  Amsterdam
Click to get the inside scoop from
real travelers here at VirtualTourist. See the Amsterdam Travel GuideInside advice from real people on:Overview, Hotels, Things to Do, Restaurants, Nightlife, Shopping, General Tips, Transportation, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Warnings or Dangers, Local Customs, Packing Lists or Sports Travel.
 11157 Amsterdam Tips.16262 Amsterdam Photos.3 Amsterdam Videos. Amsterdam Pages by Ciambella
Tips 1 - 7 of 7 Amsterdam Things to Do
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Half an hour on the train from Amsterdam, the tiny village of Zaanse Schans stands demurely on the Zaan River with its gingerbread houses and its picture perfect windmills painted against the blue sky.
The village has all the requirements to be the typical postcard image of Netherland -- a meandering stream with a short drawbridge, a family of ducks resting on the grass and a blue bird fluttering from tree to tree. There is a one-room schoolhouse, a teashop, an old-fashioned chemist, a doctor’s office, a tiny church, an even tinier naval museum. There is also of course the prerequisite for a tourists’ attraction: large souvenir shops, several artisans’ ateliers, and a bad restaurant.
Everything is here, the Netherland countryside, compact and readily wrapped for the asking.
Leave a Comment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This tip is provided by our daughter.
The Prostitution Information Center (PIC) is a wonderful resource run by warm, friendly people who have experience with the sex industry. PIC serves as a clearinghouse for Red Light District-related questions. You can ask a question, take a peek at historical information, or go on a guided walking tour of the Red Light District (RLD). There is also a replica of a red light window and room, as well as a cardboard prop with cutout face holes for personalized photograph opportunities.
Information is provided freely, though donations are very welcome and much needed. PIC has no government subsidy; its laudable mission to provide unbiased information must somehow survive on donations and gift shop profits alone.
As it happens, the gift shop is eminently worthwhile; the maps, postcards, and "FAQ" brochures sold at PIC were significantly different and often more appealing than the mass-market fare found in the major tourist spots.
PIC was established by a former RLD worker named Mariska Majoor. Ms. Majoor wanted to provide a resource for sex workers and tourists alike. She's an attractive, intelligent woman with short brown hair and a kind, plain-speaking manner. I was initially shy in speaking with her, but she rapidly put me at ease.
I asked a series of basic questions about how the RLD works, what to expect in a sexual encounter, why there are no male prostitutes, etc. She provided clear, detailed responses that not only answered my questions, but also gave me a glimpse into the Dutch attitudes and thought processes surrounding prostitution. It was a pleasure to chat with her.
Leave a Comment
Phone: 020 – 420 73 28
Address: Enge Kerksteeg 3, in the Red Light District
Website: http://www.pic-amsterdam.com/html/english.html
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Things To Do: For Adults Only: Pot Brownie
|
Tip Rating:  |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
This tip is provided by our daughter.
What's better than a piece of chocolate? A chocolate brownie. And what's better than a chocolate brownie? A *pot* chocolate brownie!
Pot brownies are a great way to try marijuana and get your daily dose of chocolate, without the side effects of smelling like smoke or choking while trying to inhale. However, the effects of the drug will be different when ingested than when inhaled. Eating a brownie means that your body will take longer to digest the drug, which means correspondingly that the high will be slower to arrive. However, many people report that the high is more mellow, lasts longer, and is a more gently immersive experience this way.
Pot brownies can be made any number of ways. The best kind involves sauteing bits of the marijuana plant in oil or butter. The cook can then strain the pieces out, so that we're left with marijuana-infused oil or butter to be used in the recipe. Thereafter, the brownie is made in the usual way, with eggs and chocolate and flour.
Less appetizing recipes leave the marijuana plant pieces in the oil/butter. And the worst kind of recipe is one that doesn't involve chocolate. :-)
The first time I ordered a pot brownie, I ended up with a pretty, rainbow-colored piece of bread that tasted awful. My second experience was better, because the brownie was a terrific fudge-like dessert. It had the slightest trace of a "green," herb flavor, but mostly it was just a delicious brownie. My suggestion is to ask whether chocolate is involved before ordering.
As mentioned before, the high takes awhile to experience when the drug is ingested. So go easy when eating it. For me, a newbie, I broke off a couple of bites of brownie and that lasted me all day. In fact, I didn't finish the brownie even over a span of three days
Leave a Comment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Charles is fond of telling the story about his first visit to Heineken Brewery.
In 1969, he spent ten days in Amsterdam and visited Heineken Brewery many times. At that time, it was still a working brewery and there was no admission fee. The free guided tour took visitors throughout the brewing process, and at the end, beer and cheese were offered free of charge in a large drinking hall.
Being a starving college student/young tourist, Charles returned for the free beer and free cheese -- repeatedly. On the third day, the staff recognized his face and thanked him for his multiple visits. Upon finding out it was his birthday that day, they presented him with a Delft blue mug, which he treasured for years until the handle broke off.
Over three decades later, the brewery is no longer a functional one and there is a second name on the building: Heineken Experience. Admission is now €11, the drinking hall has been replaced by two sophisticated bars, and there is no longer free cheese with beer. Nevertheless, Heineken Experience is still a fun thing to do if you like beer and have a couple of hours to spare.
In exchange for the entrance fee, visitors receive three large beers and a gift. On our visit, the gift was an aluminum replica bottle of Heineken with a bottle opener inside. The three glasses of beer is worth the price of admission already, so it's not a bad deal, especially since the renovated old brewery is full of fun things to see and do. The glass staircase, the copper vats, the theatre, and the studio to make your own video and mix your own music are just some of the attractions included in the tour.
