I awake from a very deep sleep, still stoned. Remembering that we have a big day ahead of us today I scurry around looking for a timepiece and some glasses to enable me to read it.
Before I continue, let me just recap a bit and fill in some background, just in case you weren't following the build up to 4/20.
It all started way back at the beginning of February when we were discussing the possibility of a crawl out east. The thought was to start at Ballonnetje and then explore the cluster by the windmill (Happy People, Eastwood and Trefpunt). If we were feeling keen we might then continue all the way out to The Stud before, maybe, returning via some more Oost shops.
Around the same time I happened to be corresponding with the owner of The Stud who had just sent me a picture for the site. He invited me to visit the shop so I asked whether he'd like to host a small group of hard smoking ACDers. He said that we'd be more than welcome and that he'd lay on a surprise for us.
That prompted a slight change of plan. Rather than a vague aspiration to head eastwards, we decided to set a firm course for The Stud.
Then, about a week before the planned crawl, Ballonnetje got in touch to say that they'd read that we were planning to visit and that if I confirmed numbers and time they'd arrange some broodjes and goodies for us and reserve some space.
So, now we had two coffeeshops offering us a VIP reception in one day! That's why this is a big day. Not only that but it's also Macky's birthday. If all goes to plan, it promises to be very special indeed.
Phew! I haven't overslept and missed it all. It's about eleven so I've got a couple of hours to shower, eat and walk to Ballonnetje. Sounds reasonably relaxed. Might even have time for a spliff.
Ablutions performed, cereal eaten, tea drunk, quick message on the forum posted. I think that's everything covered. Must be time to set off.
Walking down the east bank of the Amstel I encounter a couple of tourists with a map. "Do you live here?" one asks. "No, but I know a bit", I offer.
"So, we're by the Skinny Bridge, here, and we're trying to find the Seven Bridges", he says, pointing at the Walter Süskindbrug across the Nieuwe Herengracht.
"No, that's the Skinny Bridge", I say, pointing at the bridge over the Amstel. "You need to follow that canal over there", now pointing over the river at the Herengracht. I suggest they cross the Blauwbrug and walk along the Herengracht until the seven bridges of the Reguliersgracht come into view.
From the Amstel I turn onto Nieuwe Prinsengracht and then Nieuwe Achtergracht, cross the busy Weesperplein and emerge on to Roetersstraat, right next to Het Ballonnetje.
Het BallonnetjeAnother flashback. This time nearly 30 years!
Back in 1988 I made my first ever visit to Amsterdam. A girlfriend and I stayed in a little room above the laundromat on Warmoesstraat. We'd heard about these mythical coffeeshops and a friend of ours had given us directions to the Bulldog, which he'd checked out on a recent visit. Other than that, we knew nothing. There was no Internet as we know it back then, let alone an ACD.
On the train from Schiphol to Centraal we got chatting with a local who told us about his favourite coffeeshop, Het Ballonnetje, and marked it on a map for us.
During that trip I bought my first copy of Kip's Mellow Pages and learnt about loads of good shops but, as my first serious coffeeshop, Ballonnetje always has a special place in my heart.
I've been back several times over the years. My favourite spot was the little table in front of the vivarium shown bottom right in this picture from 2006.
June 2006
Inside, I find that Het Ballonnetje has changed a bit since I was last here.
There's now a short corridor leading to a counter and a remotely locked door into the remaining space. Through the window I can see some of the crew inside. I then discover that the queue to the counter also includes KeyMonCha.
Brief introductions all round and we're through the door to the big table where there's already a session in progress. The CopenhagenCouple, Danny211204, Drugsbunny, Madmaxxx, Matty223, OneHighMofo, Rickydude and Smirks are joined by KeyMonCha and me. We're soon also joined by DeLekkersteNUGS16 and then we're all pleased to see that Spidergawd and Miss Muffett have made it out here. The gang is completed when Lafe arrives.
When I discussed this idea with Ballonnetje I predicted we might get 6 to 12 people but that I really had no idea. There are now 15 of us around the table. With a bit of shuffling and extra chairs, we're all in.
Looking around, much has changed but it's still very smart. This is the wall behind where the dealer counter used to be:
The mezzanine level is now sealed off as a tobacco smoking area:
The entrance end of the room is partitioned off so that a corridor leads to the counter and a door restricts access to the seating area:
Meanwhile, in the middle of the room is this big table reserved for the ACD Forum. In the middle of the table is a pile of broodjes, as promised.
broodjesNot only that, there are also big bags labelled Tangie, G13 and SFV.
