Amsterdam

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

10 hours ago, Coolcruise02 said:

Thanks for the heads up about cash only in the grocery stores. What about grocery stores outside of Amsterdam?

Grocery stores are not cash only, quite the opposite actually. Grocery store prefer payment by card and all therefore all grocery stores accept Maestro debit cards. The issue lies with credit cards. Grocery store chain Jumbo does accept MasterCard and Visa. Grocery store Albert Heijn only accepts credit cards in a limited number of stores, for instance the Albert Heijn located at Schiphol and the one at Museumplein in Amsterdam. 

[ontheweb]

One attraction that has not been mentioned that we really enjoyed was the Rembrandt House. It seems Rembrandt unlike Van Gogh made money, but he also spent his way into bankruptcy. His house was restored. One of the best parts for me was that there was an old style printing press. DW is an art teacher, and wood cut prints had been one of her specialties. I watched as she and the person at the press had a lively discussion.

 

Is there still an Amsterdam card that you can buy that gets you free transportation and admittance to almost all major attractions? (The one I remember that it did not include was the Anne Frank House, which as others have said is a must see.)

[markeb]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Is there still an Amsterdam card that you can buy that gets you free transportation and admittance to almost all major attractions? (The one I remember that it did not include was the Anne Frank House, which as others have said is a must see.)

 

Yes. The IAmsterdam City Card does all that for various periods of time. But, as you say, does not include the Anne Frank House.

 

I personally find the IAmsterdam site to be a wealth of information, as well as a location to purchase the cards. They're available at Centraal, you can order online for pickup at Centraal, or apparently there's now a digital version for smartphones. There are also transit only cards, and you can find information about them on the same web page. Honestly, Amsterdam has one of the most useful tourist web sites I've used!

 

If you do get a card, your timer starts when you first use it. BUT, you can reserve times at museums like the Van Gogh museum as soon as you have your card numbers. Which may be before you first use the card. I personally think the card is a much better deal if you buy at least a 3-day (72 hour) card. It's 65 Euros for one day, but only 110 Euros for 3 days.

 

https://www.iamsterdam.com/en

 

[DerekB]

7 hours ago, Dutch_Travelgirl said:

Grocery stores are not cash only, quite the opposite actually. Grocery store prefer payment by card and all therefore all grocery stores accept Maestro debit cards. The issue lies with credit cards. Grocery store chain Jumbo does accept MasterCard and Visa. Grocery store Albert Heijn only accepts credit cards in a limited number of stores, for instance the Albert Heijn located at Schiphol and the one at Museumplein in Amsterdam. 

The US debit card system doesn't use Maestro (usually relies on Visa for processing) - so US debit cards (perhaps with a few rare exceptions) won't work in (most) Albert Heijn. 

[Foolrex]

Guess I am directing this mostly to DerekB and Dutch_Travelgirl. Post-cruise, we are staying in an AirBnB in the Kadijken area. My B-I-L, who has traveled to Amsterdam before, has recommended we try an Indonesian Rijstaffel (if I am spelling that correctly). Is there someplace within walking distance either of you recommends? Also, we are have a lot of interest in history - is there some museums that focus more on that? Like about the Dutch East India Company and so forth. Thanks!

[DerekB]

5 hours ago, Foolrex said:

Guess I am directing this mostly to DerekB and Dutch_Travelgirl. Post-cruise, we are staying in an AirBnB in the Kadijken area. My B-I-L, who has traveled to Amsterdam before, has recommended we try an Indonesian Rijstaffel (if I am spelling that correctly). Is there someplace within walking distance either of you recommends? Also, we are have a lot of interest in history - is there some museums that focus more on that? Like about the Dutch East India Company and so forth. Thanks!

 

I can't help with Rijstaffel (but Indonesian restaurants are everywhere). As for musuems - you want to visit the Rijksmuseum. It is a great history museum and can take hours to visit. Another museum you may want to consider is Het Scheepvaartmuseum - which is the national maritime musuem. It has loads of marine based history exhibits.

 

One hidden gem is that the original board room of the Dutch East Indies company is located at Oude Hoogstraat 24, 1012 CE Amsterdam. This is inside a public accesible building of the University of Amsterdam. Most days the doors to the room are opened and you can see the original furnishings inside. 

Edited March 21, 2022 by DerekB
English correction

[markeb]

8 hours ago, Foolrex said:

Guess I am directing this mostly to DerekB and Dutch_Travelgirl. Post-cruise, we are staying in an AirBnB in the Kadijken area. My B-I-L, who has traveled to Amsterdam before, has recommended we try an Indonesian Rijstaffel (if I am spelling that correctly). Is there someplace within walking distance either of you recommends? Also, we are have a lot of interest in history - is there some museums that focus more on that? Like about the Dutch East India Company and so forth. Thanks!

 

Answered your other thread regarding Rijstaffel...