This summer we head off to visit Amsterdam. We set off by camper from Padova, stopping at Fussen in Bavaria and Koblenz. Key: ° worth seeing; °° not to be missed; ^ can be skipped; ^^ avoid
We arrive after 1370 km in the mid-afternoon, but luckily we had the sense to phone the campsites because everything was full! We stop for a day at the Houtrak campsite (24.30 euro), nice but which we judge too far from the centre (12 km) because we intend to always get around by bicycle. The next day, early in the morning, we find a spot at Gaasperplas, at Camping Gaasper (159 euro for 3 people for 6 days), not too close to the centre, 11 km, but with a nice bike path leading to the centre and the metro very close.
9 August
As soon as we've parked the camper, to get our bearings since it's a beautiful sunny day, we head off on foot to the metro; in 15-20 minutes we're at the station, we take the Damrak°° and head for Damplein°°, but before reaching it we come across a kiosk selling giant chips in various sauces of your choice! In Damplein there are mimes and acrobats; we take a look at the square, which is Amsterdam's main square; there's also the Royal Palace. Having established that the Nieuwe Kerk, like all churches, charges admission and has been turned into a museum, we pass by the Magna Plaza shopping centre for a peek at the prices. On the street right behind there's an Albert Heijn Supermarket with good prices and snacks. Paola absolutely wants to go to the Flower Market°°, on floating boats.
It's on the Singel canal, passing by the Anne Frank House, and it's distinctive: bulbs, flowers, seeds of all kinds and in quantity (even Marijuana seeds) and indeed we buy about a hundred, which we'll plant in October in our garden (they work, they're beautiful and we regret not having bought more) 15 euro for 50 bulbs or so.
Near here, if you're interested, there's De Krijtberg, one of the few Catholic churches in the city, and it's free to visit. We're hungry and in the lovely Muntplein° we come across a Moroccan place with good snacks but not too cheap despite the venue; we go back up along the Kalverstraat°°, a street packed with shops. Every now and then near the pubs you catch particular smells; they're coffee shops where, besides drinking, you can freely smoke hashish and marijuana. We thought they were located only near the station in the famous Red Zone, but in reality they're practically everywhere! We pass Begijnhof°, a distinctive garden right in the centre. You'll notice that some houses lean particularly towards the street.
We head towards the Red Zone "De Wallen"°°, where besides the coffee shops there are also Sexy Shops with the young ladies on display in the window (if you linger a bit they even strike a pose for you!); since we're there we visit the Marijuana Museum^, which is still distinctive, and we rest in Nieuwmarkt where there's the Waag°. Watch out for walking on the pavements and not in the bike lanes, which they care a lot about here and they'll curse at you if you get it wrong...We go around the Oude Kerk, a church turned into a museum, very beautiful on the outside and surrounded by sexy shop windows, still a nice setting. If you like oriental cuisine this is the place to stop at one of the restaurants that crowd the area.
For dinner we go to a nice place on the Singel, The Pancake Bakery Prinsengracht 191°, with a speciality of crêpes and pancakes of all kinds, not bad (43.95 euro for 3).
10 August
This morning we decide to get to the centre by bike; it's 40 minutes and about 12 km, we get a bit lost but we make it; the lanes are nice and wide and it's pleasant to cross the working-class and multi-ethnic Diemen district too; if only ours were that clean and well-equipped, there's a sports centre every block. We wander a bit around the centre, we stop at a kiosk to eat bread, raw herring with chopped onions and pickled cucumbers, a traditionally Dutch food, and in the afternoon at the Chocolaterie Pompadour°°, which if you like sweets you can't miss. Hot chocolate with honey and a pastry; there are three of us so a different pastry each, delicious. The owner is friendly too, and he's "sweet" as well. Nearby, in Leidsplein° there are often street artists. For dinner we find an Indian restaurant that we don't recommend for quality or quantity.
In this area there are quite a few Italian, Argentine and Greek restaurants, there's no shortage of choice. We go back home by metro from the station; in fact, with an appropriate ticket bikes can go on too, because here it's the custom.
11 August
Today we visit the Nemo° (34.50 euro), a science centre shaped like a ship designed by Renzo Piano; we take the metro with the bikes, which we found worked well; the place is fun and from here you get a nice view of the city. Then we head for the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum ("Netherlands Maritime Museum"), flagged as very interesting but unfortunately it's under renovation so nothing doing; we pass by the Montelbaanstoren°, the leaning tower on the bank of the Amstel. In the end, pedalling, we reach the vicinity of Leidsplein° where we find an excellent and cheap option for eating, Wok to Walk, a Japanese place with excellent noodles and rice, which will be our regular stop for food in the days to come.
12 August
This morning we go to visit the Jewish Quarter near Waterlooplein, where among other things there's Rembrandthuis, Rembrandt's house, and on that occasion we stop at Puccini Bomboni°°, famous for its exquisite chocolates paired with many flavours and fruits. We take one of each in a double box, almost fifty of them. Before returning to the campsite we detour to the Amsterdam ArenA and notice the usual difference between here and Italy when it comes to urban planning. The stadium is very modern, with a retractable pitch, superbly served by motorway, car parks and trains in the middle of a business district.
