Guide to Amsterdam

The Trench Crew Guide to Amsterdam

By: Velcro and TonV

First of all the Trench Crew extends a very warm welcome to everybody visiting Amsterdam in order to watch the Admirals beat up on their team at the ArenA. The Amsterdam ArenA is the world´s first indoor (sometimes) grass football stadium. The stadium holds 55,000 people so there is plenty of room for everyone, and the purpose of this guide is to ensure that everybody can be fed, watered and found a bed as well.

For those of you unaccustomed to a weekend in Amsterdam, a few facts and figures to get you going can be found at the official NFL Europe site along with a list of restuarants, bars and entertainment offered. However this guide is written by people who live in Amsterdam and know what visitors want to see. The Trench Crew is of course here to answer any questions that you may have that this guide doesn´t answer, but please take the time to at least scan this guide first to save us answering the same question 10 times.

Getting Here and Back
For all you Claymores fans out there: book on Easy Jet and get good deals. For anyone arriving at Amsterdam Airport a single fare train ride to Amsterdam Centraal Station is about € 3. For Dragons Fans: Basiqair, a daughter of KLM is doing cheap flights from Barcelona. From Germany you can fly, but I don´t know of any cheap airlines, however I have always found that taking the train is very relaxing.

If you decide to drive to to Amsterdam: be warned. The parking regulations are tough, and if you are two miniutes over time they will not hesitate to clamp you and then you can end up stuck for several hours until they come back to take it off, and that´s not worth missing the game for, now is it? The regulations are tough, and take it from someone who lives in the centre of Amsterdam that it can be difficult to find a place even if you don´t mind paying. At time of press, parking charges in the centre of Amsterdam are € 2.50 per hour Monday to Saturday 9:00am till 7:00pm and € 1.50 from 7:00pm till 11:00pm. Sundays are 12:00pm till 11:00pm at € 1:25 per hour. Do yourself a favour: if you must bring a car for the weekend park it outside the centre of Amsterdam. The ArenA has a massive car park that you should be able to park in without any problems, but given the rate of growth of paid only parking spaces we can´t recommend a list of free places.

Bedding Down for the Night
We are recommending the website Amsterdam Hotspots ( http://www.amsterdamhotspots.com/sleepbudget.html ) as a website providing similar qualities of accomodation, some of which that can be booked on line. As to where your hotel should be situated, it doesn´t really matter too much as Amsterdam is a very compact city. However, do not look for a hotel near the ArenA as it is quite a hike from the city centre. Any hotels on or around the following areas are definitely central: The Dam, Damrak, Centraal Station, Rembrantsplein, Leidseplein, The Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht, Nieuwenmarkt, Munt or Rokin. There are plenty of others but this is a simple guide. A map of Amsterdam is available at http://www.amsterdam.nl/kaart/kaart.html. Hotspots has a map too and to top it off, the Trench Crew has provided a (scanned) map of the absolute centre here.

Further hotel information can be found on our seperate hotel page.

The ArenA
(A more detailed 'map' of the ArenA area can be found here)

OK you´re still sober so I´ll explain how to get to the ArenA now. I am assuming that that you are in the Centre of town, so step 1, get to Amsterdam Centraal Station. Now rather than entering the station proper enter the metro station. In the metro station obtain a strippenkaart, if you haven´t already done so. If you are travelling in a large group you can share one so it makes sense to obtain a long strippenkaart ( with 45 strips on it ). A one way trip to The ArenA station is 3 strips, so stamp every third strip on the ticket for each peron in your group. The same on the way back. Now I know that for some teams (the German ones) transport to and from the stadium has been free whilst in possession of a game day ticket, so I hope that this will become the case as well in Amsterdam, but don't count on it.

More information on how to get to the ArenA can be found on our seperate ArenA page.

Things to do, Places to go, People to See
There are plenty of normal things to do in Amsterdam. We do of course want to know what you, the visitors, want to see and do so please do not hesitate to let us know. Our regular (pub) spots can be found on our page here.

When you´ve shaken off the effects of the nght before why not start the day with a traditional Dutch Treat: raw herring. These are available in two forms from the traditional street sellers, either whole or in a bread roll and served with raw onion. I did it when I first arrived, so you should do it too, its lovely - honest. If of course you need something fried for breakfast then an Uitsmijter is what you need, bread waith ham and cheese topped with fried eggs, lovely. Some places do other varieties, but unless its simply added tomato then, in my not so humble opinion, its better to stick to the original recipe. Traditional British Fry-Ups can be had at Amsterdams plentiful Irish and British pubs around the city. My personal favourite is The Globe, but I´m biased as thats where we watch the NFL in the winter.

