Travel Feb 2011 Amsterdam

Must have

• Vodafone BloX Zorgeloos Internet - Get a prepaid sim-card to get Internet access
  • Purchase at a AH supermarket or Vondafone shop, put in SIM, unlock, send the SMS message "zorgeloos internet aan" to number 4000 to activate 30 day unlimited Internet for 9.50 EUR, APN: live.vodafone.nl, username: vodafone, password: vodafone, More details
  • Use a jailbroken iPad with MyWi as an access point to offer access to friends
• BVG.nl 72 hour ticket for 3 days for travel around the centre, NS.nl Weekend ticket from Schipol to Amsterdam Centraal

Places

• Magere Brug - One of the older bridges, 300 years old [1]
• Central Station - Big building from 1889
• Amsterdam Dungeon - Horror tour with live actors
• House of tattoos - Claudia is supposed to be the best artist [2]
• Red Light District - Quick look of course, between Damrak and De Wallen
• De Poezenboot - Boat dedicated as a refuge for cats, city centre
• Main streets
  • Central Station to the Leidseplein: Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat, Heiligeweg, Leidsestraat. Around 2 Km long, thus lots of various types of shops
  • Haarlemmerstraat / Haarlemmerdijk, Utrechtsestraat, Spiegelstraat, and around Nieuwmarkt
  • Interesting little shops located in the side streets of the main canals, Prinsengracht / Keizersgracht / Herengracht, espesially around the Jordaan rectangle
  • Second Jordaan around De Pijp, Ferdinand Bolstraat and Sarphatipark
• Jordaan - Centre for artisans, artists and creatives
• Nieuwmarkt - Marked in the middle of old city centre
• Dam Square - Considered the centre
• The Nine Streets - Narrow streets between the main canals from the Prinsengracht to the Singel, Boutiques, specialist shops, galleries and restaurants
• Albert Cuyp Marked - Supposed the largest in Amsterdam, get some good cheese - Albert Cuypstraat 217, Amsterdam
• China Town - Dubbed so, Zeedijk in Nieuwmarkt
• IMAX Pathé - At the Bijlmer Arena - Program

Stay

• Maes B & B - A home made into a bed & breakfast place, breakfast around the common table in the morning [3]
• Hotel Hestia - Friendly homely hotel [4]
• citizenM Amsterdam City - Awesome shower setup in the bathroom, little outside the centre

Eat

• The Pancake Bakery - Crepes and pancakes, huge menu
• Try: bitterballen, a kind of fried meatball, the kroketten (the same, but shaped like a cylinder), a traditional herring or a broodje haring (herring sandwich) served with onions and pickles, a good place is at Koningsplein near the Flower Market, also oliebollen, round blobs of sweet fried dough embedded with raisins (sultanas) and powdered sugar

Breakfast

• Studio 2 - Middle of the Flower Market