By the way, the same vintage Delft blue mug that was given to Charles as a birthday gift 38 years ago is still available at the Heineken gift shop. The price is €27 now!
Leave a Comment
Phone: +31 20 523 96 66
Address: Stadhouderskade 78, Amsterdam
Directions: Take trams, 16, 24 or 25, get off at Heinekenplein.
Website: http://www.heinekenexperience.com/
Other Contact: info@heinekenexperience.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
China Town: Fo Guang Shan He Hue Temple
|
Tip Rating: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Buddhist temple Fo Guang Shan He Hua in Chinatown was completed in 2000 and dedicated by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
The blue stone steps on either side of the central door lead to the main prayer room where the shrine to Kwan Yin (Quan Shi Yin, goddess of compassion)flanked by Wei Tuo, protector of the Dharma, and Que-Lan (Guan Gong or Guan Di), protector of temples, is dominated. The side rooms include a meditation hall and a hall for honoring ancestors.
Leave a Comment
Phone: 020-4202357
Address: Zeedijk 106-118, 1012 BB Amsterdam
Directions: In Chinatown
Other Contact: Fax 020-4207205
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Things To Do: Homomonument
|
Tip Rating: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Designed by Karin Daan in 1979, the Homomonument is a memorial to gay men who were victims of Nazi persecution. The monument is a set of three pink marble triangles positioned separately from one another, and then linked by a line of pink bricks. Taken altogether, they make up one large triangle area. Pink triangle were used in acknowledgment of the symbol that gay men had to wear as identification while in the Nazi concentration camps.
The first triangle is flat on the ground and engraved with a line from one of Jacob Israël de Haan's poems: "Naar Vriendschap Zulk Een Mateloos Verlangen," which is translated as "Such boundless longing for friendship." One vertex of this triangle points towards the Anne Frank House.
The second triangle is an above ground platform, with a vertex pointing toward Centre for Culture and Leisure, the oldest GLBT organisation in the world.
The last triangle is a set of steps that overhang the canal; a vertex points toward National War Memorial.
Leave a Comment
Directions: Near Westerkerk church.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Located on 263 Prinsengracht, the four-story canal house is now called the Anne Frank House. To be accurate, though, this is neither the house where Anne Frank was born nor the house where her family resided in their every day life. Rather, the Anne Frank House is the place where her father Otto's businesses were run and where the family eventually spent 25 months hiding from the Nazis, between July 6, 1942, and September 3, 1944.
The interior of the house is kept faithfully intact, except that lines from her diary are now painted on wall and overhead beams. The long passage of time and the murmur of conversation from the snaking line of tourists following each other from one room to another cannot break through the somber atmosphere. The stillness that permeates from the walls is still very oppressive.
A walk through Anne Frank House is not one that leaves visitors with light hearts and minds. The story of a 13-year old young girl who spent her days in hiding and ended up being persecuted for her religion will serve forever as a reminder of one of the world's most shameful crimes.
Note: Picture-taking is not allowed on the premise.
Leave a Comment
Phone: +31 20 5567105
Address: Prinsengracht 263, Amsterdam
Directions: The house is on 263 Prinsengracht, but entrance is at number 267. Take tram 13 or 17 or bus 21, 170, 171 or 172 from Central Station, get off at Westermarkt.
Website: www.annefrank.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join a Discussion Getting to central Amsterdam from the airport
(4 replies, Wednesday, Jul 23, 2008, 5:34 AM UTC) New Public transport ticket in Amsterdam
(6 replies, Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008, 8:39 PM UTC) Is it true cheaper tickets available on airline websites at 12:01am?
(6 replies, Monday, Jul 21, 2008, 5:42 PM UTC) Be the first to reply to these questions travelseptember
(no replies yet, Tuesday, Jul 22, 2008, 12:40 PM UTC) in amsterdam from the 8th to 10th june
(no replies yet, Thursday, Jun 5, 2008, 7:05 AM UTC) bggage storage at Amstel station
(no replies yet, Monday, May 26, 2008, 4:38 PM UTC) » All Amsterdam Posts
» Ask about Amsterdam Sightseeing tour discounts
(1 comments, Saturday, Jun 14, 2008, 5:14 AM UTC) "Sleep & Go" offer for Twenty-Something-Travellers to Amsterdam
(1 comments, Monday, Jun 2, 2008, 12:43 PM UTC) Fierce creatures weekend
(1 comments, Monday, Jun 2, 2008, 12:42 PM UTC) » All Amsterdam Deals
» Post a Amsterdam Deal |
 Comments for Ciambella about Amsterdam | | | | |
Alex_71 Sun Nov 25, 2007 11:09 UTC
ciao pagina molto interessante e anche molto belle le tips..č qualche anno che non vado ad Amsterdam ma la ricordo esattamente come la descrivi nella pagina:-) | KiKitC Wed Dec 20, 2006 11:17 UTC
Great tips! Aren't you glad the guy at the coffeeshop didn't get agitated? | EllenH Sun Apr 9, 2006 22:10 UTC
lol that would have embarrassed me too Nathalie! | kymbanm Thu Apr 6, 2006 17:52 UTC
Excellent tips! Especially like the 'real person' narrative at the massage parlor ;) |
|
More Sponsored Links for Amsterdam
Amsterdam Hotels
Save up to 75% on Amsterdam hotels. Pay at check-in. No booking fees.
Amsterdam Apartment
Apartment located in a 17th century brewery in the historical center.
Amsterdam Refinement
Fabulous world of refinement... Fabulous world of Sofitel.
|
email me
add as friend
on Oct 1, 2006
