It could very well be that you have to be a person of the male persuasion to appreciate this bar. Around since 1606 or 1629, depending on whom you talk to, it considers itself to be Amsterdam’s oldest bar and after checking out the shabby furniture and sand-worn floors it won’t get any argument from us. Roughly 400 years ago sailors and other rough characters could sit here and admire the view of the ships on the IJ way before the train station cut off this port city from the water. Today you can sip a local beer or jenever here with middle-aged men who kiss one another on the cheek in manly fashion.