Archive for February, 2008
Rijksmuseum won't completely reopen until 2012, or later
Sad news this week for Amsterdam museum-goers as the city announced that the Rijksmuseum, which was most recently scheduled to reopen after a renovation in 2010, now won’t complete the massive overhaul until late 2012 or early 2013. The country’s most impressive “State Museum” has been mostly closed to the public since 2003, so now it appears that the upgrade will be a 10-year project even if things stay on this new schedule.
The reason given by the Dutch culture ministry is that the company that won the deal to do the improvements for €134 million now says it will cost €222 million. So the ministry has responded by putting the contract up for bids again. The Dutch are almost as notorious for their efficiency as the Germans, but it does make the casual observer wonder what has been happening for the last 5 years.
Date: February 28th, 2008 |
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March in Amsterdam
March can be one of the best months of the year to visit Amsterdam. The weather is noticeably warming up, crowds are still quite small, and airfares to the city are still at or near their lowest point of the year. And at least up until Daylight Savings Time starts on the last Sunday of the month, the sun comes up by 7:30 a.m. for the first time since October. There aren’t many events in the city that are of note to visitors, but all the museums and other attractions are open with their normal schedules, so with the small crowds you can see a lot in a short time.
March events in Amsterdam
Stille Omgang (Silent Procession) – Each March the Catholic Church organizes this event commemorating the ‘Miracle of Amsterdam’ that took place in 1345. It has to do with a dying man who lived on after last rites were administered, and it’s one of the biggest Catholic events in the country. The procession starts in the Spui area and heads along Kalverstraat to the Centraal Station area, and then back to Spui on Warmeostraat. The 2008 date is March 8, but it’s usually later when Easter doesn’t fall in the month.
Date: February 25th, 2008 |
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The cheapest Amsterdam hotels can be well located
As a cheapskate who has traveled a lot, I tend to start at the lowest cost hotel and then work my way up the price list until I find one that suits my needs. Usually this means sifting through budget hotels on hotel search engines that are in obscure suburbs or near lonely airports, so when I find a place with an acceptable location right on the top of the list, I take notice.
I haven’t stayed at any of these hotels, and I’d actually not even heard of them until recently, but a small chain called Quentin hotels got my attention. They have 3 locations in Amsterdam as well as two in Berlin. In early 2008 the Amsterdam locations are coming up as the cheapest places I can find in the city, and each of them have a location that is far above average.
Date: February 20th, 2008 |
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Random Amsterdam photo of the moment
This is from our Amsterdam photos section, which will be hugely expanded fairly soon.
They are BIG on chess in Amsterdam (get it?). This shot was taken in the little plaza just off Leidseplein. The Hard Rock Cafe is just to the left and the entrance to the Holland Casino is just to the right.
Date: February 15th, 2008 |
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Amsterdam Botel has moved to what sounds like a cool spot
I’ve not mentioned this thing before, and I’ve not yet been aboard it, but I did think it was worth mentioning that Amsterdam’s famous Botel moved locations at the beginning of 2008. The new location sounds very interesting, although it’s now a bit more of a challenge to get there and back.
In case you’ve not heard of it, this is a 175-room boat that had been permanently docked along the River Ij, just a short walk east of Centraal Station. Every room has en-suite facilities and a TV, so it’s definitely not near the bottom of the Amsterdam luxury scale. The 2008 prices for a single room start at €78, including breakfast buffet, so it’s also not the cheapest hotel in the city, but triple rooms start as low as €108, which is quite a good deal if you are traveling with 2 friends or like to bring stray people back to your room with you.
Date: February 11th, 2008 |
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Iceland Air to Amsterdam with a free stopover
This same deal has been going on for at least 10 years, and I’ve tried to schedule it myself quite a few times, but unfortunately it’s never worked out for me. Put simply, you can fly from a few different US cities to most of the major destinations in Europe on Iceland Air, and you can have a stopover in Iceland for up to 7 days for no additional charge. Better still, Iceland Air is usually one of the cheapest airlines on these routes anyway.
I’ve received Iceland Air’s e-mails for many years since I’ve tried to work this out for myself, and I can tell you from experience that their winter prices in particular are really good. I’ve seen fares starting under $400 RT between New York or Boston and Amsterdam during most winters, and I remember a few times where they were actually below $300. These prices are before the extra taxes and fees, but they are still as good or better than most other airlines to Amsterdam.
Date: February 27th, 2008 |
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Amsterdam escort services will now need to be licensed
As part of its continuing crackdown on underworld elements in its infamous Red Light District, Amsterdam recently gave escort services in the city 6 weeks to become licensed or risk being shut down by the city. This is another part of the campaign to fight money laundering, human trafficking, and abuse of the city’s legal prostitutes.
The city claims there are about 120 escort agencies in Amsterdam, and up until now they haven’t been monitored as businesses at all. In order to be licensed the agencies must have a fixed physical address and phone number, and must also prove that the prostitutes are healthy work in proper conditions. The escort services now have until late March 2008 to obtain a license. The 1,200 or so prostitutes who work on their own in the Red Light District windows are not affected by the new rule.
Date: February 22nd, 2008 |
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ATMs in Amsterdam
This became much more obvious when I was living in Amsterdam, but if you get unlucky you might notice quickly that there are actually very few automatic teller machines in the city. In most American cities, and even in many European cities, there are multiple machines at every bank, and banks seem to be on every other corner as well. But in Amsterdam banks tend to have only one, and there are surprisingly few of them in the main tourist center.
So my best advice is to withdraw larger amounts when you need money, and this will save you on ATM commissions as well. There is a bit of petty crime in Amsterdam, but it tends to take on forms like bike theft much more than muggings or pick-pocketing. And you should always keep your money in a safe place no matter where you are, not just on holiday anyway. The other advice is that when you see an available ATM, get cash then instead of waiting until you are broke.
Date: February 18th, 2008 |
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Spring airfare prices to Amsterdam
I’ve been tracking Amsterdam airfares from various US cities for quite a while now and I wanted to point out that we are just about to go over the annual lip that separates the end of the cheap winter airfares from the pre-summer airfares that can be much higher.
In my case I’m planning my annual Amsterdam research trip from Portland and I’m looking to go for about 4 weeks beginning in mid March. Right now I can find quite a few flights during my possible dates for $550 including all taxes and fees. But when I push my dates back just one week the best fare is $769, and that’s a Wednesday through Wednesday trip, so weekends might even be higher.
Date: February 13th, 2008 |
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A Moleskine for Amsterdam fans
I’ve never owned one myself, but many of my friends are huge fans of those Moleskine journal books. As far as I know they are really high quality blank journals that are beloved by many a traveler. Yesterday a friend told me about a new series of city-specific Moleskines, and of course the reason I’m mentioning it is because there is a Moleskine City Notebook for Amsterdam.
They are pretty compact and they feature good color Amsterdam city maps as well as a Metro map and a few other travel guide features. They …
Date: February 8th, 2008 |
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