Netherlands Travel Guide

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Mile High Speed Dating Hits KLM, But No Joining the Mile High Club

December 19, 2011 at 12:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

We admit there have been times that we may have put noise cancelling headphones just to give the illusion of listening to music, warding off fellow passengers' incessant blabbing. There also have been times we've noticed someone that looks interesting—ahem attractive ahem—and wished we could swap seats to get a little closer.

The latter is how KLM prefers to fly, and they'll soon offer passengers the ability to pick their seatmate based on Facebook or Linkedin profiles. By next year, the airline will not only offer a window or aisle preference, but allow customers to view the profile of other passengers, then choose whether or not to sit next to them.

The first red flag we see is the obvious privacy of personal details. Passengers must opt-in to have their social media profile available for other travelers to see. Which means, not everyone will be taking part in this singles bar in the sky. Sigh of relief! It also begs the question; will the aircraft have a cabin area set aside for these passengers who are single and ready to mingle?

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MYOB: Make Your Own Banner Arrives at Amsterdam's Airport

December 7, 2011 at 9:24 AM | by | Comments (0)

Scribbling out a welcome sign on crumpled paper from your backseat usually doesn’t promote a warm welcome, so that’s why Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport is ready to help you out.

Those tasked with picking up loved ones—or the company CEO—now have a new option at the airport. AMS just installed some sort of banner-making vending machine; so all you have to do is pop in a few euros and pick out your salutations.

BannerXpress is the company behind the idea, and they’re thinking about expanding the fun to more airports, stadiums, and other spots. Users are welcome to select all kinds of different things to create their custom sign including font size, colors, and background images. It’s not cheap at €15, but after waiting three hours instead of 15 minutes to pick up a pal, we probably couldn’t resist taking the machine for a test drive.

[Photo: The Consortium]

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A La Carte in KLM Economy Now Means Dutch Cheese, Japanese Soba and Veggie Falafel

November 21, 2011 at 5:05 PM | by | Comments (0)


Indonesian rice dish

Ordering off-menu while jet setting is not only limited to first and business class passengers, you know. Just as we last told you about American Airlines upgrading their menus, KLM is now offering specialty meals on intercontinental flights from Amsterdam. Last week, the Flying Dutchman announced the expanded dining offering in the back of the plane with a little pre-ordering and few extra euros.

The expanded menu is in addition to the gluten-free, kosher, and other special dietary meals that KLM usually stocks, but these will explore ethnic themes, like traditional Dutch fare, Japanese delights, Italian comfort food, Indonesian rice dishes and an upgraded veggie option. At 12-15 euros each, the meals will still give you spending money for bringing home souvenirs.

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No More Passing the Dutch as Holland Moves to Ban Tourists from Weed Cafes

November 14, 2011 at 3:36 PM | by | Comment (1)

It's happening! That ban on selling marijuana to tourists and allowing them in Dutch pot cafes—the one Holland's been discussing since earlier this year—will begin taking effect next year. And while "next year" seems like a far enough time away to not freak about this, may we remind you that next year is little more than a month-and-a-half away, and the ban hits January 1, 2012.

Don't go booking the first KLM direct to Amsterdam quite just yet, however. This first phase of the pot-for-tourists ban will only reach the southern parts of the country—Limburg, North-Brabant and Zeeland—where drug tourism is more of a problem (the rest of Europe just comes across the border down there for a joint or two, you see). Maastricht has been trialling the program since October, actually. Regardless, officials promise to include Amsterdam and the rest of the country in the ban come January 2013.

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Best Ironic Holiday Gift to Give? Your Face, Painted on a Royal Delft Plate from Holland

November 2, 2011 at 10:48 AM | by | Comment (1)

If you have ever flown KLM long-haul, you probably already know to get psyched for the in-flight shopping to start. This excitement is not due to tax-free bottles of liquor or J.Lo's latest perfume. Well, maybe for some it is, but the magic is really in the Royal Delft souvenirs.

If mini porcelain houses aren't your thing, Dutch Tourism (@visitholland) recently tweeted to say that visitors may design their own plates using the iconic hand-painted blue and white Delft pattern. This is your chance to get your face on a plate, people! After some thinking and wandering around the Royal Delft website for gift ideas, we came to the conclusion that this might actually work for a few people on our list this year.

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Maastricht Keeps the Sticky Icky for Itself, Bans Foreign Tourists from Weed Cafes

October 3, 2011 at 10:35 AM | by | Comment (1)

We're not going to say "I told you so," but we kind of did back in May when Holland first announced plans to possibly close "coffee shops" to tourists after crime rose. Now, from this last Saturday, the hammer has dropped and foreign tourists are not permitted in the coffee shops of Holland's southernmost city of Maastricht.

There are exceptions: Germans and Belgians are still welcome, but no Americans or Italians or English or French or...we could continue but you get the point. And if you are German or Belgian, then be prepared to show your passport and allow the coffee shop to retain your identity information for up to two days, even if you're only in the shop to smoke weed for fifteen minutes.

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Can You Believe This is Airport Food?

Where: Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 15, 2011 at 5:07 PM | by | Comments (2)

Okay, okay. So we just finished spreading the gospel of Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, but we're kinda not done since we didn't say anything about the food. Oh, THE FOOD!

