Friday night in the other Gollem

After returning from paris, I quickly head home and have a shower, before heading off to meet Marilyn for a few drinks in the Pijp:



The Pijp is a cosmopolitan area of amsterdam full of little bars and cafe's. It is often over-looked by tourists, but is a very popular hang out for bar flys and after work parties of a Friday night.

I've not really seen Marilyn since Scotland, so we have lots to catch up on. She has been busy with, work uni and marathon running, so we blether away for quite a while. The first bar we went to had such bad service that we left some money on the table for our beer and left. Across the road was something that I'd heard of, but never seen.....

A second Gollem:



We decide to head over there for some real beer. Immediatlly on entering the bar, it's clear that there are a few differences between this Gollem and the other Gollem. This gollem is far more airy, and doesn't have the old smokey bar feel of it's sister bar. The menu is the same, but this bar is quieter and lazier. There are a few other belgian beer lovers sipping beers at various little corners of the bar, we order two La Chouffe's from the tap:



I used to consider La Chouffe to be a very special beer, but it's now a standard belgian beer, which I expect anytime belgian beers are offered(Though not always on tap)

A few beers later we are ready for the off. Marilyn to bed and me to sniff the air ready for the next bar.

The Kiwi has got some mates in town, so they are painting the town red. Currently they are in Susies Saloon, which is a bar on the fringes of the Red Light District:



I'm not sure if I've ever been in Susies Saloon. I used to drink in a bar along the road from it a lot in 2002, so I know the area. It's a mixture between tourists and ex-pats, all beer guzzling blokes really. This is a good thing, because the group is a bunch of beer guzzling kiwi's. We have a few beers here, and then head off to Leidseplein by bike. It;s very comical watching some Kiwi's who aren't that used to cycling trying to tackle mac bikes as we make our way accross Amsterdam. We eventually(And surprisingly) reach Leidseplein(Pronounced "Led Zeppelin" by Nine Inch Nina):



It's a nice night, so we have a few beers sitting outside. There are a group of people that the kiwi's had befriended in Susie's so we are quite a large group. These people seem to have itchy feet, and before we get onto our third pint, we are off to visit Rembrandtplein:



We seem to have managed to acheive a pub crawl round every tourist area of Amsterdam. I'm about ready for home. What a day!! Wake up in Paris, then finish the day by a relaxed beer in the Gollem followed by a pub crawl round Amsterdam.....

.....Bring on the weekend.