judy

I've been teaching eighth grade The Diary of Anne Frank for 26 years. It is a subject that I feel very passionate about. Now my own child will be offically studying about Anne Frank for the first time in her eighth grade class. I think it's time to finally make that trip to Amsterdam to the Anne Frank House. I would like to go during our Spring Holidays in April. A number of my fellow teachers and friends have expressed an interest in going along also. I need to know it all. I want cheap air fare without a lot of hassles (who doesn't?); I want a really good hotel; and I want to know the what all I should plan to do and see. Please help point me in the right direction. Thanks

Don

In addition to Fodors, I think www.eurotrip.com could be helpful for you. It is geared more toward budget travel. The forums offer first-hand experience on booking cheap airfares, good hostels or inexpensive hotels, etc.

Alice

try www.channels.nl for various information, as well as www.goholland.com

Anna

You may want to look into airfare from Council Travel since you can get discounted airfare being a teacher. Must see's are the Anne Frank House which is already on your list, also The Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum.

Ben Haines

Fodors <BR> <BR>In a suburb of Amsterdam is the museum of the Resistance, Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, on Lejstraat 63, 1079 EM Amsterdam, tram routes 4 and 25, phone 020 644 9797, open Tuesday to Friday 10 to 5, Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5. It includes mementoes of Jewish resisters, and covers the renarkable Dutch movement as a whole. <BR> <BR>For three other museums websites are these: <BR>http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/asp/start.asp?language=uk <BR>http://www.annefrank.nl/eng/default2.html <BR>http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/bis/top-1-2.html <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

Sjoerd

April is high season for tourism in the Netherlands (tulips!), so book early, especially if your trip is around Easter or Queen's Day (30 April, the celebration of the Queen's Birthday, which is one of the biggest street parties in the world) <BR>In addition to the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank Huis, you will probably like the Tropenmuseum (life and culture in the tropics) and the Scheepvaartmuseum (Nautical Museum). Also a trip to the flower garden De Keukenhof is a must in April. Have a nice time!

wes fowler

Judy, <BR>First and foremost, get your daughter actively involved in the planning of your trip! I'd suggest you seek out the Insight Guides, there is one for the Netherlands and one for Amsterdam as well. They are written in an easy to read format and laden with excellent color photographs. They truly give you an "insight" into the countries' and cities' cultures. They should be available from your library and are ideal reading material for your daughter. <BR> <BR>For some interesting background reading on the Netherlands and the character of its people, you might want to look for "The Embarassment of Riches" by Simon Schama. It's a history of 16th and 17th century Netherlands that addresses the tremendous impact the untold wealth materializing from the Dutch merchant navy had upon the Calvinist ethos of the Dutch. A fascinating, but heavy read. <BR> <BR>For your daughter, look for "Of Dikes and Windmills" by Peter Spier. His book, with wonderful line drawings fully explains why the Netherlanders say the God made the world but the Dutch made the Netherlands. <BR> <BR>To get best airfares, check the airline websites. It's difficult to make recommendations, not knowing from where you will be flying. Icelandair, an excellent airline, usually has fares significantly less than the major international carriers and often offers a free overnight stay in Iceland with a half day, afternoon tour. (Makes for a nice break in an over the Atlantic flight.) If you're considering traveling with a large group of teachers, you might explore the possibility of group fare discounts. <BR> <BR>If you do a text search on this forum for Amsterdam you'll find a wealth of information regarding hotels, restaurants and sights to see. <BR> <BR>If you're traveling in mid spring, consider that tulip fields between Haarlem and Leyden will be in full bloom as will the magnificent Keukenhof gardens. <BR> <BR>Consider Aalsmeer. It's a town about 9 miles from Amsterdam where every <BR>morning millions and millions of cut flowers are trucked into a mammoth warehouse and auction rooms (the largest commercial building in the world), auctioned off, then shipped all over Europe for sale the same day. You can tour the whole proceedings on a catwalk high above the warehouse floor and look down upon millions of cut flowers arrayed in two tiers on carts that are pulled into the auction rooms then linked to other carts and trucked to loading docks. The colors are overwhelming and the fragrances are truly breathtaking. It's an early morning event but well worth every minute of the experience. <BR> <BR>This promises to be lengthy. More to come. <BR>

