"There is one rule for the Apartment....

[Epsilon]

Seems to a lot of "New" Silver & Super Silver Haze out there ...works for me



CS Meetpoint packaging . Nice shop , if it's not packed with howling Oranje fans , and even then they'd have tried to squeeze us in ...

Chipendale has this cavelike cellar , the TV /smoking room again packed ...but we had the cellar to ourselves...Got Moonflower here , was pretty much unsmokable , not dry...





and an interior shot of Speakeasy ...this shop is coming out from a year long closure they said -Minor caught on premises . ID required , but by our 3rd stop .No longer asked for .




oops this is ChipnDales

The other CS we visited -The Grass Company (used to be Pistasche) ,out by station , totally redone interior , not designed for Hang & Chill . But OK
Run by a staff of 5 . Again 2 security at the door and 3 staff selling ...packagiing similar to Meetpoints . Charging /Giving 20 cents back on the container ...

all in all could recommend 'S-Hertogenbosch for an out of town visit. Plenty of Cool things to see ,streets to wander ,secrets to find ...the inner canals ,binnendieze, are unique, lots of old fancy gables to be seen, but they're still workin on St. Jans . Even have their own Manaquin Pis .

Finally beat the Wife in Scrabble last night at Basjoes ...James has some new staff he's trying out .He was actually sitting outside chilling when we arrived yesterday evening .Place was quiet ,and the fella behind the counter was fine , Think it was the Amnesia Haze for us ...proper stuff , what I remember ...

[Epsilon]

Along with the cat ,we each got a Museum Card to use . So when we get back to the Holler and they all ask what we did on our European Vacation, well, we can say ,we visited museums ...uhh ,we've hit 4 or 5 so far as well as the Brabants Museum in den Bosch . Probably more to come . Anyway the Tropen has been the coolest . (so far)...



its interior space worth the visit ,THEN you start seeing the exhibits ...

A couple strains have caught our attention ...White Chocolate from STIX
being de Vrouws back for more variety...Thats the closest CS to the apt. ,being right in front of the barricade across Herrengracht into Rem. Plein...best smoke so far for me has been whatever was in DCs joint the othernight ...Basjoes Hazes and Specials have been great followed by a Greenhouse Centrum Hash Joint .NO kidding

Though I'll tell of our experience at the GH now ...Last evening we went in for another HJ. I wanted to make sure I wasn't just struck by lightning the day before ...DVrouw browses the Menu, selects the Silver Pearl,I the HJ, and as we sit near the window we notice a cell phone left behind , the bar- babe runs down the lucky customer on the street . everyones happy ...We roll some of the SPearl , do one J ,seated maybe 10 minutes...then same bar-babe comes over ...and tells us we have to leave if we don't buy a drink ...We've just spent close to 15 Es on weed .
An old debate I know ...But last night I was drinked out ...and we weren't planning on lingering much longer anyway,so we were off .I'll let y'all know if I get struck by Lightning again ... next stop was Basjoes .Where we DID order a drink and HJ ,with Mexico / France on the TV (got my ass kicked again by de Vrouw in Scrabble ) but that may be why we like BJs ...Place was calm for the most part . New staff seems to be working out fine ...

What do y'all think of that Strange drone coming from the World Cup stadiums ? Guess its some kinda African Horn ..But ever since I saw the Film "Off Screen" ( Dutch Language) ...about Phillips TV and the possibilities of these new HD TVs ...things like that make me slightly paranoid .

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0414200/

Got the OV chip card ...gotta remember to log in / log out ...seems somewhat of a pain , add to that that Centraal Station is the only place that one can buy recharge the things (take a number /wait) the system need s some refinement . Don't believe the website that tells you AKO bookstores ,or various Hotels can do it ...They look at you funny and say "Is not possible here "...VVV WILL sell you one to four day unlimited tram/bus passes though .

Cloudy and cooler today . USA ,England and Germany in action .
Cat is fine except for these pesky eye-boogers she gets . Doesn't like me taking them out ,but I must ....

[CHELSEA_SMOKERS_SOCIETY]

Along with the cat ,we each got a Museum Card to use .

Cat is fine except for these pesky eye-boogers she gets . Doesn't like me taking them out ,but I must ....

haaa ha ha ha ha ha

this is a great read, funny and informitive too

[cattales1960]

IM enjoying just reading about the cat. hehe. They can be smart little buggers. We kicked out cats out of the bed room many years ago. I need my sleep, not a cat on my face.. LOL

[grateful deb]

Good read. Definately enjoying the report.

