Amsterdam To Go Smoke-Free?

by Willy Volk on

Quick: When you read the word “Amsterdam,” what springs to mind?

Right! All those funny little glasses from which the Dutch drink beer. Those crazy Hollanders.

Those crazy Hollanders will soon be drinking their beer in smoke-free bars, after a smoking ban comes into effect in July 2008. The ban covers all restaurants and cafes — including the city’s 300+ coffee shops, those gezellig little haunts where people go specifically TO smoke.

So how does a business founded on providing an environment in which to smoke survive if said business must be smoke-free? Fortunately, the proprietors of pot will be allowed to set up a separate room or glass partition behind which people can smoke. Customers will not be served behind the partition. The government says this will protect staff from the effects of second-hand pot smoke.

Protect staff from the effects of second-hand pot smoke? Um, isn’t that why staff applied to work there in the first place?

Where On Earth (Week 11): Amsterdam

by Willy Volk on

There were lots of good guesses in this week’s Where on Earth, but only one person got it right: Richblackmon was correct in thinking that this fruit stall resides in Amsterdam. In fact, this image was captured near the Leidseplein, a popular square in the vibrant city.

In December 2000, I was traveling from Africa to the US for a month-long home leave. I hadn’t been since I’d left, in July 1998.

We decided to arrange a 3-day layover in Amsterdam in the middle of the return trip. Western enough to feel like home, but foreign enough to feel like I was “transitioning,” Amsterdam served as a brilliant stop-over. We visited the Van Gogh Museum. We toured Anne Frank’s House. We drank beer from those funny little glasses the Dutch serve beer in. But the thing that sticks out most in my mind was the fruit. Maybe it was because I had been living in rural Africa for 2.5 years, but the fruit sold in Amsterdam seemed to me the best in the world.

We ate strawberries the size of Roma tomatoes. The raspberries were the size of ping pong balls. The colors of the fruit were so vibrant, so dazzling, and so rich that I inspected each one carefully before devouring its sweet juiciness. We ate some traditional Dutch meals, but most of the time, we ate from street vendors and fruit stalls. It was amazing. And this picture perfectly captures that.

If you ever visit Amsterdam, be certain to buy some of the fruit and sample it. You’ll remember it forever.

Would a Dutch Smoking Ban Mean the End of its Famous Coffee Shops?

by Jonathon Morgan on

There’s plenty of reasons to visit Amsterdam — the people, the culture, the beautiful, walkable city — but let’s get real: the place is famous for its coffee shops, where patrons come to sit back, relax, and smoke a couple doobies. But like other European countries, the Netherlands is considering a ban on smoking tobacco in restaurants, cafes and bars — so will this signal the end for the country’s pot-smoking tourist traffic?

The answer, in short, seems to be no. Namely, because the clientele at these establishments aren’t actually smoking tobacco. Those who like to smoke their marijuana mixed with tobacco (a circumstance in which the ban probably would apply), will most likely get around the restriction simply by mixing their dope with something else. “You can bring parsley or old socks if you want, cut them here and smoke them, nobody will say anything,” one Dutch politician and coffee shop owner told Reuters News.

A ban — which could go into effect at the beginning of 2008 — might even mean good news for the makers and distributors of marijuana smoking paraphernalia, such as pipes, bongs, or other oddball contraptions potheads have dreamed up for the sake of improving their high.

So don’t worry, it looks Amsterdam’s tourists will be getting stoned wherever they like for the foreseeable future.

Use Google Maps to Find Your Next Hostel

by Willy Volk on

I was on a budget when I visited Amsterdam. Consequently, I flipped through my tattered LP endlessly to try to riddle out where I’d be staying. Had Hostelbookers had their wicked Google Maps mash-up available at the time, I would’ve been delighted. In fact, I just found 33 hostels in Amsterdam’s downtown area, each pinned to a Google Map, and each featuring prices, photos, and booking information.

Not staying in Amsterdam? No problem. Hostelbookers’ website has a vast database of cities with hostels, including dozens throughout Australia, Germany, Thailand, Estonia, Sri Lanka, Cuba, and more.

[Via Google Maps Mania]

Amsterdam to Erect Prostitute Statue

by Dave Luna on

The world’s oldest profession is finally about to get the recognition it deserves. The city of Amsterdam approved a bronze statue dedicated to the world’s sex workers. The figure depicts a “self-assured woman, her hands on her hips, looking sideways towards the sky, and standing on a doorstep.” Officials have not yet determined where the monument will be placed.

The statue is rather good news because I finally have an excuse to tell people if I ever did visit Amsterdam’s red light district: “I wanted to see the local arts.” To which I’d probably have to add: “Who knew I’d need to buy prescription ointment for that?”