I'm Dutch and I am an artist who takes great pride and inspiration from the Dutch traditions in the fine arts. It bugs me that many people primarily associate the Netherlands with weed and prostitution. Mind you, I don't judge: I smoke now and then. But it's just a drug. It can be nice in moderation, but it is not meaningful (what is meaningful is the underlying principle of liberty that allows for it, but that is another matter). The Netherlands has produced some of the greatest artists like Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Hieronymus Bosch, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and the list goes on. And Amsterdam has a rich collection of masterpieces, which is so much more meaningful than what people typically associate Amsterdam with. I am happy you highlighted the cultural value of the city. Good for you! My best wishes to you both!
Thanks for watching and for taking the time to make this comment. We try as much as possible in our videos to not focus on the salacious or most controversial parts of a place we visit. We agree that there is so much more to Netherlands than those few things, and those certainly are not the reasons we decided to visit. We wish you and yours the best as well! -Judy
My favorite experience in Amsterdam was to get out of central Amsterdam. Biking north into the farmland is incredible fun, taking a canal tour is relaxing to get away from the street chaos and going to the NDSM area is edgey fun.
We would have loved to explore more, but I first needed to get some of the museums out of my system. Our three days was definitely filled with bucket list activities. But we are eager to explore more beyond the city center. Thanks for the suggestions! -Judy
I've never heard of Giethoorn before, so thanks for making me aware of it! The nickname is listed in Wikipedia. No idea who gave it that moniker, but it's definitely meant to be Venice and not Vienna! Thanks for watching! -Judy
Very nice and informative video. I would advise next time to take a canal tour. From the water you experience the city in a completely different way. Greetings from Amsterdam!
You are absolutely right! If it wasn't so cold and wet, we would have tried to squeeze one in. We definitely have it on our list to do the next time we visit. Thanks for the suggestion! -Judy
Damn, even as a Dutch person, I was amazed by the high prices. But then again, I have not been in Amsterdam after my study finished (35 years ago). And of course I never slept in a hotel in Amsterdam. A tip might be to go to Haarlem. The hotels might be a lot cheaper and it is only a 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam CS. And Haarlem is beautiful in its own right. Kind of a mini version of Amsterdam with much less tourists. And if you bike, the surroundings of Haarlem beat Amsterdam by a long shot (dunes, nature reserve, old polders and beach).
Thanks for the tip, Ronald. We saw our top places on this trip, so visiting again allows us to spread out a bit. We like our accommodations to be around $70 or less (much less) per night, and that was no where near possible in the heart of Amsterdam. And with such a short timeline, we didn't want to have to commute in. But I've added Haarlem to our list for next time. Thanks for watching! -Judy
If you book a room in an IBIS hotel in Warsaw it cost 45 EURO. The same identical room cost 125 Euro in Amsterdam. Ibis is a wide spread hotel chain that has identical standard rooms so they are easy to compare..
I can completely believe this, Hans. We were in Warsaw for two weeks and we paid $51.88 per night for an entire Airbnb. Our hotel in Amsterdam was over $200 per night if we hadn't used points. Perhaps if we spend time outside of Amsterdam and explore other parts of Netherlands it will be cheaper. But we are glad we got to experience it, even for a few days. Thanks for watching! -Judy
Why does Dutch people try always downgrade Amsterdam and say you better go to blah blah blah. Typical for people from the countryside. But still look at all video’s about Damsko. 😂
Thanks for watching. According to Wikipedia, between 90% and 93% of the total population are able to converse in English, 71% in German, 29% in French and 5% in Spanish. Our friend frequently spoke in German at times, so it seemed common enough to mention it. Thanks for watching! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Welcome Judy. When I was young German was a more dominant language in the Netherlands than English. That has changed over the last decades, but we have a large border (for such a small country) with Germany, so it's very logical that German still plays in important role. Many Germans close to the Dutch border speak Dutch as well, or at least understand it on a very decent level.
In the seventies of last century, youngsters/hippies used to sleep on the monument (@3:11). When the City Services crew come to clean the monument early in the morning, they had to wake up all the "monument hotel guests" one by one .... 😅. Later the monument was "closed" for years by flower boxes, so you can only walk around it. But it is open again now.