Instead of giving you a huge gallery and making you drool on a Monday evening when you're likely nowhere near the international departures area at AMS, here are just a few tidbits to give you an idea—hints to get your appetite going on a day you're traveling through Schiphol. Here's the biggest tip: save your tummy for some good stuff; skipping breakfast or another meal is fine if you're on your way to this airport.

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Inside Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport: The Ginormous KLM Crown Lounge

Where: Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 12, 2011 at 5:27 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to Amsterdam Week here on Jaunted! Each day, we're coming at ya with a Double Dutch of features: two stories on a city (and its airport) that stuns with its beauty and nearly overwhelms with everything there is to do. Got any Amsterdam tips of your own? Share with us in the comments!

Today at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, we're visiting the KLM Crown Lounge for international (non-Schengen) departures

Now we've reached the end of our week-long series on Schiphol Airport, but we're leaving you in KLM's international departures lounge for flyers with KLM or SkyTeam status. It's a perfect place to leave off, since this is where many travelers really begin their journeys and it's through these glass doors and beyond this KLM-blue desk that you really want to be.

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Foreign Grocery Friday: Freaky Deaky Dutch 'Hagelslag' Sprinkles

August 12, 2011 at 10:42 AM | by | Comments (2)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Two words: CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES. They aren't just for kids anymore, and in fact, never really were since the Dutch adopted them as an alternative to Nutella. That's right; for breakfast (and sometimes lunch), millions of Dutch are sitting down to a helping of Hagelslag, or chocolate sprinkles covering a buttered piece of toast.

Hagelslag has a long history in Holland, as sprinkles are even used on little toast rounds to celebrate the birth of a baby (so much for chocolate cigars). The most traditional flavors are anise, milk chocolate or dark chocolate, although vanilla and fruit are also popular.

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Damn Good Gouda: Go Cheese Tasting at Amsterdam's Historic Reypenaer Proeflokaal

Where: Singel 182, Amsterdam, Netherlands
August 11, 2011 at 4:18 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to Amsterdam Week here on Jaunted! Each day, we're coming at ya with a Double Dutch of features: two stories on a city (and its airport) that stuns with its beauty and nearly overwhelms with everything there is to do. Got any Amsterdam tips of your own? Share with us in the comments!

Not gonna lie. Sometimes all we want out of life is to sit down and eat a block of cheese...wine would also be nice. In Holland though, cheese is not simply "cheese," but a lifestyle where even casual foodies pay attention to the producers.

Enter Reypenaer Proeflokaal, a store and cheese tasting room in the heart of old Amsterdam, where Ron Pieters—a master of cheese and spirits—instructs those who pay 12.50 Euro for a class on the finer points of six traditional Dutch cheeses (and their proper wine and port pairings). Ron wants you to know what it is you're eating, and to know how properly to savor it when you've chosen well and paid plenty.

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Inside Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport: The Branch of the Famous Rijksmuseum

August 11, 2011 at 12:35 PM | by | Comments (2)

Welcome to Amsterdam Week here on Jaunted! Each day, we're coming at ya with a Double Dutch of features: two stories on a city (and its airport) that stuns with its beauty and nearly overwhelms with everything there is to do. Got any Amsterdam tips of your own? Share with us in the comments!

Today at Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, we're visiting the outpost of the Rijkmuseum.

Confession: during this most recent visit to Amsterdam, the long lines to enter the massive Rijksmuseum in the city foiled our plans to visit. Alas, we comforted ourselves with the thought that it's not like we won't ever be back and plsu—the Rijksmuseum has a mini outpost right inside the airport!

The museum-cube sits on the main drag called Holland Boulevard, in the international departures (non-Schengen) terminal. To one side is the Airport Library and to the other the Holland Casino, but its the museum above and its gift shop below that are most easily spotted. Entrance is free (unlike the real Rijksmuseum, which costs 12.50 Euro per adult) and the exhibits change, so if you're a frequent traveler through AMS, we wouldn't write it off after just one visit.

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Everything's Better With Kittens: Amsterdam's 'Kattenkabinet' Cat Artwork Museum

August 10, 2011 at 5:05 PM | by | Comments (0)

Welcome to Amsterdam Week here on Jaunted! Each day, we're coming at ya with a Double Dutch of features: two stories on a city (and its airport) that stuns with its beauty and nearly overwhelms with everything there is to do. Got any Amsterdam tips of your own? Share with us in the comments!

It is our conclusion that the internet needs more cat pictures, as does the world as a whole really. One place that totally agrees is Amsterdam's KattenKabinet, a mini-museum dedicated to artwork featuring and inspired by...cats. It's also a fun-to-say word.

You don't have to be a "cat person" to love this little slice of culture; Kattenkabinet is all Amsterdam, but without buslouds of tourists and with its sense of history intact. Still the rooms are filled with curiosities like a costume from the Broadway musical Cats, a ginormous painting depicting a cat-god/devil wreaking havoc (our favorite), and a specially-printed US dollar bill bearing the portrait of J.P. Morgan—though not Morgan the human captain of industry, but Morgan the owner's cat that inspired this entire place.

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