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enki42 posted:The budget airport serving Amsterdam is HUGELY outside of the city, and I'd be shocked if you actually managed to save money with a flight. Amsterdam has a budget airport? I thought it was just Schiphol and nothing else. What is the name of the budget airport in question?
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Jul 7, 2010 13:04
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Luuq posted:So when we come to a bigger city, like Amsterdam, we should just leave the car outside the city, even when we are going to stay for several nights? This is also what a friend told me who did something similar. Now I'm wondering is it easy to find a place to leave your car? Is it really impossible to get the car to the place we are sleeping? (Hostel/couchsurfing). Yes. I'm not sure where you are staying in Amsterdam but if it is inside the ring you don't want to park your car there. Parking in the city center starts at €5 a hour, inside the ring i think the cheapest parking is about €2.50 per hour. In Dutch cities your best bet would be to find a P+R (Park and ride). These locations have plenty of parking space and good connections to public transportation. In a lot of cities P+R parking is free but in Amsterdam it costs €6 a day. http://www.bereikbaaramsterdam.nl/live/main.asp?subsite_id=23
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Jul 7, 2010 18:42
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Ziir posted:Don't change at an airport. Could you explain this? As far as i know Schiphol has at least a ABN AMRO bank, ING and a GWK (travelex) office. Where could you get better rates than that?
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Dec 26, 2010 17:04
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jeoh-kun posted:IIRC dried mushrooms are illegal, the rest isn't. Law changed, now only truffles are legal (they contain the same active ingredient so whatever).
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Jan 16, 2011 21:21
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enki42 posted:If you want cheap in Amsterdam, your best bet is to stay outside the city and take a train in. The commuter train system is pretty amazing, and you can get into the city from as far as like Eindhoven in an hour. It's obviously not ideal, but Amsterdam is a pricey place, probably one of the worst in Europe. Eindhoven-Amsterdam is more like 90 minutes and costs €34 for a roundtrip. Might want to stick within a 30-40 kilometer radius of Amsterdam if you want sane travel costs and time. Maybe Schiphol or Utrecht, that's a pretty short train ride to Amsterdam.
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Apr 2, 2011 15:36
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Ziir posted:Can anyone tell me about Koninginnedag? Me and some friends are going to head over to Maastricht for the day tomorrow but we don't know what to expect. I think most of us are wearing orange shirts cause it seems like we're suppose to. I don't really know about Limburg but in most of the country the parties start tonight. Tommorow is a mix of drinking/open air party, selling old poo poo on the street and children's games. Your plan seems best, just walk around town and take it all in.
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Apr 29, 2011 20:28
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Ziir posted:It was a fun way to spend the day at the park listening to music and everything. I'm really amazed at how well the Dutch speak English. I've always heard things like how proud the Dutch are at speaking multiple languages, but how old exactly do people usually start learning English? English isn't formally part of the curriculum until kids are ~12 years old and enrolled in secondary education but most schools will start basic lessons when kids are 6/7 years old. Most TV is subbed so kids tend to pick up a lot from TV.
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May 1, 2011 18:48
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Desdinova posted:Oh, and if anyone knows anywhere to rent cheap in Rotterdam or the surrounding area I would love some help. I don't mind sharing, I just need a roof and hopefully a mattress. People have mentioned rents from about 250 euros a month which would be awesome. https://www.kamernet.nl jaap.nl Rooms start at €200, appartments start at ~350. Some organisations have requirements for renting such as a steady job. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 20:16 on May 8, 2011 |
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May 8, 2011 20:04
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Desdinova posted:Thank you very much for the links! Antikraak that Jeoh-Kun mentioned is still legal. Downside is that you have pretty much no legal rights. But it's cheap. (just some random links i have no experience with these companies) http://www.be-zet.nl/particulier/en/aanmelden.htm http://www.interveste.nl/ http://www.adhocbeheer.nl/ edit: Just to clarify Antikraak isn't squatting. Squatting is now illegal. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 22:25 on May 9, 2011 |
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May 9, 2011 22:22
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Ziir posted:Can I walk around drinking a bottle of beer in Belgium? This is important. Not sure about Belgium, i'm sure you can in Germany and don't try it in the Netherlands (you will be arrested). This is one of those funny cultural things that changes as soon as you cross the border.
