If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
Hello All,
I am planning on taking my first trip to Europe as an adult (and I use the term loosely) over the holidays. I will be going from December 29th to January 7th. I am a 33-year old male, and will be travelling alone. I would like some tips on this time of year and things to do in the city; any advice would be very much appreciated. 1. Is it generally easy to meet young people in Amsterdam during this time of year? I am a bit concerned about loneliness. I would like to go there and be social/party. Do people my age tend speak English? Are the people there generally friendly? Is the city thick with tourists this time of year? 2. What is New Year's Eve like in Amsterdam? 3. What is a good, cheap place to stay? It doesn't need to be fancy, just safe, private, and clean. Being allowed to smoke would also be a plus. Is it possible to stay in Amsterdam for under $50/night? 4. I have looked up average temperatures, but what are the possible extremes I might see? Might it get so cold that navigating the city by foot will be a hassle? 5. How easy is the rail system to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Dutch? Can you generally just walk in and buy a ticket, or do I need to plan that all out before I leave the States? I am planning on visiting family near Bremen (Germany) for 1-2 days. 6. Do U.S. Cellular phones work in Europe? I have Sprint PCS. 7. What are some good day trips that can be taken from Amsterdam via the rail system? 8. What are some "must see" events/locations in the city? Again, thanks in adavance for any tips. I bought a book on Amsterdam, but I wanted to get some personal perspectives as well. I realize the above questions are fairly general, but the trip hasn't completely taken shape yet. If you want to reply via email, send it to . Cheers, Phil |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
"Phil Sandler" wrote ...
1. Is it generally easy to meet young people in Amsterdam during this time of year? I am a bit concerned about loneliness. I would like to go there and be social/party. Do people my age tend speak English? Most people understand and speak English and more the younger generation. It wouldn't be that difficult to meet people in the popular bars, cafes and discos. Most of them are located around Rembrandtplein or Leidseplein. 4. I have looked up average temperatures, but what are the possible extremes I might see? Might it get so cold that navigating the city by foot will be a hassle? The city centre is easily walkable and if it really is too cold, you could always walk into a shop for browsing and warming up. Otherwise take a tram if you have to walk a great deal. 5. How easy is the rail system to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Dutch? Can you generally just walk in and buy a ticket? Yes. All domestic destination on can just walk up to the counter and buy one. For international travel there is a special counter (in Amsterdam Central on platform 2A) where one can also buy tickets. The English site of the Dutch Railway Company: http://www.ns.nl/international/index.cgi doesn't give you the prices. 7. What are some good day trips that can be taken from Amsterdam via the rail system? Check also: http://www.holland.com/us/ http://www.goamsterdam.nl/uk.html http://www.eatdrinketc.com/amsterdam/ Good lukc & have fun. Greetz, *others can give you better info* |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
In article ,
Phil Sandler wrote: 1. Is it generally easy to meet young people in Amsterdam during this time of year? I am a bit concerned about loneliness. I would like to go there and be social/party. Do people my age tend speak English? Are the people there generally friendly? Is the city thick with tourists this time of year? There will be quite a few English tourists. But if you really want to meet people, probably your best bet is staying in one of the hostels with other single travellers. If you go to a normal hotel you're unlikely to be able to hook up with anyone else. Everyone in Holland speaks English. The locals often speak it better than us natives! 2. What is New Year's Eve like in Amsterdam? Good fun! But dangerous :-) People let off fireworks and bangers in the street, so you need to have your wits about you. I think Berlin is the most dangerous place in the world for this, with Amsterdam a close second. At midnight there isn't usually a fireworks show though, so if you're hoping for that, go to Berlin instead. 3. What is a good, cheap place to stay? It doesn't need to be fancy, just safe, private, and clean. Being allowed to smoke would also be a plus. Is it possible to stay in Amsterdam for under $50/night? It is, but you'll need to go for a hostel. If you want to go this year, I fear you are too late! Most places get booked up in the August or September!!! 4. I have looked up average temperatures, but what are the possible extremes I might see? Might it get so cold that navigating the city by foot will be a hassle? If often gets down to -5 C or so. No, navigating by foot will be fine, but you will need to take a warm coat + sweater and gloves. 