Netherlands

[LuisC]

Going to Amsterdam next Saturday, 04/30 for work. I decided to stay an extra week for vacation and explore a bit with the wife. This is going to be our first very nice vacation. One of the place we are thinking of going for a day or 2 is Paris.

Looking for suggestions on places to go and see. :smile:

 

[Dutchwindmill]

I hope you are not afraid of people.I mean LOTS of people! 04/30 is Koninginen dag.
The day our Queen celebrate her birthday.Amsterdam is one of the places people like to visit to party.Many hundreds of thousands are coming by train,so better stay away from Amsterdam Central Station and other nearby train stations.The city center is one giant flea market.with sometimes great bargains,but most the time they sell rubbish.The place for the party is the Museumplein.Lots of great bands will preform.
04/05 is a other date you might find interesting.The day we remember our victims from WW2.One of the ceremony's take place in Amsterdam on the "Dam" around 8pm.Perhaps you see our Queen and Prince Royal.
Going from Amsterdam to Paris is a piece of cake.Take the Talys train Hop in at Amsterdam CS and 3.5 hour later you are in La belle France.
One tip!!!!!
Never book in advance!!. Its most the time a ripoff.They book you always 1st class! while 2nd is just as good.By going to Amsterdam CS you can almost always buy a "last minute "ticket that saves you up to 50%.The only downside is that by buying a last minute you are restricted to the time your chairs are free.But don't worry, the Talys goes to Paris every hour or so.
Further... I can see the weather forecast for next week,but so far the weather is like summer in Holland at the moment. 75F on average !!

 

[Patrick]

What Rob said... Owh and he might have forgotten 5-5-11, the fourth of may is the national memorial day for warvictems but the fifth is the day we celebrate our freedom... It's another crowded day like 30-4... Again with music, beer, music and more beer!

Hope you enjoy our little country

 

[truronion]

Keukenhof Gardens at this time of year is a must visit with your camera and the family.

 

[Dutchwindmill]

A small remark about the Keukenhof..The gardens close may 15th.But due to the early spring with little rain and lovely but very warm weather most of the flowers are over their peak already.
When you planned to visit the Anne Frank house.Please keep in mind that during the tourist season there are massive ques to get in.Sometimes more than 2 hours+ long.This while most tourists have seen the house in 15 minutes.

 

[keith5523]

Sounds like a small country...with a big bar tab.:biggrin:

Enjoy your trip!

 

[truronion]

Thanks for your update on Keukenhof.

 

[Dutchwindmill]

At the moment we have the hottest spring in years. 80F+
Never had a sunburn that early.

 

[LuisC]

Thanks to all for the information. I will be going to Doetinchem from 6/30 to 5/6 for work, then going to Amsterdam 5.6 until 5.15 for vacation. I also heard about a place called "Artis" that is really nice. Also, I would like to go see a field of Tulips and take some photos there. We are looking to spend some days in Amsterdam but also would like to see other cities. Any suggestions?

 

[LuisC]

Oh, I forgot. I have been waiting for a replacement on the D300s but with this trip coming up, I am considering getting the D7000. I have a love hate relationship with my D80. It takes great pictures, but in low light is a different ball game.

 

[Lurker]

Artis is the zoo. If, as Rob mentioned, the long lines at the Anne Frank museum turn you off, do by all means visit the Verzetsmuseum (resistance museum) right across Artis. The one time I tourguided a fairly well-to-do coworker of mine (he hired me as his personal tourguide and paid for my ticket) I took him there and he was very impressed - "we never learned about this stuff at school" he mentioned.

Also visit the Zaanse Schans - it's nearby Amsterdam (you can get there by train and a short walk) - it's very touristy with windmills and everything, but also fun to visit and very photogenic.

 

[LuisC]

Artis is the zoo. If, as Rob mentioned, the long lines at the Anne Frank museum turn you off, do by all means visit the Verzetsmuseum (resistance museum) right across Artis. The one time I tourguided a fairly well-to-do coworker of mine (he hired me as his personal tourguide and paid for my ticket) I took him there and he was very impressed - "we never learned about this stuff at school" he mentioned.

Also visit the Zaanse Schans - it's nearby Amsterdam (you can get there by train and a short walk) - it's very touristy with windmills and everything, but also fun to visit and very photogenic.

My Uncle also warned me about the lines at Anne Frank museum, but mentioned that I can buy the tickets ahead of time and will not have to wait that long. However, if buying the tickets ahead of time, I need to be there on the time specified.

 

[Dutchwindmill]

Doetinchem????? That's even for the Dutch almost the end of the world!!:wink:
Don't know if you have any spare time while on the job,but a nice place to visit while there is Arnhem /Oosterbeek. Takes only 30 minutes by stop train.Visit the Airborne Museum at Hotel Hartensteyn. Very worth the visit!
Artis is one of the oldest Zoo's of Europe.Never been there,but it seems to be a nice place.If you hate to be handled as a tourist i can offer you a guided tour to the windmills of Kinderdijk.Pick you up at Rotterdam CS (Central Station). have a cup of coffee,walk trough our city center to the ferry and take a ride along the river to Kinderdijk.Take all the time you want and see and laugh at the lines of tourists who take the windmills in 10 minutes flat:smile:
When you have seen that,we hop on the ferry again and travel to Dordrecht.A nice non tourist Historic city for some sight seeing . When you have inhaled enough Dutch culture we take the train back.I leave in Rotterdam while you get out a few stops later in Amsterdam.
I did this tour two years ago with a fellow forum member and he liked it a lot!