You make me want to pivot to being a world traveler! We are currently full time RVers traveling the USA. There’s still so much to see here, but I want to see it all everywhere! 😁
We give RVers all the credit in the world. I feel like it's a much harder path. And we totally get your point about wanting to see it all. We have an episode about slow travel versus fast travel because it's a tricky balance to see as much as possible while also living like a local and how you balance it. Thank you so much for watching! -Judy Fast versus slow travel: :ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LrLGJ-X6I4A.html
We do a blend of slow and fast travel. We get part time workamping jobs (camp host and seasonal) in areas we want to spend a few months to work in exchange for a site. Then between those we travel more quickly, just hitting a few places along our path. 🙂
How fascinating! We find fast travel to be more expensive and harder to do while juggling our channel and website, but perhaps it's easier if there's a tradeoff of accommodations for interesting work. Very cool. Thanks for sharing! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarieif you ever return to the Netherlands then try among others Utrecht, Rotterdam, Haarlem, Den Haag. They are all very close by train. These cities have just as much history, richness as Amsterdam, the same vibe but more relaxed as Amsterdam is the most touristy place in the country. Rotterdam is a bit of a cultural detour as it has very modern architecture by dutch standards due to its city center being completely leveled in WW2. And all places have ‘bike culture’, its the norm in the Netherlands. We don’t even perceive it as culture, so funny to hear it described that way :) Be glad you had the few days of cold in july because dutch 28/30 degrees is sweltering due to the high humidity. The coastline and the island Terschelling, Ameland and others are awesome too! Enjoy your travels and have a happy healthy life!
I love all these suggestions! Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment. I will add them to our list of places to visit. We don't always love modern cities, but Rotterdam sounds interesting. We'll count ourselves lucky to have been able to avoid the scorching heat; I didn't realize it got that warm. We appreciate you watching our videos and your encouragement! -Judy
Nice video! But indeed: 4:15 let’s go try Dutch food: a stroopwafel, but with Nutella instead of caramel…….1. It’s not a stroopwafel if there’s no stroop inside, lol 2. In a normal stroopwafel there’s no caramel inside, but it’s stroop. Stroop is not the same as caramel. 3. Why do tourists always put Nutella on our original foods, like poffertjes etc, which makes them loose the original taste, 😢 I don’t get it, but great that you liked it 😋
@movo721 All I can tell you is that the market itself offers it with Nutella! So you can't completely blame tourists for eating it that way if the locals are offering it to us! We did have a bit of stroop (which I didn't realize was the name for the filling) when we went to the Pancake Bakery. But it is really, really sweet! -Judy
I was in Amsterdam more than 20 years ago on a 1-night stopover. I still remember excitedly taking a boat trip of the canals :). A bit surprising that you didn’t take a boat trip too - instead, you took a bike tour, as always !😊
Unfortunately, we had so much rain on this trip, I think even on our bike ride. It wasn't ideal, but it did put a damper on a boat trip. And the bike tour was interesting, even if the guide was a bit of a flop. So cool that you've been to Amsterdam. It's worth more than an overnight if you can find time to visit again. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Well, I am an “elderly” lady by the age of 61 by tomorrow and I have been called an elderly by my sons so I thought being 60 is an elderly. Please correct me if I am wrong ❤️
@Truly_Sithari I guess I think of it as a state of mind more than anything else. My 82-year old aunt still is traveling up a storm, rides a horse, and takes dancing lessons. I don’t consider her elderly yet!!
@@FindingGinaMarie I honestly agree. In my opinion, an elderly person is a person who lived a long life and isn’t exactly able to take care of themselves or in a way “doesn’t personally feel young” As a 60 year old I don’t feel any different than how I was as a 20 year old for example, it truly depends on a person’s mindset. I do pray that your 82 year old aunt and the rest of your family live a long, healthy, and joyful life.
Yes! I reread her diary, but it is the new (?) unedited version from the one her father originally tempered. It is expensive, but that’s why spending even a few days was perfect. Thanks for watching!