5. How easy is the rail system to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Dutch? Can you generally just walk in and buy a ticket, or do I need to plan that all out before I leave the States? I am planning on visiting family near Bremen (Germany) for 1-2 days. Very very easy! Everyone speaks English, and the train system is simple to use. Yes, walk in and buy a ticket. For an international night train you should book in advance, but for a day train just turn up before and you should be ok. 6. Do U.S. Cellular phones work in Europe? I have Sprint PCS. If they are tri-band, yes. Otherwise no. Everywhere in the world apart from Japan and the US use 900/1800 phones. The US and Japan chose to go their own way. So you WILL need tri-band. 7. What are some good day trips that can be taken from Amsterdam via the rail system? Delft is nice. 8. What are some "must see" events/locations in the city? It depends on when you go! Do have a look around the red light district as there's nowhere else like it in the world. The art galleries are very good too, although most places are closed from about 4pm on NYE, and all day NY Day. phil |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
Everyone in Holland speaks English. The locals often speak it
better than us natives! That is generally true, but it says a lot about the American education system. To the OP: buy a day-pass for the tram/bus/metro. It is cheap and so convenient to never have to worry about a ticket. Day passes are sold in 1, 2, & 3 day increments, I believe. They are sold in the building just outside the Central Station. Casey |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
"Casey" wrote in message
ink.net... Everyone in Holland speaks English. The locals often speak it better than us natives! That is generally true, but it says a lot about the American education system. To the OP: buy a day-pass for the tram/bus/metro. It is cheap and so convenient to never have to worry about a ticket. Day passes are sold in 1, 2, & 3 day increments, I believe. They are sold in the building just outside the Central Station. Can this also be bought at Schiphol? dennis |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
Phil Sandler wrote:
1. Is it generally easy to meet young people in Amsterdam during this time of year? I am a bit concerned about loneliness. I would like to go there and be social/party. Do people my age tend speak English? Yes, people your are all fluent (unless they're Spanish tourists, in which case they just wish they were). Are the people there generally friendly? Yes, very. Is the city thick with tourists this time of year? There is no shortage of tourists around New Year's. Also lots of people come from smaller towns in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the region to whoop it up in the big city. 2. What is New Year's Eve like in Amsterdam? Under a light drizzle, with the temperature a few degrees above freezing, crowds begin to throng into the streets around 8pm. In the background you hear the pops of amateur fireworks around every corner. People are wandering from bar to bar, while final sound checks are going on at large outdoor stages in Dam square and Rembrandtplein. The first musical acts come on the stage, and some people come out of the bars and into the squares, while others hunker down in the warm indoors for the night. The fireworks are more and more frequent. By midnight everywhere is packed solid with people, and at the stroke of twelve, there's a flurry of do-it-yourself fireworks in the big squares that rivals the blitzkrieg in the 1940s. However the survival rate will be slightly higher. 3. What is a good, cheap place to stay? It doesn't need to be fancy, just safe, private, and clean. Being allowed to smoke would also be a plus. Is it possible to stay in Amsterdam for under $50/night? That's one night when you really need reservations. Since the train doesn't run after 6pm on December 31, and it's freezing cold outside, everyone visiting the city needs a place to stay. Bob's Youth Hostel (no private rooms that I know of) distinguishes itself by not accepting reservations, so it's first-come, first-served every morning. Anyway, while it's possible to get a private room for $50 most of the time, that's a tricky time. Unless you manage to find a reservation ASAP, you'll probably have to fork out closer to $100 or share a dorm room with other drunken tourists for the couple nights right around New Year's. Before and after that it'll be easy. 4. I have looked up average temperatures, but what are the possible extremes I might see? Might it get so cold that navigating the city by foot will be a hassle? No. I hate cold weather and I'm out there every year. Make sure you have a hat and gloves, and that your coat and shoes are relatively waterproof. There won't be a downpour but drizzle is always likely. 5. How easy is the rail system to navigate for someone who doesn't speak Dutch? Can you generally just walk in and buy a ticket, or do I need to plan that all out before I leave the States? I am planning on visiting family near Bremen (Germany) for 1-2 days. Super-easy. Everyone who works in the train station speaks perfect English. Many signs are in both Dutch and English. 6. Do U.S. Cellular phones work in Europe? I have Sprint PCS. I'm quite sure that phone won't work. 7. What are some good day trips that can be taken from Amsterdam via the rail system? Depends on what you're after. Countryside, history, other big cities...? miguel -- See the world from your web browser: http://travel.u.nu/ |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
