Denmark, Sweden, Amsterdam & Baltic Cruise
Jun 26th, 2018, 07:02 AM
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Denmark, Sweden, Amsterdam & Baltic Cruise
Hello,
DH & I are celebrating his recent retirement by taking a Baltic Cruise, and doing some "DIY" travel before & afterwards. We will be taking a 12-Day Baltic Cruise on Oceania which will start in Stockholm, Sweden, and end in Amsterdam. I thought I would do a running trip report while we are traveling so I can give fresh details and answer any questions Fodorites might have. Here is a breakdown of our itinerary:
Copenhagen - 4 nights
Stockholm - 5 nights, then board our cruise.
Cruise stops include (from memory): Helsinki, Tallinn, Gdansk, Saint Petersburg, Klaipeda, Rostock, and Bruges.
The cruise ends in Amsterdam where we'll spend 3 nights, then fly home
We are already in Copenhagen and will be taking the train tomorrow morning to Stockholm. Our hotel in Copenhagen is the Skt. Petri: https://www.sktpetri.com/
This is an excellent location from which to explore Copenhagen. The hotel is very comfortable and since we paid for a deluxe room, breakfast is included. We can either avail ourselves of the breakfast buffet, which is excellent, or have a made-to-order breakfast in the hotel restaurant, "P Eatery." We have done both.
Before we left home, we planned out most of our activities and determined that the 72-Hour Copenhagen Card would be a good deal for us. We purchased them online, then presented a voucher at the TI in the main train station and got our cards.
Day 1: We saw Christianborg Castle and the Danish National Museum. The sites here all have free wifi, so be sure to save your international data usage and hook up to their wifi when you enter. You can get a really strong signal, so it's a good time to catch up on your email, texting, and social media for free.
Day 2: We did a day-trip through a tour company called "Hamlet Tours" and were able to get a fairly significant discount because we had the Copenhagen Card.
Hamlet Tours: https://hamlettours.com/
We took the "Grand Day Trip Around Copenhagen" which actually went out to the countryside. We got to see the Roskilde Cathedral, Viking Ship Museum, Kronborg Castle, and Frederiksborg Castle via air conditioned Mercedes Benz mini-tour bus. Our tour guide was wonderful and we covered a lot of ground without having to drive or take trains. It was a long day, and we are glad we did it. Dinner was at a place called "Puk" within easy walking distance of our hotel.
Day 3: Walking tour around town this morning, then Rosenborg Castle (lots of great royal knickknacks in the Treasury!), then lunch at a nearby market called Torvehallen. Torvehallen is no ordinary market. It is two all-glass buildings that house many small businesses. You can get everything from traditional sandwiches, to Korean food, French pastries, Danish pastries, ice cream, Mexican food.... There are tables inside & outside to sit at.
Tomorrow we head to Stockholm. We purchased our train tickets online at this site: https://www.sj.se/en/home.html#/
And we have been notified by the Swedish Train line that the track is being worked on, so we need to take a different train to Malmo, then switch trains to get into Stockholm. Should be interesting - stay tuned!
DH & I are celebrating his recent retirement by taking a Baltic Cruise, and doing some "DIY" travel before & afterwards. We will be taking a 12-Day Baltic Cruise on Oceania which will start in Stockholm, Sweden, and end in Amsterdam. I thought I would do a running trip report while we are traveling so I can give fresh details and answer any questions Fodorites might have. Here is a breakdown of our itinerary:
Copenhagen - 4 nights
Stockholm - 5 nights, then board our cruise.
Cruise stops include (from memory): Helsinki, Tallinn, Gdansk, Saint Petersburg, Klaipeda, Rostock, and Bruges.
The cruise ends in Amsterdam where we'll spend 3 nights, then fly home
We are already in Copenhagen and will be taking the train tomorrow morning to Stockholm. Our hotel in Copenhagen is the Skt. Petri: https://www.sktpetri.com/
This is an excellent location from which to explore Copenhagen. The hotel is very comfortable and since we paid for a deluxe room, breakfast is included. We can either avail ourselves of the breakfast buffet, which is excellent, or have a made-to-order breakfast in the hotel restaurant, "P Eatery." We have done both.
Before we left home, we planned out most of our activities and determined that the 72-Hour Copenhagen Card would be a good deal for us. We purchased them online, then presented a voucher at the TI in the main train station and got our cards.
