We have a sex museum in Amsterdam. Top that. 
Also a Madama Tusseauds, and Anne Frank's house which is quite interesting.
Also a Madama Tusseauds, and Anne Frank's house which is quite interesting.
Eurotrip
- Thread starter DraKon2k
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Quite a bit of 'capital city syndrome' in this thread. Anyroad, in answer to the original post.
Amsterdam:
From my experience prices are similar to the rest of Europe aslong as you're not an idiot about it e.g. chains are the same as everywhere else, some places however are aimed alot more at tourists so you're looking at a few euros extra here and there. Overall though not too bad at all.
Everyone I met spoke perfect English, including homeless people which was a bit unnerving
Hash cakes were available in a few cafes I noticed and were about what you'd pay for normal cake in a coffee shop.
Can't comment on the week night life as I was there Friday - Monday.
Had no experience with crime. Few shady looking guys in some of the clubs but nothing came of this. Police I encountered were helpful with directions and questions.
As far as the sex district, yeah it's fairly obvious and fairly seedy but is pretty seperate; a city within a city if you will.
Rome
Been a while since I went but it's a stunning city although fairly expensive both to stay and eat out unless you know decent places off the beaten track. Most staff spoke good English, the public were about 50/50 but this may of just been my experience. Worth checking out but if you're on a tight budget then maybe leave it for another time.
Prague
Heading there myself in a couple of weeks but haven't been before so can't comment I'm afraid.
London
One of my favourite cities to visit; feels like four or five cities combined, each with their own personalities. Can be quite expensive in some places (hotels on average are around 10-15% more just because of the location) but overall no worse than anywhere else. Pound is stronger than the Euro at the moment, but it's at it's lowest for quite some time so you may want to take advantage of it.
Literally no end of things to do so I suggest you plan what you want to see so you fit it in. unless you're like me and just like wandering around. Most museums are funded by the DCMS so are free entry, some of the city attractions however can be a bit pricey.
London does have some gang issues (which isn't suprising as a fifth of the population live there) but crime shouldn't be an issue as I imagine you'll be staying to the tourist areas and not heading into the slum parts. Aside from not having your wallet on display on the tube you'll be fine. Note that Londoners can be a bit rude on the underground so make sure you stick to the correct side of the escalators.
Berlin
I liked it but I was too young to appreciate things like nightlife so I can't really comment. It's a pretty beautiful place to walk around though and from what I remember prices were suprisingly good for a capital city (note this was about 7 years ago though.)
Cologne
Never been I'm afraid.
On your budget I'd recommend Prague, Amsterdam and London, in that order; Prague for the scenary and the food, Amsterdam for the cafes and night life and London for the museums and the city itself. Save London for last as it's very easy to go over budget there and doing it too early may cut your trip short.
Amsterdam:
From my experience prices are similar to the rest of Europe aslong as you're not an idiot about it e.g. chains are the same as everywhere else, some places however are aimed alot more at tourists so you're looking at a few euros extra here and there. Overall though not too bad at all.
Everyone I met spoke perfect English, including homeless people which was a bit unnerving
Hash cakes were available in a few cafes I noticed and were about what you'd pay for normal cake in a coffee shop.
Can't comment on the week night life as I was there Friday - Monday.
Had no experience with crime. Few shady looking guys in some of the clubs but nothing came of this. Police I encountered were helpful with directions and questions.
As far as the sex district, yeah it's fairly obvious and fairly seedy but is pretty seperate; a city within a city if you will.
Rome
Been a while since I went but it's a stunning city although fairly expensive both to stay and eat out unless you know decent places off the beaten track. Most staff spoke good English, the public were about 50/50 but this may of just been my experience. Worth checking out but if you're on a tight budget then maybe leave it for another time.
Prague
Heading there myself in a couple of weeks but haven't been before so can't comment I'm afraid.
London
One of my favourite cities to visit; feels like four or five cities combined, each with their own personalities. Can be quite expensive in some places (hotels on average are around 10-15% more just because of the location) but overall no worse than anywhere else. Pound is stronger than the Euro at the moment, but it's at it's lowest for quite some time so you may want to take advantage of it.
Literally no end of things to do so I suggest you plan what you want to see so you fit it in. unless you're like me and just like wandering around. Most museums are funded by the DCMS so are free entry, some of the city attractions however can be a bit pricey.
London does have some gang issues (which isn't suprising as a fifth of the population live there) but crime shouldn't be an issue as I imagine you'll be staying to the tourist areas and not heading into the slum parts. Aside from not having your wallet on display on the tube you'll be fine. Note that Londoners can be a bit rude on the underground so make sure you stick to the correct side of the escalators.
Berlin
I liked it but I was too young to appreciate things like nightlife so I can't really comment. It's a pretty beautiful place to walk around though and from what I remember prices were suprisingly good for a capital city (note this was about 7 years ago though.)
Cologne
Never been I'm afraid.
On your budget I'd recommend Prague, Amsterdam and London, in that order; Prague for the scenary and the food, Amsterdam for the cafes and night life and London for the museums and the city itself. Save London for last as it's very easy to go over budget there and doing it too early may cut your trip short.
I've only been to Amsterdam a handful of times, but...
Most Dutch are pretty good at English. I think many people here understand German quite well but have trouble speaking it. So use English. Criminality is higher in the cities but as long as you don't wander off into dark alleys you'll be fine.
And yes, weed is "legal" in the sense that you are allowed to buy and carry about 5 grams of it, but you can only smoke it in the coffeeshops or in the privacy of your home... though if you walk down a city street on a Friday or Saturday night you can usually smell that some of the passersby are smoking a joint
But PLEASE, don't be one of those stupid tourists who come to our country just for the drugs, if you do something wrong and get in trouble you will ruin it for the rest of us. Some of those tourists have already managed to make paddos (mushrooms) illegal by jumping off of a building and dying after they thought they could fly and that sucks (the mushroom thing, not the death). Not that I'm a druggie, but I just like freedom.
