"Orlikins Goes To Amsterdam" a Amsterdam Travel Page by orlikins

I was only in NL overnight that time in September 2004, so I didnt have much time to really get to know Amsterdam.

I had a business meeting in a town 20 miles from Amsterdam, so I was there most of the day and then after work, they took me to dinner in downtown Amsterdam and dropped me off at my hotel.

The following morning, I had about 3 hours to check out central Amsterdam, but that is so not enough! Got some cool funky red shoes when I was there... there is ALWAYS time for shoe shopping!! :)

3 hours is definitely not enough, you cannot see everything in the city centre in such a short space of time, but if you plan well and don't dawdle, you get to see a good bit of the city centre from Centraal Station, Rokin, Dam Square, a bit of the Chinatown and Red Light area or even Kalwerstraat (the main shopping street).

You're not going to find any tips on coffee-shops here because I'm not a smoker or a toker. However VT member Blueberry_7 has put together a very informed and comprehensive list of recommended coffee shops if you want to check that out.

Now this was much more like it!

Aer Lingus had a fantastic flight sale where Dublin-Amsterdam was only €9.00! I could not let that pass me by. As I have a client in the Netherlands, it was a great excuse to go over and visit them again (the same client I had visited in 2004).

One of the guys in the office, Vincent, was a fantastic help in suggesting things to do and finding restaurants - he was an absolute star! :)

I really do think it is worth considering staying outside the centre if you are on a budget and you're not prepared to stay in some stoner hostel. From my research, it seems that most B&Bs are around €70 per night, breakfast was usually extra and not included in the price. I consider that to be a poor deal for the price.

I actually stayed outside of the city centre in a little place called Weesp (pronounced "Vay-esp"). Weesp is literally only 15 mins away from Amsterdam Centraal by train and you still get see swans, ducks, canals and even a windmill :)