Just a note to tell you to be alert for thieves at the Amsterdam train station.
We were exiting Amsterdam after a delightful stay. I went to the ticket office to buy train tickets to Schipol Airport while my wife stood against a wall waiting and watching our luggage. One thief came up to her with phony questions about some ticket he had. With my wife sufficiently distracted, the thief's partner snatched our laptop.
A chase ensued but to no avail. We went to the police but they said that it would take 30-45 minutes to file a report. We didn't have time to do that because we had to get to the airport 2 hours before our international flight.
These were professional thieves. I say this because I don't think amateurs would be on the prowl at 7:30-8:00 am.
Generally, train stations are more likely to have theft problems than airports.
Don't let this put you off to international travel. As experienced international travelers ourselves, we just got a little complacent and paid for it.
Best to all,
Tuscanson.

One hint - even if you're standing right next to your luggage NEVER let go of a purse or computer case - even for a second. And always keep your feet pressed against the other bags - so you feel it at once if it moves.

(Sorry - another one of those things that New Yorkers assume everyone else knows.)

And we always carry a light weight, retractable, cable lock that is used to attach the bag or bags to a table, chair, leg, etc when in a restaurant. If we put our bags down in an open area, we will run the cable through all of the handles. This will prevent the distract and grab tactic.

This warning applies to any train station, really, not just Centraal. Another busy station that comes to mind where one needs to be on top of things is Gare du Nord in Paris. ... and Termini in Rome...

Actually this warning should be for almost any place in Europe...
be it Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Istanbul etc.
Unfortunately there are persons looking for a chance to rob you.
I always tell people: Keep your luggage with you and keep an eye on it at all times!!!
Never put your handbag/laptop on the floor.
I am sorry it happened to you, it happened in the past to me. I know how awful I felt..

Not something I have experienced but Amsterdam does have problems like everywhere else. There used to be a good section on Amsterdam security here:
http://www.travelsavvy-amsterdam.com...=1&guide=1

This warning is not just for Europe but anywhere in the world where there are travellers. Where there are goods to be pinched there will be thieves and con-men to pinch them.
Pity you didn't either buy your tickets from a machine which is quicker than queueing or buy returns if you were just spending the day in the city during a stopover at Schiphol.

Laptop and briefcase thefts happen ON Belgian trains, particularly on the commuter runs (to Antwerp, for example). The scam works like this:

Well dressed couple enters the compartment, puts black, nylon briefcase style bag on shelf above seat and prepares to sit down. Just before train leaves the station, asks: is this the train to X? No, someone will say, it's the train to Y. Female in the couple starts to shriek, mon dieu, we're on the wrong train, let's go, why did we get this train, etc., making herself the center of attention, while her male partner in crime grabs somebody else's laptop bag or briefcase and rushes off the train. The whole thing takes less than a minute. The favorite targets are businessmen, not tourists. They usually have a newspaper open, and think that because they're locals, they're "aware" of what's going on. They don't realize they've been scammed until the train starts moving and sometimes not until they're near their destination when they reach up to retrieve their bag and find it's gone. The black bag left behind by the thieves is an ultra cheap bag (costing a couple of euros), or a discarded conference bag, and is filled with old newspapers. Not only do the thieves "trade up" to a better quality bag usually holding a high end laptop, the laptop occasionally contains data that can be sold to identity thieves.

As if nobody from New York were ever robbed!

Thanks for the warning.

European cities are beautiful to visit. It's too bad we are getting more and more pickpockets and thieves.

My cousin was manager of a jewellry shop in Berlin. He was robbed twice at gun point by professional theives (probably East European). He decided to move back to Switzerland, although that's no guarantee either.

Sorry to read about your episode Tuscanson.

While it is true that pickpockets and luggage thieves are everywhere I think that Amsterdam Centraal is the worst, maybe Gare du Nord Paris. With vitually every post I make about Amsterdam here at Fodors I warn about the thieves, not only in the station but in the tourist office, on the trams, and on the trains.

<i> These were professional thieves.</i> They are ALL professional thieves. It is not enough to watch your luggage. You must also HOLD onto it.

Last time I was taking a train into Brussels, there was an announcement in English that says &quot;There is pickpocket <b>ON THIS TRAIN!!!</b>&quot;. Their emphasis, not mine.

I certainly agree that this can happen anywhere - several times, several cities for me.

The last time, we were at Centraal Station with luggage, a man came up to me and mumbled a question. He had an odd manner, so, guarding my bags, I just leaned forward and said loudly &quot;Go away.&quot;

My husband was quite surprised I was so rude. I told him I wasn't going to take chances and my intuition told me he was up to no good. Who knows? I'd rather be rude to a few &quot;scroungry&quot; looking characters at a train station than risk theft or worse.

PS: I learned and honed my &quot;survival&quot; tactics spending lots of time in NYC (a city I love, &quot;carefully&quot.

The usual garbage wrong information about NYC...

Do you know NYC has the lowest crime rate of any big city in the United States and on a par with such supposedly very safe cities as Toronto?

SEVERAL times? Good lord.

xyz123

I don't think your statistics were true about NYC when I spent much time there, 25-30 yrs ago. I think the crime rate has much improved in recent years, though.

this could happen not only in Europe, but anywhere in the world!!!

connecticut yankee..

Statistics recently released show NYC is the safest big city in the USA and like I said, crime statistics are on a par with many other supposedly safer cities in North America.