel to the new lands.

So for something very different try the Ring Railway and Ijs Tram!

We will be in Amsterdam in early September. This has been a great post. Lots of info. I now feel as though I don't have enough time! My question to all of you is street food. Not just Frites, but seafood, fish, and meat. Where are the best places or at least areas where we can find these. We travel a lot and find this to be a less expensive way to eat local foods and it is usually very good. Thanks in advance for all your help.

See above - NIEUWE HARING - from street stalls, costs 3.30 euro served with chopped raw onion and pickle, or 3.60 on a roll. Very good if you like that sort of thing.

I was disappointed with the street frites, especially the poor quality mayo and catsup.

street markets like the Albert Cuyp Market are a great place for street foods - in case of Albert Cuyp a variety of ethnic food from around the world.

Hering stands are easy to stumble across - all over the city.

Thanks for the info, We will find them.

Thank you PalenQ! There is a great info here for our trip.

The National Museum Card is a great deal for practically anyone going to The Netherlands - just three or four major museum entries pay for it and you can get free entry to all the museums listed here for up to one year - no photo was required when I last bought one. Buy it at any participating museum - for young folk just about 20 euros for a year!

Museumkaart Coverage
From Wikipedia

The Museum card (Dutch: "Museumkaart") is a card that allows free entrance to a number of museums around the Netherlands. The card itself costs €44.90 (€39.95 plus €4.95 handling fee), and is valid for one year. A discounted card is available for under 19s, and costs €19.95 (plus €4.95 handling fee).
The Museumkaart is available to buy at any of the participating museums below. It is by far the best value way to get into many of the museums in Amsterdam.
In Amsterdam, the museums include:
Allard Pierson Museum / Archeologisch Museum Der Universiteit Van Amsterdam
Amsterdams Historisch Museum
Anne Frank House
Bijbels Museum (Homepage)
De Appel (Homepage)
De Burcht / Vakbondsmuseum (Homepage)
De Nieuwe Kerk
EnergeticA (Homepage)
Filmmuseum
FOAM Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam (Homepage)
Hermitage Amsterdam (Phase I)
Huis Marseille, Stichting voor Fotografie (Homepage)
Joods Historisch Museum
Tropenmuseum
Max Euwe-Centrum
Museum Amstelkring, Ons' Lieve Heer Op Solder
Museum Geelvinck-Hinlopen
Museum Het Rembrandthuis
Museum Het Schip
Museum Van Loon
Willet-Holthuysen Museum
Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum & Amsterdam (VOC ship) (Dutch East India Company trading vessel)
Oude Kerk
Persmuseum (Homepage)
Rijksmuseum
Stedelijk Museum CS
Theatermuseum / Theater Instituut Nederland (Homepage)
Van Gogh Museum
Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam
In other parts of The Netherlands:
Cobra Museum, Amstelveen (Homepage)
Drents Museum, Assen (Homepage)
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
RijksmuseumTwenthe, Enschede (Homepage)
Groninger Museum, Groningen (Homepage)
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem (Homepage)
Teylers Museum, Haarlem
Historisch Museum Haarlem
Museum De Hallen, Haarlem
Fries Museum, Leeuwarden (Homepage)
Princessehof, Leeuwarden (Homepage)
Boerhaave Museum, Leiden
National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (Homepage)
National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden (Homepage)
Naturalis, Leiden (Homepage)
Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden
Aviodrome (Airplane museum), Lelystad (Homepage)
Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (Homepage)
Valkhof museum, Nijmegen
Maritiem Museum, Rotterdam (Homepage)
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (Homepage)
Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam (Homepage)
Wereldmuseum, Rotterdam (Homepage)
Mauritshuis, The Hague (Homepage)
Museon, The Hague
Centraal Museum, Utrecht (Homepage)
Train Museum, Utrecht (Homepage)

29 museums in Amsterdam to enter free with the National Museum Pass - and I note that the Anne Frank House is now included - making this pass an even more incredible value. Again with the card you can freely enter lesser known museums that you may pass by but normally would hesitate the several euros usual entrance free - and again I have been very delighted at what I found in many of these I would normally have just passed by!

One of the main benefits of the Museum card (Museemkaart) is the ability to go through a member door without having to stay in line. The line to the Van Gogh Museum was about 45 minutes but we were able to surpass it and enter through a member entrance. It is definitely worth the investment. We were fortunate that our home exchangers allowed us to use theirs and the museum staff didn't budge at the fact that our names were different.

the boot shopping!

