London & Amsterdam: Here I come!

[LGBurns]

I am so excited! My husband and I will be travelling to London to visit my brother and his wife from May 18-June 1. Also, as a graduation gift, my brother and his wife are paying for our plane tix from London to Amsterdam, so we will be spending the weekend of May 25 in Amsterdam. I am so excited! We also plan on a brief mid-week trip to Bath and Stratford-Upon-Avon. I am a HUGE Anglophile and never been out of the US (except to Canada) so I CAN'T WAIT!

Any suggestions would be most helpful! We particularly need advice on places to stay in Bath, Stratford & Amsterdam (will be staying with my brother in London). They need to be nice but cheap places (I know this will be particularly difficult in England but any help would be appreciated). Also, things we shouldn't miss in all the places we will be going. And if anyone is up on the London theater scene and can recommend one show (not a musical, please) that we absolutely shouldn't miss while we are there that would be great. We both have worked in the theater and my husband is a playwright so we are definitely willing to see the more adventurous stuff, but we can only afford one show in London (we also plan to see one RSC show in Stratford).

Things I know for sure I plan on doing:

London:
Tower of London
the newly rebuilt Globe Theater
British Museum
one play

Bath:
The Roman baths
Any Jane Austen stuff (any suggestions on the best stuff?)
Costume Museum (not sure how DH will feel but it's a must see for me)

Stratford:
A play at the RSC

Amsterdam:
?????????

Any suggestions? (Shirley Ekstein, I'd especially love to hear your thoughts.) TIA

[Natasha]

Hi!

I can help you with Amsterdam (lodging and otherwise). I'll write more when I get a chance. Lucky you! :)

Natasha

[SusanT]

We spent five days in London and made only one day trip to Windsdor. You can spend months in London itself. We saw a play at the Globe - The Tempest w/ Vanessa Redgrave. It's an experience not to be missed. I don't know what the RSC at Stratford is like but the Globe was wonderful. We also saw The Wier in the West End.

I checked the website and the Globe will be playing A Midsummer Night's Dream while you're there. Here's the web address:
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/home.htm

Before we went, I started reading play reviews in British newspapers online and you can actually book tickets online as well through Ticketmaster UK.

You can take a ferry from the Tower of London to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory. DH's family has a nautical background so we also went to the Royal Naval Museum at Greenwich.

I loved Westminster Abbey. It's amazing how many people are buried in there - literally stacked upon each other. While we were there, there was a BBC broadast chamber concert rehearsing.

A tip - you can buy Tower of London tickets at many tube stations and skip the big lines at the Tower. Did you know that Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymore are buried under the floor of the Tower chapel?

Are you a garden enthusiast? The Chelsea Flower Show might be going on while you're there. I went last year. It's truly amazing.

[KValley]

Linda, I am SOO excited for you!! You will have such a marvelous time. What a wonderful gift.

I'm sure your brother knows London very well- it will be so nice to have a great guide. Time Out London is probably the best guide for what's happening in regards to theatre, restaurants. Here the link (there's also one for Amsterdam). http://www.timeout.com/london/ You can also book theatre tickets through TimeOut.

I'm a medieval and Elizabethan nut, so here are a few of my favorites:

Westminster Cathedral and Abbey 2 different places
St. Bartholomew-the-Great London's oldest church (1123)
St Martin in the Fields which overlooks Trafalgar Square
London Bridge

Stay far away from Madame Tussaud's, unless kitsch is your thing.

also, St Paul's Cathedral is magical; ; the Tate and the Victoria and Albert museums have amazing collections and the Museum of London is very cool if you are interested in the city itself.

St James's and Hyde Park are fantastic for picnics; Marlyebone's got great restaurants and boutiques and the best bookstore in London (IMHO) "Daunt's" and it's off the tourist track, but only a 10 minute walk from Oxford Street.

If you want a really good read to put you in the spirit, I recommend Edward Rutherford's "London". It's a novel, but it traces the history of London from 54 BC through to WWII. Quite an epic, but an amazing way to see the history of the city unfold.

I can't recommend the hotel where I stayed in Amsterdam- it was inexpensive and sweet, but I had a horrible little room on the first floor.