I'm liking the cat angle. But then again I'm partial to felines. Does the cat have 2 different colored eyes?

cattales - I know what you mean about cats on your head while you are sleeping!

[Epsilon]

Slow start to the day ...Has somethin to do with the Hill St. Special I think
the guy says its a "Shiva /Kush" , got our attention for sure . Hill Street on the Market ...Staff of 2 runnin the place , music was hypnotic drum heavy electronica , loved it ....the back sofa part was crowded with these exotic babes (by that I mean ,dressed like they've just finished shooting a Roxy Music Video and Speaking Portuguese or something )...Hmm ,come to think of it, the last time we were in there the back part was crowded with exotic babes , and one spilled her tea on me ....
anyway... the Hill St. Special is worth a try. Think it was 9.50

Hung with the English on the Rembrandt Plein until the bitter end ...another draw.

Besides the cat , we have these to tend on the balcony ...hasn't rained much lately ,the big tomato's one thirsty dude.





other CS stops yesterday were de Graal - they have a nice cheese , and sell in 5 E amounts . Rookies for part of the Germany game . HillSt and Basjoes - Was deserted when we went in right as the England Game was starting . James said the English want bier with their football ....

Got our Oranje on ...Time for a Hup Holland Day





CS DE Graal Cat

[Epsilon]

The cat really does have 2 different eyes ...gets kinda strange when you use a flash



Was cool and grey yesterday ,so we put our museum cards to work , and at one point the museum count was higher than the CS count at 3-1 ...didn't last long though .Was kind of fun climbing around the Rembrandt Huis though. Found the Hermitage somewhat cold though , the Matisses looked like so much paint by number to me ...but I like History more than Art .

HGF no longer has Silver Pearl on the Menu ...know that was a favorite of some folks including de Vrouw ,who settled for Choculope instead , which was nice ...been settling in to an evening routine at Basjoes ...I get letters like this


...and she kicks my ass in a game of scrabble.

earlier we sampled 5 E amounts from the Greenhouse Namaste of 49 -50 ie Alaskan Ice and Hawaiian Snow. ...They're featuring several new California strains ,at reasonable prices , and they DO sell in 5 euro amounts (as did HGF)...

Been seeing this thing around town...




and one more pic ...the White Chocolate from Stix on U'Straat.



Looks like I got some of it focussed I'm not so hot on closeups ...

[Epsilon]

Went to Haarlem on Monday and was greeted by a big pile of fresh asphalt as we exited the station ...looks different . Stopped in Sativa on our way in ...Whoa, a different place than it used to be ...a few of those train seats inside a buzz in gate ,the back section / bar area closed off ,couple vending machines by the door . Not the Willie Wortals of old . Fortunately Empire remains as it was ...



Nice friendly shop , new seating since we were last there , Silver Pearl for 6 a gram ...tried the Lavendel Haze ...which really tasted like a good Lavender
Anyway- Was Market day on the Grote Markt ,sunny ,bright , Haarlem looked good ...found our way to Easy Going which was severely chopped up by the 08 Smoking ban reconfiguatation ,that so many shops went with , and was probably a BOOM to the glass industry.




Cats fine, though we had a present waiting on a chair when we got home at one point yesterday.Susy said , She throws up about once a month...

Got my first taste of the OV chip card problems when I hopped on a tram
logged in , and de Vrouw pulls me from behind ...wrong one ,she says ...I exit without logging out ...cost me 4 Euros on the thing ...You can only get these down at centraal station ...(assuming you don't have a Dutch Bank Account) , buy the card its yours for 5 years , but once you use up the initial amount you put on the card its back to Centraal to add more after taking a number and waiting .The agents there are VERY nice and sympathetic . To get my 4 euros back can happen they say ...but the bureaucratic tangle to get it done,don't think so .

