Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory Forums

Even though I had been ready to cancel on Thursday, by the time Saturday morning rolled around, I was eager to go and spend a weekend in my favorite city.

When my train rolled into Centraal, it was raining. Of course. But it wasn't that bad and I got to the roofed part of the platform fairly quickly. By the time I exited Centraal, the rain had stopped and I headed to the GVB office to get a 48h ticket. The last time I was there I had to take a number and wait for ages. This time, there were about 5 people in there and three ticket machines. Click "48h", stick card in, enter PIN, get ticket. Out of there in probably 30 seconds. Wow!

First stop, obviously .... [clicking on the little guys should open a larger version in a new tab]



While I was studying the menu, I noticed a line at the top to the effect of "ID required. Even if you're 70 or look like you're 60". I decide on OG Kush and Strawberry Sour Diesel. While HB is weighing the buds, I jokingly ask him if he wants to see my ID. Nope. So there. I sure hope I don't look older than 70

The only free spot was the table directly across from the door. Actually a great spot to sit and watch the world go by outside. Especially when a pretty big cruise ship comes by as it did Saturday. It's also a good place to ...



A little later a very nice fellow from Hungary asked if he could sit down at my table and we got talking about this and that. He was taking a smoke break between two parts of a test he was taking that day. While we were sitting there a group of young guys left, apparently headed for Centraal and the airport. Before they left, they stopped at our table and gave us two grinders. And yes, that is what I do in the last coffeeshop before I leave. What goes around comes around. For a cheap plastic grinder, this thing did an amazing job. You'll see it later. When the hungarian fellow left I started making my way towards the Dam to say hello ...





A tram quickly brings me to Rembrandtplein to check into the hotel (Atlanta, good enough to crash for one night.) Definitely not smoking friendly as far as the rooms are concerned. There's even a sticker on the window saying "do not smoke at the window". But there is a roof terrace thing where you can smoke.

While I was checking in, another nasty rain shower was coming down but by the time I had changed and done the backpack management chores, it had stopped and I was off to the Dam and on to the Marnixstraat stop. I had been wanting to try 1e Hulp for quite some time. And yes, I like this shop, which appears to be drawing mostly locals. The very nice female bud tender recommended the G13. So here we go ... (and here's the grinder)



Good bud! Nice buzz. I was surprised to see the shop was basically empty. One guy at the tables by the bar, nobody downstairs by the pool table and one guy upstairs. I went upstairs and got the seat by the window looking down into the shop and out into the street. Nice spot to sit and ponder all kinds of shit. And roll a few joints for the road. And enjoy nice cold Chocomel. Also, a very interesting mix of music. Good times! I end up spending an hour and a half here.

By 7:00pm I am sitting in t'Nes, enjoying a beer and a few of the SSD and G13 joints from my stash. Gotta say I love the creative idea that led to these lights in t'Nes:



Time to get back out while it's not raining. But whoa, this is downright scary ...



Just a few minutes later and it's raining again ...



I grab some fries and head to the hotel to change into jeans and a sweater, since it is getting a little chilly around 9pm. At the hotel, the plan is to watch some TV and munch on some nacho chips before heading back out around 10pm.

When I wake up, it's 2:52am. Party life still going strong at Rembrandtplein. I turn the TV and the lights off and go back to sleep. I love it when a plan works out. At least I am getting LOTS of sleep in preparation of another day of exploration.

But that will be another post.

Great report so far! Looking forward to hearing more.

Nice

Quality wee grinder, I paid 3.50 euros for the same one from Baba Headshop. Happy Days

Have to agree, this is a top shelf report.

Thanks for sharing, really enjoy your writing.

More please!

/\ /\ What he said, gotta have some more of this .

Yeah, nice report upto now. Think the rain last weekend caught a lot of people out. It took me over half an hour to get from the train station to my hotel (Bulldog Hotel) which is normally only a 10 min walk. Those showers sure can soak you and a lot of people got caught in those showers as they were wearing no coat and just t-shirts. Dunno what was worse, getting soaked and having to go back out in a wet coat after getting changed or the fact I missed the bloody happy hour on beer in Ricks via the delay in getting to the hotel and having to change clothes!.

Anyways thanks for sharing looking forwards to a great sounding report.

Thanks for the feedback, folks, and I haven't forgotten about the second part. Somehow, a LOT more pictures have snuck into the second part, and I'm finding myself doing a lot more link wrangling and getting everything into the right order.

The good news is that it's almost done. I'll probably get it posted tomorrow night.

Oh, and here's my clothing approach to rain ... during summer. This does not work at all when it's also cold

I have these wonderful cargo pants that end just below the knee. Lots of space in the pockets for all kinds of stuff and not full length. Add a T shirt or a polo shirt.

