Ask me anything about Amsterdam!

[joeybee12]

I've been back about 10 days, and my "relaxation" is finally wearing off. Seriously, I was very relaxed, and I did everything legal while I was there. Don't know if the relaxation came from Amsterdm, or the other places I visited.

Anyway, I'll tell you one thing before you ask questions--the trains do not run on time. It's funny, but they really don't adhere to the schedule as strictly as other countries--the buses and trams are also always late. This was unusual because I spent most of my time in prague, and they run right on the minute.

Oh, and I bet everyone rides a bike because the public transportation is not cheap. It was 6.50 for a day pass--it was half that in Brussels, and about that for a 2-week pass in prague!

[LynneSin]

1. I read on a fundie website about Amsterdam

that everyone lives in fear because of the rampant drug use that happens everywhere in the city.

Please debunk

[joeybee12]

2. Horsecrap! It is the safest city...

...everyone is very accepting, and you feel that. Nobody is afraid--you can walk the streets late at night without being anxious.

I was actually there 22 years ago, and my impression this time is that it's much cleaner. There's also a lot of renovation going on. Even the area that was the center of the drug use a few years back--the Jordaan--is now a very hip, trendy place.

There is, however, a lot of pot smoking. BFD.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Misunderestimator]

5. Welcome to DU, juryrigged.

:hi:

[bushisanidiot]

12. Maybe they mistook your friend for an illegal alien and they were doing

their patriotic duty to detain him/her. I wonder if Amsterdam has their own version of "minute men" or the "patriot act".


hmm..

[goodboy]

15. bullshit. why did he go back if he was mugged once? Your

roommate must've been asking for it,...and furthermore, here's your crime stats...

http://www.drugwarfacts.org/thenethe.htm

[billyskank]

47. The pot smoking is almost all tourists, no doubt.

[goodboy]

9. there's virtually no violent crime in A-dam. only petty crime like pick

pockets...but that's in any city.

Those people don't live in fear.

[joeybee12]

13. True...violent crime seems to be more contained in America...

...people worry about their bikes being stolen, but no one's going to pull a gun on you.

[goodboy]

17. that's right. Since cannabis is decriminilized, nobody's trying to rob

you.,..however, if this 16post-count poster's friend got mugged, it's because he was

1. in the wrong place at the wrong time TWICE

2. or he was doing something he shouldn't have with people he shouldn't have. but that doesn't make A-dam more dangerous than detroit

[da_chimperor]

29. Yeah, it's mostly safe

If you're in a non-touristic part of town and intoxicated early on a Saturday morning, you may get mugged at knife point but that's basically the worst thing that could happen. More likely guys would hassle you and follow you for a while asking for money, and then leave once you realize you weren't feeling charitable.

[joeybee12]

40. What surprised me was that there were no gypsies....

...they were all over Belgium, and since the countries border each other, I figured I'd get hit up in the Netherlands also.

[MrScorpio]

62. Those fundies are so full of shit

My wife and I walked around that town AT NIGHT plenty of times.

We never felt safer.

The people were nothing except friendly and helpful. It's one of the safest places I've ever been.

Rotterdam, on the other hand, is a different story

[chickenscratching]

4. did you go to any coffee shops/

did you try the gray area?

[joeybee12]

6. Wnet by coffee shops, but not in them...you can tell what's what by the

aroma and the glazed look of the customers!

[goodboy]

10. grey area sucks except for their product. no place to sit down, and that

cat who "pretends" to be asleep in the window is like a fur coated razor blade.

[chickenscratching]

21. i thought

most of the coffee shops did a terrible job with seating, and music.
nothing mellow.

[goodboy]

25. My absolute Fav. was the Damkring...(also featured in Ocean's 12)

mellow music, no tourists ('cept me) and some of the finest product in the city. This is where i got the real AK-47. It's also one of the few coffeeshops that also sells alcohol. Not that I needed any alcohol after the AK-47...I was glued to my chair.

[goodboy]

7. There are 750,000 people there, and 600,000 bikes

Ok, which coffeeshops did you go to?

[joeybee12]

8. Read somewhere that the cyclists always have the right of way...

...even if they don't, they sure act like it. They don't obey the lights, etc. Takes a while to get used to and to be on the look-out for them.