Day 1: We saw Christianborg Castle and the Danish National Museum. The sites here all have free wifi, so be sure to save your international data usage and hook up to their wifi when you enter. You can get a really strong signal, so it's a good time to catch up on your email, texting, and social media for free.
Day 2: We did a day-trip through a tour company called "Hamlet Tours" and were able to get a fairly significant discount because we had the Copenhagen Card.
Hamlet Tours: https://hamlettours.com/
We took the "Grand Day Trip Around Copenhagen" which actually went out to the countryside. We got to see the Roskilde Cathedral, Viking Ship Museum, Kronborg Castle, and Frederiksborg Castle via air conditioned Mercedes Benz mini-tour bus. Our tour guide was wonderful and we covered a lot of ground without having to drive or take trains. It was a long day, and we are glad we did it. Dinner was at a place called "Puk" within easy walking distance of our hotel.
Day 3: Walking tour around town this morning, then Rosenborg Castle (lots of great royal knickknacks in the Treasury!), then lunch at a nearby market called Torvehallen. Torvehallen is no ordinary market. It is two all-glass buildings that house many small businesses. You can get everything from traditional sandwiches, to Korean food, French pastries, Danish pastries, ice cream, Mexican food.... There are tables inside & outside to sit at.
Tomorrow we head to Stockholm. We purchased our train tickets online at this site: https://www.sj.se/en/home.html#/
And we have been notified by the Swedish Train line that the track is being worked on, so we need to take a different train to Malmo, then switch trains to get into Stockholm. Should be interesting - stay tuned!
Jun 26th, 2018, 11:31 AM
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Sounds good. I look forward to reading more. Hopefully the World Cup won't impact on your visit to St Petersburg.
A pedantic question - why Denmark - country but only Copenhagen, city, in reality, Sweden - country but only Stockholm, city, in reality but Amsterdam - city and not the Netherlands?
A pedantic question - why Denmark - country but only Copenhagen, city, in reality, Sweden - country but only Stockholm, city, in reality but Amsterdam - city and not the Netherlands?
Jun 26th, 2018, 12:18 PM
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@hetismij2 - good pedantic question for which I don’t have a good answer.
The World Cup in Moscow is a good thing. Usually cruise ships stop for one night in Saint Petersburg which gives passengers 2 fulll days of sightseeing. There are a few cruises that are stopping for two nights in SP, which allows 3 whole days to see the sights. We chose our cruise based on this extra day.
The World Cup in Moscow is a good thing. Usually cruise ships stop for one night in Saint Petersburg which gives passengers 2 fulll days of sightseeing. There are a few cruises that are stopping for two nights in SP, which allows 3 whole days to see the sights. We chose our cruise based on this extra day.
Jun 30th, 2018, 04:39 AM
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Day 4: We were able to use our Copenhagen cards to get from our hotel to the main train station in Copenhagen, and after grabbing some coffee we got on the local train to Malmo C. Since we had first-class seats on the train we were able to wait in the lounge for our 9:04am train. The lounge was very nice, had a good, clean bathroom, and a continental breakfast that included the use of an specialty coffee machine. Cappuccino!
In Stockholm we are staying at the Downtown Camper by Scandic. It's a very interesting hotel concept. If you are into kayaking, skateboarding, outdoor activities, etc., this is the place for you. The location is excellent - everything is a 10 minute walk away.
https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels...per-by-scandic
On the downside, we have no control of the temperature of our room, and there is no storage at all for our things (we are here for 5 nights). We did manage to wash some laundry in the bathroom and hang it to dry (we brought our own clotheslines).
After checking in we walked down to the waterfront and took a 1hr cruise around the archipelago.
Day 5: I had pre-booked us on a day-trip & tour called "Viking History Day Trip Including Uppsala," via Viator. We walked over to the Sheraton Hotel to meet our tour guide, Urban. We spent the day looking at Rune Stones, churches, burial mounds, and the cathedral in Uppsala. It was pretty hot, but the van had a/c and Urban did his best to blast it at full strength.
Dinner was at a place called "Knut:" Restaurang Knut - En liten bit Norrland i Stockholm.
They specialize in game, DH had moose and I had reindeer. It was excellent - well worth the effort after a long, hot day of sightseeing.