Amsterdam is the most amazing walking city- everything is so close. Just weaving through the little streets, over the canals, looking at the precious homes and tiny gardens, stopping for a beer at a pub, pancakes at a cafe- and you are going at such a gorgeous time - the weather should be great! I was in Amsterdam and Utrecht for a week in 1997 and I have been aching to go back since. Fortunately, I stayed with friends in Utrecht and got to see the Dutch countryside and to stay in a home- what a treat. I recommend a canal tour- it will take you out and about through all of the canals and you get to see the city from a completely different viewpoint. The Anne Frank museum is a must, but get there EARLY as the lines can be very long; the Van Gogh museum is extraordinary, going for a ride on the Ferris wheel was a blast- the whole city is spread out before you- quite a view.

Oh wow, I'm envious! Have fun!

[daner94]

I visited Amst. last March. There is just so much to do! We stayed at 2 different hotels because the first one was not to our liking--Dam Straat Hotel. (too noisy and not enough luxury--it was our vacation after all) We moved to Hotel Krasnapolsky which was pricier but much more luxurious.

Do not miss Anne Frank's house, the floating flower market (Bloemenmarkt), The Van Gogh museum, Belgian Frites (French Fries) with their special mayo to dip, and definitely check out the Red Light District, even if you just take a quick walk through.

Also, the clothes shopping there is most excellent, so I would keep that in mind when you plan your budget. :)

There are many many books to research with- that was so exciting for me.

Have fun!!!

[Jessica]

Just a few random notes...

A good play in London, if it is still running, is The Woman in Black. It is a spooky, old-time ghost story.

An often-overlooked sight is Churchill's War Rooms. You can tour the underground bunker where Churchill and his staff lived and worked during World War II--the rooms look the way they did when the war ended and you get a walkman with a taped tour. I am not a major history buff but I found it fascinating.

The baths in Bath are fabulous, but also try the historic walking tour and the terrific photography museum.

[sjs9601]

We've also been to London several times, and I would 2nd the votes for Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Also if you have time for St. Pauls' Cathederal, this is definitely worthwhile. I was never one for taking the "guided" tours but I have found these are definitely worth the small expense and really enrich the experience.

We went to Amsterdam last fall for the 1st time and I would also vote for the Ann Frank museum and Van Gogh museum. Because of the time of year we went and the drop in tourism we didn't have to wait in lines most places. There's a company in Amsterdam that does a day tour on bike with lunch included - we didn't try it but it sure sounded like a lot of fun! We did do a canal tour by boat and that was definitely worthwhile. We had probably one of our best Mexican meals ever in Amsterdam (what can I say, we like going against type!) - I don't remember the name but it was located close to the Hotel L'Europe.

It's very easy to get lost in the winding streets, so I would suggest walking around in the daylight (esp if you're trying to find the red light district) before attempting after dark. Also, don't even think of taking a camera in the red light district. I've heard that the girls don't take kindly to photos.

I'm sure you'll have a great time - enjoy!

[claire797]

First off. I AM SO JEALOUS!!! I love London. We're not going back until 2005, when our new daughter is 4. We think she'll be old enough to sort of appreciate it then.

Anyway. Time Out is a great resource for finding restaurants, shows, events and entertainment. There's a Time Out for London and for UK.

Definitely do the Tower of London. If you send away now, you could also get tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys. You have to write to the Tower office and get them in advance. They've been doing this nightly ceremony of closing the tower 700 years.

Changing of the Guard? Do you plan on catching that? I thought it would be silly but I went and was totally in awe. Just get there early to grab a good spot.

If you like to shop, you must visit Harrods. It's an amazing store. You'll be overwhelmed in what they call their "Food Hall". There is take-out grocery store type food plus all sorts of gourmet goodies. If your husband doesn't like shopping, there's a pub in Harrod's. I think it's called The Green Man or something like that. The men hang out there while the ladies shop. More good shopping can be found on Oxford Street as well.

Have you picked your London restaurants? One restaurant I want to visit when I go back to London is Oxo Tower. The restaurant is situated above the Thames river and there's a spectacular view. The food is supposed to be good too. There's also a bar there so you could just go have drinks.

Last time I was in London I ate at The River Cafe. The atmosphere was hip and trendy but not uncomfortably so and the Italian food was out of this world.

For your play, are you going to do a musical? If you haven't seen Les Mis, the London cast is very good. Also, I don't know if it's still there but Sunset Blvd. was good.

