If U Will Attend Queensday 06 Please Read

I'm in A´dam from 8th till 11th May.

 

We just booked our last minute trip to Amsterdam from April 26 - May 1st. WHAT THE HELL IS QUEENSDAY! I'm totally stoked that it sounds like a freakin' blast - but we have NO idea what to expect! Details please! WOO HOO!

 

the fact that you booked a last minute trip to amsterdam during queensday and had no idea about it will be SUCH A COOL SURPRISE FOR YOU!!!!!

Queensday is a celebration of the queen's birthday (actually the current queens mom...or former queen). This year queensday is on Saturday April 29th. On this day the population of amsterdam grows from about 750,000 to an upwards of 2 million people who flood into the city for a city wide street festival! Roads are closed in the center, outdoor concert stages are set up, kids try to sell things they make, open air fleamarket for all during the day, more music in vondelpark, people dress in orange (national color), etc.
People will be drinking, partying, and carrying on throughout the streets!

About 10-20 fine folks on this board, myself included, go to amsterdam every year for queensday and we meet at coffeeshop de kuil the DAY BEFORE. So if you are up for it, come to De Kuil on Friday April 28th around 4:20pm and say hello!

 

that is SO cool!!! We literally had NO idea this was to be happening. I would LOVE to meet up with some people.........we are a 40 year old couple from Maine who absolutely love Amsterdam. We are staying near the flower market so I guess we will be RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE? Where are you from? and what should I pack? What's the weather like this time of year? Thanks for the invite too! I love that you're all meeting at 4:20pm. Just found these boards today and am so glad I did!

 

The Bloemenmarkt (flower market) is a bit north of the Leidseplein (one of the largest squares in Amsterdam). Amsterdam (for practical purposes) has two centers.......dam square (near red light district on north end of town) and leidseplein (near casino dead center of town).

Our group is a wonderful mix spanning states like NY, SD, CA, FL, MA, plus others (not to mention some europeans) with ages spanning from 21-65+!!!!!

As for the weather, days will be 60-70 degrees F for the most part (low as 55 and high as 75 possible). Nights get quite cool so you will need both shorts and jeans / short sleeves and long sleeves.

Glad to hear you will be attending our meetup! Also if you have any interest we are trying to book about a 15 person canal boat for queensday and possibly one for the night before!

 

That sounds like SO much fun! Would love to join in! We were hoping to get on a fun boat - but didn't know how to go about it. Do you all know each other well? How many times have you met up? I wish I knew about this site before our last visit there. But we walked for 5 days and managed to pack in so much fun we're going back 6 months later! Just booked the trip last night......

 

last year was our first meetup......some of us spent 3 hours together, others 3 days! Its really hard to find a party boat for queensnight (friday 28th) and queensday (sat 29th) at this time. We should have one but are still ironing out the details. If it pans out and you would like to join us I will be glad to see if we can accomodate you!

As for the 6 month return.....LOVE IT.....my first three trips to Amsterdam happened in an 18 month period so I know where your coming from

 

That would be fabulous! If you can squeeze us on the boat....we promise to be fun

 

I hope you guys have a good time!

 

thanks anarchist!

P.S. you are always invited for 2007!

 

Welcome AlliKat1515,
Glad to have you aboard for our little hipforums meet. Make sure to show up at the dekuil on Friday. A few of us will be there a few days earlier. I'm landing that Tuesday and will be meeting others Wed. Your more than welcome to meet anytime and also join our cruises....were in the process of getting on one queensday and that Fri. night. We'll keep you posted. PM me your e-mail and we'll keep you in the loop of things if you want. Where you from in New England?....I'm presently down near Hartford, but I'm from upstate NY. Just down the thurway from Amsterdam, N.Y, believe it or not. Click on my photo and you'll see some pixs from last years amsterdam visit. Will be with my lady Nancy again this year. Check out the other "4 months to go...." 2006 queensday thread for more info and pics from others like Ictricity. Ispica even made t-shirts for our meet this year, check it out and get a hold of him to get yours for queensday....gotta wear orange for queensday and tye-dye for our hip meet at the dekuil.

Later....cheers!!

the anarchist: be there for 2007!!! and we'll crush those stoned negative vibes that can get to ya. we'll make sure too drink a tiny heiney for ya...god knows you can't get big ones LOL

 

Welcome Indeed there AlliKat1515 & Significant Other,

As has been said; Do NOT miss the De Kuil Meet on Friday - April 28th @ 4:20pm.

Very much lookin' forward to meeting you both and shovin' a Vapo Bag or three in yer faces. Aaah... the times will be grande.

Mopperm pretty much nailed it all on the head, but just figured I'd give ya's two my thumbs up on the whole nine from behind stoned eyes. Very glad to have you aboard for the festivities.

The 2nd Annual Meet is comin' together nicely.

Tiny Heinies Rock!!

"I tell all the girls they can kiss my heinie." (Bobby Brown - Frank Zappa)

 

thanks SO much for the welcome you guys - Kevin and I will be there at 4:20 with tye dye bells on. I think we might be able to get shirts too from our new friend in Boston! Would you believe we've never tried the vapo bag????? So - go ahead - feel free to chase us around with it! Any other info or advice you can give us for this amazingly fun weekend would be greatly appreciated. We are SO stoked!.......... Allison

 

i recommend exchanging your USD for EURO before you go........
rates are usually better that way.

make sure to pack atleast one pair of walking shoes......

if you don't mind bikes, they seem to be a great way to get around the city. most areas have dedicated bike lanes where you have the right of way.

the casino is very upscale......where a suit and formal outfit or forget it. bad odds for slot machines, no low limit table games, good luck......

you can smoke in the vondelpark (highly recommend doing this) just not near kids or elderly people. find a quiet area sit down and light up. you can not smoke on the streets unless you are sitting in the outside terrace seating area of a coffeeshop.

i didn't like the madam tousottes (sp?) wax museum because I didn't recognize many of the european celebs. better to see it in new york city if your from new england!

artis zoo: fascinating to see animals from the other side of the planet!

rijk museum

this is the state museum and my favorite....I liked it the most because it had historical pieces, royal furniture, really a mix of everything. I have heard that part of it may currently be closed for renovation.

stedjik museum of modern art

cannabis college

van gogh museum if your a fan of his work, it is a must

anne frank house a bit more sullen but something that should be seen

some good coffeeshops: amnesia, grey area, homegrown fantasy, bluebird, abraxas, global chillage, the noon, katsu, kashmir lounge

to really enjoy the city you need to work the public transportation system. there are trams, subways (called metros), and buses that cover about everything. central station is at the north end of town and all the public lines begin here. so for where you will stay, central station will always be north. outside central station there is a tourist office marked VVV where you can buy a multiday pass that gives you unlimited use of the trams and buses and ???metros??? (i've never used the metro) . This is the best deal around especially if its your first time. You can mess up and go the wrong direction without cost and you don't have to worry about stamping your strippenkart (ticket with about 5-15 credits worth of rides).

in the red light district: do not take photographs of the women in the windows. they will flip out, press a panic button and a rather large security person may approach you at a rapid rate. some bums and junkies may try to sell you hard drugs (be them real or fake) they are best dealt with by not making eye contact, walking briskly, and not speaking to them. when they learn your language they proceed with conversation. If you do not engage them, they say the same thing in different languages so they never get past the first sentence These people are generally harmless but some do lash out. The ones that do tend to be junkies desperate for a score or mentally disturbed ones that feel threatened by your aggressive retaliation. Some of these people hang out near the money xchange spots and then hassle you after witnessing you get cash.


I'll post more as it creeps out of my skull

 

My view is different king koopa LOL, you shouldn't carry all that cash off the bat with all those pickpockets street monkies slithering around.

I recommend using your debit card, credit card or the travel debit cards that you can get at AAA, visa, mastercard etc....these cards always use the better exchange rate because you pay only a nominal exchange rate fee from your bank. Another plus is the travel cards are easily replaced if lost or stolen. Best bet is to have both a debit/credit and a travel debit card. Did that my last trip and no problemos and a good exchange rate.



later gators

 

i agree with your post 100% but i wasn't recommending that she only pay in cash, so no need for you to disagree with me brother! I was suggesting that any money she plans on exchanging be done in advance, as to avoid the worse exchange rate and avoid the undesirables who hang out near the money exchanges to hassle ya! I was making the suggestion because every traveler must exchange some amount of paper money for all the places that don't take credit. As you know my friend, there are lots of those. For instance, my apartment!!!! When in a place that takes credit, mopperms words should ring in your ears as gospel!

 

Using a Debit Card at any of the numerous ATM's is indeed the best bet for getting your Euros while in Amsterdam. I've found that actual Credit Cards are not as widely accepted in Amsterdam as they are in cities in the US. ATM's are golden though.

Be sure to check with your bank before departure in order to confirm your daily limit and to let them know you'll be using the card overseas.

Exchanging USD for Euros straight out is not the best bet in terms of rates.

As Koopa pointed out; If you need a bigger chunk of change above and beyond the daily limit of your Debit Card perhaps it's necessary to exchange some cash, in which case I'd recommend the Money Exchange at Schiphol Airport as oppossed to Centraal Station or Damrak. Less undesireables, although you should always be aware of your surroundings when dealing with cash transactions.

 

Just recieved my copy of the Official Tie Die de Kuil Crew sound track....excellent job lctricity the compilation collection kicks ass!!! I' rocking out to disc 2 as I write this....rock on piggies, 3 weeks to go!!!



I'll be in town for the bash on Thursday see you all there. Sisters of Mercy are playing at the Melkweg, anybody interested? Glad we have some Italians on board. I went to school in Rome and hang out a lot in La Bella Sicilia

 

yeah but if you got a good financial contact here you can get a competitive rate......if the credit card beats $1.20usd per euro with no processing fee then i relinquish this point as well!

but thanks lctricity, i just notified my bank today and will check out the atms more often this trip. i was completely befuddled by the pay phones back in 98 and i think thats why i stay away from the machines

 

I'm bringing my debit card. Me no likey having too much cash on me anywhere not just Europe. You guys are so cute with all the help - we will try to meet up with ya'll on Thursday. Taking the red-eye from Boston on Wed night - arrive around 8 am... don't know when the hotel will let us check in - so we might be meandering around looking for people with orange piggy shirts. Or........we might spend the day foraging for our goodies to avoid the impending crowds. Wish I had a soundtrack.