Amsterdam

[Ground Elder]

We're in Amsterdam for the next week, with no plans other than the big flea market at the weekend and meeting a friend on Wednesday. With luck the weather will behave

 

[Ming]

We're in Amsterdam for the next week, with no plans other than the big flea market at the weekend and meeting a friend on Wednesday. With luck the weather will behave

Have you hit the ground at the right time.
Lowlands 2019

 

[Ground Elder]

So far all I've achieved is a walk to Lidls

 

[Johnny Vodka]

A few moments after the photos above were taken I nearly got assaulted by a frothing, rage-filled homophobic brute.

Still, thanks to the aforementioned homophobic twat, I learnt a new word in Dutch.

When he came up to me all ready for fisticuffs, he kept shouting "flicker." I thought he may have been over enthusiastically promoting his flickr photo account, but in fact he was saying, 'flikker' which I later learnt meant 'faggot' or 'queer.'

He was holding a bag of chips which I really wanted to shove in his stupid face, but wiser council around me decided it was best to leave it.

Apart from that, Amsterdam was brilliant!

Sounds odd. Were you taking pics outside in the RLD? Might he have been a pimp and that triggered aggression? I was there with a married couple a few years back and she started filming while in the RLD, not pointing the camera at any windows, just filming straight ahead. Cue loads of sex workers suddenly battering on windows...

Have to say, I've walked through the RLD with various male and female pals and no-one's ever really found it uncomfortable, just a bit of a curiosity. I know bad things could be underpinning it all, but... The married couple and I went to a sex show there (her idea!) and there were as many women in the audience as men.

 

[editor]

Sounds odd. Were you taking pics outside in the RLD? Might he have been a pimp and that triggered aggression? I was there with a married couple a few years back and she started filming while in the RLD, not pointing the camera at any windows, just filming straight ahead. Cue loads of sex workers suddenly battering on windows...

Have to say, I've walked through the RLD with various male and female pals and no-one's ever really found it uncomfortable, just a bit of a curiosity. I know bad things could be underpinning it all, but... The married couple and I went to a sex show there (her idea!) and there were as many women in the audience as men.

No, this happened some distance from the main drag, I only had my phone camera and I hadn't been taking any close up photos of the women. He was just a homophobic cunt. I still wished I'd rammed his chips in his bigoted stupid face, to be honest.

 

[editor]

Some photos:

Amsterdam red light district, heavy metal Excalibur bar and the San Francisco nightpub – in photos

 

[Numbers]

I've just booked me and Mrs R here on your recommendation while the Tiddler is away on a school camping trip in September.
Three nights in Amsterdam with no kids

Nice funnily enough we didn't stay there when we went back in July, we stayed in Hotel The Exchange instead which is right smack bang on Damrak half way between the station and Dam square, mad mad rooms, ours was nuts, I'll post some photos in a bit.

As for Hotel V, the very best thing about it is the location, IMO anyway, but then we like the De Pijp area south of there (as you know) which is only a short walk, as it is to Leidseplein, the Museum area, Rembrandtplein, and if you've not been to the Albert Cuypmarkt before it's only a 2 min walk and brilliant.

There's a Cafe directly opposite the hotel called Cafe Kale and they have a lovely selection of food and booze (and 80s music) they have the nicest Bitterballen I've had in 'dam.

Another thing mate if you've never done it - hire a tandem to boot around Vondel, go for the 2 hour option and have a picnic and bifta in one of the many beautiful plot spots.

As a fellow cheese man, a few mins walk from the hotel (towards Rembrandtplein) is the cheese shop Kaashuis Tromp, I love it in there and they vacuum seal anything you buy, + further up and closer to the square is Boerejongens who have some of the best weed in the whole City.

 

[Numbers]

Seemed busy at times in the room

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Nice pics, chaps. Damn, I need to get back there. Maybe next year.

 

[Numbers]

I met this fella, Goldie, in Hill Street Booze, he has about 3 teeth, lovely cat who took a proper shine to me and sat on my lap for at least an hour (somewhat surprising to the owner of the place ).

