Add another item to the list of things only found in Amsterdam: a human powered, mobile pedal-pub.   The Fietscafe is giving carousers a new green, mostly clean, environmentally friendly way to explore the Dutch city aboard a pedal-powered vehicle equipped with kegs of beer for the swilling.

The Fietscafe seats 17 revelers, 10 of whom can pedal at once, leaving some room for musical chairs if someone gets tired.   According to their website, a sober driver is kept in tow to steer the contraption and a bartender is on board to look after the drinks on the often windy, bumpy and cobblestoned streets of Amsterdam.

For those of you wondering how all this is possible/legal, the answer is simply that the Dutch authorities have shown a remarkable level of tolerance throughout their history of which this is yet another example.   However, answers as to why someone would want to pedal around a city - even one as flat as Amsterdam - while trying to enjoy some delicious Dutch beer will be a little harder to come by.   You can catch a video clip of the Fietscafe below:

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If you’re looking for a way to learn how Europeans feel about their country and their continent, who better to ask than filmmakers from each and every country in the European Union. Well back in 2004 somebody did just that and Visions of Europe came to be. For the series, one prominent filmmakers from each EU country was asked to make a 5 minute film on “the current state of Europe.”

The directors included Austria’s Barbara Albert, Germany’s Fatih Akin, Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki Denmark’s Christoffer Boe, The UK’s Peter Greenaway and the Netherlands Theo van Gogh What resulted was a telling look at the political and personal landscape of Europe since the EU came to be.

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