BTW, it's the flattest country anywhere. Mountains? No. Hills? No. There's not even a bump anywhere!

[goodboy]

11. if you walk on a bike path, the last thing you'll hear is a little 'ring

ring' before some cyclist takes you out

[joeybee12]

18. Yeah, got a few on my first day!

[China_cat]

48. Yes there is a hill, too.

It's in the middle of Zuider Park in Den Haag. They built it out of trash.

[joeybee12]

50. Hey, they built the whole country, so that doesn't surprise me...

...it's all reclaimed ocean, anyway. Well...not all....

[Huckebein the Raven]

14. Do they have vending machine restaurants there ?

I thought I was one when Dave Atell did Insomniac in Amsterdam. Or is it a la carte restaurants ? Can't think of the proper term at the moment

[joeybee12]

16. I think they do...I recall seeing one or two on my travels, but can't

recall which city it was! Doubt it was Brussels or Prague, so it had to be Amsterdam. Reminds me of an old Doris Day-Rock Hudson movie set in New York in the late 50's.

[da_chimperor]

28. You're referring to FEBO, where you get food out of a wall

I wouldn't call it a 'restaurant' though. The food is great if you're drunk, but I would suggest sticking to their fries (which are damn good) if you're sober. There are ones other than FEBO, but it's the most famous of them.

http://www.febo.nl/intro.html

[Huckebein the Raven]

30. Yeah that's it. I was thinking of a way to describe it

One day I will make it to Amsterdam. Sigh....

[da_chimperor]

31. They're everywhere

Every major town has at least one. Amsterdam has something like 20 of them. Very, VERY dutch. They also have fried chicken, but i have yet to try it for good reason.

[Rowdyboy]

19. 4 of us (all gay men) are planning on going next June for a week

Any suggestions on where to stay? Or anything else you might suggest....

[chickenscratching]

22. are you looking for nice hotel

or would you settle for a hostel?

[Rowdyboy]

27. I imagine we're too old for hostels (age 22-54)

I thought about checking out gay B@B's on line for a two bed-room apt. Either that or two rooms in an old house would be nice. Not really looking for an upscale US type hotel.

[joeybee12]

41. You're not too old, and go in late July for the Pride Parade and festival.

...might as well hit it while it's really hopping.

As for the hostels, unless a place specifically has an age limit, you should be ok. Try looking for a nice place outside the city center--if you stay in the Plantage or Museum area, you'll ger a quieter place.

[Wapsie B]

20. Now that we have that all asked and answered,

did you happen to be near or through the red light district?

[joeybee12]

46. You cannot avoid the red light district...the city is quite small, and

you'll run into it at some point whether you're headed there or not.

Went there once on purpose--red-lit windows everywhere! And since I'm not old or disgusting (at least not yet) the ladies would all bang on the window when I wnet by...they're barking up the wrong tree.

One of the most dense "window" areas is all around Oude Kerk--the Old Chruch. Huge church surrounded by women in lingerie in their windows. Surreal.

[Wapsie B]

61. Thanks.

That's always been one of the places I like to see just for the things you describe.

[WilliamPitt]

23. Did you meet the White Widow?

[goodboy]

26. there's stuff there that makes white widow look like a cheap whore>>>

<>

[da_chimperor]

34. Well, did you smoke it pure?

People always smoke it pure and then get baked out of their skulls before they have the time to realize what's going on. Been to A'dam often, btw?

[goodboy]

37. pure indeed...although to be fair, I did smoke a half/half of White

Widow when I first got to town.. I hadn't smoked in 10 days so I thought I should kind of "ease" into it.


I've just been once to a-dam last july...but I crammed in a year's worth of activities., I've been all through that city! I know it now, like the back of my hand.

Wanna go back this summer.

[joeybee12]

49. I'm too innocent to answer that...so I had to read

the other replies!

[Mizmoon]

24. My advice to all Americans in A'Dam

Those sidewalks ... those are roads.


:)

[joeybee12]

51. What took me a while was they they'e like roads in that people riding

in one direction are on one side of the street, and those going in the other direction are on the other side. I was always looking both ways.

[hfojvt]

32. did they hassle you at the airport?

