Читать книгу Street Knowledge - King ADZ - Страница 8
ОглавлениеThis is the old pirate island where back inna day you could buy anything you wanted and anything went. It has changed a bit in the last 20 years but there is still something for everyone in the city of madness. I always liken it to an adult Disneyland: a place chock-full of adult rides (sex and drugs) and fantastic sights and parades (check out Queen’s Day on 1 April for complete mayhem). The Dutch are a creative lot and Amsterdam is where the best of them congregate to get it on. They love their street art, stickers, good food, football, drinking, legal and illegal drugs, galleries, clubs and advertising. They aren’t hung up about much and so this leads to a free-and-easy atmosphere.
But that said, Amsterdam is changing slowly from an open-air adult-orientated museum into a city of pure creativity. For a while, the city’s inspirational talents were jumping ship in favour of Rotterdam, but that is now over. The tourists are still arriving in droves but they seem to be contained to one or two areas of the ’Dam, namely the red light district and the coffee shops. These tourist areas are in the east and the south central area of the city. Just a few hundred feet east of the Centraal Station you’ll find the Warmoesstraat, the beginning of the red light and coffee shop area, in which to lose your mind. The sex and spliff aspect of the ’Dam has to be experienced before you can make up your mind about whether it’s cool or not. I’ve spent many trips to the ’Dam getting wasted back inna day and stumbling around the red light district, but these days I’m straight and the place still rocks. Remember that all the guys selling drugs on the street are just trying to rip you off. Okay, the first thing you gotta know is that all hard drugs are illegal, but if you’re determined to buy drugs then stick to the coffee shops. If you want something that isn’t on the menu then ask the dealers in the coffee shop if they have any info. There is a heavy heritage of culture within the city and all aspects of creativity are respected and encouraged. There are some killer advertising agencies here now (>p104) and the fashion and arts industries are gathering momentum.
If you go off the tourist route slightly you will find the real Amsterdam — a clean, civilized place, almost the opposite to the red light district.
Around the Spui (a square slap-bang in the centre of the ’Dam) is the place to be for book lovers, as there’s a ton of bookshops and a weekly book market on Fridays. There are some great places to eat and traditional style bars in which to spend the evening. Which is exactly where I was when I last hooked up with Michel van Rijn.
Amsterdam is home to my old pal Michel — one of the world’s last true adventurers: art expert, stolen antiquities hunter, multi-millionaire playboy. He’s a larger-than-life character with a heart of gold, and I’m truly happy to see him whenever I go to the ’Dam. We always mooch off to a pavement bar where Michel begins to tackle a long line of double bloody Marys without any visible effect. He then fills me in on his latest accomplishments, none of which I can speak about, let alone write about here. Let’s just say that he’s got his fingers in a lot of pies and one of the biggest and most complete collections of religious art in the world. A true bon viveur!
HOT SPOTS
Best homemade fries in town: Vleminckx, Voetboogstraat
Wicked bookshop: The American Book Centre, Spui 12
Great ‘hood: De Pijp, take tram 16 or 24 or 25 to Albert Cyperstr then walk east
Good Bar: Café ‘t Spui-tje, Spuistraat 318 (old-school ’Dam bar)
Great Hotel: The Lloyd Hotel. Oostelijke
