Amsterdam - Canals, Coffee Shops and Bicycles

Time waits for no one, so it's time for another adventure! This time last week myself and my younger brother were preparing to jet off to Amsterdam. I've been very busy with this international travel lark, but this Dutch escapade would be my final overseas trip for a long while. Let's leave the Tulips because they're not really Dutch and let's be a little daring to find some things that we really shouldn't! Amsterdam are you ready for us?

Welcome to Amsterdam! It was time for me and my brother to explore the surrogate home of Tulips. This Dutch city has many a tale to tell, but we weren't looking for stories it was an adventure of some sort we were looking for. Our first port of call was Amsterdam Centraal, it was an interesting journey but we finally made it to our hotel that happened to be in the center of Amsterdam's Red Light District. The weather was beautiful, a warm ray of sunshine engulfed the quirky streets of this unique Dutch city. Our first impressions of Amsterdam's quaint side streets and canals made us feel right at home. By the time we had made our way to Amsterdam's Red Light District it was time to check-in to our hotel. I had chosen for us to stay at the 'Hotel Royal Taste' a charming hotel which sits along one of the smaller canal avenues within the Red Light District. We had the top floor that offered us the best view of the Red Light District. 

I knew that this trip had to be epic because my brother had turned 18 in May so things were going to get a little bit more exciting. Amsterdam had to be the place for our last holiday before university, I really wanted this trip to be special, by what I mean this weekend had to be memorable! The canals were beautiful and the people were friendly but we were looking for some excitement. Bicycles are the way forward in this Dutch paradise, they are more dangerous than cars in my opinion because they are literally everywhere on the streets. 

A visit to one of Amsterdam's Coffee Shops is a must, whether its for a relaxing smoke or just to see what all the fuss is about. We choose GOA, a chilled and hip Coffee Shop that had a urban atmosphere with a fairly young catchment of participants. I would like to think I have a liberal attitude towards Cannabis but in Holland its legal to smoke Cannabis in a Coffee Shop. You could say that the air has a chilled feeling its a pleasure to walk the cobbles of this city with a pleasant haze. 

It's all about greener pastures for one reason I could see what products the Coffee Shops were selling, the menu was clearly layout for the least informed smoker so I was very impressed. I will be honest that I really enjoyed my time at GOA, it really shows that a modern city can be tolerant of Marijuana as the Coffee Shops across the country adopt a strict policy by not serving alcohol in-favour of soft drinks such as juices, coffee and tea. One thing I didn't indulge in was eating the cakes laced with the green stuff because that would've just been damn stupid! I seem to be harping on about GOA but this Coffee Shop definitely feels like the 'Empress of Serenity.' So, I look back with a relaxed demeanour that the grass is really green on the other side! 

On the cultural note Amsterdam offers so much more, I'm a stickler for a historical monument that really makes a city pop! Captured to the left is Dam Square a magnificent wide open center of energy. We saw Dam Square twice, on our first meeting I wasn't too impressed, the day must have taken its toll but on the second occasion I really liked what I was seeing. Amsterdam's got some real gems when speaking about architecture, some palatial sights for sure. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam takes pride of place looking over the center of Dam Square. 

Backtracking to the beginning of our trip we took the the GVB train from Amsterdam Centraal to Nieuwmarkt but after looking at a map online we discovered that we could have walked to our hotel through the formidable Dam Square. Amsterdam's Centrum is currently being developed, to gain what benefit I'm not quite sure as it didn't disrupt our trip at all. Like most worldwide cities Dam Square has several avenues leading to all the areas of Amsterdam's Centrum. I must confess that I first saw Amsterdam on an episode of MTV's Geordie Shore, I would say that the depiction of this city was perfect for our trip as we did see the working girls of the Red Light District knocking their glass doors to bring the punters in, I simply laughed because that's not my cup of tea! To conclude our short break we had a buzzing night at Escape and I must say that we enjoyed it very much! 

Amsterdam . . . Get Yourselves To The Dam ! ! ! Joseph Harrison