Below the cut are my notes about Holland (made online during the May trip), as well as some photographs.
Amsterdam
May 7, 2010
As the guidebook, as well as Gismeteo, promised, the weather in Amsterdam today is not ice. More precisely, ice - in the sense that it is cold. Moreover, this disgusting drizzle makes you too lazy to open an umbrella, but in the end you find yourself and, most importantly, the camera thoroughly wet...
First impressions of Amsterdam: a lot of birds (and not only banal pigeons, but also a variety of ducks, seagulls and other unidentified birds); there are a lot of black and Muslim women walking around in hijabs (a lot - it’s really a LOT! Perhaps we haven’t seen as many Dutch people today as we have “come in large numbers”).
We settled in a guesthouse, in a room overlooking the canal, in the middle of the canal a black waterfowl with a white head is sitting on a nest... There were cars parked on the embankment, some of them almost hovering over the water with their right wheels - I even took a couple of photographs, I was so amazed... Interesting, How many tens or hundreds of cars drown in canals every year?
We visited the Rijksmuseum, looked at Rembrandt’s “Night Watch,” and made it to exactly one o’clock. And all because for some unknown reason the museum, which on Fridays should be open until 20:30, closed at exactly six, and we arrived at five. As a result, I had to gallop across Europe, without an audio guide... I bought a guide to the museum so that I could look through all these paintings and read some text at my leisure. However, even in this format, the works of the great Dutch painters leave a powerful impression.
Oh yes! The Rijksmuseum is under restoration, the entire façade is covered in scaffolding. The quintessence of the museum's collection is displayed in several rooms, so the tour is very intense, but short. In addition to Rembrandt and other paintings, I admired Delft porcelain and graphics (especially tulips!). 
May 8, 2010
We spent the whole day walking around Amsterdam. Beautiful, relatively clean canals, which reflect the narrow, skyward facades of houses. The weather is still bad, but this does not affect the perception of the city: there is little at all bright colors, which could fade on a cloudy day, and many contrasting transitions from dark to light and back, which are not lost in diffuse lighting, but are only emphasized by it.
I once said that Palermo is the garbage capital of the world. So, Amsterdam confidently holds second place in this ranking. At every intersection, almost every streetlight, there are piles of bags full of garbage. In some places these bags were torn and garbage spilled right onto the sidewalk. The owner of our Bed&Breakfast even apologized to us for this mess and said that there was a garbage strike in the city...
A heron was seen on the embankment near Westerkerk! She calmly allowed herself to be photographed in different angles, then gracefully spread her wings and flew away.
We saw a huge queue at the Anne Frank House. This is a museum in honor of a Jewish girl whose family was sheltered by the Dutch in this house during World War II. In the shelter, the girl kept a diary, which was later found and published. Anne Frank herself was sent to a concentration camp in 1944 with her family, where she died in 1945.
The city is being actively restored: the square in front of the Central Station is being rebuilt, the Royal Palace and the Rijksmuseum are in the scaffolding... Judging by the pictures from the guidebook, it is a pity that we were not lucky enough to see these buildings in all their glory.
Remember the song "Crematorium":
Oh, this city is like a bombed warehouse,
This city is a real hell
There is never peace and quiet there.
This city has been on the warpath since birth.
I fully agree! A very noisy city. Lots of tourists, lots of cyclists, lots of tourist boats - lots of everything! It’s good that we don’t live in the very center, but in a quieter area :) We don’t have a car yet, we use public transport - the tram and metro; Today we'll go by train. The journey is expensive - 2.60 euros per hour ticket.
We walked around the Red Light District, looking at the girls in the display windows: only one seemed really cute, and she was talking on her mobile phone instead of showing off the product with her face :)
The highlight of the day is a visit to the coffee shop! We tried the special cake for 5 euros and breathed in the smoky air. Then we walked around the streets for another hour and a half, waiting for the arrival. It hit me quite suddenly, I felt a feeling of being unable to control myself, and from somewhere around my diaphragm an uncontrollable laugh came out... Then I had to urgently run to McDonald's, stuff myself with a half-and-half cheeseburger and French fries, and fill it all with a vanilla milkshake... In general , a classic picture, yes. Well, it’s also an experience... Would I want to repeat it? Hardly. But it’s definitely worth trying once as an Amsterdam exotic.
Zaanse Schans
May 9, 2010
We went to Zaanse Schans - a recreated Dutch village of the 17th century, which contains mills, residential and outbuildings characteristic of that era brought from all over the province. Most of these mills are still operational and are used as sawmills, creameries, cheese factories, and for the production of mustard and paint.
We bought train tickets by mistake to Zaandam - this is two stops short of the place where we actually need to go (called Kog Zandijk, from there it’s about ten minutes on foot to Zaanse Schans). We had to ride these two stops with hares, we were a little nervous, but in the end no one checked the tickets either there or back.
Trains are just as expensive as everything else public transport: we spent 12 euros there and back, and this is taking into account that “there” is to Zaandam (and not to Kog Zandijk, where we ended up going), and “back” is to Central Station, which is one stop from there places where we live). And in general, life in the city is not cheap: a room in our Bed & Breakfast costs 110 euros per night (we were given a very noticeable discount for the length of our stay), lunch for two is a little less than 50 euros (one hot dish for each meat dish plus half a liter of beer).
