9/18/09 - Trip Report

[SweetLeaf]

Hey all, just wanted to share a report from my trip to Amsterdam last Sept. It was just for 1 day as we were doing a few other cities in Europe. The wife and I had such a great time that we will be returning this Fall for a longer stay, can't wait!

Accommodations:

Grand Hotel Amrath - Was a very nice hotel, they upgraded us two room levels after telling them it was our anniversary. It's really a work of art inside and the room itself was beautiful and very comfortable.

It's a bit pricey, but if you want to splurge on a nice place, this is it.
Highly recommended
8/10

Food:

We first went to one of the pizza places on I guess what was one of the main streets. Food was terrible, hard to finish even after not eating for like 12 hours.

Later had dinner at a nice restaurant and sat outside. We were still on US time and asked for a dinner menu at around 6pm. Luckily they accommodated us and we each had a delicious chicken dinner with veggies.

Had cappuccinos at just about every coffeeshop and was never dissapointed once. One of the things I'm looking forward to most when we return.

Finished the night with one of those chocholate covered waffles from an outside type stand. So delicious, really hit the spot after a night of tokin'.

Coffeshops & Ganja

Barney's Coffeeshop - Our 1st stop of the trip, I knew Dr. Grinspoon had to be my 1st purchase. Super nice budtender, seemed really excited to help us out. Electronic/Disco music for the time we were there and the menu had lots of great strains. I knew I had to get a gram of the Dr. G, so picked that up after checking it out then asked the budtender what a nice daytime/1st smoke of the day strain would be, he recommended the Morning Glory so we grabbed a gram of that as well.

A bit pricey but again, if you're on vacation and want to splurge, you can't really be too disappointed here. Great menu, great buds, friendly budtenders.
Highly Reccomended
8/10

Morning Glory - Budtender recommended and he did pick a nice one and affordable at ~11/g. Smelled really fruity and vanilla-like. Nice fruity taste on the exhale and was quite smooth. Covered in crystals and had really tight nugs, was fun to break one open. Really nice mellow high, it gave us a nice amount of energy without kicking us in the head.

Great morning smoke with great quality nugs although for the strength there are probably cheaper alternatives.
Recommended
6/10

Dr. Grinspoon - Most expensive strain on the menu at around ~16/g but was totally worth it. Oddest looking strain I've ever seen, giant calyxes with no leaves strung together by a long, thin branch. Had a slightly fruity smell mixed with more traditional haze smell. Tasted pretty much like it smelled and was extremely smooth, I don't think either of us even coughed after a joint. Completely cut through the remmenants of the Morning Glory and sent us soaring! My heart was racing but not really in a panic-y way, just so full of energy. The budtender mentioned it was the strongest they had at the moment and he was right, I just loved this stuff.

Top strain of the trip. Worth every penny and made me feel like I could run a marathon and explore the entire city. Great vacation strain.
In love
10/10

Dampkring - Right across the street from Barney's, this place had a more city-style to it. We didnt buy here, but we went to the top level (lots of stairs is hard when you're high as a kite). We had the best cappuccinos of the trip here, really nice and creamy. The top floor has a bunch of TV's playing crazy shit on them which is quite entertaining when you're high. Lot's of people just blazed out and practically sleeping up here but it's nice and chill. They're also playing a mix of Electronic/Disco (a bit too fast for me when I'm high, but it's alright).

This was probably our favorite shop of the trip. Nice atmosphere, something to keep you occupied in your daze and great coffee.
Highly Recommended
8/10

Hunters - Stopped in around 8pm to make a purchase and chill for a bit after a day of exploring. Asked the budtender to recommend a nice Indica for our final hours in the city. He brought over the Cheese and the Silver Pearl. I thought the Cheese looked and smelled incredible, tight nugs and fully-frosted, but the wife didn't really like the strong cheese smell. She wanted the Silver Pearl so I picked up a gram of that, gotta keep the positive vibes! Cool place with some fish tanks along the walls and pretty dark inside. They were playing some hip-hop/rap and had a decent budtender, but not as friendly as Barney's.

Decent place, the fish were cool, but not really much else to keep me from being on my way. Strain selection not as good as Barney's and Dampkring.
Worth Stopping In
5/10

Silver Pearl - Affordable at ~10/g. Nice looking buds, nothing spectacular. Smelled a bit piney and tasted of fresh herbs, was quite nice, but the high left something to be desired. It didn't really give me as strong of an indica high as I would have liked.

Probably much better strains for effect and cost.
Not Really Worth It
4/10

Route 66 - Final stop of the night. Just picked a place so we could finish what was left of our purchases. Grabbed a nice glass pipe from the female budtender who was quite nice and didn't ask for a deposit or anything. Place was pretty empty with a mix of radio music. Were the only ones upstairs with a decent view down to the street through a big front window. Crazy glow-paint painting on the back wall, was cool to check out. Didn't make any purchases or look at the menu.

Decent place to chill if you need a break from walking but nothing special.
Worth Stopping In.
6/10

Sorry no pics guys, I was just so excited to be there I had to make sure I remembered to breathe let alone take pics of everything. Our trip this fall will be followed by a thorough trip report.

One Love,
SweetLeaf

[TwoCanucks]

Brilliant read! Very descriptive! I totally agree with the Grinspoon experience, it was a very powerful strain with a very serious price. Some are hit and miss with it, it was a def hit. Thanks for sharing!

[CHELSEA_SMOKERS_SOCIETY]

awesome! really enjoyed it

really like the way you layed the report out too, nice full of easy to see info

[Boner]

Loved it, cheers for taking the time.

[gerishnikov]

thanks, i enjoyed reading your report

[geoffk]

Nice reporting. I always thought Silver Pearl was a sativa.

[SweetLeaf]

Thanks for the replies so far. The Silver Pearl I believe is a NL x Skunk#1 cross, which carries the traits of both a sativa & indica. Of course, I was not as much the ganja enthusiast then as I am today which is why I asked for a recommendation so yea, this prolly isn't the best choice if looking for an Indica dominant strain.