A Snowy Easter in Amsterdam - A Trip Report
Mar 28th, 2008 | 03:20 AM
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A Snowy Easter in Amsterdam - A Trip Report
A Snowy Easter Weekend in Amsterdam
Alarm went off at 5am on Friday Mar 21 and we dragged ourselves out of bed for our Easter adventure in Amsterdam. We had been watching the weather with dread for the week before and it was still forecasting snow. Oh well, what can you do?
We caught the 6:30am Gatwick Express and heading off to Gatwick for our flight. Everything was going according to plan, we boarded on time…and then sat. And sat. And sat on the tarmac waiting for Amsterdam to give us the ok as they were having snow storms. Perfect. After an hour delay we were off!! I would like to add at this point that I very patiently read my book and didn’t get frustrated at all by the delay…a big step forward for me
We landed at Schipol (pronounced Skip-Ol) about 30 minutes late. Wow, Schipol is a crazy airport. Beautiful, modern and huge. They actually have security at every gate as opposed to one big security check point so you can wander and shop without worrying about going through security.
We wound our way through to passport control, and of course got into the shortest line…which also happened to be the longest wait, as we had two people ahead of us get taken by passport officers…that can never be good. Finally got our luggage, hoped on the train and headed to Amsterdam Centraal station.
We had arranged to head straight to our bed and breakfast (the highly recommended Boogaard’s B&B http://www.boogaardsbnb.com/) and headed straight there. It is an easy 5 min walk from Centraal station in Centrum. The B&B is in a traditional Amsterdam house, which means its about 5 stories high with some crazy stairs up to our room. Peter, the owner, was great and very welcoming and everything was as expected. Would definitely recommend staying here and we will do so again if/when we are back in Amsterdam.
After dropping our stuff we walked outside to explore the Old Side (Oude Zijde) but before we had walked a block the rain began. We ran for cover and decided to start with a canal cruise. Before we even started the cruise the rain had turned to big fluffy snow flakes. Our cruise was lovely in the snow, although the windows were a bit foggy so the views were hard to see.
We ended the cruise back at Centraal and headed to the Old Side. We didn’t get very far when we were side tracked by a traditional brown café on the old street of Zeedijk. Dating from around 1550, In’t Aephen (In the Monkeys) providing a place to sleep for destitute sailors if they promised they would return from their next voyage with a monkey! Apparently it worked as soon it was filled with monkeys (and their lice!). Anyways, it was charming and perfect to get out of the snow. We called this the monkey bar from now on!
After a beer, we headed down Zeedijk to Niewmarkt where there is a lovely bar. This place would be great in the summer as you can sit outside, enjoy a bevvie and watch people. As it was still crappy outside we headed towards the Old Church (Oude Kerk). This is Amsterdam’s oldest church…and funny enough is surrounded by the oldest profession! Overlooking the church on 2/3 of its sides are prostitutes in their red light finery!!! How weird is that!! DH got a sneaky shot but you really aren’t supposed to do it. There was a kindergarten right beside the prostitutes as well!!
We soon realized we were close to the heart of the red light district. I had been to Amsterdam in 2001, but this was DH’s first time…and you can’t visit Amsterdam without visiting the red light district. So we wandered around, smelling the air of the coffee shops and experiencing the ambience. It really is crazy…we didn’t know where to look. Are you allowed to just look at these women or should you avert your eyes. We did know we weren’t allowed pics and I can see why. Anyways, after we had our fill of that we wandered back to our hotel to find a place to eat dinner and relax for a while.
Note: Amsterdam is going smoke free April 15, 2008 which will be great for the pubs! Right now they are very smoky and as non-smokers from Canada/England we are not used to that anymore!
DH found a recommendation for a Thai restaurant nearby so we headed out around 6:30ish. It was called Krua Thai, http://www.kruathai.nl/?D=1
And it was excellent. We ordered the set menu and settled in for 2 hours of delicious thai food. The manager was very attentive and his nephew was going to school in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University so he was quite excited when we said we were from there originally.