Day 6: Again, I had used Viator and pre-booked us on a walking tour of Gamla Stan & the Vasa Museum. Our guide was a young lady from Italy named Anna. She was funny & engaging. She navigated us through the old town, got us on a ferry, and told us about the ship at the Vasa. After the tour we had a hot dog & Fanta, then headed to the Skansen Museum. I think we walked around 6.5 miles.
Dinner was at the Bakfickan behind the Opera House. It's only 0.2 miles from our hotel, so the perfect location after another busy day of sightseeing:
https://operakallaren.se/restaurang/bakfickan
In Stockholm we are staying at the Downtown Camper by Scandic. It's a very interesting hotel concept. If you are into kayaking, skateboarding, outdoor activities, etc., this is the place for you. The location is excellent - everything is a 10 minute walk away.
https://www.scandichotels.com/hotels...per-by-scandic
On the downside, we have no control of the temperature of our room, and there is no storage at all for our things (we are here for 5 nights). We did manage to wash some laundry in the bathroom and hang it to dry (we brought our own clotheslines).
After checking in we walked down to the waterfront and took a 1hr cruise around the archipelago.
Day 5: I had pre-booked us on a day-trip & tour called "Viking History Day Trip Including Uppsala," via Viator. We walked over to the Sheraton Hotel to meet our tour guide, Urban. We spent the day looking at Rune Stones, churches, burial mounds, and the cathedral in Uppsala. It was pretty hot, but the van had a/c and Urban did his best to blast it at full strength.
Dinner was at a place called "Knut:" Restaurang Knut - En liten bit Norrland i Stockholm.
They specialize in game, DH had moose and I had reindeer. It was excellent - well worth the effort after a long, hot day of sightseeing.
Day 6: Again, I had used Viator and pre-booked us on a walking tour of Gamla Stan & the Vasa Museum. Our guide was a young lady from Italy named Anna. She was funny & engaging. She navigated us through the old town, got us on a ferry, and told us about the ship at the Vasa. After the tour we had a hot dog & Fanta, then headed to the Skansen Museum. I think we walked around 6.5 miles.
Dinner was at the Bakfickan behind the Opera House. It's only 0.2 miles from our hotel, so the perfect location after another busy day of sightseeing:
https://operakallaren.se/restaurang/bakfickan
Jun 30th, 2018, 10:27 AM
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Great TR so far; following along for your cruise- we have plans to visit Stockholm for sure in Sept. of next year, possibly Helsinki & / or Copenhagen depending on time.
Glad to hear details about Downtown Camper; I had seen that hotel and it looks great online, but nice to hear details from people who have actually stayed there.
I'm curious to hear how you felt about your allocation of days in Copenhagen & Stockholm: To much/ too little/ just right?
Glad to hear details about Downtown Camper; I had seen that hotel and it looks great online, but nice to hear details from people who have actually stayed there.
I'm curious to hear how you felt about your allocation of days in Copenhagen & Stockholm: To much/ too little/ just right?
Jul 1st, 2018, 07:03 AM
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Hi havetwinswilltravel, I think our allocation of days is about right. We will have one day in Copenhagen on our cruise, so we will do some things we didn’t get to during our 4-night stay. We need to see The Little Mermaid statue, which we only saw the backside of during our boat cruise. There are two museums we didn’t get to: Thorvaldsen and the Glyptotek. We also didn’t get to Tivoli Garden either.
i feel like while we didn’t get to see everything (missing out on the ABBA museum in Stockholm, too ��), we are getting a good flavor of each city and if we happen to come back someday we won’t be bored.
i feel like while we didn’t get to see everything (missing out on the ABBA museum in Stockholm, too ��), we are getting a good flavor of each city and if we happen to come back someday we won’t be bored.
Jul 1st, 2018, 11:48 PM
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Day 7: We bought a combo-ticket to visit the Palace Apartments and some other museums. We got to the Royal Palace right at 10am, and got on the 10:30 English Tour. Some of the tour was a little redundant because we had already done the Gamla Stan walking tour. In retrospect we should have just visited the Palace Apartments. We've seen a few Treasuries, and so on.
We had a nice lunch in the old town and walked around a bit, fighting our way through the crowds. We dropped off our things at the hotel room, then walked over to the Gallerean (mall) and got a manicure.