When I flew out of Amsterdam, the airport guy seemed to want to know what I did. I was only there for about three hours and spent most of my time walking around trying to get kroners so I could buy a coke. One street vendor would take dollars but he wanted like $5 for a half liter bottle. I should have paid it anyway because I ended up with about $16 worth of dutch coins that are useless to me, except I am a coin collector. But I could have seen more of Amsterdam if they had been using Euros at the time.

[joeybee12]

43. Nope--but coming back to the US was a major pain....

...single guy, umeployed, traveling alone--set off all their buttons. Everything got pawed through. I flew into Prague, showed my passport, and got waived through. I think it's a sign that we're slowly moving towards a quasi-police state. While other countries are opening up, we're closing in on ourselves.

I think I'll move.

[hfojvt]

54. Yes, coming into America was the one place where

they searched my bags. Switzerland was another, but my trip was pre 911. I only had two carry-on bags which did not seem like enough luggage for ten days in Europe. Plus I goofed up the "stand behind the line" thing which made it seem like I was trying to sneak through with the elderly couple ahead of me.

[joeybee12]

55. I went to Spain for a week and only had carry-on bags...didn't have

a problem then. That was pre 9-11 also.

[Corgigal]

33. Housing

Any idea of the prices. I'm just wondering (dreaming) if two Americans can retire and live off their pension over there.

[da_chimperor]

36. It varies

Here's a site, in english, that can help you out. Rental only, though, but they're fairly good.

http://www.directwonen.nl/en/default.aspx

[joeybee12]

53. I was looking at some real estate ads in windows...looked fairly pricey

in Amsterdam. Still less than the vastly over-inflated US market, though.

[tigereye]

35. my brother and his GF

are going to be there this week. I am so jealous. That is one place I have always wanted to visit. :)

[joeybee12]

44. Hey, hitch a ride in their luggage!

[EstimatedProphet]

38. Did you get out to see any of the rest of the country?

I want to go this summer (the Prophetess is finishing her doctorate, and I'm going to take her for a grad present) and I'd also like to see some of the surrounding countryside. Any package tours of the Netherlads that you recommend?

[joeybee12]

39. It's a small country--you can do day trips anywhere from Amsterdam...

...I went to Lisse, and the K.....Gardens--fabulous. You can take a bus and go by all the tulip fields that are in bloom. There's a antional park a little to the north--it's name will come to me. Sounds very nice,a nd they actually have a musuem with some of Van Gogh's masterpieces--I think they even have the Starry Night one.

[China_cat]

52. Go on your own.

Pick up a Dag Tocht book at any railroad station and check it out. Yes, it will be in Dutch but you'll be able to see what's what. Packages include train fare, bus transfers, entries and usually some kind of food. De Efteling is a great place to visit and the Flevohof.

For travel, check out the Meer Mans cards (for groups of 2 or more to save money on the trains), sommer swerf (sp) cards for the busses. It really is cheaper to do it yourself once you are there.

[EstimatedProphet]

56. Sounds great!

I was in Amsterdam a few years ago, but I didn't get out to see any of the countryside, and I am really sorry I didn't. Couple questions:
1)I'm expecting to get a double Eurailpass-will that be good enough to get around the country on?
2) What do you recommend?

[joeybee12]

57. Eurail will work in the Netherlands...BTW, The Netherlands refers

to the whole country...Holland refers to only most of it--can't recall the county/area that isn't part of Holland!

[smirkymonkey]

59. I have always wondered about that.

Is it kind of like the United Kingdom, Britain, England, Wales, Scotland?

[joeybee12]

60. Just tried looking it up, but my book doesn't say which province is

excluded.

I always thought they were interchangeable until I read that!

[da_chimperor]

64. There's two Hollands, Noord and Zuid Holland. Here's a handy map!

http://www.luventicus.org/maps/netherlands/provinces/

[joeybee12]

67. Thanks--that means East and West Holland, right?

I kid, I kid!

[China_cat]

65. Holland refers to 2 provinces

North Holland and South Holland. Some of the other provinces are Drenthe, Groningen, Friesland, Overijssel, North Brabant, Limburg, Flevoland, Gelderland, Utrecht and Zeeland. I think I got them all.

I forget which one it is but one of them has signs all through the province declaring it nuclear weapon free.

[joeybee12]

68. Could it be the province that the Hague is in? When I was just there,

a group of people were petitioning to haev Dumbo arrested when he shows up and try him for war crimes.

