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March 29, 2024, 02:57:34 PM

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Amsterdam/Rotterdam

Started by bgmnts, April 24, 2022, 09:14:34 PM

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bgmnts

I'm off to Amsterdam for three days and Rotterdam for a day and a half in mid-June. I've decided i'm going to see Anne Frank house, Van Gogh museum and the Euromast building, but does anyone have any good travel advice for these places?

the science eel

Book the Anne Frank house early. Do it now if you can.

Gurke and Hare

Conversely, I rolled up at the Euromast at about half past four one day last November, and walked straight in without a hint of a queue. It was really good, worth going up about that time to see the dark come in.

Rotterdam is great, really good city to walk around if undirected exploring is your thing. Delfshaven near the Euromast is a nice place to wander round.

Rotterdam has one of the largest model railway layouts in the world which is easy to kill a few hours in. Don't eat in the cafe there though.

Maybe go in a cube house near the market hall.



Go and look at the big fox:


Gurke and Hare

Plus, if you aren't galleried out after the Van Gogh the Boijmans Van Beunigen in Rotterdam is good.

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

Quote from: bgmnts on April 24, 2022, 09:14:34 PMI'm off to Amsterdam for three days and Rotterdam for a day and a half in mid-June. I've decided i'm going to see Anne Frank house, Van Gogh museum and the Euromast building, but does anyone have any good travel advice for these places?
I've never been, but a friend of mine is recently back from Amsterdam and he recommended cycling to get around. There's a bicycle culture there and as a consequence drivers don't behave like arseholes around cyclists. Saves on transportation/stops you getting footsore.

TommyTurnips

I didn't like Rotterdam that much. It's all new architecture, not much to look at. Unless there's some secret great part of the city that I didn't find. Also you can't nip in to anywhere to use the toilet without paying 50c for the privilege. Even in mcdonalds which is my usual go to for a piss. There is a toilet attendant and fucking turnstiles there to make sure everyone pays to use the toilet. I've never seen anything like it. I heard it's a Dutch thing but I only experienced this phenomenon in Rotterdam. Amsterdam was alright but way too busy. Watch where you are going or you'll have a bicycle flying into you. There are other nicer Dutch cities in my opinion such as Delft and Lieden.

Martin Van Buren Stan

I haven't been but apparently a place called Dr. Falafel is very good

the science eel

Quote from: TommyTurnips on April 24, 2022, 11:04:02 PMWatch where you are going or you'll have a bicycle flying into you.

oh fuck no! I hated that in Berlin

I'm off to Amsterdam in three weeks anyway, will let you all know where's hip

kalowski

I'm off to Rotterdam in September so I'm just replying so I can find this when I need it.

The Lurker

I'm going to both cities in July. Never been before so I have nothing to add. Hope that helps.

shoulders

Quote from: bgmnts on April 24, 2022, 09:14:34 PMI'm off to Amsterdam for three days and Rotterdam for a day and a half in mid-June. I've decided i'm going to see Anne Frank house, Van Gogh museum and the Euromast building, but does anyone have any good travel advice for these places?

Amsterdam:

There's a 3 day travel card you can get for Amsterdam which covers both city travel and rail journey to Schiphol airport. It will seem expensive until you realise what the alternative cost would be. I would get that as the centre is large and the tram is helpful. (Remember to always buzz in and buzz out on the tram though)

For cheaper meals out I recommend looking at the Surinamese restaurants (which also have vegan choices) for some of that good Dutch colonial legacy.

Look up Brown Cafés/Bruin Kroege for Amsterdam's equivalent of olde London pubs. Usually ramshackle, often with rickety mezzanine areas. Hit me up for further details if interested, I can recommend 30 odd.

For local drinks, try Jenever, and if you want the raconteur experience, do a tasting at tiny Proeflokaal with the amusing name Wynand Fockink (far less formal than that sounds), where the bald chap is a whirl of enthusiasm and jokes, evidently lives off the energy he gets interacting with tourists.

Unless you are a Van Gogh diehard fan I would recommend the Rijksmuseum instead as there is a wider range of Dutch masterpieces and it shows a degree of social history. The building is also a work of art itself (think National History Museum in London)

There's a free ferry over to Amsterdam Nord which will be fine on a sunny day, but isn't exactly stocked full of sights.

Condom shop is a BIG LAUGH COS OF JOHNNIES MATE, but seriously it might be alright.

