Page 142 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Amsterdam

140 ❯❯ Streetsmart

Currency and Universal Postal Service) connection instructions
Banking under the supervision of for the replacement SIM
the Dutch government. card can be in Dutch only.
The currency of the PostNL has eschewed If you overcome these
Netherlands is the euro traditional post offices problems, you can buy
(€), divided into 100 cents. and instead their SIM cards at high-street
Euro banknotes come in (franchised) services phone companies, which
seven denomin ations: 5, are offered at a large offer myriad deals
10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and number of newsagents, beginning at about €5 per
500. There are also eight supermarkets and SIM card. If you’re unable
coins: €1 and €2, and 50, bookshops – just look to unlock your phone,
20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents. out for the orange logo. another option is to
Note that many retailers purchase a pay-as-you-
will not touch the €500 Telephone and go handset with SIM card
and €200 notes – you Internet after you arrive.
have to break them Almost every
down into smaller The international dialling Amsterdam hotel and
denominations at a bank. code for the Netherlands hostel as well as
As you might expect, is +31 and the code most bars, cafés and
Amsterdam has scores for Amsterdam is 020, restaurants offers free
of ATMs and they accept though you drop the first Internet access. The
a host of debit cards. Banks zero of the city code if you Dutch phone directory
often charge a transaction are calling from abroad. is available (in Dutch) at
fee for withdrawals. Credit Mobile phone (cell www.detelefoongids.nl.
cards can be used at phone) coverage in
ATMs too, but in this case Amsterdam is excellent TV, Radio and
transactions are treated and it is at GSM900/1800, Newspapers
as loans, with interest the band common to the
accruing daily from the rest of Europe, Australia Ask a Dutch child where
date of withdrawal. and New Zealand. Mobile he or she learned to
All major debit/credit (cell) phones bought in speak such good,
cards, including American North America will need idiomatic English, and the
Express, Visa and to be able to adjust to this answer is likely to be
MasterCard, are widely GSM band. “from the television”.
accepted in most shops, If you intend to use your British and American
restaurants and cafés, as phone in the Netherlands, imports on Dutch
well as at ATMs. Typically, note that call charges channels are subtitled
Dutch ATMs give can be very high, so rather than dubbed, and
instructions in a variety check with your supplier cable TV brings around
of languages. There are before you depart. Text 35 stations from around
also, Bureaux de Change messages, on the other Europe, plus America’s
(Grenswisselkantoor or hand, are normally CNN. Most of the city’s
GWK) at Centraal Station charged at ordinary or hotels are equipped with
and Schiphol airport, as at least bearable rates – cable TV.
well as in many of the and with your existing For classical music,
central squares in town. SIM card in place. tune in to Dutch Radio
You may find it cheaper 4 (92.4 MHz); for pop
Postal Services to buy a Dutch SIM music to 3FM (91.5 MHz).
card, though this can There are also several
Recently privatized (much get complicated: many independent music stations,
to the irritation of many providers will not permit mostly aimed at the
Netherlanders), and you to swap SIM cards young. News is broadcast
subsequently rebranded (i.e. “unlock” your phone), on Radio 1 (88.5 MHz).
(to even more irritation), while others will charge British and American
the Dutch postal service, you to do so. Check newspapers and
PostNL, is responsible with your local service magazines are widely
for the UPD (Universele provider before you available on the day of
Postdienst, Dutch for travel. Furthermore, the publication or a day after.

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