Amsterdam Local Custom Tips by al_mary

The preferred method of transportation
for most ofthe Dutch is: "de Fiets", or
as most know it as: "The Bicycle" .......

Alot of Dutch have never owned, or even
have had the chance to drive a car.

On any given workday, you can find as
many as 10,000 bikes around CS ....

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We are in and out of the Netherlands
multiple times each year, both for
business and to visit with friends.
Just about everyone speaks English
in Amsterdam, and is proud of the fact.
Many speak German and French too.
If you are English speaking, speak English,
unless you speak Dutch too. You are more
likely to offend than do anyone a favour by
trying out your French or German.

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A common misconception is that Dutch is very close to German.
In truth they are not mutually intelligible: Dutch people have to
learn German at school, and in general they speak better English
than German. German and Dutch are similar in the same sort of
way that French and Italian are similar.

A few keys phrases:
Yes: Ja (Yah)
No: Nee (Nay)
Thanks: Bedankt (B'dunked)
Excuse Me: Pardon (parDON).

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The currency used in the Netherlands
is the Euro ...... Euros are divided into
100 cents. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10,
20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros.
There are notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200
and 500 euros.
Please note that some shops do not accept
large denomination notes.

The Dutch Guilder is no longer usable, and no longer can
be exchanged for Euro.

We find it easy to use as there is 100 euro cents to 1 Euro.
As of Feb. 2006., there was 1.25 Euro to the US dollar.

There are many places to change money in town. Post Offices
usually give the best rates. The GWK at Central station is also
good. Compare rates carefully at the exchange offices in town.
Hotels are usually an expensive way to change money.
Banks can be slow. There's an American Express on the Damrak,
and a Thomas Cook on the Dam.

Credit cards are not as widely accepted in the Netherlands as
in many other lands, but it's getting steadily better. Always enquire
first if you intend to pay by credit card.

If you have an ATM card. a card for getting money out of a machine
in the wall, it will most likely work in the Netherlands, so you don't
need to take traveller's cheques.

Check with your bank before leaving though. Such cards, certainly
if they have a Maestro logo on them, can often also be used for
direct debit payments in shops, shops that display the blue
"PIN" sign.

Like in all big cities the world round, there are cheats looking
for an easy target. A typical trick in less reputable establishments
is, if you pay with a note, to give you change as if you tendered a
note of one denomination smaller. For instance to give you change
for 50 euros if you give them a 100 euro note, and then pretend it
was a mistake if you notice. The best way to avoid this happening
is to speak the value of the note as you hand it over, "100 euros",
so they can't claim not to have noticed ......

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