Dinner was pizza at Giro Pizzaria: Pizzeria Giro | Giro
Dinner the previous evening was at Waipo: https://waipo.se/
We love eating Chinese, Italian, or Indian food in other countries. It's always interesting how the food is somewhat similar to the Americanized version we get at home, yet different in some ways. Both Giro's & Waipo were very good. So if you're looking for a break from Swedish fare, these are a couple of good options.
Today we board our cruise, Oceania's Marina. DH has gone off to see the Armory, and I am waiting for the Bjorn Borg store to open at 10am. Then we'll meet up to check out and take a taxi to our ship.
I will try to post updates while on our cruise. It's a busy cruise. In 12 nights we only have one day of cruising, towards the end. The first port is Helsinki, then 2 nights (3 days) in Saint Petersburg. We are going to do Helsinki on our own, but will be on a private tour during our stay in SP.
We had a nice lunch in the old town and walked around a bit, fighting our way through the crowds. We dropped off our things at the hotel room, then walked over to the Gallerean (mall) and got a manicure.
Dinner was pizza at Giro Pizzaria: Pizzeria Giro | Giro
Dinner the previous evening was at Waipo: https://waipo.se/
We love eating Chinese, Italian, or Indian food in other countries. It's always interesting how the food is somewhat similar to the Americanized version we get at home, yet different in some ways. Both Giro's & Waipo were very good. So if you're looking for a break from Swedish fare, these are a couple of good options.
Today we board our cruise, Oceania's Marina. DH has gone off to see the Armory, and I am waiting for the Bjorn Borg store to open at 10am. Then we'll meet up to check out and take a taxi to our ship.
I will try to post updates while on our cruise. It's a busy cruise. In 12 nights we only have one day of cruising, towards the end. The first port is Helsinki, then 2 nights (3 days) in Saint Petersburg. We are going to do Helsinki on our own, but will be on a private tour during our stay in SP.
Jul 14th, 2018, 11:44 AM
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Travel Tip #1 - Always check to make sure museums and attractions are open before showing up to see them.
DH was unsuccessful at visiting the Armory in Stockholm - it is closed on Mondays.
We checked out of the Downtown Camper and asked them to call a taxi to take us to the port for our cruise. The entire 5 days we were in Stockholm we saw a parade of taxis on the street in front of our hotel, but that morning we waited about 30 minutes. Word to the wise - allow plenty of time for a taxi in Stockholm. Sometimes they are available immediately, sometimes they take a while.
Here are some notes about our cruise. We were on the Oceania Marina for a 12-day Baltic Cruise with only 1 sea day.
Day 1 - Helsinki, Finland. The weather was terrible - cold & drizzly. We used the Rick Steves guidebook to do a walking tour around the city. We did a little souvenir shopping, and ate some reindeer at the local food hall. Reindeer does not taste gamey like venison or elk.
Days 2, 3, and 4 - Saint Petersburg, Russia. The main reason we selected this cruise was the 3 day stop in SP. For this port we had arranged a private guide for the 3 days. This was not a tour through our ship. After reading numerous reviews of tour companies we selected Best Guides: https://www.bestguides-spb.com/
We had an English-speaking guide, Sveltana, and a driver, Vassily, for the 3 days. After talking to other cruisers about their experiences in SP, we feel we made the right decision by engaging a private guide. We had a very busy 3 days, but managed to see nearly all the main museums, churches, palaces, and sites in SP. Svetlana had tickets and entry times for the Hermitage, a canal cruise, the Usperov Palace, the Fabarge Museum, Peterhof, Catherine's Palace, a Folk Dancing Show, and dinner at two different restaurants for days 1 & 2.
We paid about $2000 for the 3 days. We talked to someone on our ship who paid $1000 for one day with a driver, and no guide. They never got in to the Hermitage because the lines were too long.
If you are going to be in Saint Petersburg for a limited amount of time I highly recommend engaging a guide and driver. I would not recommend trying to drive yourself in SP. Our guide told us that the police are all corrupt. The professional drivers know what the rules are and what to do if they are pulled over.
Day 5 - Talinn, Estonia. LOVED IT. What a charming town. We spent the day exploring the town on our own - again using a Rick Steves guidebook. They were having a Medieval Festival the day we were in port. We got off the ship and walked right into town. I think there were two cruise ships in port when we were there. We walked into town pretty early, so we had a few minutes to ourselves before the crowds arrived.
