🎉 Unforgettable stag and hen parties in Amsterdam
I love noisy and fun parties with dancing until the morning. Before getting married, going to a bar, karaoke or a themed party was a common thing for me. Therefore, it was not very easy to figure out how to say goodbye to single life so that it would be remembered within the confines of your city.
I was planning to fly to Amsterdam for a bachelorette party several years ago on the eve of a friend’s wedding. But the celebration had to be postponed from the end of summer to the beginning of spring, and the crazy party in the “city of freedom” had to be replaced with relaxation in the spa. When I gathered the girls and announced my engagement, they immediately said: “We’re flying to Amsterdam!”
The idea of Amsterdam did not leave my future husband indifferent either. I wanted his holiday to be no less euphoric. “You and your friends will also fly, but on different dates, or on the same ones, but we’ll rent accommodation in different places and won’t overlap,” I suggested. As a result, he also decided to go to Amsterdam two weeks before the wedding, and in addition to my option of separating the parties, he also bought tickets from another city.
Netherlands, wait!
The girls and I ran into the airport literally a few minutes before registration closed. We were wearing black T-shirts and porta pei – it’s customary to choose similar outfits for a bachelorette party, but we didn’t want something like a veil and pink blouses. “Are you going to perform?” asked the girl who was issuing boarding passes. “You could say that,” I answered, smiling.
When I boarded Belavia, I didn’t immediately realize how lucky we were. Only when the flight attendant asked what we would drink: wine, champagne or something else, it dawned on me: we are up to the curtain – which means we are in business class. A great start to the bachelorette party!
The guys went to Warsaw. We decided that we would start the party on the bus to the airport. But the road is the road – they were very tired and arrived in the Netherlands like squeezed lemons. Fortunately, the “city of freedom” quickly brought them back to their senses.
“Pink Saturday” in Amsterdam
It is convenient to get from the airport to the center of the capital by metro. Getting off the train, we immediately suspected something was wrong: there were a lot of people around, revealingly and brightly dressed. It’s as if everyone in the city is having a bachelorette and bachelor party, and we were poorly prepared and dressed up too modestly.
The city was incredibly colorful: ribbons, garlands, balloons, music and dancing everywhere. On the way to the hotel, the girls and I stopped by a bar. The waitress, drawing rainbow pictures on our shoulders with markers, explained what was happening. “You came to Amsterdam on the first weekend of August, which means it was Pink Saturday,” she said. “Every year these days there is a gay pride parade here!”
The guys realized what was going on in the city when they saw almost naked girls and men in thongs and feathers sailing on boats along the canals. What was happening around added atmosphere to our celebration.
What to do for a bachelorette party and stag party in Amsterdam?
Development treatment 1: admire the city
It’s a pleasure to wander around Amsterdam and enjoy its atmosphere even without a gay pride parade. Picturesque canals and houses along them, bicycles and boats everywhere – very unusual. The city has many museums and art galleries: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Madame Tussauds, Nemo and others. You can check out the floating flower market and cheese tasting shops.
Activity 2: Take a boat ride along the canals
A huge number of river buses and yachts ply around the city. There is an option to rent a private boat and have a party on it. But it’s also great to ride in an ordinary tour boat. You can take beer on board. I love looking at architecture from the water, driving under bridges and waving to people floating or passing by.
In Amsterdam, such a walk has a special vibe. We saw naked people on balconies; men peeing in open toilets by canals; walking around the city after the end of the parade of representatives of the LGBT community. And we laughed and laughed and laughed.
Entertainment 3: visit a coffee shop
Dutch coffee shops are not about coffee at all. These are “smoking rooms” where soft drugs are legally sold. There are ready-made joints of different strengths and cakes with marijuana or hashish. Smoking is only allowed in establishments. Alcoholic drinks are prohibited on their premises.
You can also come in and just sit at a table in a smoky cafe. Surprise the waiter by ordering just coffee and watch others – it's also fun.
I was interested in tasting the baked goods. Those who had this experience warned that for the first time it is better to eat half the cake. I ordered a marijuana muffin. Chewing a fresh chocolate cupcake and washing it down with coffee, I couldn’t believe that it was made according to a special recipe. The effect appeared after a couple of hours and lasted until the morning.
Fun 4: Visit the Museum of Sex
Or the Temple of Venus, its second name, is the most popular museum on the topic of sexuality. Erotic images and paintings, sculptures and dolls, lingerie and accessories – there is a lot here about love pleasures. It also tells the story of the Red Light District.
Entertainment 5: catch a show at the Sex Theater
Casa Rosso is located in the Red Light District and has been operating since 1969. Here you can see not only striptease, but also sexual acts. Pornographic performances are not always aesthetically pleasing; they often resemble acrobatic performances or funny shows. The cast is for different tastes and colors, as they say.
Spectators from the front rows may be invited onto the stage. If you don’t want such an adventure and are not ready to look at everyone and everything in detail, sit further away.
Neither we nor the guys got here – there was a huge queue at the entrance, and we didn’t want to waste any time on it. And to be honest, I wasn't sure I was ready to see this show.
Fun 6: Window shopping in the Red Light District
This place comes alive in the evening. The windows light up red, the curtains open and ladies in sexy outfits begin to flirt with men passing by. The guys, of course, had more fun here. But the girls and I weren’t bored either, especially when we wandered into a street with transvestites in the shop windows.
Fun 7: go dancing
On Pink Saturday, Dam Square and other parts of the city turned into a dance floor. Men and women in colorful outfits gave themselves over to electronic music. It was so captivating to watch. Especially after the coffee shop, if you know what I mean.
The Red Light District also houses nightclubs. They are so soundproofed that you might not pay attention and pass by. The girls and I spent a long time looking for where to look. And we accidentally stumbled upon a place where they played old-school R'n'B – it was like I was at a school disco again. It was very cool.
How to recover after a party?
On Sunday I wanted to take a break from the city that continued to celebrate the “Pink” weekend. We looked at the map. “Oh, let’s go to the sea,” said one of the friends. The North Sea is 30 km from the center of Amsterdam. We looked at the train schedule – and 40 minutes later we were chilling on the beach, coming to our senses thanks to the cool wind and the soothing sound of the waves.
Share your stories in the comments: what else can you do for a bachelor and bachelorette party in Amsterdam? Your ideas may be needed by those who are also planning to go on an adventure to the “city of freedom” on the eve of their wedding.