⭐ European Fairphoners Community Trip to Amsterdam 2018 (#EFCT18)

Hi everyone, I am less active around here lately but I would like to finally join the EFCT this year :slight_smile: And I’d also like to join you in the dorm if you have not booked yet.

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I see, you are on board, @merci! Great!

@spaniel This will be no problem at all! :slight_smile: I encourage you to also stay at Clink Hostel or nearby so that you can make the most of EFCT18.

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Yes, finally! Was lange währt, wird endlich gut… :wink:

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I’m booked from 13th to 18th!! :smile:

I have a twin room (so have a spare bed available) at the Bastion Hotel Noord

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Great! I added the spare bed to the list above. :slight_smile:

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Assuming the weather’s going to be hot enough :wink: are there any good places to go open-air swimming in Amsterdam? Not the canals, I presume - that would be like picnicking on the central reservation of the motorway!

Yep, plenty. Either at the beach in the West or in the IJmeer just in Amsterdam or east of it. We’ve done both (see the pictures of #efct16 and #efct17). :slight_smile:

The dorm is full! :smiley:

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Yes, we ‘crazy’ Dutch swim in the Amsterdam canals, a charity swim to raise funds for motor neurone disease (known as ALS in the Netherlands),
In 2012 Queen Maxima joined and completed the 2 km Amsterdam City Swim.

Every September the canal cruise boats and other vessels make way for up to 2,500 brave swimmers (and another 500 kids) as the Amsterdam City Swim returns to the heart of the city.
Canal swim for charity

Held to raise funds for motor neurone disease (known as ALS in the Netherlands), the Amsterdam City Swim sees swimmers raise a minimum sponsorship before diving into the canals to swim its grueling but iconic 2,000-metre course through the city centre.

City Swim route

The swimmers traditionally begin at the Marine Etablissement Amsterdam, braving the waters of the IJ and passing Het Scheepvaartmuseum before heading down the Nieuwe Herengracht. They then take a left up the River Amstel towards Royal Theatre Carré before doubling back and taking another left to the finish on the Keizersgracht (at the crossing with the Reguliersgracht). The main event usually gets underway soon after midday.

Amsterdam City Swim

As far as I know the only stretch of Britain’s canal network which has been approved for swimming is the Manchester Ship Canal at Salford Quays. This was cleaned up for the triathlon event when Manchester hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Today this same area is open to the public as a watersports centre. I don’t know whether you would be allowed to take a dip without a wetsuit however.

The Commonwealth Games return to England in 2022, when Birmingham is the host city. Although details of the triathlon venue have not been revealed yet, it’s well known that Birmingham has more kilometres of canals than Venice…

Only if you are interested in modern architecture. Other than that it’s just an economic center.

Edit: Let’s keep the schedule draft a wiki only post.

Might it also be possible to do a day trip to one of the Wadden Sea islands?

Is Rotterdam worth a visit?

Are there any Caribbean restaurants in Amsterdam?

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Yes there are loads of Caribbean restaurants in Amsterdam (or any restaurant for that matter) the question is rather which one’s a good fit for you as individual and/or group.

Yes Rotterdam has its + and - and is easily reachable via public transport. Look into it beforehand to get some idea what you wanna do.

Wadden Sea island is a long trip from Amsterdam. If you take train to Den Helder and then the boat to Texel total travel time is between like 2,5 and 4 hrs, and you probly wanna rent transport on there if you wanna go anywhere. You gotta plan that, and it’ll fill your whole day for sure.

My point is plan your days :smiley:

Our plan is your point. :smiley: The plan is to get the planning started now. We have 2 months until efct18. :smiley:

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Are there any museums relating to the subject of land reclamation i.e. how the polders were created?

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Probably yes, at least you have windmills and they are still useful (news article of today, use your favourite online translator to translate it as I don’t have time to write a TLDR right now)

There are various (local) museums that touch on this, yes. One example is the Cruquius pumping station (where they also have some exhibits about the history of various techniques of water management).
The more major tourism draw related to water management (not land reclamation per sé) is probably the delta works (with a visitor attraction at Neeltje Jans), but these are a bit tricky to get to (3+ hrs single trip on public transport from Amsterdam).

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You can now hit “Going” above to show that you’ll be attending #efct18. Let’s have the counter go up! :smiley:

grafik

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You need to fix the description, there is no bed free in the dorm anymore!

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I’m roaming around the Netherlands during the EFCT18. I’m aiming to drop by for part of it, but don’t know yet when exactly. (I won’t need accommodation)

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