In Praise of ....... Amsterdam (pic heavy)

[marmar]

The coolest city in the world. :fistbump:






















http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/12/18/AmsterdamRedLight_wideweb__470x267,0.jpg

[MrModerate]

1. As best I can recall, I also enjoyed Amsterdam . . .

Bike trails into the suburbs being a strong number two on my list, just ahead of museums (#3) and canalside architecture (#4).

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. love that place

great shots, thanks

[RKP5637]

3. I loved it when I was there. Worked there some on business, was an extremely comfortable place...

to be and absolutely beautiful. I'm astounded by some people that think American is the only place in the world to live... very narrow minded limited views, not much worldly exposure to anything.

These pictures brought back some very very good memories and pleasant times for me. I felt such a sense of calmness and pleasantness in Amsterdam and not the hectic BS here.

[Eyerish]

4. I went there when I was 15 and I totally agree...

and I don't even smoke... :rofl:

[Greyskye]

5. Ah, memories.

Thanks for the pics!

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Lived there for a bit in the late 60s and...

went back for a visit in the late 80s.

Looks like it hasn't changed all that much, and that's a good thing.

(When Amsterdam changes, the world will surely be coming to an end.)

[intaglio]

7. But ... but Bill O'Reilly says it is a mess

a cesspool of crime and corruption, naive, a mecca for organised crime




Or perhaps Bill O'Reilly was speaking out of his arse

[gatorboy]

26. Maybe he was sampling the "Amnesia"

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[canetoad]

9. Thank you for injecting some rationality

into yet another Amsterdam love fest propagated by the grass is always greener brigade.

[marmar]

13. Umm, I love Amsterdam because it's a beautiful, cultured, multicultural city....

..... but feel free to continue to rattle off in ignorance.

[muriel_volestrangler]

12. There are more tourists in the world than just 'college students'

Amsterdam has some of the most important art museums in the world - Rembrandt Museum, Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum.

[conscious evolution]

19. Tulip gardens also rock

I have never scene such a beuatiful display of color in nature in my life as they have in the big tulip garden park.

[Dorian Gray]

42. They really

do have some of the most amazing museums. It's a beautiful city. I love it there, and I don't smoke the POT!

[closeupready]

22. Um, no. I suppose that's a significant element, but

I know people who are abstain from all intoxicating substances who love it there.

As to the whores, the sexual liberty that is part of the culture there IS a big draw.

The thing I find interesting is that there are places in Europe that are almost as sexually free but bigger, more glamorous, more 24/7.

[sabrina 1]

24. Why do you doubt that college students are capable

of interests other than smoking pot? I don't know your experiences, but the college students I know are visiting many countries, in Africa, Europe and elsewhere motivated by a desire to learn about other cultures for one thing. None of them smoke OR even drink more than a beer or glass of wine socially.

[geek tragedy]

25. Sex tourists aren't usually college students, but rather fat middle aged

swine.

[no limit]

30. My parents went there last year and loved it. They never did any kind of drugs in their life

so I guess its for more than just pot and whores. But I never been there so I can't comment, I hope to make it out there eventually though.

In fact if all you want is whores and pot you really don't need to travel thousands of miles, you can get that in any city right here in the US.

[dana_b]

38. I went with my parents

in the late 80s and we had a blast. No, we don't smoke and whores? well, not really our thing either.

There's a lot to do and learn there.

[Kind of Blue]

10. Love. Love. Love Amsterdam. Thanks for the photos! n/t

[lillypaddle]

11. I had some really good MEXICAN food there

Come to think of it, everything there was really good. Had a great time in Amsterdam.

[Libertas1776]

14. Ah Amsterdam...

It's architectural beauty and lively culture is only exceeded by...









uh, um, its.....












uh................






Dave's hier niet, man. :smoke:

[MrScorpio]

15. On Queen's Day that town really knows how to party

I had a great time every time I went.

Damn, I miss Holland

[comtec]

27. How long ago were you here?

it's REALLY changed in the last 6 years since I moved here (now in A'dam, hour 30 east in Zwolle)
The red light is a mere shadow of what it once was, and the christian CDA is destroying coffee houses as fast as they can.
The border cities have almost all closed their coffee shops.

The Netherlands isn't what it once was, which is sad.

The government has taken a very republican view towards immigrants, which has not made my life, or desire to stay, any better.

Things have been better.

As far as there being better reasons than whores and pot, yes there are.

Amsterdam has a very relaxing feel about it - or maybe that's the coffee shops every 100m - that I do enjoy.
You can find almost anything there... and I mean A N Y T H I N G, and most of it is legal to the extent that it's not prosecuted.
The Dut view has always been not so much legalization (pot IS illegal actually) but... a blind eye to small amounts of crime.
You are allowed to own a smaaaaallll amount of pot for example for personal use only.
You are as a coffee shop allowed to sell and grow pot, but you are NOT allowed to buy it - literally you can trade but not money!

Generally the (HIGH) tax on pot and prostitution are why the government tolerates it.

It's the CDA that has decided to make things MORE illegal, and thus cut their own throat on income to the state (fucking idiots) ignoring, of course, all the peripheral business that prosper BECAUSE of the coffee houses. snack shops for one.

Anyway the Architecture is always interesting, and the museums, etc. However the honest truth is people come for the red light and the coffee houses. When those are gone, so will be most of the tourists.

