Last night I had a surprising "in between" night cap in Wallen / Singel - cost me altogether some 60 , after a meeting I had to join I returned around 10.30 pm passed Schiphol - I decided to take my time and do some inspections in the RLD's but back home didn't feel comfortable bicycling through the cold ... so I steered the machine directly downdown and could comfortaby park it close to Bergstraat along the canal.

I was again after finding my fav. czechie hot babe Maya in Singel Teerketelsteeg, after all the real punteringblood always goes where it can't go , again I was disappointed - where the hell is she ....., didn't see her for two months at least , went to Wallen where I'm always tuning-up the (my ) mutations then back to Teerketelsteeg (along the Church and in line with Oude Nieuwstraat , the first 3 window on first floor. Looking up and not seeing her I turned around and ... there she was standing behind me in the cold, " hey hey hey , who are you looking for " surprise surprise , she was waiting for her room-key to start the nightshift. After some hugs and chats I promised I come see her and went to my fav. bar in Nieuwezijds Kolk , only 200 m from there. I'm (always) addicted to the bartender girls there, a polish and a belgian, and every now and then lots more.
Being Dutch I'm always the only tourist there because the population is completely international , with all the hotels around , many poolplayers , so one guy came from the pooltable up to me , ordering a pint , and said very friendly

"hi , how's the crack "

that's a good one, I said something like "uh uh ... " ,
"yes , how's the crack .... how are you" ( never heard that one ! )

So , who's to learn me some more Irish slang ..... !

Did some beers and chat (and a flint of vitamin )

an hour later found Maya , mixed blonde (more brunette now) in the topwindow most to the right , gorgeous , sweet and fun, she's kind of skinny , but wowwww when she's in service dress , up the stairs then ....

50 a half hour easy , young girl , she really cracked me .... , exchanged phone numbers....

what a good day it was !

Hi Wim,

the "crack" or "craic", to use the Gaelic spelling is the Irish equivalent to Gezellig. It refers to general good times, atmosphere and enjoyment.

If you should be addressed in this manner again, the traditional response is to say, 'the craic's 90!'.

E.g.
Drunken Irishman: 'Hi , how's the crack '

Wim: ' The craic's 90 big lad!'.

The term is also immortalised by the Irish folk singer Christy Moore, in the song:
The Craic was Ninety in the Isle of Man.

Sláinte!

Nolan.

DELETED

...or maybe it's how much it costs.

H

That's the very thinking! So if the craic is 90 you're having a good one. :-)

Where exactly is this favorite bar you speak of? The name perhaps? I wouldn't mind shooting some pool with some other tourists where the beer is cold and the bartenders hot. Sounds tempting!

Greetz Wim! A funny post for sure...

Of course, when someone asks you the same question in a bar here in NYC, it would raise my eyebrows as I'd likely think they were referring to something other than simply the good times!

But it is indeed wonderful to learn the many ways of the world and hear how many different ways there are to say "how you doin'?" It's also nice to know the best way to reply to an Irish greeting like that, so cheers for sharing Nolan.

Back to your post Wim, did someone mention service uniform? ;-) Ah, whatever happened to the beautiful Iris from Barcelona...I miss her costume and my room certainly could use a good cleaning with her hands! It sounds as though you had a special little nightcap there, good on you!

Looking forward to my visit...two weeks to go....

'Till then Wim, always the best, and may your craic remain 90+!
~uberchef.

Thx Nolan for Irish lessons , maybe it's time for me to meet an Irish lassie in the Wallen .....

Tryinitout - the bar is The Abyss (in Dutch that means kolk) , on Nieuwezijds Kolk , (the square halfway Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal) there are many bars there , but The Abyss is next to the Intel hotel .
Playing pool, and always English football on the screens ....
It's halfway the walk from Wallen to Singel , so you can decide for both sides ....

Uberchef , see you soon overhere , Iris left for Barcelona , but all the girls who scream "I've seen it here! " come back after 3 months .....

cheers from Wim

fo' shizzle my nizzle, them Irish lads talk funny.

(I don't know what the fizzuck I'm talking about, ehhhh?)

Wim, Wim, Wim...

When will you ever learn English??? I know, about 50 years before I learn Nederlandse. But first, it was too cold for you to bike to Singelgebeid? Amazing! Don't let those "cuties" see the rocket or they will know you have money. (I'm referring to the green rocket that you ride in, not the red one that they all know and love)

Another "old school" usage of the term "Crack" from the other side of the Atlantic that instantly came to mind (and I certainly have used many times in the past) is what I believe you folks lovingly refer to as Pooosey..........

Of course if the lads were Irish and they were under, say 50, that would not be the correct definition.

Hey, don't direct too many people to the Abyss, they wouldn't know what to do with more than three at the bar. Of course there were those "cuties and sweeties" from the batchelorette party in addition to the bartenders but they were pretty much self serve. Pity!

TZMF,

Skip

Skip,

"When will you ever .... " , now you know that I am doing a course in Romanian language these days , admitted that it's bed-talk (not bad-talk! ) , mixed up with at least a thousand kisses / 4 hours, on the rhytm of the music , you might have observed that ....

Crack (krak) is Dutch for pooosey ? , mmmmm , you find that in the translator, did you , not bad , anyway one of the many synonyms for "a good shag" or a "good lay" is "a good crack" in Dutch. So in the Wallen you can buy "crack" indoors , as well as "crack" in the street.

Now, where is the Irish "How's the crack?" from as "have a good day?" , I think it's related to "the crack of dawn" .... ?

I've been working at least two years at the "Cat Cracker" , now YOU know exactly what I'm talking about , the main composite of the gasoline your Hummer guzzles is cat cracked distillate , brought up to octane-spec with platformate.


Nolan,

I still don't get "the craic's 90 good lad" ..... , when the sun is at 90 it's maximum ..... mmmmm ........

My father always said ," big thinkers are big beasts as well "

Cheers from Wim

Wim,

No, I didn't find crack in the translator because it isn't Dutch. Crack is an "old school" American term that means the same thing as what you Dutch call "poosey".

Four hour lessons in Romanian? You are the man!! BTW, you might interest withnail in your teacher........... I would love to learn Latvian, or at least some Deutsch, oh well, something to do over the next 50 weeks.

I didn't know that hummers had anything to do with gasoline... oh, you mean the car called the Hummer. My definition is better and far less expensive.

Be well,

Skip

You can get up at the crack of dawn, although that's not all it's cracked up to be. When a joke is funny, I crack up with laughter. Wim is always cracker jack when it come to wimrocketing me to paradise. When I see the ass crack of a girl I like, I crack a smile. And, no, I am not a crackhead, though some think I'm cracked.

Krakatoa was a big volcano.

.

.

Said to be:
Not far from the main square, a garish but busy pub. Can be a bit 'lively' from time to time.

Ze Crack
Lange Veerstraat 34, 2011 DB HAARLEM, 023-5322292