The following episode based on local advice in Amsterdam took place in July, 2014
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‘You know,’ he says. His English perfect, just like all Dutch people. ‘I’ve been coming here ever since it opened. Almost thirty years now. This is where I would come with my friends after work. We would have a beer, chat about life and then go home. Back then this place was a quiet local pub. Now….’ He looks around and points at the crowd.
The place is packed with tourists drinking beer. Noisy, drunk, animated. We are sitting on a bench a little bit away from the crowd, my friend and I, with the married couple we just met. They are in their early sixties, well dressed, sipping each their beer.