By the way, about lunch. We had lunch today at a bar on Damrak. We were escorted to the table by a waitress dressed minimally: a mega-short skirt-shorts (or should we say “skirt-panties”?), leg warmers just above the knee, a tight top that left the navel exposed and a lot of body around. The girl took the order, and three minutes later we saw her climb onto the bar and begin to dance fieryly! If only we had known in advance, we would have sat closer to the counter or something... In general, the time waiting for the ordered steaks flew by unnoticed :) We left a 5 euro tip! :)
According to the plan, today we were supposed to visit Monnikendam and Volendam, but from Zaanse Schans to Volendam it’s 23 kilometers, you can’t walk, and there are no direct bus or train connections - only with a transfer at Amsterdam Central Station. As a result, we gave up and postponed this trip until another day, when we would have already rented a car (by the way, we regretted that we had not rented it on Sunday instead of Monday, we wouldn’t have had to wait half an hour for trains today, and we would have been able to do it everywhere).
In Zaanse Schans, I remember the young boatman who tried to feed us some tourist information while he was transporting us by boat from one shore to the other. I asked him if they always have such cold and cloudy weather in May. “This is Holland,” the guy answered, shrugging his shoulders. Holland is, of course, good... but can I have a little sunshine already, eh?!
Today's weather was conducive to visiting the flower park - Keukenhof. Yes, the sun came out, although overall it didn’t get any warmer. But even that was luck, because in cloudy weather all the charm of the bright colors of tulips and other flowers is lost.
So, in the morning we took the train to the airport and took a pre-ordered car. Rentacar - Budget (last year we also drove around the Czech Republic and Germany in their car); The car is an Alfa Romeo 147, 80 thousand kilometers, it creaks, but it runs. On the way to Keukenhof we got stuck in a traffic jam :)
We briefly admired the fading tulip fields (several bright yellow and red stripes against the backdrop of bare ground: May 10 is still too late for tulip fields; to catch the main Dutch attraction, you need to come in April). In the park of tulips there was a sea of the most varied shapes and colors. I particularly liked the various two-tone variations and the orange hybrids with yellow terry border.
We walked for a long time through the huge pavilion of lilies. The smell is strong, but the beauty is indescribable! Since this year the theme in Keukenhof was Russian, the pavilion even had a stand with the signature “Dacha” (in addition to a flower bed with lilies, the stand featured a vegetable garden with cabbage, birch and a garden wheelbarrow), as well as photographs of Yuri Gagarin against the backdrop of the planets of the solar system. Why a space theme was chosen for the exhibition of lilies - I don’t know, but it turned out well. A hut on chicken legs and several plywood nesting dolls were also spotted in the park. At this point, the Russian theme in Keukenhof was exhausted.
I would like to buy a pair of souvenir klompe - these are national Dutch brightly painted wooden shoes. They are sold here at every turn, but wherever I see them there is a crowd of tourists. I am pinning all my hopes on the remaining days, perhaps Delft (by the way, we have already bought a couple of penguins from Delft porcelain). 
After Keukenhof we went to Haarlem, struggled for a long time with parking: at first we couldn’t find a suitable place, then we couldn’t change coins to pay at the parking meter... We really wanted to have lunch, but storm clouds were rapidly approaching in the sun - and we decided to sacrifice food in order to have time to take a few shots with good light. We went out to huge cathedral Saint Bavo and discovered that the area in front of the cathedral was occupied by... a low-grade clothing market! Later it turned out that after 18:00 there was no market on the square, but there was no sun either.
While walking around Haarlem, we discovered a branch of the Amsterdam red light district around one of the local churches :) Apparently, the Dutch have a hobby - to sin and immediately repent, as they say, “without leaving the cash register” :)
We returned to Amster and left the car at the Park+Ride parking lot in Sloterdijk. This pleasure costs 6 euros, including free tickets for public transport to the city center and back. Street parking would have cost us 21 euros! We decided to save money, although Sloterdijk is located on the other side of the city from us (two stops by train or many, many stops by tram). Tomorrow we will try the Park+Ride Transferium/Arena, which is located in the southwest, closer to us.
Madurodam and The Hague
May 11, 2010
We were in The Hague. The city, to be honest, was disappointing; Amster is much more interesting. In The Hague, the neighborhood of ancient and modern buildings: the first thing we saw while walking towards the city center was a complex of skyscrapers a la Moscow City. All this, of course, is not in the historical center, but quite close. And many historical buildings are spoiled by signs of Burger King, McDonald's and similar crap.
By the way, negadyaeva asked me about local Dutch cuisine. There is no local cuisine here... Everywhere we turn there are only burgers and fries. We subsist on salads and steaks. Among the authentic Dutch dishes, we eat cheese and drink beer :) In The Hague, we went to a decent restaurant, I ordered a rack of lamb (by the way, I really liked it!), but my husband was not lucky: he ordered a medium-rare beef fillet, and he was served with blood, just raw meat... maybe that's how it's supposed to be? I ordered myself a small beer, I thought it was zero thirty-three, but they brought me some kind of 200 ml beaker...
Oh well! But in the evening we took home some old Amsterdam cut and some grapes to go with it - and it went great! Very tasty! A wonderful combination of cheese and grapes; I'll have to buy more.
The first thing we did in The Hague was Madurodam - Little Holland. It was sunny in the morning, so we wandered around there to our heart's content and took pictures. We were amused by the rooks and seagulls, each the size of a Madurodam house: feathered Gullivers in the land of Lilliputians :) There are a lot of people, but what can you do? Madurodam is truly something worth going to The Hague for. 
