I never quite understood why
foreigners are so fond of Amsterdam. Sure, you can smoke some fine
pot over there, but fine pot is available all over the country, not just Amsterdam. The
prostitutes are expensive, the
tourists annoying, the Amsterdam-people
spit at their
food before they sell it to you. When it’s raining (about 90% of the year),
smelly brown raindrops come down and pollute the area. Citizens that complain about the matter are ignored by the local
government.
As for sex. When you’re ugly in the US, you’re ugly in Europe too, and won’t get any for free. And those prostitutes want to get paid, rather than laid. Tough shit when you’ve run out of cash.
As for drugs. Drugs aren’t only expensive, you also can’t take any drugs home with you. Pretty nasty when you got addicted to a certain drug in a few days.
As for tolerance. Dutch people always poke fun at tourists in their native language. When I worked in a small shop in the “Kalverstraat”, we laughed at your clothes, your manners, your hair and your stupid jokes. We ridiculed and humiliated you, while you thought we were being our kind selves. Dutch people don’t discriminate more, but certainly not less than people in other countries.
Walk a mile through Amsterdam and you’ll find condoms and used needles sticking to your shoes. You’ll find out your wallet, photo camera and 4-year old daughter are missing, find out you can’t find your way back to the hotel, and that Dutch people aren’t all that nice when it comes down to it.
Amsterdam has good sides, as well as bad sides. I do not wish to destroy the Dutch economy. I do wish, however, that foreigners have a realistic image of the city. The best thing about Amsterdam are the city’s main museums, the Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. When you want sex, make contact with that girl/boy you secretly always had a crush on. When you want to get stoned, learn chemistry. When you want tolerance, get a dog.