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Europe Travel Assistance

I'll be spending 3 nights in Amsterdam this summer, but it's been a number of years since I've been there. What is a good neighborhood to stay in?
 
I'll be spending 3 nights in Amsterdam this summer, but it's been a number of years since I've been there. What is a good neighborhood to stay in?

How old are you, and are you travelling with a wife/gf/bf/husband or by yourself?
 
34, travelling with wife and two best friends. I was hoping you'd chime in.

Hopefully you'll get out and experience some of the local flavor. If you do, we might even become Eskimo butthole brothers.

Oh, wear a condom.
 
If you can afford it stay here:

http://dylanamsterdam.com/

The Dylan Hotel is one of Europe’s most eclectic boutique properties. It encompasses three small 18th century houses right along the canals. Each room or suite has its own design. Many directly overlook the canals.

Chef Dennis Kuipers’ has been awarded a Michelin Star for his Restaurant Vinkeles. An excellent way to spend the afternoon is sitting outside overlooking the canals and enjoying his High Wine. The chef pairs four small appetizers with specifically chosen wine for each.
 
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I'll be spending 3 nights in Amsterdam this summer, but it's been a number of years since I've been there. What is a good neighborhood to stay in?

I stayed in the Atlanta Hotel in Rotterdam and the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam when I was working there Summer of '06. Pretty good overall, but my main complaint with a lot of the hotels in Europe is that many of them don't have AC. Have to ask for a small fan from the front desk.

ETA: Stay away from Wondel Park after dark. Amsterdam is fairly safe for the most part, but there was several murders in that one park at night, and you can find random used syringes all over the place in the mornings.
 
I'd avoid staying in the center then, it's just a madhouse and probably better if you're in your 20s, single and want to party. I love the De Pijp / Oud-Zuid region of the city, check out and see if you can find some good hotels there.
 
I'd avoid staying in the center then, it's just a madhouse and probably better if you're in your 20s, single and want to party. I love the De Pijp / Oud-Zuid region of the city, check out and see if you can find some good hotels there.

I think my friends may want to stay closer in, but maybe not. What about Oude-Pijp? It seems to be closer to the city but may still be far enough to avoid the madness.
 
I think my friends may want to stay closer in, but maybe not. What about Oude-Pijp? It seems to be closer to the city but may still be far enough to avoid the madness.

Amsterdam after 4:00 PM in the summer is a complete madhouse, just like vadimivich said. It was so bad that people were getting pushed off of the sidewalks and into the bike roads (and nearly run over by the bicyclists) quite frequently. If you stay in the city you won't have much problems from the local Dutch, but the many American tourists (18-26 yr olds) can be really noisy outside around 3:30 in the morning. It might not matter to you as much if you plan on having a lot of late nights, but I had to work when I was there.
 
I think my friends may want to stay closer in, but maybe not. What about Oude-Pijp? It seems to be closer to the city but may still be far enough to avoid the madness.

That's the exact region I'm suggesting. The name of the borough is "Oud-Zuid", but the Latin Quarter inside is generally known as De Pijp and sometimes people just refer to them all together in combination.
 
That's the exact region I'm suggesting. The name of the borough is "Oud-Zuid", but the Latin Quarter inside is generally known as De Pijp and sometimes people just refer to them all together in combination.

Gotcha. Thanks.
 
Amsterdam after 4:00 PM in the summer is a complete madhouse, just like vadimivich said. It was so bad that people were getting pushed off of the sidewalks and into the bike roads (and nearly run over by the bicyclists) quite frequently. If you stay in the city you won't have much problems from the local Dutch, but the many American tourists (18-26 yr olds) can be really noisy outside around 3:30 in the morning. It might not matter to you as much if you plan on having a lot of late nights, but I had to work when I was there.

It's that bad?
 
It's that bad?

During the Summer time and on a weekend? Yes. Best pictures I got out of Amsterdam was between 7:00-9:00 AM in the morning.

But don't let it get you down. If you really want to do a lot of the touristy things in Amsterdam (Anne Frank Haus, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, etc.), then the best advice I can give you is to get up early and beat the crowds.

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Anyone taken the night train from Budapest to Prague?

The plan is to take the overnight train that leaves Budapest at 2005 and arrives in Prague at 0640. The Hungarian train site is showing me two different prices for an "own compartment" in the sleeper car. It's about 40 Euro / person difference, but I'm not sure why...help?
 
My daughter is studying in Madrid this summer. She has a free weekend and is meeting a friend in Barcelona in mid-June. Looks like a R/T ticket is more than $300. Ouch. Since we're meeting her in Switzerland in early July and will be traveling by train a good bit (Munich, Salzburg), I'd guess that a Eurail pass is a good idea - right? I think I'd have to get her the global pass since she's not traveling in bordering countries. A 10 day/2 month pass is $591, which means for an extra $281 she'd be able to travel with us throughout July at no additional cost.

Am I right about the "select pass" having to be between bordering countries?
 
My daughter is studying in Madrid this summer. She has a free weekend and is meeting a friend in Barcelona in mid-June. Looks like a R/T ticket is more than $300. Ouch. Since we're meeting her in Switzerland in early July and will be traveling by train a good bit (Munich, Salzburg), I'd guess that a Eurail pass is a good idea - right? I think I'd have to get her the global pass since she's not traveling in bordering countries. A 10 day/2 month pass is $591, which means for an extra $281 she'd be able to travel with us throughout July at no additional cost.

Am I right about the "select pass" having to be between bordering countries?

It is restricted to bordering countries but you could do it I think. If you got a 5 country select pass she could do Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Having only mentioned going to Barcelona, Munich, and Salzburg in addition to Switz, that pass should do the trick. it requires a little more ingenuity when planning travels as she would need to go through Italy to get to and from Spain. A 10 day 5 country select pass is not much cheaper than a 10 day global pass, so unless you are looking for a 6 or 8 day select pass the savings would not be great.

If it was my kid, I would pony up a bit extra for the global pass. Just easier to get around with and make travel arrangements. Plus it would just suck if she accidentally booked a train going through a country not on her select pass, in which case she would have to buy a full fare ticket through that country or turn around.

Eta: I hate telling other people how I would spend their money if I were them but to me an extra 10 or so bucks per travel day to ensure that as long as my child got on the right train they would be able to reach their destination without trouble would be worth it.
 
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Eh, there's no way it'll cost her 300 dollars. I just went to http://www.renfe.com and saw return train tickets in the 100 euro range (some even cheaper) for a random weekend trip in June.

And honestly, make her take the bus like every other poor ass student in Europe does. It's 57 euros round trip: http://www.alsa.es/en/
 
Actually, you have to take a ferry from Spain to Italy, as France doesn't participate (shocking, I know) in the program.

It's my daughter, vad. Come on. :)
 
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