Most Dutch are pretty good at English. I think many people here understand German quite well but have trouble speaking it. So use English. Criminality is higher in the cities but as long as you don't wander off into dark alleys you'll be fine.
And yes, weed is "legal" in the sense that you are allowed to buy and carry about 5 grams of it, but you can only smoke it in the coffeeshops or in the privacy of your home... though if you walk down a city street on a Friday or Saturday night you can usually smell that some of the passersby are smoking a joint
But PLEASE, don't be one of those stupid tourists who come to our country just for the drugs, if you do something wrong and get in trouble you will ruin it for the rest of us. Some of those tourists have already managed to make paddos (mushrooms) illegal by jumping off of a building and dying after they thought they could fly and that sucks (the mushroom thing, not the death). Not that I'm a druggie, but I just like freedom.
As a Londoner myself I can recommend it. Although as it's so big and so many things to do I always think it's better if you know someone who can show you around the areas most tourists will miss. For museums, galleries, historical places of interest, gardens, parks and 'things to do' it's one of the finest cities in the world.
However the downsides mount up and can be quite annoying, it gets extremely busy during tourist season so most tourist traps will be jammed making them less pleasant than they should be. Also it can be very expensive, travel, food and accommodation will be far more than you are probably used to. Crime isn't an issue, same as most big cities in the world, as long as you aren't stupid and street wise it won't happen to you.
However the downsides mount up and can be quite annoying, it gets extremely busy during tourist season so most tourist traps will be jammed making them less pleasant than they should be. Also it can be very expensive, travel, food and accommodation will be far more than you are probably used to. Crime isn't an issue, same as most big cities in the world, as long as you aren't stupid and street wise it won't happen to you.
Propably every city can be nice if you have an "insider" showing you the places one wouldn't see as a normal tourist. I mean, I could show you so many beautiful places in berlin a normal tourist would never ever see.... I <3 BERLIN!
From what I hear Amsterdam has some pretty major crime. As for me I only live a 45 minute train journey from London, I've been to the ministry of sound, it is expensive but you get every penny's worth.
A friend of mine who was in amsterdam last week said that a) there are no real clubs in amsterdam, only bars b) that theres no stuff like longdrinks and you have to buy everything seperate(i highly doubt this), c) smoking(tabac->cigarettes) is forbidden?
smoking is forbidden in all public buildings,restaurants, bars, public transport etc. etc.
the bigger bars/cafe's will have a ventilated smokingroom though
you can smoke outside though
longdrinks? you can drink anything you want and more
Enough clubs too depends what sort of clubs you like
the bigger bars/cafe's will have a ventilated smokingroom though
you can smoke outside though
longdrinks? you can drink anything you want and more
Enough clubs too depends what sort of clubs you like
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Well normal club with house / R&B and middle-priced i'd say and better no scum
As always you need to find the places (google can help). There are a lot of famous dutch DJ's for instance and they got to play somewhere (although Rotterdam is the home of DJ's for the Netherlands). There are plenty of cocktail bars as well.
As my interest lies with live music I haven't really got an idea about what clubs are good or bad or whatever. And haven't been that often in most places, beside the ones that are used for live performances as well.
But this shabby made site might give you some ideas on some clubs in Amsterdam (although there are loads of other more underground ones set in basements or squatted houses etc.). http://www.clubamsterdam.nl/clubamsterdam.php
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About crime in Amsterdam its primarily forms of theft like pickpocketing or stealing bicycles. The chance of getting assaulted or robbed for your money is pretty low as long as you don't go into some dark deserted alley. Its important to watch out for your belongings, but there isn't a big chance of suddenly getting assaulted or robbed somewhere.
The crime rate in Amsterdam might be the second biggest in the Netherlands, it lies below the average of for instance the UK and USA.
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Its illegal by law to have employees work in a space were people smoke. So usually smoking only happens outside or in specially ventilated rooms. Although people aren't always that strict in following that rule.
(although Rotterdam is the home of DJ's for the Netherlands). There are plenty of cocktail bars as well. As my interest lies with live music I haven't really got an idea about what clubs are good or bad or whatever. And haven't been that often in most places, beside the ones that are used for live performances as well.
But this shabby made site might give you some ideas on some clubs in Amsterdam (although there are loads of other more underground ones set in basements or squatted houses etc.). http://www.clubamsterdam.nl/clubamsterdam.php
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About crime in Amsterdam its primarily forms of theft like pickpocketing or stealing bicycles. The chance of getting assaulted or robbed for your money is pretty low as long as you don't go into some dark deserted alley. Its important to watch out for your belongings, but there isn't a big chance of suddenly getting assaulted or robbed somewhere.
The crime rate in Amsterdam might be the second biggest in the Netherlands, it lies below the average of for instance the UK and USA.
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Its illegal by law to have employees work in a space were people smoke. So usually smoking only happens outside or in specially ventilated rooms. Although people aren't always that strict in following that rule.
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Good thing you're not going to Belgium, the last time an austrian came here he stayed here for 4 years.
This.
I've generated a dislike for tourists over the past two years working as an outdoor sports instructor, working with them daily for weeks on a row.
(Oh look, there is a river running past this person's home but we cant see it from the street, lets just walk into their garden uninvited and stand there and have a goddamn picknick
Oh, is the company closed today? Well **** that, let's go around the back and find an entrance to harass the instructors who are still here on their only free day in 4 weeks)
But this is just ****ing resentful
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