E-mail me if you have any questions. My daughter is screaming at me from her exersaucer so I have to run :)

[jrichards]

Linda,

I am so excited for you! I have never been to Amsterdam, but I love London. It captured my heart after working & living there for a year. It doesn't hurt that I met my DH while over there either. :D

Our goal is to get back to London at least every other year together, and try for once a year for my DH. He has a lot of friends and family over there, so that helps make it more affordable. I have the luxury of living near most of my friends/family and so I want him to get to spend some alone time with his friends/family too. This is the year that we should be going together again. Can't wait to get that trip planned!!

I agree with the Time Out recommendation. In addition to their website, they have a weekly magazine that can be purchased from any place selling newspaper/magazines. It's a great reference! Has listings of everything going on that week - theater, movies, concerts, free things, stuff for kids, etc.

If you want to leave which play you see more up to fate, you can get great deals at the 1/2 price ticket booth in Leiceister Square. They have many to choose from daily. One of my favorite street markets is the Camden Market (off the Northern Line) on the weekends. They have a lot of fun and funky stuff, jewelry, clothes, and interesting people watching. However, if you're looking for high-end antique markets, this is not the place. If you like dancing, there are a lot of good clubs. Harrod's is not to be missed for the food halls. The Tower Bridge (right next to Tower of London) has a tour, but I never actually took it. I think it would be very interesting, and it's one of my favorite structures in London. I think it's just beautiful. I highly recommend taking one of the walking tours (i.e. Jack the Ripper walk, Pub Crawl, Historic Sites, etc). Just see which matches your fancy - they'll be listed in the Time Out. For sure drink some of the great beers at a pub. You can even try some of the specialty ones = a shandy (beer mixed with what they call lemonade - kind of like a sprite), or a snakebite (beer, guiness, and blackcurrant juice). There are so many wonderful museums to pick from. The Tate Modern is very unique, I always loved the National Gallery (in Trafalgar Square), the British Museum, Albert & Victoria, and so on! If you'd like a high tea experience, try the Savoy. I love the Chinese food in the So-ho area. Try the fried seaweed and the crispy duck. Yummy! I can't find those foods anywhere here. A lot of my other recommendations are in the links below.

I can't wait to hear about your trip. I'm sure that your brother & SIL will have a lot of ideas for you as well since they're living there.

I just watched a show on the travel channel about must-sees when traveling to London. Here's a link to the list:

http://travel.discovery.com/destinations/europe/london/whattodo_london.html

This is a link to Churchill's war bunker:
http://travel.discovery.com/news/reu/20011203/churchill.html

Enjoy yourselves!

Jennifer

[Shirley Ekstein]

Hi LG - have just picked this up (9pm GMT) and am not completely with it at the moment - has been a long day and am completely knackered so if I may, will reply tomorrow with sensible comments about Stratford and things you really mustn't miss.

Till tomorrow, then.
regards
Shirley.

[lhall]

DH and I were in London on our honeymoon. All the recommendations are great. But, I do have one addition. The Queen's Gallery? I think that's what it's called. I seem to remember it being near where we watched the Changing of the Guard. We saw a really cool exhibit of da Vinci's drawings. It wasn't big or highly publicized, but a very nice display.

Have fun!!!
Leigh

[Elisabeth]

Grrr! I was just in the middle of writing a reply and it disappeared!!

Anyway, I was saying that my play recommendation is Michael Frayn's
Noises Off if it's still playing when you're there. It's a farce about a theatre company putting on a play--or trying to put on a play--and how the play, the performances, and the off-stage relationships deteriorate in various disastrous but hilarious ways over the course of the play's run. It's the funniest play I've ever seen--great fun.

My favorite London museums are the Victoria and Albert and Sir John Soane's Museum , a tiny, quirky treasure that's well worth going out of your way to find.

You'll want to visit the newish Jane Austen Centre in Bath. There's a good presentation on Jane's life and times in Bath and you can pick up maps to show you where to go to see the places she lived and visited.

Have a great time!!

