Benelux Train question
Mar 14th, 2015, 09:35 AM
#21
Original Poster
I knew better than to ask a train question 
the devil made me do it
But I got it -- no need to pre-book. Thanks
Anyway there is a slight change in plans due to when my private guide in the Bulge is available so now I will be in A'dam on King's Day.
hetismij2: I'll e-mail you when I get this totally sorted out (later today or sometime Sunday)
the devil made me do it
But I got it -- no need to pre-book. Thanks
Anyway there is a slight change in plans due to when my private guide in the Bulge is available so now I will be in A'dam on King's Day.
hetismij2: I'll e-mail you when I get this totally sorted out (later today or sometime Sunday)
Mar 14th, 2015, 12:02 PM
#22
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Ah to be in Amsterdam on King's Day - you may even like it - there is really something for everyone - be sure to wear orange!
And If I were you I'd give www.thalys.com a shot periodically to see if any cheaper tickets come on and next time book really early to save lots of money and travel time!
And If I were you I'd give www.thalys.com a shot periodically to see if any cheaper tickets come on and next time book really early to save lots of money and travel time!
Mar 14th, 2015, 12:16 PM
#24
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That's fine Janis. Don't fret it. Make sure you get everything you want to do done. I know the Belgian part of the trip means a lot to you.
If we can't meet up this time then one of these years I will have to make the effort to get to London when you are there.
I shan't be heading to Amsterdam on Kings Day though!
If we can't meet up this time then one of these years I will have to make the effort to get to London when you are there.
I shan't be heading to Amsterdam on Kings Day though!
Mar 14th, 2015, 12:21 PM
#25
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@janisj: as soon as you leave the center of Amsterdam, things will be festive but much more toned down.
Or leave Amsterdam altogether and go somewhere interesting. the madness is only in Amsterdam: the rest of the country is in a festive mood, sans the madness.
Or leave Amsterdam altogether and go somewhere interesting. the madness is only in Amsterdam: the rest of the country is in a festive mood, sans the madness.
Mar 14th, 2015, 12:37 PM
#26
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To skip King's Day would be like going to N'Orlens during Mardi Gras and skipping the parades!
Take a look at how much fun you'll be missing:
https://www.google.com/search?q=king...=1600&bih=1075
Take a look at how much fun you'll be missing:
https://www.google.com/search?q=king...=1600&bih=1075
Mar 14th, 2015, 01:46 PM
#28
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Well if you come back at night things will be rowdy - huge concerts at Museumplein for young folk and beer really flows throughout the city.
You may have problems leaving the city if you wait too long in the morning - last time I was there I took a train into Amsterdam from my Haarlem B&B but ust after I got to Amsterdamned they closed Centraal station completely around noon - unless you take a tour to the Keukenhof (which being a holiday if like Sunday will be super crowded - many of the displays are inside hothouses with lines like at Versailles IME on weekends at least) - the easiest way to get there is to take a train to Delft and shuttle buses scoot between it and the Keukenhof all day - maybe there is a combo ticket on sale for train, bus and admission in Amsterdam.
If into walking a bit you could do like I did once - take a train to Haarlem and then to Hillegom and then waltz and tiptoe through the tulip fields the two miles or so to Keukenhof - or vice versa - Haarlem is a neat old town to explore if you haven't - and King's Day may be a less bombastic there. Bus #100 also goes from Haarlem thru the flower fields to Keukenhof and onto Leiden. But walking on these untrafficked for the most part sideroads to me was one of the highlights of my many trips to Holland - if tulips are not in bloom or bloomed there is a pulchritidinous show of other blossoms undualting as far as the eye can see.
The Keukenhof has a viewing platform from which you can ogle the neighboring flower fields but you can just go out the entrance and head north and take a short stroll - much more different at ground level - nice weather is nice for the outdoor flowers at the garden but the hothouses make Keukenhof OK even in the usual fickle funky weather of April!
Can't see spending more than say 3-4 hours in the rather small to me at least Keukenhof gardens - Leiden too is a neat old town to wander around.
Cheers!
You may have problems leaving the city if you wait too long in the morning - last time I was there I took a train into Amsterdam from my Haarlem B&B but ust after I got to Amsterdamned they closed Centraal station completely around noon - unless you take a tour to the Keukenhof (which being a holiday if like Sunday will be super crowded - many of the displays are inside hothouses with lines like at Versailles IME on weekends at least) - the easiest way to get there is to take a train to Delft and shuttle buses scoot between it and the Keukenhof all day - maybe there is a combo ticket on sale for train, bus and admission in Amsterdam.
