Netherlands and Germany

I just came back to Vancouver and try to stay awake for jetleg. Figured I will share my itinerary for my one week trip in Netherlands and Germany. Since I only have so many vacation time every year, I only took one week off this time. It was short and sweet.


Itinerary:

Day 1: arrive in Amsterdam, traveled to Den Haag/Hague

Day 2: day trip to Rotterdam and Den Haag/Hague

Day 3: train ride to Koln, the Dom

Day 4: Koln/Cologne and Bonn (birthplace of Beethoven)

Day 5: Koln/Cologne and train ride to Amsterdam

Day 6: Alkmaar (cheese market and trading center), Amsterdam

Day 7: Country side: Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken, Amsterdam

Day 8: fly out


most of the time was spend on either commuting or museums. The cities list above are pretty walkable except Amsterdam. I stayed close to Koln Central and Amsterdam Central, which are pretty convenient. I can spend more time in the city sigh seeing without needing to worry about getting back to hotel too late.

Day	location	point of interests	accommodation
Day 1	Amsterdam, commute to Hague	Hello Europe! pick up Holland Pass at GWK Travelex - Schiphol airport landside - Arrival Hall 3/ 4.
Day 2	one day in Rotterdam and Hague	Rotterdam Central Station,  Cube Houses, (silver pass, save $3) Markthal, City Hall, Kunsthal, (silver pass, save $12, closed on Mondays) Erasmus Bridge world trade center
Day 3	half day commute from Hauge to Cologne (4 hr train ride)	7am train from Hague - Cologne Cologne 1. Gothic Cathedral (guided tour, Monday – Saturday 10.30 am and 2.30 pm, Sunday and Feastday 2.30 pm, http://www.koelner-dom.de/index.php?id=home&L=1 2. go to any public museum or Cologne Tourist Board Kardinal-Höffner-Platz 1 get museum card. Mondays - Saturdays: 09:00 a.m. – 08:00 p.m.	air bnb
Day 4	cologne, Bonn	Cologne: 1. Romano-Germanic Römisch-Germanisches Museum 10am-5pm Tue-Sun 2. Museum Schnütgen Mon closed Tues to Sun 10 am – 6 pm Thurs 10 am – 8 pm http://www.museum-schnuetgen.de/default.aspx?s=1909 Bonn: 1. University of Bonn, 2. Beethoven house: birthplace of the renowned composer Ludwig van Beethoven	air bnb
Day 5	half a day in Bonn, train from Bonn/cologne to Amsterdam (4 hr train ride)	Cologne:Wallraf-Richartz Museum, with most monet (i only saw one, lol) collection, Tues to Sun 10 am – 6 pm arrive at Amsterdam 1. take 10pm night canal tour 2. check out the red light district, Randy Roy's Redlight Tours everyday 8pm plus10pm Fridays and Saturdays (I didn't end up doing tour, but review of this tour is very good)	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 6	Amsterdam	Amsterdam 1. Rijksmuseum, gold pass, Open daily 9:00-17:00 2. Van Gogh museum, gold pass, (9 am to 6 pm and Fridays until 10 pm, Tip: visit the museum from 9 am to 11 am or after 3 pm. The busiest times are between 11 am and 3 pm.)	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 7	Amsterdam	Amsterdam 1. country side morning tour start from 8:45am, pack a light lunch or eat at Volendam 2. Amsterdam market 3. Royal Palace 4. Dam Square	hostel in Amsterdam
Day 8	Amsterdam	Goodbye Amsterdam!

A few tips:

1. It's a good idea to buy international train tickets ahead of time Tickets can be sold out. They can be booked online or at the computers at all the information booth at main train station. Print out the paper tickets and conductors will check time to time.
2. I bought a Holland pass for Netherlands travel, there are also Amsterdam card and museum card, depends on what you want to do. Google Holland pass vs Amsterdam card, you will see the differences.
3. Holland pass gives me voucher for museum tickets, which I still need to go line up to exchange for museum entrance tickets. There are difference line up for voucher and tickets.
4. Ann Frank house is one the most popular places to visit in Amsterdam. If you are interested in history and it's highly recommenced to reserve your tickets and they will be sold out!
5. Royal Palace is where dutch royal greets guests but it's not super fancy and even the Queen does not like it. I did\t go inside and just took a picture.
6. Last canal cruise is at 10pm and I was able to see the night view of Amsterdam. All the bridges are lighted up and quiet. Quite different from the Amsterdam's day life.

alternative itinerary:
i have met people that travel to/from Berlin, Germany and Paris, France. Flights may be cheaper than trains sometimes. so check the price before you go.