So the family will be taking my mother-in-law to Belgium and Holland the second week of April. I’d like ot get some info regarding conditions and suchlike. I figure this is the place to ask…
What should I expect the weather to be like? Sweater weather? What?
I use a MC debit card to pay for everything in the States. What are the odds an American debit card will function there?
What’s the coolest thing to see and do in Amsterdam for a day and a half?
Anyone have any idea if a Sprint phone will work there?
Your ATM card will probably work, but they have a different debit system, so unlikely. Credit cards are mostly fine, but they aren’t really fond of them. When you go to dinner make sure you have some cash in case-- ‘no cards’ is unheard of these days in the states, but not so uncommon there.
Weather might be rainy and the temperature may vary between semi-sweltering and frigid. Take a jacket.
Amsterdam for a day and a half? There are a lot of older threads you might search for (this gets asked every couple of months), but you can kill a lot of time just looking around-- it’s a neat walking town. Other things depend on your interests (art? smut? weed? boats? church architecture?) If you were there on the 29th or 30th the answer would be: nothing! You can’t get across the sidewalk for all the Queen’s Day impromptu garage sales and crazies wearing orange.
I think you can ask Sprint to make your phone work, but it will be exorbitant.
About the debit card. I’ve never had a card that wouldn’t work in Europe. I had a citibank mastercard debit that worked fine in almost any ATM. What networks are on your card? My Visa uses Plus and Interlink, and my MC was on the cirrus maestro Star network. Chances are you’ll have little trouble as long as you have a four-digit pin. In the downtown areas you’re not going to have much trouble. Worst case scenario, go to a change place and get cash there.
As far as Amsterdam, there’s loads, but I’d highly recommend Boom Chicago, it’s an improv show run by Internationals in Amsterdam (Only Americans? I don’t know) but it’s hilarious and you’ll really enjoy yourself as it gives a good idea of live in Holland as a foreigner. You can book tickets through their website, but it’s normally no trouble to simply walk in. I’ve been twice and it was great. That’s the only thing I can recommend and it will be good for the older family members since it’s something to do at night that doesn’t involve drugs. But if you are going to smoke a few, then make sure you have the cash to buy some food. The restaurants there are very clever in tempting those with munchies with pictures of food on the outside. You see pictures of food everywhere.
The Van Gogh museum is nice, but long. The Anne Frank house is cool too but a bit disappointing in a way. I was expecting to get to go into the attic.
the Dam is definitely a walking town. And then there’s the ubiquitous trams, but don’t think you’ll be sneaky and get a free ride! There’s a guy in a ticket booth inside!
As for your phone. You’re basically not going to want to use it outside of emergencies. The only way you can do this is if your phone is a GSM compatible model WITH functionality on one of the two European bands. Give me your phone model number and I’ll tell you what your options are. But ideally you can go there, buy a prepaid card for about 20 euro including talk-time and stick it in the phone. You’ll probably have enough for hotel/restaurant reservations etc to last the whole trip. BUT your phone has to be unlocked for this to work. Maybe your provider does this for free? You’ll also need a plug adaptor to charge it, but not a transformer as most AC/DC wall adaptors for phones nowadays take between 110 and 220 watts. 220 is the European one. It should say so on the adaptor by the way under the input voltage section.
Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Red Light District and a coffee shop, but not necessarily in that order. Make sure you check out the Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum.
Brugge is an awesome medieval town in Belgium. There is some hole in the wall pub with over 300 beers. There’s a church with a Michaelangelo Pieta, one of the only sculptures by the master outside of Italy, the Louvre and the Hermitage.
Oh, here’s something I’m glad they told me about before I went to Europe: European ATMs do not allow you to have PINs longer than 4 digits, so you may have to change yours if it’s longer.
If the debit card says Maestro, it probably works. Still, better take a credit card as well (MC or Visa are best, AmEx and Diner’s work sometimes, Discover is unknown).
I’ve never had a problem with a debit card that acts like a credit card. It’s also easy to get money at ATMs over there. I will however warn you that the last couple of times I’ve been in Europe they ask me if I want the charges in Euros or dollars. Don’t take them up on the offer as they were charging me an exchange rate of 1.3-1.4 when the rate was 1.2.
Yes, I almost fell for that innocuous-sounding request last time I was in France. You should opt to pay in Euros or whatever the local currency is, because they will charge you a worse exchange rate than that you would automatically get by using your card.
If you want to head out of A-dam for a bit to get away from the chaos, Delft is delightful, as is Haarlem.
If you have a few days in Belgium, do not get lazy and only do Brussels and Bruges. Ghent is a hoot, Antwerp is very cool, and there are a lot of neat gorgeous smaller towns worth a bit of time-- Leuven, Lier, Mons/Bergen, Dinant, Chimay, Liege, etc. (to name just ones that stick out in my memory for prettiness).
We’re definitely looking for low-impact family-friendly entertainment. This is a gift trip for my mother-in-law, really, and her wishes will be paramount.
Good tips on the paying for stuff via debit card, though. I approve.
Nobody has mentioned food. The “French” fries, or pommes frites are the best on the planet (invented in Belgium), and the mussels, or moules are wonderful. Try moules provencale or gratinee down off the main square in Brussels. Also, in Brussels, try a steak au poivre a la creme (pepper steak with cream sauce). Pure heaven and available at most corner pubs.
I agree with getting out of the larger cities. Brugge is very interesting and you can get there by train from Brussels. Beautiful historic countryside at Ardennes and Bastonne, the sites of some horrific battles.
I don’t know if the 11th Commandment bar is still near the church in Amsterdam, but is worth a look just for the statuary.
I’ll be in Belgium and the Netherlands on business, probably in mid or late April, so I have some of the same questions as the OP. My interests, though, are generally “things to do so I can get away from my co-workers for a few hours.”
Chefguy-- I think I’m with you on the 11th Commandment being in Antwerp. It’s the one under the cathedral filled with schmaltz, right? Filled with tourists but the food is ok despite the fact (low countries comfort food like vol au vent and uitsmijters).
If you want to visit a REALLY weird pub, find het Velootje in Ghent. Messed. Up.
If anyone wants the overly detailed boutique pub recommendations, say the word.