In 'Dam, alone, need help...

I'm gonna be in Amsterdam by myself in a couple of weeks time. Do any of you know of any good places to go (for food, weed/shrooms/[drugs in general]/music) if you're there alone? Any help is much appreciated.

By the way, I'll give anything a go...regardless of what it is (...I think).

 

you can already find all of those suggestions in the previous posts in this forum. As far as shops better for people who are "alone" my guess would be a small place. This way you have better odds of talking to people nearby, meeting locals, and having a staff that can be more attentive to you. Try Chocolata, Grey Area, The Coin, Coffeeshop Anyday.....

enjoy!

 

if you're hanging out a coffeeshops you'll meet mainly tourists anyway (who will chat with you), but the dutch are more reserved with strangers. the culture is not like the uk where you can strike up a conversation with anyone. do this with a dutch person and they will wonder what you're after. they'll be friendly enough, just not too keen on advancing beyond 'hello'.

 

do you do anything besides piss all over the place jason? Don't paint too gloomy of a portrait for a person about to embark on a dream vacation now! I've met plenty of dutch people who i've formed relationships with and have revisited on my many trips. So while what you say is accurate for "the norm" don't go speaking in absolutes because absolutes are absurd. enjoy your trip hot milk!

 

On the Oudezijdes Achterburgwal is a wonderful place, a community of sort, called the Cannabis College. I spent many a happy hour there watching their garden grow!!!

From there the cafes around the Newmarkt are a great place to meet the expats, if thats where you're at.

The Dutchies aren't as overwhelmingly frinedly to Americans as they used to be... when we moved there originally eight years ago.

Have a wonderful visit and peace out!

~Payaso

 

Hi, and welcome to amsterdam!

Go to coffeeshop Sheeba to chill, Just ask someone on de dam and they'll know. De dampkring is the best coffeeshop in the whole wide world they've got like a whole chique restaurant think going. thats where you can meet brad pit and other hotshots when they go for a smoke in amsterdam. for your general shopping and cool clothes go to Waterloplein there is a cool (BIG) alternative market there. Dont buy shit from the people who offer you drugs on the steets. Theyl sell shit and youl feel like shit and spend the rest of your time in amsterdam in a hospitle. As for the music, its everywhere man

 

Jasonspaceman.
the culture is not like the uk where you can strike up a conversation with anyone. do this with a dutch person and they will wonder what you're after.

1. we speak dutch here man dont seem like english, we know. but we keep trying
2. alomost all the fucked up dealers on the street speak english. so thats why, i think

peace!

 

payaso. the dutch arent verry friendly to everyone these days (including the dutch) i'm ashamed, really!

 

He seems to think that you can just go around spreading hate and negativity and still expect others to treat you nicely...

 

I've met people (tourists) from all over the world while hangin' in Coffeeshops, but I wouldn't say "mainly". Such is the charm of Amsterdam. Thankfully. There are many laidback Dutch patrons I've encountered who've been more than happy to talk up any subject I could think of.

Some of the natives I've encountered have had this attitude for sure. For the most part I have found the opposite though. I suppose it's all about how you approach the inidivdual in question and what their tendencies/beliefs are.

Keep on postin' spaceman; You do have a knack for keepin' things lively!

 

he has a knack for constantly acting like I do when I'm in a bad mood! LOL

 

Seriously, I just laugh at him now.
You know exactly what he's going to say, before you
read his comments. LOL

 

One option, go to
http://www.channels.nl/
They have an Amsterdam forum too, you might bump into someone
who's going the same time as you, asking the same questions.

Playing pool and challenging the locals or fleecing the tourists is an
OK thing to do if your travelling solo, just watch the querky Dutch rules
when it comes to pool. Hill Street Blues & Coffeeshop 36 have good pool
zones even the RLD bar too.
Have a good one.

 

Don't worry, I will. Someone needs to combat the pro dutch propoganda constantly put forth by many of the dutch members who appear to patrol this forum for anything that might expose the truth of the lie that is dutch 'tolerance'.

As for Nemisis, he seems goodwilled enough despite the fact that he's stuck in a fantasy that he's built up about amsterdam. If he ever does move to amsterdam he's in for a shock. Living as a foreigner in the netherlands is the COMPLETE opposite of how it might appear when you visit as a tourist. The minute the dutch know that you're living in THEIR country things turn very icy, very quickly...

