AboutAnneke Oosterink Expertise Customs and daily life in general. More specifically, schools and universities. I know a lot about the way people live here.
Experience Schools and Universities, daily life and customs
Question My husband & I are traveling to Amsterdam (he has a trade show) arriving May 3 and departing May 12. Are there any holidays during that time that might impact tourist type activities? Also, I will have quite a bit of time on my own during the days, is it ok to walk around and sightsee alone? We are staying at the Marriott hotel.
Thank you.
Answer Hello Lori,
On May the fourth it is "Dodenherdenking" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodenherdenking) this means that you can see the queen on the dam square, and join in with the two minutes of silence held to commemorate all the people that have died in a war since WW2. A day later it's Liberation day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_%28The_Netherlands%29), and lots of celebrations and parties will be held. During those two days it is very unlikely that any shop will be open. Maybe in the centre of Amsterdam some shops will be opened, mainly for tourists. Whether museums and the like are closed is a possibility, but you'd have to check on the website of the particular museum to make sure. It might be that they will are open, because lots of tourists will be visiting in May.
On the tenth of May it's National Windmill day, and all windmills will be open to the public. Some of them are still in working order and you can see how they operate.
On the ninth and the tenth of May it's Pentecost, and this can mean that shops and museums are closed, but as I said not all museums may adhere to that, because of the tourist season.
As for you walking and sightseeing alone, I'm not sure what you mean by that, do you want to know if you'd need a guide, or were you wondering whether it's safe? Or something else? Could you please specify this?
I hope that this answer is sufficient, if you need to know more, or something else, just contact me.
