Police / Parking, Amsterdam

From my visits to Amsterdam, especially being an American, the police in the Netherlands were not what I expected. With the relative carefree living experience in Amsterdam, the police were always very friendly and helpful. New Years Eve in '06 i was so drunk I couldn't even read street signs, and at about 7AM my friend and I were hopelessly lost. A policeman offered to help us, and after I managed to find my hotel receipt in my pocket, he drove us there right away.

When I first went to Amsterdam I was with 4 friends of mine. We needed to know where a certain street was, as we wanted to reach the Pompadour shop (it sells various kinds of chocolate!!).
We asked 2 policemen for information and they spent about 15 mins MAKING FUN OF US because we didn't know where the place was!
I'm not saying all policemen are like these, but don't get mad if it happens! :)

Arriving in AMS we first searched a parking place in the streets near the main station to have a look for a tourist information. An hour later back at the car the CARDOOR WAS BROKEN!!! Damn!! Finally nothing important was stolen, the thiefs searched probably for the car papers, but I had them with me. Nevertheless the shock was high! Well, so we went to a police station and asked as well where parking is most safe in AMS.....what the really friendly policeman said was: IN THE STREETS! and most safe: IN THE STREETS IN FRONT OF POLICE STATION.....hahaha, well, I had my car just left there and our hotel was by chance as well near, so I left my car there....but it was so incredible expensive!!....
But first a bit more about parking places in AMS: the policeman told us that there is much more robbery in the (even MORE expensive!) parking houses that are controlled by several cameras than in the streets. Surprise!
Alternatively to save money you can leave your car on big "park & ride" places outside the city (but even less save) and use then public transport...normally I would have done that, but after my car was once broken, I didn´t trust anymore in those places and prefered to leave the car next to police station. Result:
For 2 and a half day I payed more than 65 Euro there for the car. MAD!!!...
So, if you don´t have to go by car to AMS; don´t do it!! You don´t need the car in Amsterdam, there is good public transport, bikes, ships, whatever to use.

Check... check... double check, is what you should do if ever you plan on driving in Amsterdam and you need to park your car. Make sure to throw in enough money in the machine. If you don't see a machine in the city centre, remeber to look more carfeully because it's not free to aprk in the city centre. If you don't pay (enough), you risk getting this nice little yellow wheel clamp attached to your car, which makes it impossible to drive away. It's a nightmare, so don't forget to pay!!!

Be sure to pay your parking fee and only parc where allowed....otherwise you might have to travel to the lot where the police keep the towed away cars with such a nice yellow wheel lock.
You will leave Amsterdam a nice donation that s fer sure :-)

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If you get in trouble despite all the WARNINGS I gave you, look for Oom Agent (Uncle Policeman). This one is guarding the Dam Square.

And don't cycle at pedestrain areas or walkways!

If you are bald enough and also got the luck to find a parking spot, be sure you pay for a card at the machine.

Not only is parking difficult but expensive. Be careful of where you park. If your car is clamped, a yellow sticker on the window will tell you where to pay the fine.
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