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Jun 14, 2011 18:13
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Rojkir posted:Most places are going to hate you, but it is legal payment so they have to take it. No they don't. Try to go pay with a €500 bill or even a €100 bill in a supermarket and they will kindly tell you to gently caress off. They won't take your cents either. Even though it is legal tender they are not required to accept all bills.
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Jun 18, 2011 18:07
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dum2007 posted:I have friends I want to visit. They (and the Monolake show) are the main reasons behind my trip. That's why I'm trekking all the way up to Gröningen and Friesland! It's nice that Amsterdam is on the way for some It's Groningen. The Dutch don't do umlauts.
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Aug 6, 2011 18:27
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, and the best flight I could get was a round trip from Toronto to Paris for $600.
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EricBauman posted:Nobody really knows what's going to happen. Some mayors and police chiefs have already said they won't uphold it if it ever becomes a law definitively (I think it hasn't been voted on yet, at least not in the senate). You know as well as i do that if the current cabinet remains mayors won't have any power over the police soon. So the mayors have no choice in upholding the law since the to be formed national police will take orders directly from the ministry of security and justice. Saladman posted:E: To clarify, I've heard the "ban foreign weed purchases" legislation being on the table every six months for the last 5-6 years. This time we have a cabinet majority for it and concrete plans, all we are waiting for is the advice from the council of state to the goverment. Expect concrete measures to be announced late september (after the budget is presented on the third tuesday of september). NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Aug 24, 2011 |
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Aug 24, 2011 17:55
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Saladman posted:Amsterdam has a total of three museums, all of which can be hit in one day (Rijks, Van Gogh, and Anne Frank; all 3 are tiny). I can't believe no one commented on this. Amsterdam has 3 tiny museums? Yeah it is true the Rijks is currently mostly closed down for renovation and the Stedelijk is also closed for renovation but there are like 50 other museums in Amsterdam, excluding campy poo poo like the sex museum and torture museum. Hermitage Amsterdam, Tropenmuseum, Rembrandthuis, Nemo, Museumhaven, Maritiem Museum etc etc. It is ok if you don't like museums but you don't have to lie and say there aren't any. If you include museums that are ~30 minutes travel from Amsterdam central the ammount becomes totally hilarious as you can also visit Leiden and Utrecht. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijst_van_musea_in_Amsterdam (not exhaustive) NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Jan 19, 2012 |
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Jan 19, 2012 21:42
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jet sanchEz posted:Also, we are leaving Amsterdam after 4 nights and wanted to ride our bikes to Rotterdam, are there any spots between the two cities that are nice to check out? Oh you know, just the entire Randstad. Look at that route on a map. Millions upon millions of people live in that area. The Hague, Leiden, Delft would be pretty good places to stop. But there is also "groene hart" area that isn't allowed to be built up and has some of the old style polders and artificial lakes due to peat digging in the past. It really depends on what kind of things you like and how much of a detour you can make. My guess is the shortest route is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) with a few detours it could easily add up to 120 kilometers.
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Feb 28, 2012 23:42
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Rojkir posted:I actually recommend picking up the st jacobsroute from where ever you can and then take a right turn into rotterdam when at kinderdijk, but that totally depends on what bikes you're on and if you like cycling cause it's a serious detour. Or you could cheat and take the water bus (with the bikes) from Alblasserdam right into Rotterdam. Costs about €5.
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Feb 29, 2012 01:21
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professor muthafukkah posted:Another thing, I've heard from local Dutch people that they believe the coffee shops wont be closing down even though a law has been passed that disallows them, is this true? Though I am not going exclusively for the weed I certainly would be disappointed if they were indeed closed. The new rule was supposed to come into effect in june in the south of the country, and was initially scheduled to be implemented somewhere in 2013 for the rest of the country. However the government coalition that wanted to implement these changes lost their majority on Saturday. For now it looks like they will stay open. If they end up closing anyway it won't be anytime soon.
