July 10th 2012
I've been to Amsterdam six times now. Normally I go with my girlfriend (who doesn't smoke anymore), sometimes solo for a brief time and once with a friend. This time the mission was to spend three days alone until the lady would join me, as we planned to rent a car from the airport and take it to Brussels and Paris and who knows where in between... but first I'd have to survive three days in Dam, alone. She would arrive in Dam later.
After spending a couple of hours in the plane I arrived in Bremen. After gloriously managing to get lost in the city I was very certain I knew well by now, I just made it to the Bahnhof in time to take the train to Sin City. It was a hot day and the journey took it's time, particularly since the last train to Ams was cancelled, and us, the passangers, were given friendly orders... in dutch only! No matter, peoples seemed to understand and I went with a creative solution and took a train to Eindhoven, from where I took a slow regional train to Amsterdam.
Being exhausted from 12 hours on the run, I just wanted to find my hostel as quickly as possible. My choice was the worst one I ever made; on the other hand, you can't expect much from a 1-star shack. I had expected my room to be bigger than our bathroom back at home.
Right in the heart of RLD of course, but otherwise a typical budget dump in the center. Since it was only 6PM, I loathed at the idea of spending the evening resting my tired body instead of checking the old squares out. I set out to walk around the northern central area, observing the vibrant chaos that was all around me, finally stopping by at a little touristy ware shop to buy some gear, most importantly a bong. I have never been a fan of joints, so if there's a bong somewhere, that's my preferred number one choice.
I had heard about a shop called Voyagers which seemed to possess some quality bud, so I set out to find it. I found it by accident after having already given up; either I didn't have my map with me or Amsterdam's canals and difficult-to-remember street names got the best of me - and I wasn't even high yet! (However I am while writing this) I was surprised at the small size of the place. The guy behind the counter was informative and friendly. I wanted to start with something sativa-ish, so I got Bio Lemon Haze (or something to that effect) and set out - i wanted to find a place to sit down at someplace more spacey. Should've sampled their indicas, too.
After checking back at my pathetic hostel room and testing out the lemon haze a bit, I ended up at Greenhouse Central, a coffeeshop where I had spent a lot of time before and which sells my favourite weed ever - a total orgasm called Hawaiian Snow. I decided to forget about HS this time around, and go with something different: the ever ordinary Cheese. I'm sure it had a another name, just can't possibly remember what it was.
Let us make it clear that I am not a fan of Greenhouse in general, but the coffeeshop is really nice - you have a nice selection of drinks and all the basic stuff covered - and it's normally packed full. People flock behind your back as you sit on the counter rolling your joint. So I roll one, and I begin to feel the effects... hours rush by and I finally begin to feel it's too crowded, I need to move my legs and set out, only to return a day later. As I stroll around the narrow city streets I end up at Burger Bar, and my appetite grabs me by the throat. I enjoy the delishious food while resting my eyes on some hot French chicks next to me. 
July 11th
I recall waking up at some odd hour at night, then attemping to fall back into sleep again. Anyways, today it's time to walk really far. I shower, smoke some Lemon Haze (it's ok to good, it works but isn't anything special) and set out to Vondelpark, Leidse Square and Cuyp Market, among a ton of other "tourist attractions". Travelling alone can get a bit boring at times, but that wasn't a terrible problem during my trip as long as I stayed out of the hostel. There's that silence that gives me to much time to think... Annyways, returning from a damn long walk (6 hours) out there, I notice Basjoe's coffee shop and decide to check it out. Not wanting to be rude, I buy a pre-rolled joint and take a comfortable position to enjoy it. I'm not seeing a lot of people coming and going during my time of observation, and I'm rather unimpressed with the place in general. There's a couple of seats outside in the sun, but they all remain occupied. Perhaps their menu has some nice shit, but after checking it out I decided to save my money for later.
One thing I need to get out of my chest (not literally): I have always adored the looks of native dutch women! I'm talking about the neighbour girl look; tall, blonde and friendly personality.
As hot as it gets...But I wasn't in 'dam to hit on ladies. I long to get some rest on my tired legs and so I navigate back to my hostel via a little corner foodshop called Old Bridge.
I buy a delicious hot dog with shrooms. Having smoked and rested a while on my bed, I dedice to spend some time at Greenhouse again. Sitting there for a few hours and feeling good, I'm amused by the japanese tourists fighting against the effects of a powerful indica. He struggles, but fights it off, then smokes another joint and again he has his head hanging down for a good while. Those little amusing things in life...It's the time to have a bite of Jordaan. The good old Pink Floyd has been replaced by the rather horrid Dampkring, which I have a look at against my better judgement. I roll a little joint, buy a sprite and follow a bunch of dark-skinned brothas almost getting into a fight with eachother. The tv screens on the wall are nice, and they were playing Abba. Figuring out their music is the best thing about this coffeeshop, it dawns on me very clearly that it's not my kinda place.
I begin to feel slightly paranoid so I get out, walk south by Singel canal and feel kinda lonely, but at the same time all the weed I've been smoking warms me up like grandma's pullover. The notes I wrote down to my celly indicate that I also visited Hollywood USA coffeeshop on that day (pic of how i perceived it below). I bought some super pollem for only like 7€ / gram. This was probably the best smoke I had on that trip! The fact is, I can't smoke the obscene amounts that a lot of regulars do, and I ended up sampling only three-four different strains during my stay + some pre-rolled ones. But you know how those pre-rollies usually are: If you actually manage to get high from them, it's all gone in an hour or less. That's how it works for me.
Anyways, the hash for really good for the price and that's what I was mostly smoking for the reminder of my trip.
As it began to get cooler and I found some of the streets in Jordaan slightly challenging to navigate in while high, I returned to my horrendous hostel room, set out to smoke what i had gathered and listened to a choir of talented teenage girls singing folk outside. Sounded damn fine while being high... decibels at Warmoestraat skyrocket but I eventually manage to fall asleep.
12th July
Spent the day waiting and walking around, found this cozy nice cs called Easy Times... didnt' sample their wares, but I enjoyed the decoration and the music aswell, while not normally my cup of tea, seemed to work very well... if you just want to chill out and get the time rolling, stop by here. But like I said, I only bought drinks here.
My gf arrived later that evening. I got to experience the delight of leaving my hostel and checking in to a more classy hotel with her... the next day we set out to Schiphol and rented a car which we took out to Brussels and Paris for the following week... but honestly I'm too tired to go into details here. Let's just say Paris isn't fun to drive in in your first visit... but no damage done, we had good times.
Until next time...