Then the sun disappeared behind the clouds, a sharp cold wind blew, the air temperature dropped to +7 (I envy the Moscow heat!), and we went for a walk around The Hague. We looked around the outside of the Binnenhof, the town hall, the Royal Palace... It’s a pity, it was already too late to go to the famous art gallery Mauritshuis, it would be just right in this weather. And I still regret that I didn’t spend 20 euros for the photo book “Den Haag on the top” (or something like that): bird’s-eye views of The Hague and its suburbs. By the way, we have been in Holland for five days already, and still have not climbed any tower. Of course, it also has to do with the weather, but not only that: we have not yet come across any towers where tourists would have free access (at least at any time, say, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., without a tour or prior registration).
Having thoroughly frozen, we headed back. Initially we wanted to go to Scheveningen, but estimating that if it is SO cold in The Hague, then on the seashore we would completely freeze and die in the prime of life from pneumonia, reluctantly we went to Amster. We tried the new Park+Ride Transferium/Arena parking lot, and almost got lost in it - after all, the parking lot in Sloterdijk is much smaller, and getting from there to home by train is faster than from the Arena by metro, and then a kilometer and a half on foot...
My notes from Holland seem to be turning into reports from Roshydrometsentr :) Anyway, today it’s cold and wet again. True, now, taught by bitter experience, we dressed in T-shirts and sweatshirts, and jackets on top: now we look like buns on legs, but we don’t freeze :)
Today we were in Utrecht. Compared to other Dutch cities we have seen so far (with the exception of Amsterdam, of course), Utrecht is beautiful and definitely worth a visit. Half a day is enough to see the main attractions, but I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of days in this city. Utrecht has absolutely wonderful canals, beautiful houses, high spiers of churches and towers, a luxurious courtyard of the Cathedral...
In my opinion, Utrecht is even better suited for tourists than Amsterdam. Compact center, many shops and cafes, tolerable number of people. In one of the stores we even found and bought two plush penguins! Considering the proximity of Utrecht to Amster, I recommend that those who have a free day in the Dutch capital spend it not on Haarlem (which has nothing to see except the cathedral), but on Utrecht. You won't regret it!
In Utrecht we parked in a huge shopping center. What bothers me about European megamalls is the lack of free parking! In the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, parking is paid everywhere. I can’t imagine that in Moscow Auchan or Mega they would charge an hourly rate for parking... We spent a little more than four hours in Utrecht and paid 13 euros for parking! This, Dutch citizens, is a piece of shit! Until now, it seems that the city of Stuttgart has held the lead in parking costs...
In this shopping center we first met the “new Dutch” - lightly salted herring, another attraction of Dutch cuisine recommended by the Afisha guidebook. It’s a pity, we just had a hearty meal and weren’t able to finish the herring, but we’ll definitely try it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, if we see it. 
From Utrecht we stopped by to see De Haar Castle, recommended by comrade votez. Unfortunately, the castle itself was closed due to the late hour, but we still looked at it from the side. The castle is really very beautiful! Now, however, it is under restoration (until the end of 2010), but from the road it can be seen from the only side that is not in the scaffolding.
We drove back to Amster along a picturesque rural road, every house we came across just begged to be photographed! But the highways, by the way, are also being repaired everywhere, there are yellow markings and speed limits all around. At the same time, the roads themselves are of worse quality than in Germany (but, of course, better than ours, it’s not worth mentioning).
I accidentally fell behind schedule, today I’m writing about the last three days in Holland (now we are already in Belgium). What did you want?! I’m not used to writing so much on LiveJournal every day, so I’m getting confused. Either after I plunged into the nightlife of Amsterdam, I simply fell asleep without waiting for my husband to free up space at the computer...
So, instructions for visiting Rotterdam. At the entrance to the city from Amster, follow the sign "Blijdorp" (read: Bleidorp) - this is the Rotterdam Zoo. Park in the large parking lot at the zoo. What, there are no places? Drive a little further into a small parking lot. How, is everything busy there?! Congratulations! Today, instead of the zoo, you will visit the large modern city of Rotterdam, the largest port in the world! Drive along, citizens, don’t crowd - the center is full of multi-level paid parking lots, but you can’t park on the street, because you have to pay with a special Chipknip card, and street parking meters don’t accept your cash and bank cards from Russian banks...
However, no. Forget the center. Head straight to the Euromast, a 185-meter-high observation tower. The Euroscope cabin is the most best place to explore the city and port. Once down, stroll along the embankment to the Kijk-Kubus block of cubic houses; on the way see the Erasmus Bridge, maritime museum under open air and skyscrapers on the banks of the Meuse. Next to Kijk-Kubus (on the square near the Blaak metro station), have a hearty and cheap lunch at the Eazie eatery (sushi, smoothies, Japanese/Chinese noodles with vegetables and meat). That's it, citizen tourists, the express tour of Rotterdam is over! Don't forget to leave a tip for the guide :)
Briefly, my impressions of Rotterdam: at first I really didn’t like the city; Instead of the expected architectural delights, we were greeted by rather boring and faceless glass and concrete architecture. We saw the cute houses only from the Euromast, at a considerable distance from the center. Then, however, it got better; in the end, the overall impression was rather positive.
On the embankment we came across a statue of Peter I. It just stood there, it seems, without even an inscription. Well, at least it’s not Tsereteli-sized... In general, Rotterdam is a city of strange sculptures. I took a lot of photographs and will show you later. We looked into the cubic house. Very cramped, very uncomfortable. Therefore, out of 38 houses, only two are lived in. 
