Amsterdam and...?
 

Flying in and out of Amsterdam mid-August. Trying to decide whether to split the time between Amsterdam (and a night or two in Bruges) and Prague (I would fly, I think) OR forego Prague and explore within several hours of Amsterdam - taking the train to smaller towns and villages in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and/or Germany. Opinions? If the latter, any suggestions of where to go? I've been thinking about Colmar or the Black Forest area.

How long have you got?

Yes it would depend on how long you have -a week then if want Prague fly into Amsterdam and out of Prague if possible.

Paris is just 3.5 hrs away. London not much more by train and of course all of Belgium, Netherlands and parts of Germany too.

You could certainly spend a week or so exploring Netherlands from an Amsterdam base.

Anyway trains are great for nearby places -check these superb sites IMO for planning a rail trip and where to go by train: www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com.

Colmar and Black Forest would be several hours by train I would think.

Why not go to Groningen and/or one of the Dutch islands?

I did a day trip to Texel, one of the Friesian islands - train goes right to Den Helder for ferries to the island -you can rent bikes at the Texel ferry dock. Really wild landscapes.

Amsterdam has so so many neat easy day trips - and a superb rail system to take you to them.

Amsterdam is such a well-developed transit hub in so many ways -- land, sea, air -- your choices are practically infinite, especially if what you are willing to spend is infinite.

Why not go with your own instincts? Or offer more information about why you don't simply want to stay in Amsterdam (combine it with visiting other parts of the Netherlands)?

Meant to add: If exploring nearby destinations appeals to you, there is Utrecht, Ameersfort, Rotterdam, Den Haag etc etc plus all the Belgian coast and many of Belgium's major cities.... Seriously, if you want helpful advice in choosing places, you need to provide a description of what kind of travel experience you most want to combine with Amsterdam.