amsterdam (house, living, restaurants)

[dyt937]

thinking about vacationing over there in the near future
whats it like? Is there plentiful amount of things to do?

[neptune]

Very urban and everything that comes with that, good and bad. It's easily walkable, tightly packed with history, architecture, fantastic museums, culture, etc. It is after all, NYC's biological mom South of Amsterdam is Leiden, where the pilgrams lived before sailing to America, it is said that modern day American religious/secular balance is to this day still based on 17th century Holland. You can learn a lot about the US if you know where to look in Holland.

[Drouzin]

Oh, you should definately go! I could have lived in the Rijksmuseum; The Night Watch is so awsome when seen up close and personal. We took a boat tour, ate at fabulous restaurants, went to a gazillion museums (including a sex museum which was cool but you have to be open to that kind of thing), watched the goings on in the red light district (it was interesting to see from a park bench on the canal), and we took the train to other parts of the NL. We went to the Het Loo (sp), Texel to see the Zee Hunds(sp)(seals), and Alkmarr to do the cheese thing and ended up drinking at some bar/pub. The Netherlands is an awsome place to visit!

[ian6479]

Amsterdam is fantastic. Its only 200 miles from London!
I have been there several times. There are a ton of things to do there... the Museums, The Heineken Factory, boat tours, bike tours, great restaurants.. and its very walkable and flat.
Amsterdam has a great feel to it, and its a very liberal and accepting city. If you want to, you can smoke pot like you would have a beer anywhere else. The red light area is just like any other shopping area in another city.. kids walk by and don't flutter an eyelid!! Its real living proof of the right wing paranoia being nothing but!

Have a great time

[Mumof3]

My husband and I had a short break in Amsterdam last year while staying with relatives in England. It's a fascinating place. We were only there 3 days and 2 nights but we were able to do alot. It's very pedestrianised - but also has lots of great public transport options. There's the canals - so you can just hop on a boat - we did this and discovered a fantastic flea market - and the trams are also very cheap and efficient. We went to Anne Frank's house which was also extremely interesting. The Dutch seem to love riding their bikes - even carrying their kids on the handle bars and on their backs too - sometimes at the same time!!! I was amazed!!! We also saw the Riijksmuseum. There's the Van Gogh Museum nearby. Heiniken brewery has tours. Our bed and breakfast place was very cute and close to the museum quarter of the town which is ideally located for everything. Loads of great architecture and restaurants. I would recommend Amsterdam to anyone interested in these things.

As with any big city be careful as we were almost accosted by a guy who wanted to pick a fight with us (we were just walking along the street minding our own business) for some reason (no idea why - he was probably on drugs) - We now suspect he was probably after our wallets. I wouldn't take a handbag out with you or a visible one around your waist either. I always take a string purse that I can put around my neck which is of course hidden under my clothes!!! - I think that's what frustrated him about us because he couldn't see a visible, easy snatch!!

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

it is a very beautiful city with friendly people but dangerous bicyclists. I was nearly runned over several times and yes it might have been my fault for walking in the bike path.