One of my favorite museums during my trip to the greater Amsterdam area!…read more The indoor museum exhibits were well maintained, laid out well, and had a good flow. The workers there were friendly and helpful. The outside section was huge! It's essentially an outdoor village that you can explore. There are farm animals like chickens, goats, and sheep wandering about. There are people working inside the village doing things like basketweaving, making fishing nets, etc so you can get a good idea of what life was like back then. I wish I had more time to explore. You could honestly spend the entire day here. Admission also includes a ferry ride to and from the Metro station. Check it out, it's worth a day trip from Amsterdam!

Excellent museum that consists of both the indoor portion and an outdoor area that consists of…read morehistorical buildings from a Zuiderzee village. I love that there are actual employees at many of the buildings within the village working on crafts from the time period. It felt really authentic and is great for all ages. There is also a free ferry provided by the museum that takes you directly from the train station to the village. The indoor exhibits are very engaging as well, flows well, and have a lot of interactive and colorful displays that make it perfect for kids to enjoy as well. Overall a visit to Zuiderzeemuseum is an excellent value and highly recommended if you're in the Netherlands.

Running through the heart of Utrecht, the Oude Gracht ('old canal') is the major artery of the…read morecity. It's lined with many shops at street level and bars and restaurants at the level below. It also hosts a weekly flower market on Saturday morning. Yes, it can get a tiny bit seedy at night with rowdy students ('bralapen') and it isn't always as clean as one would like, but this all adds to the charm. It's truly a wonderful place to hang out any time of day or year. The oude gracht was built in the 1100's by upgrading and taming a former branch of the River Rhine. The mooring level (accessible by steep steps from road level), where goods would be loaded and unloaded, gives access to deep tombs / caverns that extend below the road and under the shops above. In the old days used for storage, they have now mostly been transformed into bars and eateries. It's hard to miss the oude gracht when you're in Utrecht as many of the city's landmarks, including the Dom tower / church and various museums are located close by. Enjoy this place. It's awesome. But, be careful of bicyclists as you stroll around; you'll likely have your eyes on façades or the water below!

Coming from our hotel we had seen this marvelous cathedral, and I knew we had to stop by on our…read morereturn. Fortunately it was open, as we saw some others going in. The cathedral is gorgeous, awe inspiring. The quiet and reverence here offers a complete escape from the outside world. After soaking up the timeless architecture we were lucky stumble on the choir practicing for their Saturday 5 PM performance - amazing, beautiful voices and music. We only wish we had more time and could have stayed for the complete performance.

This is a stunning church, the Basilica of St. Nicholas, sits across from the Centraal train…read morestation in Amsterdam. One of my favorite things to do while traveling especially Europe is, to randomly walk into an intriguing church-- must be part of my Catholic upbringing, ha! Named after the patron saint of Amsterdam, the basilica was designed by architect Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912). It's stark somber looking on the outside, stark stunning looking inside. I appreciate the church's use of technology. It's the only church I've seen with electronic confessionals. The church also has a very well designed and branded website. There are 5 churches in this conglomerate and St. Nicholas is the most ornate. The dome of the church is visually awesome, intricately constructed. I had to take photos. St Nicholas is a beautiful work of art and I like it more inside than outside. I very well understand the decades sometimes centuries of toil and pain artisans went through to create Art to please the church's exacting standards. The Sistine Chapel is probably the epitome of that dedication. For these historical reasons, I've come to appreciate pre 1900 churches all over the world. Another really supahcalifragilisticoolthing I discovered was the church holds mass in Gregorian Chant. Wowzah! Now that was amaaaazzzzzzing mass to experience after a long night of debauchery and partying in Amsterdam. Geniusly Sick! Website: http://www.nicolaas-parochie.nl/ Visits: 2

A gorgeous and quiet water town that is open to travelers/tourists…read more The bus line 315 will take you from Amsterdam centraal to marken minneweg station. It's a quick 40 minute ride from Amsterdam. The view along the bus route is spectacular. If you were to visit, I recommend purchasing the transportation day pass. If you buy a single journey ticket, I believe it's 10 euros for a one way trip. Better off with the 18.5 euros day pass. No need to spent more than 2-3 hours here. I took my time to walk around and enjoyed an one hour stroll around town. It's very residential and so peaceful. Its serenity will bring the best out of you as you take everything in. I highly recommend it. The only thing I want to say is that restaurants are expensive here and you have like 3-4 options for dining. The world famous ferry was closed since I visited on a weekday. The souvenir shop was also closed. That said, I only saw a handful of visitors like me during my visit. Come here... you will love it!

We toured the little fishing village of Haven van Marken which has numerous shops and restaurants…read moreas well as cafes and bars. Very touristy place and was part of our Viator Tour package. We went to the Gouda cheese shop and saw a demonstration and tasting of various Gouda cheese products and went to a waffle shop and got a demonstration of waffle making cookies which is apparently big in the Netherlands. Of course we had to buy some of these waffle cookies. We also took a ferry boat ride from Marken to Volendam which is across the bay, about a 40 minute boat ride to the other side.

Yelp Review 2023 #93:…read more Belle - French word for beautiful. December 17 - International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers Right outside Oude Kerk (Old Church, originally a Catholic Church at the Red Light District) which is now an art center is a small statue called Belle, a sex worker aka prostitute. Installed in 2007 after a Hungarian sex worker was killed, and a Romanian sex worker was killed in a hotel room. It's to commemorate all prostitutes around the world. Prostitution is one of the oldest profession in the world and also the most punished "crime" simply because society still looks down upon women no matter how progressive we think we are. It is a reminder that sex workers are humans - despite the kind of service they provide. If there's no demand, there won't be supply. If unloved weirdos didn't exist, there won't be prostitutes. If these men knew how to treat a woman properly, there won't be prostitutes - especially dead ones.

"Respect sex workers all over the world."…read more It's funny how just wandering aimlessly around Amsterdam, I ended up walking past the Oudekerk and spotted this statue. Yes, this is the famous red light district but it's also next to the oldest building in Amsterdam, the Old Church https://www.yelp.com/biz/oude-kerk-amsterdam. The sculpture is the work of artist Els Rijerse and has been here since 2007. It depicts a prostitute standing in the doorway of a brothel. It is a landmark of Amsterdam and certainly Insta-worthy. [Review 16871 overall - 72 in Netherlands - 384 of 2022.]