wes fowler

Judy, <BR> <BR>Fodor's has hiccups if responses are too lengthy, thus this second response to your query. <BR> <BR>In Amsterdam, take a stroll along the Herrengracht. It's the canal between the <BR>Singel and the Keizersgracht and has the most notable collection of Amsterdam's impressive canal houses. You'll obviously note the varied and distinctive gables of the houses, but keep your eyes open, too, for the cartouches on many of them. There are fascinating details by and over doors and windows that are too frequently overlooked by sightseers. It will only take a few minutes walking for your curiosity to be arousd about what the innards of one of these houses are like. At 605 Herrengracht at the canal's eastern end near the Amstel is the Willet-Holthuysen museum, a furnished three-story home dating from the late 17th century. The museum also has a fine collection of silverware, glass and ceramics. As a bonus, there's a garden in the French style! If you want to pass up the museum, the garden is visible from the Amstelstraat, the street on the banks of the Amstel River. <BR> <BR>Since most of Amsterdam's museums are closed on Monday, you might want to look into the Van Loon museum, another late 17th century home with a lovely formal garden, which is only open on Monday. It's at 672-674 Keizersgracht, the canal just south of Herrengracht. On your way you might want to stop in at the Six collection. Another house dating from the late 17th century it houses a number of 17th century paintings including a number of Rembrandts (Six was his patron). For admission, you need a card of introduction available from the information desk of the Rijksmuseum on presentation of your passport. If an early morning trip to Aalsmeer is out of the question since you really should be there long before 9AM, look into the Bloemenmarkt, a retail flower market held on a dozen or so canal boats by the Mint Tower. The flowers and bulbs come from the tulip fields around Haarlem and from the Aalsmeer auction house. <BR> <BR>The Netherlands is a small country with an excellent transportation system. Consider day trips to Delft, Haarlem, the university towns of Utrecht and Leyden and some of the more touristy spots like Volendam and Maarken. Look into the Zuider Zee museum in Enkhuisen as well. <BR> <BR>Hope I've given you an idea or two. Feel free to Email me with any questions or concerns. <BR>

Sue

Several years ago we spent New Year's Eve at the Canal House on Keizersgracht about 2 blocks from the Anne Frank House and liked it very much. The owner even had a little cocktail party for us travelers. Its rates are a little high (265-385 DF). Website: www.canalhouse.nl, which I find hard to read. This site is short and sweet: http://www.hotelinformation.com/html...al/index-f.htm and you can get info on other hotels there, too (hotelinformation.com)

Annie

Hi Judy: <BR>I don't know where you are flying from but I'll let you know that I got a great airfare from Royal Jordanian Airlines (a codeshare with TWA) from JFK to Amsterdam for $430.00 round trip including taxes etc. I orginally found the rate on expedia and made my reservation directly with RJ. It may be either a TWA or Royal Jordanian aircraft as they both have a flight leaving JFK at the same time. <BR>I like the Doelen Hotel (part of the Golden Tulip chain www.goldentulip.com)Good luck and have a great trip!

KT

If you want to put Anne Frank in context, Amsterdam has an excelletn Jewish museum, housed in four old synagogues. It covers many aspects of the history and culture of the Amsterdam Jewish community, not just the Holocaust era.

Albert Finney

I did an April trip a couple years ago & stayed in Amsterdam at the Ambassade Hotel, which is very nice & about a 10 minute walk to the Frank House.Flew on Icelandair which is low cost & very dependable. The 'must see' is Keukenhof Gardens (6 million tulips!) which is open daily this year from 3/22-5/24 (go on a weekday = not as crowded) You can catch a bus to the gardens from the Haarlem or Leiden train stations.Since you're a teacher, Leiden has a big university plus the pilgrims museum. <BR>

arjay

This is fabulous! We're flying into Amsterdam on 3/1 (on Iceland - so thanks, Wes for a vote of confidence on that airline) so it's great to see so much useful information -- and to see two of Fodors' most reliable informants - Wes and Ben Haines. <BR>

mr88

Best and cheapest..fly charter to Amsterdamn..then from airport take train to Centraal Train Station and walk out the front door..lots of Pensions or nicer Hotels right there..(Cheap Sightseeing) Hop on a bus and stay on it all thru the city and it will bring you right back to where you got on..cost $.50..Make sure to see the red light district right there on your left(do not laugh) thats where everything is happening in Amsterdamn and its not seedy at all..Anne Frank Haus..just get on that same bus and say Anne Frank ...cant miss it..have fun

Maira

Judy--- do you have solid plans already? CHECK OUT TODAY THE SITE GO-TODAY.COM. INCREDIBLE PACKAGES TO AMSTERDAM!!!

