This is the fourth blog about our Viking Rhine River Cruise. Today's blog is about some of our experiences in Amsterdam- Secret of "Coffeehouses" & the Monkey Bar.
WHAT IS THE SECRET OF AMSTERDAM COFFEEHOUSES? - As a coffee drinker, I was intrigued to see so many "Coffee Houses" in Amsterdam. That is, until I found out they weren't serving just coffee in "Coffee Houses" at all. Instead, they mostly serve marijuana and people go there to smoke it and listen to loud music. I've heard you can get coffee in some instances- but I can't stand the smell of pot, so we skipped it. The Dutch capital is home to more than 160 ‘coffeeshops.’
We learned that many people visit Amsterdam to smoke pot. The Dutch have a "toleration policy" that allows coffee shops to sell cannabis under strict conditions. One of those conditions is that coffee shops must not cause any nuisance and the government has ordered them to stop attracting foreign drug users.
HOW DID THEY BECOME KNOWN AS COFFEEHOUSES? - The name derives from the semi-secret drug trade in cafés in the early 1970s. For a deeper history, check out this web page from WeAreAmsterdam.
THE MONKEY BAR! - Our tour guide told us the oldest pub in Amsterdam is the Monkey Bar, called "Cafe In 't Aepjen," and that it got its name from one sailor who docked in the city and couldn't pay for his alcohol. So, he wound up paying for his drinks by giving the owners live monkeys from his travels. It's located at Zeedijk 1, 1012 AN Amsterdam, Netherlands, and you can see all kinds of stuffed animal monkeys in the front windows of the pub.
According to the website "Spotted by Locals," "Nobody knows if the tale is true, but everyone likes to believe it is. Whatever the case, still today you can walk up to the famous Zeedijk and visit this traditional 16th-century brown cafe where monkeys are sovereign. They even offer their own beer brand, named after the cafe."
NEXT: St. Nicholas Church and Famous Subway Tiles
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