I'll leave it to the experts to review these properly but they all seemed very nice to me. I gather from DeLekkersteNUGS16's account that these were actually SFV OG, Tangie and G13xMr.Nice. OneHighMofo also mentions these in his travelogue and both seemed very impressed. Hopefully we'll get more reviews of them as more travelogues emerge over time.
At the bar I ask for a coffee. Not sure if it's my senility or just being overwhelmed by the situation but I forget to ask for my coffee to be wrong (koffie verkeerd). A little pot of milk soon fixes that, and all free of charge for a Forum member. We're getting well spoiled here.
All around the table and on every available horizontal surface, papers and all kinds of paraphernalia are being pressed into service. Industrial scale production and consumption is in progress. Smirks has found a working house bong so he's happy.
I decide to nominate Smirks as our Official Bong Correspondent, tasked with rating shops on the quality of their house bongs.
Mr CC says something about the times we're supposed to be at various places and sounds very organised. I declare him to be our Official Time Correspondent, tasked with being in charge of everything chronological. Mrs CC then contradicts all of that by suggesting we should do whatever we like whenever we like. An attitude I can relate to. I think she should be our Anarchy Correspondent. The CCs are such a close couple, maybe this yin/yang aspect is why.
Miss Muffett announces that a snap election has been called back in the UK. I declare her to be our Reality Correspondent, tasked with reporting back from the real world to our little cloud.
That's as far as I get with allocating roles to everyone because, just then, I get allocated a role myself. I'm called over to the bar where someone is holding a pile of shirts and hats. They tell me that all of the stuff is for us but there's not enough to go round. As 'leader' of this crew I'm expected to find an equitable means of distributing the merchandise. They suggest a competition or something.
At this point I'm far too stoned to organise anything, not even a smoke-up in a coffeeshop (oh wait, what are we doing?) Anyway, this is a responsibility I can do without.
We consider just dumping the pile in the middle of the table. That sounds an easy way out but might either cause a riot or just result in them being abandoned because everyone is too polite to take one. The food is still sitting there, after all.
In the end I decide to just hand them around as randomly as possible. I'm feeling quite random so I should be quite qualified to do that.
The first couple of people I offer one to decline so I find myself wandering around with this heap of clothing hoping someone will take something. The next few people are more enthusiastic and, by the time I get to the opposite corner of the room, they're all gone. It feels like I've spread them fairly evenly but Danny later complains that I missed him out. I haven't kept one for myself either.
The back of that t-shirt is very cool and unsubtle. I may have to write to Ballonnetje and see if I can scrounge one. I'd enjoy wearing that in our local village pub.
We've been here for nearly two hours. We could probably do two more but we have another appointment. Seems a little rude to say we've smoked all of your buds and now we're going to see what we can blag in another coffeeshop. On the other hand, they might be glad to get rid of us. Either way, it's time to think about moving.
Through the window I can see that the sun is still shining. Looks like a nice day for walking to The Stud. Once I mention this to the others, things seem to start moving quite quickly.
A small group has gathered outside and is already getting impatient for me to show them the way. I quickly thank all of the staff for their fantastic hospitality and ask for a bottle of water for the walk. They only have a glass bottle, which they offer to pour into a glass for me. I explain that I'd just like the bottle, sans cap. More thank yous and we're off.
Danny211204, Drugsbunny, KeyMonCha, Matty223 and Smirks are hiking with me. A short way in, Matty turns back. I tend to walk rather quickly so I try leading from the back, letting the others set the pace.
We enter Oosterpark via its north side and then head for the bridge over the lake. KeyMonCha has some serious-looking camera gear but has a flat battery or something so I lend him my Instamatic.
Oosterpark and me by KeyMonCha
Going diagonally through the park brings us out by Smoke Palace. Another shop gets pictured. Tick.
Smoke PalaceFrom there it's underneath Muiderpoort station and follow the railway around until The Stud comes into view.
The StudApparently, a little before we arrived the shop was full of people and they were getting worried that there may not be space for us. A 'Plan B' involving a room upstairs was being considered. Then, shortly before we arrived, a large group departed.
We are ushered into a nice room at the back of the shop with comfy chairs, a couple of tables, an Internet terminal and a Volcano. Loads of us have made it out here, some by tram, some by bike and some on foot.
