What we did, and where
Since we didnt get to blog every day during the trip, I am going to try to do a more thorough recap/review on the places we went, where we stayed and maybe even the places we ate. That way, if anyone of you ever wants to go to the places we went, you will know what we reccommend and what we don’t.
It would be a massive post to do this all at once, so I am going to start chronologically with where we went first.
Amsterdam
How we got there
We flew Continental out of Nashville, with a short layover in Newark. The airline had messed up our tickets and listed me as “Jessica Thomas” I guess it was some variation of my first name and Chris’ legal name, I dont know. By the time we realized it, it was the night before the trip and we had to call and get new tickets printed. When we checked in, they had us sitting in seats that weren’t side-by-side for the flight to Newark. I don’t like flying and I didnt want to sit with a stranger. Fortunately, we were able to get our tickets switched with no issues.
When we changed planes, we flew 1st Class on the rest of the trip. It was really nice, and neither of us had flown first class before. Chris’ electric seat adjustor didn’t work but he was able to move it manually. That was the only problem. The food and the flight were great overall. We even arrived one hour earlier, although I would not have minded getting spoiled a little longer.
Transportation
We took the tram about everywhere in the city. Amsterdam has a very good tram system. We flew in and out of Schipol Airport, a very nice and clean airport, and there is a train station there that also takes you into the city easily. Amsterdam was a great base for our trip, very convenient as a jumping off point. Its about at $25 cab ride to get to the city from the airport.
Accommodations
We have never stayed in a hotel here, just at Maarten’s and Veronica’s and I don’t think they are going to turn into for-profit B&B very soon. But, if they did, you would get to be spoiled by Maarten’s morning coffee making and maybe even his special ham and cheese (and sweet chili pepper?) eggs. Mmmmm!
They area of town they live in is just a short walk from a train station (15 minute walk) and two tram stops (5 minutes or less). There were stores and restaurants within easy walking distance. The center of the city is about 10 minutes away by tram. Everything was very convenient and its just a lovely little part of town. Its a great, quiet area near Merwede Square, where Anne Frank spent her younger, carefree years before going into hiding with her family.
Entertainment
We went to the Police concert in the Amsterdam Arena, which is one of the first stadiums ever built to have a retractable roof with a grass surface. Its a pretty cool venue but Chris hated it for one reason — you had to pay to use the toilet.
Drinking
There are plenty of good pubs in town, and it would be easy to just walk into any one of them and enjoy yourself immensely. On this most recent trip, we went to a few different pubs, including two Irish pubs. I am going to get the names from Veronica and Maarten, but really, you can’t go wrong with any of the pubs in town.
We did go to a trendy bar called Chocolate Bar. It was packed, that is about all I remember about it.
Eating
In Amsterdam, you can get about any kind of food you want. We even saw a Domino’s advertisement and plenty of McDonald’s, so even if you are home sick for American fare, you are going to find it easily.
Here are a few of the good places we ate:
Castell
We have eaten here twice, on both our trip this year and on last year’s trip. Its referred to as a Bar-b-que restaurant but its really a steak place. Its nothing like a typical American BBQ joint.
It has a nice cavern-like feeling, with dark room and large U-shaped booths that line the walls with a fireplace in the center. You eat your meal on a heavy tray, its different but its quite a good dining experience. The steak and the baked potatos are delicious. Chris really enjoyed the ribs.
http://www.castellamsterdam.nl/english.html
Caffe Oslo
We thought it was quite odd to be dining at a restaurant named for Norwegian city, yet the menu featured Italian. It was actually very good. Veronica and I both enjoyed the pumpkin soup and the men loved their beef carpaccio. The entrees were very good too, I had some sort of fish and Veronica had a very good risotto. Cool interior, too!
http://www.diningcity.com/amsterdam/restaurantcaffeoslo020/ipix_eng.jsp
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