Get lost in Amsterdam ? Or read this article and get around like locals do.

Once you’re in Amsterdam the three best means of transportation are either bikes, your feet or public transportation.

Bikes

By far the best way to travel around in Amsterdam is by bike. Bikes are to Amsterdam what, say, tomato sauce is to pasta. It adds that little je ne sais qoui… Moving around on a bike is cheap, fast, reliable and a good way to have a genuine experience of Amsterdam life. On the other hand, it might be a bit inconvenient for those not comfortable with the noble art of cycling.

Bikes are cheap and easy to get. There are quite a few bike rentals located in the city center which rent good quality Dutch bikes. Notice that the traditional Dutch bike has no handbrakes but uses it’s pedals to break. If you feel insecure by this, ask for a bike with handbrakes. (Duh.)

Use your feet

Exploring the city by foot will allow you to see more of it’s  details (which you might not notice while managing your bike through the traffic) or stumble upon that nice little shop or restaurant. It’s great for denser exploration within a neighborhood. Just be aware that you’re in a bike city:

Warning: When you are walking around and suddenly notice a pictogram of a bicycle painted on the sidewalk, it means you are NOT on the sidewalk. Get away fast. You are walking on a bicycle highway. Locals might get very angry at people looking in books or gazing at rooftops in the midst of a bicycle lane. In the case you find yourself in a situation like this – you will – keep calm. Look from which direction the bicycles are coming – assume all – and step aside. DO NOT DO the funky chicken, just choose a direction and keep it. Local bicyclists are very well trained in avoiding collisions with pedestrians. Accordingly to your movement they choose a side to pass you. If you keep moving hence and forth they have to keep correcting their course which, finally, will result in a painful collision. In close encounters with bicyclist you probably will wonder why so many of them have problems with their throats. Actually, they don’t. They are cursing you. Common things to hear in a close bicycle encounter: Godver! Ga weg! Pronounce like: [Scrape your throat]odver! [Scrape your throat]a we[scrape your throat]!

Of course you can spend your day well wandering around at random, in fact it is one of those things I as a local still like to do. But if you’re short in time, or just like a bit more structure in your day you can choose to follow an official wandering route. Throughout the city there are little signs which you can follow, or you can buy a map of a walking tour at a tourist information office.

Public transportation

If you are not the moving type, or the weather is really bad, you can use public transportation to get around town. In the city center the most widely used vehicle is the tram. (Tourists tend to refer to trams as: “AAAAHWATCHOUTOHMYGODATRAIN!” or just “SPLAT”.) 

Before you hop on a tram you’ll need a short explanation of the public transportation pricing system. You can buy a ticket on board or you buy a strippenkaart in advance, which is the cheaper option. Strippencards are sold from almost any tobacco shop or supermarket, at the underground stations there are vending machines. To understand where to stamp on your strippencard you must need to know that the city is divided into zones. (I.e. the inner city is roughly included in one zone.) For traveling within one zone you need two strips of the strippencard (leave one blank and get a stamp on the second). For traveling within two zones you need three strips (leave two strips blank and get a stamp on the third), etc. At first this seems a bit illogical, but once you think a bit longer about this you’ll understand it really is. Once stamped, your ticket is valid for 1 hour (1, 2 or 3 zones) in which you are allowed to get on and of trams, busses and subways, as often as you like, as long as you stay in the zone(s) you stamped for.

On most tram lines you can only enter through the front and the second last entrance, on a few others you may enter through any door you like. Since this is of course perfectly logical, even for outsiders, boarding through a false door will almost certainly earn you a reprimand yelled through the on board intercom in an unfriendly manner, telling you to come and show your ticket to the conductor. Always keep in mind that the Dutch are not unfriendly, just direct.

On buses you may only enter through the front door, the subway you may enter through any door you like as long as it’s not the front door (you’ll end up on the driver’s lap, which is strictly prohibited by safety guidelines). When seated in the subway make sure you keep your feet away from the benches. The police are very keen on writing fines nowadays (keeping organized crime low) and sometimes gather in a subway station, peeking through the windows of incoming trains in search of passengers who have their feet resting on benches (or displaying other forms of deviant behavior). Once halted the subway train is entered and the government treasury filled. Bribing with donuts usually doesn’t sort effect. Restrain from making pig-like noises. 

Since Amsterdam is a big metropolitan city, public transportation runs until midnight, sometimes even 30 minutes longer. Of course you are already well back in your hotel by then, unless you’re lost, on drugs or both. Might this be the case, or you just missed the last few trams -uhuh-, you got no other options than stealing a bike, walking your way back or getting a cab.  

Stealing a bike, of course, is illegal. Besides it is immoral, mean and lowlife-ish. Bikes are the holy cows of Amsterdam so treat them with respect. In fact locals often buy one or more locks in tribute to their bikes that cost each more than the bike itself. Keep this in mind. 

Cabs come in different flavors. We’ve got the old fashioned four wheeled types, they’re quite expensive but fast (during the night). Act like you know your way around. (TIP: The shortest way from one point in the city center to another usually isn’t via the suburbs.) A good alternative to a regular cab is the tuk-tuk. These small three wheeled motor/car-thingies are quite cheap and fairly fast. In fact, due to their great popularity big Asian cities like Bangkok now also adopted this form of transportation. You’ll notice that “Thailand” is already written on the back of the tuk-tuk’s in Amsterdam. This is done in order to sell them more easily abroad once they’re used up according to European standards. Finally there’s a bike-cab (you might have seen Asian clones called riksja’s). These bike-cabs do not have a fixed price, you have to negotiate, which might be, given the state of mind and the time of the day we were talking about, a bit inconvenient. Besides their speed varies accordingly to the size of the driver’s legs and your own weight. If you prefer walking your way back, good choice! Walking through Amsterdam by night is a very enchanting experience. Divert from the main roads and enjoy the quiet of the smaller neighborhood streets and the yellowish glowing lights at the canals. Listen to the water sloshing softly against the many houseboats. Smell the air of the night. Make a mental note to reincarnate in Amsterdam in your next life.

Question by BradLad: BASSIST QUESTION: How can I extend my Bass amp?
I have an Ashdown MAG 300 Combo which I love don’t get me wrong but how much can I add which it will power perfectly? I’m looking for a fairly cheap cab which is powerful and sounds great which i can add to my combo head, chears!

Best answer:

Answer by Snow Leopard
It might get answerer if you ask on Music category.

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