Clean Thoughts in Amsterdam

When some people think of Amsterdam, certain words and ideas seem to come to mind; so I had to chuckle to myself when I saw the article A Brief Guide to Amsterdam: More Than Just Stoners and Prostitutes on GoNOMAD. It was written by Laurie Ellis and Shady Hartshorne, and from just reading the introduction, I feel that we can all get a sense of where they are coming from.

“When some people think of Amsterdam, they think of a hedonist’s paradise where marijuana and prostitution are legal. Scantily clad women stand in store windows advertising their “wares” and scruffy backpackers from all over the world cram themselves into cheap hotels for the opportunity to smoke some killer weed and pass out in doorways.

Amsterdam does have all that, but, in fact pot is not legal, and these attractions are just a tiny part of what this beautiful, centuries old city has to offer.

You can explore narrow, cobblestone streets and twisting canals, marvel at a Rembrandt or Van Gogh masterpiece or just sit at a sidewalk café watching the constant flow of bicycles, mopeds and pedestrians, and you realize that millions of people come to visit this city not for its lax vice laws, but because it’s simply one of the most beautiful and fun places in the world.”