After the express program in Rotterdam that day, we still had the strength to join nightlife Amsterdam. We made circles around the red light district, looked again at the numerous half-naked girls in the display windows, went into a sex shop and left empty-handed :) Then we drank beer at the Dirty Nelly pub. As I walked, I wondered why life in the Red Quarter was designed to attract only men. Only sex shops remained for women. Maybe go to a porn theater... But it’s unknown what quality of action you’ll see there :) The girls in the Red Quarter are completely different; There are also those that you can’t look at without tears :)
The next day, we finally made our way to the parking lot at the Rotterdam Zoo and stood in a rather long line at the ticket office. And this is on a working day! I can't imagine what's going on there on the weekend...
The most memorable things about the Rotterdam Zoo: fur seals, giraffes (especially a newborn female!), an aquarium where sharks and rays swim above your head, meerkats with porcupines (the former had fun chasing the latter), of course, penguins and various other waterfowl. The railway line crossing the territory of the zoo is surprising. The animals got used to it, but people, as a joke, placed a separate stand under the bridge support with the inscription “Trein Imperatrix”, as well as “Ordinary Train” :) 
After visiting the zoo, there is little time left to stop by Delft. A very nice, intimate city. He pleased us with shops open after 20:00 (this is rare in Holland). While we were having lunch on Markt Square, we were lucky enough to listen to the entire bell concert on Nieuwekerk. It was great! It’s not like our Orthodox bells and chimes, but it’s also beautiful and majestic, and in the end some cheerful melodies were sung. In general, Delft has firmly taken the second most attractive position after Utrecht in the list of Dutch provincial cities. 
Our last Dutch city before leaving for Belgium was Breda. We actually ended up there by accident: we dropped in for an hour so as not to arrive in Antwerp ahead of check-in time. Breda is a charming town: there is free parking behind the train station, in the town itself there is a pretty Begeinhof and a castle, and on the Grote Markt there is a large and beautiful Church of Our Lady. You can explore all this in a couple of hours, including time to drink coffee and dessert at the Grote Markt and head on to Antwerp.
Today I'll tell you about last day in Holland. We were returning to Amster from Belgium to fly home to Moscow, and along the way we finally saw Holland as we imagined it before the trip.
The weather was clear and sunny, the blue sky with rare clouds was cut by straight lines from planes that had already flown by long ago, and we admired all this splendor for almost an hour, standing in a multi-kilometer traffic jam somewhere near Utrecht... Having finally broken free, we headed to Volendam, and then to Marken Island. This is where that idyllic Holland is! With rows of neat, like toy houses, reflected in the water of canals, with a forest of masts in a quiet harbor, herds of grazing motley cows and graceful horses. Ah, at least I got to see this once! So, it was not in vain that we came to Holland! :)
In the port of Volendam we tried the “Dutch new” herring for the first time - freshly caught herring. Good herring, good :) But I still didn’t understand what was so special about it. Here is the “old Amsterdam” - yes, this is separate; We took a kilogram home - delicious! 
There was no time left to photograph the planes at the airport. It’s good that Schiphol has a panoramic terrace on the top floor of the airport - from there we were able to photograph planes moored to the “sleeves”, mainly KLM, but there were also others. It is very interesting to watch the life of the airport: how planes are towed, how luggage is loaded, how airport service cars scurry about... If you fly from Amsterdam, do not miss such a spectacle!
Remember, I once said that any of you, if desired, can send us your material and tell us about some bright journey that happened in his life? So, quite recently, our reader named Alexander Poloiko took advantage of this opportunity, to whom he sent us to the editor (in fact, just to my email) his long story about his trip to the Netherlands. The article contains a lot of advice on how to organize such a trip, so I think this material will be interesting to you not only from an entertainment point of view, but also from a practical point of view. Are you ready to go on a little trip to the city of tulips and unusual cupcakes? Then I give the floor to the author...
The main characters of the story. Alexander and Anna.
The idea of a trip to the Netherlands arose a long time ago, but it never worked out, although there was more than enough traveling around the world. On January 1st, as a New Year's gift for us, we got super prices on flights from Vilnius to Eindhoven from wizzair. Using the “Wizz Discount club” card we paid 54 euros for two round-trip tickets, i.e. just over 13 euros for 1 ticket, including all fees.
The program was compiled with 3 overnight stays (two in Amsterdam, 1 overnight stay on the way back to Eindhoven). So many useful information found it on the wonderful website minsk-amsterdam.com!
Important: I took an Ikea backpack, when fully loaded it does not fit into the frame for free hand luggage, but in Vilnius and Eindhoven no one was checked for the frame.
Departure from Vilnius on this route is usually at 7-10 am, flight time is about 2 hours. The flight was on schedule. To get to the airport, I advise you to use Uber. This is the cheapest taxi in Vilnius. From the station it costs about 2.5 euros, cars arrive very quickly, mostly Toyota Prius.
We arrived in Eindhoven and immediately faced the task of saving money, since I really didn’t want to buy a bus transfer for 24 euros one way or go by train for 20 euros. But first we had to get to the train station in Eindhoven. The current cost of transfer on bus 400 and 401 (time 19 minutes) is 3.75 euros, the ticket is sold by the driver, or you can buy it from a machine.
Important: Visa card It doesn’t go through almost anywhere or they charge a commission, take MasterCard, Maestro and always cash with you.
We started looking for a discount card from the Kruidvat supermarket, which from the 4th on weekends allowed for 12.99 euros to travel without a limit throughout Holland by train, these promotions change periodically and all the details can be seen on the above resource with explanations and comments. There are promotions on weekdays, but we were lucky only on the weekend. Having found this store using iPhone cards (about 100 meters from the station), we purchased these lucky cards, swiped them through the turnstiles and went to Amsterdam.