Which is sad, because what once made the Netherlands so great will also be gone. it's tolerance, and sometimes outright acceptance of different ideas.

[MrScorpio]

34. I left Europe in 1998, haven't been back since

I was in the USAF and I never did care about the drugs or the prostitution. I didn't participate.

My wife has family there and we always stayed with them whenever we went north. Otherwise, we had a monthly shopping trip to Maastricht.

I loved the food, the people and the general attitude... I hope that those things haven't changed.

[comtec]

40. Maastrict? wow that's in the ass-end of the country

Hee hee sorry, jk.
I don't know about the food. its always seemed bland here.
Like someone turned the volume on flavor waaaaay down.

I came in the same year you left, end of 98 :)

However I have found this Japanese place in A'dam that's literally in an alley, hole in the wall that's rather good.

I suppose food IN the randstad is better than in the "boonies" where I live in Zwolle hee hee.
However we have this Indian place that is a total Gem in the rough!

Indian food here is definitely better than in California (which imho is saying a lot).

That aside I don't think you'd reconize this place from when you lived here.
The attitudes, and such are just...
Ik winst dat hier was het nog steeds de jaren 70.
Vroeger was de herdenken over onze allochtonen beter dan nu.
Toen Wilders, alles gaat slechter voor wij.

[asdjrocky]

16. Been there three times.

One of my favorite places on earth. And one of my favorite coffee houses as well, the bulldog.

[LeftishBrit]

17. It's a great city, but keep a close watch on your personal property when there!

There are thieves who target tourists and operate very slickly. I learned the hard way, when my handbag got stolen on my first day there.

That apart, it's a beautiful place!

[mainer]

31. Yes, petty crime is rampant there

And it's not just against tourists. The locals complain a lot about it. Not much violence, but if you turn your back, your stuff will be gone in a flash.

[marmar]

39. No worse than Barcelona or Madrid.....And anyone with a modicum of street sense....

..... can easily avoid that.

[Blue_Tires]

18. don't forget about ajax!

[conscious evolution]

20. The moat around the soccer field

blew my mind.
How many soccer stadiums have you ever heard of that have a moat?

[Blue_Tires]

21. i heard of some in South America years ago...

[xchrom]

23. wonderful, beautiful city!

:applause:

[alfredo]

28. I had a friend who was a mechanic for a pro cycling team. During down times

mechanics from various teams would meet in Amsterdam to unwind. The central meeting place was the Pink Floyd. He said that when he dies, he wants to go to Amsterdam.

[Initech]

29. Amsterdam rules. I had an awesome time there.

Although I think it's kind of like Vegas - you can only take so much before you get burnt out (pun intended) and you're just like "fuck it, let's go do something else".

[4_TN_TITANS]

32. Toured through there with a concert band when I was 17...

Absolutely the best place we went on a 7 country tour.

[Soylent Brice]

33. awesome.

that menu is absolutely awesome.

"only for experienced smokers"

love it.

[mikeSchmuckabee]

35. Excellent photos

Thanks!

It was great wasn't it.

Didja try "Grey Area"?

I stayed at Bob's Hostel. It was right on one of the main drags. Helluva good time.

[Betty Karlson]

36. Allow me to pump some criticism on Amsterdam into this topic.

Photo 1: From this angle, you can hardly see the piles of canine defecation on the side-walk. Also not pictured: the street littered with broken bottles, last night's vomit, and maybe a needle or a condom, depending on who was having a good time.

Photo 2: Wonderfull way of masking that the Museum (see background) is closed for maintenance until 2012 or so.

Photo 4: A hemp museum? More like an obligatory exhibition with a VERY large souvernir shop. By the way, the increased risk on psychosis is, for some strange reason, not mentioned.

Photo 5: I never liked Van Gogh. Feel free to disagree.

Photo 6: Maybe you thought you were photographing the public transport (Incidentally, the public transport is going through some troubling times now that its staff is sometimes attacked by a certain type of youth). What I see is three oversized banners for fast-food. Obesity, soon coming to a street, well, street corner near you.

Photos 7&8: How much psychosis did you want to have?

Photo 9: Amsterdam has both absolutely and percentually the highest numbers in bicycle theft in all of the Netherlands.

Photo 11: Did you know that human traficking (also known as female slavery) has sharply increased since prostitution was legalised?

Photo 12: Did you really have to pick such a stigmatising photograph? Have you counted the boats with dressed gays and lesbians? The boats with the Christian gays and the one with the education minister (straight) on it? Come on, try and accept that homosexuality is about more than nudity, even if these people didn't get the clue yet.

Photo 13: Not pictured: South-East Amsterdam, where the racial divide is a lot bigger.

[proteus_lives]

41. Careful. Dissenting opinions aren't allowed by the OP.

[marmar]

43. Good grief....Get a life.

[BOG PERSON]

37. “Amsterdam”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF_eVJ7WYaY

[Amsterdam Hooligan]

44. I lived in Amsterdam for 6 years.....

My wife worked there from March of 1997 thru November of 2003.....we were on "expat" status.....She worked for Gucci.......I was retired......I was always at "Topps" coffee shop.......We lived in a small town outside of the city.......Would still be there, but the company felt they should send us home.....

[MellowDem]

45. I really enjoyed Amsterdam...

except for getting pickpocketed while I slept at a (Christian) hostel. Ah well, it still was a good time. You should also show the Heineken Factory!