My solo trip to Holland - fantastisch!

Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 01:57 AM
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weirdly though, Intercity Direct has no wifi, but almost all regular intercity trains have it. Sprinters don't though.
Another great public transport app is 9292 and Amsterdam and Rotterdam are now on CityMapper, my personal favorite.

The cool thing about TREIN is that you can quickly reroute, based on location and the nearest station. I've used it to get off quickly at Amersfoort and change to a Schiphol bound train, because the access to Utrecht was blocked. You could immediately see who was using TREIN and who wasn't. The official announcer's voice sounded as we headed out of Amersfoort on our relief train to Schiphol

And where the train manager struggles for an answer to basic queries, you'll be able to be a wellspring of travel information for your fellow passengers
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 02:25 AM
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Following keenly as I have just booked my flights to Amsterdam for last week of May for two weeks to visit my son.

Do we have any Fodorites in Amsterdam that would be interested in meeting up for a coffee do you think?
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 02:33 AM
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Sure. Just signal.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 02:56 AM
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I'm not in Amsterdam, but not far away.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 05:48 AM
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hetismij, would we meet at last then?
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 05:58 AM
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Maybe .
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 11:36 AM
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Today we took the tram to Centraal Station, the train to Appeldoorn, a bus to Otterloo, and a minivan to the Kröller-Müller Museum. Every train station ticket machine we saw (and we saw a lot) had a toolbar at the bottom with a clickable English flag. We used it once, and it worked fine. The Dutch was easy to follow also.

Train conductors call out the station in Dutch, of course, and there is a tickertape above the driver's seat that tells you where you are and where you are headed next. Instructions for stamping your tickets upon entering and leaving a station are given in both Dutch and English. We met only one minivan driver who had no English, but by this point asking for two adult tickets to the Kröller-Müller Museum, plus van transport to and from the Otterloo station was not a chore in rudimentary Dutch.

The bus from Appeldoorn to Otterloo also had free WIFI, though we didn't bring any electronic toys with us.

Heti, I will never be found on a witte fiets. I have enough problems crossing the street!
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 11:44 AM
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In Amsterdam we rented a lovely 2-bedroom apt. from CITYDEN. In Den Bosch, we have rented Appartement Gufo at Molenstraat 2B for 2 nights. In Antwerp, we are staying at Luxury Villas Red Lion on Grote Goddaard, and in Rotterdam we are spending a night at the Hôtel Bienvenue.

Pretty much every sign we have seen the times we've been in Centraal was in English. Same with every announcement over the intercom. We sat there this morning for a half-hour and heard English announcements about a train collision, a faulty train, changes in schedules, changes in track numbers, etc. And every person we dealt with at the train station ticket office spoke flawless English if you wanted them to. It wasn't a problem.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 11:49 AM
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Apeldoorn, one P .
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 03:12 PM
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Speaking of meeting Fodorites, on to...

Utrecht

By this day, I was starting to run out of tourist steam. I was going to visit Rotterdam (to visit their art museum) and Utrecht, but decided to just go to Utrecht. I got to meet a Fodorite today –hetismij2 and her husband. They are really terrific people and heti was very helpful and also patient with me – I think I changed my arrival plans about 3x before deciding to arrive in Utrecht at lunchtime.

Hetismij2 was kind enough to meet me at the train station – which I realized once I got there was a good thing, b/c the train is connected to a HUGE shopping mall and it wouldn’t have been an easy place for me to just find my way around (especially compared to Delft’s tiny station with it’s 2 platforms!)

We had a nice day and walked around a bit before eating lunch at a castle! We had a great meal at Stadskasteeel Oudaen along a picturesque canal.

After lunch, we wandered Utrecht a bit:

Just walking along the canals was nice. They also showed me:

The Dom – the Utrecht dom has a long history – including being partially destroyed by a tornado (!) The outlines of the original building can be seen on the ground. We walked inside, and then heti showed me the Cloisters in the back, which are very attractive – like entering a whole other world.

I also learned that the Pope has a residence in Utrecht!

