[OFF TOPIC] Headed to Amsterdam

i would check www.hotels.com as they get special rates on some nice places

as for AJAX, they run a stadium tour (http://english.ajax.nl/show/id=119044) and i believe a tour of de tomkoest academy

btw, they host the classic with feyenoord on november 30th if you can arrive a couple days early

 

Ive been to Amsterdam twice and had some *#*#*#*#ing good laughs there. Advice? Check out the Red Light district, see a couple of shows, and sit back and have a smoke. I wouldnt bother with that Anne Frank house stuff, a long line but nothing to see. Maybe im just not cultured, but it seemed to me as if they had done the whole place up, added new floor boards and fixed it up so it looks modern. And when I went, at the end of the little tour there was a big screen playing eminem of all things, in the Anne Frank House! They have shroom cafe's as well!! A good laugh. We got an apartment for a couple of days for 180 euro's and it was really nice, on a street called wachtanbachstraat, dont know if thisinfo is any use, but it was only a 30 min walk from the city centre and a really nice place to stay!!

 

Sach,

I think you need to see the Anne Frank house, I found it quite moving and something I'm glad I saw (2000)

Heineken museum: I missed this, but wish I had seen it.

Cafe Victoria in Woerden (40 minutes away) - my buddy Erik runs the place. Bring your Panic scarf and get a free beer. Its a chick haven, loads of babes for you.

Check out the rest of the places, I'll ask my buddies for more info for you if you like. I've got quite a few friends over there, but mostly in Utrecht or Rotterdam areas.

 

i am pretty sure ajax have a team store in the ArenA.

 

Weitenbach straat. Near Oosterpark. Oosterpark hotel?

Anyway... the best scarves unfortunately would be in italy But you can always try the shop at arena.

And to do... well there's plenty to do. When exactly are you in town?

 

Thats the one, I could only remember the way it was pronounced, the Dutch language is so strange. When I was there I was trying to ask people directions back to Wietenbach straat but no one knew where it was because I was pronouncing it completely wrong. Yeah, it was near the Oosterpark and was a really nice are of town!!

 

they do and the light blue away shirts from last season are on special for 44 euro IIRC (+ a few for the name)

btw on the 3rd, nearby volendam host FC twente

 

1-bus 110 from amsterdam central station

http://www.fcvolendam.nl/index.htm

click info, then click route for map and such

2-not sure they'd know who united was, but i wouldn't suggest an AJAX shirt

 

To tell the truth, I wouldnt even wanted to go to that match if I was being payed for it... and you wont get your ass kicked for showing up in a DC united jersey, in a feyenoord shirt it could be a bit different but anyhow no one would know what DC United is.

 

Sach,

For a solid Internet overview, check out roughguides.com, which has full-text versions of their guides online (including restaurant recommendations etc.). For a rockin hard-copy travel guide, try Let's Go: Amsterdam. I'm biased b/c I was one of the authors of the first edition (2001).

I'd recommend the Ajax museum (adjacent to the ArenA) even to a non-fan. The Heineken Brouwerij is cheezy (but good if you're high). Warning: they no longer give free drinks to all visitors (many people remain under this impression, though the policy changed years ago--now you only get three smallish beers and a souvenir vaasje).

For food, try Indonesian (Bojo in Leidseplein is my favorite). The falafel rocks too--there is a great place right across from the Royal Palais off Niewezijds Voorburgwal. The only native cuisine worth trying during a brief visit is pannekoeken--Pannekoekhuis Upstairs, off Rokin, is my fave in the city.

As for nightlife, it changes constantly. This site has the latest:

http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/agenda.html

Where you stay depends on what you're looking for. Hostels, such as the Flying Pig, are a good option if you're not too particular about privacy or cleanliness. If you want something more upscale, there are a few good midlevel hotels in the Centrum--Hotel Kap (kaphotel.nl) and HOtel Asterisk (hotelasterisk.nl) are both both near enough to the action but relatively inexpensive. Fries is right--definitely make a reservation.

Finally, if you like good weed, I recommend Dampkring, near Kalverstraat. Their signature brand, "Dutch Moonshine", is excellent though if it's been a while since you've toked I'd start at a lower level or else you could end up too baked to function.

PM me if you want more detail. I am heading to A-dam for a few days next weekend (including to see the Ajax/AZ game). If I run across anything new and cool, I'll post again.

 

Dampkring: Excellent place to chill and have a beer even if you don't partake in the product:
http://www.channels.nl/amsterdam/dampkrin.html

Heineken Brewery is not a brewery anymore. Just a museum, and rather lame at that. I suggest you skip it and instead take the tour of the 't IJ Brewery, which operates under the only functioning windmill within Amsterdam (I think):
http://www.brouwerijhetij.nl/

My favorite restaurant is Wagamama simply because it's one of the few that doesn't permit smoking, and I'm somewhat smoke intolerant:
http://www.wagamama.com/wayto/index.php?map=amst

Here are a couple of links on my site that might be useful to you:

Rendezvous in Amsterdam (there are a couple good hotel recommendations at the bottom of the page):
http://www.ajax-usa.com/travel/2004.html

Getting to the Arena (with fanshop, Ajax museum, arena tours and soccerworld cafe, still a great visit w/o seeing a game):
http://www.ajax-usa.com/travel/getting_to_arena.html

You might check to see if there's a Young Ajax game at De Toekomst during your visit.

