New Year's Eve in Amsterdam
 

My fiance and I will be in Amsterdam from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1 this year. We plan to hit the Van Gogh museum and possibly the Anne Frank museum before the close, but have no idea how to celebrate New Year's Eve! Any suggestions?

In Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, the town is about as quiet as a mouse - from about 6 pm until midnight. Then it is like a war zone with fireworks and plenty of sky rockets. It is beautiful and noisy for half an hour or so. Be careful because everything is amateur and the stuff is going off everywhere.

I was in Amsterdam on New Years Eve only once and the streets and bars were deserted. A friend and I had some quiet drinks in the Marriott bar.

Most likely you'll have to make your own party, but there will probably be one or two bars or grass houses which will be open.

I've nver heard them called that before.
'Grass houses'...'stone'... must be a joke in there somewhere.

No joke in there. I prefer to name them after what they sell, rather than use the false euphemism 'coffee house' or 'coffie house.' Sometimes I call them weed houses which is even more appropriate.

Hi, we're still trying to firm up our plans for New Year's Eve in Amsterdam. We plan to check out the Van Gogh museum and we have reservations for the Supper Club that evening. Is there anything else we should do that night? Any dinner recommendations? Thanks.

Nicole,

I suggest that you call your hotel pretty soon and ask what is open nearby for dinner and what they recommend. Few cafes or restaurants are open. Those that are open have the shades drawn and are entertaining their regular customers or are hosting parties with pre-reserved admissions like the Supper Club.

You'll need to have dinner very early or lunch very late to carry you through to start-up at the Supper Club. The Dutch are very prompt about events and have no empathy for slow folks. Arrive when the doors open to get a good seat. When the party gets going you will be the local celebrities because you are the Americans, and maybe the only ones in the place unless the Supper Club is well known in the Dutch American community. How did you learn about it?

At midnight, the Dutch (and virtually all Europeans) go outdoors to shoot off their sky rockets or watch everybody else shoot their's off. Neighbors greet neighbors and say Hello! for the first time since the last New Years Eve. Amateurs have really big fireworks budgets. Read my first post above. After they run out of ammo you can go back into the club and party on.

For lunch try the Cafe Luxembourg at the Spui, unless you are still over at the Van Gogh Museum. In any case have <i>erwtensoep</i> (pea soup) and a <i>jonge jenever</i> (Holland gin) to fill your belly and veins. That will help you brace yourself against the North Sea wind. Another delicacy is <i>haring</i> (raw herring), my favorite. Mussels can be very good in NL also.

OTOH, almost everybody else on this forum will say go to an Indonesian/Chinese restaurant and have the <i>rijstafel</i>. Bah. Rubbish. IMO. But the I/C places might be the only restaurants open on New Years Eve. The only I/C restaurant I ever enjoyed was in Den Haag.

For a souvenir buy a liter of <i>Ketel 1 jonge</i>. The label is almost exactly the same as their vodka label in the USA.

BTW, one night in Amsterdam is not enough. Not even one week. Stretch it if you can.

Thanks for the great advice! Unfortunately, we can only spend one night in Amsterdam because we are passing through on a layover that we managed to work to our advantage (New Year's Eve). Fortunately, I have been to Amsterdam (just for a few days, but it was summer!), so I am able to bypass a lot of the touristy stuff this time around. (Except the Van Gogh museum, which I loved.)

Between hitting the museum after we arrive and going to the Supper Club at 11 p.m., it sounds like we just have to find a place for dinner, which we will call our hotel to try to figure out. Hopefully, the weather won't be too brutal, since we will be coming from a two-week stay in a much warmer climate... BTW, do you have any idea what the dress code would be for the New Year's Eve celebration at Supper Club?

Please let us know how your stay went when you return. We are ending our trip next May in Amsterdam for 3 nights. So excited!