| When in Holland, act like the Dutch. But how do the Dutch act? Even the princess –queen to be- of Holland (a former Argentine) doesn’t seem to know what a typical Dutch person is like because she said “the typical Dutch person doesn’t exist”. How to act like the Dutch then? Well, what would we do without stereotypes... |
One of the most widespread stereotypical ideas of a Dutch person is someone who doesn’t spent a lot of money, preferably none at all. Ana yes, we actually do know some great and cheap ways to enjoy a visit to our capital city. We will share some with you, so you will be abel to really go Dutch during your stay in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam canals are world famous. Many tourists take expensive boat trips around the canals. Indeed a great way to enjoy the sights of the city, yet there are other ways as well. You can take for instance one of the ferries across the IJ river, from the back of Central Station to the north bank (Amsterdam Noord). They are totally free of charge and you get a great view of the city and part of the industrial harbour. You can even take a bike on the ferry. Bikes can be rented at many places at reasonable prices. If you prefer using public transportation remember that pre-purchased strip tickets (the Dutch “strippenkaart”) are significantly cheaper than buying your ticket on tram or bus. So skip the tourist trap of buying an expensive ticket from the driver. You can buy the tickets at GVB Ticket offices at most Amsterdam train and metro stations or buy presale at post offices, supermarkets and many tobacconists. You can travel almost twice as much for the same price. Another good thing about these tickets is that you can use them for a group too, so you can buy a large “strippenkaart” (45 strips) to travel together. This will also give you a ride on trams through the city centre, which stop at most of the city's sights. No need for an expensive sightseeing tour then, right? And when your card is full, you have a nice souvenir to take home, no extra expenses, so you got yourself really Dutch souvenir as a bonus :) |  |
 | Another way to act according the Dutch stereotype is to spent not too much money on your food. Eat and drink outside the centre or eat your meals at University restaurants like the one at the VU. Or try to find a cheap option through http://www.iens.nl/zoek-een-restaurant/?c=Amsterdam. Finding cheap food is probably so Dutch, that even though this website offers English information, the page where you can fill in what you want to pay for your food is only in Dutch. But “prijs 3-gangenmenu” means “price of 3 course menu” and the “less than” option is pre-selected. So fill in how many Euros you want to pay maximum for your food and find the restaurants that meet your requirement. Near the Leidseplein in the small streets close to it, you can find cheap pizza en pasta if you look for it (sometime E5,-) If you want to eat not too expensive and want to experience Dutch food, you could try the “Keuken van 1870” (the kitchen of 1870, a former Dutch public soup kitchen). But the cheapest evening out remains buying food and drinks at a supermarket, preferably a cheap one like Liddl, Aldi, and taking that to a park and have a picnic. |
| Shopping the Dutch way: this is real easy, go to the shopping streets –Kalverstraat being the most famous one- look, look, look and don’t buy. If you’re really good at this, you can try this at the PC Hooftstraat, the street to be for design clothing and jewellery. But watch out, be sure you’re able to skip the buying, because prices can be high here. Maybe you’ll even spot a famous Dutch person over here. |
| Last but not least a few options to experience stereotypical Holland: visit a mill (there are several in Amsterdam, like in the suburb Sloten, near the IJ brewery at Zeeburg or take the FREE ferry from central station to the north of Amsterdam), walk past the Bloemenmarkt for seeing and buying famous Dutch flowers, and last but not least…go to the Earli Conference Dinner. The dinner will be in Volendam, a traditional village where you can be photographed in Dutch traditional costumes. And…when going to the Earli dinner, don’t forget to try to see if you can declare your costs somewhere, or you wouldn’t act like a stereotypical Dutch person, for as far as it exists... |  |
