JANUARY 20, 2016 25

STEPSTRAVEL DINING FITNESS

There’s much more to the Dutch capital than canals and cannabis.

BY MATTHEW WEXLER

Amsterdam’s annualgay pride parade onthe canals.

DESTINATION:

24 HOURS INAMSTERDAM

26 JANUARY 20, 2016

Start your day anytime at De Bakker-swinkel (debakkerswinkel.com), an all-day breakfast joint serving up freshpastries with homemade jams, quiches,and freshly brewed coffee to give yourjourney a jolt. Each location has its ownunique interior.

Old-school New Yorkers who rememberA Different Light bookstore will appre-ciate Vrolijk (vrolijk.nu), Amsterdam’s

LGBT book and DVD shop. Stop by topick up a map of gay spots and wanderupstairs to flirt with locals in the café.

There are 75 museums in Amsterdam,but if you’ve only got time for one, theVan Gogh (vangoghmuseum.nl) is a daz-zling celebration of the Dutch post-Im-pressionist painter’s work. Spend theextra five euros for the award-winningmultimedia guide, a multisensory touch-screen that offers additional insights.Don’t miss the upcoming Easy Virtue ex-

hibition, which explores images of pros-titution in French art from 1850 to 1910.

You won’t forget an afternoon at one ofthe city’s legendary coffeehouses wherecannabis reigns supreme. Rolling a jointis an art, so best to leave it to the pros atAmnesia (yelp.com/biz/amnesia-ams-terdam) who produce jumbos in arange of strengths, including organicoptions. Edibles are also offered butproceed with caution! Their potencycan catch you off guard.

Stop for a sweet treat at Puccini Bom-boni (puccinibombini.com), an artisanchocolate shop offering more than adozen varieties of decadent truffles,

STEPS

DE BAKKERSWINKEL

VAN GOGH MUSEUM

VROLIJK

AMNESIA

PUCCINI BOMBONI

T ruth be told, 24 hours in Amsterdam isn’tenough. The city’s maze of waterways andcanal-side attractions is enough to lure you

for a lifetime. But if you must, add these essen-tial attractions to your itinerary for a sampling ofwhat the “Venice of the North” has to offer.

JANUARY 20, 2016 27

TRAVEL

plus concoctions likechocolate blocksstudded withdried fruits andnuts, crispy waferssprinkled in cacaosugar, and choco-late-covered marzipan.

Amsterdam has been an internationaltrading post for centuries and offers abounty of sweet and spicy Indonesianoptions. Blue Pepper’s (restaurantblue-pepper.com) upscale menu deliversspicy riffs on iconic dishes like venisonsaté and daily fresh fish with spicy sauce.

There are plenty of overcrowded optionsto tour the canals, but for euros wellspent you can charter one of ReinhardSpronk’s private saloon boats, whichhave been meticulously restored. Thevintage Rederij de Jordaan (rederijde-jordaan.amsterdam) vessels can accom-modate up to 12 people but are equallysuitable for a romantic sunset cruise.

One of the city’s friendliest gay bars, Prik(prikamsterdam.nl) welcomes a diversecrowd of strapping Dutch men and their

admirers. Daily specials like €3,50Grolsch pints on Monday nights and €6cocktails on Thursdays sweeten the spoteven more.

Pray that you have the stamina to lastthe night—and maybe morning—atClub Church (clubchurch.nl), a cruisytwo-story club where anything andeverything can happen. If weekly eventslike Furball and Spank! are any indica-tion, it’s all hands on deck for whateveryour libido desires. It’s easy to play safehere with free condoms and lube avail-able throughout the venue. NPH

OTOS

COUR

TESY

OF M

ATTH

EW W

EXLE

R

BLUE PEPPER

REDERIJ DE JORDAAN

CLUB CHURCH

PRIK

A twilight view of one ofAmsterdam’s canals.