Amsterdam, Netherlands

[melodymedley]

^The tour was informative and the guide was good. But for me, it was quite fast-paced. I think ganun talaga kapag group tours.  Not a lot of time for picture taking - but it was still a good experience.

Rijksmuseum is also free in the Iamsterdam pass sis - I was able to go inside using the card. The Heineken experience is not free, but discounted sya, 25% off - the ticket will be priced at 11,25 instead of 15. Well, this was in September 2011 so I am just not sure if they changed some inclusions in the pass.

[mama squeak!]

^I think they just changed it, it's no longer included according to their website. Sayang nga eh it would have been perfect sana.

Oh, well, as expected naman the tours kaya we don't normally join them. But since it's free might as well as it will also help orientate us in the city. I read your blog (enjoyed reading it! Got a lot of tips, thanks!) and I remembered you took CX pala. So, by 10AM you were in the city na? Baka pala we can make habol the 11AM tour. We booked the 1PM tour pa kasi.

[melodymedley]

^Ah, I see. I guess mas okay nga if you get the Holland pass then. I arrived Schipol airport around 6am I reached my hostel around 8:30-9am I think - but that was because I was kinda eng eng at Amsterdam Centraal station  (I waited for almost an hour in the wrong station of the trams. My trams were on the other side). I had time to find food and freshen up a bit (not shower though) before tour. The tour starts in the Central Square and the coordinator picked me up at the hostel shortly before 10am. HTH.

Tours are good to get you oriented around the city. Tips are not required by highly encouraged. Haha. Our tour ended in a spot near Anne Frank House so you can stop by there if the line is not too long (or if you have reservations na swak sa time the tour ends).

[mama squeak!]

Our last day in Amsterdam today! What a wonderful city! Medyo bitin pa rin with four days but at least we got to see all the must-sees in our list. We enjoyed walking around the canals and making silip the pretty canal houses. Voyeur ang dating! 

Weather wise it is pretty cold already with some rain showers. As in biglang buhos then after 10 minutes wala na. It really is a good idea to bring travel brollies which we always do.

I'll post a more detailed trip report when we get home. Or hopefully we can start a blog going that I forever keep putting off. 

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^Hi mama squeak. Too bad we didn't get to meet in Amsterdam. I got pretty busy din kasi with my school and everything. I'm glad you enjoyed Amsterdam, next time kung matagal-tagal kayo you should see the other parts of Holland as well since Amsterdam is so touristy. Hehe. By the slightly OT, how do you find Alsace?

[CebuGem]

One of the best cities I've been to. Dutch people are very friendly, pretty and tall! Most of them can speak English so when we visited there last September 2011, we didn't experience great difficulties in exploring the place. Strangers were more than willing to help you out as for directions and everything.

Our tour was DIY and with the help of friends (who were temporarily assigned there for work), everything went well.

We (me and hubby) were able to visit/do the following:

- Heineken Brewery
- Anne Frank's house (The Secret Annex)
- Canal Cruise
- Red Light District
- Dams Square
- Zaanse Schans (this is not in Amsterdam)
- Flower Market
- Museumplein (to be specific the Van Gogh Museum. Due to time constraints, we failed to check Rijksmuseum)

Most funny memory for me was passing by their 'coffee shops' wherein I got to smell that illegal aroma. To think I was 2 mos. pregnant at that time so I was very careful.

[mama squeak!]

^^Hi ^Vain_Chiq^, we definitely enjoyed Amsterdam maski touristy pa sya    My first time there to visit kasi. Bitin din yung four days namin. We would have wanted to discover more of the city madami din kasi mga nice places that are not frequented by visitors. Plus we would have wanted to go outside of Amsterdam pero bitin na oras namin. I've finally started a blog of our travels too! 

Re Alsace, totally, tremendously enjoyed it! We rented a car and spent a week touring the area. I'll post my trip report in the Euro thread para di OT.

 

[angeleyes]

How's the weather right now in Amsterdam? Still raining?

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^weather is a bit unpredictable here.one day it's raining and cold, and the next day is not. Just make sure to bring a thick and a thin coat as well. We'll be flying to Manila tomorrow so I don't have an idea what will it be like in the coming weeks.

[summer_princess]

Sisses I have a 10hr layover in Amsterdam. What DIY tour can you reco?  Calling mama squeak in the house hehe:)

From the ap we board the train headed to Amsterdam. From the train station is the canan cruise walking distance kaya?

[mama squeak!]

^sis, there are a lot of canal cruises available when you get to the city center. By the way, from the airport make sure you board the train that says Amsterdam Centraal station. There are a lot of trains kasi that says Amsterdam something. Hubby and I hopped on the wrong train lang naman LOL! Buti na lang mababait mga tao dun and they helped us get back on the right train. 

Depends on the time you will be arriving in Centraal station you can probably join the 3 hour walking tour offered by Sandemans New Europe Amsterdam. They have an 11AM and 1PM tour. It used to be free but now they require EUR3 booking fee. We booked this before we left for Europe but wasn't able to join it (wrote about it in my blog). They basically give you a comprehensive tour of Amsterdam. But as tours go expect it to be hurried. At least something to spend the time while waiting for your connecting flight.

For the canal cruise, there is one company that moors just outside Centraal station, Canal Bus. The one we got was near the Museumplein, The Blue Boat Company which was included in the pass we bought. The canal cruise usually takes an hour to an hour and a half.