WOW! This was a phenomenal video. What a wonderful experience. This is not on my husband’s bucket list, but it is on mine. My heart be still as you got to experience Van Gogh! OMG! Pure joy. Rembrandt was incredible as well. The Anne Frank experience as well as the Pride Month celebration were fascinating. People can be so incredibly cruel and prejudiced-something I despise when I run across people who display these traits. Love, love, love this video. So glad you were able to get this trip in!
Thank you, Rebecca! We loved every bit of this trip. And I was over the moon that the extra Van Gogh exhibit was ongoing when we were there. For as much as we love bicycling, the bike culture was a bit disconcerting. It was cool and we much prefer it to 🚗 🚙 , but as a pedestrian, you really need to keep your eyes peeled! And yes, the Pride flag project was very sobering in 2023. -Judy
Never skip the beautiful city of Utrecht (only 25 minutes by train south of Amsterdam). There you'll experience totally different kinds of canals (the only ones of this kind in the Netherlands). I myself think Utrecht is even more beautiful than Haarlem. Check out one of the many great videos on RU-vid.
Thanks for the tip! We did not have time on this trip, which was really focused on seeing specific museums more than anything else. But we certainly will add Utrecht to our list for the next time we visit Netherlands. We love getting these sorts of recommendations from our viewers because we might never have known about this city on our own! Thanks for watching and for taking the time to share this information with us! -Judy
You're in good company. Most people have never been tourists in their own city! We did the same until we moved to San Francisco and used some tour guides to familiarize ourselves with our new town. But Amsterdam was a ton of fun. You are lucky to live close by. You might want to consider taking a tour or two if something looked interesting to you! -Judy
It's for me a hour drive from home to Amsterdam, but the last time I visit that city is at least 45 years ago. No need to visit the tourist trap again !
I don't know about that. Maybe it's touristy, but being able to be around so much excellent art is a privilege. It really shouldn't only be for tourists. Thanks for watching. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarieAmsterdam just has a mostly touristy reputation for Dutch people, thats probably why. Albert Cuyp market however is def something the locals visit a lot as well for example. Other dutch cities just feel a bit eeh... cozier i guess. Bigger ones like Haarlem, Utrecht, Maastricht but also smaller ones like Gouda (of cheese and stroopwafel fame), etc. There is a lot of great places to visit though throughout the nation. And all really well travelable for daytrips with public transport.
@@iekue Thanks for clarifying this for us and for watching. And I actually would have thought that Albert Cuyp Market would have been considered a bit more touristy, but we loved tasting everything it offered. We definitely appreciated how well connected everything is in Amsterdam. We never enjoy renting a car, so it's good to hear that these other places are so accessible. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Netherlands has quite a dense train system similar to Switzerland. From for example Amsterdam in this case thers trains every 10-15 minutes to the other big cities, with most being only like 30-40 minutes away. Which shows how small the country is. Longest would be 2 1/2 hours to Maastricht all down south probably. Which on an American scale is still "close" haha. Its not the cheapest, but connectability is superb.
@iekue We absolutely love hearing this about Netherlands! We just left the US after two weeks there and had to rent a car, which we hate doing. We wasted so much time and energy driving. We also appreciate how Amsterdam wasn't always geared towards cycling but that it evolved into it. We would love to see fewer concrete jungles in the US. In Houston there is a highway with 26 LANES! And to top it off, there are plenty of traffic tie-ups! It's insane. I'm not sure why the US can't reinvent itself to be more public transportation centric, but Amsterdam gives us hope that if it can evolve, then so can the US. And although you're describing how small Netherlands is, it emphasizes even more how necessary public transportation-especially trains-could/should be for the US. -Judy
They are! They are a little overly sweet, but when you eat the small ones, it's not too bad. When we went to the market, I think the gigantic ones would have been too sweet (for me), so I was glad to put Nutella in mine-blasphemous I know. But tell that to the vendors who offered them that way!