More free drinks and an even bigger pile of bags appear on the table. We really are a lucky band of stoners. They're certainly making it worth our while trekking out here. It's a very nice shop and they're showing us amazing generosity and hospitality.
Again I'll leave it to the experts to review all of those buds and hashes. Suffice to say they're getting me even more stoned. There are at least six different weed varieties and at least two hashes from the menu scattered around for everybody to consume by whatever means they see fit.
The computer is looking at me. It has some kind of video on it at the moment. With a bit of assistance from someone more Apple-savvy and/or less wrecked than me, I get it onto the Internet and log into the Forum. Working around the room I note everyone present and type their names into the live thread. I think there are as many as 14 of us here. This is an incredible achievement considering how far from the centre we are but I'm sure everyone is glad they made the effort to be a part of this magnificent session.
Suddenly a chant of Volcano! Volcano! rings out around the room. We'll need the big bag says someone and a member of the Stud crew smiles broadly and scurries off to fetch said item.
In hindsight, I think this was the only Volcano I came across during the whole week. It did a round or two but we didn't really use it as much as we probably should have.
DeLekkersteNUGS16's Sticky Brick JuniorThings are getting very hazy by this time. At some point I manage to tune into reality long enough to hear that the walking party are getting itchy feet. I offer to show them the way back into town but ask whether they mind if I take a route via various coffeeshops that I'd like to photograph.
And so it comes time to leave The Stud at the end of a fantastic afternoon. I thank all of the Stud crew. I don't know whether it was because I was unable to communicate in my blitzed state or just general untogetherness but I never did figure out who was in charge or get anyone to answer to the name 'Silvio'. I've since learned that DeLekkersteNUGS16 was mistaken for me so maybe that's why. No matter, we were all treated like royalty and I think everyone had a great time.
I'd promised The Stud a small group of hardcore stoners. In the event we actually got a large group and all suitably hardcore so I need to congratulate everyone who made the journey. Well done crew! You certainly didn't let me down.
Outside, we turn right along Molukkenstraat. When we reach Javaplein, I attempt to explain that we will be turning left here in a minute but that I want to grab a picture of Best Friends first. I tell them that they can wait here for a moment if they want. They all decide to come and have a look with me.
Best FriendsBack to Javaplein
Javapleinand onto Javastraat, which brings us to:
Warda 2From there we turn onto Sumatrastraat then Borneostraat and onto Zeeburgerdijk, where we see this:
and
TrefpuntThen around the corner to
EastwoodThe block that Eastwood is in has been demolished and rebuilt. It used to look like this:
(Google)Eastwood and Trefpunt used to have a lot of fans around these parts once but seem to have gone out of fashion in recent years. We don't go into either of them. Instead we gather outside Happy People and discuss what to do next.
I tentatively mention that there is one more shop, Nogal Wiedes, that I'd like to photograph. The only trouble is that it's in the wrong direction. "NO!", they all shout in unison.
A quick march across town takes us to Utopia.
In Utopia we finally catch up with Birthday Boy Macky, complete with wife and brother in law. Ingi is in the house and we have a big hug. After a day of incredible hospitality, it's nice to be back in our 'home' coffeeshop where Ingi always looks after us so well.
Much as it's lovely to be in Utopia and to see Ingi, I'm feeling the need to shoot off for some fresh clothes after a day of walking. I tell Ingi that I'm around for the week and that we'll definitely be back to spend some more time here before stocking up for later and leaving.
A quick refuel at the apartment and then I start heading towards Batavia. Along the way I stop at Greenhouse Centrum for more stocking up, including the hash I was trying to find for Macky yesterday.
In Batavia lots of people have turned up for Macky's Birthday Bash. Some new people have joined us including Mowie and Elasticband.
I give Macky a t-shirt and the hash. Although I was successful in Greenhouse, this plan had already gone a bit wrong. A shop near my home sells ornate little boxes and I'd intended to bring one with me but I hadn't considered that it was a bank holiday. The shop was closed so I had to substitute another box.
At least the t-shirt worked out OK. This is the image used:
The vast quantities we've consumed already today don't seem to have slowed anyone down and there's another massive session in progress.
This brilliant party brings to an end an extraordinary day.
I'm slightly worried that we might have peaked too early. On the other hand, the fact that we got so many people so far out east, bodes well for the boat trip on Thursday. There should be more of us in town by then and the boat departs from the city centre so maybe we really will get 20 people together for that. Can we go on to greater heights yet? Stay tuned ...
