Solo, so low – and high!

[Smith2]

So I'm going to the Low Countries, Holland and Belgium, Antwerp via Amsterdam. My last trip to the Dam was marred by recreational incompatibilities; getting a smoke was rushed and unconsidered matter. This time it's solo, a connoisseur's trip.

Does it get lower than the coach from London? Yes, had it gone through the Tunnel, but the ferry breaks up the ghastliness. Beer, a fag on deck and a wander round the boat. Then motorway dullness, barely distinguishable in three different countries. Well, it's travelling in a sense that flying isn't, I suppose, and for £9 I can put up with it. As I cross the Berlagebrug, it's getting on for noon. High noon.

First stop is Happy Days on the Amsteldijk. I put up a thread : https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... =5&t=20990. Nothing special, but it’ll do if you've arrived at Amstel Station and are planning to take Tram 12 or wend your way through de Pijp rather than taking the Metro to the centre.

That first smoke, wherever you take it – is there anything like it? Knowing that it's the first of many, freely enjoyed in a pleasant atmosphere with congenial company. I'm back in civilisation.

Music replaces soundless football on the telly and it's time to move on. I've never walked along the Amstel, and the joint cycle/pedestrian path along it remind me of how many ways the Dutch have of annoying people with wheels. Women who have more than one child are said to forget the pain of childbirth; even after a couple of dozen trips to the Dam, the traffic always takes me a bit by surprise. I'm the only pedestrian on it, unless a lone jogger counts. Also, there are scooters. Big, motorbike-type scooters. Yes, I'm definitely back.

The architecture picks up at Tolstraat, with the eccentric old town hall. Had I known that the original Greenhouse (is there a review of this? I couldn't find one) was on that street, I'd have stopped off, but I didn't. Next time. There's always a next time.

The Ceintuurbaan and a fleeting image of Chiron usher me into de Pijp proper, though I know it's really a belt. First on my list is Yo-Yo, unaccountably missed two trips ago. Shame, as it's probably one of the few shops my companion at the time would have liked: the sort of café/art gallery that appears not to have changed since the '70s, and indeed hasn't, to go by old photos. I buy a €10 deal of Hindu kush and one of Lebanese hash, both very good. Yo-Yo looks like the kind of place that would sell freshly squeezed juice, but it doesn't, so I make do with pear juice out of a carton.

It's warm enough to sit comfortably typing without a jacket in the uncommon sunshine, smoking what's already a quality mix of cultures. Haven't even got as far as the hotel, but life's good.

[Smith2]

A pleasant meander through de Pijp and across the Leidseplein to drop things off at my hotel. They’re renovating the room next door, which removes the temptation to be lazy and crash for a bit. Off to go to a few of those places I’ve always meant to check out.

First stop, Hugo de Groot. On the way I pass 1e Hulp, check the menu, don't buy. When I get to Hugo de Groot, they’re out of the cheap Afghan, and nothing else appeals. De Supermarkt wasn't on my list, but I go in, and get a couple of grams of charras at €16, which the budtender assumes is the same as what's sold at my old standby Siberië. Not tempted to linger, despite a black cat.

Chapiteau's my next stop: a gram of twisla at €9, two of the super-cheap Afghan at €3. And those eternal buy and fly regrets later, for not getting more from a somewhere a tad inconvenient...

Catch-33's next, a gram of Nepal – forget the price, maybe €9. But it's time for a smoke, and I'd rather do that at Siberië, where I go for some more charras, free internet and rather lovely cappuccino. I sample what I’ve bought so far, creating intriguing international alliances in the bowl of my pipe.

Paradox is next on my list of omissions to be rectified. But the finger hash is nothing as I imagined it – having read about how it changes with every batch, seemingly, I now get this – so I go off to Rusland to get a photo of the cat, as I've done every month since November – well, it's May now, so I missed April by inches. The cat's inaccessible, so I settle for Afghan and wifi.

Stix is next on the list, but I was rather hoping for jazz, and there wasn't any. Nor anything on the menu I can remember, so off to Vijzelstraat. Mellow Yellow was my first coffeeshop on the day I arrived for a day trip last November on the day of a public transport strike; the atmosphere was indifferent, but the smoke – white widow, I think – was magnificent.

And the green still looks magnificent, but not the hash, and I don't want to be seduced by bulk, always the dilemma. Also, there appears to be football, and I'm not fond of it. On to Little, where I get some adequate Afghan, and where the wifi doesn't work.

On the way back to my hotel wonder whether I should investigate Noon – presumably the same menu as Mellow Yellow, and again I'll have my bud problem. But the footy is even louder there, so I give it a miss.