[China_cat]

70. Yes, Den Haag is in South Holland.

A friend of my father-in-law's worked in the library at the World Court for almost 40 years. He was fascinating to listen to.

[joeybee12]

71. Should have gone to see that before Dumbo tries to dismantle

that institution as well!:mad:

[China_cat]

58. It's been a while but the last time we went

(my husband is Dutch and his family lives there) the Eurailpass actually turned out to be almost twice as expensive as doing it yourself. Besides the meer mans card, if you are between 14 and 22(I think) you can get a 'teenertour' card for about the price of a regular day pass which allows you to ride anywhere 4 days out of 7.

Those you will only find at the trainstations.

Actually, if you take a passport photo with you you can get an offpeak card good for a year (offpeak is after 9am and on weekends) that'll get you 40% off all travel. And it's good for up to 4 people to get the 40% off so if you split the 49 euros it's a real bargain.

Here's a url you'll find handy
http://www.ns.nl/servlet/Satellite?cid=1083234338220&pagename=www.ns.nl%2FPage%2FArtikelPage_www.ns.nl&lang=en&c=Page

[RedCloud]

42. Did you amster da dam door when you where there?

[joeybee12]

45. No, and when I tried to put my finger in a dike...

...she got really, really pissed.

It was just into her ear.

[bikebloke]

63. Haven't been there in 14 years.

Back in the early 80's, when I was a poor backpacker, I managed to sleep outside (in a tent in pitched in Vondels Park). No problem with crime. Though there are areas where you should listen to intuition, and avoid when the feeling strikes.

The Nederlands isn't a good place for autostop. Being small, most traffic is local. A great country for biking. I've pedalled a good portion of their fiets pads. To make up for lack of hills (except in the west), they have headwinds.

I have old friends in Middle Holland I'd like to visit again. Though with the falling dollar, it may not happen. I wouldn't mind tasting again stroop vaffel and vla.

[joeybee12]

66. Hey--the last time I was there was the early 80's--stayed at a place then

called the Hotel--Budget--Youth--Kabul. Was surprised it was still around--doubt they'd have talen me now--the youth part, you know.

[joeybee12]

69. Vanity kick! And with that, I will say, "Dobrou Noc!" So if you have any

questions, I will answer them in the morning!

[Aiptasia]

72. I love adam. I learn useful phrases like "Rot Opt Klootzach"

Oh, and BTW, marijuana is still technically illegal there as well as the fresh shrooms. They just don't enforce the law on its use.

[joeybee12]

73. That's what I read also--but my guidebook was 2 years old & I

thought that might have changed.

[Aiptasia]

74. Nah, adam is timeless.. gezzeligh

I've been there three times and I love it more each time I go. I usually crash at the greenhouse-effect on warmoesstraat if i'm low on cash or at the suissehotel, right next to the ABN-AMRO on the damrak right near dam square.

I love how they try to sucker tourists into a chipknip card right as you step off the tarmac at Schiphol, when you can just buy a paper ticket for less than four euros near the train depot for central station.

Renting a bike is the way to go if you can, and getting out of the city center is a must if your going to be there for any length of time.

My favorite coffeeshops are homegrown fantasy, grey area (crowded), de kroon and abraxis. Not that I've been to any of them nor purchased any of their fine wares repeatedly. Wink-wink.

Some of the most amazing experiences were visiting the kukenhoff in full bloom (billions of flowers), bicycling around Naarden, Brookelyn and the Zuider Zee, and puking on the penis shaped statue outside cassa rosso in the red light district.

I shouldn't have had so much gin.

[joeybee12]

76. I did get to Kukenhoff...the flowers were amazing...

...I took a bus from Haarlem (a nice, tidy little version of Amsterdam was my impression) to Lisse. It was a gorgeous day--wish I could have just bummed around all day.

Next time I'll try renting a bike--I would have this time, but I had trouble figuring out the ruels at first. It's been 22 years since my last trip, so everything was new again.

[Aiptasia]

75. oh yeah, you'll recognize this soundtrack

untz untz untz untz untz untz untz untz untz untz

(over and over at 120 bpm)

I think techno is the national anthem of the Netherlands.

[joeybee12]

77. Someone was linking to some techno Amsterdam music at the lounge

here one night...only in Amsterdam, if you ask me!