Nov/Dec 2017 - With muted tones, I return

[djreign]

As some may have noted in travel plans, I returned to Amsterdam in November for the funeral of a very dear friend.

I've travelled to Amsterdam over 30 times in the past 17 years. One thing I have always done, was meet up with a good friend i used to work with at a media agency on London. We ran the buying team at the agency, He the TV, me all the press and radio. We worked together for a few years and we had a good little team. We certainly milked all the jollies and lunches we could and generally enjoyed the media world. My friend Glen was already married to a dutch girl when I met him and it was obvious they would one day move there. They did in 2004 and I saw him twice a year after that. Always taking with me some deodorant and vitamins he could not get in Holland. When in Amsterdam, we always met in Ricks Bar or Susies Saloon. Glen was not a smoker but we both liked a drink. These two bars were perfect for us. In summer, sat outside watching the lunatics jumping in the canal and hiding inside in the winter. We always had a good few pints and at midnight he would trundle off towards the Metro in Nieuwmarkt, I'd cycle back to my base.

Shortly after my March 2016 visit Gen was diagnosed with cancer in 3 places. I visited back in March 2017 and another member of our old buying team joined us from Sydney. Again, drinks, curry and fun. We all said goodbye hoping to see each other again. Alas, after this visit, Glen went down hill and sadly lost his battle in November. He left behind a wife and 3 teenage boys. He also left me with some very valuable life lessons....chief of which was "always put your family first Den, before everything"

So with a few days notice I found myself booked to return again, never have I wanted to go less. My Sydney colleague would be joining again.

I booked an apartment via Frederics bike rental. I've had rooms with them for many many years now. They no longer have their own rooms, but look after some apartments for others. We found oursleves with a lovely place on Haarlemmerstraat. It turned out to be owned by Bennie Muller and his wife. A lovely man and lovely couple. Benni played for Ajax and Holland in the 50's / 60's.

I moved from London a year or two ago and my airport of choice is now Southampton. It's tiny and a dream to use. So ferry to Southampton, straight to airport, breakfast, newspaper and boarding in no time. Suddenly it's 11am and I am exiting into Schippol. Tickets bought and it was straight onto the train.

As many have recanted, there are few things better than exiting Centraal. The noise, sights and the smells of the city. I took my usual stroll to Haarlemerstraat.

Now my regular first stop, Picasso. I like to get an espresso, and a little bag before checking in and getting my bike sorted. Now hold on, something is very different here. Picasso is not Picasso any more? It looks the same, new BT and a brand new menu sporting the name of Amsterdamned. There was a youngish guy serving and a slightly older lady, not old you understand, just older than him. I bought some Super Silver Haze and chatted to them about the changes afoot. They were both very friendly and explained it was new owners, new (improved) menu and in time new decor. They were doing some work to the upstairs while I was there. The SSH was lovely, burnt well, nice ash and all that jazz. A perfect start to my trip. I sat for an hour, answered some work emails and enjoyed the new improved vibe here. I took a quick pic of the menu, left a tip and went to check in and get my bike. Something that became apparent quite quickly was that I was to experience great music wherever I went. This is rarely the case in most coffeeshops?

Amsterdamned Soundtrack - What's Going on - Marvin Gaye, What You See is What You get - The Dramatics

After getting myself settled, unpacked etc I got on the bike to have a look about. My friend was not arriving until the evening so I had a full day to myself. I headed to:

La Tertulia. I always like it here. Not the best weed in town but always good. It's not a particularly comfortable shop but the wifi is good and it doesn't get too busy. Got what I always do, Bubblegum and NYC Diesel. Both were exactly as expected. The Diesel offering up lovely notes of grapefruit. I had a nice mint tea and sat and read for an hour or so? I'm finishing off the Jake Woodhouse Amsterdam trilogy. Again the music was good. Now as I sat in here, I saw 2 young (20ish) girls, preening and pouting for pics of each other and countless selfies. I'll be honest, the vanity of the yoot pains me a little. As time moved slowly by, I thought, get shopping now. Get it over and done with. So off to the Pipe I cycled.