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Apr 23, 2012 18:09
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the black husserl posted:I am interested mainly in seeing iconic dutch villages and landscapes and staying at an inn/bed and breakfast. Can any knowledgeable folks make a recommendation for a 2 day trip outside of the city? Being able to bike would be plus. Thanks There is literally nowhere in the Netherlands you can't bike. The question is how good of a cyclist are you, how far do you think you can comfortably go in a day? Would you like to trek around on a bike or just go somewhere, rent a bike there, have a tour and go back to the B&B? You can rent a bicycle at pretty much every train station for €3 a day (€10 to make your subscription initially). Kinderdijk (near Rotterdam) and de Zaanseschans (near Zaandam) are both iconic Dutch sights, very pretty and you can make nice cycle tours near them. Just beware that the locations themselves are absolute tourist traps. This question also (sort of) came up a couple pages back where someone wanted to bike from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. Without further parameters i would plan 1 day each around Zaanscheschans and Kinderdijk. If you are a strong cyclist maybe you can cycle around the Ijsselmeer (afsluitdijk is pretty killer against a north sea headwind though). Cycling over the dams, dikes and bridges of the Islands in Zeeland is also very nice, pretty views from the bridges and dams to the Islands. Lots of rare birds as well.
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Apr 26, 2012 19:16
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Rojkir posted:You must mean around Markermeer (145km), around Ijsselmeer is not even doable for most trained cyclists (in a single day). Around Markermeer would give you a day full of iconic Dutch sites though. Centers of Monnikendam, Edam, Volendam, Hoorn and Muiden and everything else is just wind, dykes and marshes, it's glorious I assumed 2 days. It is ~400km, that is doable for someone on a road bike (not on a heavy dutch clunker though). But yeah Markermeer is probably more realistical.
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Apr 26, 2012 19:30
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Macdeo Lurjtux posted:I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam for Mardi Gras in February, I realize they probably don't celebrate much but I like to do something every year for it. I figured Amsterdam would be a good fit because A. it's when the city is cheapest and B. as a canal city I've heard it's breathtaking in the winter snows. If it snows or freezes. If you are unlucky it will just be hail or ice cold rain (it will be ice cold rain and wind). I have to concur with Ekunnn, a good freeze (where you can skate on the canals) or a nice snow cover is a rare treat. Mostly winter is just miserable and grim. Don't mean to scare you away but "nice" winter weather is rare, don't expect it. Also no one in the Netherlands knows what Mardi Gras is. Edit: Oh Carneval? Yeah we have that, big time. But not in Amsterdam. Go to Tilburg, Eindhoven, Maastricht or Den Bosch (ranging from 1-2 hours travel from Amsterdam). Carneval is only a thing in the part of the country "below the big rivers" that is historically mostly catholic as opposed to the more calvinist north. Though you might find some small parties in Amsterdam. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Sep 3, 2012 |
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Sep 3, 2012 20:01
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Ajaxify posted:So my fiancee changed her mind and decided that she wanted to head to Amsterdam. We'll be there from the 12th to the 16th. What suggestions do you have for things to do/see? Amsterdam stedelijk museum has re-opened. yay. Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum: still closed (though the van Gogh collection is partly on display in the hermitage dependance and one small part of the Rijksmuseum with the best pieces is still open).
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Oct 4, 2012 07:39
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For those planning to visit Amsterdam in 2013: The planned closure of the Coffeeshops for foreigners has been lifted for Amsterdam. The city has been granted permission to deal with the issue as they see fit (keep everything as it has been basically).
