To my knowledge the other thread(s) are expired on this...

I know I should have planned ahead but didn't

I'm leaving this Tuesday (June 1) for Amsterdam (getting there on the 2nd) and I was going to stay a few nights there and possibly a few in Berlin (by way of train) on my way down to my program in Prague, where I have to be by Sunday June 6th.

Any advice on what to do/where to stay in Amsterdam? Hostels, cafes, bars, museums, anything?

Should I even bother with Berlin or just stay max nights in Amsterdam and take a night train straight to Prague (cheaper)?

Is Berlin worth it, and if so, what is there to do and how far is the train station from good stuff?

Any advice is greatly appreciated

5/28/2010 5:26:01 PM

the rijksmuseum in amsterdam's pretty cool. there are also a few worthwhile museums in berlin: the pergamon and altes museums...the view from the top of the reichstag is also pretty cool. it's worth stopping by, in my opinion.

prague was interesting...but one of the creepier cities i've been to (at night), and outside of the downtown touristy area, it's kind of depressing.

5/28/2010 5:53:26 PM

you should watch Hostel 1 and 2 tonight

5/28/2010 5:55:10 PM

Munich is a little bit out of the way, but if you have time, I would consider stopping there instead of Berlin. Dresden is another option, and it's right on the way.

5/28/2010 5:55:50 PM

I really want to go to Munich but it's much more expensive. Dresden is on thr way by train from Berlin to Prague and I'd love to see it for the historic significance but is it worth staying the night? Any good bars or clubs at night there?

5/28/2010 6:21:50 PM

The only thing you need to be prepared for is spending a lot more money than you could have ever planned to spend. Like, really, you're going to Prague right now? There's a reason NCSU stopped doing study abroad trips there for a while. But still, I assume if you're going to all these (likely will be for you) wonderful places you have the means to do so, so whatever.



Depending on if you're alone or with company, you need to gauge the hostels you stay at. If I did it again, I'd want to stay at some of the nicer ones--and there will be a lot of ones that are basically just hotels--because I stayed at some pretty shady ones when I was there. If you want to party, though, the nicer hostels aren't really the place to go... but me and my friends weren't there for any of that.

And yes, Berlin is worth it. It's not my favorite place in Germany, but I love German lifestyle and culture, so maybe it was more worthwhile for me. Prague is going to be really cool, but it will be extremely expensive. As far as places to go, I don't remember specific names of pretty much anything. Be prepared to drink a lot though, it's good for the soul.

I will agree with hydro290 that Munich is better than Berlin. Any mid-large size city outside of Berlin is pretty much preferred in my opinion, but for a vacation. If you're just stopping through and want a good cross-section of the country, Berlin will do.

5/28/2010 6:23:53 PM

Quote :

"you should watch Hostel 1 and 2 tonight"

5/28/2010 6:32:50 PM

Prague is expensive now? I did 4 weeks there and eastern europe for under $1,000 in 2000.
Wearing my munchen oktoberfest shirt today in fact.

but I did have free place to stay the family hook-up, so nvm.

5/28/2010 6:44:23 PM

You need to take an overnight train from Prague to Budapest (on your weekends for travel) also, try and get to Istanbul. It is pretty amazing. Prague is fun, the main square turns into a red light district at night. Can get 2 free drinks and admission to a strip club for 100 crowns (6 USD as of 2 years ago) Its really touristy, but drink some absinthe, it's delicious. Also, Munich is better than Berlin IMHO.

5/28/2010 8:33:17 PM

what an unfortunate username

5/28/2010 8:43:30 PM

^^^Even with a free place to stay, that was a pretty cheap trip on your part...

^^Budaphest! Man, I should have thought to recommend that. Haven't been to Istanbul though.

5/28/2010 9:11:01 PM

Berlin,

Most of the good stuff is really close together, Reichstag, Brandenburg Gates, Museums, Cathedrals
Checkpoint Charlie is away from the main drag and overrated. Didn't spend too much time but its easy to see several neat things in a short amount of time right down the stretch from the brandenburg gate.

5/28/2010 11:04:12 PM

Cologne is beatiful and so is Volendam...

5/29/2010 9:01:02 AM

I forgot the geography of it and I'm too lazy to look at a map, but if it doesn't mess up your travel schedule, go to Munich instead of Berlin.

5/29/2010 11:02:16 AM

looks like I can fly to either Stockholm or Vienna for the same price as a train to Berlin/Munich...

5/29/2010 3:06:04 PM

i really liked vienna. and the tap water there was amongst the best i recall from europe.

5/29/2010 3:12:22 PM

weed

5/29/2010 3:13:30 PM

Prague is the shit. Favorite city I've been to.

