Amsterdam: 13 of 45

The coffeeshop is located in the Centrum across the way from the Flying Pig Hostel on Amsterdam's main street and it is close to most tourist traps. I liked it because it has an informal urban feel to it. Upstairs they offer a good assortment of weed and hash. Perhaps I'm a bit sentimental but its Blues Brothers theme reminds me of my Old Town neighborhood in Chicago, where I and the Blues Brothers came from. On the ground floor is an American style bar where they serve coffee, tea with biscuits and joints. I was even lucky to have met a regular, middle class Chicago couple there too, who dropped in for a quick coffee and a joint. But most guests in this coffeeshop were young and the staff was very friendly and mostly from the U.K., which gives it a very cosmopolitan character. This is a great place to visit when on Kalverstraat or on the Damrak. In the evenings they have good music, a kind of dive atmosphere upstairs and lots of guests.