Amsterdam Review Blog

Today marked the beginning of Holland’s introduction of the EU public smoking ban.

Basically, every business can no longer allow smoking on the premises. The law is intended to protect workers from cigarette smoke (or at least that’s what the politicians say).

Unfortunately, no special case has been made for the coffeeshops in Amsterdam where approximately 80% of people have historically mixed tobacco with their cannabis.

The result is that customers now have to smoke pure marijuana or use a tobacco alternative such as catglove.

But it’s not just coffeeshop owners who are complaining. May pub owners are saying that it infringes people’s right to smoke and that they will also suffer a loss of business. This is exactly what has happened in England, which has just had it’s first anniverary of no smoking in public places. Here, many pubs have had to diversify into other activities such as strippers!

Here’s hoping that Amsterdam will survive the smoking ban!

The 20th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam is currently being held between 22nd November until 2nd December, here in Amsterdam.

Over 250 international films are shown at a number of central locations throughout the city, but mainly at the Pathé cinemas near Munt and on Reguliersbreestraat.

Here’s a full listing and more information:

Film Festival: IDFA - I amsterdam

Screening Schedule - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2007

Do you want to learn Dutch? I know that most Dutch people speak English and Dutch sounds difficult to learn, but it is still worth learning a few words of Dutch regardless.

I have tried Pimsleur tapes which was OK but the language was incredibly formal and I somehow doubt used often in everyday language in Amsterdam.

Luckily, there are a number of free resources available on the internet and here they are:

• Laura Speaks Dutch - this is an excellent blog aimed at teaching Dutch to English speakers
• Dutch Word of the Day - learn a new word every day!
• Loquendo - convert Dutch text to speech. Good for getting pronunciation right
• Acapela Group - another good text to speech convertor

I hope you found these links useful.

I’ve also recently updated the site with a new section on finding jobs in Amsterdam. So, you could learn Dutch and move to Amsterdam and become a fully fledged Dutch resident!

This is a very funny video I found of a local Dutch guy who decides to play some pranks on his fellow football crazy Dutchmen during a major game.

Armed with a handful of remotes, he visits several pubs and turns off the TV whilst people are watching. Obviously there is uproar - I’m just amazed that this guy didn’t get killed!

Dutch Soccer Prank

I’ve also updated the main site with a new article on herring stalls which are a delightful Dutch outlet where one can find lots of tasty seafood including the famous raw herring!

Hi again from Amsterdam Review!

The Anne Frank House gets thousands of visitors every year but curiously, many Amsterdam tourists do not even know that Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam!

I highly recommend a visit to the Anne Frank House - I went once many years ago and intend to go again soon.

If you visit the house, you’ll find the secret annex located behind a large bookcase and containing living quarters for several people. The place has been preserved well and still looks like something out of the 1940s.

One tip although not essential - read the book before you go or at least read the Anne Frank House Wikipedia entry - it will put your visit into some context and you will appreciate it more.

Learn more from the article I have just written for the main site:

Anne Frank House

I know that many of you guys are looking for a cheap flight to Amsterdam - it usually is a significant part of your budget gone, just like that.

So any way that you can save money is great - if you do it right you can even pay $500 from the USA or around £50 from the UK.

I wrote a useful guide on the main site and you can check it out here:

Cheap Flight To Amsterdam

If you have any feedback on the article you are most welcome to leave some here.

Here’s a good tip for you for your last day in Amsterdam.

If you are leaving in the afternoon or evening then you will typically be kicked out of the hotel before your departure, sometime in the morning.

For a few years now, I have been leaving my luggage at Central Station.

I used to leave me luggage with the hotel, if I was staying in a hotel upmarket enough that I trusted it with my belongings.

But seeing as I always leave via Central Station (some go via shuttlebus or even taxi) then why not stow your luggage there so that it can be retrieved last minute, just before you board the train for Schipol?

The left luggage lockers are located to the extreme right of the station towards the front of the station and not far from the entrance.

A few years back, you had to have a handful of change, but these days you are obliged to use a credit or debit card.

I’ll have an article soon on the main site detailing the exact process but you can basically leave your luggage here for a very reasonable fee and the entire process is automated, hence there is only one attendant who you need only talk to if there is an unforeseen problem.

Then go out and enjoy your last day in Amsterdam with no need to carry anything heavy. Especially handy if you are, ahem, getting stoned!

Well I’m back from a recent trip to Amsterdam where I stayed for the first time in the Flying Pig Hostel Downtown!

All in all, I give the place a thumbs up. Keep your eyes peeled on the main Amsterdam Review site because a full review is coming up.

However here are the main points which should suffice for now.

The Good:

• secure
• fun and social
• fairly clean
• good service
• free internet

The Bad:

• noisy from others snoring and music played all night long
• some toilets have seen better days and should be cleaned more often
• lockers could be bigger

There’ll be more in the full review so sit tight to find out more!

Amsterdam features many hostels for the tourist to stay at.
Way back in 1998, I stayed at the Budget Kabul Hotel on Warmoestraat. Back in those days, it was right next door to the police station! With prossies around the corner and the smell of weed smoke everywhere it made for quite a sight!

Since then I have stayed at the Stayokay Vondelpark, a somewhat more “upmarket” place, for want of a better word - it was cleaner and better looked after.

Probably the more famous hostels are the Flying Pig chain.

I was thinking about checking them out - they have a few sites, but the best one seems to be near the shopping street of Kalverstraat.

Popular with young people, many hostels including the Flying Pig actually have an upper age limit. I feel that this is quite unfair - sure they may want to attract a certain crowd but this is discrimination in my opinion.

Anyway, this place features a smoking lounge downstairs which is supposed to be a pretty cool place to hang out and meet people - this is my primary reason for wanting to check it out but their online booking system recently showed me that you must book quite far in advance if you intend to visit during the summer.

Alternatively, there is a place called the Flying Pig Beach Hostel. It is actually based a little outside of Amsterdam but the two places are connected via a shuttle bus. It is also cheaper than the other hostels. I’m actually quite interested in this place too as the attraction of hanging out and smoking at the beach is quite a cool one. I’ve done it in my home country several times and indeed, you can do this at Zandvoort, but it looks quite appealing to hang out with others and live by the beach as well!

Anyone here stayed in any hostels? Please share your experiences and leave a comment.

Taking a vacation in Amsterdam in summer is great. There are many people, myself included, who often avoid the summer for various reasons:

• hotel prices go up in summer

• flights booked in advance are more expensive than in winter

• winter is actually not all that bad in Amsterdam - it is rarely bitterly cold

• the fresh cold air and warm hot chocolates are quite nice

• Amsterdam is less crowded in winter

In fact, I have only been to Amsterdam once in the summer and it was not mega hot even then. Yet, the allure of Amsterdam in summer is too much to resist and I intend to make a trip this summer for the following reasons:

• the opportunity to sit outside on the street by coffeeshops and cafes

• the freedom to walk around wearing just a T-shirt and shorts/jeans, unhindered by a heavy coat

• to see all the beautiful people who only come out of the woodwork in the summer

• walking around and enjoying the weather in my favourite place on earth.

Have you been in summer and do you prefer it over winter? Or maybe you think that the milder weather is more “gezellig.” Please leave a comment or two of your thoughts!