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Amsterdam Light Festival Presents

23. December 2016/in /by David

In case you’ve been browsing around Amsterdam and wondering what those beautiful colorful art installations around the city are, we’re happy to share the news with you. Our cozy city is proud to host the fifth annual Light Festival that celebrates art, light and festive holidays. As a matter of fact this year edition celebrates Amsterdam itself with a new theme “A view on Amsterdam” with city being the canvas for artists. These talented creators bring on new ideas on its look and interpret various visions on Amsterdam through their stunning art pieces.

Water Colors

What are the water colors of the canals of our charming town? Well, this season (all the way until 22 January 2017!) the water becomes alive with all the rainbow colors (including the rainbow installation itself). Some of the artworks can be seen from the shore, like Wolfert’s dog that marked the foundation of Amsterdam according to the legend or the nest that inspires organic architecture and reevaluation of the idea of home. Other pieces can be admired better from the water, for example illusive three-dimensional houses, which turn out to be just unbelievable flat lines of lights or the dangerous love zone that underlines the contemporary status of love. The most magnificent pieces are the brightest colorful tulips that you can ever imagine (and right in the middle of the canal!), the flower strip full of lilacs on the water and of course the brightly lit bicycles that are falling into the water as a symbol of 15 000 bikes that gets fished out of Amsterdam canals annually.

We chose KINboat tour

We were lucky to be on the Amsterdam Light Festival tour with KINboat that impressed us with their laid-back guides and a nice vibe on board. It is a friendly company that operates smaller boats allowing for a more personal experience and communication with like-minded people. So not only you get to enjoy an amazing view of the canals and light art, but also meet local guides who are passionate about their city, ready to crack a funny joke and tell a personal story. If you’re a bit more introverted and find communication with strangers difficult, KINboat will melt the ice with a cup of hot gluhwein or chocolate. Yes, alcohol is included! And it makes the perception of night Amsterdam even better.

How great it was to discover that the boat had a 360 degrees overview of the water and leaning Dutch houses dancing in the lights of the art pieces. We could choose between inside seating and being covered against wind and rain or being outside on the deck with a spot for taking perfect pictures. In addition, it happened to be a silent 100% electric and green boat, which made our experience more environmentally friendly and sustainable. We couldn’t believe that the tour was over, as 75 minutes flew by making us want to come back and explore more with KINboat guys.

Fancy a walk?

If you’re not into looking at Amsterdam from below the ground level (although it’s stunning!), then Illuminade is the right part of the Light Festival for you. Enjoy a long evening walk around the magical city admiring the outdoor exhibition presented to you by local and international artists. 23 light art pieces are waiting for you to see Amsterdam in a different dimension (sometimes you can even walk through them!). This year walking route’s theme is biomimicry that brings nature to solve problems of humans. The best news is that you can enjoy this charming walk for FREE till 8 January 2017, just grab your map and good company.

Watch the green flying pigs in a tree (no, you don’t need to smoke to see them!) being a symbol of positivism and recycling, or find an illuminated glass house activated through your voice that would make you feel surreal, or dance with the light trees connecting with nature and art. Your opportunities are endless and will surprise you with each artwork you pass: just think about the flowering phantasm opening its petals with you movement or light waves that operate with the help of the wind and make you think about sustainable energy.

Alternative Amsterdam: Off the beaten tourist track

20. November 2016/in /by David

Amsterdam is renowned for its beautiful architecture, canals, world class museums, coffee shops and red light district. There is so much to see and to do and then still after spending a couple of days exploring Amsterdam you have a feeling you didn’t have enough time to see it all! And guess what? You are right! Amsterdam, despite being a small city, compared to for instance Paris, London or Berlin, has so much more to offer than the regular tourist experience! Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic Amsterdam probably just as much as you do, but let’s be honest you truly get to know the city in its full glory, once you get off the beaten tourist track! Hopefully this article will help you to make your trip to Amsterdam more unique, diverse, interesting and local!