La tertulia Soundtrack - Bodhivista - Steely Dan, Sex Machine - James Brown.

I visited a little vintage shop my wife likes. Nothing I feel like taking a gamble on, so I hit the market for lunch. Had a great big sandwich.

Then into Media. Champagne Haze as always. When I arrived the friendly tender, who are at the counter, yup, the same 2 girls. Now clear, one is American and the other from the UK. As they go into the shop, and I get my Champagne the BT tells me "she's (the American girl) is a vlogger, she has 50,000 followers". She clearly has something interesting to say. I head in, get an espresso and sit down. They sit opposite. Now, one of the workers comes and sits down with them and the continue to film an interview with him. no real searching questions, all the usual best strains, what the scene like, what do they do that's different and all that kind of stuff. It seems they are working towards getting a freebie bag. In the end, the questions were so inane, I put my headphones on and tune them out. After an hour or so, I leave to go back and have a shower before going out to meet my pal when he arrives.

I decide to head to Utopia and wait a little closer to the station. I peruse the menu and ask for a nice hash. I do prefer hash but for some inexplicable reason I mostly buy flowers. Anyway, advise is given and i buy the Diamond Polm. I liked it. there's something about hash, perhaps the fuggy smoke, I don't know, but it makes me feel all warm and snuggly in the cold November weather. It's a feeling I don't get with the flowers. I could be talking absolute nonsense but maybe some will know what I mean???? Again music was en pointe adn I really want to dance about. I try to read my book but with the music being so good, I give up and just sit nodding my head and tapping my feet. Soon, I get the call that my pal is on the train to Centraal.

Utopia Soundtrack: Shaft - Issac Hayes, Brick House - Commodores, Shining Star - Earth, Wind & Fire, Chameleon - Herbie Hancock

Pal, met, bag dropped and we head out for a welcome beer. We settle for a bar opposite AH on Haarlemmerstraat. Nice beer and very quiet.

From there, we head to Relax. I do like it here, very local and rarely seen a tourist in there. BT's are usually friendly. They have a fairly simple menu which does not change too much. A gram of Buddahs Bubble. It was surprisingly heavy, but tasty. A little cheesy too.

Relax Sountrack: Drake, who knows what track? I've listened to hip hop for about 30 years, but I just don't get the Drake thing. Underproduced, over reliance on autotune, it's just not me. Give me the Four Owls or Verb-T any day.

My mate, then wanted to crash. He'd been travelling for 24 hrs and was shattered. He retuned to the apartment and I went for supper. La Grotte, and a garlic burger. The food in La Grotte is always okay, and the chef genuinely wants you to enjoy it, really friendly guy as is everyone here. Sure it's touristy and you do get big groups in there. For a solo diner, it's perfect and I always seem to get a window seat. After finishing, I know I am only heading to one place - 137.

I arrive in no time and quickly order the biker kush. It looks dark and lovely. Smells a bit lemony and the expected earl grey tones. It was heavy (well for me it was) and I wished I had a nice glass of red wine to go with it. I settle for Espresso. I have 2 joints and then head back home. I'm tired.