If into walking a bit you could do like I did once - take a train to Haarlem and then to Hillegom and then waltz and tiptoe through the tulip fields the two miles or so to Keukenhof - or vice versa - Haarlem is a neat old town to explore if you haven't - and King's Day may be a less bombastic there. Bus #100 also goes from Haarlem thru the flower fields to Keukenhof and onto Leiden. But walking on these untrafficked for the most part sideroads to me was one of the highlights of my many trips to Holland - if tulips are not in bloom or bloomed there is a pulchritidinous show of other blossoms undualting as far as the eye can see.
The Keukenhof has a viewing platform from which you can ogle the neighboring flower fields but you can just go out the entrance and head north and take a short stroll - much more different at ground level - nice weather is nice for the outdoor flowers at the garden but the hothouses make Keukenhof OK even in the usual fickle funky weather of April!
Can't see spending more than say 3-4 hours in the rather small to me at least Keukenhof gardens - Leiden too is a neat old town to wander around.
Cheers!
Mar 14th, 2015, 09:25 PM
#29
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janisj, there are years when train service is so disrupted that there are no trains into or out of Amsterdam all evening, although the last couple of years this hasn't happened in a massive way. But, you never know. It may be wise to go to Keukenhof, have dinner in Haarlem and then head back. King's Day rush hour out of Amsterdam is at about 6 - 7 PM, so if you travel into Amsterdam after about 8PM you'll be alright. But keep an eye on announcements at Haarlem station: once there you can always take the fast bus that ends up at Amsterdam Zuidoost and take the metro into town from there. That always runs.
PalenQ: just because you have delightful memories of Queen's Dat doesn't mean it's not hell on earth
PalenQ: just because you have delightful memories of Queen's Dat doesn't mean it's not hell on earth
Mar 15th, 2015, 05:24 AM
#31
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PalenQ: just because you have delightful memories of Queen's Day doesn't mean it's not hell on earth>
I rather like seeing Hell on Earth - taking it all in - plus the vast fle market where anyone can sell just about anything on sidewalks - but yes it is a mob scene and I understand folks not liking that. But it is also a spectacle to behold - what do you do on King's Day - hole up in your flat? Serious question.
And it is madness but there is a lot of fun things - I loved the jazz bands on boats putzing around the canals. I'd say if one does not like mob scenes to take it in early in the morning when it is rather calm IME.
I rather like seeing Hell on Earth - taking it all in - plus the vast fle market where anyone can sell just about anything on sidewalks - but yes it is a mob scene and I understand folks not liking that. But it is also a spectacle to behold - what do you do on King's Day - hole up in your flat? Serious question.
And it is madness but there is a lot of fun things - I loved the jazz bands on boats putzing around the canals. I'd say if one does not like mob scenes to take it in early in the morning when it is rather calm IME.
Mar 15th, 2015, 08:22 AM
#32
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menachem: >>Keukenhof will be empty of Dutch people because they are all at.... you get the idea.<<
Oh - that sounds good -- I was worried that is being a holiday Keukenhof would be mobbed. So maybe this fly in the ointment (the change of plans) may have a silver lining.
Oh - that sounds good -- I was worried that is being a holiday Keukenhof would be mobbed. So maybe this fly in the ointment (the change of plans) may have a silver lining.
Mar 15th, 2015, 09:59 AM
#33
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Simple: I don't go to Amsterdam. It's only there on that day that the city is filled with people from the provinces who have heard that Amsterdam is the place to let your hair down - and your pants, while being well and truly drunk. .
We used to live on 2e Lindendwarsstraat, in the Jordaan, ground zero for (then) Queen's day. We seriously fled the city on that day and came home to a puked on and pissed on front door and stoop, which we then had to clean late at night. Fun!
@janisj: the mayhem really is only in Amsterdam. Outside Amsterdam it can be festive in a nice way, but never the outrageous barf fest it is in Amsterdam.
Koningsdag in Leiden, last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy3emoHU5jI
We used to live on 2e Lindendwarsstraat, in the Jordaan, ground zero for (then) Queen's day. We seriously fled the city on that day and came home to a puked on and pissed on front door and stoop, which we then had to clean late at night. Fun!