We enjoyed the festival, did a little shopping (we have a new granddaughter to spoil), and loved all the street musicians.
Day 6 - Klaipeda, Lithuania. Eh. We did a non-ship tour of the Curonian Spit. It was fun, but unremarkable...until the end. The day we were there was the end of a 3-day weekend for Lithuanians. Getting to the Curonian Spit required a ferry ride. Guess what everyone was trying to do towards the end of the day? The back-up for the return ferry was MILES long (no exaggeration). Our driver had a special pass that would allow him to get on the ferry ahead of everyone else, but he had to drive in the lane for on-coming traffic. And people were angry that he was cutting the line. There was shouting, there were people trying to block him with their cars, people sat on the hood of our van to keep us from moving, there were trucks and other vehicles coming toward us. We did get back to the boat on time (phew!), but it was a real experience.
Day 7 - Gdansk, Poland. We visited Krakow about 3 years ago. We really didn't expect much from Gdansk. We were pleasantly surprised. Once again using the Rick Steves guidebook we were able to navigate the local train system, and rode the rails to Gdansk. What a lovely, lovely town. It was completely destroyed in WWII by the Russians and was rebuilt in the 1950s. Still, we loved it. We had breakfast in a cafe, strolled the streets, took a million pictures, bought some amber, and had a delicious lunch.
Day 8 - Waramunde, Germany. We did do a ship-sponsored tour to Schwerin to see a castle there. It was OK. Afterwards we had lunch along the waterfront near our ship, and did a little shopping. We liked the little seaside town right near the ship. It's where Germans go for their summer holiday. We had lunch off one of the fishing boats tied up pierside.
Day 9 - Copenhagen, Denmark. Since we had already been there for 4 days we didn't have a lot planned. We walked down to see the Little Mermaid, walked around the old fortress nearby, saw the fountain in front of the Anglican church and took more pictures of this picturesque city.
By this time we were feeling a bit "travel fatigued," so we went back to our ship, had lunch, and then enjoyed the warm, sunny afternoon on board while everyone else was in town. A little vacation from our vacation.
Day 10 was a sea day, so very relaxing.
Day 11 - Bruges, Belgium. Since we visited Bruges back in 2010, we took this opportunity to do a ship-sponsored excursion to Ypres and visit the In Flanders Fields Museum along with several cemeteries and monuments to WWI. This trip reminded us how much we love Belgium. We had time to eat a nice lunch in town (on our own)...we found a little pub type of place and ordered the daily special. Then we found a chocolate shop and had some ice cream. Yes, we both have a sweet tooth.
Now we are in Amsterdam and staying at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky: https://www.nh-collection.com/hotel/...l-krasnapolsky
We took the tram from the port to our hotel. DH had studied the Rick Steves guide on how to do it, and we didn't have too much trouble, except that there was to TI at the Port to buy a 72-hour tram pass. We boarded the tram and bought 2-day passes. We were too early to check in, but they did upgrade our room to a suite with a view (we had prepaid for our Superior Room), and they added breakfast!
The room is fine - very modern. The internet is great after 12 days of very limited access while cruising. The bed it a little too hard for my taste, but the location is great.
We were able to leave our bags at the hotel this morning and take a 3 hour walking tour (pre-planned), and get some lunch.
Our walking tour was a small group tour with That Dam Guide: https://thatdamguide.com/ This was a nice way to get an introduction to the city.
DH was unsuccessful at visiting the Armory in Stockholm - it is closed on Mondays.
We checked out of the Downtown Camper and asked them to call a taxi to take us to the port for our cruise. The entire 5 days we were in Stockholm we saw a parade of taxis on the street in front of our hotel, but that morning we waited about 30 minutes. Word to the wise - allow plenty of time for a taxi in Stockholm. Sometimes they are available immediately, sometimes they take a while.
Here are some notes about our cruise. We were on the Oceania Marina for a 12-day Baltic Cruise with only 1 sea day.
Day 1 - Helsinki, Finland. The weather was terrible - cold & drizzly. We used the Rick Steves guidebook to do a walking tour around the city. We did a little souvenir shopping, and ate some reindeer at the local food hall. Reindeer does not taste gamey like venison or elk.
