Amsterdam

Euro Trip 2016: Amsterdam Video

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Euro Trip 2016: Amsterdam Video

The video below is the last leg of our European honeymoon. Amsterdam was a favorite city of ours and we would love to go back and do more exploring. After using my GoPro Hero 3 for the duration of the trip, I’m tempted to get a Hero 4. I would upgrade to the newer Hero 5 but it’s not compatible with my Feiyu Tech gimbal.

The music track we used was Sheppard’s “Keep Me Crazy” which doesn’t allow the video to play on mobile devices. I did not know it would be restricted but it can’t be helped now. Thanks for watching.

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Euro Trip 2016: Amsterdam

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Amsterdam 2016

Amsterdam was our last stop on our European honeymoon and also the shortest. Three days were not enough to fully explore this amazing city.

Cell Phones

Since this was the last leg of the trip and the shortest, we didn’t purchase a new SIM. We decided to use our SIM cards from the previous countries until we used up all the minutes and data. We would switch to WiFi whenever possible to cut back on data usage.

Transportation

We picked up a three day Amsterdam Travel Ticket for €26. This Smart Ticket or (OV-chipkaart) is easy to use and you can choose a longer duration, up to seven days. Getting on a bus or train is easy, you tap it on a pad on trams and buses. It also comes with a transportation map which was helpful. The ticket covers the train from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Central Station. This is convenient since you do not need to purchase separate tickets for the public transport in the city. We used the Citymapper app to navigate around the city. It’s a lot better than Google maps for transportation schedules.

Accommodations 

We stayed in Amy’s Blue Room on the historic Haarlemmerdijk. It’s a short distance to central station, two stops on the bus. You can easily get to the other parts of the city from Central Station. It’s about one kilometer to the Anne Frank House and the city cente, and it’s a nice neighborhood to walk through.

The Fun Stuff

The Canal District

We loved walking through the canal district. The clean streets, iconic architecture and fresh air were a welcomed break from the busy streets of London, Rome and Paris. While not many places of interest are in the canal district, the scenery and architecture is well worth the stroll. We would buy pastries and hang out along the canals which looks great at night as well.

Anne Frank House and Museum

The Anne Frank house and museum was a short walk from our place. I did not read her diary growing up but the museum gives a great history of her life. The museum did not allow pictures to be taken inside which was a relief. The wife and I were able to just immerse ourselves in her story without trying to take pictures. I was able to read excerpts from the original diary which was a great experience. We picked up a copy of her diary in the gift shop, which I will read soon.

Heinekin Experience

If you are a Heineken drinker, this is a must visit. The Heineken Experience is a tour through the first Heineken brewery in Amsterdam. You learn the history of Heineken and how their beer is made. Beer is no longer brewed in the building but kegs are shipped in from their closest brewery. Two glasses of beer are included with the ticket.

Van Gogh Museum

My wife and I decided to visit the Van Gogh museum instead of the Rijksmuseum. We wanted to visit both but we were limited on time. She’s a fan of Van Gogh’s work and wanted to see more of his paintings. If you’re a fan of Van Gogh, this visit is worth the trip.

Thoughts on Amsterdam

I didn’t mention everything we did in Amsterdam above. We went to the red light district, coffee shops and two CrossFit gyms (they were closed). We had a blast and we wish we spent more time here. In retrospect, we would have cut two days from Paris, and stayed the extra days in Amsterdam. I hope you enjoyed my recap of our honeymoon. If you have any questions feel free to comment or use the contact form, safe travels.

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Europe 2016: Honeymoon Edition

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Europe 2016: Honeymoon Edition

September has been a great month. I got married and went on an awesome honeymoon to Europe. We visited four cities: London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. I brought my GoPro with me and took a few shots using my new Feiyu Tech G4S Stabilizer. It worked really well and I hope the video comes out great. I posted a lot more pictures on my Instagram (@ENPalomo) if you want to see some stills.
After reading a lot of posts about pick pocketing in Europe, my wife bought a Pacsafe Venturesafe 150 GII cross body pack. I used this instead of a body wallet that people usually recommend. This worked great on the subways and buses throughout Europe. It has a lot of anti theft features which makes it a great alternative to a body wallet. I might do a review on this after all the cities.

Cell Phones 

We purchased SIM cards in London, Paris and Rome. We did not purchase SIM cards in Amsterdam, instead we used our previous SIM cards and roamed. This lasted about three days into our trip to Amsterdam which was enough.

Airfare and Transportation

 

I booked my tickets using Kayak and my train ticket using Eurostar. Each city has a different system for public transportation which we picked up after landing. We also used Uber for a few rides in London and Paris. This was the first time using Uber and it took a few rides to get used to using it and the etiquette when using it. The app didn’t update numbers when switching SIM cards which I found out the hard way. Overall, I had a great experience with Uber and the drivers I interacted with.If you plan on using taxis to get to your accommodation, use a legitimate one. Their will be people asking you if you need a taxi in the airport terminals and some of them are not legitimate. Make sure they have a meter and a taxi sign or licence. They prey on tourists and will overcharge you.

Another great app to download would be City Mapper. This app was a lifesaver on the trip. It requires an internet connection but you can use it offline if you save routes. You pick a starting point or use your GPS location and pick a destination. The app then calculates the quickest route to your destination including all forms of public transportation. It also calculates driving, walking and rider sharing apps like Uber. This made navigating the city that much easier. It doesn’t have all major cities so check the website to see if the one you’re visiting is on there.

Accommodations

 
Trying to find hotels that fit within our budget and proximity to the city center was extremely difficult. We opted to go with AirBnB. This was my first experience using AirBnB and it was great. It was also more affordable and located in great areas within the cities. At first I was hesitant to use this site but after talking to multiple friends we decided to give it a try. Each place we stayed in had an excellent guest ratings and had a minimum 50 reviews. I also read all the negative reviews if any. We had a great time in each place which I’ll discuss in each city review.
Attractions and Restaurants
We primarily used the website Trip Advisor to look up attractions and restaurants. I’ve used this website to plan past trips to Tokyo and Seoul. They have a great forum if you need to ask questions about places you’re going to visit. I would also save locations using Google maps. I will talk about the few we visited on our trip.
Money Exchange
We took some cash with us with the intent to change it at a currency exchange. In retrospect, it wasn’t the best way to obtain foreign currency. We should have brought half the amount of cash and pulled the rest out of ATM’s. When I added up the fees from the ATM transaction, it was lower than the fees from currency exchange. Most European bank ATM’s do not charge fees, with most of our fees coming from our local bank. Our bank fee was about $2. Try to avoid independent ATM’s and stick with bank ATM’s.

Some currency exchanges have commissions and the trading rate was higher than the bank rate. Make sure you inform your bank before traveling. Most banks will lock your account since withdrawals from a foreign country looks suspicious.

Credit Cards

My wife and I have a travel friendly credit card. We do not get charge foreign transaction fees and we get the best dollar to euro/pound conversion rate as opposed to cash. The rates are made by Visa which is close to the bank currency exchange rate.

I will be writing about the cities in the order I visited them, London, Paris, Rome and Amsterdam. I’ll try to finish one each week.
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