We were fortunate that our home exchangers allowed us to use theirs and the museum staff didn't budge at the fact that our names were different.>

my experience as well - just glance at pass and expiry date if that!) and yes the ability to come and go is priceless - pop into the Van Gogh or Modern Art museums just for a few minutes - perhaps if in the area just to use the free loo or sit in the snack bars and people watch the museum crowd...

DAY TRIPS FROM AMSTERDAM

Though I love Amsterdam dearly I also love to visit the real Holland and some real Dutch towns - Amsterdam being cosmopolitan, especially in its city centre that attracts so so many foreigners and where English seems to be the de facto language.

So I will go over some of my very favorite day trips from Amsterdam and hope others will chime in with theirs as well!

I will briefly describe these day trip destinations in the coming posts:

HAARLEM; VOLENDAM AND MARKEB; ALKMAAR; UTRECHT; DELFT; LEIDEN; KROLLER-MULLER AND HOOGE VELUWE NATIONAL PARK; THE HAGUE; ZAANDVOORT; gOUDA; EDAM; ZAANS SCHANSE; and perhaps a few more!

Quick question - for a quick visit (4 nights) would you recommend Krakow or Amsterdam? My husband is travelling for business and I may be able to join him for a part of the trip. His meetings are in krakow but we'd be connecting thru Amsterdam so either could work.

well that is a tough question - Amsterdam itself has a whole lot more varied offerings than Krakow but if you use Krakow as a base then you can day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau or the famous Wieliczka Salt Mines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site just south of town.

But I think the average tourist will find Amsterdam for 4 days much more interesting - esepcially for museums, great food treats - its canals make it one of the world's most gorgeous cities and there are short day trips by train to gems like Haarlem or Delft, etc.

Krakow itself for 4 nights would be a few more than I personally would care for - not that much to do really for that amount of time - but you cannot go wrong really. Krakow would no doubt be much cheaper if that is a factor.

Hi PalenQ - your response was very much in line with my thoughts, as well. Thank you for your response. Helps a lot to validate my limited knowledge.

swanner - thanks for the thanks!

Great Topic, lots of great advice. You covered it all, I think, at least enough for any one who does not speak Dutch. However I don't think the coffee shops are going away.

PAPlumber - do you have anything to back up the thing about the coffee shops or just like me thinking that they are too entrenched to just be done away with. And thanks a lot for the very nice comments.

Dank u very wel!

Tot Ziens!

Been following the whole thing on another forum, Haarlem has announced that they will not introduce a weed pass but a hallmark system, which means buisness as usuall. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are not for it. Prohibition is not working in the south were the coffee shops are effected by the pass, CRIME is up in those areas. I do not belive the Dutch people want or will tolerate prohibition.

PA - having spent many a happy hour in various coffeeshops I welcome the thought of being able to continue to people watch and toke in freedom. Thanks for the update. Does seem improbable that coffeeshops like 4:20 where Americans have been gathering for years - including 60s radical and now poetry/jazz guru John Sinclair - that these places could be forced to ban non-Dutch and thus go out of business. Amsterdam's economy will definitely take a hit even though the undesirable types the law is aimed at - French and German teens and young folks who spend no other money. Now in my state of Michigan with my medical marihuana card I can go in my hometown to dozens of dispenaries and buy a mind-boggling number of pot varities over the counter - if someone told me ten years ago that I could do this in my hometown but not in Amsterdam I would have though that person was crazy.

But crazy times are afoot in Amsterdam where the iconic red-light district is even in for being sent to the dustbin of history.

Well I am going back for April 20 and Queens Day this spring and I'll bet I will be in a coffee shop or three

Thanks so much for putting this information together. Looks like I'm headed to Amsterdam next June, this is very helpful.

Thanks for the thanks johnny!

PAp - Queen's Day - ah one of my alltime top European trip memories - fantastic, wish I could be there next April - around April 30. One of Europe's finest citywide festivals - so mobbed and so so fun! A sea of orange for sure.

http://www.amsterdam.info/queensday/

For info about a typical Queen's Day in Amsterdam!

The weed pass is no longer. It is up to local governments to administer their own policy on tourists. Business as usual in Amsterdam, Haarlem, Rotterdam, den Hague, and Utrecht.

dank u very wel, PA for that uplifting update - cerebral news for sure for stoners - losers that they are! LOL!

bookmarking

http://www.botbedbreakfast.com/bed-breakfast-rooms.asp

Anyone looking for a great small family-run B&B in nearby Haarlem may want to look at the Bot family's B&B in the heart of Haarlem, lovingly set on a canal in this neat old regional town - I love day tripping into Amsterdam for the day and much of the night but I love coming back to quiet Haarlem for the night and the friendly environs of the Bot B&B - 40 euros for a single room with unlimited buffet breakfast - clean and safe and you will never ever touch this price in Amsterdam itself - even place much more costly may not be so nice!

