CheeseGreen
08-04-08, 12:32 PM
Yo peeps. Cheese is here with his brief guide to Amsterdam.
I can only guide you with the experience i have gained, so this is only one perspective on the Amsterdam experience.
Transport
Transport is simple. Most people will be flying to Amsetdam as there are unlikley to be any direct ferry passages from where you live. Flying is quick and cheap but it isn't a very exciting way to build up to your holiday.
Since i am a geordie boy north shields isn't much of a hassle for me to get to so me and my mates always opt for the ferry. The Ferry can be a constant all night party on the way there, and i usually like to wind down and have a couple of goodbye Amsterdam spliffs on the way back (don't get caught!!!). It's a nice way to wind up and then wind down the holiday i find as Amsterdam for me is a constant head batter.
Location
Amsterdam if a reasonably big place. Definatly big enough to get lost in. So you want to be able to cotch in a decent location that you're going to be able to find reliably- this is especially true since Amsterdams canals and tall buildings make it all look pretty much the same in some parts.
Next you need to be able to find somewhere that is on the south side of the river, this is where the famous red light district, Dam Square, and pretty much the majority of the coffee shops are located. This shouldn't be difficult though as most of the tourist areas are south of the river anyway.
Leidseplien is an awesome place. It has one of the oldest bulldog coffee shops in the city which used to be a real police station before the legalisation. Also there are regular street entertainers some of which are really really good to watch baked. If you head down Marnixstraat away from Leidseplien you'll find a lovely little coffee shop called crush, it has a great atmosphere, it's rarely busy, and there is a diverse selection of weed and hash which is at a reasonable price in comparison to coffee shops not 200m further into the centre.
It also has great access to dam square either by taking a nice walk through the city or by getting a tram. In the other direction it has brilliant access to Vondle Park and Museumplien which are great places to chill and have a joint in the sun, not to mention on an evening time we felt safe when we were tripping our nuts off outside the Reichs Museum.
Leidseplien is also an awesome place for nightlife. It has a regular club/bar crawl around the area in which you get utterly bladdered with a load of madheads from all over the world. Not to mention the world famous Paradiso club is located literally 50m down the road from leidseplien square with many others not much further away.
At this point i could list all sorts of different possible hostels for you to stay in or i could get this shit over and give my highest possible recomendation.
If you are someone who doesn't really give a shit, need a place for up to 8 of your mates in 1 room (very large rooms) and only need the basic necessities, the Hans Brinker Hotel cannot be more highly recomended. It has a constant party atmosphere with its own club in the basement and a bar on the middle floor where you can sit and chill and have a nice 2 for 1 Grolsch on happy hour to celebrate you arrival in the land of weed and shrooms. Not to mention how cheap it, it has a lift for when you really can't negotiate stairs and the staff are brilliant and friendly. They even mock themselves with slogans like "The Hans Brinker, now with even more dog shit in the doorway". No, there isn't any dog shit in the doorway and infact it's reasonably clean but it's the atmosphere that i love.
If you're looking for something a bit more luxurious but still around Leidseplien i'd head down Marnixstraat for affordable but nice accomodation. AVOID THE MARNIX HOTEL!!!!
Cannabis and Coffee Shops
Oooooo.... Tasty. Amsterdam is obviously the best place in the world if you want to sample a variety of extremely high quality different types of hash and skunk. There are a multitude of different types and places you can get lean.
I have already mentioned the Bulldog in Leidseplien and also Crush. But now lets move away to different parts of Amsterdam :D When you're in Amsterdam i can't stress how important it is to not let yourselves get too baked everyday to see the city. Walk around and go to coffee shops far and wide to find little known strains and hidden gems.
