What am I missing: Amsterdam

Old Aug 24th, 2016, 03:39 PM
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What am I missing: Amsterdam

Leaving from Amsterdam on a Rhine cruise. Cruise leaves on Saturday. (Well, we board on Saturday, actually sail on Sunday).

Arriving in Amsterdam Wednesday morning (early). Staying a Swisshotel in Dam Square. Have paid extra for early checkin. Plan is to shower, take an hour or two nap and then be on our way. From past experience, this is what works for us.

First day, have a reservation with Those Dam Boat Guys at 3pm for a canal cruise. Nothing else this day. Have an idea of a restaurant close to the hotel.

Thursday, Context tour of Rijksmuseum at 9AM. A little nervous about finding it this early. May scout it out the day before. I know it is just a short ride, but still nervous. At 3PM have reservations for Anne Frank museum. Looking to add the 30 minute pretour presentation. Thinking about lunch in the museum cafe. Tour till 12, Anne Frank 3:15. Anything to fit in here? Dinner at Jun, Indonesian Rice Table.

Friday: WWII walk with Historywalks.com at 10. Breakfast? Then nothing till another Context tour of the Van Gogh museum at 6. Interim? Dinner?

Saturday, we meet at the cruise hotel for a tour of Zaanse Schans at 1pm/. Have time before then. (Meet at Movenpik). Thinking of pancake this morning/ What else to see.

In addition, will have Sunday morning free. Rembrandt museum? Other suggestions.

Thanks in advance
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 03:56 PM
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WE enjoyed the Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) but you might have your fill of museums and walking.

We also enjoyed a cheese tasting class (with wine pairing) at the Reypenaer Tasting Room. Relaxing hour in between museums.

Perhaps stop in one of the churches? Oude Kerk?

https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/en/museum

https://www.reypenaer.nl/en/tasting-room
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 05:28 PM
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No Rijksmuseum?
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 06:27 PM
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Walk from Dam to Rijksmuseum in 20 minutes, or take tram number 2, maybe 10 minutes.

Why a tour for the museum? Just go and walk and stop when you want to. Download the audio guide to your phone or get it at the museum - bring your own earbuds and listen as you walk.

Then thee's the nearby Van Gogh museum and the fabulous Stedelijk museum. Then there is the Anne Frank House, the narrowest house at Singel 7 (http://www.holland.com/global/touris...-amsterdam.htm),
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 08:02 PM
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>>> First day, have a reservation with Those Dam Boat Guys at 3pm for a canal cruise.

What a soporific idea The sweet sound of water hitting the hull and the slow swaying of the boat putting you to sleep zzz...
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 08:06 PM
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If you consult any reasonably comprehensive guidebook you will find that you are missing many, many things. Whether those things are of interest to you is nothing than any of us can say.

That said, you will see some wonderful things!
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 08:58 PM
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Rice Table = Rijsttafel, oh I got it. I have never seen this cuisine mentioned in English.

The way you have configured your visit, putting hard time stakes in mid-day, makes it harder to move things around to fit things in.

It is practically impossible not to find Rijksmuseum. You will see a mass of tourists heading to the entrance at your tour time.

How are you moving around? If you plan to take the tram a lot, you want a all day tickets of some duration http://en.gvb.nl/gvb-dag-meerdagenkaart. If you take more than 3 trams a day, the full day cards are cheaper and more convenient.

However, you would want to walk if you are not in a hurry. Kalverstraat is a pedestrian street full of shops. The canal side streets are pleasant to walk. You see bridges lit at night. Especially pretty are night lit arched bridges. The ones at Herengracht and Reguliersgracht; at Keizersgracht and Reguliersgracht; or Keizersgracht and Leidsegracht are often photographed. Just google "amsterdam bridge night image" to see what you are missing by heading back to your hotel after visiting only the prescribed tour sites.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 03:24 AM
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Seek out Nes, a narrow sidestreet, running from the eastern side of Dam to Grimburgwal. There's a number of good restaurants along it: the restaurant of De Brakke Grond, Mappa, Harkema (make sure you book, popular with upscale locals)

Behind Nes, and parallel to it, only accessible through Kuipersteeg is Kapitein Zeppos, in a courtyard. Laid back, famous for its "open mic" café chantant. This would be my pick.

http://www.zeppos.nl/

Lunch near the Anne Frank house: their museum cafe is expensive and worse than mediocre. Instead head to Noordermarkt. Winkel is famous for its apple pie, lunch I would have at Finch

I'd also like to point out Eetcafe Koevoet, on Lindenstraat, truly off the map, with a tiny kitchen producing great food. Lovely atmosphere, the way Amsterdam used to be 20 years ago

http://www.koevoetamsterdam.com/

book, because it's small and popular in the neighbourhood
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 04:01 AM
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Agree with previous posts that:

It would be practically impossible not to be able to find the Rijksmuseum.

