G
Guest
I have lived in central Europe a little time now and I'd like to pass on some knowledge I've gained from multiple trips to Holland. I always drive so i can not offer any advice on flights but you should arrive at Schiphol airport and can jump on a train to central station 15 min away for 7 euro. Very fun and scenic ride.
*do not try to take drugs back on the plane the dutch patrol the airport with dogs and sub machine guns. I've also seen the dutch police (called the Polite in dutch) beating the shit out of two guys downtown because one of the guys mouthed off to the cop. Please don't piss them off. They could care less if your in a coffeeshop or wandering around high just be respectful.
~~~HOTELS~~~
So your in Amsterdam and you need somewhere to stay. You have two options depending on your funds/timing/ and how you got to Amsterdam. If you flew you should try to stay downtown if you can. I recommend the Victoria Hotel 2 min walk from central station. Check expedia.com and check different dates and half the time you get a room with two twin beds or one queen for 130$ a night American dollars. VERY GOOD price for the location. Normal hotels next to this one are 250-500 a night. This is a 4 star nice hotel.
Now if you drive to Amsterdam parking is insane amounts of money down town (60-90 euro per 24 hours) so if you drive or the Victoria has the 250$ room rates for the dates of your stay a little more out of the way option is a hotel at the airport. I recommend the Van Der Valk A4 Schiphol hotel(4 star) with a two twin one queen bed room going for about $120 a night all the time. They have a free shuttle that takes you 10 min to the airport. The bus shows up at the hotel every 30 min from about 6am till 11pm. You ride this to the airport and take the train downtown and party. Ride the train and bus back to your hotel for the after party. REQUEST A SMOKING ROOM. I wont lie the train and bus can be a drag after a day of downtown wandering but it's a cheap option if it's all you have and my last stay at the hotel they upgraded my room to a massive room with a sauna and a jacuzzi. I think thats a sign i go there to much when they throw free rooms at you.
These are the two options i have used most often i have also stayed at the Ibis Hotel right next to central station and that room was 250$ and small, a trend in most hotels there.
~~Coffee shops~~
I recommend you check out Prix d'Ami right behind the Victoria Hotel. Gray Area and Homegrown Fantasy are some favorites. recommendations can be found all over so i won't go to in depth. You can just wander around and find nice little gems all over the place. I found one place with a very stoned woman working there with about 500 grams of grass on the counter and packing joints. We thought she was being rude to us at first till she noticed us after 5 min and then she was very cool...and stoned. They had a nice collection of 3-4 birds next to our table and the birds were very stoned also.
~~~Other Amsterdam Fun~~~
I'm happily married so i have not used the services of Amsterdam's ladies of the night but a friend who went with us did. He had a escort come to his hotel room at the airport for 150 euro an hour. my wife and i ate dinner at the hotel while he waited for her and we saw her come in and she VERY beautiful. My friend said she had a Phd in the sexual arts and he lasted like 5 min then she showered and left but had he not been so afraid of her he would have had more fun. I would recommend this option just because the downtown red light district seems very gross to me. But check it out for your self.
Soft Drugs- Mushrooms are legal(not anymore) only if they are fresh. some sell dried but this is illegal even if not enforced all the time to much but remember don't piss off the dutch police! There are normally 3-5 types of mushrooms to buy in a smart shop. I no longer do these but did try a box of mexican(the weakest) and wandered the city a magical Sunday morning and at one point i started laughing very loud and acting retarded but the dutch people seemed used to it. Be careful and go to a upscale smart shop and ask questions of the staff they will help you. Later that day i saw a 15 year old kid walking down the street doing a weird dance to the music on his imaginary Ipod so i wasn't the only one doing shrooms that day!
Blah the taste of those things still haunts me.
Smart shops have TONS of other plants and pills but i doubt half of them do anything. They do sell peyote live but almost all the plants I've seen are 2-3 years from being usable. I saw one usable cactus for 60-100 euro. But i don't think it's common.
~~~Transportation~~~
For good bike rentals (bikes rule this town no question!) and tram info please see http://www.boomchicago.nl/en/media/files/boommag.pdf This is a very good guide about the town and culture and has alot of useful coupons.
On Foot- Down town is a ever growing horse shoe shape that is the arch enemy of all stoned navigators. Once the joints start flowing i will get lost at least once every trip. The first few times it was very confusing. Street signs are not always posted and always almost hidden on the side of a building where you really have to look for it. Buy a 5$ fold out map and study coffee shop maps and make notes use often as the roads can be unforgiving to a stoned American not used to rivers in the middle of a road.