Philip George wrote:
In article , Phil Sandler wrote: 6. Do U.S. Cellular phones work in Europe? I have Sprint PCS. If they are tri-band, yes. That's rather sloppy, actually. You mean _GSM_ tri-band (900/1800/1900). There _are_ CDMA/TDMA tri-band phones in the US, and they will _not_ work in Europe, obviously. Otherwise no. Everywhere in the world apart from Japan and the US use 900/1800 phones. Again, no. Plenty of countries don't use GSM 900/1800. I think you need to read up on this. Hint: will your GSM 900/1800 phone work in Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and so on.... A lot of countries in the Americas have GSM networks on 1900. 900/1800 bands were already taken up. Don't lump Japan and the US together though- Japan has no GSM network whatsoever. They do, however, have 3g networks, which technically could get roaming agreements with other 3g networks. How many discrete 3g networks are live in the world just now? Not many. There are now quad band GSM phones (NEC has one) because to increase capacity, some US networks now operate on 850 GSM, so a traditional GSM tri-band phone won't work there. David -- David Horne- www.davidhorne.co.uk davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
To the OP: buy a day-pass for the tram/bus/metro. It is cheap and
so convenient to never have to worry about a ticket. Day passes are sold in 1, 2, & 3 day increments, I believe. They are sold in the building just outside the Central Station. Can this also be bought at Schiphol? Maybe, I don't know. But I'd probably still wait to buy it just outside Central Station. Schiphol is the airport that most reminds me of a mall during Christmas. I've never seen such a menagerie of signs, shops, escalators down to trains, phones, ticket purchasing machines, etc. It is the first airport where I had to look very intently to find the proper location to check-in for my flight (the airport seems to be broken down into two sections and I had to walk to one of the sections to find out which one was for me). Oh yeah, don't be stupid like me and try to buy your train ticket at the first machine you see, which will be just before customs. Wait until you pass customs and then you will see many ticket machines. Someone at Schiphol must have a warped sense of humor, watching the long line of people trying to buy a ticket at that first machine. Casey |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
"Casey" schreef in bericht ink.net... Oh yeah, don't be stupid like me and try to buy your train ticket at the first machine you see, which will be just before customs. Wait until you pass customs and then you will see many ticket machines. Someone at Schiphol must have a warped sense of humor, watching the long line of people trying to buy a ticket at that first machine. Actually, that first machine in the luggage claim area is a *very* good idea. While waiting for your bags, you can use your time usefully and buy your train ticket. I always buy my train ticket there. I have never encountered queues of more than 2 or 3 people, but I guess longer queues are possible. And I always volunteer to help the poor souls who have no idea about the buttons they need to push! Sjoerd |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Advice Wanted: Amsterdam Over New Year's
"Sjoerd" wrote in message ... "Casey" schreef in bericht ink.net... Oh yeah, don't be stupid like me and try to buy your train ticket at the first machine you see, which will be just before customs. Wait until you pass customs and then you will see many ticket machines. Someone at Schiphol must have a warped sense of humor, watching the long line of people trying to buy a ticket at that first machine. Actually, that first machine in the luggage claim area is a *very* good idea. While waiting for your bags, you can use your time usefully and buy your train ticket. I always buy my train ticket there. I have never encountered queues of more than 2 or 3 people, but I guess longer queues are possible. And I always volunteer to help the poor souls who have no idea about the buttons they need to push! It would be nice if they: a) had instructions in English b) took notes not just change. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
UK's GCHQ Whistle-blower case also impacts Greenpeace protesters (Katherine Gun) | Oelewapper | Air travel | 11 | March 9th, 2004 06:53 PM |
SHOCKING (BBC Radio): UK Minister admits spying on Annan - Katherine Gun released | Oelewapper | Air travel | 28 | March 2nd, 2004 03:02 AM |
Cape Town Advice Wanted | NH2003 | Africa | 2 | December 1st, 2003 09:13 PM |
Wanted: New Year's Week Rental | Pixsnap | Caribbean | 0 | November 20th, 2003 03:53 PM |