 

[ringo]

Nice one, I'll look some of this stuff up on the map before we go.
Definitely want to have a boat tour or pilot your own boat too.
And the cheese shop, obv

 

[Numbers]

Mokumboot self hire boat thingy is about an 8 minute walk from Hotel V

 

[ringo]

Cheers, like the idea of a guided tour but having your own boat too explore is the plan.

 

[Numbers]

Definitely do your own ting mate, get some eats/drinks, download the canal app (they give you a map anyway) and spend a few hours as Captain of your own ship, great fun.

 

[ringo]

Yes, just downloaded that, looks great. Was a bit concerned about getting lost and hammered on a boat

 

[Numbers]

It’s hard to get lost to be fair, it can get scary tho’, especially when on the Amstel at first or the Open Havenfront with the big cruisers.

Meandering up through the RLD district at 6 km/h is a treat.

 

[Grace Johnson]

I am off to amsterdam on Saturday. Very excited, never been before. I am particully looking forward to going to febo and eating food out of a wall. It's quite embarrassing how excited I am about this tbh

Anyone know of any good veggie restaurants? Will mostly be eating cheap from supermarkets etc but have budgeted for one nice meal out

 

[Numbers]

Have a look at Sampurna Grace, they do lovey individual veggie options or a full veggie rice table which I highly recommend.

SAMPURNA | Indonesian Restaurant Amsterdam

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Lovely pics editor and sorry you met that dickhead. One reason that they get so funny about photos in the RLD is that many of the women who work in the windows will have family in other countries who are unaware of their work, so they are not keen to have pictures of themselves appear on the internet...

 

[editor]

Lovely pics editor and sorry you met that dickhead. One reason that they get so funny about photos in the RLD is that many of the women who work in the windows will have family in other countries who are unaware of their work, so they are not keen to have pictures of themselves appear on the internet...

I made a very obvious point of not taking any close ups of the girls where the faces were recognisable - and I was nowhere near the strip when the chip-laden homophobic bell end turned up.

 

[Grace Johnson]

Have a look at Sampurna Grace, they do lovey individual veggie options or a full veggie rice table which I highly recommend.

SAMPURNA | Indonesian Restaurant Amsterdam

Thank you. That looks really really good. I did want to do a rice table so this is perfect. Nice one

 

[Numbers]

Thank you. That looks really really good. I did want to do a rice table so this is perfect. Nice one

You won’t regret it, it’s right by the Flower market also which is lovely.

 

[editor]

More photos from Amsterdam!

Amsterdam photos: canals, architecture, bars, street scenes, bikes and an old submarine

 

[Johnny Vodka]

6 years since I was last in the Dam! Thinking of it as a potential destination for next year, but wouldn't mind stretching out my time in the Netherlands to stay in one or two other places. Recommendations?

 

[Idaho]

6 years since I was last in the Dam! Thinking of it as a potential destination for next year, but wouldn't mind stretching out my time in the Netherlands to stay in one or two other places. Recommendations?

I really like Rotterdam. It's the city that Bristol thinks it is.

Leiden is a cute little place.

 

[ouirdeaux]

I liked Leeuwarden. No tourists apart from a few Germans who go for the sailing.

There's an Escher museum in Den Haag. You can break your journey any number of times within 24 hours, so if you buy a rail ticket from Amsterdam to Rotterdam (say), you can stop off anywhere in between.

 

[A380]

I really like Rotterdam. It's the city that Bristol thinks it is.

Leiden is a cute little place.

“The more sorted working class brother of Amsterdam with a proper job. The one you call if you need a hand putting up some shelves “.

 

[davesgcr]

Haarlem (just down the road) , or even Utrecht -the latter has a fine railway museum which may not appeal. Or of course Zaandvoort (just past Haarlem) for proper seaside and a couple of very nice coffee shops

 

[A380]

I haven't been for a few years but really liked the replica Dutch East India Company ship.

 

[Ming]

Seeing real Van Gogh and Rembrandt paintings is always a blast.