The Epic Fail that was my FRI-SUN in the 'Dam
A lost weekend essentially that does not need much detail. My girl friend and I failed where my two guy companions had one of the most epic weekends of their European trip. The time spent in Amsterdam gave me an irrational hatred of trams and bikes (given the amount of times they nearly bloody killed me).
There were however some cultural points in betwixt my failures...
We stayed in the flying pig uptown hostel. A v international fun place witha cool bar and free breakfast (if you're up early enough).
The two best coffee shops I experienced were Dampkring @ Handboogstraat 29, famous for being in Oceans 12 (although I don't remember where) and De Rokerij @ Lange Leideswarstaat 41 (had the sense of being in th mystical orient).
We also made it to Rijksmuseum and saw some Rembrandt's + Vermeer's (though not Girl with a Pearl earring)
Anne Frank's House- super crowded and kind of empty so not as harrowing as you'd expect
and (for the Goth in me) the Torture museum- underwhelming! Had a few torture device replicas but was quite small and tacky.
Our adopted friend Kevin, self confessed 'Dam expert, who we met at Gare Du Nord station also talk us round the Red Light District which was all prozzies in windows dancing (few fit), super creepsville.
Stedeljik contemporary art museum- pretty impressive collection of pieces and very soothing white walls when you're feeling a little wired from the night before. below is a quotation I found there that I got a lot of enjoymet from at the time:
'Imagine a people in whose language there is no such form of sentence as "the book is on the drawer" or "the water is in the glass" but wherever we should use these forms they say: "the book can be taken out of the drawer" "the water can be taken out of the glass". Ludwig Wittgenstein, The Brown Book, 1958
If I were to return, and do Amsterdam properly I would go to:
the Van Gogh Museum (too big of a queue this time)
The Hash, Marijuama & Hemp museum (when in the dam...)
The Sex and Erotic museums (I really don't know the difference)
Fifteen (the dutch brand of Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen Foundtion' in an old warehouse)
De Bolhood (hippy vegetarian restau)
Pacific Park bar (industrial looking in an old heritage building)
Ij Kantine (spacious/industrial/mtv netherlands kids are rumoured to hang here)
Noordelicht (see through roof in an industrial area again- trendy)
Casablanca (oldest jazz bar in the netherlands)
Lost in Amerstdam (hundreds of pillows in this 3 floor lounge style cafe)
Club8 (A club in an old squat in a pool center)
Jimmy Woo (trendy club quite glam with oriental decor)
Paradiso (in an old church)
the old pathe @regulierbreestraat
Studio K (cultural hotspot managed by students with a good cafe too)
Haarlemmerstraat (trendy)
Waterlooplein flea market (vintage/bric-a-brac, open mon-sat)
Vondelpark (touristy but pretty)
Sarphati Park (built when the 'dam got too crowded, student area de pijp is supposed to be a cool area too)
Westerpark (surrounded by really old buildings from a former gas factory that have been converted to cool cafe's. Also has varied beautiful landscape)
FYI if these places are shit don't blame me, blame flying pig's tip sheet! Go with a plan! Don't have a lost weekend. Amsterdam is very beautful and quaint, small enough that it's walkable too. As long as you attempt to avoid the numerous tacky tourists you'll be fine (they are nearly unavoidable though).
Soundtrack: Royskopp 'happy up here' (and various other tracks-they seem to love them in the 'dam), nouvelle vague in a manner of speaking' and 'favourite things'- the golden filter.