Another wander through the red light district after dark was in order so we wandered back around there. I didn’t realize that prostitutes could work outside the red light district, but we found red windows all over the place, even right around the corner from our B&B. Peter told us that most of these women are married with children and can make around 60,000 Euro a year!!!
It had been a great first day and we fell into bed and slept through the night…
DH’s pics are posted http://www.flickr.com/photos/radio-friendly
More to come…
Alarm went off at 5am on Friday Mar 21 and we dragged ourselves out of bed for our Easter adventure in Amsterdam. We had been watching the weather with dread for the week before and it was still forecasting snow. Oh well, what can you do?
We caught the 6:30am Gatwick Express and heading off to Gatwick for our flight. Everything was going according to plan, we boarded on time…and then sat. And sat. And sat on the tarmac waiting for Amsterdam to give us the ok as they were having snow storms. Perfect. After an hour delay we were off!! I would like to add at this point that I very patiently read my book and didn’t get frustrated at all by the delay…a big step forward for me
We landed at Schipol (pronounced Skip-Ol) about 30 minutes late. Wow, Schipol is a crazy airport. Beautiful, modern and huge. They actually have security at every gate as opposed to one big security check point so you can wander and shop without worrying about going through security.
We wound our way through to passport control, and of course got into the shortest line…which also happened to be the longest wait, as we had two people ahead of us get taken by passport officers…that can never be good. Finally got our luggage, hoped on the train and headed to Amsterdam Centraal station.
We had arranged to head straight to our bed and breakfast (the highly recommended Boogaard’s B&B http://www.boogaardsbnb.com/) and headed straight there. It is an easy 5 min walk from Centraal station in Centrum. The B&B is in a traditional Amsterdam house, which means its about 5 stories high with some crazy stairs up to our room. Peter, the owner, was great and very welcoming and everything was as expected. Would definitely recommend staying here and we will do so again if/when we are back in Amsterdam.
After dropping our stuff we walked outside to explore the Old Side (Oude Zijde) but before we had walked a block the rain began. We ran for cover and decided to start with a canal cruise. Before we even started the cruise the rain had turned to big fluffy snow flakes. Our cruise was lovely in the snow, although the windows were a bit foggy so the views were hard to see.
We ended the cruise back at Centraal and headed to the Old Side. We didn’t get very far when we were side tracked by a traditional brown café on the old street of Zeedijk. Dating from around 1550, In’t Aephen (In the Monkeys) providing a place to sleep for destitute sailors if they promised they would return from their next voyage with a monkey! Apparently it worked as soon it was filled with monkeys (and their lice!). Anyways, it was charming and perfect to get out of the snow. We called this the monkey bar from now on!
After a beer, we headed down Zeedijk to Niewmarkt where there is a lovely bar. This place would be great in the summer as you can sit outside, enjoy a bevvie and watch people. As it was still crappy outside we headed towards the Old Church (Oude Kerk). This is Amsterdam’s oldest church…and funny enough is surrounded by the oldest profession! Overlooking the church on 2/3 of its sides are prostitutes in their red light finery!!! How weird is that!! DH got a sneaky shot but you really aren’t supposed to do it. There was a kindergarten right beside the prostitutes as well!!
We soon realized we were close to the heart of the red light district. I had been to Amsterdam in 2001, but this was DH’s first time…and you can’t visit Amsterdam without visiting the red light district. So we wandered around, smelling the air of the coffee shops and experiencing the ambience. It really is crazy…we didn’t know where to look. Are you allowed to just look at these women or should you avert your eyes. We did know we weren’t allowed pics and I can see why. Anyways, after we had our fill of that we wandered back to our hotel to find a place to eat dinner and relax for a while.
Note: Amsterdam is going smoke free April 15, 2008 which will be great for the pubs! Right now they are very smoky and as non-smokers from Canada/England we are not used to that anymore!
DH found a recommendation for a Thai restaurant nearby so we headed out around 6:30ish. It was called Krua Thai, http://www.kruathai.nl/?D=1
And it was excellent. We ordered the set menu and settled in for 2 hours of delicious thai food. The manager was very attentive and his nephew was going to school in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University so he was quite excited when we said we were from there originally.
