wandermama

Hello, I snagged mileage tickets for myself and 23 year old son to go to Amsterdam, arriving late on Dec. 26th, and Berlin, arriving on New Year's Eve. Originally I thought of Amsterdam for New Year's Eve but the hotel prices are sky high and I read about Berlin's street party by the Brandenberg Gate, so thought we should go to Berlin, where it is also cheaper to stay at that time. I would like advice:
--As to an Amsterdam hotel we plan museum visits but would also like a place with some charm. I booked the XO Van Gogh but the reviews are very mixed, as it is attached to a hostel. We will be arriving at the airport at 23:00 on 26 Dec. so I am also concerned about transportation at that hour.
--We want to see the Amsterdam Light Festival--is that everywhere or in one area?
--We plan a day trip to the Hague to see the museum there. Any advice?
--I plan a train trip from Amsterdam to Berlin in the daytime on New Year's Eve (about a 6 hour trip). Is that sensible?
--I am looking around Berlin for a place for 9 days in walking distance to Museum Island. It is so hard to find a good set up for a mother-son duo with separate beds and ideally separate bedrooms. Suggestions welcome. I booked Apartments am Brandenburger Tor but the reviews are mixed and I think it is the luck of the draw as to quality. Some of the photos look dreary but it is 800 sq. ft. instead of tiny like some hotels. I will stay on by myself for 3 nights after my son leaves.
--Is the Brandenberg Gate New Year's Eve party a good experience? I don't want to be naive.
--your favorite winter restaurants in these cities? Other bad weather things to do in these cities?
We know it will be cold, and we will be visiting from California, so brrr. But we look forward to it!

PalenQ

Yes take train Amsterdam-Berlin and see a bit of Europe in between - less hassle if a bit longer than flying - book tickets NOW at www.bahn.de/en - German Railways site - www.seat61.com has loads on doing that yourself online - general info trains also www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts. For the Hague take frequent local trains to Den Hague Centraal Station and tram or taxi or about a mile walk the museum/palace area - just buy tickets - return ticket - at station - no real benefit pre-booking.

Cowboy1968

The official website for the NYE party at Brandenburg Gate should (hopefully) answer all of your questions:
https://brandenburger-tor-berlin.de/...ate-2017-2018/
Whether or not it's a good experience depends (at least IMO) a lot on the weather. I would not bother going if it was rainy. Otherwise prepare for a really, really big party with up to one million people.
The party mile (in fact it's more than one mile) between Brandenburg Gate and the Victory column tends to fill up already by 7pm. And due to security reasons access may be restricted when it's full. Also take into account that you can access only through designated "gates" where you can expect some waiting time for security screening (of bags).

Aside from the usual day at the museum(s), you can do a lot in cold/bad weather in Berlin, like a tour of the WWII and Cold War bunkers:
https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en.html

Probably not the reason why you traveled halfway around the globe, but maybe a place to warm up after you son has left:
https://www.vabali.de/online/en/

A good starting point for making itineraries is the official TI site:
https://www.visitberlin.de/en

PalenQ

If want to see a Nazi concentration camp.memorial take a suburban train out to Sachsenhausen Camp/Memorial.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sach...w=1280&bih=625

menachem

Which museum in The Hague? There are several. If it's Mauritshuis, it's within walking distance from The Hague Central Station.

Important: The Hague has two main stations: Den Haag CS and Den Haag HS. Please make sure that your train goes to Den Haag CS when you get on.

In his advice I think PalenQ is confusing the two.

PalenQ

In his advice I think PalenQ is confusing the two.>

I wrote: For the Hague take frequent local trains to Den Hague Centraal Station and tram or taxi or about a mile walk the museum/palace area

confusing the two?

menachem

It's not a mile from CS to Mauritshuis, I think. But it is if you walk from HS. That's why.

wandermama

Thanks for the info so far:
--I appreciate the heads up about 2 Hague train stations. It is Mauritshuis we will go to, primarily.
--I upgraded the Amsterdam hotel to the NH Amsterdam Museum Quarter to get away from the Van Gogh hostel connection.
--I bought the train tickets for New Year's Eve to get us to Berlin by 15:30
--I will plan to go on foot to the Brandenburg Gate New Year's Eve party as early as possible after that (assuming it is not raining) --my research and your comments suggest it should be fine. We are seasoned travelers and I am a NYC girl originally so we should be OK.
--Good suggestion about the concentration camp. We went to one in Poland a few years ago, and it was a profound experience.
--We were in Berlin for a day a few years ago but it was the day of the Marathon, so we didn't get to go inside any museums and I am still upset about that. So this time, I am going to EVERY museum I can.
Thank you and I am still interested in off-beat things to do if any suggestions!

PalenQ

I walked from Den Hague C.S. to Mauritshuis and maybe I did not take the most direct route but this map shows the most direct route in 700 metres:

https://www.google.com/search?q=dist...hrome&ie=UTF-8

I then walked from the Binnenhuis (stately government complex) and old palace area to central Den Hague and walked to Den Hague H.S. (Holllands Spoor) on the main line back to Amsterdam - that was an interesting walk because I went up a street full of ethnic shops - Indian I believe - poorer part of town but really neat.

Another time I took the tram from The Hague to nearby Delft - an interesting right right down main streets of towns the whole way. Bit slower than train probably but to me more interesting. From Delft go to Rotterdam for fastest trains back to Amsterdam. Easy to combine The hague and Delft in one day though either has lots to fill a whole day.

PalenQ

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/plotzensee-memorial

A short walk from the new Central Station takes you thru garden plots to the infamous and grim Plotzensee Prison where the Nazis tortured and executed folks they deemed enemies of the state -including guy who try to assassinate Hitler - many were hung on meat hooks which are still there. I thought that places was really worth the trek - much like concentration camps are to witness how brutal Nazis were.

menachem

Yes exactly, 700 meters. Not nearly a mile. In any case, make sure you go to the right station.

menachem

There are trains running until well past midnight, and then an hourly night service to Amsterdam CS.
It's spread out across the city centre, so it's a walk all over town if you want to see every installation. For me it's always a little underwhelming, although some installations are very inventive and beautiful.
What kind of advice do you need about The Hague? There's one place for lunch that I can really recommend: Café Schlemmer on Lange Houtstraat and for coffee there's the Wiener Konditorei on Korte Poten. Especially the latter is great. It's been there since the 1920s and always was a hangout for spies (because the Dutch government, the royal court and lots of embassies are in The Hague) Also Dennenweg is a good area for a stroll and if you can, have tea in the lobby of Hotel Des Indes. Another good place for art and lunch is Pulchri Studio, an artists' society on Lange Voorhout. And make a mental note: Lange Voorhout and Unter den Linden look remarkably similar. That's because they are. Berlin in the 18th century employed many Dutch civic archtitects and they built Unter den Linden to the example of Lange Voorhout and Maliebaan in Utrecht.

PalenQ

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ournal-550993/

A little old but still general info is timeless - especially if want to get off beaten path!