Mary

Judy, <BR>I, too, have been studying Holland for an upcoming visit. Have received lots of help from this disc. group. I've been told that if I' m only going to take a one day trip out of Amsterdam (I'll take more) that I should see Haarlem. You should too - especially with your interests in A. Frank. Haarlem is only 13 miles W. of Amsterdam (take the train) and while there VISIT the Corrie Ten Boom House. Corrie and her Dutch family hid a number of Jewish families during the war. When found out, the Jews and the entire Ten Boom family were sent to concentration camps. Corrie (the only family member to survive) wrote about it in a book "The Hiding Place." Years ago, I saw her interviewed on TV - try to get the book. I know that it would be available at Christian book stores or they cn order it for you. Have a great trip.

Rex

To Maira (and to Judy): <BR> <BR>Why all the "ALL CAPS" (shouting) about the "deals" on www.go-today.com? <BR> <BR>First of all, the "deals" on go-today are for travel up through Mar 31; Judy says she wants to go in April. <BR> <BR>But let's assume for a second that we compare apples to apples for a date in March (even better in February, but go-today doesn't make a distinction) <BR> <BR>Judy doesn't say what size her group is, but here are my calculations based on 8, 10 and 12 people (2 or 3 people to a car). <BR> <BR>With go-today.com - - <BR> <BR>8 p (1 dbl/2 trpl) = $4364 ($545.5 ea) <BR>10 p (2 dbl/3 trpl) = $5500 ($550 ea) <BR>12 p (4 trpl) = $6456 ($538 ea) <BR> <BR>With best available fares on Expedia/Travelocity <BR> <BR>Each air fare, $434 to 441 (NYC/BOS/PHL) <BR>and Kemwel rental car (= $148 divided by 3p/car) makes for a total of $483 to $490. <BR> <BR>Travel dates in February makes the "surcharge" on go-today even higher, since available published air fares range from $349 to $415. <BR> <BR>And a group might not even be allowed on go-today, whereas 10 or more will typically get a discount of 10-15% by working directly thorugh the group rate with the airline of your choice (typically mandatory with 10 or more; they tell you about it whether you ask about it or not). however, current airfares are already at low "sale" prices, so discounts for group might be trivial or even zero. <BR> <BR>The key to interpreting a package price is to read the fine print of the taxes included (or more often excluded). Travelocity and Expedia always INCLUDE the taxes; go-today.com tell you that they exclude taxes of $69. <BR> <BR>I'm afraid that this message sounds "lecture-y" - - it isn't meant to - - just trying to share information and perspectives as I see 'em. <BR> <BR>Best wishes, <BR> <BR>Rex

Gina

Judy, if you're interested in other Holocaust-related history in and around Amsterdam, I'd highly recommend a visit to the Ten Boom house, on the Barteljoristraat in Haarlem (very near Amsterdam, a lovely little town). It's the former watch shop (still is a watch shop, actually) and home of a Christian family who worked with the Resistance and sheltered Dutch Jews during the war. The two unmarried daughters of the family, who were in their 40s or 50s during the war, as well as their 80-year-old father, were eventually arrested; the father and one of the sisters died in the camps, and the other sister, Corrie ten Boom, survived to tell their story. The book "The Hiding Place" is a fascinating chronicle of their experiences. <BR> <BR>The house remains much as it was during the war; the watch shop is no longer in the family, but they maintain the name Ten Boom Watchmakers anyway. Up on the top floor you can see the tiny secret room built into the wall of what was Corrie's bedroom, where the refugees who were staying with them hid for something like three days when the family was arrested and the house was surrounded. Eventually they all got out safely and I think they all survived the war. <BR> <BR>It's a very interesting tour. Please do note that the family was very much of the evangelical Christian persuasion, and the tour guides who show you through the house do tend to preach rather extensively--which can get overbearing if one is of a different spiritual path. Nonetheless, what the ten Booms did was remarkable and it's a fascinating part of Resistance history. Definitely well worth a visit.

Gina

Oh geez. I swear I'd read through this whole thread and hadn't seen anything about the ten Boom house before posting, but somehow I missed Mary's excellent and much less long-winded post about the same subject. The hazards of posting in the midnight hour.

arjay

Gina: I got a kick out of your little apologia since my personal peeve here are folks who post w/o reading, and offer duplicate info. (And anyway, I appreciated the 'evangelical' warning about the Ten Boom house).