Date: 30 NOV - 03 DEC 2013
Destination: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Airline: KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - Direct 6-hour flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canada straight to Schiphol International Airport, Netherlands. Round-trip Economy class ticket: $900.00-$1,200.00 CAD. Round-trip Business class ticket: $5,500.00-6,200.00 CAD. ** Prices are subject to change depending on the season.
When we arrived, it was fairly straightforward where Customs and Immigration was and finding the transportation to go to our hotel (follow the signs!). If you ever have any questions, the workers at the Help Centre are quite helpful. They are really nice and answered all the questions that we had.
The first thing that we bought:
Tour Passes: Holland Pass
Usually, many countries offer tour passes. It gives you discounts - in the form of tickets - on transportation and popular attractions. This particular pass gives you 3 options on how many tickets you can purchase: 2, 5, and 7. It will be best to check your options thoroughly before purchasing anything; these passes can get quite expensive. Depending on when you decide to visit, the passes are discounted during certain times of the year.
Hotel: Budget Hotel Titus City Centre
At first I was a little skeptical about staying in a budget hotel; usually I booked rooms in more well-known hotels like Hilton, Sheraton or the Marriott. But after getting there, it was actually pretty great. I’ll admit that the entrance and outward appearance of the hotel didn't compare to the more grand hotels and the hotel altogether was quite small, but if you plan on going out and spending the night out into the city more than staying in your hotel, its a great place to stay.
They offer free, unlimited wifi (whenever we got back from wandering about, I spent time downloading tons of movies ) and free breakfast in their kitchen/cafe. If you're coming from America where you get eggs, sausages, fruits and the whole works, you won't get it here. They offer cereal, bread and a variety of drinks and granola bars (not to worry however, they have a McDonald's nearby.)
The beds are small, but that’s the regular size of the hotel beds in Europe.
The second best feature (the first is the wifi, of course) was the location. The hotel was a 2 minute walk to numerous transportation options and 5 minutes walk away from the Rijksmuseum. The only thing I can really complain about, which is more on Amsterdam than the hotel, is that everything closes at 1a.m. Since my friends and I were used to American hours, we were wide awake and starving. Not even a convenience store was open. So a little tip if you plan on going anywhere in Europe: bring food with you, especially if you know that their stores close early in the night. If you don’t believe me, look below:
My friend, sister and I decided to wander about at 4a.m. in search of food. Did. Not. Get. Anything.
Like I mentioned earlier, Amsterdam offers many types of transportation; the most common are the trains and streetcars leading to the Grand Central Station, buses that go to and from Schiphol Airport and the main city, and taxis. If you want the cheapest way to travel, the buses are the best way to go. The city passes offer free transportation for 24 or 48 hours if you buy their package which is quite helpful, but at the same time, a waste of money. We ended up walking most of the time because all the attractions are within walking distance from one another. If you do decide to take buses and streetcars, make sure that you swipe your pass before YOU GET ON and before YOU GET OFF for your stop. If you forget, you may end up using the rest of the money stored in your pass or pay a higher fee when getting on the bus next time. Another common way of transportation is bicycles. Many citizens of the Netherlands use bikes as a means of travel to go to work, go home, go to the mall, etc. While in other countries you worry about getting hit by cars and trucks; in Amsterdam, you worry about getting hit by bicycles. Beware about crossing roads and paths because bicycles hardly stop for pedestrians. They may slow down but hardly stop unless its for a red light. They expect you to cross the street fast.
Yes, I googled how to get there.
My friends and I used our free tickets to get into the Rijksmuseum so we didn’t have to pay for anything other than souvenirs. If you choose not to get a pass and pay at the entrance of the museum, it usually costs around €15.00 per adult; children under 18 years old are free. Tourists are allowed to take pictures in the museum; however, be careful not to use your camera flash as it will ruin certain pieces of artwork (I made that mistake when I kept fiddling with the XLR settings and forgot to change it back; the guards weren’t very happy).
