My trip to Amsterdam is just 6 weeks away. How far do I have to travel to get to the snow for a day? Which coffeeshops have an older crowd. I will be traveling alone, so is there any place I should be leary of going by myself? That is my main fear is going alone and being female. Where is the best tour that shows us where the locals hang and gets the best weed? My trip will be from Dec. 2 thru the 9. Where is the best head shop? I want to buy some pipes as christmas presents. I will post more as the day grows closer. Thank you
Snow: ehm.. goodluck with that. If it's a dry/warm/rainy season you would have to go as far as the mountains in France/Austria/South Germany. There are indoor ski/ice-skating places all over though. No-go: Kinda depends.. you can get robbed on the middle of the day in the crowd in the metro and you can walk perfeclty safe through the RLD in the middle of the night.. depends on your attitude and luck really. There are no real 'no-go areas' (like you see The Bronx etc. on TV).. well.. maybe some suburbs (the Bijlmer for example) but as a tourist you wont really get there. Locals: Well.. ehm.. although Amsterdam is a pretty touristic city, you're in the off-season, so just going to pubs etc that aren't on the main routes should bring you in contact with locals. Weed: Well.. that's not my area of expertise.. I'll leave that to the men on this board Have fun! And don't worry too much.. Amsterdam doesn't need a whole lot of planning to be a blast.
Yeh Ive lived up that way before. If youre going in 6 weeks there wont be all that much snow north of the Alps this time of year. As far as danger areas, they are pretty obvious. Amsterdam is a relatively safe city although there is a lot of crime for Europe. If you keep your wits about you you should be ok (no dark alleys and pushy people are bad news). Stay on the main pedestrian areas to find the older crowds in the coffeeshops. There is a really nice one on a house boat or some type of reconverted barge that I went to. As far as weed quality goes its the same stuff all over... and its strong stuff too. They mix their herb with tobacco over there so dont be suprised to find some in pre-rolled joints. Man are you in for the time of your life. I think I'm gonna go there for my next big vacation. Enjoy
1) "Which coffeeshops have an older crowd"...none really...you'll find a real mix of ages in them all. My 3 usual recomendations are Baba, Grey Area and Dampkring. 2) "I will be traveling alone, so is there any place I should be leary of going by myself?"...during daylight hours its very unlikely you will come to any harm! I have been going for 20 years and have never been bothered at all..either in the main shopping/tourist areas or in the red light districts. When its dark just stick with the crowds. 3) "...tours..." ask at any tourist information if you want tours of the red light district or coffeeshops...they will advise and direct you accordingly, there are several tours to choses from covering things like the hash museum and the sex museum. 4) "Where is the best head shop?" here is a link...they are good for mushrooms and cacti...not much else....http://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/General/GenSS.html 5) "I want to buy some pipes as christmas presents" www.oldindianshop.nl/ and also Baba has an excellent souvenir shop click here for a virtual tour link www.babashops.com Have fun...am sure you'll make friends!, be careful crossing the road! (go with the flow) and remember the dope is very strong so take it easy!
One of the coffeeshops that I have found to generally pull a bit of an older crowd would be Rusland. Results may vary for other people, but this is my experience... and as such my advice to you.