@janisj: the mayhem really is only in Amsterdam. Outside Amsterdam it can be festive in a nice way, but never the outrageous barf fest it is in Amsterdam.
Koningsdag in Leiden, last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy3emoHU5jI
Mar 15th, 2015, 12:01 PM
#35
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Totally. I think the trick is to arrive at Amsterdam after 8PM. And another tip: from Leiden, take the train via Schiphol to Amsterdam Zuid or Amsterdam Rai. That way you by-pass Central Station, which is where the crowd will exit Amsterdam by train in the evening. It also allows you to get off at Schiphol and take the bus into Amsterdam if the train system is really clogged. But I think bypassing via Amsterdam Zuid will be wise in any case.
And I think King's Day in a place like Leiden will pleasantly surprise you. As a country we're very Orange minded, with committees of long standing directing festivities. Leiden is beautiful (disclaimer: I went to university there )
And I think King's Day in a place like Leiden will pleasantly surprise you. As a country we're very Orange minded, with committees of long standing directing festivities. Leiden is beautiful (disclaimer: I went to university there
)
Mar 15th, 2015, 01:39 PM
#36
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Trains will surely be running to Zuid and RAI stations - you may have to change trains at Schiphol - as the one you are on may well be heading for Central Station so change onto the ones serving Amsterdam's Ring Railway - to Zuid and RAI stations, from each trams are right out front into the city center as far as they can possible go - well that is if the trams are running them - but there are plenty of taxis at either station as well.
But reconsider missing one of Europe's very best street festivals - when I was there a few years ago I would not categorize it like menachem - it's all over the city and was not nearly all madness - well what madness means to one means something else to others. If you strolled around until noon or so and took a tram to RAI or Zuid station for a train to Leiden and bus to Keukenhof you would see it IME before it gets mad - again jazz boats on the canals - colorful floats on the canal - a colorful festive thing that does get much more wild later in the day.
But reconsider missing one of Europe's very best street festivals - when I was there a few years ago I would not categorize it like menachem - it's all over the city and was not nearly all madness - well what madness means to one means something else to others. If you strolled around until noon or so and took a tram to RAI or Zuid station for a train to Leiden and bus to Keukenhof you would see it IME before it gets mad - again jazz boats on the canals - colorful floats on the canal - a colorful festive thing that does get much more wild later in the day.
Mar 15th, 2015, 01:45 PM
#37
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There are direct trains from Leiden to Schiphol and Amsterdam Zuid.
PalenQ, I lived in Amsterdam for well over 10 years. Some of those years we lived right in the center of town. But, whatever floats your boat, mate.
PalenQ, I lived in Amsterdam for well over 10 years. Some of those years we lived right in the center of town. But, whatever floats your boat, mate.
Mar 15th, 2015, 03:22 PM
#38
Original Poster
hetismij2 - you've got mail 
menachem: Thanks -- I think it is really doable.
Some of the primary reasons I'm going to A'dam is to see Keukenhof, do the Late Rembrandt exhibition, and just wander --
menachem: Thanks -- I think it is really doable.
Some of the primary reasons I'm going to A'dam is to see Keukenhof, do the Late Rembrandt exhibition, and just wander --
Mar 16th, 2015, 07:07 AM
#40
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PalenQ, I lived in Amsterdam for well over 10 years. Some of those years we lived right in the center of town. But, whatever floats your boat, mate.>
Well note I said before noon it was very calm all over the centrum - if janis is at all curious about this extremely popular event to which Dutch from all over Holland folck to I urge her not to be scared off as up until noon or so the crowds were tolerable and I did not see anything to be scared of - so someone of janis' travel prowess will find it exciting perhaps - now later in the afternoon as young folks with ubiquitous cases of Heineken in tow flood in - then flee town to the Kuekenhof or whatever.
Just don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Again review the pictures I linked to above - it is madness but a real neat one and until later in the day not the mayhem often attached to it.
Well note I said before noon it was very calm all over the centrum - if janis is at all curious about this extremely popular event to which Dutch from all over Holland folck to I urge her not to be scared off as up until noon or so the crowds were tolerable and I did not see anything to be scared of - so someone of janis' travel prowess will find it exciting perhaps - now later in the afternoon as young folks with ubiquitous cases of Heineken in tow flood in - then flee town to the Kuekenhof or whatever.
Just don't throw the baby out with the bathwater! Again review the pictures I linked to above - it is madness but a real neat one and until later in the day not the mayhem often attached to it.
