Travel Tip: Two Types of Cafés in the Netherlands, with Very Different Bestsellers!

By MOOK Scenic Spots Family Travel Life Network, Reported by Chen Guanxin

 

Strolling through the streets of the Netherlands, if you want to enjoy an exotic afternoon with a cup of coffee or immerse yourself in an old-fashioned café and savor the traces of time, remember to ask for a “Brown Café.” If you ask for a “Coffee Shop,” then you might not get a good cup of coffee—and could end up eating a “cannabis cake” laced with marijuana.

It turns out that there are two types of “cafés” in the Netherlands. The Brown Café, as commonly referred to, denotes historic or atmospherically aged cafés. These spots often feature dim yet cozy lighting, wooden interiors, and walls stained with smoke marks, all exuding the nostalgic charm of old Dutch ambiance. Many visitors to the Netherlands make it a point to find a traditional brown café, order a rich cup of coffee paired with authentic Dutch apple pie, and soak in the leisurely, culturally rich atmosphere.

 

In addition to Brown Cafés, the Netherlands also has another famous type of café—the Coffee Shop. People who visit Coffee Shops are usually not there for the coffee but for the marijuana. The Netherlands is one of the few places in the world where smoking marijuana is openly permitted. As long as it's in moderation and in appropriate locations, you can freely indulge in a bit of a high. The so-called appropriate place refers to the Coffee Shop, whose atmosphere is entirely different from that of a Brown Café, attracting mostly young hippies and subculture enthusiasts.

In fact, many studies have shown that the harm of marijuana to individuals and society is far less than that of spirits like whiskey. People who smoke marijuana typically only lose themselves in their own world and are not aggressive—only when they run out of money to buy drugs might they engage in anti-social behavior. Therefore, the Dutch government has chosen to distinguish soft drugs like marijuana from hard drugs like heroin, limiting the legal use of soft drugs and controlling their prices. This approach has proven effective, as the proportion of hard drug users in the Netherlands is actually relatively low worldwide. So, if you’re looking to get high, head to a Coffee Shop; if you just want a coffee, go somewhere else. Also, Coffee Shops sell a type of cannabis cake (Space Cake)—delicious as it may be, don’t eat the whole thing!

 

 

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