There is one trip I would advise to a lot of NFLE fans out there and that is to visit the Browerij van t`IJ. Amsterdam´s independent brewery that makes a variety of different beers. Contact them at: Funenkade 7, 1018 AL. Phone number is 020-6228325.

For the rest there are all the tourist traps to visit, and so I´ll restrict myself to a couple of bits of advice that I give to all the friends that visit. Anne Frank House, Prinsengracht 263 ( www.annefrank.nl ) is very popular so its best to go early in the morning. When you turn up please don´t make too much noise as I live a couple of hundred yards away. Canal Tours, by popular consent, are best undertaken as the sun goes down unless you want to take lots of photos then you need good clear daylight. For the rest, the guide books cover it adequately, but lets face it most people don´t come to Amsterdam to be Culture Vultures, but to PARRRRRRRRTTTTTTY.

Partying in Amsterdam is a unique experience, and the unique parts are listed later in this article so that don´t want to know, don´t have to read it.

We often get asked what kind of tourist things we recommend. Well, that all depends on your taste. However, there are several highlights: The Rijksmuseum (a large collection of famous art as well as historical sections), The Van Gogh musem (popular with tourists) and a canal tour (you can select several different ones near the central station). For more suggestions and more information, try any a tourist website.

There are several websites with al the tourist information you could ever want. Here are two decent ones:

Visit Amsterdam has a city guide and links to a hotel booking system.
Time out Amsterdam also has a large selection of links to hotels, city information, sightseeing etc.

Meeting and Greeting
NFL Europe fans have a number of favoured hangouts during the season, namely Teasers and to a lesser extent The Globe. However two bars might not suffice for all the fans coming to Amsterdam, especially if it is for more than a weekend, so here follows a quick guide to Velcro's favourite bars, and I should know, right?

Velcro´s Bar Guide To Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a huge selection of pubs. It will probably surpirise some NFLEers that I haven´t yet been in all of them, so if you find a really great bar them please do let me know. Cafes in Amsterdam are very varied, but a Traditional Dutch Cafe is what is called a Brown Cafe - called this due to the dark brown wood in the interior, and they tend to be quite small. There are also a number of Grand Cafe´s located in the main squares ( Rembrandtsplein and Leidesplein ), which are much bigger and designed for the normal relaxed pace of life in the Netherlands. Everybody should visit the big squares and take the time to sit down and relax in the middle of the square in the warm summer sun and enjoy themselves. There are numerous Irish Bars for those that must have their Guinness Fix and the Belgian Beer Bars are always good value for great beer.

This short list is presented in no particular order, other than that´s the way I thought of them. In all cases I´ve given an address of the pub, so you are responsible for finding your own way there. I have deliberately avoided a long list as then you´ll just ignore it completely, so here are 6 pubs to try in the main areas of the city.

Teasers, Damrak 36
The ultimate hanf-out for the fans of the league. A home from home for all the ex-Monarchs who seem to keep the place running almost single handed. Babes and Beer. Details available at www.teaserscafe.nl. Beware the prices are more than double anywhere else outside the Red Light District, but the atmosphere makes it all worthwhile,

The Globe, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 3
The Trench Crew hangout. We usually stock up on beer here before proceeding into Teasers to get on with the large scale drinking. Has numerous television sets and a tendancy to show sport on them all the time. They even have their own website.

Reynders, Leidseplein 6
A classic Dutch Brown cafe. A bit larger than most, but good none the less. One of the few music less pubs in the area so great for occupying. When the weather is good they do terrance service and this is always the best way to drink beer in Amsterdam. In the evening street entertainment occurs outside and the rope acrobat has to be seen to be believed.

't Arendsnest, Herengracht 90 (suggested by Admirals' fan 'Fluithaas')
If you are interested in making a reasonably quiet study of Dutch beers, this is the place to go. "I have never seen such an extensive collection of Dutch beers !" - Fluithaas

De Jaren, Nieuwe Dolenstraat 20-22
A large art deco cafe, unusually brightly lit, but it is huge and can accomodate a lot of people. It has an enclosed terrace on the side of the canal, again pretty big and a restaurant upstairs that comes highly recommended.