Winkel and Sinkel – I learned that this was the first department store – in the world.

I spent my last day in:

Amsterdam
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 03:19 PM
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BTW, menachem, I did not realize you are in Rotterdam...and I saw that you were in Delft the same time I was! It would have been nice to meet you, too.
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Old Mar 23rd, 2016, 11:19 PM
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Yes that would have been great. It was a beautiful day, I remember. Really spring like, much nicer than the extension of winter we've been having for the past few weeks.
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Old Mar 24th, 2016, 06:43 AM
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It was great meeting up with you. We aren't the world's greatest guides I'm afraid. We don't visit Utrecht much, and it is a long time since we did any touristy things, or showed anyone around I'm afraid, and it showed .

Weatherwise you certainly chose the best week, it has been grey and miserable since you left. Can you send us the sun back please?
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Old Mar 24th, 2016, 01:44 PM
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Oh, I disagree, heti - I thought you were a great guide and I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much out of my visit had I been alone. And we had a great lunch in a memorable place!

I was so fortunate about the weather. I was prepared for cool, damp and wet weather and didn't have ANY rain. (I did rain while I was in the museum in Den Bosch on my first day, but stopped before I went back outside. Terrific luck for a week in March!)

I would love to come back and hopefully bring with me some good weather!
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Old Mar 24th, 2016, 02:09 PM
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Lunch in a castle with hetismij--nice!

Thanks for answering my question about the pace of your trip and of your days. I really like the itinerary you put together and can see myself doing something similar. (The Dutch Masters were my first art love affair when I was a teen, and though I've branched out, they still hold a special place in my heart.)
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Old Mar 28th, 2016, 05:21 PM
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As a Dutch Masters fan (as am I), I think you would enjoy a similar trip, Leely.

My trip ended in:

Amsterdam

On my last day, I took a quick trip into Amsterdam. On our last visit, we had the opportunity to see most of the sights, but a major one that I missed was the Van Gogh Museum.

I took the train into Amsterdam Centraal, where I encountered really the only logistical challenge of my travels, and thankfully, it was a minor one. I could not figure out the luggage lockers. I looked into this before leaving, and I easily found the location of the lockers. I put my carry-on suitcase inside, shut the door – and it locked...before I put my backpack inside. Opening the locker would require another charge. I stood there, contemplating whether to bring my backpack with me to the museum and checking it there (and wondering if that was even allowed). Then, about a minute or two later, the locker popped back open! So that problem was solved. Three young American women were trying to figure out the lockers near me, and saying they couldn’t believe how confusing it was. I paid for my locker – or so I thought. Somehow, I ended up paying for one of those girls' lockers! Geez. So, one of them paid for my locker, we switched receipts, and then we all were on our way.

I hopped on the tram to the Rijksmuseum stop. I like this area of Amsterdam – the Rijsmuseum is an attractive building, and lots of people were climbing all over the I Amsterdam sign.

I prepurchased a ticket to the Van Gogh museum prior to my visit, and I was able to walk right in and skip the line. (The line was significantly shorter than it was when we visited last – the difference between March and June readily apparent).

The museum was very well done and comprehensive. I liked how it also had paintings by contemporary artists of Van Gogh. There was also a small exhibit called “Easy Virtue”, featuring artworks depicting prostitutes of Paris by such artists as Van Gogh, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec.

After perusing the gift shop and eating a nice lunch in their café, I headed back to the train station. Thankfully, my luggage was a LOT easier to retrieve. Upon entering the station, the 3 girls who were trying to use the lockers with me were also there and called out a Hello to me!

I then took a train to meet my friend, who lives in a village outside of Amsterdam, about 20 minutes from Schiphol. We hung out, caught up, went out to dinner and my lovely vacation came to and end.
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Old Mar 31st, 2016, 03:15 PM
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I've never been to the Van Gogh museum either. And how nice to end with a visit with a friend! Thanks for writing this report. I know they are a hassle, but they are very helpful. You've given me lots of good ideas.

Have a good time in Italy. I'm returning there this summer too.
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