German in Amsterdam??? probably a few but English and Dutch first. Or you ran into a group of German tourists? Hotel in Amsterdam??? I would try something just outside Amsterdam. Oh and don't walk in the bicycle lane for that selfie or find out the hard way.
We always were aware of the bicycles, which was intimidating because we felt the need to be hyper vigilant. You always need to be aware of your surroundings, we we tried to be very careful when we were using our cameras anywhere, not just for selfies! Thanks for watching! -Judy
Thanks for sharing your opinion with us. We found Amsterdam to be lovely, and the museum culture is impressive. We would like to see more of Netherlands and plan to visit again so we can explore more. But we realize everyplace is not for everyone. Thanks for watching! -Judy
@bertus198 I am saying Van "Goff". I'm not Dutch and the sound of the guttural "Van Gogg" isn't something that I've mastered. Thanks for watching! -Judy
@TheSeNaBi The choking reference isn't meant to be disrespectful to the Dutch in any way, it's just that I seem to keep butchering the accent and that's how it ends up sounding. If it came across as a negative to the Dutch, it was not my intent at all. -Judy
I prefer Rotterdam region, with the Windmills Kinderdijk, the space on the riverside Nieuwe Maas bij Rotterdam, the Port of Rotterdam, forget the Damn Amsterdam 😂
Now that we've gotten the Van Gogh Museum and everything else we did on this trip under our belts, we'd love to explore more of Netherlands. We prefer old cities to new ones, but hopefully despite Rotterdam being a newer (rebuilt) city that it has some old-world charm. Thanks for the suggestion! -Judy
Apologies for all the Dutch people who are talk sh*t about Amsterdam. They probably don’t know the city, but do have an opinion about it. Sorry again! The Dutch alway’s like to be so negative.
We try to see the best in people and know that not every city is everyone's favorite. When we return, we plan to explore more of the country since it sounds people are very passionate about a lot of additional places we might not have considered exploring. Thank you so much for encouraging us with your comment! -Judy
i think amsterdam is definitely hype and overrated.too many people, expensive, shady, people too commercial.. weeds and prostitution, same as everywhere
We're sorry you feel this way because that wasn't our experience at all. I have no idea what you mean by "same as everywhere." Every major city in the world is going to be expensive, but otherwise these points are your opinion only. -Judy
We mentioning our video that the only remaining family member of the Frank family is Anne's father, Otto. It's more than a house; it's the annex of a warehouse building where the Frank family and some other Jews went into hiding. They lived there for two years before someone betrayed them and they were sent to concentration camps and murdered. Otto was in Auschwitz when it was liberated. -Judy
@drerri Yikes! I wasn’t sure if it was sarcasm or something else. Thanks for clarifying. I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I tried to be respectful! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie no problem! We Dutch people have a bit of a dark sense of humor and a very direct way of communicating (we just say what is on our mind). Glad to hear you enjoyed Amsterdam and safe travels!
@drerri We had such a wonderful time. I didn’t know this about the Dutch, but it’s helpful information, especially since we do plan to visit again! Thanks for watching! -Judy
Wh-wh--wh-what??? Primary languages are Dutch and GERMAN??? Not only is that completely wrong, it's also most insulting. Did you know that the Netherlands and Germany are two different countries?
Yes, Albert, we do know that Netherlands and Germany are two different countries. We have friends who live in Amsterdam and they spoke both Dutch and German (and English) when they were showing us around the town. In fact, I got my information from here when referencing language information: www.dutchtrans.co.uk/what-is-the-official-language-in-amsterdam/#:~:text=The%20official%20language%20in%20Amsterdam%20is%20Dutch%2C%20although%20most%20people,language%20situation%20looks%20like%20today. It says, "The official language in Amsterdam is Dutch, although most people also speak English and German as well. Let's take a look at how Amsterdam developed into this multi-lingual city and what its current language situation looks like today." Also, here's another Google search answer, "What are the top 3 languages spoken in Amsterdam? Around 90% of the Dutch can speak English (around 70% can speak German and 30% can speak French!) and the language is used in many international businesses, organisations and universities." So rather than being insulted, you should be complimented that Amsterdam has such a broad spectrum of multi-lingual residents. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie Stating German as a primary language implies (to me), that we use German as a language. We don't. The fact that we happen to understand German doesn't make it a primary language. It's just a foreign language that we're familiar with. In that sense you could also call English a primary language and maybe even French as well. And besides, we can understand German, but speaking it is something else. Because Dutch and German look alike, many Dutch people only think they speak German. Most people just speak Dutch with a German accent and call it German. Which is funny, by the way, Germans often have no idea what we're talking about. And it often leads to painful or awkward misunderstandings, because the same word can have a totally different meaning in German. E.g. Verzoeken vs versuchen. Literally they are the same, but in Dutch it means to ask or to request, and in German it means to try. So a Dutch person might want to ask a German person for whatever and wants to say: "mag ik u verzoeken" (may I ask you) and says: "Darf ich Sie versuchen", which means "can I try you".
