My History Of Amsterdam so far...
Posted: Fri 22nd May 2009 02:46 am
Amsterdam Travels
From the age of sixteen [‘Oranje Web Team’] have been visiting a little known city called Amsterdam. Over the years we have regarded this as somewhat of a second home. On our first ever trip in 1999 consisted of the three boys are our old house mate Mr ‘Disco’ Stu Dunlevy. As inexperienced young fellows we dared not venture into the advanced world of drugs that Amsterdam is famous for. Instead we would spend the evenings hanging around the campsite drinking small cans of Heineken and Bacardi Breezers. The majority of the time we would use various types of practical jokes to amuse ourselves. One time we padlocked ‘Disco Stu’ into the tent with the keys just out of his grasp. Another time we hunted around the campsite and somehow ended up acquiring a cat. At this young age we were quite delighted to find that they served alcohol to us in many bars around the city centre. We learned a trick within the first few days of staying there, which was the tram travel was free if you got off before Central Station due to the lack of security of ticket checks. This enabled us to save money and spend more on booze.
A few years later on, after loosing our old house mate, the three ‘Munch Bunch Boys’ continued to explore on a regular basis. At the age of eighteen we had now realised the ease of obtaining some of the finer delights in Amsterdam’s coffee shops. We had also got so used to the staff working at the campsite that they were given nicknames, one of which we named after John Cleese’s character Basil Faulty. Not only did he look like him but was also very abrupt when dealing with us and did not seem to want our custom. On one occasion Andy (‘Pacman’) and myself had gone to buy pizza from him. When we ordered he just nodded and walked away. We then went back and convinced Ben that they were going for free which he then found out was untrue when confronted by unhappy Basil.
During the years we have been going to Amsterdam we have spent most of the time experimenting with all the different types of marijuana hanging mainly in coffee shop Smokey just outside Rembrandt Square next to Waterloo Plien. Here we found enough entertainment and a selection of drugs to keep us occupied. With three pool tables, fresh smoothies and random we were happy enough to remain loyal to this coffee shop.
In 2007 we started dabbling in certain mushrooms to which we spent most of the time laughing at random music whilst sitting around in the sun. On the first occasion ‘Pacman’ took a few too many a felt the need to hide in the toilet for a good hour. When we went to see how he was he stated that the floor was moving a he did not want to leave. He came back and lay on his back in a starfish position clutching a bottle of Fanta for the remainder of the afternoon. In addition we started to explore some of the other coffee shops in the area which all had various different looks and atmospheres.
It wasn’t until 2008 until we decided it would be a good idea to start rating all the coffee shops we went to of which the findings were then put onto a website. [Amsterdam Coffeeshops Rated] now consists of all the summaries, rating and stories of the 17 coffeeshops that we have explored. In 2009/10 we shall be increasing the quantity of coffeeshops we shall rate, as we shall be visiting for a little longer and hopefully exploring some of the lesser-known areas.
From the age of sixteen [‘Oranje Web Team’] have been visiting a little known city called Amsterdam. Over the years we have regarded this as somewhat of a second home. On our first ever trip in 1999 consisted of the three boys are our old house mate Mr ‘Disco’ Stu Dunlevy. As inexperienced young fellows we dared not venture into the advanced world of drugs that Amsterdam is famous for. Instead we would spend the evenings hanging around the campsite drinking small cans of Heineken and Bacardi Breezers. The majority of the time we would use various types of practical jokes to amuse ourselves. One time we padlocked ‘Disco Stu’ into the tent with the keys just out of his grasp. Another time we hunted around the campsite and somehow ended up acquiring a cat. At this young age we were quite delighted to find that they served alcohol to us in many bars around the city centre. We learned a trick within the first few days of staying there, which was the tram travel was free if you got off before Central Station due to the lack of security of ticket checks. This enabled us to save money and spend more on booze.
A few years later on, after loosing our old house mate, the three ‘Munch Bunch Boys’ continued to explore on a regular basis. At the age of eighteen we had now realised the ease of obtaining some of the finer delights in Amsterdam’s coffee shops. We had also got so used to the staff working at the campsite that they were given nicknames, one of which we named after John Cleese’s character Basil Faulty. Not only did he look like him but was also very abrupt when dealing with us and did not seem to want our custom. On one occasion Andy (‘Pacman’) and myself had gone to buy pizza from him. When we ordered he just nodded and walked away. We then went back and convinced Ben that they were going for free which he then found out was untrue when confronted by unhappy Basil.
During the years we have been going to Amsterdam we have spent most of the time experimenting with all the different types of marijuana hanging mainly in coffee shop Smokey just outside Rembrandt Square next to Waterloo Plien. Here we found enough entertainment and a selection of drugs to keep us occupied. With three pool tables, fresh smoothies and random we were happy enough to remain loyal to this coffee shop.
In 2007 we started dabbling in certain mushrooms to which we spent most of the time laughing at random music whilst sitting around in the sun. On the first occasion ‘Pacman’ took a few too many a felt the need to hide in the toilet for a good hour. When we went to see how he was he stated that the floor was moving a he did not want to leave. He came back and lay on his back in a starfish position clutching a bottle of Fanta for the remainder of the afternoon. In addition we started to explore some of the other coffee shops in the area which all had various different looks and atmospheres.
It wasn’t until 2008 until we decided it would be a good idea to start rating all the coffee shops we went to of which the findings were then put onto a website. [Amsterdam Coffeeshops Rated] now consists of all the summaries, rating and stories of the 17 coffeeshops that we have explored. In 2009/10 we shall be increasing the quantity of coffeeshops we shall rate, as we shall be visiting for a little longer and hopefully exploring some of the lesser-known areas.
But in all fairness, you could share and/or contribute to this site as well. I think more people would be open to visiting your site if they know you (and your mates) as reliable contributor(s) to ACD. Just my less than 2 cents worth. Good luck with your site, Mr Oranje! 