Day 35
Location 8: Amsterdam
Dec. 5, 2022
In Vienna and Prague, I visited locations from my favorite movies. Today, that side quest continued. I visited Dampkring Coffeeshop, the coffeehouse that Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney meet at in Ocean's 12.
Word | In America, this means... | In Amsterdam, this means... |
"Coffeehouse" | A place that sells coffee. | A place that sells coffee. And weed. And maybe edibles. And you can smoke the weed inside. |
"Cafe" | A place that sells coffee. | A place that sells coffee. And probably food. And maybe beer. It's basically a restaurant, to be honest. |
After walking in and quickly gleaning the info featured in row 1 of the table above, I got in line next to a friendly British guy. We sat down together, smoked a joint, and drank a Coke. I looked over to where the scene from Ocean's 12 was shot and the woman at the table is watching the scene on her phone. What a loser! I thought to myself before remembering I had just watched the scene on my phone outside prior to walking in.
For Context: You probably don't remember, but in the scene, Danny Ocean (Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Pitt) speak in riddles so that Linus Caldwell (Damon) is tricked into being insecure about his lack of heist experience. In reality, they're talking nonsense. They name the prank "lost in translation" and Damon's Linus is fooled easily.
Why does that context matter? The combination of being high and my new friend's heavy British accent made most of what he said unintelligible to me, forcing me to employ the classic nod and smile and say "yes" method. It was a real-life "lost in translation". And I look exactly like Brad Pitt (or George Clooney) (or Matt Damon) (but ideally one of the first two), so it all just aligned nicely.
Left: My photos | Right: Ocean's 12
Later, we walked to the Red Light District, which I forgot was in Amsterdam. The most shocking thing was that there were actual lit lanterns that shined red along the streets in the one square kilometer area. The second most shocking thing was the seemingly endless windows of (mostly) beautiful women in only their underwear beckoning you into their room with a sensual dance.
Want to know what it was like window shopping the prostitutes of the Red Light District? Here's how I'd describe it: I was like a kid in a candy store...
For Context: You probably don't remember, but in 2007 Wacky Packages became really popular. They were stickers of popular brands and products, but with little, unsettling changes. For example, it would look like a box of Cap'n Crunch, but instead it would be Cap'n Crutch and when you looked closer the captain was horribly injured. Lots of times, the stickers were for existing candy products, like Reese's Pieces or Butterfinger.
