Amsterdam Preview: the return

- Smoking a joint (see entry about it); - Enjoying the openess of Dutch people. You won't find it anywhere else on Earth; - Meeting many other tourists just like you; - Eating "patat oorlog" (yes, Frech fries! But with a unique saté/mayonaise sauce. Very Dutch!). You can find it in any cheap quiosk on the streets of Holland.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

- From Continental Europe you can get there by train very easily. Just cross your fingers so that NS (the national Railway company)is not on a strike. - Once you're there, trams (see entry) and walking are the best.

Out of the tourist scope, het Zuiden is a very nice restaurant that has good service and is pretty affordable. Very appropriate when you want to go out for dinner with friends, cause they have big tables and you may talk loud — others won't really mind cause they will probably be doing the same. Their bread is perfect and we even had the little basket refilled for free, due to our incredible hunger. Try their weekly speciality for very creative meals.

Imagine such an international non-English speaking city where you can even watch a stand-up comediant show in English! Welcome to Boom Chicago, in Amsterdam. Those guys are great: they have a different show everynight, always with the best of improvisation techniques (are there any?). For more than 2 hours you will hear them making fun of everyone, including Europeans and Americans, just like themselves and most of their audience. Their characterization of George Bush is unbelievable, by the way. Besides, between every two laughs you can have some of their delicious food, as well. And be careful: they might be watching you in the dark. Check their website at link

Get kinky in Amsterdam. While visiting the red Light District, it’s impossible not to stop at Absolute Danny. The name might not say anything about the kind of business, but they are one of the best shops for leather, latex, vinyl and all those kind of stuff you fetish people know well. Ok, their prices are very high, but you can be sure to find there very good quality. Don’t expect exclusivity, though, so I recommend buying simple stuff, like a corselet or that little whip to spice up your life (sorry for the cliché). Anyway, downstairs you can find the heavier stuff for those who like it hardcore and be sure to check their flyers about some of the best kinky parties in Holland.

Havana is one of the nicest bars on this gay street. They play nice music, their service is good and the people are very mixed, so very adequate if you have a group with gay and heterosexual people.

Once you are in Amsterdam you can’t avoid them. They might be charming, but those who have been to San Francisco probably know better ones. The point is that the take wherever you want to be in town. Just be aware that, due to the almost no-checking policy they have in public transports in Holland, they cute yellow thing gets full of weirdos. I’ve been harassed once in a Friday afternoon, on that 5 pm kind of crowd and there was nothing I could do.

All in all, the trams are very handy. It’s just a shame that in such a cosmopolitan city they stop running around midnight. Then you will have to surrender to a cab or simply use your shoes’ soles. Good luck!

You finally arrive in this city where drugs are so tolerated and joints are sold in a menu. Great, but be aware that drugs are the Paradise and Hell of Amsterdam. It’s a wonderful feeling of freedom that you can smoke your joint without having to carry an air spray with you, but on the other hand, it can be annoying to see groups of loud tourists completely stoned on the streets.

Besides, you will find out sooner or later that smoking a joint in Amsterdam is not all that. All those Bulldogs coffeshops sell the herb for tourists and there you are! Just keep in mind that the average of Dutch people don’t use marijuhuana that much and when they do, they just take it home and light it up in the privacy of their homes.

I am very fascinated by hookers, don’t ask me why. Everytime I go to Amsterdam I have to take a look at them in the Red Light District. I’ve been doing it for some 3 years now and one aspect calls my attention now and then: the amount of rooms for rent.

Since prostitution has been legalized in the Netherlands — the sexual workers pay taxes, just like you and me — it seems like the Red Light District has been loosing their girls. A lot of them were foreigners who used to work illegally some years ago and that might be the reason. So, just in case, hurry up and get there before the District is over!