Welcome to Amsterdam, duuude

This evening I arrived in Amsterdam, Europe's most infamous city and one of its backpacker favourites. The train from Brussels was a quick 3 hours: it was pretty boring (Belgium is green and flat, Holland is green and even flatter), and I slept most of the way, tired after all my walking around Brussels in the morning. My first impression, upon walking into my hostel here (Bob's), is that this is a city of serious weed junkies. Everyone here is totally stoned! Further exploration of the city — going into the many nearby "cafés" — revealed that the stoned-ness is not limited to the basement of my hostel, either: it's absolutely everywhere. Since I don't smoke (anything), I might be hard-pressed finding something to do around here. Amsterdam is a junkies' and layabouts' paradise.

Soon after I'd checked in to Bob's, I met my friend José, and we went out to a few nearby pubs for some drinks. It seems that the pubs, at least, are not completely full of junkies: apparently you go to the pubs to drink, and to the cafés to smoke (or to eat cookies / mushrooms). It was a pretty relaxed evening: just a few drinks, and then a kebab (of which Amsterdam has no shortage), and then some more drinks back at the hostel, with some of "the serene ones".