All times, routes and prices are on the website 9292.nl, but if there is no Internet, then you need to determine the nearest train using the board. Trains run very often, 2 times per hour. Specifically, our train went from Maastricht, then to Amsterdam and then to Alkmaar. When leaving in Amsterdam, you do not need to attach a specific card, since it is valid for the whole day until 04-00 the next day.
Trains in Holland are very comfortable, there is Wi-Fi. Of the minuses: it is not always possible to get a seat, and also the high cost (for Belarusians it’s simply stunning!), you must agree that 20 euros for 150 km is HUGE.
In addition, there is a bus service, the same Flixbus and Eurolines, but cheap tickets are sold out in advance. Prices from 7 euros.
Important note about accommodation: practice has shown that it is very important what dates and days of the week the trip falls on, since the cost of hotels on Friday-Sunday can exceed weekdays by 2-3 times. Therefore, first of all, book a hotel in advance (I recommend booking, as it provides maximum protection in any situation and support if required). Secondly, you can always return 3% of the booking cost in various ways cashbacks. Thirdly, a super innovation has been introduced in Amsterdam, when all visitors to Amsterdam receive a free guide to Amsterdam via booking, as well as fantastic promotional offers with discounts of up to 80%!!! We personally tested a 1.5 hour trip on the canals of Amsterdam for 8 euros instead of the standard 20 euros!!
In addition, you need to thoroughly study the map of Amsterdam and understand one peculiarity: prices near the station itself are exorbitant (from 100 euros per day) and are crowded to capacity with tourists, but you need to choose something in the suburbs, where prices start from 35 euros per day. I highly recommend considering the Sloterdijk station area in the northwest of the station, and Amsterdam Amstel in the south (near the Arena). Since there is a large selection of relatively inexpensive hotels and it is very convenient to get to the center by Sprinter train, even without the metro and buses. The cost is about 2.3-2.8 euros.
Zwanenburg waterfront
The same sleepy town
We did just that, choosing a suburb for the first night, the town of Zwanenburg (and the hotel of the same name Zwanenburg Airport, which is always on booking at a low price). The hotel is located 2 stops from Amsterdam Central, Halsweg-Zwanenburg stop, 11 minutes drive. It's a stunning 15-minute walk through the town to the hotel, but in those minutes you'll see a ton of stunning views. Along the road there is a canal, a supermarket, a fish market, a village inhabited by very wealthy Dutch people who, according to tradition, do not even hang the curtains on the ground floor and you can watch their measured and beautiful life, say hello to passers-by, just like in a village.
The owner of this hotel speaks excellent Russian, at the reception they are always ready to help with any question, they are interested in where you are from. Having learned that we were from Belarus, they immediately offered us bonus free coffee. In addition, the hotel has a free transfer to Schiphol airport, but it is of little relevance for low-cost airlines. The room was large, very clean, excellent mattress, we slept like marmots, a very comfortable bath with everything you needed, a refrigerator in the room.
We rested for an hour in this wonderful hotel and set off to conquer Amsterdam. You remember that we have unlimited tickets and you can travel all over Holland.
I must say right away that this hotel is located in a very convenient location, if you are interested not only in Amsterdam itself, you can visit three fantastic towns at once, driving from 10 to 30 minutes from Zwannenburg: the historical village with the mills of Zaanse Schans, the ancient town with many attractions of Haarlem and the chic seaside resort of Sandorf. Tickets to these places cost from 2.5 to 5 euros by train, trains run several times an hour. All three of these places are Meccas for both tourists and ordinary Dutch people.
Madame Tussauds in Amsterdam
Upon arrival in Amsterdam, Belarusians can take advantage of the project http://amsterdam15-15.com/thetest, every day at 15.15 a walking tour departs from the entrance to the central station, but given that my girlfriend really does not like excursions, we were not able to take advantage of it, although According to the description, the guys made an excellent project with two routes, covering everything important and giving practical advice on all issues.
Now a little about food and nutrition. VERY EXPENSIVE, COSMIC!!! I advise everyone to go to Maxim or Rimi in Vilnius and stock up on everything, everything that does not spoil for a long time in vacuum packaging, since it will be very difficult to eat in cafes on a limited budget, although it is natural to go to a coffee shop and sit by candlelight in some pizzeria. you want, and for those who are breaking, the Amsterdam barkers even learned basic phrases in Russian :)
Cafe de Paris in Amsterdam
We first went to the library (a hundred meters to the right of the railway entrance), there we got a gorgeous view, but the open terrace was closed. Prices for food at lunch were already high, soup 5 euros, hamburger with potatoes 8 euros, I advise you to take all portions for two, the portions are large.
For a beautiful city, I advise you to make a plan of what you want to visit. In our case, these were: the railway station and the surrounding area, a boat trip, a visit to the Red Light District, the Jordaan district, the flower market, Dam Square, Kalverstraat shopping street, as well as simply the appearance of museums and historical buildings, since tickets to museums are very expensive, there are queues, and you need to determine in advance which of the more than 50 museums is especially interesting to you. I’ll say right away that tourist program we completed it in only two days; one day in Amsterdam is definitely NOT ENOUGH. If you want to save money, then leave 2 days for Amsterdam and spend the night in Eindhoven (you can explore it without an overnight stay).
The cathedral near the station. Capital of the Netherlands.