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Dec 16, 2012 17:46
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Arnold of Soissons posted:Well, alright then. I'll try to break this up into a few areas of inquiry. Rijksmuseum will be closed except for a small section showing the very best pieces (like the nightwatch) until Q2 2013 ish. Van Gogh museum is also closed until April 2013, until then part of the collection is on display in the Hermitage dependance. Amsterdam's museums are under reconstruction a lot. The Stedelijk is fully open after having been renovated for god knows how many years. It has a pretty varied collection, it would probably be your best bet right now (or the Hermitage dependance). quote:We'd also like to go to a coffee shop, but I have no idea how to find information about which ones are better or worse or less touristy. A friend who will be coming with was pretty involved in the California pot thing for a while, so I'd like to be able to point out someplace that would impress. Also I have absolutely no idea what prices to expect on pot / food / drinks, so any information on that would be great. As for what shops are best there are a lot of different opinions on this, Grey Area, Dampkring, "de Rokerij" and Bluebird are great shops from personal experience, no doubt there are dozens of others worth visiting. You can find coffeeshops pretty easily through google maps. Dampkring especially has a great atmosphere (and a great selection of weed with knowledgeable salespeople). Amsterdam is a little more expensive than the rest of the country for pot due to the tourist effect. Expect to pay €7-8 a gram for regular strains, about €10-12 a gram for haze (sativa) based strains. A cup of coffee will be €2-3 (outside really expensive places like Dam square) a beer or softdrink about the same. Expect to pay around €5-8 for a cheap fast food meal (Fries, Donner kebab) and around €7-12 for something decent-ish (Wok restaurant, Surinamese Roti). quote:New Years is around the corner, is it worth making our trip then, or would it be better another time? We can watch fireworks pretty near by and I don't like clubbing, but if you think the trip would be more fun on New Years I'm totally up for it. New years can be ... chaotic. This is not a organised fireworks show. This will be thousands of people in varying degrees of intoxication playing with their own fireworks. Statistically speaking it is not very dangerous but it is entirely possible to have the poo poo scared out of you by heavy illegal fireworks going off 2 meters behind you, it certainly is a sight to behold if you are cool with this come check it out (maybe buy some fireworks for yourself). The clubs and bars will be packed as well and a lot of them charge a entry fee on NYE. Januari 1st almost everything will be closed, so there won't be much to do then. Unless you really want to experience the new years eve chaos i'd go some other time myself.
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Dec 28, 2012 17:19
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EricBauman posted:There's also (temporarily) an intercity train between The Hague and Brussels, so that would potentially allow you to do it with only one transfer. Depending on time and whether they will allow this service to continue. I also don't think it's in any of the planners for the NS (national rail) - out of spite, undoubtedly. Yeah, it's a pretty hosed up situation. This is weird, i heard on the radio that the Beneluxtrein (straight intercity connection) had been restored, twice daily for now and 8 times a day starting March 17. But i can't really find any info about this anywhere.
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Mar 3, 2013 20:16
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I used city maps 2go on a recent trip where google maps caching was not available and it was totally useless. To the point where i gave up and just started using my Tom Tom navigation app. edit: If you are going to drive and don't mind spending a little money Tom Tom is pretty nice. edit2: No Bosnia coverage with TomTom. I am also interested in a offline maps app that does not totally suck (alternatively the European Commission can hurry up and unify the telecom market already). NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Jul 14, 2013 |
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Jul 14, 2013 18:46
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Omits-Bagels posted:London, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt always seem to be the cheapest airports to fly into. Use Skyscanner.com to look for flights. Coincidentally these are the airports with the largest volume. Higher volume is almost always cheaper (not counting regional airports).
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Dec 20, 2013 17:03
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I would look into spending some of the money you saved on accomodations on renting a car if you are going to stay in Limburg. Limburg is nothing like the rest of the country landscape of culture wise and we hoard all the good art in the Randstad. I'm sure there is a week of entertainment in Limburg, but not much more. A car would give you acces to the rest of the Netherlands where we keep the culturally significant stuff as well as Cologne and the cities in the Ruhr area in Germany. I say rent a car instead of take the train because it will be both faster and cheaper. Amsterdam is 2 hours from Schinnen by car but over 3 by train (with multiple transfers). I would use Schinnen as my home base and do multiple day trips to Amsterdam/Utrecht/Leiden/Cologne/Liege etc.
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Apr 4, 2014 08:28
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If it is a issue for you you should probably learn to drive.
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May 9, 2014 18:29
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caberham posted:Any recommendations for Goonstadam and Rotterdam? It seems like AirBNB studios give the best value compared to hostels and lower end hotels. Easyhotel in Rotterdam is pretty cheap (€49) and in a good location. I've never stayed there myself but the price/location is right.
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May 27, 2014 10:28
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Saladman posted:Amsterdam is really terrible for parking, though. Not that bad, just expensive. Don't do street parking just park in one of the big parking garages, there is a lot of available parking space there. €30-50 a day, €5-7 per hour but usually with a daily limit like €40. Probably not worth the effort for tourists but very doable.
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Apr 1, 2015 23:34
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Credit cards may or may not work. You probably don't want to find out a shop doesn't accept them when you are at the counter. Also they may tack on service charges (i got charged 3% at one place). Just forget about your credit card and carry cash or a maestro card. Debt is shameful.
