Amsterdam?
 

Hey all,

My wife and I are headed to Amsterdam in a couple of weeks and are trying to together an agenda of... um, fun things to do, beyond the museums, Anne Frank Haus, etc. Anyone have some good experiences they can share?

I don't smoke weed, but I'm sure we'll stop by a coffee shop so she can light one up - she says it makes her extra horny, so that works out well for me. We may hit one of the live sex shows afterward, just to make the evening more electric.

We're there for five days, though - and any suggestions you could make - adult themed or tourist themed - would be appreciated.

The Pancake house (same block as the Anne Frank House) is a great breakfast spot - if a little bit americanized. If I were there, I'd make a b-line for the place....

The countryside is fantastic, as is the Rijksmuseum (sp) and Van Gough museum.

Whatever you do, don't eat the space cakes (esp. if you don't normally smoke pot,) their active ingredient is similar to hash, but since you ingetst it, it takes a lot longer to take hold - then WHAM, you're fucked.

Rent a bike, and cruise the city...know in advance that the sex shows are cheezy, and the Red Light district gives some people the heebie-jeebies (I was astounded,) and go early night time (9-10pm).

Heinekin brewery is cool - 1/2 hour of unlimited beer (get a drinking game going, and if you're nice, they'll let you stay longer.

Take a boat taxi - try the bars, or jazz clubs (saw some great bands). While at the bar, ask for Heiniken Tarwebok (I loved it). They usually only have one beer on tap (Heine or Amstell) but a ton in bottles.

Try wandering around, you're bound to end up somewhere interesting. Amsterdam, even without the coffee shops, is a fantastic city!

Have fun!

Cool! Thanks! Either the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gough museum is about to close for three years, so I hope we get there before that happens.

Bike riding is definitely on the agenda, as is a boat taxi. She's a jazz fanatic, so I know we'll end up in several clubs. I'm looking forward to the bars, as I've heard they're on the same friendliness scale as Ireland's pubs, which I loved. Thanks for the tip on the Tarwebok!

We figure the Red Light district is one of those must-experience things. I figure the cheese factor will be high, but what the hell? Will take the time suggestion into account though.

We're also thinking about a day trip, possibly over to Germany, just for the heck of it.

Never been but I wouldn't pass up the chance to see the red light district. You just won't ever see something like that in america!

2 things....

the leidseplein is the coolest area for dinner/bars/coffeeshops/ hanging out... you can also take a ride on the canals and that's a great launching point.

also, there's 2 zoos there that are insane! the main zoo in town is great (esp. after a spacecake!) and if you take about a 1/2 hour train ride, theres' a place called the apahuil(that's how it's pronounced)... it's this crazy monkey zoo and there's one section where a flock of little monkeys hang out that you can pet/hang with! i highly recommend it.

Grey Area coffe shop! Even if you dont smoke weed you should smoke some of this weed.

The Red light district is really bizarre, but you must go as everyone will ask you about it. Its hard for me to explain why I dont like it.

Consider a canal boat tour, and also a Diamond factory. The short tour of a diamond factory that I took was pretty interesting.

Anne Frank Haus is wack (long line, not much to see), try Van Gogh on shrooms instead.

Whatever you want to know about Amsterdam, ask me. I'm Dutch and I actually lived in (or at least extremely near) Amsterdam.

What I would certainly recommend is Boom Chicago! These are a bunch of American/European comedians that have their own theatre at the Leidseplein. I found them extremely funny. It is a good mix between American humor and the European humor.

Also, I would urge you to go and see the Albert Cuyp market. This is the largest market in the Netherlands and you can buy virtually anything there. The market is over 2kms long, which is much more than one mile. If you like Italian icecream (who doesn't??) you should visit Gelateria Peppino. It is run by one of those really proud Italians making 22 flavors of ice cream fresh every single day.

If you like clubs and cafes the 2 places to visit are the Leidseplein and the Rembrandtplein, there will be certainly something for you there.

If you have any more questions, just ask :)

www.boomchicago.nl

I'm hoping you haven't left yet and are able to read these posts..

If you're into horticulture, or even if you aren't and just don't have anything to do, you could always check out the quite large flower market.. Seems a popular place to get wooden tulips and shoes.. wooden, as well. Just someplace different, with cool stuff to look at and people walking about trying to give you pot seeds (at least when I was there, a while back).

The red light destrict can be quite hilarious if one thinks to hard (e.g. the presence of a "Prostitute Information Center" located next to a church..) but since I was quite underage at the time, I didn't exactly expend too much time there.

Be sure to check out the Van Gogh museum if you have even an inkling of interest.. Same goes for the Rijksmuseum.

Street entertainers an be entertaining, especially if they run about with chainsaws.. Watch out for the drunk stoners who enjoy stripping in public.