Days 2, 3, and 4 - Saint Petersburg, Russia. The main reason we selected this cruise was the 3 day stop in SP. For this port we had arranged a private guide for the 3 days. This was not a tour through our ship. After reading numerous reviews of tour companies we selected Best Guides: https://www.bestguides-spb.com/
We had an English-speaking guide, Sveltana, and a driver, Vassily, for the 3 days. After talking to other cruisers about their experiences in SP, we feel we made the right decision by engaging a private guide. We had a very busy 3 days, but managed to see nearly all the main museums, churches, palaces, and sites in SP. Svetlana had tickets and entry times for the Hermitage, a canal cruise, the Usperov Palace, the Fabarge Museum, Peterhof, Catherine's Palace, a Folk Dancing Show, and dinner at two different restaurants for days 1 & 2.
We paid about $2000 for the 3 days. We talked to someone on our ship who paid $1000 for one day with a driver, and no guide. They never got in to the Hermitage because the lines were too long.
If you are going to be in Saint Petersburg for a limited amount of time I highly recommend engaging a guide and driver. I would not recommend trying to drive yourself in SP. Our guide told us that the police are all corrupt. The professional drivers know what the rules are and what to do if they are pulled over.
Day 5 - Talinn, Estonia. LOVED IT. What a charming town. We spent the day exploring the town on our own - again using a Rick Steves guidebook. They were having a Medieval Festival the day we were in port. We got off the ship and walked right into town. I think there were two cruise ships in port when we were there. We walked into town pretty early, so we had a few minutes to ourselves before the crowds arrived.
We enjoyed the festival, did a little shopping (we have a new granddaughter to spoil), and loved all the street musicians.
Day 6 - Klaipeda, Lithuania. Eh. We did a non-ship tour of the Curonian Spit. It was fun, but unremarkable...until the end. The day we were there was the end of a 3-day weekend for Lithuanians. Getting to the Curonian Spit required a ferry ride. Guess what everyone was trying to do towards the end of the day? The back-up for the return ferry was MILES long (no exaggeration). Our driver had a special pass that would allow him to get on the ferry ahead of everyone else, but he had to drive in the lane for on-coming traffic. And people were angry that he was cutting the line. There was shouting, there were people trying to block him with their cars, people sat on the hood of our van to keep us from moving, there were trucks and other vehicles coming toward us. We did get back to the boat on time (phew!), but it was a real experience.
Day 7 - Gdansk, Poland. We visited Krakow about 3 years ago. We really didn't expect much from Gdansk. We were pleasantly surprised. Once again using the Rick Steves guidebook we were able to navigate the local train system, and rode the rails to Gdansk. What a lovely, lovely town. It was completely destroyed in WWII by the Russians and was rebuilt in the 1950s. Still, we loved it. We had breakfast in a cafe, strolled the streets, took a million pictures, bought some amber, and had a delicious lunch.
Day 8 - Waramunde, Germany. We did do a ship-sponsored tour to Schwerin to see a castle there. It was OK. Afterwards we had lunch along the waterfront near our ship, and did a little shopping. We liked the little seaside town right near the ship. It's where Germans go for their summer holiday. We had lunch off one of the fishing boats tied up pierside.
Day 9 - Copenhagen, Denmark. Since we had already been there for 4 days we didn't have a lot planned. We walked down to see the Little Mermaid, walked around the old fortress nearby, saw the fountain in front of the Anglican church and took more pictures of this picturesque city.
By this time we were feeling a bit "travel fatigued," so we went back to our ship, had lunch, and then enjoyed the warm, sunny afternoon on board while everyone else was in town. A little vacation from our vacation.
Day 10 was a sea day, so very relaxing.
Day 11 - Bruges, Belgium. Since we visited Bruges back in 2010, we took this opportunity to do a ship-sponsored excursion to Ypres and visit the In Flanders Fields Museum along with several cemeteries and monuments to WWI. This trip reminded us how much we love Belgium. We had time to eat a nice lunch in town (on our own)...we found a little pub type of place and ordered the daily special. Then we found a chocolate shop and had some ice cream. Yes, we both have a sweet tooth.
Now we are in Amsterdam and staying at the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky: https://www.nh-collection.com/hotel/...l-krasnapolsky
We took the tram from the port to our hotel. DH had studied the Rick Steves guide on how to do it, and we didn't have too much trouble, except that there was to TI at the Port to buy a 72-hour tram pass. We boarded the tram and bought 2-day passes. We were too early to check in, but they did upgrade our room to a suite with a view (we had prepaid for our Superior Room), and they added breakfast!