The Begijnhof is a small but utterly beautiful oasis of calm in a busy city.

Red light district and weed coffeeshops are reduced to a tourist gimmick now. I saw little evidence they reflect anything except an inauthentic, staged version of what used to be.

You will probably already know that the very centre is dramatic and beautiful at night, wandering along the cobbles and little bridges with the many windowed townhouses is an experience that sounds like it ought to be a mirror of every Dutch city, but no, the extent of its coverage and the consistency of the ensemble really is largely an Amsterdam experience.

Also, before going, I recommend watching the tense and fucked up film Puppet On A Wire set in Amsterdam which gives a flavour of how it was in the 70s.


Poobum

Van Gogh, Momo, Stedelijk and Rijksmuseum are right near each other so you could catch 'em all. Agree with Shoulders, the scale of the Rijksmuseum is simply epic, was in there two hours and was never in the same room twice, then discovered an entire other wing. In that area, Cafe Americaine is quite good, Restaurant Hosokawa does awesome fine dining Japanese, and there's a lovely pancake house by a canal, can't remember name though. 

SweetPomPom

All Amsterdam..
Stedelijk definitely worth a look.
Vondelpark is decent for hanging out on a sunny evening.
The Dutch film Institute sometimes has cool stuff on, 's a quick ferry crossing from behind the train stn.
Paradiso and Melkweg are both worth checking out to see what's on, both 5 mins walk from Leidseplein.

Quick edit - Pancake Bakery on Prinsengracht is great and easy walking distance from  Anne Frank's house.

Poobum

Oh yeah, Vondelpark is lovely, loadsa wild parrots about. Did not expect. Just an awesome city in general to sit down and watch the world go by.

Poobum

Quote from: Poobum on April 25, 2022, 01:26:55 PMthere's a lovely pancake house by a canal, can't remember name though. 

Is called The Pancake Club (pancake house by canal is an unhelpful description in Amsterdam innit?). Poffertjes are lovely, but very filling.

chip

Or anywhere! Liverpool, or Rome? Anywhere! (Alone.)

dissolute ocelot

The big Amsterdam galleries/museums are all good. The A'DAM Tower north of the river has good views, although didn't seem to be much else to the north. Just wandering round the canals and harbour looking at stuff is fascinating too. Lots of curious buildings, random monuments, and stuff. Try and find a guidebook.

For bars, Arendnest Proeflokaal has loads of Dutch beers in a nice old fashioned bar. Brouwerij 't IJ in contrast is a massive brewpub next to a windmill.

For food, I'm vegan, but you can't dispute the Vegan Junk Food Bar.

TrenterPercenter

Been the Dam twice in my late teens it was alright no idea what it is like now.  I'm quite keen on going to Rotterdam for all the rainwater capture builds - just sounds so cool watching a buildings wall fill up with water whilst you sit and eat your stroopwaffle.

Das Reboot

I spent a lot of time in Amsterdam around 2010, but the last time I went was 2015. Just wandering around the central canal belt on a sunny morning is simply bliss and I used to enjoy the spectacle of the morning rush hour. Watch out for mopeds and those dinky cars which are, inexplicably, allowed in the cycle lanes. I was quite fond of Cafe Gollem (there's about three of them dotted around). Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum are defo worth a look. Harlem and Utrecht are good day trips (ok, half a day in the case of Harlem).

Enjoy the stench of weed on every other tourist cunt.

Gurke and Hare

Utrecht is lovely, but it's more than a day trip, it's worth going for a few days. As are Eindhoven and Groningen. What's great about the Netherlands is that wherever you are, even if you run out of things to do in that city there will be somewhere worth visiting about half an hour away on a train.

shoulders

Eindhoven is worth going to? Have never considered as it seems very dull, but it is easily reached. What's good about it?

Tony Tony Tony

My uncle used to run a bar in Amsterdam so you could have got a free drink or two by mentioning my name.

However he died a while ago so you missed your chance. Your own fault really for not going years ago.

Gurke and Hare

Quote from: shoulders on April 25, 2022, 08:20:52 PMEindhoven is worth going to? Have never considered as it seems very dull, but it is easily reached. What's good about it?

It's mainly interesting if you like modern architecture, but it has some good museums - the Phillips museum is interesting and the van Abbe museum is an excellent modern art gallery. The old Strijp industrial area is interesting to wander round. If you're there in November there's the Glow light art festival which is great if you like that kind of thing. It's probably fair to say that it isn't going to be a place everyone likes, but what it does it does very well. It's also got Den Bosch a short train ride away for a day trip to more traditional canal and gable based Netherlands as well as Bossche bollen, magnificent profiteroles the size of a tennis ball.

