Amsterdam 30th Birthday Long Weekend Celebration

[Deleted User]

hollydays wrote: »

Why was it unsafe?

Police have given up on the area near the station, the (old) Red light district and the Damrak. Lots of aggressive pushers in the area. It was ok till mid 2000s, then the city council started a partial deconstruction of the RLD, in doing so they have also reduced police patrolling.

The Jordaan was ok till late '90s, now it's a glorified ghetto. Maybe I have high expectations because I remember how cool it was in the 80/90s.

My favourite city breaks in NL-DE nowadays are: Eindhoven, Breda, Valkenburg (near Maastricht), Breda, Aachen, Stuttgart and Cologne, the latter being my favourite.

hollydays

The Jordaan is a glorified ghetto? Do you have some links to this?

[Deleted User]

My DD and I love Amsterdam and its probably the only eroupean city I would like to live in The Zoo is great and there is a Museum that you can visit on a Sunday morning that is amazing called the Tropenmuseum.My Dr is Dutch and her recommended it and I was so pleased that we went. A ride on one of the canal boats is interesting I have been to Ann Franks house and to be honest i was a bit dissappointed as it was a lot of queueing for very little.The trams are brilliant and if its still open C&A in the city is like going back in time.We went to the Ajax stadium to see Robbie Williams in 2006 and then again to see U2 I think Holland itself is a lovely country and the people I have found are really nice and very helpful

[Deleted User]

hollydays wrote: »

The Jordaan is a glorified ghetto? Do you have some links to this?

No links, only personal experience. De Jordaan was a hippy and trendy neighbourhood in the 70/80/90's and it partially still is. I've seen a deterioration of the neighbourhood in the last decade. It is not as safe as it used to be, a bit like all of Amsterdam and probably any other city in Europe.

Compared to 20 years ago I wouldn't walk around in A'dam as carefree as I was, but then you can say I'm older now and I have changed.

izzy65

T8RSP wrote: »

Thanks all

May earn some "brownie" points if we go to the House of Bols!

I've seen this: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/i-amsterdam-city-card

which looks decent enough so I hope to make good use of it!

Hi not sure that's worth the money, the likes of the Van Gogh museum is €15 after exchange on my cc is cost £12 and the daily tram ticket is only around €8, would depend on how many entrance fees you could cover with it

totallybored

OP, if you go to the Heineken museum go early in the day. I went past it after lunch when I was there in December and there were huge queues. I'm not really a museum person (I lasted 30 minutes in the Van Gogh museum once) and I tend to like shopping, wandering around pretty areas and sitting in nice little bars in Amsterdam. If it's a nice day I'd recommend having a picnic lunch by a canal as that doesn't cost much.

Amsterdam can be expensive for eating out which is why I've found airbnb to be great to rent somewhere. The houseboat I rented had such an amazing view on an evening we just went to the supermarket and cooked dinner on the boat rather than going to a restaurant (went to a small bar 2 minutes walk away first for a few drinks). That was in Oud West Amsterdam which was lovely.

I've been to Amsterdam loads of times but my last 2 visits were so much better as we avoided quite a lot of touristy stuff and it was like living someone else's lifestyle in another city (without having to go to work!) for a few days.

T8RSP

As much as I do enjoy the idea of a house boat, I have come across a hotel that I don't think could be more perfect for me! The Hampton by Hilton Amsterdam Arena which it would appear (if the right room is booked/allocated) will have views of the stadium and train station! I don't think I would leave the hotel room....

It's a bit out of the way of the centre, but as the train station is near enough, I would hope it wouldn't be too long to get in and out.

As I'm only staying for 4 nights, I'm sure I won't have enough time to do all of the touristy things. I just want to do a few things as I'm not a massive museum fan either, but as the saying goes, when in.....Amsterdam.

Thanks for your input, it's much appreciated. Trip advisor can only do so much!

hollydays

Good cheap Indonesian food in Amsterdam, for example-
http://www.eatingeuropetours.com/amsterdam/best-indonesian-restaurants/

19lottie82

I've never seen that side of Jordaan, and I have been to Amserdam about 6 times in the last 15 years, including twice in the last 18 months. It's one of my favourite parts of the city.

Go for a stroll through Vondelpark, it's great!

Also if you like a burger, check this place out.

http://www.the-butcher.com/

They also have a "secret" area in the back, which requires prebooking where they give you a password to give at the private entrance! The latter isn't cheap but the food (and cocktails) are amazing!

http://www.myhiddengems.co.uk/2013/07/the-butcher-secret-bar-amsterdam-hidden-gem/

Dizzy_Ditzy

I always suggest to anyone going to Amsterdam to go to the pancake bakery! Every type of pancake under the sun, and then some