Famous canals of Amsterdam
Anya on the boat
You can estimate how much money to take with you to the center based on the following prices: cupcake 5 euros, service in the Quarter for 15 minutes 50 euros (the impressions from it will not let you go for a long time), fast food from 3.5 euros, pizza in an Italian establishment by candlelight 7-15 euros, beer from 4 euros per glass. Souvenirs at the flower market from 5 euros for three magnets, other things are more expensive (souvenir shoes, for example).
After the first hotel, we moved to the 4-star Urban Lodge, to the neighboring Sloterdijk station, to the station we now had to travel 1 stop, which took only 5 minutes. Cost us a room for two without breakfast 46 euros. By the way, breakfasts in all hotels are very expensive (from 10 to 20 euros per person), so it makes sense stock up on groceries in Lithuania or shop in supermarkets in Amsterdam itself. Our hotel was 200 meters from the station. There were several other hotels nearby in approximately the same price category. Urban Lodge left a lasting impression with its convenience! The rooms are large and modern, with a stylish design, tea and coffee are free in the room and in the hall. The hall is generally like a work of art, people of all ages gather here nationalities, take a free cup of coffee and read all kinds of literature, communicate, listen to calm music. JUST WOW!! Everywhere superfast wi-fi.
at the hotel...
Please note that in Amsterdam there is also a hotel tax, so about 5% is added to the booking price when paying, and in Eindhoven the tax was generally about 12%. Money is usually not withdrawn from the card immediately, but after a few days.
Amsterdam itself (I lived in both America and England) left simply indelible impressions, an amazing city that breathes freedom and romanticism, where everyone will find something interesting for themselves. Unique entertainment in Amsterdam, if approached wisely, can add rich colors to your trip and remain in your memory as a vivid adventure.
We spent a farewell evening in Amsterdam, spent the night in our superb Urban Lodge and in the morning, after shopping with our discount coupons at Smullers and Kiosk (the coupons were a bonus on the train card from Kruidvat), we went to the station to buy tickets to Eindhoven at full price, since the supercard was no longer valid on weekdays. Tickets cost 41 euros for two one way tickets (painful), it is better to buy Eurolines (France) from Amsterdam to Eindhoven in advance for 14 euros or Flixbus for 7 euros, but very much in advance.
At 13:00 we were already in Eindhoven and settled in the newest hotel (24-storey tower) Student Hotel, 50 meters from the station exit. And we, as lovers, of course got the 24th floor on the edge!!! The view from the window was simply incomparable, the whole city was at your fingertips!
View from the window...
In Eindhoven itself you don't really need a guidebook, you'll immediately come across the glass globe and the Phillips Museum and several pedestrian shopping streets. A little further is the famous Church of St. Catherine, right next to it is the famous Spiker restaurant, which we visited, an amazing atmosphere, a place where whole companies rush after work, where you can listen to wonderful music and taste a three-course set at an affordable price for Holland of 15 euros for: a carpaccio appetizer, a large steak with vegetables and potatoes, a platter with the best varieties of Dutch cheese (including blue cheese), and all this combined with Dutch beer of incomparable quality and taste. Also, if you have time, you can visit the Tripadvisor rated places, the Daf truck museum, the PSV Arena, as well as a unique object - the “Van Gogh bike path”, which glows due to the solar energy accumulated during the day, built in 2014. The authors of the project took inspiration from “ starry night" - one of the most famous works of the Dutch master. Video of this masterpiece:
You all know that Eindhoven is one of the most important low-cost airports in the world, from where it is easy to get cheaply to very interesting places in Europe and even the world. In addition to Ryanair and Wizz, Transavia.com is widely represented (daily flights at low prices to the Canaries, oh, Tenerife, that will be a completely different story, filled with romance).
Vilnius (Minsk-3) greeted us with arctic cold at -15, after +7 Amsterdam :).
This trip will forever remain in our hearts, and perhaps someone will find it interesting to repeat it themselves. Happy travels and love everyone!!!
Many people dream of ending up in tiny and fabulous Holland (as the Netherlands is often called), but traveling to the land of canals and bicycles is accompanied by various difficulties, particularly financial ones. You can quietly swallow your tears if you convert prices for public transport, food and housing into rubles or hryvnia.
But for those whose middle name is “spontaneity”, who loves switching, and is ready to sacrifice hotel comfort, you can safely go to the Netherlands.
What attracts tourists to the Netherlands?
Many tourists go to Holland for a thrill, because here at every step there are so-called “coffee shops” where you can legally purchase marijuana, which is prohibited in the CIS countries. Prostitution is legalized here and there is a whole block for “girls in shop windows”, where on weekends you can see a whole parade of tourists.
I was delighted with the incredibly beautiful landscapes, canals, famous museums, cheese farms and windmills. Holland has become for me a country of contrasts, where beauty, innovation, development and vulgarity are intertwined into one whole and I feel very comfortable in this combination.
By the way, local residents are very calm about such permissiveness; the theory that if something forbidden is made open, it will cease to be desirable works great here. Many dance clubs, schools and even kindergartens are located near brothels and sex museums, but this only puzzles tourists.
How to get there?
Traveling directly from Moscow or Kyiv by plane is expensive, especially for students. I traveled from Lviv through Poland and Germany - this is a great way not only to save money, but also to see other countries.
I traveled to Berlin from Warsaw for 15 € by a Polish carrier, and to Amsterdam from Berlin by FlixBus bus for only 30 € at the end of summer 2017.
Features of local transport
For tourists, local transport in Holland is a real Narnia. Locals often only use bicycles. There are practically no cars in Amsterdam; using them in the center is extremely inconvenient. You shouldn’t get too attached to your bike; they get stolen here very often. There are even special people who, for 10-20 €, will get you a bike of the right size and color in a couple of hours.
