Ah, Amsterdam

I greatly enjoyed your description of Amsterdam (“Canal Zone,” Traveling in Style, Oct. 17), but I wanted to clear up two points. Your so-called “smoking cafes” are actually known as “coffee shops.” Cafe signifies the sale of alcohol, which is generally looked down upon by the cannabis-providing community.

The other thing is the comment that “service, considering the usually stoned state of the waiters, may be quite slow.” How American! To begin, service is often prompt and courteous. The problem is getting your bill. Most Europeans consider it rude to hurry their customers, so they politely wait until they can tell you wish to pay. Don’t just sit there--signal the waiter. Cannabis, on the other hand, is payment upon receipt, after which you can luxuriate in your experiences until closing time, if you wish.

CHRIS CONRAD

Curator, Hemp Museum

of Amsterdam

Editor’s note: The author of the story, Alexander Frater, is British.

As one who has fought his way more than once through the reverential mob clustered before Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, I’d like to point out that the painting described as the “Night Watch” in Alexander Frater’s excellent article is a painting by a lesser-known artist hanging, I do believe, in the Historical Museum on the Kalverstraat, where, incidentally, you can enjoy the best bacon or apple pancakes in Holland.

BOB DE VRIES

Redondo Beach

Editor’s note: The painting in question was indeed misidentified. It is “Korporaalschad van Roelof Bicker” (1639), a work by Bartholemeus van der Helst. It does, however, hang in the Rijksmuseum. Letters to the Travel Editor should be brief and are subject to condensation. Send letter, including a telephone number, to: Travel Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square , Los Angeles 90053.