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Apr 17, 2015 17:59
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Walh Hara posted:I really thought NS and NMBS (Belgian train company) were equally poo poo. NMBS is pretty bad, but NS is more expensive and the toilets on the trains are always broken/clogged. They only have toilets on the trains because the government forced them to have them. According to the NS people don't actually need toilets.
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Jul 9, 2016 13:23
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Rashomon posted:I have a good friend who said that Amsterdam is only worth four days, but it sounds pretty cool to me so I wanna do at least 5-6. And then maybe a couple of 2 day trips around to other cities, possibly The Hague, Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, maybe Luxembourg? (Obviously not all of them unless we want to extend the trip) You're not getting to any place in Belgium in a hour or so from Amsterdam by regular train, you need to reserve a seat on the high speed train for that otherwise it is more like 2-3 hours. Check NS.nl and NSinternational.nl. High speed train is pretty expensive if you don't book well in advance (€57 per person one way to Antwerp for next Monday for example). Also since it is the off season and NS is very short on trains you may not want to travel by train during the morning/evening commute. Luxembourg is completely out of range for a day trip from Amsterdam, 6+ hours by train.
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Jul 22, 2016 18:48
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Rashomon posted:It seems like it's an hour and 15 minutes on the fast train from Amsterdam to Antwerp, or even quicker if we were coming from one of the other interesting places in the Netherlands (Rotterdam, The Hague). For a multi day trip (i misunderstood) ~2-3 hours on a train doesn't seem so bad especially if you are chaining the destinations. [quote[ I'm not worried about being on a commuter train for an hour (not sure exactly what you're warning about), we live in New York City so crowded trains with people just getting around is not going to be shocking or something. They do seem a bit pricey, so I will try to book in advance for the best prices, thanks for the tip. [/quote] Not sure if this will be the case coming October but it is busy to the point that the rail company itself recommends to avoid those times if at all possible (they even wanted colleges to start later so students would avoid these timeslots). Seems inconvenient when you are carrying luggage for a overnight trip. Just something worth considering if you can at all avoid it. [/quote]
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Jul 22, 2016 21:06
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hackbunny posted:Where I am right now (Milan, Italy) I can swing a stick and hit an electric. On the other hand, outside of hybrid Toyotas (sedans and station wagons, option heavy, expensive to rent), I've seen maybe two autos in my entire life, and one was a one-legged guy's ride Are you sure? Automatics are standard on BMW's now. And a lot of people spec their VAG cars with a DSG.
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Sep 14, 2016 17:38
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Cars are awesome. I drive everywhere. Public transportation is just depressing. Yes let me spend 3 times as long getting places on my expensive overseas holiday on overcrowded public transportation with dodgy climate control, this sounds like a great plan. (paying €7 for a hour of parking, also great).
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Sep 23, 2016 00:50
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In Dutch cities (and the Belgian ones i've been to) finding parking is no issue, it just costs money. €35-45 a day in the city center of Amsterdam (~€20-35 in other cities). A set of 2 alcohol testers is less than €10 and widely available, also you can't be fined if you don't have them. I'd expect a rental to have the necessary safety equipment, if it doesn't have it that would cost another €13 (rear warning stop board and a high vis jacket). Public transportation comes with its own set of nuisances. I'd pick the car but then i hate public transportation. NihilismNow fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Jan 21, 2017 |
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Jan 21, 2017 14:32
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Saladman posted:Yeah, come to think of it basically everywhere in Europe has trams, and AFAIK they all operate on more or less the same rules. Germanic-speaking countries seem to like them a lot more than Romance-speaking countries though is I guess what I was thinking of. Even small towns in Germany have tons of tram lines, like Freiburg or wherever. There used to be even more. 80 years ago even the countryside had trams in villages. One old steam tramline in Zeeland (NL) stopped at hamlets that had a few dozen inhabitants, there were similar lines in other provinces.
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Feb 6, 2017 19:37
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Shimrra Jamaane posted:Is March any better? Weather is still a crapshoot but at least the days are longer. The sun sets around 17:00 in northern France in January. It doesn't rise until 08:30 ish. Makes for short days if you're going to be outdoors looking at things. 15th of March the days will be 3 hours longer than the 15th of January.
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Dec 16, 2018 12:24
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