Mar 14, 2009
Amsterdam’s Brown Cafes
Among the many pleasures you can experience in Amsterdam are the ‘brown cafes’ — so-called because, well, they’re brown.
The original brown cafes are brown for two reasons: their interior design includes lots of wood, and just about everything in the place is stained by decades, sometimes centuries worth of nicotine.
Cafe Kalkhoven, across from the Westerkerk and thus close to the Anne Frank House, is a prime example — having been in business since 1670.
There are also lots of nouveau brown cafes, in which the yellow-brown patina is carefully painted onto aged wood in order to achieve the gezellige atmosphere brown cafes are known for.
‘Gezellig’ is a Dutch word that simply cannot be translated. Yet once you have read the explanation your sure know what it is.
One result of the smoking ban, forced on the Dutch since July 2008, means that all brown cafes have now reached a status quo. They won’t get any browner.
The opposite of a brown cafe is any establishment whose surroundings make you feel like you’re visiting an airport toilet facility. Definitely ongezellig.
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