Eschewing marijuana but going for jenever as well as beer in Amsterdam

There are lots of drugs legally on offer in Amsterdam...

...but Puppet Ponyo and I opted to spend more time in

brown cafes and other bars, rather than coffeeshops

 In particular, I very much enjoyed drinking

jenever as well as beer in The Netherlands :)

"Are you going to try taking marijuana?"  That was the question more than one person asked me after I told them that I'd be heading over to Amsterdam in December.  My honest answer to those wondering is: no, truly!  I must admit that there's a part of me that was tempted but, as weird as it sounds, I find the smell of marijuana terribly off-puttingly sweet as well as strong.  

Also, I worry about the effects that the drug has on me; given that I've heard that some people cry when they're high as well as marijuana failing to have an effect on some people rather than getting them all mellow and giggly, like in the ideal case.  In addition, it's really not like this would have been my first chance to try marijuana, given that -- among other things -- I attended a seriously "granola" liberal arts college in the US; and I will state for the record that I've attended a pot party (though I didn't necessarily inhale during it) in my sophomore year at college!         

So, rather than aim to visit an Amsterdam coffeeshop, one of my goals when visiting The Netherlands' capital city was to spend some time hanging out in a "brown cafe" -- where coffee, not marijuana, is served but, also, more potent stuff such as all manner of alcoholic libations!  And an old "brown cafe" -- in particular, Cafe Hoppe, which has been in operation since 1670 -- was the very first place that I headed too after checking in and dropping my luggage at the Amsterdam hotel where I ended up spending the better part of a fortnight!  

The Dutch equivalent of a British pub or Japanese izakaya, "brown cafes" serve food as well as drink, and can be general mellow affairs outside of peak hours even while bustling and bursting at the seams at peak times.  The first time I visited Cafe Hoppe, I found only a Dutch language menu and, after recognizing the Dutch word for cheese (kaas), opted for a plate of that along with a glass of Belgian beer on tap.  On successive visits, however, I got bolder; with my ordering an ossenworst (a smoked raw beef sausage which I found delicoiusly addictive!) sandwich to eat on my second visit; and a plate of blakerverworst (AKA liverwurst, or blood sausage) on my third visit, for what would be my final meal in Amsterdam before I headed over to the aiport!
 
In addition to getting more daring in terms of what I ordered to eat, I also decided to "go for it" and try some jenever while I was in the Netherlands -- and found that I absolutely loved the drink, be it 15% or up to 40% alcohol, jonge (young, tasting like a lighter version of gin), oude (old, with whisky notes) or korenjwin (corn wine, and tasting somewhat brandy-ish) -- though I do draw the line with regards to those jenever which have blended -- diluted? -- with fruit (such as various types of berries or lemon)!

More than once, I also opted for kopstoot, as per the traditional order in Amsterdam.  Although this translates into English as "(a) blow to your head", it really wasn't that bad -- perhaps because I made sure that when I ordered this combination, my beer of choice was a pilsner that was lower in alcohol than the higher alcohol beers that are often available in Amsterdam bars (be they brewed in the Belgian, German and British styles)!  

Something that also undoubtedly helped is that I drank both those drinks slowly, rather than chugged them the way that, say, an American college fraternity "brother" would do so.  And while there are some who think that this makes it seem that I "drink like an old man", as one friend as put it, it does tend to (generally) ensure that I thankfully don't have a hangover and am not the worse for wear the next day! ;b