~~~___---FOOD---___~~~
Where there is limitless weed so there are endless munchie stores. Amsterdam was built around stoned people when it comes to food. There are many tasty affordable food options to choose from. You can have a meal at the Argentinian steak house for about 11 euro a plate of medium sized steak with fries very filling and tasty. All the American fast food is there. If you can think of it they have it just wander around and you'll find what you need.
My three favorite dutch foods are coffee, anything from a real dutch bakery, and a sweet sugar coated waffle that is the size of a DVD and over an inch think. Look for these you will not be disappointed, they are in every dutch gas station so shouldn't be hard to find.
~~~Places of Interest~~~
Sadly i have not experienced all Amsterdam has to offer outside of the shops. But they have many good museums. Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt being two of the more popular ones. I went to the Rembrandt museum because it's line was 1/4th that of the van Gogh and it still took almost two hours to get in so you have been warned. It was nice but i'm more of a Dali fan.
You can visit the Anne Frank house not far from central station.
about 20-30 min walk from central station are the following(take a tram for $1.50!!)
The Holland Casino is a cool place to visit. See the Boom.pdf link above for free admission coupons. I won 40 euro at the slots with just 5 euro. My wife lost 20 euro and we called it a day a few ahead. The table games were 5 euro min per hand and they had a basement for low stakes table games that only opens a few days a week.
Right next to the casino are two other note worthy attractions. A giant chess bored on the ground with meter tall chess pieces. Across the street is Vondel Park. Very chill park that i wanted to smoke at but it was crowded and i am still ingrained with fear from living in America. I did see other people smoking. You can always eat some space cake/mushrooms/smoke then go chill in the park and watch the people.
~~~General Tips~~~
Tip the dealer behind the desk at the coffee shop especially if they helped you out and were cool people.
I hear there is a slight pick pocket problem downtown(there are signs all over) I've never had a problem but blend in and don't walk around with a map in your face like a easy target(I do this to much while stoned). Just makes sense.
I have seen alot of weird stuff in Amsterdam. If a man with a single flower in a pot is walking around with the flower pot on his head making a very angry face just leave him alone.
Morning time is the WRONG time to look for love in the red light district
Don't start trouble with the girls in the red light district they have big guys behind their doors.
Buy a joint roller
DUTCH PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE! sorry to any dutch people but it is true.
I hope this will help some one it's all i can think of now. I love this city like no place I've ever been for so many reasons. My wife and I will live here hopefully in the next 5 years and i don't think I'll ever leave. I've been other places in Holland and it is a very nice country. I will make a new post with personnel photos today or tomorrow.
*do not try to take drugs back on the plane the dutch patrol the airport with dogs and sub machine guns. I've also seen the dutch police (called the Polite in dutch) beating the shit out of two guys downtown because one of the guys mouthed off to the cop. Please don't piss them off. They could care less if your in a coffeeshop or wandering around high just be respectful.
~~~HOTELS~~~
So your in Amsterdam and you need somewhere to stay. You have two options depending on your funds/timing/ and how you got to Amsterdam. If you flew you should try to stay downtown if you can. I recommend the Victoria Hotel 2 min walk from central station. Check expedia.com and check different dates and half the time you get a room with two twin beds or one queen for 130$ a night American dollars. VERY GOOD price for the location. Normal hotels next to this one are 250-500 a night. This is a 4 star nice hotel.
Now if you drive to Amsterdam parking is insane amounts of money down town (60-90 euro per 24 hours) so if you drive or the Victoria has the 250$ room rates for the dates of your stay a little more out of the way option is a hotel at the airport. I recommend the Van Der Valk A4 Schiphol hotel(4 star) with a two twin one queen bed room going for about $120 a night all the time. They have a free shuttle that takes you 10 min to the airport. The bus shows up at the hotel every 30 min from about 6am till 11pm. You ride this to the airport and take the train downtown and party. Ride the train and bus back to your hotel for the after party. REQUEST A SMOKING ROOM. I wont lie the train and bus can be a drag after a day of downtown wandering but it's a cheap option if it's all you have and my last stay at the hotel they upgraded my room to a massive room with a sauna and a jacuzzi. I think thats a sign i go there to much when they throw free rooms at you.
These are the two options i have used most often i have also stayed at the Ibis Hotel right next to central station and that room was 250$ and small, a trend in most hotels there.
~~Coffee shops~~
I recommend you check out Prix d'Ami right behind the Victoria Hotel. Gray Area and Homegrown Fantasy are some favorites. recommendations can be found all over so i won't go to in depth. You can just wander around and find nice little gems all over the place. I found one place with a very stoned woman working there with about 500 grams of grass on the counter and packing joints. We thought she was being rude to us at first till she noticed us after 5 min and then she was very cool...and stoned. They had a nice collection of 3-4 birds next to our table and the birds were very stoned also.
