Filed under: coffeeshop, marihuana, Restaurants & Bars
Coffeeshop Nieuwe Dampkring
Nieuwe Dampkring, Haarlemmerstraat 44, has the same cosy atmosphere as its sister coffeeshop, Dampkring in Handboogstraat, but Nieuwe Dampkring has a completely different approach to colour scheme and architectural design.
The outside of the building is in traditional Amsterdam style. The inside is three floors of steel, chrome, hi-tech video installation and special effects-lighting. All this creates a 21st century industrial feel emphasized by an earthly colour scheme with lots of greens and blacks.
The lower floor of the coffeeshop allows lots of sun through the huge windows which makes the place bright and cheerful. The coffee bar with hash menu is near the entrance. At the back is the juice bar with freshly made snacks and organic fruit juices.
The first (or second for the US) floor is the place to chill out, roll a joint while enjoying the view on to the street. At night the walls light up in a spectacular way.
On the second (or third for the US) floor are large video screens showing movies on request. This part of the Dampkring is quieter and more private and a great place to enjoy a joint or simply enjoy an espresso.
photo credit: personal collection
2 Comments
I heard on American news last month that the selling of marijuana in Amsterdam had just been outlawed. This is a shocking revelation, if true. I can not believe they would shoot themselves in the foot to kill their tourism base this way, especially in these difficult economic times.
Please advise from there.
Marijuna selling has not been outlawed yet but Coalition Project 1012 says that 26 coffeeshops in Amsterdam’s Red Light District must close down within the next three years. This project was designed to clean up this part of the city and to get back control. Over the past years tighter laws and increased police vigilance made it for small growers more difficult to supply weed etc. Organised crime stepped in and took over a large part of the supply chain. At the moment Amsterdam has 226 coffee shops, 76 are in the Red Light District. This number will be reduced to 50 over the next three years. We’ll just have to see what is going to happen in the next three years. However, I think that coffeeshops will never disappear completely in Amsterdam.