De Wildeman, Kolksteeg 3
The Beer bar to end all beer bars. This place is fabulous and just round the corner from Teasers. It has two rooms one where smoking is not permitted and the beer I just have to mention one more time.

Maximillian´s, Nieuwenmarkt
Another specialist beer bar, but this time its all brewed in house. A great place to stop off after a walk around town. Yet another place that does good food too.

Grand Cafe de Kroon, Rembrandtsplein 17
The largest cafe on Rembrandtsplein. Go upstairs and enjoy the decadance of the place. Otherwise if its warm sit on the terrace one more time and watch the world go by.

Cafe van Puffelen, Prinsengracht 377
Again my own bias, as its close to my house. A lovely little pub on the Prinsengracht, not far from the Anne Frank House. They stock a couple of van t´IJ brewery beers as well as a number of others.

Cafe het Molenpad, Prinsengracht 653
This pub is included,as its probably the only bar in Amsterdam John and Montsé from Barcelona have drunk in. Again a traditional broen cafe on the side of a canal. The terrace area is somewhat bigger than the Van Puffelen, but the beer selection smaller.

Amsterdam´s Unique Experience
Ok this bit is separate so if you are not of legal age or you are a little bit squemish then don´t read it, I´ve warned you and take no responsibility for anything that you read that shocks you. End of Warning.

Coffee Shops
Yes, it is actually legal to smoke a variety of noxious substances and even eat space cake, however it is as illegal in The Netherlands to possess and consume hard drugs as it is anywhere else. I´m no expert on the subject and neither is Ton, so I´ll restrict my advice to first timers. You can buy pre-rolled joints in many of the more popular Coffee Shops, such as Rembrandtsplein´s famous Smokey Joe´s and this way you can enjoy a joint without necessarily laerning the art of rolling it. Of course if you don´t smoke then it can be tricky to get that high so you´ll be tempted to try Space Cake. Here is the advice, Space Cake is ssssllllooooowwwww acting so once you´ve eaten it, do not under any circumstances have another one because, "Nothing is happening". It will happen eventually so just sit back and relax. A last tip is that when you get hungry during your joint try having chocolate ice-cream, it really satisfies. And note, that while it is legal, it doesn't mean that it's good manners to smoke just anywhere. Use common sense.

The Red Light District
And yes this is legal too. There are two Red Light Districts near to Centraal Station, 3 in all and a fourth street walkers area in the outskirts of Amsterdam. The famous area is between Centraal Station and Nieuwenmarkt. There is a second close by on The Sigel between Raadhuistraat and Centraal Station. The third is across the canal from the Rijksmuseum in de Pijp area of the city. Finally the Street Walkers area is on an industrial estate in the West of the City.

Most if not all of the visitors to these areas shall go to the tourist area between Centraal Station and Nieuwenmarkt. In this area are a large number of working girls, a number of sex clubs, pubs, coffee shops and sex superstores. Not to mention a peep show or three and sundry other businesses such as fast food joints.

Contrary to some rumours spread in various countries this is actually the safest area in Amsterdam as there is a large police presence as well as the private security employed by the girls. There are though a few do´s and don´ts to make your life easier. Number one, and most importantly, DO NOT TAKE PHOTOS. The number of times that tourists have lost rolls of films or even entire cameras when disobeying this simple rule is unbelievable. They won´t make an exception for you so don´t do it. Secondly, when walking through the alleyways window shopping, don´t stare at a girl for a long time, they´ll simply close the curtain and go away for 10 minutes or so. The third one is don´t try to rip people off. The Women can call the Police real easily and remember: what they are doing is legal.

There are a number of clubs and or shows to visit and they divide themselves into three types. The first is the Sex Show, there are plenty of these with the most famous of these are The Casa Rosa and The Moulin Rouge. The second type are the peep shows and these are scattered throughout the Red Light District, usually in combination with the video booths. The third, and last type is a bit more interactive. The most famous of these is the Banana Bar. At the Banana Bar you pay a fixed entrance fee per hour and your drinks are free, from the naked waitresses. However the entertainment costs extra and then the barmaids shall do their Parlour Tricks for you. Exactly what this entails you can find out for yourself whilst you´re here.