Another wander through the red light district after dark was in order so we wandered back around there. I didn’t realize that prostitutes could work outside the red light district, but we found red windows all over the place, even right around the corner from our B&B. Peter told us that most of these women are married with children and can make around 60,000 Euro a year!!!
It had been a great first day and we fell into bed and slept through the night…
DH’s pics are posted http://www.flickr.com/photos/radio-friendly
More to come…
Mar 28th, 2008 | 05:28 AM
#2
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Saturday 22 March
We woke up to the yummy smell of breakfast on Saturday. The plan today was to hit Bloemenmarkt and New Side (Niewe Zijde). Peter had made lovely dutch pancakes that reminded me of my dad’s as they were huge! We tucked into breakfast, ran upstairs to grab our umbrellas and cameras and were off!
We wandered down Singel canal which was on one side of our B&B. The Bloemenmarkt is at the far end of this canal (at the top of the horseshoe shape of Centrum). We got there, but due to the cold spring there weren’t many flowers in bloom. Most of the vendors were selling bulbs.
We then headed to the nearby Spui Square for a coffee. We took a seat in a restaurant/café on the square and DH had a coffee and I had a hot chocolate. We spent a good 30 mins relaxing and watching some crazy guy ride his bike around the square. Great entertainment!
This is a good time to mention that Amsterdam is COVERED in bikes!!!! They have so many modes of transportation…bikes, cars, a tram, and even though they are 4 metres below sea level they are expanding their metro!!! Its hard to walk in some places as you have to be aware of so many things. Peter told us that bikes have the right of way, then pedestrians and then cars. If a car hits a person the drivers loses their license, no questions asked! There are 800,000 people in Amsterdam, 1,5 million bikes and only 300,000 cars!!
Anyways, after our coffee we headed to Begihnof, which is a tree-filled courtyard of a residential area, built in the 14th century. It is so quiet compared to the trams and bikes around Spui. It’s very serene here…but of course it started raining again (have I mentioned how quickly the weather changes? You can have rain, sun, rain, snow, wind, rain and sun all within a 3 hour time period!) so we headed into English Church (Engelse Kerk), which is apparently a Scottish Presbyterian church. The rain stopped enough for me to snap a few shots of the beautiful wall decorations that were saved and are on the wall around the corner from the church.
Since we were in the neighbourhood we decided to have lunch at Café Hoppe, a brown café on the Spui Square. I had a couple delicious beef croquettes, a dutch specialty, and DH had a BLT. Both were excellent and cheap! We then headed to the nearby Amsterdam Historical Museum to learn the history of Amsterdam.
This museum is HUGE and very well done. The only downside was the screaming child being dragged around by the oblivious parents. I hate that! We spent probably 2 hours wandering in this museum and still didn’t see most of it. But by that time we were a bit wandered out, so it was time to have another beer!
We wandered around looking at canals and as it started raining we ran into a nearby square and found a place called the Unique Bar…and of course had a drink. We discovered by looking at our map that we had stumbled into Rembrandt Plein. This square reminded us of Piccadilly Square in that there were large neon signs everywhere. The bar we were in was perfect for people watching and we happily sipped our beer entertained ourselves by watching people walking by.
Once the rain had subsided and the sun had come out again we headed towards Dam Square. This is literally where they dammed the Amstel River that used to flow through town. It is also where wanderers in the 12th century thought to stop and build a dam, and this is where the settlement of Amsterdam began. Today it is large square full of people, trams and the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk), the Koninlijk Paleis, and the National Monument. We snapped some pics and found our way to a small bar behind the huge palace. Again we sat and watched people from the window and relaxed.
We had dinner reservations at De Kas http://www.restaurantdekas.nl/ in Frankendael Park. It’s a lovely restaurant that looks like a greenhouse. Very beautiful. There is a set menu of 5 courses, and the food is either grown on site, or comes from organic suppliers. It was a bit odd in that they brought out 3 appetiser courses all at once, which meant our wine was warm by the time we finished the last one. I prefer each course to come out separately. The food was good, but the service was not. No one checked back in, there were huge long waits in between courses. All in all, I don’t think we would go back. But oh well, the dinner was nice and we were in Amsterdam. We took the tram back and wandered to our B&B. Another great day!
