[01:54] <adom> welp, i leave tomorrow for my trip to Netherlands for work.
[01:54] <adom> be there for two weeks.
[01:54] <adom> get to be in Amsterdam for Queens Day.
[01:55] <adom> THE LAST QUEENS DAY MIND YOU
[01:55] <adom> so psyched
[01:55] <adom> 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] <waltman> Why is it the last Queen's Day?
[01:59] <adom> 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] <adom> i believe that from next year on there will always be kings rather than queens
[02:00] <adom> [insert hilarious gay night-club joke]
[02:00] <waltman> A few years ago I got to be in Amsterdam for Gay Pride Day
[02:00] <adom> that sounds like fun
[02:01] <waltman> I was conferencing, but I got to see some of the fringes of the festivities
[02:02] <waltman> 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] <waltman> 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] <waltman> 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] <waltman> 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] <waltman> 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] <waltman> closed. Well, there was a tiny bit of the Rijks open, and I did that in about an hour.
[02:11] <waltman> I didn't go to into the Anne Frank house, even thought I was right outside it. I forget why.
[02:12] <waltman> Is this helping?
[02:13] <waltman> 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] <adom> yes
[02:13] <adom> oh thats helpful too
[02:14] <adom> i get perdium (spelling?) weekly but i think that goes in my bank account
[02:14] <waltman> You should be able to pop your ATM card into pretty much any machine and withdraw, say, 100 euros.
[02:14] <waltman> per diem
[02:14] <adom> nice
[02:14] <adom> per diem
[02:14] <adom> thanks
[02:15] <waltman> oh, and depending on your hotel, don't be surprised if breakfast is just rolls, cheese, and cold cuts
[02:17] <waltman> 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] <adom> meh that's cool. im a bagel with cream cheese and a banana kind of guy usually.
[02:17] <adom> yeah they say it's like 3.90 euros to ride into Amsterdam from my location.
[02:18] <adom> im just outside Amsterdam in Haarlem.
[02:18] <waltman> They have good Indonesian restaurants there, since it was a former Dutch colony.
[02:18] <adom> and my hotel is like a 10-15min drive to the office
[02:19] <waltman> 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] <adom> 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] <waltman> cool!
[02:19] <adom> yeah im excited, im a bicycle enthusiast, so im half-planning on renting a nice road bike while there
[02:19] <adom> i just dont like those "casual touring bikes" that everyone there has
[02:19] <waltman> most people in town ride junkers
[02:20] <adom> smart
[02:20] <adom> $$$
[02:20] <waltman> It's flat, so you don't really need a fancy bike
[02:20] <adom> true, i just prefer single gear road bikes
[02:20] <adom> like a fixie but single speed coast. i dont like fixed gear.
[02:21] <adom> too much work to enjoy the ride.
[02:21] <waltman> so not a TOTAL hipster :)
[02:21] <adom> exactly ;)
[02:22] <adom> 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] <waltman> have fun!
[02:22] <adom> thanks and thanks for the tips!
[02:23] <waltman> I did eat all that osseworst btw :)
[02:23] <adom> is it weird that i dont think they look that bad?
[02:23] <adom> i mean, they look like sausage, and sausage is the cousin to bacon.
[02:23] <waltman> it looked like raw hamburger
[02:23] <adom> oh
[02:23] <adom> yeesh
[02:24] <waltman> it usually comes in little tubes, and I think it's kinda more like liverwurst.
[02:24] <waltman> oh, they have very good cheese there, too
[02:24] <adom> i heard that too
[02:24] <adom> plannign on researching that as much as possible ;)
[02:26] <waltman> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouda_cheese # Those categories are listed on all the cheese
[02:26] <waltman> and it generally won't tell you the difference between, say, "oud" and "extra belegen" :)
[09:32] <rmg51> Morning
[10:21] <JonathanD> Morning.
[12:10] <teddy-dbear> Morning peoples, dogs turkeys and everything else
[13:14] <InHisName> Mornin
[13:15] <InHisName> Mornin'  misc
[13:56] <ChinnoDog> morning
[13:57] <teddy-dbear> o/