pretty sure you might have guessed that this blog post was coming the minute you read i was in amsterdam. unless of course you were doubting the level my self deprecating humor can reach. but to officially answer the question on your minds, yes. i visited a coffeeshop while in amsterdam.
there are literally coffeeshops on every corner in the city, which makes it really difficult to choose. the bulldog is actually a chain of coffeeshops (do, starbucks? kind of?), that has several different locations. even though i knew it wouldn't be the solution to sniff out the truly local experience, i deferred to my lonely planet for suggestions and decided on abraxas.
the starbucks of amsterdam coffeeshops.
abraxas was located near the royal palace which is off an extremely touristy shopping area. we're talking tshirts with marijuana leaves everywhere, but the actual shop was located on a narrow street just off the beaten path which actually took me a few tries to find. when i did, i ordered a latte (for good measure) and a space cake and headed up stairs to plop myself in a bohemian style booth.
my order.
maybe i'm inexperienced or maybe i just had bigger expectations, but honestly i could barely taste it. to me, it was just like any other brownie, maybe with a hint of a cinnamon flavor, which actually made it really difficult to follow the instructions of "start with a small piece and wait 45-90 minutes." i mean, that's a long time to hold off on finishing what to me was a delicious pastry, but i succeeded on distracting myself with my latte. which kept reminding me of a friend from college who always adamantly warned us against red bull and vodkas with, "it's an upper AND a downer!!" was i making a mistake?
apparently, the upper/downer balance was a little bit off. i finished my latter (and eventually my space cake), and had a sort of burst of inspirational energy. i wrote notes for this blog post (like i'm a real writer or something), wrote a couple of posts that actually appear on this blog, and made notes for a few upcoming cities i had decided to visit.
then, the downer kicked in. when i started feeling like an afternoon nap, i picked up my gear and started the walk back to my hostel. of course stopping on the way for a weird looking knish from febo, a place that sells hot fast food in the style of a vending machine.
i successfully made it back to my hostel (you can breathe now, mom), and crawled into bed at about 6pm for a nap. i woke up to my alarm at 7am the next day. whoops, so much for a night out on the town.
at least i couldn't have been the worst off, or anyway i was able to keep it to myself. while i was sitting in abraxas, there was a man making a big show about being a first timer. as he left down the small twisted staircase he exclaimed, "now see here! these staircases make me think there is absolutely no way marijuana impairs or affects your motor skills!" picture it in a steve urkel-esque voice and you're right there with me.
before leaving for amsterdam, i did get the update from a few friends that the tides were turning and they had heard "things were tightening up." partially true, but not yet. apparently, as of january 1, 2013, coffeeshops will only be able to serve residents of holland. which, given that there is a decent percentage of tourism purely based on the loose laws, is a pretty interesting decision. despite the reputation of amsterdam, however, holland is actually a relatively conservative country, so better get your tickets booked if you want a similar (or likely better) space cake experience to mine.
there are literally coffeeshops on every corner in the city, which makes it really difficult to choose. the bulldog is actually a chain of coffeeshops (do, starbucks? kind of?), that has several different locations. even though i knew it wouldn't be the solution to sniff out the truly local experience, i deferred to my lonely planet for suggestions and decided on abraxas.
outside of abraxas.
the starbucks of amsterdam coffeeshops.
my order.
maybe i'm inexperienced or maybe i just had bigger expectations, but honestly i could barely taste it. to me, it was just like any other brownie, maybe with a hint of a cinnamon flavor, which actually made it really difficult to follow the instructions of "start with a small piece and wait 45-90 minutes." i mean, that's a long time to hold off on finishing what to me was a delicious pastry, but i succeeded on distracting myself with my latte. which kept reminding me of a friend from college who always adamantly warned us against red bull and vodkas with, "it's an upper AND a downer!!" was i making a mistake?
apparently, the upper/downer balance was a little bit off. i finished my latter (and eventually my space cake), and had a sort of burst of inspirational energy. i wrote notes for this blog post (like i'm a real writer or something), wrote a couple of posts that actually appear on this blog, and made notes for a few upcoming cities i had decided to visit.
then, the downer kicked in. when i started feeling like an afternoon nap, i picked up my gear and started the walk back to my hostel. of course stopping on the way for a weird looking knish from febo, a place that sells hot fast food in the style of a vending machine.
febo - fast food "vending machines"
tasted slightly better than it looks. only slightly.
i successfully made it back to my hostel (you can breathe now, mom), and crawled into bed at about 6pm for a nap. i woke up to my alarm at 7am the next day. whoops, so much for a night out on the town.
at least i couldn't have been the worst off, or anyway i was able to keep it to myself. while i was sitting in abraxas, there was a man making a big show about being a first timer. as he left down the small twisted staircase he exclaimed, "now see here! these staircases make me think there is absolutely no way marijuana impairs or affects your motor skills!" picture it in a steve urkel-esque voice and you're right there with me.
before leaving for amsterdam, i did get the update from a few friends that the tides were turning and they had heard "things were tightening up." partially true, but not yet. apparently, as of january 1, 2013, coffeeshops will only be able to serve residents of holland. which, given that there is a decent percentage of tourism purely based on the loose laws, is a pretty interesting decision. despite the reputation of amsterdam, however, holland is actually a relatively conservative country, so better get your tickets booked if you want a similar (or likely better) space cake experience to mine.
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