Amsterdam Journals

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Best of IgoUgo

A June 2006 trip to Amsterdam by Mandan Lynn

I amsterdam Photo - Amsterdam, Netherlands

Quote: I'll be adding to this journal as I take more and more trips to the big city.

12 Photos

Paradiso

Attraction | "Mark Ronson and the Business Intl at Paradiso"

Quote:

My Dutch friend Bas and I went to see Mark Ronson at the Paradiso.I was not familiar with Mark Ronson before I went. Nor had I ever been to the Paradiso. Both were a delight.Paradiso is an awesome venue that seems to have once been a church with its balcony and stained glass windows behind the stage. The line was long to get in (the show sold out -- lucky we bought our tickets in advance!), and you have to purchase a membership to Paradiso in addition to your ticket. You can buy a year membership if you plan to attend a lot of shows, or what I believe was a month-long membership for what I remember being about 3,50 Euros. In true Dutch fashion, we had to wait i...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on November 28, 2010

Paradiso
Weteringschans 6-8
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1017
31 20 626 45 21

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Three Sisters Grand Pub

Attraction | "Bitterballen at Three Sisters"

Quote:

One of the many things I was looking forward to upon my return to the Netherlands was the bitterballen. These odd fried balls of what I believe someone called meat are absolutely delicious.Luckily, my Dutch friend Bas understood my cravings, so after our visit to the FOAM Photography Museum (check out the review I wrote about it when I visited the first time four years ago) we stopped by Three Sisters.I ordered a cappuccino which was phenomenal. I learned a few years ago, as I started to get more involved with coffee, that if you add sugar to good cappuccino, the sugar takes a long time to sink. This sugar sat on the top until I stirred it in. And it was excellent....Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on November 28, 2010

Three Sisters Grand Pub
Leidseplein 2
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland 1017
020-428-0428

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Amsterdam, Netherlands

Overview

Quote:

This city has SO MUCH. You can stay busy for ages. It has relatively more museums than anywhere in the world--start with the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.Quick Tips: Don't take pictures in the Red Light district! You'll wind up in trouble. As a woman, you probably don't want to walk there alone at night--people might get the wrong idea.If you're into smoking, don't just assume you can smoke anywhere. When in doubt, just ask.If you're a student, don't be afraid to ask for student discounts, even at the bar.Get a Museum Card if you plan to visit lots of museums. There are more than 400 participating museums in the Netherlands, and the card gets you...Read More

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Van Gogh Museum

Attraction

Quote:

Van Gogh MuseumOpen daily 10am to 6pm (Fridays until 10pm)Ten euros (no student price)If you plan on hitting lots of museums in the Netherlands, buy the museumjaarkaart. It usually pays for itself after only two or three museums.The Van Gogh collection is one of Amsterdam's highlights, in my opinion--it is the largest collection of Van Goghs in the world. The museum is laid out so well--it's easy to go through and see everything without having to backtrack or worry that you missed something. The paintings are in chronological order, and you can get a very good feel for how he progressed as an artist. Of special interest are The Potato Eaters and Sunflowers.The museu...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 8, 2006

Van Gogh Museum
Paulus Potterstraat 7
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1071 CX
+31 (20) 570 52 00

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Heineken Brewery

Attraction | "Heinekenbrouwerij"

Quote:

Heineken Experience10am-6pm (7pm in July and August)10 euros (no student discount)The admission fee includes three drinks and a gift--a bottle opener.I don't like beer that much. But I was DELIGHTED by this place. It was such fun. You get the history of Heineken beer making, as well as ridiculous diversions such as a show where you find out what it's like to be a beer bottle, make your own music video (which you can email to your friends), old Heineken commercials, and other silly things that make for great photo opportunities. Definitely visit with some travel buddies--you'll have a blast.And you get three drinks--nice, big drinks. Like I said, like you know, I do...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on June 8, 2006

Heineken Brewery
Stadhouderskade 78
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1075 AE
+31 (0)20 523 92 22

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FOAM – Photography Museum Amsterdam

Attraction

Quote:

FOAM Photography MuseumOpen daily 10:00-5:00 pm (Thursday and Friday until 9:00 pm)Admission: 6,50 euros (students 5,00)The best part about this, for me, was that even though I visited the museum in the middle of July, I was one of only a handful of people there. It felt like a private exhibit, just for me. Those tourists don't know what they're missing.The photo exhibits in the museum change regularly, so you can go back every few months to see something different. They're currently showing works by Daido Moriyama, (which I didn't like all that much -- they didn't seem artistic enough to me. Eh), a collection of works about life during the Great Depression, a series ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on July 21, 2006

FOAM – Photography Museum Amsterdam
Keizergracht 609
Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Rijksmuseum

Attraction

Quote:

RijksmuseumDaily 9:00-6:00 pm (10:00 pm Friday)Admission: 10,00 euros (18 and under free; no student discount)The Rijksmuseum is what I remember best about my first visit to Amsterdam 7 years ago. It was the first art museum I had ever been to, so it holds a special place in my heart. And, upon my return trip last week, I found it to be well worth my high opinion.Captions are in Dutch and English, and they are, for the most part, quite thorough--you manage to get quite a history lesson as well as an art fix.The Rijksmuseum proudly displays Holland's own--works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Steen. You won't want to miss the "Nightwatch", which may be Rembrandt's ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on July 25, 2006

Rijksmuseum
Stadhouderskade 42
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1071 ZD
+31 20 674 70 00

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Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Attraction

Quote:

Stedelijk Museum
Daily 10:00-6:00 pm
Admission: 9,00 euros (students 4,50)

The Stedelijk is occupying a temporary home in an old post building near the Amsterdam Centraal. Its new building on Museumplein, set to be completed in 2008, will be quite a big deal. I'm sure they're looking forward to that, but in the meantime they're making do on three floors of that old building.

The Stedelijk houses, shall we say, "experimental" art. You have to go in with an open mind.

The museum starts on the second floor of the building: an exhibit on air travel. The history. The designs (flight attendant uniforms, airports, seats, even cutlery). The future. It especially focuses on the artistic element of all this practicality -- how and why things were designed the way they were.

This is where I learned about the Boeing 787, coming in 2008, and I'm already excited to fly in it. There are several videos about air travel, models of planes and airports, and lots of photographs. The flight history timeline is also especially interesting. The detailed captions are all in Dutch and English.

On the third floor we get into Andy Warhol and other artists. I saw Andy's stuff first, and it just got stranger after that. Don't miss the room with all the mutilated furniture. The video that tells the story of it all will give you nightmares. Enjoy.

There's a Saskia Olde Wolbers exhibit. She makes videos. The images look computer generated, but as it turns out she makes all the sets by hand. They're beautiful, and each video is narrated. The stories are fiction, but they're inspired by real-life situations. The exhibit includes her works "Trailer" (2005), "Interloper" (2003), "Placebo" (2002), and "Kilowatt Dynasty" (2000).

The 11th floor houses the cafe.

Despite my preferences for art by the likes of Rubens and Picasso, I really enjoyed this museum. The air travel exhibit was especially fascinated. The best part was that it wasn't even especially crowded -- I visited in the middle of August, and I often found myself in rooms all alone.

Check it out.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 14, 2006

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Paulus Potterstraat 13
Amsterdam, Netherlands 1071 CX
31 (20) 573 29 11