• How easy was it to find your hotel?
Very easy. Sebastian gave me very clear directions. I walked from the airport to the Krasnapolsky. It took about 10-15 minutes.
• What's the first thing you did when you got to Amsterdam?
I met up with Ezra Klein. We went for coffee in the
Krasnapolsky cafe. We were very impressed by the elaborate coffee
service with the little sweets and the beautiful china. Outstanding
coffee, too.
• Did you get to rent a bike and see the city that way?
I did. I was a little skeptical about bike riding at first. I have
to confess that I'd never ridden a bike in street traffic before.
However, I rapidly got the hang of it.
• If so, how was it?
It was great. I would recommend the bike option to anyone visiting Amsterdam.
• How'd you like the hotel?
The hotel was beautiful. My view of Dam Square was absolutely stunning.
• Did the weather affect your trip in any way.
Some days it was a little cold and damp. I would advise future
visitors to bring scarves, gloves, and hats for a winter visit. But the
weather didn't prevent us from getting out and seeing the city.
• What did you think about Amsterdam before the trip?
I had always wanted to go to Amsterdam, partly because of its
reputation as a very tolerant and liberal city, and partly because I
knew a lot of people who'd really enjoyed their visits.
• Did your feelings about A'dam change because of the trip?
I'm even more enthusiastic about Amsterdam now that I've seen it
for myself. I didn't realize what a hip, vibrant contemporary art scene
Amsterdam has.
• How were the Dutch?
Very friendly, very straightforward. Cosmopolitan. Fun.
• Did anyone give you a hard time about being American?
We had some good debates about American politics with our Dutch polyblogger friends, but no one gave me a hard time.
• How did your readers react when they learned about your trip?
Everyone was very enthusiastic and supportive. Several
readers gave me tips about the city. I was surprised how many Dutch
readers I have, including several bloggers who I met during my trip.
• Did you have any great meals?
The food was uniformly good. Probably the best meal I had was when
we went to the open-air market and got cheeses, fresh fruits, and
breads. A bunch of our new Dutch friends joined us in Ezra's hotel
room. We watched the Olympic figuring skating and at cheese and laughed
a lot at the ugly costumes. It was a great evening.
• Are there any tweaks that you'd recommend to the Dutch Tourism Board if they did something like this again?
It would be great if they got local Dutch bloggers involved. We
arranged a get together with local progressive bloggers at the
Treehouse bookstore. Actually Sandra of http://progressivegoldbeta.blogspot.com/ and Martin of http://www.cloggie.org/wissewords/index.php
did all the work. We just showed up and had a great time talking about
progressive blogging, the American Democratic party, and other
interesting stuff.
• Do you have any recommendations about things that first timers should definitely do?
The ARTIS zoo, the Resistance Museum
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