137 Soundtrack: more Drake, Free Smoke and No Long Talk.

Thursday is Funeral day and everything is building up to that. We have breakfast at, errr, I can't rememebr the name and strangely cannot find it on streetview. Good pastries, eggs etc. After this we head to La grotte for coffee and a few liveners to get us ready for the funeral. Then, back home to get suited and booted. I certainly did not want to turn up with any smell about us. We had decided to walk down to the hotel de l'Europe, knowing it would take 40 mins or so. A lovely hotel. It was the first dutch funeral I have been to. We knew we had to bring white flowers but were unsure what we would be doing with them. We got to the hotel and got in line to sign the books of condolences. Then, we were in the room, a beautiful room at that. Not sure what to do, but seeing a coffin, I suddenly noticed a sea of flowers at the front of the room and guessed we'd leave them there. As we approached, a lady (who turned out to be my departed friends wife best friend) said "Dennis, Alex" yup, that's us. "You have designated seating right here". We took our seats in the front and waited for proceedings to begin. Bang on 2 pm everything started and the coffin was brought to the front of the room by close family and his 3 sons (ages 12-17). Seeing those boys wheeling their daddy down, destroyed me and I was instantly in floods of tears. The service was lovely and mostly in English, with Dutchness thrown in. It was a wonderful celebration of a life well lived. After the service, he left via the river, on his own. His wife, family, and all guests stayed and drank, ate bitterballen and generally celebrated a wonderful man. It did get me thinking and wondering why we have this fascination of crematoriums and burials? I really liked his thinking. He'd told his wife and sons "I'll leave on my own, you all stay and have fun". I'm definitely tempted to do this when my own time comes. We drank and ate, were invited back to the family home in Vinkeveen. That meant his brother would not be able to drink so he could drive us back into town. Thus, we declined and left the family to themselves. It just felt right to us. To summise, a wonderful funeral (if you know what I mean) and I really like how the Dutch do things.

We slowly wandered homewards nad stopped for supper in Cafe De Prins....more bitterballen for me and a burger for Al, a really, really rare burger it was too. Then onto 137 to finish the night.

I instantly saw Gorilla Glue...€14 I think? I love it. It's a first for me and it hit me hard. Really hard. As we sat down, 2 Chinese guys came and sat dowm. One young, one older. They'd bought 2 pre rolls. The BT brought their drinks over and advised them to take the joints slowly. We sat for a couple of hours and then returned home to change. My mate went to bed and I came back out to 137. The 2 Chinese guys were still there, but now, the older one was asleep and I mean proper asleep. He was snoring. The younger guy sat playing on his phone. When he realised, the BT came over with a drink and woke the old guy up. BT sat with him to make sure he was okay. I do always feel welcome and comfortable in 137, although it sometimes feels a little youth clubby. I've only ever encountered polite and friendly staff and customers.

137 Soundtrack: Butterfly Effect, Apple Pie - Travis Scott, Land of the Free - joey Bada$$

From here, I headed for supper in La Grotte finish the GG and head home.

Friday and my pal is going back to Aus. We mooch about until his early afternoon departure. Once he's left, I head down to Pannenkoekenhuis upstairs. I always visit here as much as possible on my trips but had not had a chance to on this one. Finally full up with cheese and bacon goodness I head back to 137 for more GG. I also went back to La Tertulia for more diesel.

On the whole, a sad, but ultimately enjoyable trip.

I'm booked back for my annual birthday trip in March. Staying at Voyager this time. Cannot wait.

[OneHighMofo]

What a lovely write up - thanks very much indeed for sharing. And of course it goes without saying I'm very sorry for your loss.
Let us know how you get on in March.

[Kenshiro]

Thanks for sharing that TR, it was a really nice and personal read. Sorry for your loss but happy to hear he had a good send off.
Looking forward to your next trip write up for your Birthday

[AzLaker]

Fantastic write-up djreign, so sorry about the loss of your friend. In our life, we have many acquaintances and very few TRUE friends.
You, truly lost a dear friend . My condolences to you and his family.

AzLaker

[macky]

Nice write up
Like the sound track part ,agree on Drake wife and I will leave if he or beaver is playing.
Never heard anyone eating supper at la gratto

[Devore]

Lovely write up, many thanks for sharing.

Condolences for your loss.

[RoMoney]

Lovely TR, thanks for sharing such a personal experience.

Love the way you note the songs in places, many times the right song on top of that right smoke can really make a moment!

[memogram]

Sorry for ur loss buddy. Nice read up

[Free Ben]

I read your post in travel plans a few months back and had wondered how you got on, thanks for posting such a personal and well written TR

[djreign]

Thanks everyone for all your kind words.

@ OneHighMofo, will certainly let you all know how March goes. I'm confident it will be fun.