More to come….
We woke up to the yummy smell of breakfast on Saturday. The plan today was to hit Bloemenmarkt and New Side (Niewe Zijde). Peter had made lovely dutch pancakes that reminded me of my dad’s as they were huge! We tucked into breakfast, ran upstairs to grab our umbrellas and cameras and were off!
We wandered down Singel canal which was on one side of our B&B. The Bloemenmarkt is at the far end of this canal (at the top of the horseshoe shape of Centrum). We got there, but due to the cold spring there weren’t many flowers in bloom. Most of the vendors were selling bulbs.
We then headed to the nearby Spui Square for a coffee. We took a seat in a restaurant/café on the square and DH had a coffee and I had a hot chocolate. We spent a good 30 mins relaxing and watching some crazy guy ride his bike around the square. Great entertainment!
This is a good time to mention that Amsterdam is COVERED in bikes!!!! They have so many modes of transportation…bikes, cars, a tram, and even though they are 4 metres below sea level they are expanding their metro!!! Its hard to walk in some places as you have to be aware of so many things. Peter told us that bikes have the right of way, then pedestrians and then cars. If a car hits a person the drivers loses their license, no questions asked! There are 800,000 people in Amsterdam, 1,5 million bikes and only 300,000 cars!!
Anyways, after our coffee we headed to Begihnof, which is a tree-filled courtyard of a residential area, built in the 14th century. It is so quiet compared to the trams and bikes around Spui. It’s very serene here…but of course it started raining again (have I mentioned how quickly the weather changes? You can have rain, sun, rain, snow, wind, rain and sun all within a 3 hour time period!) so we headed into English Church (Engelse Kerk), which is apparently a Scottish Presbyterian church. The rain stopped enough for me to snap a few shots of the beautiful wall decorations that were saved and are on the wall around the corner from the church.
Since we were in the neighbourhood we decided to have lunch at Café Hoppe, a brown café on the Spui Square. I had a couple delicious beef croquettes, a dutch specialty, and DH had a BLT. Both were excellent and cheap! We then headed to the nearby Amsterdam Historical Museum to learn the history of Amsterdam.
This museum is HUGE and very well done. The only downside was the screaming child being dragged around by the oblivious parents. I hate that! We spent probably 2 hours wandering in this museum and still didn’t see most of it. But by that time we were a bit wandered out, so it was time to have another beer!
We wandered around looking at canals and as it started raining we ran into a nearby square and found a place called the Unique Bar…and of course had a drink. We discovered by looking at our map that we had stumbled into Rembrandt Plein. This square reminded us of Piccadilly Square in that there were large neon signs everywhere. The bar we were in was perfect for people watching and we happily sipped our beer entertained ourselves by watching people walking by.
Once the rain had subsided and the sun had come out again we headed towards Dam Square. This is literally where they dammed the Amstel River that used to flow through town. It is also where wanderers in the 12th century thought to stop and build a dam, and this is where the settlement of Amsterdam began. Today it is large square full of people, trams and the New Church (Nieuwe Kerk), the Koninlijk Paleis, and the National Monument. We snapped some pics and found our way to a small bar behind the huge palace. Again we sat and watched people from the window and relaxed.
We had dinner reservations at De Kas http://www.restaurantdekas.nl/ in Frankendael Park. It’s a lovely restaurant that looks like a greenhouse. Very beautiful. There is a set menu of 5 courses, and the food is either grown on site, or comes from organic suppliers. It was a bit odd in that they brought out 3 appetiser courses all at once, which meant our wine was warm by the time we finished the last one. I prefer each course to come out separately. The food was good, but the service was not. No one checked back in, there were huge long waits in between courses. All in all, I don’t think we would go back. But oh well, the dinner was nice and we were in Amsterdam. We took the tram back and wandered to our B&B. Another great day!
More to come….
Mar 28th, 2008 | 05:29 AM
#3
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Joined: Jan 2003
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Sunday 23 March
We woke up early this morning as we had 9:30 reservations at the Anne Frank Huis. I HIGHLY recommend making reservations online. It is so easy. You can do it here: http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2 You print your tickets and go to the door to the left of the HUGE line and ring the doorbell…and you are in!!! I cant believe how many people don’t do this, as the line wrapped right around the whole block by the time we got out.