At least theres lots of nice ways to get back to Utrechtesdwaarstraat from Centraal Station, ...theres the route where you swing by Hill St on the Market and score 2.8 Grams of the special for 20 Euro ...cut across to the Oude Kerk ,flash your museum card ,check out the inside before you stop at NES for an afternoon beer with Dave , then head to Basjoes and thrash the vrouw in a game ...all that after loading up the Public Transport ChipCard...so we could ride if we wanted to...So is Amsterdam . Going to Deventer Thursday ,overnighter , Gameday on the Brink

[QueenMab]

To make things easier for you in the future, Chipkaart wise, you can top up by cash in any metro station, or by using a credit card/chip knip in any Albert Heijn or tram. The credit card top up stations are those yellow things with the atm-style keypad on them. They're usually by the main exit of the tram, and somewhere around the main doors of the AHs.

Loving the report and the cat updates.

[Boner]

Awesome report, Easy Going looks so differant.

[Iko]

Loving the report.
Nice to see an Empire pic, one of my fave stops last year.
I see the prices have not changed at all.
The 1.8g of there Indica Special for 12eu , was the best weed purchase we made last trip.
Haarlem Rules !!!

Epsilon, is there an outdoor market in Haarlem every monday ?

[Epsilon]

Thanks for the tip Your Majesty ...That one will come in handy . Market Day in Haarlem is Monday , and maybe Saturday as well ? Don't take your Museum Card to Haarlem on a Monday though ...they're ALL closed .



One thing the Market does though is obscure the great space that is the Grote Markt .

A word on Barneys - The Lounge on Reguliersgracht is on our normal route back to the Apt. G13 Haze ,Vanilla Kush etc all available in any quantity (5 Euro and above) ...No pressure to buy a drink ("I'm here if you need anything , enjoy your smoke") ...Nice premises , what's not to like ?

Well ,they don't sell a Hash Joint maybe ?

Kadinskis -The one around the corner from the Allard Pierson...Rather plain simple small shop ...Upstairs though is a window that will yield the Golden shot to a patient photoagrapher . You can see what I lucked out with ...They played a full jazz set while we were there ...Miles Davis , Coltrane ,even some Gil Evans ,was wonderful ...

[islandgurl]

Love the report and pics, Epsilon. Have they completely gotten rid of the strippenkarts now? I had a hard time finding them in the dam in April, still have a whole one I never used. If they're now obsolete, I'll keep it as a souvenir.

[Epsilon]

Deventer was a lot of fun ...They do Oranje Games in style . Their main square the Brink is a wonderful space ,and the centrum is a maze that WILL get you turned around . No canals , but the Issel kinda makes up for that .
A gem of the NL for sure ...Not a direct train trip from Centraal though ,must change in Amersfoort.

The CS scene isn't bad for its size . Three in the main centrum area that we found , with a couple more further out . But that was plenty to keep things just a little out of focus

[/img]

Bulls Cybershop Menu -First shop you encounter from the station , just a cross from the main carpark. More of a hiphop thing , Eminem etc.



edit pix put back

Maya is right on the Brink


de Blikken Deur -Is where the Stoner Chicks hang out. ...Nicest space , of the 3 ,even though they DID a bit of a chopjob in 08 (again the glass companies made out)
...Playing Smooth r&B, soul




Cat is nibbling on the "Cat Grass" plant that Susie keeps by her bowls
She just got her morning brushing , which she loves , and will take as long and as often as you are willing ...

IG - Next time you're here you could try with your strippenkaart . But ultimately you'll have to bite the bullet and get either the unlimited pass in whatever amount of daze you want , or get the OV chipcard...There may be others on the forum better able to answer specific ?? But we went to Centraal station to that white out building with the VVV ,took a number waited and bought ours ...You can specify how much to charge them with initially, even use them to buy train tix and they're good for 5 years ...its not perfect ,but its where they're going here

Had an awesome full moon rise over the Amstel last night ,on our way back from Basjoes ...Have beaten her 4 out of 5 now ...James has a new younger guy working the routine budselling , drink making etc. While James seems to be kicking back watching Voetball , chitchatting etc. I asked him if he knew anything of our forum and Basjoes place in our community , it wasn't much , but he seemed interested ...Just don't think James has filled him in . Hard to tell if anyone we've shared the space with these last few weeks is an ACDer...We'll be there the next few nights yet for our (usually around the 8:30 gametime ) scrabble game and evening hangout ...Say hello if you spot us ...

[/img]

[Epsilon]

We made it to the end , 3 + weeks of life in the city...the cat is in the apartment ...now the ugly business of getting home ...Will finish it up on the other side...Been a blast .