Red Light District Pub Stumble
Amsterdam, The Netherlands - December 2022
After a hellacious overnight train ride to get us from Zurich to Amsterdam (I'm still recovering), we were in desperate need of a nap. We checked in to our hotel (amazing!) and hit the bed. We had booked a pub crawl online before we left the US, and since this particular one was a FIVE HOUR event and being of a certain age we needed to rest up.
After dinner we met up with the group at 9:00 at an Irish bar called Dirty Nelly's who had great American music playing. Immediately we were offered free shots. Yay! But they only pour in your mouth. Nah, not for me. Julie indulged and persuaded me to. Delish! Apple flavored vodka, my new favorite. I lost count how many we had at the first stop. Our group started to grow, and it was clear that Julie and I were the oldest of the bunch - by a lot. It made no difference to anyone there, so we just went with the flow. There is video of us enjoying ourselves, but I don't know if I could show my face in public again if that were to surface.
As we moved on to the second bar, those apple vodka shots and our beers were really kicking in. We found ourselves in a little hole in the wall type of bar (my kind of place). Packed but so much fun. And SO CHEAP. The bathroom was tiny and dark and not that clean, but all those beers were calling. Everyone was laughing and dancing. While ordering quite a few apple vodka shots at the bar (because it was embarrassing to ask the crawl hosts for more free ones), I taught the bartenders how to make a Liquid Marijuana shot. I thought I was doing them a huge favor. In retrospect, I probably made a huge ass of myself.
The third bar was equally fun and once again our hosts really kept the drinks coming. I don't remember specifics about this stop, but I know I drank more shots, danced and had a blast! And on to the next one... through the Red-Light District with all the lovely ladies in the windows. Wowza. In my drunken state I was sure I could be one of them. [insert eye roll here]
And we're at our fourth stop. I remember dancing and shots and more dancing and more shots. I lost sight of Julie multiple times in the crowd and would eventually find her on the dance floor. We were so intoxicated from cocktails and laughter that I was never panicked about losing her in a bar in a foreign country. Everyone in our group was so fun and they treated us like old friends. Time to move onto the final stop. But wait, I can't find my coat. Julie and I both look, and a couple of our new friends helped, too. No luck, I was going to have to walk to the next bar with no coat. Oh, did I mention it was like 13 degrees? Great. A rather handsome young man from the US, who was wearing a heavy pullover sweater and no coat, loaned me his very expensive gloves. By this time the stumble portion of the evening was happening. Somehow Julie and I got separated from the group and we found ourselves drunk and on our own. We somehow had enough common sense to just head back to the hotel. I've mentioned how unreliable Ubers are in Europe, so when we saw what we assumed was a taxi we just climbed in.
On the drive to the hotel, for some reason we FaceTimed my granddaughter (20) back in the states and told her about our night. She later said we were hysterical. I don't even remember talking to her. Our taxi was a minivan and when we got to the hotel, I had trouble getting out. You've seen those videos on Instagram and TikTok with the drunk girls falling in the bushes. That was me falling out of the van. It was then that I realized I hadn't returned the gloves. It was also then that I realized that I had lost the gloves. Ah man, that stinks, that dude was so sweet. Oh well, things happen when you drink shots (and perhaps partake of other goodies commonly associated with Amsterdam). All in all, what a night! I can't recommend this enough. Get it on your to-do list asap.