Amsterdam

[Green Monstah]

Headed to Amsterdam in August with my oldest and my wife for her "welcome to adulthood" trip. She chose Amsterdam because she read the Diary of Anne Frank in grade school, which sparked an enduring interest in the holocaust. But, Amsterdam doesn't exactly seem like the best place to bring my devout latter-day saint wife and daughter.

Anyone been there? What are the must-dos and the places to avoid?

We're open to travelling to other cities and countries nearby, so that's all in play as well.

[Eddie]

Headed to Amsterdam in August with my oldest and my wife for her "welcome to adulthood" trip. She chose Amsterdam because she read the Diary of Anne Frank in grade school, which sparked an enduring interest in the holocaust. But, Amsterdam doesn't exactly seem like the best place to bring my devout latter-day saint wife and daughter.

Anyone been there? What are the must-dos and the places to avoid?

We're open to travelling to other cities and countries nearby, so that's all in play as well.

When you connected traveling to Amsterdam with a "welcome to adulthood" trip, I gotta admit - an interest in Anne Frank and the holocaust is NOT what came to mind.

Aside from that - sorry, never been there and have no idea of what you should see and what you should skip. Aside from telling you that if you want to have a cultural experience you should probably ride a bike, go to a tulip field, and check out a windmill, I mean. But that's all I've got.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Amsterdam

Headed to Amsterdam in August with my oldest and my wife for her "welcome to adulthood" trip. She chose Amsterdam because she read the Diary of Anne Frank in grade school, which sparked an enduring interest in the holocaust. But, Amsterdam doesn't exactly seem like the best place to bring my devout latter-day saint wife and daughter.

Anyone been there? What are the must-dos and the places to avoid?

We're open to travelling to other cities and countries nearby, so that's all in play as well.

The Netherlands is a fantastic destination. Yes, Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe (high five to creekster) but don’t let that scare you. Anne Franke museum is incredibly moving -it had me in tears. But make sure you have reservations well in advance. And of course the art museums.

Our favorite little town in NL is Delft. Go on a weekend to see the Saturday market. Rotterdam is fun.

[BigFatMeanie]

I agree with Lebowksi about the museums (if you like museums) and you should heed his advice about reserving Anne Frank well in advance.

Skip the tulip market in Amsterdam proper- total tourist trap with 50 stalls all selling the exact same bulbs. And don't bother buying any bulbs - they'll go rotten/moldy on you before you get home if you carry them home and if you're going to have them shipped there are far better online/catalog companies, with far greater inventory, to buy bulbs from. If you were there in the spring then it would be worth going to Bollenstreek where they actually grow the tulips but as you'll be there in August there won't be many tulips in the fields.

Skip the red light district even though the Oude Kerk (Old Church) is right in the middle of the district (priests were the original pimps). The red light district is boring during the day, unless you want to patronize condom and sex toy shops, and you don't want to see it during the night, unless you want to gawk at the ladies and gawk at all the other tourists who are gawking at the ladies. There are more interesting churches in the Netherlands and Europe to see than Oude Kerk.

Do a canal boat tour - it's pretty touristy but it's a great way to see the interesting architecture - the skinny, crooked houses, etc. Ideally you want one with a live guide rather than the recording. There are a ton of tour boat companies out there to choose from. You can even get a pot-smoking tour if you want one.

The whole city smells like pot - you can't really escape it, you just have to kind of get used to it.

Food in Amsterdam sucks, especially traditional Dutch food. Even the trendy hipster food court type places like Westergas and some of the outdoor food carts don't have that great of food. The exception to the above is fries (although it's not like you're eating fries in Belgium), kibbeling (fried fish), and stroopwaffles. Those are good to get from food carts. You can eat a tourist-priced traditional Dutch pancake at one of the famous pancake restaurants (just google for them) if you don't mind waiting in line with other tourists. They're definitely good but it's more about the experience eating a traditional Dutch pancake than because they're so dang good you just have to have one. Indonesian restaurants have the best food in Amsterdam. Avoid most traditional Dutch fare such as bitterballen and haring. Don't say I didn't warn you.

You can see everything worth seeing in Amsterdam proper in 2 days. Less than that if you're not the type to spend hours in a museum but are the type to "hit the highlights" and move on. Amsterdam is very walkable. I would definitely plan on visiting other towns in the Netherlands and other countries if you can. It's very easy to get to Schippol airport form Amsterdam Centraal. Very easy to take the train from Centraal to other towns.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Raw herring is great. Highly recommended.

[creekster]

Yes, Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe (high five to creekster) .

You are no less stubborn, and maybe more so, than me.

One other suggestion is to take a bicycling tour from Amsterdam into the Polders. They put you on those great Dutch bikes and you cruise through parks and neighborhoods and out into the Polders. Most of them stop at a farm where they make Gouda and other dairy products. It's a lot of fun and has excellent scenery.

[BigFatMeanie]

I hope you don't take offense at this Green Monstah, but your description of your London trip indicates that you may have made some rookie mistakes (showing up at Westminster late in the afternoon, not realizing that Parliament is hard to get into, etc.).

Basic research (Google searches, read a guide book) should have helped you avoid some of those issues. When they say, "get there early" or "book well in advance", they generally mean it.

[Pelado]

I hope you don't take offense at this Green Monstah, but your description of your London trip indicates that you may have made some rookie mistakes (showing up at Westminster late in the afternoon, not realizing that Parliament is hard to get into, etc.).

Basic research (Google searches, read a guide book) should have helped you avoid some of those issues. When they say, "get there early" or "book well in advance", they generally mean it.

What a Meanie.

[falafel]

The Netherlands is a fantastic destination. Yes, Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe (high five to creekster) but don’t let that scare you. Anne Franke museum is incredibly moving -it had me in tears. But make sure you have reservations well in advance. And of course the art museums.

Our favorite little town in NL is Delft. Go on a weekend to see the Saturday market. Rotterdam is fun.

This seems to have been GM's Achilles heel in London.

[Green Monstah]

I hope you don't take offense at this Green Monstah, but your description of your London trip indicates that you may have made some rookie mistakes (showing up at Westminster late in the afternoon, not realizing that Parliament is hard to get into, etc.).

Basic research (Google searches, read a guide book) should have helped you avoid some of those issues. When they say, "get there early" or "book well in advance", they generally mean it.

Yeah, I hear you. In London, there was about a four hour time frame where I didn't have anything planned and thought I could shoot from the hip, and it was easily the worst four hours of our trip.

[Donuthole]

Just because any chance to share a clip from The Wire is a chance worth taking (NSFW language warning). This is a mash up, but it's a fun watch for fans who've seen the show.

[falafel]

Just because any chance to share a clip from The Wire is a chance worth taking (NSFW language warning). This is a mash up, but it's a fun watch for fans who've seen the show.

I was watching The Watchmen and there was a very minor character that I couldn't place. The actor, I mean. Then I realized it was Bunny Colvin.