Bon voyage.

But it's way overrated.

If you think about visiting. Please don't take pictures of the prostitutes without asking. It might get you into trouble with their pimps.

Also, if you're thinking about a daytrip to Germany, don't. To get to an interesting German city would cost you a lot of time. Visit Antwerp (Belgium) instead. That's only about 2,5 hours away.

Also, don't be worried about language barriers. You don't need to learn any standard phrases. Most Dutch people speak English well, others only a little bit. But in general they'll try to make it easy for you.

If you might be interested in seeing a castles dating back as far as A.D. 1280 you might want to visit the Muiderslot. Beautifully restored. And only 20 minutes outside of Amsterdam.

Also Madurodam which is in The Hague might be of interest to you. A mini version of many of the Dutch land marks are there.

Some links:
Artis (the Zoo mentioned by madcap_hijinx)
the Bulldog (Chain of coffeeshops)
Amsterdam
Van Gogh Museum
Rijksmuseum
Board of Tourism
Boom Chicago! (Comedy bar in A'dam)
Madurodam (miniature version of a miniature country)
the Muiderslot castle (unfortunately in Dutch)
Visit Amsterdam/



I hope this will be of interest to you :)

don't listen to a local! they never DO the tourist stuff!
 

i guess if you're into comedy...go to boom!chicago.... but i can't think of anything worse than bad comedy... and even decent or mediocre comedy is REALLY bad. if you want to talk specifics, i'd much more recommend a concert at the milkweg or milkveg, whatever it's called. again, it's in the leidseplein and it's actually right around the corner. also w/in a couple of blocks, there's a casino if gamin's your thing!

best coffee shops= doors cafe(near the train station) and the rooksomething (rookery/ rukh room, something like that) which there are two or three of around town

Re: don't listen to a local! they never DO the tourist stuff!
 

Like going into a foreign McDonalds and shout out: It's exactly like home! :P


Well anyway, this is both tourist and adult themed, so the TS should feel right at home.

http://www.bananenbar.nl/index.php

If you're going over to the van Gogh museum, the Stedelijk museum is a on the other end of the street - mostly modern art (http://www.stedelijk.nl)

If you're up for dancing, the Melkweg en Paradiso are pretty cool. The first mushroom shop (i think) in Holland is in the kerkstraat, where there's also funny ogre-and-troll fantasy style coffeeshop.

Have a great time!

go to the rembrandt museum

Whoa- hanging out with monkeys after a spacecake...

Now that could be VERY cool....

two words.... Window Brothels!



No, I've never been there but that would probably be my second stop, after a coffee shop. Don't really care much for coffee though LOL

Other forum topics have captured my attention since I first posted this as a rookie, but thanks everyone for their suggestions! We leave tomorrow - and will try to give a full report when we return!

It's amazing. The thing we both think we'll miss the most in the week we're gone is this board! :)

Enjoy your trip. I was in Amsterdam for a few days back in early June. Very crowded city, but I did have a lot of fun there.

if u go there SMOKE THE WEEEEED
haha

Ha!! Coolness! We've just discovered the hotel's office room, with free (well, I hope) Intenet access. Wally, I understand what you're saying. The crowds are huge. And a large number of folks tend to.. well, weave a little when they walk. :)

We're having fun. MrsQuackers/Yoshi has been exploring the coffee shops. I've been eyeing the red light district. And we've even managed to work in some culture - but not too much. ;)

Do they really put mayo on the french fries there? like vincent said in pulp, atleast ithink it was in amsterdam..

They do, in fact, put mayo on fries. They douse 'em. One of the coolest carb-lovin' things over here is the fact that on virtually any street corner, there are shops that sell ENORMOUS carry-bags of fries (extra .50 euros for mayo) and ice cream.

You know how in US storefronts there are those visual signs with the lines slashed through them (i.e. no smoking=a cigarette with a line slashed through it, etc)? Here, those signs show ice cream cones and those bags of fries! How cool is that?

Ok, maybe not as cool as the gorgeous prostitutes in lingerie trying to lure you over, but still pretty cool!

I have always wanted to visit Amsterdam. Using some of the good pointers in this thread I think I will plot out a course of action for my next vacation. Much appreciate to all who had input.

too bad your married. if the weather is nice, sitting around and stairing at dutch girls on bikes is nice.

The Van Gough Museum is awesome. The Heinekken (sp?) brewery tour is fun too.

water-boy, I'll try to put the trip highlights up when we get back. The business office of the Swissotel probably isn't the best place for a long post. :)

sharked_3, being married doesn't mean I'm blind to the dutch girls on bikes. Hell, MrsQuackers and I have been having a great time looking at them as we sit in cafes, sipping drinks. We've also had a blast walking through the red light district.

More later! :)