The primary languages are dutch and german? You are so,so wrong, there is no German language in The Netherland although most people do speak some German. The second official language in The Netherland is called "Fries". There are direct trains from Shiphol to Central but I guess you took the train to South station to transfer to the Metro (we do not call that a train) because your hotel was near Albert Cuyp. The pancakes are mostly for tourists. Bitter does not mean alcoholic beverage, the name dirrived from a snack which goes well with Jenever which was called a “bittertje”. Bitterballen are normally eaten with mustard, not with mayo. About the tolerance: if you are a Jew of hoist an Israeli flag, trust me there is not much tolerance, you will get molested!
According to Wikipedia, between 90% and 93% of the total population are able to converse in English, 71% in German, 29% in French and 5% in Spanish. It may not be the main language of Netherlands, but it sounds like it is a commonly spoken language. But I am a first-time visitor, so I'm only repeating what I've read and heard. Locals may know better. Thanks for watching. -Judy
It is NOT " fen Kof", van Gogh starts with G, pronounced like Scottish CH, and ends with GH, also pronounced like Scottish CH, no FF sounds what so ever , or K sounds. V...vvvvah nnn , same difference between v and f as there is between s and zzz, and ah, not è. Amsterdam is a waste of time, there are so many beautiful old cities in the Netherlands? Why Amsterdam??? Might as well go to Detroit... , and NOPE it is not stroep wafel , with oe as in shoe, it is stoop wafel, with o as in slow and low... And yes, Dutch are very DIRECT... never waste time with talking in circles...:)
Thanks for this pronunciation guide, but it's still a huge learning curve for an American. We concede that Dutch is not an easy language! 🤭 But we loved our three days in Amsterdam. We visited Amsterdam primarily to see the museums, but we'd eagerly enjoy seeing more of Netherlands as well. Thanks for watching. -Judy
I HATE Amsterdam. Why? Because its always Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam. You are going to Amsterdam. NO you guys are going to the netherlands while there is more. You guys spend 72 hours in Amsterdam? While you guys can drive in 3 hours in our hole country. We got 12 provinces in our country. There is more then Just Amsterdam
We would like to see more of Netherlands, but I am an art lover and really wanted to see the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum and the annex where Anne Frank's family hid during WW II. So while there is more to Netherlands, the things we came to see are in Amsterdam. Yes, there are other places to visit, but we wanted to see these sites first. If you watched our video, I mentioned that I am a huge Van Gogh fan and tried to see the places where he painted while we were in France, but it didn't work out. Also, we visited Auschwitz several weeks earlier and wanted to round out that experience by seeing some of the Anne Frank sites. To want to see these places is not a rejection of the entirety of Netherlands. We will return to Netherlands, and based on the suggestions from some of our viewers, we have a clearer idea of what to see the next time we visit your country. -Judy
Basically Blunt? You jumped in the shit and run out quick. Its what Amsterdam is at the moment. Talk you crap , just interested in your wallet. All real Mokummers moved out decades ago. The city lost its heart and soul.
We respectfully disagree. It may not be the same as you preferred it to be, but for us, we appreciated all the history and museums and progressive thinking regarding bicycles versus vehicles. We plan to return and explore more of Netherlands, especially based on some of the suggestions here.
