The George Lite Zone

Bitterzoet is one of the best clubs in Amsterdam to watch hip indie bands. A place where trendy isn't just a trend, the clientele are knowledgeable and the atmosphere is as cool as the beer. Brakes delivered once again delivered a superb set. This band really are as tight as a Kangeroo's kyber. Jackson, All Night Disco Party, Porcupine Or Pineapple, Spring Chicken... the songs rained down as the mood of those assembled soared. In these days of economic armageddon and the four horseman on the move it's great to find a band that don't take themselves too seriously and put a smile back on the face of popular music. An after gig drink with the band culminated in an extended dancing session in a Blues club near Leidersplein. An all night disco party indeed! Go out and buy their albums, you won't regret it.

This vehicle adds a whole new meaning to the expression Drink Driving. A pedal powered bar!! I hope these girls had a designated driver at the wheel.

Yet again Amsterdam's finest bar provides the venue for a demonstration of the remarkable recuperative powers of Dutch beer.

Walking across Dam Square with Calvin I came across the bizarre sight of this laughing horse. Perhaps someone told it a joke, perhaps it'd seen the Father Ted Eurovision episode, or perhaps it was just stoned. Either way it made for a good picture.

As hard rock bars go, Excalibur is the real deal. Owned by a group of local Hells Angels, it sits on the edge of the cities red light district, a heavy metal sword stuck in a classic rock. I met the couple pictured earlier, in the bowels of Chimera and it was their directions that brought me there. I also got talking to another group of Motorhead fans there who saw the Wolverhampton gig. They hailed from Chadsmore, Staffs, which is just up the road from my old stomping ground in the Midlands. Tis a small world. There followed a party of Geordies, all temporary Man Utd fans for the night (Sunderland's latest Premiership opponents). Howay the lads! Heineken was quaffed, refreshing the parts other beers cannot reach, and rock and roll was the order of the day (or order of the early evening at this point). On the music front, I was quite impressed with the Killswitch Engage that was played. According to the barman, it was from the bands self titled first album and sounded incredibly ti...

, Staying over on mainland Europe this weekend I thought that a return trip to the Dam was long overdue. And so it was I found myself heading off to Brussels Gare du Nord station and a two and a half hour train ride to the heart of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is a bizarre place. You walk into a shop, look up and a herd of cows looks back at you. Surreal. After this close encounter of the bovine kind I headed on down Dam Straat to Chimera in search of Christmas booty. A magical world of fairies, dragons, pixies and goth shop assistants. Several hours later, I finally emerged, having browsed their entire stock enumerable times before making my seasonal choices. Thirsty work this shopping, time for a beer.

Returning to Amsterdam after 3 years away was like slipping on an old pair of slippers, a comfortable feeling that I was in one of the few places I could happily call home. After pottering around the Dam square area in the morning, we headed off towards Cafe Gollum for lunch, one of my old stomping grounds, where the heady mix of great Blues Music and great beer put it in my great bars of the world list. Unfortunately I forgot it doesn't open till 4 o'clock. Drat. This particular Dutch cloud did however have a silver lining. Casting my eyes over the road I chanced upon a fine looking beer emporium called the Cracked Kettle . Not only do they have a tremendous selection of beers, but they also do mail order, which is nice to know. The chap behind the counter,it transpired, was from Kirkcaldy in the Kingdom of Fife. It's a wee world. Moving on from the Cracked Kettle, clutching a couple of newly acquired bottles of my favorite Trappist beer, Westvleteren, we moved on to anot...