Anybody here from Amsterdam?

[puke_face]

I am heading there in October with a friend from England. From a local's standpoint, what are some of the "must see" areas? Any annual events going on around that time of year.. etc. Also thought it would be cool to meet a fellow racketeer from another country if you would like to meet up.

[J T]

Red light district and hash bars.

I've been there, but I'm not from there. I will highly recommend that you get a bicycle though. It's the ultimate way to travel there. The city is designed for it. They have crazy multilevel parking garages just FULL of bikes.

[puke_face]

Red light district and hash bars.

Already planned on that, lol. Part of the "tourist" sights.

I will highly recommend that you get a bicycle though. It's the ultimate way to travel there. The city is designed for it. They have crazy multilevel parking garages just FULL of bikes.

When you stayed there, did you stay in a hostel or hotel? I'm assuming that they have rental bicycles? Where did you go, what did you do while there?

[J T]

I stayed in hostels. I rented a bike. I didn't actually go into any hash bars as I don't smoke weed and it seems like the locals often look down on it as kind of a tourist thing. I did walk through the red light district, which was a trip. It's like a pervert disneyland. Bright lights and flashing boobies. That was fun to see, but I decided not to 'partake'. I also went to the Van Gogh museum, which was nice to see. I was mainly there to see a friend get her PhD in Utrecht. It was also partly business, so I went to conference and spent a night with this amazing Belgian philosopher/psychologist/artist that was a colleague who lived up there on the South side of Holland. He's someone that seems to have mastered the art of living, so it was a great joy to spend some time on his farm just talking, drinking, and looking at his art work.

In Amsterdam itself, I mainly just rode my bike around and went whereever it took me. I had a map and I made it a point to go get myself lost somewhere, then find my way back just enjoying the scenery whereever I went and stopping at any shops/restaurants/bars that looked interesting. There's lots of great architecture and parks and coastal views, so just explore. I had the most fun doing that. Oh, there was also this cool rave/festival I went to on a little private island where I saw Amon Tobin for the first time, along with Jazzanova, and younger Black Eyed Peas. Good times.

[puke_face]

That's pretty cool. I've been wanting to check out the Anne Frank house, along with some of the art museums. Definitely want to get out of the city and see some of the countryside, possibly take a train to Rotterdam for a few hours or something. I would also like to go on a boat through the canals too. We will only be there for 3 or 4 days, then going back to England for about a week. Hopefully I can catch a Manchester United game while in England. It'll be my first trip out of the states, so I'm pretty excited about it. The plane ticket is fairly expensive, but I figured that this year may be a good time to go, seeing as how the euro is the closest to the dollar it has been in a long time.

[Incognito D]

I've been to Amsterdam on Holiday with friends. We went to the Heineken Experience which was fun, and visited the Amsterdam Arena and took the tour. We also went to the Rijksmuseum and of course had a wander round the Red Light District although we were all well behaved. Actually, we didn't even mean to be in it. We were just going round the pubs and suddenly we turned the corner and we were there!
On our last day we rented bikes and just blasted around all over the city which was amazing.
Oh yeah, we also went to Madam Tussaud's wax works which was also a laugh. A good holiday in all.

Here's one of my personal snaps

[puke_face]

I've been to Amsterdam on Holiday with friends. We went to the Heineken Experience which was fun, and visited the Amsterdam Arena and took the tour. We also went to the Rijksmuseum and of course had a wander round the Red Light District although we were all well behaved. Actually, we didn't even mean to be in it. We were just going round the pubs and suddenly we turned the corner and we were there!
On our last day we rented bikes and just blasted around all over the city which was amazing.
Oh yeah, we also went to Madam Tussaud's wax works which was also a laugh. A good holiday in all.

Here's one of my personal snaps

Nice photo. That is a good story to tell your girlfriend, "We didn't mean to, it just sort of happened." I'm sure Amsterdam is sorta like Vegas in a way, what goes on there stays there. Being from Scotland, from what you saw, is there a lot of difference between where you are from vs. Amsterdam? Other than the obvious things such as prostitution and tolerated bud?

[countcowden]

I used to go three-four times a year when I lived in europe

vondel park
rijks musuem
bike ride
red light district

coffeshops - if still open as its been a while:

Grey area
De Rokerij
barneys (breakfast and bongs - for champions only)
Greenhouse

(avoid bulldog unless desperate)

ah brings back the mispent youth just typing this.

[gtmtnbiker]

I did walk through the red light district, which was a trip. It's like a pervert disneyland. Bright lights and flashing boobies. That was fun to see, but I decided not to 'partake'.

My brother traveled in Europe for a month after college graduation with several friends. Amsterdam & France were his favorite places. I remember him telling me some stories about the district but the only one I can remember is his college roommate picking up the nickname "Flash" after his experience.

One of my few regrets in life is that I didn't travel after graduation. I graduated on Thursday, moved to Mass on Saturday, and started work on Monday.

[Incognito D]

Nice photo. That is a good story to tell your girlfriend, "We didn't mean to, it just sort of happened." I'm sure Amsterdam is sorta like Vegas in a way, what goes on there stays there. Being from Scotland, from what you saw, is there a lot of difference between where you are from vs. Amsterdam? Other than the obvious things such as prostitution and tolerated bud?

Yeah I would definitely say so. The whole place is completely flat - there are no hills anywhere which is really strange! Also, the architecture is different and very distinctive, there are canals everywhere, trams and bikes galore. So yeah really different, but in a good way