The Zingo Man

I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
Belguim again. Can anyone suggest a day trip, say no more the 3 1/2
hours by train from Amsterdam? We are open to just about anything.
Has anyone been to Cologne Germany? If so, is it worth the visit?

Thank you.

John Bermont

Depending on what you want to see and do, Cologne or Duesseldorf are
certainly worthwhile. However I would give them a couple of days rather
than a day trip from Amsterdam.

For day trips there are plenty of cities within an hour of Amsterdam.
The Hague and Haarlem are two. In late April a great day trip on a sunny
day would be a visit to Keukenhof, a 70 acre flower garden near Leiden.
Buses wait outside the Leiden station to take you to Keukenhof, a
magnificent park of tulips and other bulb flowers.

There is plenty more. Get a Michelin Green Guide to the Netherlands for
a month's worth of ideas.

John Bermont

Beaker

On 24 Feb 2004 08:25:55 -0800, The Zingo Man quoth:
    > I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    > and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    > Belguim again. Can anyone suggest a day trip, say no more the 3 1/2
    > hours by train from Amsterdam? We are open to just about anything.
    > Has anyone been to Cologne Germany? If so, is it worth the visit?

I took the ICE from Amsterdam to Cologne for a day trip a couple weeks ago.
Departed 7AM and returned about 11PM - two round trip tickets bought at the
train station the day before cost 77 Euros total. Cologne has the Dom and
several nice museums right around the station. Spent most of our time in
the German-Roman museum. It was a good day-trip, and I may never have had
the chance to see Cologne otherwise.
Another day-trip we liked was Zwolle and Kampen, which are relatively
sleepy little towns.

bkr

Miguel Cruz

The Zingo Man <> wrote:
    > I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    > and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    > Belguim again.

You missed out on Brugges which must be the prettiest part of Belgium.

miguel

Mike O'Sullivan

Look for the post on this newsgroup entitled "Day trips from Amsterdam" on
the 22nd Feb, and all your questions will be answered.

"The Zingo Man" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    > and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    > Belguim again. Can anyone suggest a day trip, say no more the 3 1/2
    > hours by train from Amsterdam? We are open to just about anything.
    > Has anyone been to Cologne Germany? If so, is it worth the visit?
    > Thank you.

Juliana L Holm

John Bermont <> wrote:

    > For day trips there are plenty of cities within an hour of Amsterdam.
    > The Hague and Haarlem are two. In late April a great day trip on a sunny
    > day would be a visit to Keukenhof, a 70 acre flower garden near Leiden.
    > Buses wait outside the Leiden station to take you to Keukenhof, a
    > magnificent park of tulips and other bulb flowers.

I second the Keukenhof suggestion.

Julie

Sjoerd

"The Zingo Man" <> schreef in bericht
news:...
    > I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    > and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    > Belguim again. Can anyone suggest a day trip, say no more the 3 1/2
    > hours by train from Amsterdam? We are open to just about anything.

If you are reasonably fit and the weather is OK, rent a bicycle and tour the
area South and East of Amsterdam, where, within a range of 30 kilometers you
will find many different beautiful landscapes: rivers (De Vecht with
beautiful 17th century mansions and castles), lakes (Loosdrechtse Plassen),
heath areas (near Hilversum), old towns (Naarden, Muiden) and the castle
Muiderslot.

Sjoerd

Yorick

Sjoerd wrote:
    > "The Zingo Man" <> schreef in bericht
    > news:...
    >> I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    >> and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    >> Belguim again. Can anyone suggest a day trip, say no more the 3 1/2
    >> hours by train from Amsterdam? We are open to just about anything.
    > If you are reasonably fit and the weather is OK, rent a bicycle and tour
    > the area South and East of Amsterdam, where, within a range of 30
    > kilometers you will find many different beautiful landscapes: rivers (De
    > Vecht with beautiful 17th century mansions and castles), lakes
    > (Loosdrechtse Plassen), heath areas (near Hilversum), old towns (Naarden,
    > Muiden) and the castle Muiderslot.
    > Sjoerd

Don't forget the Bijlmer :P

But seriously, as a resident of Amsterdam I fully agree with Sjoerd's
suggestion. Also my American friends all seemed to really like this area as
well. One of them even called Naarden (vesting) one of the highlights of
Europe. He had never seen a fortified city like Naarden.
The Muiderslot is a beautiful castle and during the tour you'll learn it
played a significant role in Dutch history.

One option would be to take the train to Hilversum, Weesp or Naarden-Bussum
and rent a bike there.
You could also rent a car for the day and tour the countryside close to
Amsterdam, enjoy the landscape and nature and stop at every little town that
seems interesting enough.

Best of all, somehow these towns are not touristy at all. And only 15 mins
by train from Amsterdam.
http://www.vestingmuseum.nl/
http://www.muiderslot.nl/


Another day trip that is definately very very touristy, but nevertheless
very interesting is the area north of Amsterdam. With the Zaanse Schans
(Windmills, cheese factory, etc.) and the villages of Volendam and Marken.
These are all within 30 mins from Amsterdam.
http://www.vvvvolendam.nl/index.php?id=637

What are your interests? Why did you loose interest in Belgium? Give us more
info and we can give more suggestions on day trips from Amsterdam, most
probably with less than an hour's travel time.

Yorick.

Douglas W. Hoyt

Here's a Day Trips From Amsterdam webpage:

http://www.gettingaway.com/directory...ies/trips.html

St

On Tue, 24 Feb 2004 18:29:49 GMT, (Miguel Cruz) wrote:

    >The Zingo Man <> wrote:
    >> I am going to be in Amsterdam in late April. I have been to Brussels
    >> and Antwerp before and do not have a great interest in going to
    >> Belguim again.
    >You missed out on Brugges which must be the prettiest part of Belgium.

Could well be... There is another place not far from Brugge, I forget
the name of it. Damn.