 

[Dutchwindmill]

Just remembered this museum in Arnhem that's more than worth a visit.Het Openlucht Museum.(=the open air museum) A village with historic houses,factories and such .Taken down at the place where they could not stay any longer,and rebuild in the museum.
You can spend a day there.

 

[Bikinchris]

Rob is a great tour guide. I can vouch for him. He really knows his way around. If you are short, watch out. He has long Dutch legs and can walk fast!

The fast ferry ride to Kinderdijk is interesting too.

BTW, right down the street from Anne Frank House is a great pancake restaurant. Get a ham and cheese pancake for lunch, then a sweet pancake for dessert. Buy your ticket ahead and have a great lunch Dutch style, then waddle back to the Anne Frank House.
http://www.pancake.nl/indexeng.php
http://www.pancake.nl/includes/menu_english.pdf

 

[DigitalHeMan]

Artis is OK as zoos go, and great for taking children to, but, in my opinion, not the best zoo for photography. The animals never look that happy..... However one of the elephants is due to give birth fairly soon, which might make for some nice shots (although I don't think she is due until June).

If you want to do a zoo, then Apenheul, a monkey reserve, is a much better option, although you will have to rent a car to get there. You will be able to visit Paleis Het Loo though at the same time, which is nearby, the Queen's (former) residence.

Keukenhof will almost be closed by the time you are there, and I'm not sure how many of the displays will still be impressive, but there are plenty of tulip fields in the neighborhood of Keukenhof.

 

[pirahnah3]

its a fantastic area, spent about 10 days there a couple years ago, met rob, very knowladgeable on where to go in the area. The flower exibit (yeah i cant spell that guys sorry lol) was beautiful but I also missed its prime and was told that alot of the flowers had already been removed, what was there was beautiful thou. I can say a walk thru amsterdam will open your eyes, I found alot of nice street photography there. I also visited a small town called volendam and took a ferry to a small island and it was quite beautiful, very calm and relaxed not like the big citys. Also I highly recomend the local foods, I didnt find much that I didnt like and having all the snack shops around was great.

On another note, Dont bother with the exchange places in the airports or anything talk to your bank. Beleive it or not they will do the exchanges for that days rate for free but it may need to be done a week in advnce, the other thing i hear alot of business folks do is just to hit up an ATM or MAC whichever you want to call it and withdraw money from your account that way. Again I would talk to the bank and let them know you are traveling so that they do not shut off your cards. Most people in the netherlands that I talked to when having english spoken too them replied in kind, and did not demean or lessen the services they offered at all because of it. I have heard of other stories from other countried however that they dont take kindly to us americans.

dutch and german are two very close languages but Avoid using the latter if you know any due to past history in the country.

 

[LuisC]

Doetinchem????? That's even for the Dutch almost the end of the world!!:wink:
Don't know if you have any spare time while on the job,but a nice place to visit while there is Arnhem /Oosterbeek. Takes only 30 minutes by stop train.Visit the Airborne Museum at Hotel Hartensteyn. Very worth the visit!
Artis is one of the oldest Zoo's of Europe.Never been there,but it seems to be a nice place.If you hate to be handled as a tourist i can offer you a guided tour to the windmills of Kinderdijk.Pick you up at Rotterdam CS (Central Station). have a cup of coffee,walk trough our city center to the ferry and take a ride along the river to Kinderdijk.Take all the time you want and see and laugh at the lines of tourists who take the windmills in 10 minutes flat:smile:
When you have seen that,we hop on the ferry again and travel to Dordrecht.A nice non tourist Historic city for some sight seeing . When you have inhaled enough Dutch culture we take the train back.I leave in Rotterdam while you get out a few stops later in Amsterdam.
I did this tour two years ago with a fellow forum member and he liked it a lot!

Hi Rob, I just saw this, thanks for the offer. I left home Monday to Raleigh North Carolina and had not had a chance to get online. I sent you a PM.

 

[LuisC]

Doetinchem????? That's even for the Dutch almost the end of the world!!:wink:

Rob,

Here is a view of the Hotel I normally stay in Doetinchem. I took this one last December when I arrived. Next day it was all covered in snow. The Hotel and people were great. I would recommend it if you ever want to go on a small few day trip. However, if you stay there tell them you want to be on the 1st floor. Normally, I get the 3rd floor and is not that fun to go up the countless stairs.

Villa Ruimzicht

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And this one of an Old Windmill close to the Hotel I took in February of this year.

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Looking forward to seeing you over there.

 

[nickevans]

Enjoy. High on my list of must visit places.