This is my favourite museum in Amsterdam. We aren’t art museum people, but love history museums and this one is so well done and touching. You leave with a heavy heart but a good reminder of what happened. So very sad.
So after that we decided to chance going to Keukenhof Gardens http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html as the weather was nice and sunny…but it didn’t stay that way for long!
We went to Centraal to buy our train tickets, and although they say on the website you could get combi tickets from Amsterdam you still have to go to Leiden and then buy your combi tickets there. So we headed out on the train to Leiden…and right into a big black cloud. Sigh…at Leiden we walked out of the train station and easily found where to buy the tickets and hopped on the bus. It’s about a 30 min ride from Leiden. Of course, by the time we got to the gardens it was snowing!! And snowing A LOT!
We grabbed a table and had lunch, hoping for the snow to pass, which of course it did. We laughed about it and headed out into the gardens. Again, having been a cold spring there weren’t too many blooms yet, but it was only opening weekend. I can just imagine it would be beautiful in full bloom! We took our time, taking photos until we came to the greenhouses. And WOW! The tulips in there were amazing. Even though it snowed on and off all day it was a great afternoon. We got some amazing shots.
We headed back to our B&B as Peter had invited us to join his buffet that afternoon. Little did we know, it was his family and friends Easter buffet! Good thing we thought to bring wine! We settled in and had a lovely evening with Peter, his friends and family, including his lovely grandparents who invited us to celebrate their birthdays in Sept with them!
The time is just flying by, and it was our last night already…we sadly fell into bed, looking forward to our last day….
More to come….
We woke up early this morning as we had 9:30 reservations at the Anne Frank Huis. I HIGHLY recommend making reservations online. It is so easy. You can do it here: http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2 You print your tickets and go to the door to the left of the HUGE line and ring the doorbell…and you are in!!! I cant believe how many people don’t do this, as the line wrapped right around the whole block by the time we got out.
This is my favourite museum in Amsterdam. We aren’t art museum people, but love history museums and this one is so well done and touching. You leave with a heavy heart but a good reminder of what happened. So very sad.
So after that we decided to chance going to Keukenhof Gardens http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html as the weather was nice and sunny…but it didn’t stay that way for long!
We went to Centraal to buy our train tickets, and although they say on the website you could get combi tickets from Amsterdam you still have to go to Leiden and then buy your combi tickets there. So we headed out on the train to Leiden…and right into a big black cloud. Sigh…at Leiden we walked out of the train station and easily found where to buy the tickets and hopped on the bus. It’s about a 30 min ride from Leiden. Of course, by the time we got to the gardens it was snowing!! And snowing A LOT!
We grabbed a table and had lunch, hoping for the snow to pass, which of course it did. We laughed about it and headed out into the gardens. Again, having been a cold spring there weren’t too many blooms yet, but it was only opening weekend. I can just imagine it would be beautiful in full bloom! We took our time, taking photos until we came to the greenhouses. And WOW! The tulips in there were amazing. Even though it snowed on and off all day it was a great afternoon. We got some amazing shots.
We headed back to our B&B as Peter had invited us to join his buffet that afternoon. Little did we know, it was his family and friends Easter buffet! Good thing we thought to bring wine! We settled in and had a lovely evening with Peter, his friends and family, including his lovely grandparents who invited us to celebrate their birthdays in Sept with them!
The time is just flying by, and it was our last night already…we sadly fell into bed, looking forward to our last day….
More to come….
Mar 28th, 2008 | 05:42 AM
#5
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,329
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Thanks for the encouragement...you never know if people are reading these 
The bikes are crazy! I dont know how they can find their again in some places...there are sooo many by Centraal station!
Last installment:
Monday 23 March
We woke to a beautiful sunny sky on Monday morning, and headed downstairs for a yummy breakfast of freshly made quiche. We didn’t really have too many plans for the day…just wanted to wander around, take a few more pics and have a few last beers.