That's my advice.

5/29/2010 3:13:53 PM

pot

5/29/2010 3:14:59 PM

I'll be in Prague for 3 weeks I can't wait, we should be able to do weekend trips to Bratislava/Budpest and Vienna.

But for relatively the same price as taking a train to Berlin, I can fly to Stockholm, Rome, Moscow, Tunis, or Paris for 2 nights then fly to Prague. I've never been to any of these places but I need to pick one. I think I'm going to do that rather than take a 12+ hour train so I can see Berlin.

oh and I booked a hostel called the Chill House in Amsterdam for the 2 nights

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 3:23 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2010 3:22:39 PM

herb

5/29/2010 3:27:26 PM

Berlin was my 2nd favorite city.

I vote not paris.

5/29/2010 3:31:28 PM

ganja

5/29/2010 3:32:58 PM

Augh I'm jealous! I want to go back to Amsterdam sooooo bad. Everyone is so friendly there and I was so comfortable, it felt like a second home for me.

For Amsterdam:
Walk, walk, walk around! Traipse through Dam Square, the canals though dirty, are pretty. . Visit the red light district and put your hand on the cockn'ball fountain The Dutch Resistance Museum was really interesting, the Rijksmuseum definitely, and the Van Gogh Museum is good. The Albert Cuypmarkt is the biggest outdoor market I remember coming across and is nice to walk around and pick up fresh local food. Walk through the Vondelpark and visit the Botanical Garden (Hortus Botanicus). Artis Zoo has a beautiful Butterfly Pavilion.

Your main tourist-y entertainment places will be on Rembrandtplein and mostly Leidseplein, some in Jordan. Take the trams but remember that they only run until 12:15AM!! The coffee shops are pretty low-key. The most obnoxious places are the places where you smoke AND drink . . particularly this little shit place called The Bulldog. It might be your thing, but I was more annoyed than anything. My all-time favorite place was Abraxas. Granted it was 6 years ago since I've been, but if it's as comfortable then as it is now then I highly recommend.
[image]http://www.abraxas.tv/index.php" target="_blank">[image]http://www.abraxas.tv/index.php</a>" target="_blank">http://www.abraxas.tv/index.php</a></a>

Skip the Ann Frank house and the Heineken Brewery. I spent half the week in a seedy little hotel and the other half in a bed and breakfast away from the main areas. The guys at the bed and breakfast arranged for us to take a day trip to Cologne, Germany by train which was beautiful. We missed our train back and got stuck in Dusseldorf but oh well. If you can go to the Aktiengesellschaft Cologne Zoological Garden that's there, it was awesome!

Some pictures from my trip to Amsterdam and Cologne







[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 4:05 PM. Reason : more pacific]

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 4:07 PM. Reason : asdf]

5/29/2010 4:04:31 PM

great post, thanks that helps a lot. Abraxas looks awesome. I almost booked The Bulldog as a hostel at my friends advice but I'm glad I read your post. I tried to book at Flying Pig but wasn't able to get all the nights I needed. I'm going to be alone for Amsterdam and wherever else I go before Prague, did you ever feel nervous or not secure anywhere in Amsterdam?

5/29/2010 4:30:57 PM

great post, thanks that helps a lot. Abraxas looks awesome. I almost booked The Bulldog as a hostel at my friends advice but I'm glad I read your post. I tried to book at Flying Pig but wasn't able to get all the nights I needed. I'm going to be alone for Amsterdam and wherever else I go before Prague, did you ever feel nervous or not secure anywhere in Amsterdam?

5/29/2010 4:30:57 PM

I felt safe 99% of the time, there were only two instances were I got a little freaked.
1.) If the bums see you are a tourist they will pester you for cocaine . . "Americana? coca-ina???". That was only in the red light district area.
2.) The hotel I stayed at, the City Hotel in Rembrandtplein, I'm not sure if I forgot to lock my door or what but in the middle of the night some drunk Aussie tourists came barging into my room while I was asleep, scaring the shit out of me and were like "oh, sorry! wrong room"

Those were relatively minor and everyone I talked to was extremely friendly. I went with my now ex and we never had to ask where anything was because people would come up and offer help if you were standing there with a map trying to orient yourself. If you use common sense you should have no problems . . keep important things in your front pockets and if you are walking around with a backpack, I paperclipped my zippers together so I could feel it if someone were trying to open them. Oh, and just FYI, they REALLY DO MEAN IT when they say no pictures allowed in the red light district! I saw many a tourist get yelled at and escorted out of places for trying to. Be aware of the people around you, especially on the last tram of the night leaving the party areas with all the drunkys as they can get obnoxious.