I wrote about our Amsterdam visit in my blog in case you want to get more ideas how to spend your layover. But I'm assuming with the 3 hour walking tour and 1 1/2 hours canal cruise, that should cover your 10 hour layover with a few hours to spare pa.

Enjoy Amsterdam! Hubby and I definitely did.   

[icegayle]

Wow nice back read! Na-excite naman agad ako for our trip! Inshaallah!
Nacurious ako sa Red light District at Sex Musem. Magkalapit lang ba sila?
Btw, kaya ba ito for 2 days? Gusto ko maexperience ang Heineken, Anne Frank's house (kahit sa labas lang for picture taking),  Canal Cruise,  Red Light District, museum for bags and purse and other museums.
For Shopping: Mura ba ang Esprit, H&M, Vera Moda at Bershka don? Sale? TIA

[mama squeak!]

^The Sex Museum is near the Centraal train station while the red light district is towards Damrak na. But walkable naman.

Two days is super bitin! Kami nga 4 days bitin-bitin pa. I have blog posts about our Amsterdam trip to give you an idea how our visit went.

Shopping: of course mga European brands mura dun. There's this store, Hema, at the Damrak area na super mura. It's like their generic H&M. Got lots of shirts like the ones I get at H&M but cheaper.

Eating: you have to try their typical street food, herring, fries, waffles, etc. cheaper if you get at their supermarket. Hubby and I had a herring and cheese picnic one afternoon at one of the canals. sarap!

[icegayle]

^thanks Mama Squeak. Basahin ko sis blog mo for more info. I tried mock booking at KLM. Plan kasi namin from Bahrain to Paris then Amsterdam to Bahrain na. Pero grabe the airfare of Amsterdam to Bahrain triple na. Unless kung Bahrain at Paris return mas cheaper. Pero grabe naman ata ang pagod namin non kung from Amsterdam back to Paris ulit, eh balak pa namin mag-stay kahit 2days don. Any suggestion po?

[mama squeak!]

^sis how many days is your total visit to Europe? Kasi kung short lang let's say a week concentrate on one city either Paris or Amsterdam. Kasi sobrang bitin ang two days talaga unless yung tipo nyo yung picture-picture lang.

But if it really has to be that way, Paris to Amsterdam by train is only a three hour ride away. 

[icegayle]

^ah ok pwede na sis. Most probabaly sis one week lang 4 days in Paris and 2-3 days in Amsterdam.

[^Vain_Chiq^]

^thanks Mama Squeak. Basahin ko sis blog mo for more info. I tried mock booking at KLM. Plan kasi namin from Bahrain to Paris then Amsterdam to Bahrain na. Pero grabe the airfare of Amsterdam to Bahrain triple na. Unless kung Bahrain at Paris return mas cheaper. Pero grabe naman ata ang pagod namin non kung from Amsterdam back to Paris ulit, eh balak pa namin mag-stay kahit 2days don. Any suggestion po?

 Check Dutch travel websites, usually they have good flight offers kasi mahal talaga sa KLM. Try visiting www.skyscanner.nl so you can compare prices within the Dutch travel sites.

[aquacharly]

Hope you can come back sis. Utrecht is not tahimik na kasi ang dami ng commercial establishments and right now they're building a bigger and newer shopping center to replace ata the old one. I'm so happy naman kasi it means more shopping hehe.

Aside from Amsterdam's Red Light, have you visited Utrecht's Boat House Red Light? They have better-looking and fresher girls than Amsterdam IMO. LOL.

How far between Ultecht & Amsterdam by cab?

[mama squeak!]

^Aquacharly, Amsterdam to Utrecht is roughly 50kms. By train it will take you 30-40 minutes, roughly the same if driving depends on the traffic. Since you will be traveling with a big group, taking a cab can be very expensive. Nothing less than EUR80/cab with a max of 4 passengers(?)

What you can probably do is contract with a transport or tour company that have minibuses available for hire. At least you will be renting the whole bus for the excursion.

[letters_to_cleo]

Nice ang Amsterdam though andami ngang tourists!  When I went there  I was toured by friends who lived in NL (and one was gay) so kung saan saan kami nagsusuot haha!
I thought na di masarap yung Dutch food (warning ng friend ko living in NL, kasi when she came to Spain sabi nya masarap ang food) pero surprisingly naenjoy ko naman lalo na
the street food.  We ate at a typical dutch restaurant in Amsterdam na affordable (recommended by the friend's Dutch BF), masarap yung beef stew nila and the split pea soup!
It's walking distance lang from the Anne Frank House. The restaurant is at the Hotel Old Quarter: http://www.oldquarter.com/ Not too expensive. 15-20€ lang per meal.

Also nice to visit outside Amsterdam is Delft. It's a university town and has a weekend market on Sundays. There's also the Vermeer House in Delft and shops for the famous Delft pottery wares (expensive! haha).

I also loved Hema! Para syang Ikea at H&M! The big Hema shops (like the big one in Rotterdam Central) has self-service cafeteria na mura lang.

Also, for Lotus Cookie Butter lovers, cheap lang ang cookie butters in the Netherlands. They have the chocolate version that's not available anywhere else in Europe (even here in Spain!) and wala rin sa US :-)