And I would definitely make the effort to see Volendam host FC Twente. These smaller games are really great, especially if you don't get to see Dutch league games too often.

 

Ajax gear

If you are looking for Ajax gear I think the best place is the Ajax Official Fan store on Kalverstraat. Pretty easy to find, just go to Dam Square and take Kalverstraat south about 2? blocks. It is on the right across from the megasports store PERRY. Good stuff in there, boxers to Official kits. Some of the Ajax kits even have the Champions League logo on the arm.

 

Amsterdam is very cool yet very expensive city. Things I will recomend.
Go to:
Anne Frank and some of the other musems but get tickets in advance.
Go to the Henikken Brewery, I think it cost around 5 euro and you get three free drinks and coll suvenoir. Try to take a cruise. Take the Circles tram aorund the city.
In the night time check out RLD and Joordan.
and most importanlty just have fun.

 

In comparison to most European capitals we're quite cheap actually.

 

hotels--the owl hotel and the quentin england hotels are right next to vondel park--very close the riksmusem, the stenjak and van gogh musems as well. about a 5 minute or less walk to the ledisplan. you can book online for both.

i have stayed at both and they are cheap, clean and comfortable (btw--if you have never traveled in holland expect a small room by US standards). i can give you the name of a few others as well.

coffeeshops--
you can find reviews of most of these on the web. a few that i like:

dutch flowers on the singel, very nice location, nice shop

easy times--just off the ledisplan--reggae bar and coffeehouse, full bar, good music

internet coffeeshop--next door to easy times and a good full bar. quieter atmosphere.

grey area--just off the singel--probably the most "americanized" coffeeshop

picasso--one of my favorite coffeeshops, i forget the street, it is right at the end of the singel.

strongly recommend the trip to volendamn

as AFCA says, amsterdam is pretty cheap by big city standards. there are tons of great places to eat--try a rice-table at an indonesian spot, it is great.

you absolutely must hang out in a "brown cafe", it is great.

 

hotels

I reserved a room when I visited on a weekend in April because I afraid of not finding a room when I arrived, it turned out to be a shite hotel(Ibis), cramped and expensive.By N american standards a 1 star at 5 star prices.

I returned to Amsterdam the next weekend and just had the tourist info people at the airport phone around the mayor hotels at Schipol and got a great 5 Star hotel(I belive it was a Ramada) at the same price as the Ibis. Every day there are cancellations at all the hotels and they book cheap just to stay full, you just have to have the balls to do it(phone early in the morning). Schipol is only a short train ride from the city center and is a breeze to do.

Tickets for a match don't leave to the last moment if you can book from where you are do it. It can be difficult or impossible to buy tickets there as there is carding system in place in which preference is given to fans for ticket purchase. The bigger the match or club the more difficult to find tickets. I went to a FC Utrecht match and it wasn't easy to secure tickets.

 

Not looking to be contrarian, but I have to take issue with a couple of points here:

Which Ibis? There are 3 that I know of, and the Ibis Stopera (near Waterlooplein) is one of the nicer hotels I've used in Amsterdam. Reasonably priced, small but nice rooms, excellent service. 3.5 star (upper tourist class).

For me, there's no substitute for being able to walk from your hotel into the sights of the city. I prefer to pay more, and accept a bit less modern comfort, to be able to stay in the city center.

I don't know about FC Utrecht, but what you say is no longer true for Ajax home games. The simple fact is, anyone can get tickets, legally, to almost any Ajax game in the ArenA.

As of the 2000-2001 season, most Ajax home games are now in the 'low risk' C category, and you do not need a Club Card to buy a ticket for those games. They're available to anyone with cash at presale locations and on match day at the stadium box office.

Full explanation of the current ticketing situation is available here: http://www.ajax-usa.com/tickets/

 

I am headed to Amsterdam the 25th of Nov to 1 Dec. I want to go to the Game with Feyenoord. Not to put too fine a point on it, but is it safe to take a woman to the game woth you at the ArenA? I have followed Ajax since they had a guy named Cruyff and I am dieing to go, but I need to know if I can take her safely too. Thanks. Please understand that all she has heard of European soccer is the bad things they show on US TV. Thanks in advance.

 

You are fine, so long as you don't wear a Feyenoord scarf or do any other similarly silly thing. I've been to The Classic at the Arena; it's excellent and completely safe.

However, this game sold out 30 minutes into the presale, so tickets might be tough to come by. Not impossible, but tough. I suggest you read this page carefully:

http://www.ajax-usa.com/tickets/impossible.html

 

Thanks for your reply. I have looked at your website and I used the link to the Ajax travel folks. They are listing a package on the web site, so I have booked for 2 and I'm hoping they are still available. Your site looks great, BTW. Thanks again.