Amsterdam in Three Parts: Crazy, Cultural and Classic

[Weedpipe]

It's crazy, cultured and classic, a triptych, a puzzle. Some of it is sketchy. Most of it is culturally rich. Which is the "real" Amsterdam? Take your pick.

On one hand, with its wafting pot smoke and bored prostitutes under glass, the city's infamous Red Light District is still a prude's nightmare and a rebel's dream.

On the other hand, any city that can claim Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Anne Frank is a must-see for even the most staid travelers.

Then again, Amsterdammers seem like the coolest people on the planet, not staid at all. Citizens ride their bicycles with a tidy grace around the town, some toting briefcases, some in green high heels, some on bikes they fold and carry right onto the trains.

Except ... tidy, the town is not. Too much enthusiastic renovation has stripped the "pretty" from the city. Scaffolding mars the Royal Palace on the shabby Dam Square. Construction blights the Rijksmuseum (the city's premier museum), the historic train station, the harbor and other landmarks. One can only hope the eventual result will be worth the long wait.

Bottom line? Come to Amsterdam expecting tradition, and you'll find it. Come expecting sex and drugs, and the city will oblige - but know the scene is changing. Come expecting history, architecture and the chance to see paintings that make you glad to be alive, and you'll find that, too. Whatever you want, Amsterdam will be.

Go ahead, go crazy. Just use common sense. "If you are alone and stoned and it's 2 in the morning, don't go in the parks at night. Don't walk around alone in the Red Light," said Aaron James Cole, sitting at the Basjoe Coffeehouse on a sunny morning, smoking hash.

In Amsterdam, it is legal to buy and smoke small amounts of pot and hash at coffeehouses. Prostitution in the city's Red Light District is also legal. About 25 percent of foreign tourists visit specifically to partake in these pastimes, according to Amsterdam's Mayor Job Cohen.

And that's the audience for Cole's new book, the 11th Edition of "Get Lost! - The Cool Guide to Amsterdam" (Get Lost Publishing, US$14.50). It reads like advice from a friend - a literate friend who knows a lot about drugs.

"In the book, we tell them what the locals know," said Cole, 37, breaking off bits of hash and rolling them into a joint while pedestrians outside stroll past the coffee shop window.

For instance, the book explains the difference between a coffeehouse (pot and hash and coffee), a cafe (coffee and food) and a smart shop (plants and herbs that give a high).

The book also gives tips on everything from underground nightclubs to cheap lodging and food to prostitute protocol.

The biggest mistake tourists make, Cole says, is stopping to smoke the strongest joints they can buy before figuring out where their hotel is.

Second biggest mistake? Wandering alone at night in the Red Light, where pickpockets and drug dealers prey on the doped up and the dopes.

Oddly, it's the Red Light District's beauty and central location that confuses visitors into taking less care than they should.

"It's the center of the trash and the tackiness and sleaziness, but it's also the oldest neighborhood in Amsterdam and the most beautiful," says Cole, a Californian who has lived in Amsterdam 15 years.

The scene is changing, however.

The number of coffeehouses and prostitutes are being cut to combat organized crime.

In September, the Dutch government proposed barring foreign tourists from coffeehouses entirely and reducing the amount of pot one can legally buy. That hasn't happened yet, but it's possible in 2010. Under one proposal, patrons would need a Dutch bank debit card to buy pot.

And get this - a new health law bans tobacco smoking inside businesses. Patrons now have to hide cigarettes in coffeehouses but not their joints, which are not considered health risks.

Cole can feel Amsterdam becoming more conservative.

"It's very much retro thinking. They're tightening the grips here," said Cole, who also is a drummer, professional stilt walker and father of a toddler. On the other hand, compared with other world cities, Amsterdam remains incredibly liberal.

The book's editor, John Sinclair, wishes he'd had a coffeehouse guidebook when he first went to Amsterdam.

He is best known for his 1960s years as a pot-promoting Ann Arbor, Mich., political activist. He's now a poet, editor and grandfather.

"It usually takes about three to four times there to really know what you're doing," said Sinclair. "We remember going to Amsterdam and not knowing anything."



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Source: Taiwan News
Author: Ellen Creager/Detroit Free Press
Contact: Taiwan News Online
Copyright: 2009 Taiwan News
Website:Amsterdam in three parts: crazy, cultural and classic - Taiwan News Online