Trip Tip a Day

Tip of the day: Keep your eyes open for the unusual - unique - never before seen A four person bike, parked and locked along a brick sidewalk in Amsterdam. Tires looking low, reflectors on the pedals. Who rides this machine? Can you imagine?

Tip of the day: Relax at a sidewalk cafe with a drink and postcards Upon arrival in Amsterdam (early am) we checked in to the CitizenM (see previous post), settled a bit, and headed out for our day. It was easy to walk from the hotel to the airport, go down a level, and take the train in to the city. That's what you've got to love about Europe - EASY transport. The postcard stands beckoned, and of course the sidewalk cafes called to us even louder. We bought a few postcards, ordered up our Lipton "ice" tea (with ice! - see previous post), wrote some cards and enjoyed a delicious lunch. We sat taking in the sights: the canal, the architecture, the accents and languages of the people at nearby tables, the young traveler's with big backpacks, all of it.

Tip of the day: If you are heading to Amsterdam, or have a layover there, stay at the CitizenM Hotel We walked from the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to the hotel - with our baggage (on wheels of course). A short distance. Coming out of the airport doors, turn right and begin walking down the sidewalk . Then look for the covered walkway that leads to the CitizenM. Once you get out of the airport doors and head down the sidewalk to the right a bit you'll see the hotel off to your left. We were greeted at the hotel by a cool, hip look, friendly staff, and a simple check-in. On our way up to the room, we saw 4 gleaming iMacs in the lobby for guest use, no charge. Ooh, now we were salivating. We could get on Facebook and email to touch base with the folks back home to let them know we had arrived. We went up to the room and found this cool Jetson like layout. There is a frosted glass circular around the toilet, a glass circular around the shower, a privacy curtain, one super com...

Tip of the day: Do some planning and research on your airline ticket - not just for price, but for the route and airports that work well for International travel. European trips are enhanced by smooth sailing on the way over and the way home. Try to maximize your vacation by doing what you can to create smooth airline travel by choosing airlines and airports that work well. Then, be ready to go along for the ride because the rest is out of your control. Sit back and enjoy your flight! We flew on KLM/Northwest nonstop Dallas to Amsterdam using frequent flier miles. Northwest recently acquired KLM, or the other way around. This was a great benefit for our trip because we knew we wanted to see the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. I like flying to Europe on a European carrier - the trip starts the moment you leave the ground. Plus, free wine! Flying directly (nonstop) to Europe is a great way to start your trip. You do the whole sleep prescription thing (see previous post on minimizing ...

Anne Frank House Amsterdam If you don't want to wait in these long lines for entry tickets, purchase online tickets before you leave for Europe. Online, you can pick a date and a one hour window for entry. www.annefrank.org . We wanted a little rest and rehydration before our entry time to the museum. We found a 1 hour Canal Boat Trip that leaves from in front of the Anne Frank House complete with officially dressed skipper. We bought our tickets and a water bottle from the shop on the corner, and departed for a leisurely and somewhat informative journey on the canals. Views from the canal boat trip