I didn’t dare use a bicycle, I walked a lot, and used disposable tickets. Since I most often lived in Amsterdam, The Hague and Haarlem, I used intercity trains.
Local residents use OV cards. This is a special card with a chipset, universal for all types of transport, with its own bonus system. This card costs about 8 € and can be used for about 4-5 years. Average fare for high speed trains costs from 4 to 10 €.
At train stations and bus stops there are convenient machines for purchasing paper tickets and replenishing plastic cards. You can automatically select the desired travel time with a detailed transfer schedule. Almost all intercity trains have wi-fi.
And what’s interesting is that trains run second per second according to schedule. There are cases when passengers sued the carrier when transport was late by a minute. There are ticket machines on buses and trams that accept credit cards, not cash. I have repeatedly had problems reading my credit card information.
Security and crime situation
At least in the capital huge amount"freaks", I felt very safe even in the late evenings. During my month of living in the Netherlands, nothing was stolen from me. I took out standard insurance for myself, but, fortunately, I did not have the opportunity to use the services of the police or hospital.
Housing in Holland
Since it was a budget trip, I used couchsurfing, the largest guest service where users provide each other with overnight accommodation, free excursions and assistance during travel. This is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture of a new country.
I used this service in Haarlem and The Hague; in Amsterdam it turned out to be more difficult to find free accommodation, so I had to live in a hostel. When I lived in The Hague, the guy who gave me shelter showed me the place where he used to work. It turned out interactive museum about human rights, where I got in completely free of charge.
A visit to this museum left an unforgettable experience for a lifetime. In the city of Haarlem local resident He drew me a whole map of the most interesting and atypical places, which I definitely would not have found on my own and would not have had time to visit in a day. I lived in a separate room in Haarlem and in a living room in The Hague. The hosts repeatedly prepared lunch or dinner, surprising me national cuisine, I also cooked often.
I found a hostel in the city center on a special offer on weekdays for 20-30 €. With such a huge flow of tourists, such a place was not clean and comfortable. Amsterdam is very lively at any time of the day. Many people save on housing by renting it in the suburbs of the capital. It’s only 20-40 minutes by train, and you can rent a hostel or apartment for much less.
But for some, it may be more comfortable to rent a hotel, of which there are many in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, and other cities.
Dutch food
The Dutch are not gourmets, for them food is a source of energy, but if it is tasty, then this is a nice bonus. But there are some special dishes that I remember most:
- At every step you can find delicious pastries, Turkish fast food, as well as French fries with a wide variety of sauces.
- Croquettes made from minced meat, breaded and deep-fried, are a favorite fast food that costs from 2 € per piece.
- Lightly salted herring attracts not only tourists. It is served with finely chopped onions on a bun of white bread, a small portion costs about 3-5 €.
- At every step there are cheese markets where you can taste cheese. They also sell sandwiches with various types meat and cheese and freshly baked buns, average price 5-10 €.
- Every day I gorged myself on Hagelslag toast toppings made from small pieces of chocolate. I ate it without toast. Also popular are two-layer round waffles baked with caramel filling. These sweets can be bought from 1 to 4 €.
The supermarket has a lot of fresh vegetables, meat and seafood. To prepare lunch and dinner at home, you can invest 10-20 €. The average bill in a cafe for two was about 30 €. I really love seafood. There are especially many of them in The Hague. These include sandwiches with shrimp or herring, mixed seafood, squid and much more.
Climate
Holland has very changeable weather and high humidity. It often rains here, sometimes it is a five-minute downpour, after which the sunny weather lasts until the evening. But it happens that it rains all day, and the annual amount of snow falls in one day. After living in the Netherlands for a month, I was very lucky with the weather, even though September is often rainy.
Language and attitude of local residents
Everyone here speaks English, so any store clerk or waiter understood what I needed. The people were friendly, they were interested in where I was from and how things were in my country. There was a funny situation when I was looking for the famous herring in Haarlem. And I asked the locals where the herring booth was, they thought that I was looking for heroin. Then we laughed with them for a long time.
Much of the country's landscape is designed and shaped by humans, making the canals, parks, nature reserves, lakes and dunes look incredibly beautiful. Every small town here is worthy of attention. Holland has a friendly atmosphere, a moderately dynamic lifestyle, many interesting places, all this instilled in me a feeling of home even in a month.
For every tourist, visiting a new corner on the map is a real holiday. The most pleasing thing is this unique feeling when, as you get to know the country, its people and culture, you begin to discover a completely different worldview. This difference does not repel at all, but rather attracts to itself like a magnet. In a relatively short time, you try to understand the essence of everything that is happening around you, because you really want to be charged with the atmosphere of novelty and discovery for a long time. Every country, every single city, every small village on earth has its own unique charm, which makes you fall more and more in love with tourist adventures. The amazing country of the Netherlands, which is located in northwestern Europe, has just such an unearthly appeal. Millions of travelers from all over the world flock here every year. There are quite a lot of reasons for tourist interest here - European quality standards, magnificent nature, hospitable people, an abundance of attractions, as well as an amazing feeling of freedom that literally permeates the whole air. Among those people who are only familiar with the Netherlands in absentia, there is an opinion that this country of debauchery is a red light district and legalized drugs are a prime example of this. However, it is worth noting that this is a very unipolar opinion, because there are entertainments here that are much more interesting and extraordinary, and at the same time legal and cultural. That is why the atmosphere of lightness and freedom... read more
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How much does a holiday in Amsterdam cost? September 2018.
