Netherlands - Travel Update

Day 2:

• All of us slept really well yesterday. Bodies frankly needed it.
• Got up at 9. Changed hotel rooms to the 1st floor so it became a little easier for Dad.
• Headed off to Zaanse Schans. Caught 391 from Amsterdam Centraal and it reached Zaanse Schans in an hour. The bus ride was a nice one and Dad complemented the driver.
• We spent 3-4 hours in the village, going into various shops and little parks and gardens and workshops and windmills. We went into the paint making windmill - it was quite nice to learn how paint used to be made and see how a windmill works.
• Had lunch, some delicious juice, spent some more time in all the bits that we hadn't seen and headed back by the same bus.
• The conclusion is that it's a nice day trip overall, but definitely not more than a day. I fyou look around it really quickly, and have an early start to the day - it's possible to finish it in a few hours and head back to Amsterdam to do something else.
• We all went back to the hotel. I booked a canal cruise at 9:00pm for 13.50 euros per head. I got the distance from where the tram stopped and the canal bus ride slightly wrong, meaning Dad had to run a bit at the end. We reached in time though - and the cruise was quite nice (Lovers evening cruise).
• The hotel had a ridiculous policy of not having food in your rooms. Yesterday we violated it, as there was no way I could drag Mom and Dad out again for food in the night - they were too tired. Today we just ate at Amsterdam Central station.
• The tram stops change in the night for some reason and go down a different route which caused Dad to panic a lot despite me trying to calm him down. In the end, I managed to find my way back though and all is well that ends well, except that I'm on the edge most days.

Anyway its 12:30am as I write this and we have to catch a train at 6:18 in the morning to Paris. Paris is nearly 5 days though, which means I can take things a little more slowly and learn from the mistakes that I have made throughout the trip.

I spent 5 nights in Amsterdam in June of this year for a third time visit. I stayed at a great B&B that I found in RS guide book. Sorry you had so many annoying problems. If I may ask, where did you get the Hotel Manofa recommendation? I did not see it in RS book. So many places we stay when we go to Europe every summer, mostly being B&B's, do not have elevators and many have too many steep stairs. I always try to ask when making my reservations about that. Not having one is not a deal killer but if they do not have one, I want a room on the lowest floor guaranteed. Hope you enjoy Paris. charlie

I do not mean to be impolite at all. But if ''climbing'' 20 stairs is a disaster...you may not have easy trips in your future.
If a lift or elevator is a super important priority, you should check before renting rooms. You are visiting Europe and many hôtels in older buildings do not have them. I am the time of person who will take the stairs even if there is an elevator...but we are all different.

And as for rain...well, Amsterdam ain't California so you should have done some research as well.
And anyway, weather is unpredictable. A city should not be judged by the weather and a traveller should be prepared rain or shine I think. I am glad to you seem to have enjoyed a couple of activities including canal cruise in Amsterdam since I think it is a beautiful city.

Bon voyage à Paris! Enjoy your next leg!

It has been lovely reading your reports. Your parents must be very proud of the good care you are taking of them.

I feel for your Dad's knee.
Indeed, those stairs in Holland are steep! I remember bringing my mother-in-law there, who found it difficult, even after living in a Parisian fourth-floor walk-up most of her adult life.

Northern Europe can go from hot to cool and drizzle quickly in summer due to the North Atlantic. The same is true in Paris. Glad you were prepared.

Charlie, what's the great B & B in Amsterdam that you went to in June?

Thanks Bets :). I am glad you like them.

@Charlie: No, I didn't use any of RS's recommendations but searched for the lowest priced hotels that were stayable, from my parents perspective. This worked well for London, Brussels and France but Netherlands did not work that well. It was just about okay..but I won't be staying there again. It was my mistake that I did not plan the elevator problems - I assumed they would be there :( . Lesson learned.

@Val: Thanks for your feedback. The problem is that Dad has arthritis and 20 stairs for him is a big deal. Of course I do understand what you mean though, but we have managed ok so far. I wasn't complaining about anything else really - just stating my experiences. I enjoyed Amsterdam overall :) and come away with a good impression of the country. Thanks for your wishes.

The weather this August was affected by the path of ex hurricane Bertha as it arrived across the Atlantic. This kinked the jet stream southwards and led to unseasonably cold weather in many parts of northern Europe.

Ex hurricane Cristobal looks like reversing this to some extent although the air isn't quite as warm as it might have been.

" It was my mistake that I did not plan the elevator problems - I assumed they would be there"

I know you said "lesson learned," but this issue is so important for anyone else reading that I want to emphasize the following:

1) If a hotel does not say on their website that they have an elevator, assume they don't. Or e-mail them to check directly.

2) Even if they have an elevator, it may not start at the ground floor, and it may not go up to the top. I have repeatedly had to climb stairs (sometimes just a few, other times whole flights) to get to the elevator, and once i had to climb one flight past the elevator's last floor to get to my room. So, if you need to have stairs-free access from the ground floor to your room, you must make SURE this exists in any hotel you are considering.

3) "Stairs" in Holland more closely resemble ladders - they are VERY steep, with short treads. Therefore, they can be problematic even for people who do not have issues with stairs elsewhere. My mother has a phobia about steep stairs with narrow treads, and when I went to Holland, I saw it through her eyes. She would have been miserable, even though she's quite fit.

4) Even more than in other European cities, many hotels in Amsterdam do not have elevators, and have an explanation on their website that they cannot install one due to restrictions on putting them in old buildings. So if you need an elevator in Amsterdam, you need to be more than usually careful in booking accommodation.

Back in late June 2014, I stayed at the WestCord Art Hotel Amsterdam 3 Star which is located in the Westerpark District of Amsterdam on the edge of the harbor. It's 2 kilometers to the city centre. It is about US$110 a night. I took Bus #22 or #48 from Amsterdam Centraal (Central Station) and arrived in 20 mins. A great hotel with lots of artworks in the hotel and in the room. I stayed on the 2nd floor - quiet and nice. 2 computers in the lobby with a printer. There is a charge of $16 city tax when we checked out. I recommended this place.

We did a Vacation Rental by Owner (there are many sites to choose from) and got a fantastic apartment overlooking a canal (well the building did but our windows looked sideways into other buildings). The apartment was on the top floor and it was like looking up at the stairway to heaven. Steep - goodness and the treads were so narrow you kinda went up sideways. The web site was very clear about steep stairs as were the comments by people who had stayed there before. Still, it was thought provoking to contemplate it in person. We took up our stuff relay fashion and when leaving I'd toss packing cubes down from one landing to the next for my husband to catch. We laughed till we cried. It was a great place to stay and we got to know our hosts. I'm 64 with a bad knee so I took it slow. If my knee gets seriously worse I'll have to take vetting places with that in mind. Researching our accommodations made the whole thing not only enjoyable but stress free. Putting in some real effort researching accommodations, line beating tips etc. makes a trip much more enjoyable. When I took my 70 something Mother to Paris I made sure no stairs were included in our accommodations, took taxis instead of the metro and so forth. She had a great time. Loved those cafes! Snails - can we have more of these? Why does their coffee tastes weird? Oh, well....

So I summed up my entire trip into 1 single little blog. Everyone who has been following me over this trip, knows the details - so I won't write everything again :). Here's a link to my blog if you're interested - I'll update all my threads on this forum.

https://myotherramblings.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/europe-a-little-trip/