The Anne Frank House is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. Being a fan of history, I loved every minute of looking at this historical place. The entrance fee is €9.50 for adults, €5.00 for ages 10-17 years old, and €0.50 for children below 10 years old. The lines to see the house usually runs through the lobby, outside the entrance, around the building, and along the sidewalk/road. If you don’t want to wait in a long line, I suggest going early, but the lines moves pretty fast. My friends and I only had to wait around 15 minutes, starting from along the side of the road. Now keep in mind that there are NO PICTURES ALLOWED out of respect for the family and all that the house stands for. There are many security guards that keep an eye on tourists. Also, wear comfortable shoes as the place has many very steep stairs because of how the house was configured and built. At the end of the tour, they have a fairly large souvenir store where they sell many replicas of Anne Frank’s numerous diaries, posters, postcards, books, etc. Its definitely a must-see in Amsterdam.
If you want to do something super tourist-y, visit the iAMSTERDAM letters located right behind the Rijksmuseum. Like the people above in the picture, you can climb it and do whatever you want and take as many pictures as you can. A warning, however, is that many people do come see this area so you may not get a clear shot of the words… unless you go there around 7 or 8 in the morning.
One of the best places to see in Amsterdam (and I’m probably saying this because you also get 2 glasses of free beer during the tour) is the Heineken Brewery. Again my friends and I used our free tickets from the Holland Pass to get a free tour. If you choose to pay at the Brewery, it costs €18.00 adults, €12.50 for ages 12-17, and free for children 0-11 years (though I don’t know why you’d bring your child to a beer factory). At the entrance, they also offer a free coat-check service (the place is kind of big). However, using their coat-check service is use-at-your-own-risk; they are not responsible for lost items. At the end of the tour, they have a small souvenir store that sells clothing and accessories, keychains, posters, etc. They also have another store that sells more Heineken souvenirs, though the store is quite a ways from the Brewery itself and quite confusing if you don’t know your way around Amsterdam. One of the best things to get at the Heineken Brewery is their customized Heineken bottles (also filled with freshly brewed beer!). They give you the option on what to write on the bottle (for example, your name) for a fee and they give you a case for it as well. This is what I got my dad as a souvenir and he absolutely loves it.
If you feel up for a walk, I found that the city is more beautiful during the night rather than the day. Everyone is out and about and many stores, pubs, and restaurants are open. Like I mentioned earlier, they stay open until around 1a.m. There are also markets along the street, usually right in front of the Grand Central Station, where you can buy more cheap food, chocolates and souvenirs.
A word of caution if you wander about anywhere in Europe: beware of pick-pocketers!
Now, you may or may not have heard about the Red Light District in Amsterdam but it is actually quite famous. Not exactly the best place to be walking around in with children though. Usually in dark alleyways, many shops have prostitutes posing in front of large windows dressed in… well, in prostitute-y clothing. Don’t judge though, this is a norm in Amsterdam. A word of advice: DO NOT TAKE PICTURES. Prostitutes do not like having their pictures taken (its just rude and its also for personal reasons). My friends and I didn’t plan on visiting the place, but we got lost looking for the market and happened upon it. We did, however, took a lot of pictures of beautiful swans (look below).
(Credit: http://www.travel-images.com/pht/nether65.jpg) I couldn’t find the clogs that I bought. Its somewhere in my house… These clogs comes in numerous sizes: from ones that you can wear on your feet to small keychains (I bought the keychains) and they also come in many beautiful patterns and designs! Every souvenir shop sells these.
» Small Multi-Purpose Bags «
» Keychains, Wristbands, Flags, Porcelain Figurines, Mugs «
These postcards I purchased at the Anne Frank House. They also sell posters and diaries, as well as a build-your-own 3D paper Anne Frank House that is an exact replica of the museum itself. If you want to buy regular Amsterdam postcards, any street vendor and souvenir shop sells them.
» The Customized Heineken Bottle & Beer Glasses «
These bottles you can only purchase at the Heineken Brewery so make sure you get one before leaving the tour!
You can also purchase your own Heineken baby beer glass from their gift shop! I got myself one of my own.
» Tulip and Flower Bulbs «
Amsterdam is also popular for are their tulips and flowers. They sell it in many markets in various types and colors so take your pick! Before purchasing, make sure that you are allowed to bring them into your country through customs.
And our trip came to an end . All-in-all, we had an amazing time and to top off a great weekend vacation, we flew back in Business Class with KLM on the Boeing 747 Upper Deck!
You could say that we enjoyed our drinks during our flight back home and ate amazing food as well.
I hope this has helped you in any way possible! For further information regarding Amsterdam, visit Amsterdam.info.
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