Amsterdam

Place of Travel -Amsterdam

Airline/Transportation - EL AL

Hotel/Hostels - Victoria Hotel. Less than a block away from the central bus station. Amazing location. Really nice hotel. Decently priced for holiday season.

Time Spent - 2 night/ 3 days. Flew back Dec. 31st (landed Jan 1)

Assistance for the Trip (guides, programs, Issta, etc) - I had spoke to a friend who spent a semester there and he helped us a lot. Lots of museums. No tours really necessary b/c everything is translated in English. Jewish Museum and Rembrandt have electronic guided tours for free. We tried taking a boat tour but the boat was running late. Sounded cool.

Jewish Sites - We went to the Anne Frank House and Jewish Museum. Both worth seeing. The Anne Frank house is very powerful.

Kosher Restaurants - There are kosher restaurants but they are not in the main part of the city. Taxi ride seems like your best bet. We did find two interesting options. The Jewish museum is not hechshered but only use kosher products and is completely dairy. There is an Israeli Falafel place (we didn't eat there) on the corner of Oude Leliestraat and Herengracht. Also, there is a place called Falafel Maoz which is vegetarian.

Minyanim - Didn't find any but found it cool davening in the great synagogue.

Recommendations/Favorite Sites - You need to go to the Anne Frank house, its an experience. Also, from a previous trip there, the Heineken Museum is fun too. If you are single and need a good hostel go to the Flying Pig Downtown. Best location.

Notes/Comments -Amsterdam is a lot of fun. You don't need more than 3 days there. Just remember when its cold, there is a lot of walking and to really find what you want to do there.