Travel to Amsterdam

[JR8]

Heh? I can't see the pic in PNG's post, just the text 'Image'.

Meanwhile the Dutch are noted for their epic pancakes. Some of them are so loaded you might struggle to finish one for dinner. So I was wondering if they do any form of 'curry pancake' Some hits came back, one suggesting a kebab and garlic sauce pancake, and another a red Thai curry one. Dig around and I'm sure you'll find something that does it for you. My search also yielded a highly rated Sub-Con restaurant... don't know, maybe they do a 'curry pancake' too? Anyway, for your interest/entertainment here are the various links that came up...
'Amsterdam’s best pancakes for lunch and dinner' [incl one with JPnese ingredients]
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/amsterdam ... -amsterdam
'The Five Best Pancake Places of Amsterdam'
http://www.amsterdaily.nl/amsterdam/fiv ... amsterdam/
'Ganesha' [Indian restaurant with Tripadvisor Cert of Excellence]
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_R ... ml#REVIEWS
'Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis'
http://www.upstairspannenkoeken.nl/the-menu/

[Wd40]

How much was that, e25-30 cents a bottle/can [ex any depo]?

When I'd have mates over for a beer-session we'd start at the higher-end, say e.85-1.00/500ml, a variety of Bavarian or Czech beers. Couple of those. Then rapidly descend for the rest of the night towards the Lidl/Aldi/Netto own-label. By then - barring the first horror-jolt of the cheap stuff, your palate has had it and it barely matters what you're on.

I wonder if you can find this Munich beer? Probably in that specialist beer shop mentioned:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profil ... t=&start=0
'Augustiner Bräu Lagerbier Hell[es style]'

Look at the ratings, and the reviews Absolute world-class beer and IIRC it's under a euro per 500ml bottle. More to the point the flavour is lighter/subtle/intricate, shouldn't offend anyone who doesn't welcome a stronger/hop-attack... deffo give it a try if you find it, serve coooold. Despite it's delicacy, it might be one of my top-3 beers in the world. And it's not hard to find, at least in Bavaria. Might be one of the top-5 beers available everywhere in Munich. So I wouldn't be surprised to see it exported to adjacent euro-capitals, esp specialist beer-shops.

If that's one of my top-3. Czech Budwar is up there too. Would have to give thought to my 3/3, maybe a British ale...

It's 50 cents. But yeah it was the cheapest at Lidl. Enough of Lidl for me. There is also an Aldi and an Albert Heijn nearby. I will explore there. Thanks a lot for those suggestions will definitely look em up.

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[Wd40]

Today had dinner with an old colleague who coincidentally happened to be in Amsterdam as well for a week. We went the Indian restaurant Ganesha. Food was nice. Beer choices were sadly only Amstel, Kingfisher and Heineken. I chose Amstel.

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[JR8]

>> 'Amstel, Kingfisher and Heineken.'

Eesh... that's like Tiger, Anchor, or Budweiser - whattodo ah?

p.s. we might be heading up that way later this year. I'd be interested if you track down an SEA/Javanese/Indon restaurant.

[bgd]

I chose Amstel.

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Not Kingfisher? You are really turning into a traveler.

[Wd40]

There is no real winter in the Netherlands just some powdering and slush on the ground so your new experience will be very limited. What to do? I have no better idea than go and drink some local beers. For the weekends, visit around Amsterdam one day, Utrecht is also nice. Den Haag, Scheveningen beach to see what is the North See alike, then also in Den Haag, Madurodam (google it out). During spring time a good place to go is Keukenhof (tulip garden) but I understand you are going now so it would be closed.

Hi x9200, just curious why you haven't suggested Zaanse Schans in your list?

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[x9200]

There is no real winter in the Netherlands just some powdering and slush on the ground so your new experience will be very limited. What to do? I have no better idea than go and drink some local beers. For the weekends, visit around Amsterdam one day, Utrecht is also nice. Den Haag, Scheveningen beach to see what is the North See alike, then also in Den Haag, Madurodam (google it out). During spring time a good place to go is Keukenhof (tulip garden) but I understand you are going now so it would be closed.

Hi x9200, just curious why you haven't suggested Zaanse Schans in your list?

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I didn't remember about it. I was there once but living in NL for a couple of years makes one kind of oblivious to some common touristic signs/symbols like the windmills or clogs. Sort of overtouristic. If you jump a car and just travel through the Netherlands you will see many similar images, just not concentrated in one place. It's like I would probably forget to recommend to see Merilion as a separate tourist attraction.
But yes, Zaanse Schans is worth visiting if you are a tourist and never been to NL before.

[x9200]

It's sort of complicated because of this biased perspective. You know, what I remember with sentiment is like travelling though Friesland, the Northern part of NL, seeing all the windmills, the modern ones and the dykes separating land from the sea, and some small cities in Zeeland and other places. They have a lot of charm but it's impractical to recommend to anyone on a short visit. Amsterdam has its soul, so it is with Utrech (IMHO). I like Rotterdam, to seat on a high bank of the river overlooking the Erasmus bridge and observe harbour traffic. It may be worth visiting...



...but it's like this and the Cube houses and that's about it for Rotterdam.

[Wd40]

Thanks x9200. So tomorrow I will visit Zaanse Schans, need to figure out what else to visit on Sunday. I am done with the city centraal area, as I go there during weekdays. So may be Delft, Haarlem etc on Sunday. Let's see.

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[JR8]

You could consider a w/e trip to Latvia, nearby but really quite different. Out of interest I looked on Expedia, fly Saturday, night in a city-centre hotel, return Sunday =>US$300. That said the compact capital Riga is worthy of at least 3 full days IMO, so that cost/day should come down on a longer trip.

[It's a fuss-free trip on an EU passport - not sure about about nationalities].

[x9200]

Maybe not a bad idea to travel to outside the NL?
Holland is a small country, ~2h away from A-dam you have for example Antwerp. Old, historical city famous for diamonds trading.
The architecture is pretty different comparing to Dutch cities. Look it up with Googles.


By train: https://www.nsinternational.nl/en/belgi ... p-by-train

And ~3h away is Cologne for roughly the same price.

[JR8]

Wow - beautiful buildings. You find that style on a few streets in London too, where it is considered Dutch influence. This street especially, Harrington Gardens, SW7. If we were to play 'guess the price' [no. 39] I'd have to open at £20 million

[Wd40]

Having Westmalle Dubbel Trappist beer right now. 7%. Alcohol. Tastes nice! There was a 9.5% also. Thanks Nak for suggesting. Got 2 330ml bottles from Aldi for 1.1 Euro each. There is also 10 C deposit for each bottle, lol.

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[Wd40]

What the hell has that clown been up to?

Okay. I promise, I won't do window shoppin'. I will do some real shoppin'

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[JR8]

Having Westmalle Dubbel Trappist beer right now. 7%. Alcohol. Tastes nice! There was a 9.5% also. Thanks Nak for suggesting. Got 2 330ml bottles from Aldi for 1.1 Euro each. There is also 10 C deposit for each bottle, lol.

Haven't heard of that one. It's rating is nothing short of awesome -> http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/208/674/ . Lucky you! euro1.1 - you bast***

Good luck figuring out the bottle-return machines. Easier after 4-5 beers though... heheh...