You don't need a tour of it.

A boat tour on Day 1 is a bad idea. You'll probably sleep through it.

Don't eat at the museum café at Anne Frank's house.

There's plenty more to see and do; consult a guidebook or the Amsterdam official Tourist Office website - there's a free downloadable city guide there.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 04:26 AM
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When you exit the Anne Frank house walk back towards the Westerkirk. Across the street is 'Nine Streets' area. Three blocks long, three blocks wide with each block having a different street name. Quite an assortment of interesting shops and places to eat.

In the same direction but on the opposite side of the canal is the house boat museum. Basically it is a houseboat that you can enter to see exactly how people on houseboats adapt their space for easy living.

The Amsterdam Museum is quite close to the Dam Square.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 05:35 AM
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From the SwissHotel at Dam Square you need to walk about 1-2 blocks (the hotel will give you directions) and get Tram # 2 or #5. Those will take you to the Rijks and there is a station there and it will be announced ON the tram when you get to it. You can see the building (red bricks) from the tram.

Go EARLY.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 08:11 AM
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Agree with the tip to keep walking and walking and walking. Nothing gets you closer to the big and small surprises, at a pace that lets you absorb them.

A word to the wise though: Look at the map and you see how the canals curve around, almost in a horseshoe fashion. That makes it very easy to lose your sense of compass direction. On a sunny day that's not a problem, but on an overcast day or after dark it can be. If your smart phone has a built-in compass, consult it now and then and you'll know where you're headed. If not, buy a little compass and take it along, it makes navigating more fun when you don't have to worry about heading in the wrong direction. The latter is still fun, but your legs might not want to carry you quite that far...
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 09:41 AM
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If you can work it in, take the early morning tour at Alsmeer Flower Market. You can take the public bus near the Westerkirt. It opens at 7am. Fascinating
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 10:53 AM
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Amsterdam is a pretty great place to wander around without a particular destination. There are many outdoor cafes in Leidseplein to sit out an enjoy the afternoon sun. Many lovely streets along the canals. Vondelpark is lovely and worth a walk around and people watch. One of my favorite places in Amsterdam.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 10:58 AM
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Vondelpark is beautiful and worth a visit as long as the weather is nice.

I loved the Leidseplein area.

What I did most in Amsterdam was... walk, walk, walk (I was there only 5 days but didn't do anything on your list).

~suze
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 11:27 AM
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For loads of specialist food shops there's Haarlemmerdijk, to the north of Brouwersgracht and the Jordaan area. The Jordaan is a great area for an afternoon's wander. Many, many sidewalk cafes. The part of Jordaan north of Rozengracht is the most beautiful, the part south of Rozengracht less so.

If you cross the canals outwards from Singel to Herengracht, to Keizersgracht, to Prinsengracht, you'll see that the houses become less grand. From the patricians' mansions along Herengracht to the modest warehouses with dwellings above them on Prinsengracht. Nowadays all of this is prime real estate, but in the 17th century there were class differences, with the Jordaan, on reclaimed land to the west, outside the canals, being the most modest. A collection of artisans' houses with workshops and gardens. Hence the name: Jordaan = Jardin: many Huguenots settled there.
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Old Aug 25th, 2016, 12:34 PM
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Some wonderful suggestions. And thanks for the tram/walking tips. Our Context tours are the result of previous tours with them. We find the docents to be wonderfully informed, and, although we have done many audio tours, this was our choice.

Lunch would be at the Rijksmuseum cafe, not Anne Frank. From the conversations we have had with Those Dam Boat Guys, there will be NO falling asleep!

Any pancake suggestions? Just looking at the menus makes me excited.

Any specific suggestions for Sunday morning? A church service in a beautiful old church?
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