Alrighty, Im getting tired of reading about all these local get-togethers where everybody’ll be having fun and I know there’s no chance I’ll get to attend. Coldfire, a while back I suggested we organize a Doper party on the Continent. What say? I know there’s at least a couple UK’ers posting…how many Europeans we got, anyway?
Dates? Locations? Amsterdam would seem a natural choice, seeing as how it’s a Doper fest yuk yuk. Am I the only one who thinks this is a good idea, or what?
Where are we going and what am I doing in this handbasket?
I’m willing to go almost anyplace, especially if the locals would be kind enough to give me a tour. We’re planning on going to Amsterdam this Spring, so that would be ideal and it is fairly central. Of course, I’d be willing to have all of ya’ll over to my place for some American-style barbecue (we’ll skip the American beer ;))
Keep me posted!
Okay, Amsterdam seems pretty popular, especially in the spring…What say sometime in the vicinity of Easter (23 April)? People tend to have vacations around that time…Weekend before? Weekend after? Middle of the week? Works? doesnt work? Give me some feedback here, people…
Where are we going and what am I doing in this handbasket?
Around Easter works for me, although I’d prefer it not be Easter weekend itself. I’ve got to assist the Easter Bunny, ya know. Other than that, a weekend would be best for me, I’ll have an easier time finding a sitter that way.
I propose that we set a date now so that we can begin to make travel arrangements, hotel reservations, ect. I’m going to have to do the low-budget thing, and I understand that inexpensive hotels fill up fast in Amsterdam. Would it be possible for us to all stay in the same hotel, or at least in the same neighborhood? That way, we can meet someplace close to where we are staying and won’t have to worry about navigating a strange city after a night of drinking. Somehow, I always seem to forget the name of my hotel…
Not that I’d be interested, or anything, but when’s Cannibus Cup? A convention of Dopers/Dopers could make for some very interesting reports back to the others.
UncleBeer sent me a mail asking for my assistance regarding Amsterdam and its… errrm… Festivities.
Cheap hotels DO fill up fast here, especially in Spring and Summer. Depending on the number of people, about 4 or 5 would be able to crash at my place (that is, if it’s for a night or two opposed to, say, a month ). Unc, you asked me if our museum of tortures is still open. Do we HAVE one then ? I’ll check. Other possible day- and nighttime activities:
The Rijksmuseum (one of the finest art collections in the world, including the Nightwatch by Rembrandt and also work by Vermeer, Hals, Rubens, etc.);
The Stedelijk Museum (Modern art, if you’re into that sort of thing);
The Van Gogh Museum (pretty self-explanatory);
The Anne Frank House (I suppose the name suffices);
The Concertgebouw (“Concert Building”), to catch a performance by the Amsterdam Symphonic Orchestra, one of the finest in the world - if possible, they’re always fully booked for 3 or 4 months ahead !
Well, now that we’re done with the PC stuff:
The Red Light District;
The SEX Museum (how’d’ya like THAT, Unc );
450 of the finest bars (one of which, Gollem [speciality beers cafe] MUST be visited);
Numerous nightclubs;
Maybe visit a concert in the cosiest concert hall in the world, Paradiso (an old church, hosts 800 people or so);
And why yes, there’s the 250 coffee shops
Looking forward yet, my fellow Dopers ? It’s a city that must be seen at least once in a lifetime. Although you might wind up settling down permanently
Okay, I hereby arbitrarily nominate the weekend before Easter (14-15-16 April). Will stuff be open in Amsterdam those days? And Coldfire, since you’ve so kindly offered, may I reserve a square of carpet at your place? (Ive just lost my job, so my budget has gotten way smaller.) I like the idea of a concert in that little church, and the Van Gogh museum (one of my favorite artists). And the Anne Frank house. And of course the bars and cafés. And Norman, of course lurkers are welcome. Like I said in the other thread where I mentioned this, even Yanks and Canucks are welcome !
Where are we going and what am I doing in this handbasket?
Amsterdam works just fine for me too, especially as I live just around the corner from the Anne Frank House. One small heads up regarding the dates, if they are still fluid: the last weekend in April is the Queens birthday here and one hell of a shindig, it makes St Paddys day pale into insignificance (well, at least here it does) however you can’t get accomodation for love or money. I believe the Cannabis Cup was at the beginning of December, same every year, and would you believe it, an Amercian coffee-shop owner cleared up for the 7th year in a row!
I wanna go to the Queen’s Birthday!!! Seriously, do you think if I made reservations right away, I could get a hotel room? Or are there nearby cities I could commute from?
Otherwise, the weekend before Easter works for me. Thanks for the offer of your apartment, Coldfire, but I will be bringing my husband and I’m fairly sure that he’ll be wanting some “alone” time.
Yah yah, last weekend in April! Glad yo mentioned it, Moonshine! Wow cool, cause after I posted that one about the 14th, I realized that that weekend is the Queens 60th birthday here, and frankly I wanna go to that party too.
And back to the top…
Il vaut mieux gâcher sa jeunesse que de n’en rien faire du tout. – Georges Courteline
WARNING: Gross joke containing stupid pun follows. Skip this post if you have an aversion to either.
There was this guy who had a farm in Holland where he raised hamsters. He didnt just raise them, he was obsessed with them. Every other week he’d drive out and buy a truckload of hamsters. Motorists would stop and stare at all the hundreds of hamsters running around. And of course, the hamsters would reproduce (as hamsters do). Soon the guy had thousands of hamsters running around his farmlands. Tourists to Holland would make a special trip to come and stare at “the hamster farmer”. When the hamsters numbered in the millions, the people couldnt stand it anymore and a few hundred went up to him to ask what the hell he was doing with all the hamsters. “Im glad you asked,” said the guy. “Just watch.” He rounded up all the millions of hamsters and loaded them into a meat grinder. Yes, a meat grinder. Then he turned it on and ground up all the hamsters one by one and put their remains into a giant cauldron. He lit a big fire under the cauldron and cooked the mess for a while. Then he added some water and a whole bunch of sugar and cooked it some more. Finally he got a big tractor and spread the gooey mess all over his fields. “What the hell was that?” yelled the outraged, disgusted, and, frankly, dissatisfied people. But the farmer was imperturbed. “Just come back in a month, and youll understand.” “What?” yelled the people. “In a month,” repeated the farmer calmly.
Well, word got around, and you can be sure that next month to the day, to the hour, there were five times as many people outside the farmer’s gates as had been there the month before. The farmer proudly opened his gates and led the people on a tour of his fields. Now they were completely covered with thick beds of beautiful fat tulips in every imaginable color. The people, to say the least, were bewildered, and a few of the braver ones made bold to ask the farmer what the point was, and why and how there were suddenly so many tulips. “Simple,” said the farmer smilingly. “Didnt you know that tulips come from hamster-jam?”
It is better to waste your youth than do nothing with it. – Georges Courteline
Thanks Pimple, that’s another two minutes of my life that I’ll never have back. Tatertot, you should still be able to get accomodation in Amsterdam for the Queen’s birthday, but don’t leave it too much longer. If you get stuck, places like Haarlem are plenty close enough and easy to reach, however you miss out on all the late night action. The big party is usually on the night preceeding the birthday with the night of the birthday only second to that.
