Canals, diamonds and red lights – an Amsterdam getaway COMPLETED - Page 8 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Great photos! I, too, was thinking.... did you drag your luggage with you to all these places? I'm sure you'll post the missing part when you have a chance!
I ran into the paying restroom at a McDonald's in Boston. But it was free if you bought food there. Which we did not. So we paid 25 cents. We really had to go!
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Great pics! Such a beautiful city! Love all the bicycles, even though there is snow on the ground! I think I went into that church when I was there! And McD's doesn't put salt on their fries in the UK anymore? Blasphemy!!! That's the best part!
Did we miss getting "Thursday, Part 2"? The "Why can't we get off this tram?" segment seems to be missing.
I can't believe the restroom charge-- at McDonalds, no less! This had better not be a trend! Great photos of the Amsterdam architecture. Also can't believe there were no cafes or delis inside that big shopping mall.
you did - I'll post it in a second. I think it's also got something to do with posting two trip report updates a day, I think I got a bit confused between parts two and three...
What's up with "no salt on fries at McD's in the UK"??? That just ain't right!!! They better not start with that over here...
Yeah, lots of places in bigger cities over here make you pay to use their restrooms but that's only if you're not a paying customer! The way it works, though, is that the bathroom attendant is only earning what people are paying - just something to keep in mind even if you might think it's ridiculous (which oftentimes it is ). I've never seen this at a McDonald's though
I've seen it before in Switzerland at McDonald's for those who aren't customers, but never for customers. That's what stunned me so much.
you did - I'll post it in a second. I think it's also got something to do with posting two trip report updates a day, I think I got a bit confused between parts two and three...
I'm not surprised! This is even better, though... two updates on this report in one day!
Sorry about the confusion - here's the missing part:
Thursday 9 February – part two: why can’t we get off this tram?
The bus ride took about half an hour and it was very easy to spot each stop and we got off at the right point. I quickly got my bearings and we headed for the hotel, which is literally only a couple of minutes’ down the road.
The guy in there was really nice and, as expected, there weren’t any rooms ready. Well, that’s not entirely true. There was one, but it was on the ground floor by the road and I knew from my trusty TripAdvisor reports that wasn’t a great room and it wasn’t a great location, so I told him we’d wait. He took our luggage and advised us where we could find people skating on the canals, and after a quick restroom break and a few photos, we were off out again.
We walked off to one of the nearby tram stops and caught a number five tram into the centre of the city. We saw some beautiful architecture along the way, some great shops and restaurants and, best of all, people out skating on the canals!
The city’s concert hall
The Rijksmuseum, an art museum
The new Stedelijk Museum of contemporary art, due to reopen later in the year, after a massive expansion
Our tram arrives
The American Hotel, an architectural masterpiece
The Stadsschouwberg, a historic theatre
Leidseplein or square, a popular place for residents to go
One of the frozen canals
The first glimpse of skaters on the canals
We went to get off the tram, but didn’t realise how it worked. We knew we had to log in and out of the bus when you get on and off, but what no-one explained is that you have to press the button to open the doors when the tram comes to a stop. I guess the driver can’t override that, so we ended up going a stop more than we’d hoped...
When we got off, we headed for the area that the guy at the hotel had pointed out on the map as having skaters. While we saw some wonderful sights, skaters wasn’t one of them.
We tried to fathom out what the fire service were doing here, but we couldn’t...
Lots of cows in this shop window! Sadly the shop was closed, otherwise I’d have been in there like a shot...
These poor swans!
Someone likes polar bears...
Next: I’m sorry... you want to charge me HOW MUCH to use the restrooms?
I don't think you'll see any skaters on those canals. they look the the river I drove over today, not quite frozen. French fries without salt just doesn't sound right. Can't wait to see and read more.
Liz
It just screams Amsterdam for me, I don't know why, considering I've never been! Yeah, the ice in that part of the river isn't quite thick enough for skating! Poor swans.
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Love the pictures of Amsterdam!! I can't believe they wanted to charge you to use the bathroom! They must have a real problem with people who are not customers using the restroom.
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I think I went into that church when I was there! 
And McD's doesn't put salt on their fries in the UK anymore? Blasphemy!!! That's the best part! 
). I've never seen this at a McDonald's though 
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