The Bluebird is a well known Amsterdam coffee shop with a huge variety of different types of cannabinalia and varieties of bongs and other smoking equipment to lend you should you so desire. It is a little out of the way though and you may need to find directions. We found it by ourselves but it took hours and we were immensly lucky. You should try the misty from the bluebird, it's simlpy devine :D
I'm not in a position to ramble about coffee shops for ages mostly because i can't remember the names of them once i have been inside. But i need to recomend a place that... wait for it... Isn't even a coffee shop at all!!! If you're mozying around the red light district (and i recomend you go and look around), and happen to stumble upon a place called Lost in Amsterdam, then the rest of your day has just been ruined. Quickly, stock up on space cake and skunk and rush inside. Inside you will find a comfortable relaxed bar with massive bongs and pipes everywhere. The seats are all basically massive cusions that loads of you can lie on. It isn't a coffee shop, and it does sell alchohol, but you're allowed to roll your own and i recomend you do because i think you've just found the most comfortable spot in Amsterdam. You won't believe me until you see it for youselves. When you walk past there are people sitting in the window on huge cushions and been bags having a beer and a joint.
The red light district in general is a good place to score some wicked draw. There are plenty of chilled places with pool tables and a nice atmosphere. I reccomend you try the Amnesia Haze if ever you stumble across it. And if you're looking for some nice hash i'd go with one of the palms or some ice-o-lator if you want to blow you mind.
Moving about
As i have already mentioned, Amsterdam is a reasonable enough size for you to walk about. But for the lazy tokers out there, and i know you're there, there are plenty of good alternatives.
The trams are a brilliant way to move about, they run like clockwork and come very regularly. They link nearly every part of the city together.
Another option is saddling up and renting a bike, careful though, the roads can be hellish confusing especially since there is no curb and you can't really tell where it begins and ends. Also, if you're going to rent a bike, don't take it down the alleys in the red light district THEY CANNOT FIT BIKES DOWN THEM. some rudeboy snapped the lock on my mates bike and he had to carry it across Amsterdam, it was funny for us! Not for him though.
Lastly are the bike-taxi things. You pay the guy and he rides you where you want whilst you and a couple of mates are sitting in a basket on the back. Great fun! the drivers are always friendly as well. That's something we have to commend the Dutch for: Their jolly ways and the whole nations ability to speak English.
To conclude
I really can't think of much more right now and i have been sitting here for ages. But i am sure i'll post up more hints and tips soon and I invite other people to guide people in their experiences of Amsterdam as i can only account for the experiences of myself and my friends.
I hope i helped some of you out in some way!
I can only guide you with the experience i have gained, so this is only one perspective on the Amsterdam experience.
Transport
Transport is simple. Most people will be flying to Amsetdam as there are unlikley to be any direct ferry passages from where you live. Flying is quick and cheap but it isn't a very exciting way to build up to your holiday.
Since i am a geordie boy north shields isn't much of a hassle for me to get to so me and my mates always opt for the ferry. The Ferry can be a constant all night party on the way there, and i usually like to wind down and have a couple of goodbye Amsterdam spliffs on the way back (don't get caught!!!). It's a nice way to wind up and then wind down the holiday i find as Amsterdam for me is a constant head batter.
Location
Amsterdam if a reasonably big place. Definatly big enough to get lost in. So you want to be able to cotch in a decent location that you're going to be able to find reliably- this is especially true since Amsterdams canals and tall buildings make it all look pretty much the same in some parts.
Next you need to be able to find somewhere that is on the south side of the river, this is where the famous red light district, Dam Square, and pretty much the majority of the coffee shops are located. This shouldn't be difficult though as most of the tourist areas are south of the river anyway.
Leidseplien is an awesome place. It has one of the oldest bulldog coffee shops in the city which used to be a real police station before the legalisation. Also there are regular street entertainers some of which are really really good to watch baked. If you head down Marnixstraat away from Leidseplien you'll find a lovely little coffee shop called crush, it has a great atmosphere, it's rarely busy, and there is a diverse selection of weed and hash which is at a reasonable price in comparison to coffee shops not 200m further into the centre.
It also has great access to dam square either by taking a nice walk through the city or by getting a tram. In the other direction it has brilliant access to Vondle Park and Museumplien which are great places to chill and have a joint in the sun, not to mention on an evening time we felt safe when we were tripping our nuts off outside the Reichs Museum.
Leidseplien is also an awesome place for nightlife. It has a regular club/bar crawl around the area in which you get utterly bladdered with a load of madheads from all over the world. Not to mention the world famous Paradiso club is located literally 50m down the road from leidseplien square with many others not much further away.