@ Macky, supper at La grotte is a wonderful experience, well an experience. Maybe I'll change it up in March and try Batava? I've still never managed to get in there. Drake...arghhhhhhh

@RoMoney, you are most definately tight. Music makes a big difference when smoking. Something most young BT's seem to miss

Again, thanks everyone. This forum is filled with genuinely lovely people. I do wish I'd perhaps attended more TNT's over the years. I've met Gapie a few times and I did meet up with DaveX4 (remember him) and a few others years ago in 420. I genuinely liked him, but he certainly seemed to go off the boil shortly after. I emailed him a few times, to see if he was okay. never heard from him again.

Maybe I can rememdy that in March?

[Willjay]

Thanks for sharing, sorry for your loss

[Jesscass]

Personally holding people no matter where located making such effort for friends in high regard so kudos to you, Djreign!
That's a sign of 'real friendship' to me as myself differentiates between aquintances, accomplices, mates and friends in this particular order. Latter ones you merely find a handful in life and rest is nice to have.
Though attending a funeral or not(distance and work issues are very sad excuses and are not accepted, disgusting)is a bit overrated while it at least is a bit of an indication it was a beloved person.
Also it is all about the gesture itsself as the average funeral is another faishon parade in my experience and I'm talking about that type of people showing up doing the same when money is to be had(inheritance)while you never saw them much when said person was still around. Attention whores to say the least.
Agree about the part a funeral being an opportunity to celebrate a certain person for the last time instead of the usual greyish western world approaches and their sad atmosphere of mostly self-pity.
Too one indeed should plan his own funeral for many reasons ; one being it is about oneself and the other one memento mori. Never too early, been there, done that(of course a setlist included) as I had to attend too many yet and also have mates having to do with funeral parlours and am interested in international approaches of funerals.

About music in coffeeshops: discussed a lot before on here. Am strongly into music myself and can confirm most touristy coffeeshops play terrible music(euro dance et cetera but no offence intended) as they just don't want
you to feel too comfortable as the next customer is waiting in line. Same with comfortable sitting accomodations. Buy and leave! Though this is changing in the last years and you don't get treated like the average junkie but before that a lot of coffeeshops were dark caves mostly.

Enjoy your next trip then.

[djreign]

Personally holding people no matter where located making such effort for friends in high regard so kudos to you, Djreign!
That's a sign of 'real friendship' to me as myself differentiates between aquintances, accomplices, mates and friends in this particular order. Latter ones you merely find a handful in life and rest is nice to have.
Though attending a funeral or not(distance and work issues are very sad excuses and are not accepted, disgusting)is a bit overrated while it at least is a bit of an indication it was a beloved person.
Also it is all about the gesture itsself as the average funeral is another faishon parade in my experience and I'm talking about that type of people showing up doing the same when money is to be had(inheritance)while you never saw them much when said person was still around. Attention whores to say the least.
Agree about the part a funeral being an opportunity to celebrate a certain person for the last time instead of the usual greyish western world approaches and their sad atmosphere of mostly self-pity.
Too one indeed should plan his own funeral for many reasons ; one being it is about oneself and the other one memento mori. Never too early, been there, done that(of course a setlist included) as I had to attend too many yet and also have mates having to do with funeral parlours and am interested in international approaches of funerals.

About music in coffeeshops: discussed a lot before on here. Am strongly into music myself and can confirm most touristy coffeeshops play terrible music(euro dance et cetera but no offence intended) as they just don't want
you to feel too comfortable as the next customer is waiting in line. Same with comfortable sitting accomodations. Buy and leave! Though this is changing in the last years and you don't get treated like the average junkie but before that a lot of coffeeshops were dark caves mostly.

Enjoy your next trip then.

Thanks Jesscass, wise words and thank you. I've encountered many 'attention whores', the very worst of people. For me, it was to say goodbye, to see his family and as we said, to celebrate him. He'll never be forgotten, and I'll always raise a glass to him in Amsterdam. I'm meeting up with his wife when I visit in March which will be nice.

Music, I agree it's largely beyond terrible. I've always found it improved the further from centrum you get and on a bike nowhere is too far. I'm happy to travel to escape Drake.

[djreign]

Thanks for sharing, sorry for your loss

Thanks pal