op 't fietspad

[quiky]

Bio (The Border, Amsterdam, €7/g) – A gentle smoke. A centering stone that induces quiet-of-mind.

Bio is very reminiscent of the Power Plant I tried at Happy People a few years back. It’s no sledgehammer. It’s got an easy, steady stone. Uncomplicated.

Dogs in Amsterdamse Bos:

[quiky]

Zilver (De Kade, €15/g) – Super Silver Haze, judging from the price tag. Few sativas make me very high, unfortunately, and Zilver was one that didn't do much for me. I perceived visual and aural stimuli with a tinny edginess, once I smoked enough of it.

The very first time I smoked weed in Amsterdam I tried the SSH at Greenhouse Namaste. It didn't have very much effect on me, either.

[geekymonkey]

Love the picture of the dogs. Bummer about the Zilver.

[quiky]

geeks: The dog walker actually had five dogs with her at the time!

[quiky]

Chirimaya (Shiva x Northern Lights x Jack Herer; Het Binnenhof, Zwolle, €12/g) – There's a stone to it, but only enough to stabilize the mind. The rest is a high. It's a golden high, one for sitting on the patio and thinking about what the next step should be.

For me, it's a laid-back, sunny sativa. It's what I'd want to smoke on a Sunday morning while I'm cleaning up the apartment. Once I was done with my chores I'd smoke a little more and head out for a walk ...

[quiky]

Caramella Cheese (Caramella x OG Cheese; Het Binnenhof, Zwolle, €10/g) – My, it comes on easy, but after 10 minutes it pins me to the furniture. The mind is alert but the body is held down by warm arms. Positive.

[quiky]

Larry's OG Diesel Haze (Het Binnenhof, Zwolle, €12/g) - It's a Friday night, and there's a carnival set up in the center of Zwolle. Teenagers move through the lights in small knots. Sound flows out of magical carnival speakers. Night air hits the back of my neck. Sights and sounds are so clear, they're the only thing on my mind. I have to laugh, it's so good.

It's one thing to get high. It's another thing to get high smoking this stuff at a Dutch street fair. Larry's OG Diesel Haze was one of the two fabulous sativa smokes I had on this trip. It lent clarity to stimuli and it was great for conversation.

I don't usually appreciate highs, but this one was excellent.

[geekymonkey]

I have to say those all sound most excellent. Interesting hybrids.

5 dogs off leash- I'd be terrified I'd lose someone's precious pet

[quiky]

Cheese (Upper 10, Groningen, €10/g) – An inability to focus on tasks. Frequent loss of train of thought. Moments of anxiety. Compromised navigational skills.

The effects of Upper10's Cheese read like a handout from a high school health class. It's strong weed that pushes the typical cannabis buttons all at once.

After visiting the coffeeshop, we went out to a bar. My friend Duke said he thought the pot was fairly standard issue, though I occasionally caught him, as I found myself, zoning out and staring at the walls. The Irish (?) folk music being played sounded strange and jarring. The weed crippled my ability to interact. I had a drink and told my friends I was ready to go.

I would have had difficulties locating the hotel had I been on my own.

[quiky]

Ice (Utoop, Leeuwarden, €8/g) – A beefy stone. A fellow English speaker sat down with Duke and me as we lit up at Utoop. Conversation required concentration. My contributions were not always lucid, but I managed.

It was probably a function of my mood, but I found myself feeling a bit aggro while I was smoking the Ice. I was sure our visitor at Utoop was taking the proverbial piss. (Duke didn't take it that way.) Once we got back to the hotel I laid into my friend Slav on some marginal issue.

All I should say is that Ice will get you stoned. Don't know what it was, but that afternoon my mind was focused on something stronger than the pot.

[Epsilon]

Awesome Quiky ...Utoop , het Binnenhof,Upper 10 ...all that op de fiets ?!!

"...and everyone speaks English " ...isn't that so cool ?

Did you have to buy and go from the Border ...or have they chilled out this year ? de Vrouw dragged me out there last year to the Manege ( horse stables) in the Bos ,we spotted the Border on the way in , but were disappointed they wouldn't let us sit ,smoke and have a cuppa Joe even if we bought a gram ,had never seen that before,didn't like it ...So we split ...
Which Hotel in Groningen ? ...

[quiky]

Eps: No, I portaged the bike quite a bit throughout the trip. I biked about a third of the way between Zwolle and Groningen and trained it for the rest of the leg. Duke and I did bike the entire route between Groningen and Leeuwarden, though, It was the longest one-day pedal I've done, about 80km. It isn't hard to do when you're in good company.

You make such a good point about the Border! It's got this colorful eastern motif happening, a fancy, curvy wooden counter, a chatty neighborhood crowd, a back room full of couches ... and it's strictly buy-and-fly. You cannot smoke there; I asked. I'm guessing they've run into some troubles or complaints from the neighbors. The morning I visited they had a bouncer.

It's a bit of a shame. The place attracts a nice local clientele and offers a decent menu. And it was obviously designed to accommodate smoking.

We just have to think of it as good shop with a huge outdoor smoking area otherwise known as the Bos :)

[quiky]

Bubblegum (Utoop, Leeuwarden, €8.5/g) – A lot like the Bubblegum I got at Cremer's in Den Haag earlier this year. It's got a buzz that quashes ricocheting thoughts. The vibe is introverting and melancholy.

Bubblegum can be euphoric, but I didn't notice it here.

[Dimon]

I really respect the way you can express things quiky. You show a good example of how to chill in Nederland in style

[quiky]

Dimon: That's a wonderful compliment! Riding bikes town to town, of course, is traveling in style. It's awesome.