Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

[tring]

Has anyone been to the newly refurbed Rijksmuseum. I know it is a distance from the port, but suspect public transport or a taxi there should not be problematic. We are wondering how big it is though and how long is best to allow for the visit to do it justice.

 

The other thing we would like to do is pay a visit to the flower market, which should be fine if we walk back to he ship that way. We bought some very good bulbs there previously and as we are going in September it would be a shame not to pick up some more and a walk through Amsterdam is always enjoyable.

[Desdichado62]

I would suggest that you ask at the British Isles/Western Europe board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

[tring]

That seems an extremely strange system - putting Holland and Belgium in with Britain instead of with the rest of Europe!

 

If that is how it is, I will go along with it though. As an American site, I can only assume someone over there has an unusual view of Europe.

 

Thanks for telling me.

[dogs4fun]

Has anyone been to the newly refurbed Rijksmuseum. I know it is a distance from the port, but suspect public transport or a taxi there should not be problematic. We are wondering how big it is though and how long is best to allow for the visit to do it justice.

 

The other thing we would like to do is pay a visit to the flower market, which should be fine if we walk back to he ship that way. We bought some very good bulbs there previously and as we are going in September it would be a shame not to pick up some more and a walk through Amsterdam is always enjoyable.

 

We visited the Rijksmuseum the end of May, 2013 ... soon after it reopened. Absolutely LOVED it!!

We spent 4 days in AMS, so we had the time to devote a half day to the museum. It is quite large. How long you spend there will depend on you. :) I would recommend purchasing your tickets online to avoid the queues.

We took the tram (#2 or #5) from Centraal Station to the Hobbemastraat stop (Rijksmuseum). BTW, tram #26 will take you from the port area to Centraal Station.

We also visited the floating flower market on our last day. From the flower market you can catch tram #4 back to central station (if you prefer not to walk).

Below is the link for tram numbers and routes:

http://en.gvb.nl/pages/home.aspx

Edited March 26, 2014 by dogs4fun

[Danish viking]

I think the Americans know what they are doing because the other board is for Western Europe and The British Isles.

 

The generally idea is that Benelux is located in Western Europe and so it fits very well in that forum. :D

Edited March 26, 2014 by Danish viking

[Ine]

That seems an extremely strange system - putting Holland and Belgium in with Britain instead of with the rest of Europe!

 

If that is how it is, I will go along with it though. As an American site, I can only assume someone over there has an unusual view of Europe.

 

Thanks for telling me.

The Netherlands is more a part of western then northern Europe. Since cruiseships leave for various destinations it could fit however in both forums.

[4774Papa]

I was awed by the Rijksmuseum in 1982. Just seeing Nightwatch was worth the visit. I don't know how much they renovated the museum, but I spend at least a couple of hours there.

[Al54]

You can also take a hop-on/hop-off canal boat. They stop at the Rikjsmuseum and the departure is just in front of main railway station : more expensive, but more pleasant and interesting than bus or tram. Many stops near the mains attractions.

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPad à l'aide de Forums

[tring]

Thanks for the replies. We went on the river cruise on our first visit to Amsterdam, but did not know there was a hop in hop off version which we may use sometime, but will probably go for a quicker journey this time to max the time in the museum.

 

I have copied and pasted my question on to the 'Britain and Western Europe thread' which is obviously where it belongs.

 

The British view would be that Western Europe would be anywhere that is not Eastern Europe and would certainly include places like France and Spain which are on our 'Western Europe' cruise itineraries and are west of the UK. The term 'Northern Europe' is commonly used in the UK and would refer to anywhere north of the Mediteranean based countries, including ourselves. It just seems particularly strange that if you click on 'Europe' under ports of call on this site it does not include the 'Britain and Western Europe' thread, which is just listed as 'Britain' on the main contents list and is why I did not know it existed.

 

I can understand why it has been organised in that way though, as cruises visiting the UK are more likely to visit places like Holland and Belgium, than fly cruises from the US, which would be more likely to cover just the Scandinavian coutries, so I aggree from that aspect it is in the correct place. As Britain is part of Europe, I still do not understand why the thread is not included under the title of Europe when searching for Europe though.

[Desdichado62]

 

The British view would be that Western Europe would be anywhere that is not Eastern Europe and would certainly include places like France and Spain which are on our 'Western Europe' cruise itineraries and are west of the UK. The term 'Northern Europe' is commonly used in the UK and would refer to anywhere north of the Mediteranean based countries, including ourselves. It just seems particularly strange that if you click on 'Europe' under ports of call on this site it does not include the 'Britain and Western Europe' thread, which is just listed as 'Britain' on the main contents list and is why I did not know it existed.

 

 

"CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIES BY MAJOR AREA AND REGION OF THE WORLD"

 

http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/CD-ROM_2009/WPP2009_DEFINITION_OF_MAJOR_AREAS_AND_REGIONS.pdf

 

Ireland and GB are part of Northern Europe but Belgium and NL are defined as western Europe countries.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Desdichado62

[tring]

I have never seen anything quite like that before, but as I said I can understand why those ports are together on a section of the board, although if that list means the ports on the north coast of Germany should be classed as 'British Isles and Western Europe', that would not be logical to me personally.

 

What I had mentioned is that the term 'Northern Europe' is very commonly used in Britain, whether it be in TV news reports, the British press or just in general conversation and our understanding of that, (and what the term would mean if used by a British person), would cover all the European countries which do not boarder the Med - certainly Germany for instance, and that is purely a fact. I can also see that geographic areas would be looked on differently from different places and that from Scandinavia, (I note you are based in Sweden), we may well be looked upon as being in the south!!!

 

I am not disputing the location of the ports on the board, just pointing out how the grouping of them could be confusing for British people when they first use that section of the board. I still do not see why Britain is not classed as part of Europe for instance. I will conform in future and do not wish to get into a dispute in any way - just pointing out that views can be different.

Edited March 27, 2014 by tring

[hubofhockey]

I think the Americans know what they are doing because the other board is for Western Europe and The British Isles.

 

The generally idea is that Benelux is located in Western Europe and so it fits very well in that forum. :D

 

It's nice that not everyone dumps on Americans. We're not as dumb as some would lead you to believe. :cool:

[Blue Bonnet]

We went last summer and ABSOLUTELY buy your tickets in advance or online and be prepared! There are lines to buy tickets as well as get in, so make sure you find the right one. There are two sides to enter as well, so find that shorter line.

 

Also, hold on to your ticket because there are bathrooms that run between the ticketed and nonticketed areas, and the guards make you show your ticket again at some points. ( that also makes it hard to remember where you agreed to meet after the potty break!)

We spent 6+ hours there and saw everything- in fact, left for lunch at an outside cafe and returned. There were lines for the cafe, too. The "Hall of Fame", most famous paintings, is often crowded, but the rest of the museum is not.

 

My favorite museum is the Hermitage outpost in Amsterdam, usually very interesting 6 month long exhibits.