Life in Amsterdam

One of the best ways to see Amsterdam is by boat. The city offers a number of canal boat tours you can pick up in several different locations. Skip the ones right by Centraal Station and head for the Rondvaarten company on Rokin (located right near Muntplein). They offer a variety of tours, from the basic one hour tour to full dinner cruises. I'd recommend doing a basic tour just to see the city, and, if you have some extra time, the evening wine and cheese tours are great!

Another thing you shouldn't miss in Amsterdam is art. Amsterdam has numerous museums and galleries, from the large state museum The Rijksmuseum to small specialized galleries in the Jordan area. If you're pressed for time, head for the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Anne Frankhuis -- those are the big ones for Amsterdam. But if you have more time, take a look at Rembrandt's house (located near Waterlooplein), the two canal house museums on the Herengracht and Keizersgracht and whatever's on display at the Nieuwe Kerk (it's a church, but they have wonderful traveling exhibits).

Quick Tips:

If you're willing to visit lots of sights in a fairly short amount of time, I'd recommend the Amsterdam Pass (you can by it at the Ticket and Info building at Centraal Station or any VVV office in town). The Amsterdam Pass gives you free or discounted entry into lots of museums and other attractions, free or discounted canal boat tours, restaurant deals and a pass to use the public transport system (the trams and buses in town) for a set number of days. We got this for my in-laws when they came to visit and it was great.

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation in Amsterdam is great, although sometimes confusing. It's really inexpensive and will get you everywhere you need to go though, so I think it's worth the effort of figuring it out a little. Your easiest option is to get a Strippenkart from Centraal Station or almost any grocery or drugstore. You don't have to figure out the number of zones you're traveling through (although most often it will be just one). You can just tell the tram conductor or driver where you're going, and they'll stamp it for you -- and a stamp is good for an hour (so if you have to switch trams to get somewhere, you don't have to have use more strips on your card).

My parents stayed at the Schiller when they came to visit us in February 2004. I got the room at a better price for them (than the hotel's listed prices) through Expedia.com.

The room was nice, although kind of basic (like most mid-level hotels in Europe). They stayed there a week and really enjoyed it. The hotel offers a breakfast buffet for an additional fee (around 15 Euros per person, I think). I ate breakfast with them two mornings, and it was pretty good. The service at the Schiller is great too.

I'd highly recommend it to others visiting Amsterdam. The hotel is really nice itself, decorated in art deco style, but the true benefit is its great location in the city. You're right in Rembrandtplein, which has lots of good restaurants nearby, and there are three trams that stop just 100 feet away from the hotel door, making getting around the city pretty easy.

My in-laws stayed at this hotel when they visited in August 2003. They liked the hotel, which they got as part of a package deal through Expedia.com. The location is pretty good -- you're really close to Centraal Station and one of the city's main shopping areas (the Kalverstraat and the Nieuwedijk). Three tram lines stop really close by as well (the 1, 2 and 5), so you have easy access to the rest of the city.

The hotel itself was nice and the staff was friendly. Their room was small but certainly adequate (beware of the welcoming drinks and food on the tables -- it's the equivalent of a mini-bar). The hotel offers a nice breakfast buffet each morning, which I think was included in the cost of their room.

The Garlic Queen is probably my favorite restaurant in Amsterdam and we've tried quite a few now. As the name implies, everything the restaurant serves is laced with a fair amount of garlic. However, every dish is freshly prepared for you (except the stew I believe), so if you aren't a lover of generous quantities of garlic (like me), you can tell them and they will prepare your dish with less (or none).

The menu is small, but everything I've tried there has been wonderful. My favorite starter is the Garlic Baker, which is an elephant head of garlic baked in a ceramic dish with olive oil and herbs. The baked garlic is delicious spread on the homemade bread. The garlic soup is another great appetizer that I'd recommend.

As for my favorite entree, it's a toss-up between the garlic beef stew and the filet of beef. The stew is delicious and not too overwhelmingly garlicky. The filet of beef is heavenly, grilled the way you want it, with more roasted garlic served on the side (I always eat these too!). Both are typically served with garlic mashed potatoes. To be fair, I can't tell you how garlicky these things truly are, since after I eat the Garlic Baker, I really can't taste the garlic in anything else.

The restaurant has an interesting array of garlic desserts as well, things like garlic chocolate and garlic ice cream, all of which are good.

The restaurant also features daily specials, which I'd highly recommend. Obviously they change often, but I've never been disappointed in anything I've tried.

This is my favorite restaurant in town, so naturally I take all my friends and family there. And, while they may not love it quite as much as I do, I've never heard anyone say anything bad about it. The service is great, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. It is an expensive restaurant, but it's a great treat. It's very small however, so reservations are necessary.