[Edited on May 29, 2010 at 4:56 PM. Reason : not really sure wtf I was doing up there trying to post the Abraxas link as an image, sorry]

5/29/2010 4:53:48 PM

Whoa whoa whoa.

A 12+ hour train ride to Berlin for maybe only a day there or something is worth Paris 5 times over. What a dirty, overrated city (that and Rome).

5/29/2010 10:17:56 PM

Quote :

"the rijksmuseum in amsterdam's pretty cool"

Yes. The Van Gogh Museum is good too. The Anne Frank house was alright. Honestly I was kind of disappointed to see how big their living area was

Stay away from the Bulldog. It's just a tourist trap coffeehouse that overcharges on everything. Seek out the places that look to cater mostly to locals.

5/29/2010 10:27:37 PM

the Van Gogh museum is on the top of my list for sure, what's in the Riksmuseum? Are the displays in English as well as Dutch?

I went ahead and booked a flight to Rome for a few nights because I have a friend that will be there and it was cheaper than the train...well actually $90 more but I really want to see the art/religious stuff in Rome so it should be worth it

5/30/2010 2:47:36 PM

of those cities I've only ever been to Prague

my advice in Prague is to look out for British tourists - they're the real danger in the CZ

5/30/2010 6:10:36 PM

Any more advice on Prague?

1/23/2011 7:34:13 PM

Quote :

"you should watch Hostel 1 and 2 tonight "

i lawled!

Prague is very pretty! sorry never been there so i dont have any real advice for you

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 7:36 PM. Reason : ..]

1/23/2011 7:35:57 PM

I got back last night from a week split between Berlin and Prague. Berlin was awesome. Tons of great food, good beer, and some great history and art.

I was disappointed in Prague. It's a lovely downtown, but unless you're a 19 year old backpacker who wants to get hammered every night then there isn't much to do. I'm glad I did it, but I don't see myself ever going there again.

3/14/2011 3:03:34 PM

I stayed at the StayOK hostel right next to Vondel Park. Very reasonable and they have 24-hour fully stocked vending machines with great food. For dining, I recommend trying the Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam, some of the best food in the city. Go to the White Dolphin coffee shop and try their store brand, it's quite amazing. The Anne Frank house is worth a visit. I agree the Heineken factory is kinda silly. The museums are interesting, but it's really the night life that makes it fun. Just relax and be prepared to walk, or ride a bike, everywhere. The people are very friendly and the average dutch person can speak 5 languages fluently. If you are in the red light district at night, don't stop to talk to anyone unless you are in a group. If you get a chance, take a boat tour in the canals or take a day trip to Utrecht.

3/14/2011 3:19:02 PM

So I live in Budapest, Hungary and have some friends in Prague. We went to visit them and really weren't all that impressed. (Except Czech beer DESTROYS Hungarian beer) It seems way too polished for me. The river was cool and the Charles Bridge was extremely pretty, but I heard a ton of English being spoken around me and it just kinda caught me off guard.

Here in Budapest it's very rare to hear English just out and about, but Budapest really seems to just be genuine. We've got graffiti on everything, and we probably won't get around to cleaning it because we just don't care that much. It's not the prettiest girl at the dance, but she's great to hang out with.

3/14/2011 8:35:35 PM

^ that sounds awesome!!! how long have you lived there? what do you do? can you speak Hungarian???

3/14/2011 9:23:42 PM

^ you just walk around going Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom

3/14/2011 9:54:56 PM

in 2008 I visited Prague and Budapest

Budapest is awesome (but Czech beer does crush the Hungarian stuff)

I strongly recommend the restaurant Menza

3/14/2011 10:52:01 PM

Visit the green light district after your done with the red.. also visit Homegrown Fantasy, one of the best places to get space cakes

3/14/2011 11:05:10 PM

it looks like i'm going to the netherlands for a job interview north of amsterdam in 2 weeks

i'm planning to stay a few extra days after the interview and so i'm looking at hotels in amsterdam -- any other suggestions besides what's already in this thread?

i might take a train over to germany to visit a friend but will have an early flight out of amsterdam, has anyone stayed close to the airport if i end up just needing a place to stay the night before i leave?

4/7/2011 2:52:25 PM

trip on mushrooms and smoke hella weed in amsterdam

4/7/2011 3:03:49 PM

I'm studying abroad in Prague in about a month and am pretty excited. Anyone have good ideas for weekend excursions?

4/7/2011 3:43:57 PM

Get High/Get Drunk/I've heard its nice in the spring

4/7/2011 6:34:05 PM