Haarlem is a 20-minute train ride from Amsterdam but in many ways is a world away from cosmopolitan Amsterdam where in the touristed city centre English seems to be the lingua francs!

Amsterdam's Stedelijk 'Bath Tub" Addition Panned...
STEDELIJK'S NEW 'BATH TUB' ADDITION PANNED IN...this NYTimes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/arts/design/amsterdams-new-stedelijk-museum.html?_r=0

The author is pretty hard on Amsterdam officials and Museum Plein, on which it sits - especially excoriating the supermarket built next to it - a bogus charge IMO since the supermarket is underground - he just laments its above ground entrance - I think Amsterdam is right in making such things as supermarkets available to its residents and this was one of the few areas a large new one could be built in the city centre.

I think the writer suffers from a serious case of snob nose-in-the-air attitude I all too often find in art critics - missing the whole picture to give his witty take on things and how they should have been.

I also applaud Amsterdam officials for OKing such a monstrous to some addition to a world-famous museum.

Unlike Venice for example Amsterdam in recent years has shown it is a real city and modern protrusions that such boorish art critics may lampoon signify just that..

Vive Amsterdam!

Anyone have an opinion on the new Modern Art Museum (Stedelijk) addition?

Krakow or Amsterdam...now that's a tough call, swanner. In fact, maybe a no brainer. Don't we make such choices when traveling. So is it Paris or London, Sarasota or St. Augustine, Yellowstone or Yosemite?

Bill in Boston

THREE NIGHTS TOO LITTLE TIME?

We'll be on an 8 day biking trip across Austria ending in Vienna. My thought is to fly to Amsterdam (never visited there) for a few nights then return to the US. Are three nights in Amsterdam too little time to see it? 4 nights better? Reading the posts it sounds like I could spend 2 weeks there and have a great time, but only have a few days. What's not to miss? Also, any heads-up on charming hotel or B&B? Lots of questions, I know. Thanks in advance!

3 nights would be fine - more the better of course - but two full days you can see all the must sights which I would say are:

The Anne Frank House (book a time slot on the web site to avoid a long wait in line); Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum (adjoining each other on Museumplein) and a Canal Boat Ride.

Other than that the must site IMO in Amsterdam is the beautiful city itself - walk leisurely along the myriad of canals lacing the city center - plop down on a park bench and have a picnic and watch the eclectic boat traffic ply by.

Now for some folks going to a coffeeshop and walking thru the Red-Light district are musts but that of course is not for everyone - coffeeshops like in places that legally for all practical purposes sell marijuana and hash over the counter and allow folks to smoke inside (outside is fine to if somewhat discrete).

so yes for must sights two days is enough as IMO there are few must sights besides the town itself.

I don't know didilly about hotels or B&Bs in Amsterdam as I now always stay in nearby Haarlem but if you make a separate post there will be lots of advice. My favorite area to stay in in Amsterdam would be in the vicinity of Museumplein and Vondel Park though some favor the really cool and quaint canals in the northwest part of the town center - houseboats are also available though the facilities in those can be downright smelly according to many reports so get one that gets good reviews.

Thank you! This was awesome info for an Amsterdam newbie..I am planning a 2014 visit and I have been collecting info during my down time at work..just curious..what does SRO mean so I understand the context of the post? Thank you or your help!

not sure of context but I would think SRO - Standing Room Only?

Thanks for the thanx!

Love all the info in these posts! Taking my son for a few days in March! Anyone taken the Mikes Bikes Tour? We did that in Munich and it was a blast ~

Information for people that like to visit on queensday (koninginnedag). This year queen beatrix will step down and from april 30th 2013 her son, Willem Alexander will be the new king. So starting 2014, queensday will be kingsday (koningsdag) and will be celerated on april 27th (exception is 2014: then april 27th is on a sunday, so it will be celebrated one day earlier).

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/amsterdams-stedelijk-bath-tub-addition-panned.cfm

An article discussing a new and conroversial addition to the Stedelijk Modern Art museum, a major component of the three world-class museums on Museumplein - along with the Rijksmuseum, re-opening in full this week after a long long renovation and the Van Gogh Museum.

The Stedelijhk itself was closed for remodeling for years too so all museums now should be more user-friendly than before!