As I get to Leidseplein, the city erupts. I become dimly aware that this rather noisy evening is rather special. Ajax have won the league, apparently. And it is all very much noisier yet very much more good-humoured than comparable English moments; even a dedicated hater of the game like me can enjoy it.

I've done a lot of walking, so I go to bed, not risking a cheeky smoke out the window, though I'm sure it's been done before. Haarlem's on the agenda tomorrow.

[Smith2]

A grey start to the morning. A good Dutch breakfast sets me up fairly well. Might as well have my morning smoke at Rusland on the way to the station and have another go at photographing the cat, which again proves impossible. But I get 3g of white widow for €15, as the Queen's Day sale is still going. Grey mornings aren't so bad when they start that way, and the cat'll be there later.

Off to Haarlem, where I've been once, but never north of the station. I'm out for Birdy's jelly. Walk past it without noticing, get to Key West, wonder if I have the chutzpah to ask at one coffeeshop where another is. First I go back, and I this time I see it. There's wifi and the jelly is as good as the reports; I want the three €10 (0.4g) deals for €25, but they only have one left. Or I could go for the €50 deal. I don't, and regret it almost immediately. (Next time, next time...)

Then it's off to Het Dolhuys, the museum of madness. As seen through the ages, from religious models of possession to modern scientific fashions. Lots of personality quizzes on computers, very popular with the Dutch. Nice cat at the entrance.

Then into the centre of Haarlem where High Times was as pleasant as I remembered it. Bought 3g of Afghan on special offer.

Back in A'dam I go to 1e Hulp for a nightcap. Budtender recommends zero zero, but I've never liked that much, and the polm is stronger, as he agrees. So I get a gram of that for €9, and it's quite rewarding.

[Smith2]

Day four is even greyer than day three, and the day one leaves A'dam is always tinged with regret. I brighten it up with a gram of gardella at Rusland for €13, and finally snap the cat. Yes, I know you're all impatient to see the latest antics: https://picasaweb.google.com/kurwamac/C ... 5716913554. (I learnt that the cat's name is not Rico, but Chico, or sometimes Chica, as it's apparently a female. We're not on intimate terms yet, so I can't say for sure.)

And that's it, really. I went on to Antwerp, where the pro-legislation rally was a bit of a damp squib, as I’ve reported here: https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20923. Went home on the Eurostar, which really is a civilised way to travel. I’d heard there can be dogs on the British side, but didn’t see any, though there was an irritating second passport and ticket check by Her Madge’s loyal servants. (I used to buy a cheap pipe and junk it before I came back, but I’ve risked putting it in my luggage the last couple of times, and no problems so far. Also no dogs, though.)

If this really is the end of civilisation this year, I imagine I’ll be back a couple of times. Weird, isn’t it? In the ‘80s I took my first trip to A’dam, and like most people I imagine was struck by how normal it all was. You want a smoke? Fine, there are places that will sell you something, here’s a menu, play nice and enjoy. And it seemed like sooner or later other countries would see the light and follow suit, particularly as the older generation began to shuffle off this mortal coil; people of my generation, even the non-smokers, knew that it was absurd to criminalise it. At some point the optimism began to fade, but hey, there was always Amsterdam. But now even that may be gone.

Don’t want to end on a downbeat, so I’ll light a pipe – Thai weed bought locally crowned with a bit of black from A’dam – and post some pics.

[spidergawd]

Thankyou for my morning read, most enjoyable.

I'm an eternal optimist regarding the Amsterdam CS scene. Theres a lot of moves to be made yet I think.

Nice bit of Thai round my area of Lunnun too .

[gapie]

where ya going today

[Smith2]

Nowhere more exciting than work, alas.

The pics:

The Great Lump of Black Hash, consolidated for export:


The Slightly Smaller Lump of Brown Hash, likewise:


Allsorts:


White widow, posted elsewhere already:


Close-up of Hindu kush (I think) with a bit of Lebanese hash stuck to it:


Um, I've forgotten, but I rather wish I had some now:

[RvanSteensel]

the hindu kush looks a bit moldy to me at the top of the bud

[Lamont]

nice report thanks for posting it up!

[Trad]

Good trip report ...Thanks for taking the time and effort. Nice picturs also.

[Nimrod]

Cats, regrets, forgetfulness, activities outside the Centrum...

We could get along well, I presume.

Thanks for reporting, weirdo.

[Smith2]

Cheers, all.

[Grunt]

Great write up and thanks for that

Starting to think that the Dam is run by cats and if you get along with the cat you get along with the owner

Mee-ooww