At this point i could list all sorts of different possible hostels for you to stay in or i could get this shit over and give my highest possible recomendation.
If you are someone who doesn't really give a shit, need a place for up to 8 of your mates in 1 room (very large rooms) and only need the basic necessities, the Hans Brinker Hotel cannot be more highly recomended. It has a constant party atmosphere with its own club in the basement and a bar on the middle floor where you can sit and chill and have a nice 2 for 1 Grolsch on happy hour to celebrate you arrival in the land of weed and shrooms. Not to mention how cheap it, it has a lift for when you really can't negotiate stairs and the staff are brilliant and friendly. They even mock themselves with slogans like "The Hans Brinker, now with even more dog shit in the doorway". No, there isn't any dog shit in the doorway and infact it's reasonably clean but it's the atmosphere that i love.
If you're looking for something a bit more luxurious but still around Leidseplien i'd head down Marnixstraat for affordable but nice accomodation. AVOID THE MARNIX HOTEL!!!!
Cannabis and Coffee Shops
Oooooo.... Tasty. Amsterdam is obviously the best place in the world if you want to sample a variety of extremely high quality different types of hash and skunk. There are a multitude of different types and places you can get lean.
I have already mentioned the Bulldog in Leidseplien and also Crush. But now lets move away to different parts of Amsterdam :D When you're in Amsterdam i can't stress how important it is to not let yourselves get too baked everyday to see the city. Walk around and go to coffee shops far and wide to find little known strains and hidden gems.
The Bluebird is a well known Amsterdam coffee shop with a huge variety of different types of cannabinalia and varieties of bongs and other smoking equipment to lend you should you so desire. It is a little out of the way though and you may need to find directions. We found it by ourselves but it took hours and we were immensly lucky. You should try the misty from the bluebird, it's simlpy devine :D
I'm not in a position to ramble about coffee shops for ages mostly because i can't remember the names of them once i have been inside. But i need to recomend a place that... wait for it... Isn't even a coffee shop at all!!! If you're mozying around the red light district (and i recomend you go and look around), and happen to stumble upon a place called Lost in Amsterdam, then the rest of your day has just been ruined. Quickly, stock up on space cake and skunk and rush inside. Inside you will find a comfortable relaxed bar with massive bongs and pipes everywhere. The seats are all basically massive cusions that loads of you can lie on. It isn't a coffee shop, and it does sell alchohol, but you're allowed to roll your own and i recomend you do because i think you've just found the most comfortable spot in Amsterdam. You won't believe me until you see it for youselves. When you walk past there are people sitting in the window on huge cushions and been bags having a beer and a joint.
The red light district in general is a good place to score some wicked draw. There are plenty of chilled places with pool tables and a nice atmosphere. I reccomend you try the Amnesia Haze if ever you stumble across it. And if you're looking for some nice hash i'd go with one of the palms or some ice-o-lator if you want to blow you mind.
Moving about
As i have already mentioned, Amsterdam is a reasonable enough size for you to walk about. But for the lazy tokers out there, and i know you're there, there are plenty of good alternatives.
The trams are a brilliant way to move about, they run like clockwork and come very regularly. They link nearly every part of the city together.
Another option is saddling up and renting a bike, careful though, the roads can be hellish confusing especially since there is no curb and you can't really tell where it begins and ends. Also, if you're going to rent a bike, don't take it down the alleys in the red light district THEY CANNOT FIT BIKES DOWN THEM. some rudeboy snapped the lock on my mates bike and he had to carry it across Amsterdam, it was funny for us! Not for him though.
Lastly are the bike-taxi things. You pay the guy and he rides you where you want whilst you and a couple of mates are sitting in a basket on the back. Great fun! the drivers are always friendly as well. That's something we have to commend the Dutch for: Their jolly ways and the whole nations ability to speak English.
To conclude
I really can't think of much more right now and i have been sitting here for ages. But i am sure i'll post up more hints and tips soon and I invite other people to guide people in their experiences of Amsterdam as i can only account for the experiences of myself and my friends.
I hope i helped some of you out in some way!