NDSM

NDSM is a former wharf on the other side of the IJ, the big river behind the central station. To get there is already a small adventure by itself. There are free ferries connecting the centre of the city with different parts of Amsterdam North. The one you need to get to NDSM is the one all the way on the left if you get out of back entrance of the station. In about 10 minutes you will be on the other side and able to see the iconic NDSM crane and old submarine laying in the water. NDSM is thriving and getting more interesting every day. Ever since the wharf went bankrupt in 1984, free spirits and creative souls have taken over the area and given it its unique character that makes NDSM so different than other parts of the city. Visitors can expect to see a lot of beautiful street art, especially around the old wharf area, the unique NDSM breeding place full of small workshops and galleries and cool bars and restaurants such Noorderlicht, Plekk and KEBEC.

Ruigoord

Ruigoord is a small artistic village a bit outside the city, about an 8km bike ride away from the hotel. This former village and island was taken over by squatters in 1973 and became a free haven for artists. Here they can work in peace, not being distracted by the ever developing and fast city environment, being surrounded by lots of green and tranquillity. Very often the whole village works together on big art projects that characterize the place. In this unique place, living as a community and integrating art in their daily life has become a communal experiment. Ruigoord is also known for all the parties, festivals and other events that take place there. The best part about it all is that they usually take place in the beautiful old church that this artist community is famous for.

Westergasfabriek

This old factory, in the Westerpark, has become a very popular hot spot of the city amongst locals. This former late 19^th century gas factory closed its doors in 1967. Luckily, instead of taking the buildings down the area slowly developed into a place where innovation and creativity became the beating heart and energy of the renewed Westergasfabriek. It is difficult to describe what this place is like since there is so much to see and to do. The best thing to do is to hop on your bike or hike from the hotel, since its only 3km away and experience it yourself. If you decide to do so make sure you grab a coffee at the Espressofabriek, buy a fairtrade candybar at the Tony Chocolonely store, have a sandwich at the Bakkerswinkel, try a local draft beer at Brouwerij Troost, dance, eat with locals at the Pacific Parc and play old school arcade games at the TonTon club.

Amsterdamse Bos

Not many tourists are aware of the fact Amsterdam has a beautiful forest that offers a great getaway from the busy city. Here locals love to walk their dog, swim during summer, enjoy open air concerts and plays, attend festivals, have their morning run or just simply enjoy the changing seasons and nature throughout the year. If you are planning to go here you should first go to the beautiful visitors’ centre that explains everything about the forest, where you can buy maps with all the different trails on them and that has a great educational centre for kids as well on the second floor.

Other local gems

After describing four great places where you can experience the true Amsterdam spirit and where you probably will meet way more locals than tourists, there is few true gems left that are totally worth mentioning. Even though the summer has long passed it’s never too cold or rainy for a drink at Hanneke’s Boom, Café Sound Garden or Waterkant.

Another great way of spending your day is by visiting one of Amsterdam’s local markets at the Albert Cuypstraat, Dapperstraat and Noordermarkt to try some of the delicious local delicacies like stroopwafel or herring. For the ones that even the above experiences are not local enough should have a look at DinewithDutch, a super cool platform where you can arrange an at home dinner with a true Dutch family! It doesn’t get any more local than that! :)

Magic Mushroom tripping in Amsterdam

26. October 2016/in /by David

Let’s be honest, a lot of the tourists visiting Amsterdam not only come to see our majestic canal belt, visit world class museums or to experience where Anne Frank was taking shelter during WW ll. On the contrary actually, despite all the beauty that the city has to offer many of the people coming to Amsterdam are here for the coffee shops, smart shops (mushroom, truffles and more) and red light district! Having lived in Amsterdam for whole my life and considering all of this to be normal, I hardly realize how special it is to have so much freedom, tolerance and so many different drugs to experiment with openly without ending up behind bars! While working and communicating with tourists a lot over the last year, seeing their excitement for everything that is waiting for them in Amsterdam but also finding out many of them have huge question marks over their heads when it comes to the (soft)drugs usage, it is time to start sharing some of my own experiences!

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What to expect?

Trying out something new is always a bit anxious and exciting at the same time, especially with drugs! You don’t know what to expect, how your body will react and of course all the bad trip stories out there don’t help too much either to start getting to feel comfortable with your upcoming trip. For me personally it has already been 5 years ago since my last magic mushroom trip. Quite a few things changed since then actually when it comes to selling and the types available in the shops about which I will explain more a bit further down the blog! I am drifting away from the topic ..