The room is fine - very modern. The internet is great after 12 days of very limited access while cruising. The bed it a little too hard for my taste, but the location is great.
We were able to leave our bags at the hotel this morning and take a 3 hour walking tour (pre-planned), and get some lunch.
Our walking tour was a small group tour with That Dam Guide: https://thatdamguide.com/ This was a nice way to get an introduction to the city.
Last edited by halfapair; Jul 14th, 2018 at 11:47 AM. Reason: Formatting
Jul 16th, 2018, 05:38 AM
#14
Thanks for your report. I have visited all the Baltic capitals but not Gdansk, may have to add that to the list. I really enjoyed Schwerin castle, but I spent some time wandering the grounds as well as in the castle.
Jul 16th, 2018, 06:20 AM
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Hi jerseysusan - I hope it cools off for you next month! It's in the mid-80's today. We are trying to resist jumping in the canals. So far, so good.
As I stated above, we are staying at the NH Collection, Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. I mainly chose this hotel because of the price, and its location (near pretty much everything). In retrospect, I wish we had stayed a little further away from all the tourist hubbub. If we come back (and I hope we do) we will stay out towards Vondelpark, or somewhere a little quieter.
As I stated above, we are staying at the NH Collection, Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. I mainly chose this hotel because of the price, and its location (near pretty much everything). In retrospect, I wish we had stayed a little further away from all the tourist hubbub. If we come back (and I hope we do) we will stay out towards Vondelpark, or somewhere a little quieter.
Jul 16th, 2018, 06:31 AM
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Impressions of Amsterdam. This is an interesting city. It is beautiful & charming. It's also crowded & dirty. There is a small army of city workers who hose down the streets, run street sweepers, and maintain the garbage cans, but the army of tourists is larger and they are winning the trash war.
For day two we planned to visit the Rijksmuseum, walk through Vondelpark, and take a canal cruise. We did all three. I had purchased Rijksmuseum tickets online and also purchased the multi-media guide. This was a good idea. The lines to buy tickets at the museum can get long. We just presented our E-tickets at the door and were scanned right in. Same with the media-player. We did the "Highlights" tour, took a coffee break at the cafe, then did the "Rembrandt" tour. I think we spent a couple of hours at the museum which was enough for us.
There was an art festival in the park, so we strolled through and did some gift shopping, then headed to Vondelpark. We had lunch at the cafe in the park, and then took our canal cruise.
Later that night we had dinner at Indonesian Kitchen, which was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. I had made reservations online, and they are necessary for this place. It's quite small, and if you don't have a reservation you will probably be turned away. We did the "Rice Table" set menu, so we got to try at total for 14 different dishes served in 4 courses. It was 39 Euro per person, and was really delicious. If you're an adventurous eater you should give it a try.
For day two we planned to visit the Rijksmuseum, walk through Vondelpark, and take a canal cruise. We did all three. I had purchased Rijksmuseum tickets online and also purchased the multi-media guide. This was a good idea. The lines to buy tickets at the museum can get long. We just presented our E-tickets at the door and were scanned right in. Same with the media-player. We did the "Highlights" tour, took a coffee break at the cafe, then did the "Rembrandt" tour. I think we spent a couple of hours at the museum which was enough for us.
There was an art festival in the park, so we strolled through and did some gift shopping, then headed to Vondelpark. We had lunch at the cafe in the park, and then took our canal cruise.
Later that night we had dinner at Indonesian Kitchen, which was about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. I had made reservations online, and they are necessary for this place. It's quite small, and if you don't have a reservation you will probably be turned away. We did the "Rice Table" set menu, so we got to try at total for 14 different dishes served in 4 courses. It was 39 Euro per person, and was really delicious. If you're an adventurous eater you should give it a try.
Jul 16th, 2018, 12:01 PM
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Yes, we know that now. It was actually a good location for all the things we were going to be doing in our short, 3-day stay. Our walking tour on day 1 started at the Barbizon Hotel which is a short walk away. Today we did a day-trip out to Volendam to see windmills, and we had to take the ferry over to meet up with our tour. We were able to easily walk to the main train station for that, as well.
Next time we will probably stay in a different neighborhood.
Next time we will probably stay in a different neighborhood.
