Amsterdam Info
Boom Chicago started in Amsterdam in 1993. Being Americans that have lived in Amsterdam for over 17 years we know the city inside out. So throw away your guide book and forget everything you thought you knew. Here's the Real Amsterdam!... Ok, don't really throw away your guidebook, since you need to make sure you can find our comedy show. If you want to learn more about Amsterdam once you've arrived in the city, be sure to pick up a copy of the Boom Magazine. Our free city guide with a handy map can be found in most hotels or download a copy here.
Boom Magazine
Reading the international press can depress an Amsterdam fan. Listening to some lazy journalists, one might think our museums are closed, the red light district is shut down, tourists can’t buy weed and nightlife (and the gay scene) have gone soft.
Furthermore, it has been reported that the Netherlands has been taken over by intolerant, arts-hating immigrant bashers, elected by the dumb half of the country. Well, that last sentence is true, but everything else is false!
Let’s start with the museums. Although the main building of the Rijksmuseum (pronounced RIKES Museum) is being renovated, 400 works are still on display and many people are quite content with just the hits. The modern Stedelijk (STAY-de-lick) is also open
while under construction and Van Gogh’s best can still be seen while his museum refurbishes for six months in the fall of 2012.
It’s business as usual at other big attractions including the Anne Frank House and Heineken Experience. The red light district still exists, although the city bought out some of the shadier brothel owners and replaced them with artists and designers. The famous neighborhood remains a major tourist attraction and a
(relatively) humane solution to a complicated situation that every city faces.
Marijuana continues to be sold quasi-legally in “coffee-shops” to locals and tourists alike. No matter what you may have heard, visitors can still buy weed in Amsterdam, and will be able to do so in the future.
And nightlife? Restaurants still surprise and delight. Exciting bars, clubs and cafes with cool decors attract fun people. The gay scene gets a shot of homo hormones with two new bar-clubs.
The truth is that the quality of life here is excellent and that’s why it’s fun to visit. The streets are basically safe. Bike culture is healthy. You can sit in a café all day with a book without management grumbling. Public spaces are beautiful and well maintained. Public transportation goes everywhere. The entire city center is a world heritage site! Yet Amsterdam is also modern. The city has great high speed internet. Cinemas show movies in their original language. And there is always a festival, traveling exhibit, concert or show in town. Creative people love to work in Amsterdam and the hysterical Boom Chicago is based here as well.
Best of all, Amsterdam remains gezellig (heh-ZEL-ick), a word that explains the Dutch psyche. A gezellig environment is cozy and inviting and allows good times to happen. A two hour leisurely meal with friends is gezellig. Eating a Big Mac on your lap in the car is not.
Read on to discover why we love this beautiful, modern, gezellige city. It’s going to take more than a few underinformed news reports to change our minds.
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