What to expect after eating the mushroom(s)? Let’s start with the first stage: the consuming part. I never was a big fan of mushrooms since the very childhood so I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the eating part of my trip. The worst part is that it doesn’t make sense to swallow them fast. To make sure you make everything out of your trip you need to chew on them endlessly until they get all mushy and you get all the psilocybins out of them. Then its time to swallow the mushy stuff! Another way of making sure the trip will kick in fast is to eat the mushroom(s) on an empty stomach! Don’t expect to start tripping right away though. It normally takes 30 to 60 minutes before the fun really starts. The first thing that you will mention is that things around you start to gain more contrast and you start paying more attention to them. All your senses are starting to get a huge boost now. Everything you feel, see or hear will be so much more beautiful compared to how you normally experience them. When everything goes well you start to feel high and euphoric. Some people prefer to lay down, close their eyes and drench themselves into a warm bath of colors, unlimited thinking and happiness. Others prefer to keep their eyes open and to look at all the magic happening around them. It will look as if the whole world is coming alive, things will start to change form, you will see colors and light doing the craziest things but in general in a very soothing, calming and mind blowing way. To me it never was frightening. The intensity of the trip will go up and down and can last for more than 4 hours. The best part is that you will be fully aware of everything happening and will keep feeling a sense of control.

$Frame of Mind series. Composition of human face wire-frame and fractal elements with metaphorical relationship to mind, reason, thought, mental powers and mystic consciousness$

Almost banned

Since December 2008 they banned magic mushrooms in the Netherlands. Possession and selling them became illegal. In a couple of cases where a man killed his dog, a young girl jumped down an overpass and another guy going insane in a bar, being under the influence of magic mushrooms was believed to be the cause of all these tragedies. Eventually politics adjusted the legislation and banned them. There always was a lot of skepticism regarding the true cause of these incidents. Later it was proven that there were no traces of magic mushrooms in the blood of both the girl and the man killing his dog. Luckily the politics only put up a list of mushroom types that they banned but not the psychedelic compounds psilocybin and psilocin! When people started to realize this, the hunt for new magic mushrooms started and mother nature didn’t disappoint them. Politics overlooked one type that was growing underground: the truffle!

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Magic Mushrooms or Truffles?

When you visit one of the smart shops in Amsterdam you will see different types of truffles. A couple of the well know ones are: Mexicana’s, Hawaiians, Dragon’s dynamite, Mushrocks and Tampanensis. Some of them quite obviously named after their banned cousins! :) All of them provide the same intense colorful psychedelic trip and feelings of euphoria. Some of them are stronger and require more experience than others. In general smart shop re-sellers are very helpful when it comes to explaining all the different types and give you some decent beginner advise. Don’t be afraid to ask!

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Smartshops

Amsterdam has many different smart shops but here is a list that I know is reliable and have good experiences with!

When nature calls: Very decent and beautiful shop on the corner of Leidsestraat and Keizersgracht. Great variety of different products and very helpful staff.

Magic mushroom gallery: Cool shop in Spuistraat. Hard to miss the Mario look a like sign outside their shop!

Kokopelli: Very close to the red light district in the Warmoestraat you will find this very curious smart shop. Even if you are not interested in tripping this shop is worth a visit.

Do’s and dont’s

Obviously no drug is completely risk free. From my own personal experience I found mushrooms a very cool , nice and warm experience. Mushrooms are a product from nature and of course no chemical components are added. They are being consumed for thousands of years by tribes all over the world and praised for their spiritual capabilities. To make sure your trip is going to be an unforgettable one please keep the following in mind:

– Consume them with people you like.

– Be in a place you feel safe and comfortable.

– Don’t consume them if you feel sad, anxious or down.

– It is a product of nature. Try to get as close to nature as you can for a mind blowing experience. Go to a forest, park or other beautiful place with nature nearby.

– If the trip is getting to intense eat or drink something with a lot of sugar. You will come back to earth soon! :)

– Get decent advise from the smart shop and don’t start with the strongest ones.

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