Of course not all dutch people are reserved with strangers, but on the whole (at least compared to the other countries i've visited and lived in), they are noticably less accepting of strangers. This has nothing to do with speaking dutch, it's the same way whether you speak the language or not (and believe me, you will NEVER speak it well enough to be accepted). I wouldn't expect dutch people to notice this because it's the only way they know. If you speak to dutch people who have lived in other countries they will often express the same sentiments.

dutch people often tend to form their social groups at a comparatively young age and they're reluctant to allow many others to get close (foreigners in particular). this is not necessarily a bad thing as it means that if you do manage to make dutch friends they are usually very loyal.

 

Without sounding frivolous or flippant I don't let such things worry me, Jason.
I've never felt ostracised or had a persecution complex when in Amsterdam,
probably due to how I, as an individual, approach things. I just don't see what
you see my friend.
Perhaps I'm just too arty and easy going for my own good, LOL.

 

perhaps, but believe it or not when I decided to leave my life in australia behind and move the other side of the world, i believed that amsterdam was the most amazing place i'd ever been to. likewise i also believed that the dutch were a very enlightened and accepting people. like you, i had visited amsterdam extensively for years and only ever had positive experiences of the whole country and the people. it's for these reasons that i decided to move there permanantly. i approached life there with optimism and positivity (perhaps too much).

it was only after a significant amount of time that the image of amsterdam and the dutch started to fall apart. i stubbornly refused to acknowledge it for a while but it became impossible to overcome the immense feeling that i was not wanted there. discrimination against non dutch is systematic in the netherlands, as is the assumption that should you be allowed to live in holland you must live out your life in constant servitude and never speak a word against anything dutch.

i had doctors refuse to treat my partner because she didn't speak dutch. one doctor actually told us to go back our own country if we didn't like 'the dutch way'. police will not take any complaint sersiously if made by a non dutch person and every government department works on the basis of discrimination. the caste system is alive and well in the netherlands and the dutch believe themselves to be right at the top of it.

none of this was evident as a tourist in the netherands and while everyone expects that living in a country is a different experience, the dutch go out of their way to encourage others to view them and the country as progressive and tolerant when the truth is far from that. the dutch are free to live in any sort of society that they wish. all i ask is that for once they start to be honest about the reality.

 

I agree the so called tolerance in this country is practically non-existent. Indifference, thats what it is. People dont care as long as it doesnt hurt them, as soon as it does theyre conservative assholes. Well most of them. But i know plenty of people who aren't and are actually friendly and not ice cold as you describe most dutch people to be. People hold the door open, say goodmorning, they smile, theyre friendly, they help out. I criticise whatever i dont like, in this country and outside of it. I hate the racism, the moronic attitude many dutch people have when it comes to anyone even slightly foreign. I hate hate hate it. But you act like the negative side is all there is, and its getting really old. So stop pissing yourself off and feeding that incredibly annoying side of yours and be friendly. It could help, you know.

Oh and btw dont mess up the image i have of Australians. Ive been Australia obsessed ever since i was 3 years old and so far i loved all people from there ive met. I know its not realistic, but id like to keep it that way. Although i could just blame it all on your dutch half, right?

 

I don't know what to say, LOL
OK Jasonspaceman. We can all clearly see your personally loquacious
and feel the need to dwell, quite passionately about this topic, habitually preaching your point of view here regarding the Dutch. Let us continue
with you doing that, if it helps your cause, and me doing what I do and
never the twain shall meet. Hitherto I have not had any problems with
the Dutch in any way but feel you have a proverbial huge chip on your
shoulder through personal experience.
Wonder why.?

 

All hail Myrtje! she speaks the truth!

Goed gesproken meid

 

Yeah but Jason it just sounds like you were "slow on the uptake". Nobody has denied the things you say about the dutch nuiances of the masses. We have just criticized the way you present your complaints. As if they are absolutes that all will be burned by. Oh I finally got you........YOU WERE DISSAPPOINTED AND WRONG SO EVERYBODY ELSE MUST BE!!!!!!!!!

While I do not deny your doctor misfortune, I still think its sad that you went to amsterdam blinded by stars in your eyes and now feel so jaded that you are making it a personal quest to remove the stars from everybody elses.