We headed out wandering around the canals and ended up back in Old Side. As the sun was out we took advantage of this and took a bunch of pics…good thing, because it soon clouded over and started snowing again. By this time it was lunch time and Peter had recommended an Indonesian place called Sampurna right behind Bloemenmarkt so we headed in that direction. I had some crispy chicken spicy dish and DH had a mixed rice dish. The food was good, but I think I preferred the Thai place from Friday night.
After that we only had a couple of hours before we had to check out and head to the airport. We headed back to the Jordaan area by our B&B and settled in at the bar of a brown café. We had a couple last drinks and then headed for the airport. The weekend went by way too fast!
We loved Amsterdam; DH even said he thought it was his 2nd favourite city in Europe after Paris! It is very walkable, people all speak English and were very welcoming, and it is very beautiful as well. A great place for a long weekend.
I'd be happy to answer any questions!
HAPPY FRIDAY!
The bikes are crazy! I dont know how they can find their again in some places...there are sooo many by Centraal station!
Last installment:
Monday 23 March
We woke to a beautiful sunny sky on Monday morning, and headed downstairs for a yummy breakfast of freshly made quiche. We didn’t really have too many plans for the day…just wanted to wander around, take a few more pics and have a few last beers.
We headed out wandering around the canals and ended up back in Old Side. As the sun was out we took advantage of this and took a bunch of pics…good thing, because it soon clouded over and started snowing again. By this time it was lunch time and Peter had recommended an Indonesian place called Sampurna right behind Bloemenmarkt so we headed in that direction. I had some crispy chicken spicy dish and DH had a mixed rice dish. The food was good, but I think I preferred the Thai place from Friday night.
After that we only had a couple of hours before we had to check out and head to the airport. We headed back to the Jordaan area by our B&B and settled in at the bar of a brown café. We had a couple last drinks and then headed for the airport. The weekend went by way too fast!
We loved Amsterdam; DH even said he thought it was his 2nd favourite city in Europe after Paris! It is very walkable, people all speak English and were very welcoming, and it is very beautiful as well. A great place for a long weekend.
I'd be happy to answer any questions!
HAPPY FRIDAY!
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Mar 28th, 2008 | 06:56 AM
#9
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 3,449
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Thank you for this trip report.
We are planning on leaving this summer for DH to do a year-long sabbatical in Amsterdam, so I am reading every post I can find about it. (I've only been in Amsterdam once, long ago.)
As a Californian, I am a little worried about how I will adjust to the weather there, and I will say your report didn't do much to dispel those worries. ;-> Ah well, I hope the friendly and interesting people and the beautiful town will help me not miss the sun and warmth!
We are planning on leaving this summer for DH to do a year-long sabbatical in Amsterdam, so I am reading every post I can find about it. (I've only been in Amsterdam once, long ago.)
As a Californian, I am a little worried about how I will adjust to the weather there, and I will say your report didn't do much to dispel those worries. ;-> Ah well, I hope the friendly and interesting people and the beautiful town will help me not miss the sun and warmth!
Mar 28th, 2008 | 07:14 AM
#10
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,641
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Great report and sounds like you had a lovely time. I would disagree, though, that you can't visit A'dam without seeing the RLD. I've been to Amsterdam many times but have never gone to the RLD and probably never will. Just doesn't interest me and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
Will pass on your tip about the Thai restaurant to DH, who attended Simon Fraser University. He'll be in Amsterdam sometime in the next couple of weeks, perhaps he'll stop in for dinner.
Will pass on your tip about the Thai restaurant to DH, who attended Simon Fraser University. He'll be in Amsterdam sometime in the next couple of weeks, perhaps he'll stop in for dinner.
Mar 28th, 2008 | 07:22 AM
#11
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Joined: Jan 2003
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NorCalif...sorry to not help you with the weather If it helps, it was the first snow of the year...and it changes so fast that a rainstorm is over quickly and the sun comes out. Dont think the weather can live up to California though...you are so lucky there with all the sun!
BTilke...true enough, its definitely possible to visit without seeing hte RLD...there is so much more to Amsterdam than that for sure. Maybe I should have phrased it that WE couldnt visit Amsterdam without at least seeing it as my hubby was really curious based on my tales of my first visit!
