[01:54] welp, i leave tomorrow for my trip to Netherlands for work. [01:54] be there for two weeks. [01:54] get to be in Amsterdam for Queens Day. [01:55] THE LAST QUEENS DAY MIND YOU [01:55] so psyched [01:55] any last minute tips/reminders for me for the trip? (this is both the first time i've flown and the first time out of the country) [01:55] * adom blushes. [01:58] Why is it the last Queen's Day? [01:59] this year she succedes (correct word?) to her son, whom will become the king. The Netherlands has had a queen for a long time and from next year on, they will have a king instead. and "King's Day". [01:59] i believe that from next year on there will always be kings rather than queens [02:00] [insert hilarious gay night-club joke] [02:00] A few years ago I got to be in Amsterdam for Gay Pride Day [02:00] that sounds like fun [02:01] I was conferencing, but I got to see some of the fringes of the festivities [02:02] Heineken and Amstel are fine, but the best thing about beer in Amsterdam is that Belgian beers are everywhere and they're dirt-cheap. [02:03] Another tip: If you order Osseworst, you might end up with this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/85201403@N00/3770405706/in/set-72157621790558673 [02:06] Amsterdam's a pretty easy place to start if you've never been to Europe before. It's easy to walk around, everyone speaks English, and aside from osseworst the food isn't too crazy. [02:08] You'll walk by places everywhere where you smell pot smoke coming out of them, but you don't have to partake if you don't want to, but apparently awesome if you do. :) [02:10] The two big museums, the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum, were both closer for renovation when I was there, so I mostly did walking tours from my travel guide. [02:10] closed. Well, there was a tiny bit of the Rijks open, and I did that in about an hour. [02:11] I didn't go to into the Anne Frank house, even thought I was right outside it. I forget why. [02:12] Is this helping? [02:13] Also you can generally get a better conversion rate by withdrawing money at an ATM than you can at a bank or exchange place. [02:13] yes [02:13] oh thats helpful too [02:14] i get perdium (spelling?) weekly but i think that goes in my bank account [02:14] You should be able to pop your ATM card into pretty much any machine and withdraw, say, 100 euros. [02:14] per diem [02:14] nice [02:14] per diem [02:14] thanks [02:15] oh, and depending on your hotel, don't be surprised if breakfast is just rolls, cheese, and cold cuts [02:17] they have trams that go all over the city, sort of like above-ground subways. Depending on how long you're there and where you need to go, it might be a good deal to get a pass. [02:17] meh that's cool. im a bagel with cream cheese and a banana kind of guy usually. [02:17] yeah they say it's like 3.90 euros to ride into Amsterdam from my location. [02:18] im just outside Amsterdam in Haarlem. [02:18] They have good Indonesian restaurants there, since it was a former Dutch colony. [02:18] and my hotel is like a 10-15min drive to the office [02:19] oh, and LOTS of people ride bikes there. to the point where you have to watch out for them when you cross the street. [02:19] apparently my grandpa apparently hails from The Netherlands (he was some part Dutch) so im supposed to "look into" his heritage while im there [02:19] cool! [02:19] yeah im excited, im a bicycle enthusiast, so im half-planning on renting a nice road bike while there [02:19] i just dont like those "casual touring bikes" that everyone there has [02:19] most people in town ride junkers [02:20] smart [02:20] $$$ [02:20] It's flat, so you don't really need a fancy bike [02:20] true, i just prefer single gear road bikes [02:20] like a fixie but single speed coast. i dont like fixed gear. [02:21] too much work to enjoy the ride. [02:21] so not a TOTAL hipster :) [02:21] exactly ;) [02:22] alright well, if you'll excuse me, i have to finish packing my carry on bag and then play xbox for 10 hours so i dont sleep now so that i can sleep on the plane and not be that jet lagged [02:22] have fun! [02:22] thanks and thanks for the tips! [02:23] I did eat all that osseworst btw :) [02:23] is it weird that i dont think they look that bad? [02:23] i mean, they look like sausage, and sausage is the cousin to bacon. [02:23] it looked like raw hamburger [02:23] oh [02:23] yeesh [02:24] it usually comes in little tubes, and I think it's kinda more like liverwurst. [02:24] oh, they have very good cheese there, too [02:24] i heard that too [02:24] plannign on researching that as much as possible ;) [02:26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouda_cheese # Those categories are listed on all the cheese [02:26] and it generally won't tell you the difference between, say, "oud" and "extra belegen" :) [09:32] Morning [10:21] Morning. [12:10] Morning peoples, dogs turkeys and everything else [13:14] Mornin [13:15] Mornin' misc [13:56] morning [13:57] o/