13 August
This morning by bike to the unmissable Van Gogh Museum°° (26.50 euro with free guide) with the artist's best works. Nearby we stop at the Albert Heijn Supermarket with good prices and snacks, to shop and have a picnic in the big, beautiful and very well-kept Vondel Park°°, among flowers and grass that here, given the climate, grows greener than ever. Nearby there's the Rijksmuseum, the National Museum, and the Heineken Experience, an exhibition about the famous beer, always full and expensive even though they give you nice souvenirs (and anyway it's not the beer we prefer). Then we go to the Albert Cuyp market with excellent prices, where we buy the classic T-shirts with the Amsterdam crest, as is our habit, at 9 euro each, we eat bread and herring and giant chips with sauce of your choice.
14 August
Cloudy weather with light rain; we shut ourselves in the interesting Tropenmuseum°, the tropics museum. We come out of the museum and the weather has settled, so we head to Rembrandtplein°, a beautiful and lively square, which comes alive especially in the evening given the presence in the area of some trendy venues. Then we ride all around the city by bike and fill in the gaps of our tour, following all the canals and catching various picturesque glimpses of the city.
Day 115 Aug 2009
Zuidersee
MONNICKENDAM, EDAM, VOLENDAM, MARKEN
15 August
Today we move about twenty km north toward the Zuidersee°° which is the inland sea bounded by the famous dam, to visit some towns overlooking the lake. We choose to base ourselves in Uitdam where we find a good campsite, Uitdam Camping Jachthaven° (25.50 euros for one night, 3 people + electricity). Once the camper is settled we go out and head north on the cycle path that runs along the lake. There's a strong and cold wind that slows us down but we're happy because the place is beautiful and bucolic, with numerous swans bathing, cows, horses and woolly sheep grazing freely, old windmills on the horizon and the characteristic Dutch houses. We pass through Monnickendam° a quiet fishing village and head to Edam° where there's the festival of the famous cheese with sellers in traditional costume, of which we buy a couple of wheels.
It's a slightly fatty cheese and all in all not as good as our Italian cheeses. Here we have a good snack of fish potatoes and beer and after a nice walk among the alleys we head to Volendam° very lively. We take the ferry with our bikes to Marken°° a characteristic fishing village where we enjoy a good hot tea. In the end before returning to the camper we pedaled for 14 km under sun and wind that alternately pushed or slowed our pace.
ENKHUIZEN
16 August Direction Enkhuizen on the Zuidersee 50 km away, there's an open-air museum Zuidersee Museum° that represents Dutch life from its origins, (cost 39.50 euros). Characteristic, you park on the mainland and arrive by boat, there are farms and costumed actors and reconstructions of the activities and social life of the place, with windmills, farms, workshops...for lunch we recommend a sandwich with herring, which is smoked on the spot. In the afternoon we head toward the great dam which in fact is nothing special except the satisfaction of having crossed it, then we turn back because the next day we want to visit Delft°.
NOORDWIJK
We make a stop halfway at Noordwijk,° about 100 km from Enkuizen, a seaside resort overlooking the North Sea, we find a place at Camping Le Parage (22.00 euros), cozy and clean.
17 August
In the morning we take a walk because we want to put our feet in the North Sea. The walk among the dunes is pleasant, the pine forest that separates the town from the beach is thick but there's a nice cold wind. After a couple of km we reach the beach deserted because of the cold and frequented mostly by horses, with an act of courage we put our feet in the sea and the water is freezing!
DELFT
Finally shortly before noon after about forty km, we arrive at Delft°, we park in an area as close as possible to the center and in fact it will turn out to be perfect. We set off on foot and shortly before the main square we find a fish stall that's excellent for refueling: we take some various tastings, especially of fish, so we're ready and satiated to visit the city. Delft° is famous and you'll notice it not only for the novel and film "the girl with the pearl earring" canvas executed by Vermeer, but also for the very beautiful but very expensive porcelains. The Markt°° square is very beautiful with the 3-color bell tower of the Nieuwe Kerk, the town hall opposite and in the center the sextant. For those who want to buy porcelains we recommend De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles which is more convenient than other places as it's one of the factories that produces them.
18 August
Our stay in Holland ends but to break up the journey we make a stop in Strasbourg.
Visiting Holland was beautiful and easy, because the services are excellent, the places are well served and there's a well-being, an organization and remarkable cleanliness and then you feel safe and protected. Amsterdam is a multiethnic and notoriously tolerant city and so it's also fun to notice its excesses, while the hinterland is much simpler, perhaps with a monotonous panorama made of small things but still never chaotic.
NOTES: Weather: average temperature around 20 degrees with sun, a raincoat is mandatory because the sky is always cloudy and punctually threatens rain that arrives practically every day from sunset and then fortunately stops after a couple of hours
Food: restaurants are rather expensive, but it's full of fairly cheap take aways and stalls where they sell sandwiches with herring which are very nutritious and enough to appease your appetite.
Language: since Dutch is incomprehensible, at least English is mandatory which here is spoken well even by children, however it's a multiethnic city and full of Italians whom you'll find here also managing the venues.
N.B.: the highways in Germany and Holland are free!
Total cost of the holiday for a family of 3 people (2 adults + 15-year-old son): fuel: € 466.00 various: camping, food, souvenirs € 1586.00 total 3 people: € 2,052.00
If you want advice, impressions and various or if you want to leave us your comment contact us at our e-mail address: alpatom@libero.it
We recommend the guides that gave us the indications on the places to visit: Lonely Planet Amsterdam, City Book Amsterdam, Routard Amsterdam.
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