Glad everyone enjoyed the report
If it helps, it was the first snow of the year...and it changes so fast that a rainstorm is over quickly and the sun comes out. Dont think the weather can live up to California though...you are so lucky there with all the sun!BTilke...true enough, its definitely possible to visit without seeing hte RLD...there is so much more to Amsterdam than that for sure. Maybe I should have phrased it that WE couldnt visit Amsterdam without at least seeing it as my hubby was really curious based on my tales of my first visit!
Glad everyone enjoyed the report
Mar 29th, 2008 | 07:50 AM
#14
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 23
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Great report Jamikins! We are doing a river cruise April 13-20th and staying 3 days at the end of the river cruise in Amsterdam. We have been very worried as the weather has been rainy and cold and we are specifically doing this time frame to see the tulips in Holland! I am hoping by April 20th it will be a lot warmer and the tulips will be in full bloom lol. Are you ex Canadians living in England or did you start your trip out in England and went to Amsterdam as a planned weekend? We live in Ont. and this is our 2nd European river cruise; did a Danube 4 yrs. ago. We are looking forward to this one especially our 3 days in Amsterdam. At the top of my wish list is the Ann Frank house so I was thrilled to read that you enjoyed it. I had to read the book way back in high school and loved it and read it again a couple of yrs. ago. I can't wait to go through the house and actually see where she lived! You said to book ahead of time...did you pay ahead of time online also or did you pay when you went in? I was glad to read your suggestion...had not heard about that before. So thanks so much for the great trip report and pictures! I am more excited now!
Mar 29th, 2008 | 08:11 AM
#16
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8,351
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Great trip report jamikins! Glad you enjoyed Amsterdam so much.
Btw it is SchipHol (with 2 H's) pronounced with a sibilant s and a hint of a K.
Rumour has it that it will 20C next weekend. I'll believe it when I feel it though. At least there was only a little snow and it didn't mess things up for you.
NorCalif, don't let the weather put you off. It is rarely really cold here any more, and snow is also really unusual. Rain is another story however. Think Oregon/Washington but a bit drier!
I almost prefer the cold to the oppressive summer heat we can occasionally get - at least you can wrap up warm against the cold - there is no escape from the heat.
Btw it is SchipHol (with 2 H's) pronounced with a sibilant s and a hint of a K.
Rumour has it that it will 20C next weekend. I'll believe it when I feel it though. At least there was only a little snow and it didn't mess things up for you.
NorCalif, don't let the weather put you off. It is rarely really cold here any more, and snow is also really unusual. Rain is another story however. Think Oregon/Washington but a bit drier!
I almost prefer the cold to the oppressive summer heat we can occasionally get - at least you can wrap up warm against the cold - there is no escape from the heat.
Mar 29th, 2008 | 09:55 AM
#18
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,582
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I'm happy to share my trip report and photos from spring 2007 in Amsterdam. Lots of photos from Keukenhof.
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...7Holland1.html
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...7Holland1.html
Mar 31st, 2008 | 01:24 AM
#20
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,329
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So glad you all enjoyed the report!
cormike1 - We are originally from Vancouver Canada and are now living in London so are able to slip away for weekends (we were in Dublin this weekend). DEFINITELY make reservations ahead of time. We paid online with our credit cards and just printed the tickets on our printer. I think we had to pay 0.50 Euro extra, but it is WELL worth it when you see the line!!
hetismij - figures it will be nice this weekened hahahaha...well we enjoyed it despite the rain/snow. gives us an excuse to return for the sun!!
Happy Travels!
cormike1 - We are originally from Vancouver Canada and are now living in London so are able to slip away for weekends (we were in Dublin this weekend). DEFINITELY make reservations ahead of time. We paid online with our credit cards and just printed the tickets on our printer. I think we had to pay 0.50 Euro extra, but it is WELL worth it when you see the line!!
hetismij - figures it will be nice this weekened hahahaha...well we enjoyed it despite the rain/snow. gives us an excuse to return for the sun!!
Happy Travels!