Fonz

Quote from: shoulders on April 25, 2022, 07:36:42 AMAmsterdam:

There's a 3 day travel card you can get for Amsterdam which covers both city travel and rail journey to Schiphol airport. It will seem expensive until you realise what the alternative cost would be. I would get that as the centre is large and the tram is helpful. (Remember to always buzz in and buzz out on the tram though)

For cheaper meals out I recommend looking at the Surinamese restaurants (which also have vegan choices) for some of that good Dutch colonial legacy.

Look up Brown Cafés/Bruin Kroege for Amsterdam's equivalent of olde London pubs. Usually ramshackle, often with rickety mezzanine areas. Hit me up for further details if interested, I can recommend 30 odd.

For local drinks, try Jenever, and if you want the raconteur experience, do a tasting at tiny Proeflokaal with the amusing name Wynand Fockink (far less formal than that sounds), where the bald chap is a whirl of enthusiasm and jokes, evidently lives off the energy he gets interacting with tourists.

Unless you are a Van Gogh diehard fan I would recommend the Rijksmuseum instead as there is a wider range of Dutch masterpieces and it shows a degree of social history. The building is also a work of art itself (think National History Museum in London)

There's a free ferry over to Amsterdam Nord which will be fine on a sunny day, but isn't exactly stocked full of sights.

Condom shop is a BIG LAUGH COS OF JOHNNIES MATE, but seriously it might be alright.

The Begijnhof is a small but utterly beautiful oasis of calm in a busy city.

Red light district and weed coffeeshops are reduced to a tourist gimmick now. I saw little evidence they reflect anything except an inauthentic, staged version of what used to be.

You will probably already know that the very centre is dramatic and beautiful at night, wandering along the cobbles and little bridges with the many windowed townhouses is an experience that sounds like it ought to be a mirror of every Dutch city, but no, the extent of its coverage and the consistency of the ensemble really is largely an Amsterdam experience.

Also, before going, I recommend watching the tense and fucked up film Puppet On A Wire set in Amsterdam which gives a flavour of how it was in the 70s.



Yeah. I wasn't prepared for how brutal that film was in places. Good film.

Van Der Valk, with Barry Foster, is equally good at showing a city that still seems 'post-war', a bit like our Sweeney in that regard.

There's usually a World Press Photo exhibition in an old church in the centre, whenever I've been in the last decade or so

the science eel

I in Amsterdam now and it's raining and everything's really expensive.

HOWEVER

The Rijksmuseum was very good yesterday although Vermeer's Milkmaid is out on loan. Jan Steen! Frans Hals! Love those paintings.

Off to HAP-HMM tonight for cheap Dutch eats and then 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' at the Tuschinski.

Martin Van Buren Stan

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on April 24, 2022, 11:08:50 PMI haven't been but apparently a place called Dr. Falafel is very good

It was very average! Luxa in Berlin was 10 times better!

kalowski

The pinball museum in Rotterdam was magnificent. I think I gave myself repetitive strain injury.

sevendaughters

been to Amsterdam a lot and echo a lot of the above, the Stedelijk is the best modern gallery, dunno if you're into that kind of thing, and it costs a price to get in that makes us Brits wince, but it was worth it to me when it was the Mike Kelley retrospective. most of the time you're going to be in 'the rings' (look on the map, you'll see why) but De Pijp is a nice area that feels a lot less heavy that central or Jordaan. it's a great people watching city (I like to go to a cafe in Max Euwe Plein and just let the world happen) and if you can get a bike nice to have a potter.

I've stayed in the cube houses in Rotterdam (there's a hostel in them) and once you've seen 'em, you've seen 'em. Rotterdam didn't do much for me to be honest.

Gurke and Hare

De Pijp is lovely, when I was there in August I had what might have been the nicest ice cream I've ever had. I wonder if there's some gentrification going on there though, all the guide books refer to it as a working-class district and it didn't seem that way to me, more 'bohemian' middle class. Albert Cuypmarkt still great though.

shoulders

One of the more modern highly rated specialist beer bars in Amsterdam - among many - is Foeders, located in De Pijp.

The area didn't strike me as at all working class, if there's social housing around I must have missed it, while rents are sky high as it's a fashionable area.