Things to see in Amsterdam?

[Starchild]

I you all.

My friends and I will probably be going on the train because we can get from a local station to Amsterdam for £50 on some deal or another. Note to self, must check it actually drops us off in the city centre...

I adore markets and would love to know what some good ones are and what I can get in them. Am interested in momentos, good dutch cheese, foreign delicacies and, if possible, an authentic "Girl with the Pearl Earring" preferably for under €10.

[Dr Strangelove]

Don't forget to catch the Dutch ****s.

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Thucydides
I believe there's also a beach nearby, around a half hour away, but I don't have exact directions to get there.

Beach, January, Holland......?

[Hueij]

Originally posted by reds4ever


Beach, January, Holland......?

Best time to go there, the beach won't be occupied by the Germans

[Zopperoni]

Yup, here are some photos of beach-go'ers in January:

[germanos]

Originally posted by Zopperoni
Yup, here are some photos of beach-go'ers in January:

OK!

Which one is you

[Caligastia]

If you want to go on a fantastic non-touristy boat ride, pick up one of the local magazines and you'll find an ad for one that leaves from a bar in the leidseplein area. It's just a small boat that can fit 6 - 8 people. You can smoke( ) and drink as you cruise the canals.

I highly recommend it. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the bar or the magazine, but I'm sure you'll find it without much effort.

[molly bloom]

Starchild- first can I apologize for not replying sooner to your p.m.- I noticed it only on Saturday, can you believe, which embarasses me greatly. I will endeavour to send you the recipes for a couple of cocktails I think you'll find interesting and the first course and dessert course from the Christmas Day menu, chez nous.

Thank you for your kind words- the cold soup was just the think in 36 degrees heat.

Any road up, as they say in Coronation Street, I recommend- the Sex Museum, near Central Station. It's an absolute hoot, you'll scream your t!ts off if you go there, and its conveniently situated close to some good Indonesian cafes.

Do go to a Dutch Brown House- like an British pub, but with excellent coffee, and try one of those wonderful filling Dutch soups with brown beans or spinach- they stick to your ribs and warm you up after an Arctic blast across the IJ.

The flea market near the university (?) is where you might find an elusive Vermeer or de Hooch or Steen, but I seriously doubt it. I think there's a book market too, and I seem to recall someone finding a Mercator map in the back of a book a few decades' ago.

There is also the big flower market (come back with a tulip in your hair) and the cheese market.

Do go to the Museum of the Dutch Resistance- we talked to one of the voluteers there in 1996, and he is photographed in the Time Life history fo WWII passing rifles into a hiding place. It's an intensely moving experience to visit there, and I seem to recall it's near the old Olympic stadium too.

The Jewish Museum is more centrally located, in two old Sephardi synagogues, and is a fascinating and again, very moving place to walk round.

The superb chocolate shops are near Central Station on er, Haarlemmerstraat, I think, but I can't remember properly. Depending on the date of Easter, they might have some delicious Easter themed confections.

Kerkstraat has a great Portuguese restaurant, and some very gay venues.

If you're stuck for somewhere to stay, I can definitely recommend an old V.O.C. captain's house out on Achtergracht, called the Hotel de Munch, or Munck, I think.

Have a great holiday- oh, and don't forget the pancake houses (there's one on Prinsengracht) and the Anne Frank Museum. But you probably wouldn't want to go to the Anne Frank House and the Jewish Museum on the same day.

And- make a trip to den Haag- the Mauritshaus will reward the effort, with its collection from the Ducth Golden Age of painting.

[Starchild]

I love molly more than ever.

Though I'm not sure if we'll have time to do all that. The sad thing is, I am interested in history, culture, and other meaningless end-of-20th century buzzwords. The people I'm travelling with will be interested in weed and shrooms.

Not that I won't partake myself of course. I just want to do something else than sit in a café all day trying the dozen varieties of spacecake. Still, I think I may be able to convince them a visit to the Sex Museum is in order.

[Cruddy]

I CANNOT BELEIVE no one has mentioned Anne Frank's house - a visit here (more of a pilgrimage) is only 10-15 minutes walk from Centraal Station, towards the Jordaan.

Jordaan is also excellent for getting real food from a bakery rather than the fast junk sold around Centraal.

If you want to get some low down news on upcoming raves, you could try the Vrankrijk on Spuistraat ("Frank-Rake on Spy-straat"). Not too sure if this is still going, but look for the massive wall murals, then on the other side of the street is a steel door (like a dungeon) at ground level. Open Tuesday and Thursday evenings, it's like a central information point for squatting and other quasi legal activities.

Vrankrijk website - needs a translator (try Babel Fish?)

It's rather hardcore though, so if you're just there for the weekend I wouldn't bother. Also this info is rather old, so maybe doing some surfing could set you up better.

EDIT: Best coffee shops to visit on the way to the Jordaan - Twerde Kamer and Dutch Flowers, both very clean and trouble free due to their patronage by well connected Dutch folk. Dutch Flowers probably doesn't match your sexual orientation though...

Oh, and have lots of fun!

[Combat Ingrid]

My impressions of Amsterdam:

The city in general: brown houses and small channels, more brown houses and small channels, and... more brown houses and small channels

Red light district: Nasty stench of weed and fried food, drunk, sweaty Brits touring the bordellos, and filthy, sweat-smelling Africans trying to sell drugs to you

My apologies to the Dutch here if that was offensive, but I found the city in general to be rather boring (except the Vondelpark, which was very nice) and the red light district, well... it smelled a lot there.

One good point though for the gays on this forum: the hottest prostitutes I saw there were the sailors in a gay bordello