Question:
We are three friends from Norway going to Amsterdam this summer on vacation. Two of us visited Amsterdam two years ago, and we enjoyed the stay very much, and now we are finally going ther once again. We are going to stay in Amsterdam one week in the beginning of August.

Unfortunately, our stay the last time only lasted a few days, so we didn't have the time to do all the things we wanted to do. This time we are staying there for one week, and this time we would like to do some better planning. Hopefully anyone here can answer some of our questions.

We would like to know if there are anything special we shouldn't miss during our stay in Amsterdam. I think we are aware of most of the typical tourist-attractions, I was more thinking of things that are not mentioned in the typical tourist-books. Things that are special for Amsterdam, maybe places that few people know about.

What we did/saw last time was Rembrandts Huis, chanel-tour, rented a bike and went for a bicycle-ride north of the city (zwinke??), the red-light district, Vondel-park, coffee-shops, hash & marijuana museum and the torture museum. We wanted to see Anne Franks huis, but the line was far too long, and we didn't have the time to wait. We also wanted to take the guided tour on the Heineken-factory, but all the tours was filled up when we arrived, so we missed that one too :-(

We have so far planned to see the Rijksmuseum, more coffee-shops , Anne Franks huis, guided tour on the Heineken factory, Van Gogh Museum and generally enjoying the night-life. We would also like to take day-trips to places near Amsterdam. We don't have a car this time, so we are dependent on public transport. Is there anything we shouldn't miss in the area near Amsterdam (one-day-trip distance). Are there any spesific events going on in the beginning og August (like festivals, rock-conserts etc? Anything is interesting, except sport-events.)

We would like to hire an apartment, and was told about a place called 'Amsterdam Apartments' on Kromme Waal. Does anyone know if this is an OK place to stay, or if there are any other places we should be aware of? We would like to live in a central place, and have our own appartment with cooking-possibilites and a living-room, but it shouldn't be the most expensive places. How early must we make reservations for a week in the beginning of August? It might be a bit late already?

It seemed like many of the night-clubs we wanted to visit last time was private, and they wouldn't let us in. Are there any night-clubs with good night-life we should know of? We would especially like to know of night-clubs that are not nescesarrily packed with tourist (like us , we would like to know of any alternative/underground places we could/should go. Any crazy/special places are interesting, or if there are any private nightclubs where we might be let in.

Last time we was let in on one private club (unfortunately I don't remember the name), we was let in if we promised to give the doorman good tip when we left. I don't know if this was an 'sales-trick', but the place was a _really_ party-place, packed with people dancing on the tables and singing along dutch pop-music, and we enjoyed the stay a lot. Is it usual protocol to pay tips to the doorman when we leave a place? How much should we pay then? I belive we payed him aprx 5-10 NLG each, and he seemed pretty happy with that.

One of my friends is gay, and we was told that Amsterdam has a good night-life for gay people. Are there any spesific areas of the town where we should go for him to experience the gay night-life.

My other friend is collecting video-tapes and laserdiscs, especially films with action, horror, splatter, zombies, thrillers etc. These films are usually cencored in Norway, so he would like to do some shopping while he is in Amsterdam and can buy the uncut versions. Does anyone know of any good stores with a good assortment of video-tapes or laserdiscs in Amsterdam.

Last time, when we visited the red-light district we were stopped at almost every second corner by pushers that offered cocain, ecstacy etc. We didn't buy anything, and we are not planning to this time either, but we got curious: How can this be done in the open like this? Is it accepted like the cannabis-policy, or is the punishment for using or buying these drugs especially low in Amsterdam?

Which restaurants is recomended if we want to try out the special Indonesian dishes, or the pancakes which I understand I must try when we visit Amsterdam.

If we should do some shopping (clothes / electronic equipment / video-tapes), is there any big or recommended stores we should visit. I'm planning to buy a video-camera, do they have a good selection on these kind of equipment on the Schiphol Airport, or should I buy it in Amsterdam city? (I guess its cheaper in the tax-free shop, but isn't it possible for tourists in Netherlands to do tax-free shopping?) I would like to buy the camera at the beginning of our stay, so it would be practical to know if I should buy one at Schiphol when we arrive, or wait until we arrive the city.

We are 30, 31 and 34 of age (male), if age/sex matters to any of your suggestions.

_ANY_ suggestions to one or more of the questions above are mostly appreciated. If you do not want to post an answer here, I would also be very glad to receive any answers by private e-mail.

Answer: