Bowling in Amsterdam had been on my to-do list for... umm... four years now, and I'm proud to say I finally had my first bowling experience over the weekend. We tried to go on Christmas Day and they were totally full, so we booked for the following day. You check your coat (supposedly mandatory - but also one euro per item - but I saw lots of people inside with their coats), go to the desk to find our your lane assignment and pay (34 euros or so for an hour and a half), and then get your shoes before going inside. Unlike in the US where they have the shoes behind a counter, here they are self-service in cubbies. Have I ever mentioned before that Amsterdam has low hygiene standards (cats in cafes and restaurants, serving breads and cakes with bare hands, etc.)? Well, those low standards hold here too - you wear the shoes, put them back, and then someone else grabs them. NO CLEANING! Gross.
Anyways, once inside we waited not so patiently for the people in our lane to move. The good thing is there are automatic timers on each lane and the scoring systems shuts down when your time is up. The bad thing is that doesn't mean people clear out quickly. But after this delay we got some drinks and the bowling was on. Good balls, good lanes, good music, good atmosphere. At 7:30 they turned the lights on which I did not understand - it was much nicer with the lights out. Anyways, you can order a drink and they will bring it to your lane which I think is great. They were fairly attentive with cleaning up empty glasses, etc. Not so attentive with wiping counters. But for how busy they were I think they kept it together pretty well. Overall a fun time. read more