De Amsterdam Thread

I put this in as part of the joke, but it really is a great bar to visit in the summer (if you can get a table).

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Anyone planning on a visit to go to a coffee shop might be interested in this

tl;dr: Amsterdam coffee shops will, like coffee shops in the rest of the country, be open to residents only until the proper legalisation processes for marijuana are put into place rather than the ā€œtoleranceā€ system there currently is.

and this might be of interest to the sex tourists

tl;dr: The red light district sex windows are closing down and a sex supercentre will be opened on the edge of the city to move that type of tourist away from the centre.

Thereā€™s a real push from the local council to get rid of the stereotypical tourist who comes to Amsterdam.

Iā€™m a big fan of the Cobra art movement and really enjoyed the Cobra museum which is a half hour tram ride out of the city centre. Loads of cool, expressive, big colourful paintings in thick layers of oil paint.

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Have sex workers said anything about this?

They are very unhappy about the plans and have organised several protests in recent years.

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The closure of the red light windows and the relocation plans are a long running ambition of the local council, and go back to at least 2007. A decision on the location of the new ā€œErotisch Centrumā€ is expected in early 2023.

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Just got back from my trip, thought Iā€™d write it up in excruciating detail. Stayed in a big MEININGER hostel in Sloterdijk which suited us well. Arrived in the city at about 10:30, had a fantastic mackerel and cucumber sandwich from De Laatste Kruimel and had a leisurely browse around the American Book Center which I really enjoyed. Had a drink in a cafe in that square but moved on quickly to a beer hall round the corner as there were one million wasps in the square and the waiter wasnā€™t happy with how cheap we were being, not ordering enough drinks etc haha. That evening we went to Foodhallen, where the food was fantastic but your mileage may vary depending on how partial you are to those poncey food hall type places. Had a fantastic time there though, a real treat. Went and sat outside Hendrixā€™s Bar near Bilderdijkstraat for one for the road then got the tram back.

Was late leaving the hostel on day 2 so breakfast was an assortment of excellent baked goods from the nearby Spar. Went to the south of the city as my gf wanted to go to the Miffy shop - we also had an ookkaayy coffee from coffecompanh. Had a mare getting there when one of our metro tickets didnā€™t work, but a friendly tram conductor gave us a new one for free on the way back to the city centre for a visit to the Anne Frank House, which we all got a lot out of. An Amstel and some snacks in a cafe in Jordaan wrapped things up and we had a nap. Dinner was a decent Italian place in uptown followed by a pretty hefty cannabis cigarette. The coffeeshop we chose did the job but was very bare bones, so our companion who wasnā€™t partaking was extremely bored haha. A boozy wander around the red light district and then we went to bed.

On the last day we did some more cafe hopping, including the celebrated Pancakehouse Upstairs, which was delicious and, obviously, overpriced. Made the pilgrimage to Concerto where a very fresh-faced rock group were doing an in-store gig, which was fun. Walked up to the nine streets but torrential rain made finding a place for dinner quite difficult so we capitulated and just got some chips. That evening we did a boat tour hosted by a really lovely Ukrainian student and then went to Cafe Chris in Jordaan. The cafe was probably the highlight of the trip, fantastic atmosphere, chatty locals and yer barman was an absolute force of nature, so friendly and started giving us free drinks after a few rounds. Other customers were asking to shake his hand, he was incredible.

So yeah overall great trip, my favourite time Iā€™ve been. Cheers for the reccies

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Just got back from a long weekend visiting friends, a few highlights here in case useful for others:

  • https://sichuan.amsterdam/ - really nice Chinese food with great veggie options
  • Gemeentearchief - the city archives, interesting free exhibits on the history of the city in an art-deco bank vault
  • KattenKabinet was bonkers and very enjoyable, the two real-life cats strolling around were super cute too
  • Milkweg Expo for a small but insightful exhibition on Ukraineā€™s queer club culture (free)
  • visited a bunch of record shops: Concerto, Rush Hour, Red Light Records, Zwart Goud, Record Palace Weteringschans
  • Dignita for brunch was great, the Benny Boy helped cure a horrific hangover
  • went to De School and their cafe one final time. Such a great club, very sad itā€™s closing in January
  • Had great coffee from Screaming Beans on Amstelstraat, Good Beans on Binnen Oranjestraat and the Milkweg cafe too
  • Drinks: a few standard traditional pubs/bars on the nine streets. Raleigh & Ramsey was nice for fancy-ish wine, Moos for quiet beers and decent snack food e.g. fries. Cafe Chris as mentioned above was excellent.

On Cafe Chris, the barman @waveyswirley talks about appears to still be there and the place is still as friendly. We arrived when it was quiet, around 4pm, and had a few small beers as we played cards. Ended up staying until gone 8pm and by the end he was bringing us shots, the place was heaving and everyone was chatting to each other. I donā€™t remember when we left or how we got home, and felt dreadful the next day. Excellent night!

edit: whoops meant to reply to the thread and not waveyswirley, apologies!