Tour cost
We planned a trip to Amsterdam (09/06-09/07) as part of a trip for two that started in Prague. Therefore, the visa is Czech, issued through the visa center in Krasnoyarsk. Visa costs are about 7,000 rubles. (5000 rubles – fee + biometrics (price depending on the euro exchange rate); 1500 rubles – medical insurance (12 days); 300 rubles – photo for a visa). We traveled from Prague to Amsterdam by rented car (rental price – 2000 rubles/day (including comprehensive car insurance)). Accommodation in a decent hostel within walking distance from the center cost 4,000 rubles. for two with breakfast.
Amsterdam needs to be explored on foot, by bike, or by boat along the canals. We liked to get lost on deserted streets near water canals, look into the windows of houses, and go to local restaurants. A walking tour with a paper map in hand, taken from the hostel, is priceless.
Food and products
Amsterdam is a city of street food. At every step there is a snack bar with sandwiches and the famous Dutch fried potatoes. Sandwich with Edam cheese – 5 euros; potatoes – 6 euros; Dutch beer 0.5 l. – 7 euros.
Souvenirs and other goods
Postcard – 1 euro, magnet – 2 euros, wheel of traditional Edamian cheese – 12 euros.
Total money spent on vacation
The Netherlands is a very compact country and therefore, from a travel point of view, very convenient. After all, it’s not possible to travel around every country in a week, but traveling around a large number Autobahns interconnected into a single network will only bring pleasure.
Most tourists start their journey by car from, because this is where they fly from all over the world. You can rent a car directly using this link. And from there, set off on your journey through the “low lands,” as the name of the country of the Netherlands is translated.
Day one
First we head to Muiderslot Castle. There is parking next to it, which is definitely a plus. However, it is paid (2.4 euros per hour), and this is a minus. Unfortunately, in the Netherlands almost all parking is paid.
Please also note that the castle's opening hours vary depending on the time of year. From April 1 to October 31, the castle is open daily, otherwise only on weekends. The castle is also closed on Christmas and New Year's Day. It will take about 2-3 hours to examine it.
Then we go further, to the beautiful city. On the way you can stop by the fortified city of Naarden. Parking lots are located next to the city wall, which, by the way, can also be climbed. In one part of the wall there is a fortress museum, where you can walk through underground tunnels, see warehouses and the way of life of soldiers of the 18th century.
You can choose a place to stay overnight using this link.
The distance per day is 59 km, which will take a little more than one hour.
Day two
We head further east. And our next stop is the Het Loo palace with beautiful gardens in the Baroque style. Interior decoration The palace will tell you about the life of the royal family of Oranje. The doors of the palace are open to visitors all year round. It is better to check visiting hours on this website.
Also in the warm season you can take a walk in the park next to the palace.
We go further to the national reserve De Hoge Veluwe (Hoge Veluwe), or to the neighboring reserve Veluwezoom (Velovezom). Here in their natural environment you can find deer, bison, foxes, rabbits and various birds, but this is not the only thing these places are famous for. They gained the greatest popularity due to their heather moors. From the beginning of August to the end of October, the heather blooms, and the smell of honey hangs in the air over the delightful landscapes. It is not necessary to walk through this vast territory; if you wish, you can rent a bicycle. You can also stay overnight here, in one of the neighboring villages Hoenderloo, Rheden, De Steeg, or choose a hotel in Arnhem.
An alternative to the reserve could be an open-air museum about the history and life of the Netherlands in the 16th-19th centuries. The museum is so huge that trams run through its territory. It will take at least four hours to examine it. And next to it there is an equally interesting place - “Burger's Zoo”. Today it is the best zoo in the country. If you want to visit both of these places, it is better to purchase a combined ticket.
The distance per day is 87 km, travel time is 1 hour 20 minutes.
Day three
Now we are heading to the southernmost and most unusual region of the country - Limburg, where we will visit its capital Maastricht. The difference in architectural styles is so great that sometimes it is hard to believe that this is still the Netherlands. The French left a huge imprint not only on the architectural style of the buildings, but also on the local residents.
On the way to Maastricht you can stop in the cute village of Arsen to see the delightful gardens located next to the castle. The best time to visit is from July to September.
You can stay overnight in Maastricht; there is a choice of hotels to suit different tastes. You can book the hotel using this link.
The distance per day is about 180 km, it will take a little more than two hours.
Day four
This is the halfway point of our journey. This is an excellent reason for. For this we go to (Efteling) with all kinds of rides and rides. You can stay overnight.
During this day you will travel about 135 km in one and a half hours.
Day five
We go further to the west, where a city of modern and unusual architecture awaits us. You can admire Rotterdam by sailing around, you can find out more about this. Next we will go to a small but very cozy one, which is famous for its painted porcelain. you can visit the main church, where William of Oranje was buried, and also climb the tower, which offers an amazing view not only of the city, but also of the surrounding area. In good weather, and will be visible on the horizon.
Last place On this day it will be possible to stay overnight.
The distance is 95 km, which will take 1.5-2 hours.
Day seven
From April to October, we recommend going to the small fishing town of Enkhuizen and visiting the Zuiderzeemuseum, an open-air museum. You can walk from the parking lot next to the train station, or you can take a boat that will take you to the museum.
From the museum you can take a boat further to the neighboring fishing village of Medemblik, then you can either go back, or take an old train and ride it to Hoorn, after walking around it, return back to Einkhuusen and arrive by car V .
The distance per day is 140 km, travel time is about two hours.
We wish you an interesting and exciting trip to the Netherlands!