[Shirley Ekstein]

LG - tried to e-mail you thru BB but find you don't accept such. Just wanted to ask how long you're thinking of staying in Stratford and are you coming by car or train?
Relevant questions cos if you're coming by car you'll be able to see much more of surroundings, which are wonderful and mostly more interesting that Stratford itself - if you were coming by train would offer to meet you and take you round, as long as we could co-ordinate a day when I wasn't working! (Tho even then, could keep middle of day, say between 10am and 2pm, free.)

To answer your original question as to what you should see in Stratford - e-mail me - the answer is far too long to put up on this board!

regards
Shirley

[Don]

We were in Amsterdam for a week and fell in love with the place. For a hotel, I would highly recommend the Rho Hotel which is located just off Dam Square on a very quiet side street. You are right in the middle of everything, but you avoid a lot of the noise. Also, the hotel has recently been renovated, so the rooms are modern and comfortable. And the breakfasts, which are free for guests, are fantastic. (I can almost taste the fresh croissants with chocolate-hazelnut spread as I write this.) Surprisingly, the cost was much less than many of the other places that we checked in Amsterdam. The address is:
Nes 5-23
1012 KC Amsterdam
And the local phone number is: 620-7371. You will need to add international calling codes, etc., to the phone number.

There is so much to do in Amsterdam that it is difficult to recommend any one site. I would check a travel guide and go from there. However, one thing not to miss is a candlelight cruise along the Amsterdam canals. The city is gorgeous during the day, but the candlelight cruise was beyond words. There are tour companies near the main train station (Centraal Station) that offer cruises.

Have fun! The people all over the Netherlands were some of the friendliest that we have ever encountered. And virtually everyone speaks English. In fact, I think some of them spoke English better than we did. If we ever had the opportunity, we would move to the Netherlands in a heartbeat.

[Natasha]

London is exciting, but I LOVE Amsterdam!!

I was there for all of a few days (I went alone, on a fun, last-minute whim, a couple of years ago) :). At the VVV by the train station, someone found me a room in the Hotel Verdi. It's a small hotel owned by a family. It's in the opera district, right near the concert house and the diamond factory/factories and the Van Gogh museum and all. the No. 2 tram will take you along Damrak (?) to the train station and right downtown, etc. (or it is not too long a walk, either - and Damrak is chock full of things to see and do). The hotel staff were friendly, and the breakfast room was bright, tastefully decorated, and plastered with autographed photos of musicians (mostly classical) who had stayed at the hotel. Very nice! The rooms varied from large to quite small, but if there are two of you you should get a decently-sized room, I'm thinking.

Also, one of my guilty (okay, I felt no guilt whatsoever) was these kip kerrie breaded, curried chicken kebab things you could get at the train station. Yes, it was nothing but fast food, but also yummy. Mind you, you have to not mind a bit of grease now and again, but I found them fairly addictive. Don't quite know why. You've probably also heard about the fries and sauce. Don't miss 'em. :)

Also, I enjoyed checking out the markets and trying local cheeses, cold cuts (including vegetarian deli slices etc. that I had never tried anywhere else, and which were really good), and breads. Leerdammer has long been one of my all-time favourite cheeses (though ironically, I fell in love with it in France), so I made sure to have my fill of it too. Don't forget to try rijstaffel, too - and prepare to eat and eat and eat! ;)

I loved Amsterdam for its friendliness and for the fact that you could meet people from everywhere. Unfortunately, I found that in the summertime, it was almost hard to meet/hear Dutch. Still, it was a wonderful place to sit at an outdoor cafe and sip a good Dutch beer and enjoy a cool salad or something. And the music opportunities, too! Concerts and such galore! One thing I adore about Europe is the continued appreciation of classical music and art.

If you're wondering how you can possibly work up an appetite to eat and drink all this ;), you can rent a bike and take a short or long bike tour. I did that and it was so much fun, though scary at times because the roads can be very narrow and cobbled - and congested! I love the fact that the Dutch bike to work so commonly, though I am surprised that showers at the workplace are not more common. :p Amsterdam is also a wonderful walking city.

I am hugely interested in German and Dutch history and have read Anne Frank's Diary more times than I can remember, as well as her biography. So a visit to Anne Frank Huis was a must. What can I say; it gave me the shivers, but I'm so glad that I saw it. It makes reading the book that much more meaningful and poignant.

Oh, and I also remember some good shopping here and there, and picking up some fun little clothing items at H&M. Nothing fancy - you know.

Have fun!!

Natasha