~~~Other Amsterdam Fun~~~
I'm happily married so i have not used the services of Amsterdam's ladies of the night but a friend who went with us did. He had a escort come to his hotel room at the airport for 150 euro an hour. my wife and i ate dinner at the hotel while he waited for her and we saw her come in and she VERY beautiful. My friend said she had a Phd in the sexual arts and he lasted like 5 min then she showered and left but had he not been so afraid of her he would have had more fun. I would recommend this option just because the downtown red light district seems very gross to me. But check it out for your self.
Soft Drugs- Mushrooms are legal(not anymore) only if they are fresh. some sell dried but this is illegal even if not enforced all the time to much but remember don't piss off the dutch police! There are normally 3-5 types of mushrooms to buy in a smart shop. I no longer do these but did try a box of mexican(the weakest) and wandered the city a magical Sunday morning and at one point i started laughing very loud and acting retarded but the dutch people seemed used to it. Be careful and go to a upscale smart shop and ask questions of the staff they will help you. Later that day i saw a 15 year old kid walking down the street doing a weird dance to the music on his imaginary Ipod so i wasn't the only one doing shrooms that day!
Blah the taste of those things still haunts me.
Smart shops have TONS of other plants and pills but i doubt half of them do anything. They do sell peyote live but almost all the plants I've seen are 2-3 years from being usable. I saw one usable cactus for 60-100 euro. But i don't think it's common.
~~~Transportation~~~
For good bike rentals (bikes rule this town no question!) and tram info please see http://www.boomchicago.nl/en/media/files/boommag.pdf This is a very good guide about the town and culture and has alot of useful coupons.
On Foot- Down town is a ever growing horse shoe shape that is the arch enemy of all stoned navigators. Once the joints start flowing i will get lost at least once every trip. The first few times it was very confusing. Street signs are not always posted and always almost hidden on the side of a building where you really have to look for it. Buy a 5$ fold out map and study coffee shop maps and make notes use often as the roads can be unforgiving to a stoned American not used to rivers in the middle of a road.
~~~___---FOOD---___~~~
Where there is limitless weed so there are endless munchie stores. Amsterdam was built around stoned people when it comes to food. There are many tasty affordable food options to choose from. You can have a meal at the Argentinian steak house for about 11 euro a plate of medium sized steak with fries very filling and tasty. All the American fast food is there. If you can think of it they have it just wander around and you'll find what you need.
My three favorite dutch foods are coffee, anything from a real dutch bakery, and a sweet sugar coated waffle that is the size of a DVD and over an inch think. Look for these you will not be disappointed, they are in every dutch gas station so shouldn't be hard to find.
~~~Places of Interest~~~
Sadly i have not experienced all Amsterdam has to offer outside of the shops. But they have many good museums. Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt being two of the more popular ones. I went to the Rembrandt museum because it's line was 1/4th that of the van Gogh and it still took almost two hours to get in so you have been warned. It was nice but i'm more of a Dali fan.
You can visit the Anne Frank house not far from central station.
about 20-30 min walk from central station are the following(take a tram for $1.50!!)
The Holland Casino is a cool place to visit. See the Boom.pdf link above for free admission coupons. I won 40 euro at the slots with just 5 euro. My wife lost 20 euro and we called it a day a few ahead. The table games were 5 euro min per hand and they had a basement for low stakes table games that only opens a few days a week.
Right next to the casino are two other note worthy attractions. A giant chess bored on the ground with meter tall chess pieces. Across the street is Vondel Park. Very chill park that i wanted to smoke at but it was crowded and i am still ingrained with fear from living in America. I did see other people smoking. You can always eat some space cake/mushrooms/smoke then go chill in the park and watch the people.
~~~General Tips~~~
Tip the dealer behind the desk at the coffee shop especially if they helped you out and were cool people.
I hear there is a slight pick pocket problem downtown(there are signs all over) I've never had a problem but blend in and don't walk around with a map in your face like a easy target(I do this to much while stoned). Just makes sense.
I have seen alot of weird stuff in Amsterdam. If a man with a single flower in a pot is walking around with the flower pot on his head making a very angry face just leave him alone.
Morning time is the WRONG time to look for love in the red light district
Don't start trouble with the girls in the red light district they have big guys behind their doors.
Buy a joint roller
DUTCH PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE! sorry to any dutch people but it is true.
I hope this will help some one it's all i can think of now. I love this city like no place I've ever been for so many reasons. My wife and I will live here hopefully in the next 5 years and i don't think I'll ever leave. I've been other places in Holland and it is a very nice country. I will make a new post with personnel photos today or tomorrow.
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