Here's the theory behind it all: Yes, I will get wet. But once I'm inside, I will quickly be dry again. And I definitely do NOT want wet pants banging around my lower legs. And I was there, in Amsterdam, that weekend. I saw all the folks in jeans that had pulled the water up to mid-calf. I hate that. Yes, my lower legs will be wet. But so will yours. And mine will be dry in a couple of minutes once I'm inside. Same goes for the T shirt and my arms.

Of course, the alternative would be to be wearing the high tech stuff that'll keep you warm and dry, but that's just not me. When it rains, I'm willing to take a certain amount of it like a man but I don't see the point in going all out just to be able to run around in the rain for hours.

Yeah, I know. I'm crazy.

So here's part two, it took a little longer than I had planned. Oops.

---

After essentially having gone to sleep at 10pm, I wasn't really surprised to just wake up around 7:30. While watching some early morning TV, I spent a good amount of time deliberating how to pack my stuff for today. If I was going to leave my backpack at the hotel or in a locker at Centraal, I'd need to separate some stuff out into my messenger bag. Decisions. Postponed. Time to hit the shower and by 8:30 I was up on the roof terrace to smoke one. Or two. A day that starts out with SSD and G13 can't be all that bad.

Quite chaotic up there behind the pretty fronts. And look, some roofs cheat, they're just long enough to look like a real roof from the street.





Once mission wake&bake is accomplished, I change the original plan and just load everything including the other bag into my backpack. What the heck, I'll just carry it with me for the day, after all it's not heavy, just bulky.

Around 10am I check out and get to enjoy a few minutes of sun. Good morning, Rembrandt.



Rembrandtplein is basically deserted, except for some folks setting up their booths for some kind of art market. I decide to seize the opportunity the weather is giving me to smoke another joint in preparation for breakfast.



Yeah, Smokey looks kinda interesting, but it can't be repeated often enough: Don't spend any money there.



Time for breakfast! I fire up Google Maps to see if there happens to be Bagels & Beans in the immediate vicinity. I've found that Google Maps is easily THE most useful all-purpose touristy tool. You just need to remember that Maps also has search and bang, you're good to go.



All right, since there's apparently no bagel to be had around here, I'll just head to my Bagels & Beans shop. It's the one on Raadhuisstraat. There are many Bagels & Beans like it, but this one is mine



Fresh pressed orange juice, fresh mint tea or a large cappucino and one of their 'fancy' bagels. As long as it has pijnboompitten, you're golden Today, mine had tomato, mozzarella, pesto, basil, and of course, pijnboompitten.



After breakfast, of course, it's raining again. What the hell, it is what it is and it looks like my presence is not going to change it. So I decide to head up Singel for a bit. Just a few minutes later, I'm hiding under a tree, snapping another rainy picture. I still like it.





Over the next 20 minutes, I snap a few more.









There is a little story to the next one:



I'm sure you know the situation. Rain. Puddle. Add pedestrians and an idiot driver. Instant catastophe. During my half hour in the rain, I had five encounters of this kind and witnessed a few more. Not one of them featured an idiot driver. All of them slowed down considerably AND avoided the puddles. Don't you just love it when drivers treat others with respect? All cars had dutch plates, BTW. I guess it has to do with the fact that most Amsterdamers also spend a considerable amount of time as pedestrians or fietsers. I can guarantee that one idiot german driver would have ruined the experience totally. Yeah, I'm german, I can confidently make that statement.

I decide I've had enough of the rain and it's time for part two of my plan for today. So I circle back to the Dam to catch tram 13 or 17 to Marnixstraat. It can't be repeated ofen enough: Telling pedestrians how long they'll have to wait (and rarely making that more than 20 seconds) is pure genius:



Yesterday, I had noticed that 1e Hulp's menu had an old favorite of mine. White Widow was essentially the first weed I smoked that I remember having an actual name. As I've mentioned before, my weed supply situation has always been "the weed that's available". Nobody ever knows what it is. But we're in Amsterdam, and I boldly assume that shops know what they are selling, so off we go to 1e Hulp.



Out comes the trusty grinder and in no time flat I am filling the air with big clouds. Ahh, yes. That should leave me nice and mellow for part three of my plan.



As I smoke the second joint, it occurs to me:



Being a coffeshop cat must be heaven. Strangers will cuddle you and get you stoned for free. Not only that. For the priviledge of getting you, the cat, stoned, these strangers are paying your owner so he can keep you fed. It's just perfect. I wish it would work that way for me.

So, time to check out the resistance museum http://verzetsmuseum.org/museum/en/museum. If you haven't been there, be sure to go. I spent two hours there and felt thoroughly creeped out when I left. Kudos to the resistance movement for some creative ideas on on how to deal with a well and truly fucked up situation. We really must never let it happen again. There was this map of Amsterdam the germans had drawn up with little black dots for every 10 Jews living there. Scary shit. Tomorrow's (or, shudder, today's) maps could well show where the stoners live.

Back at the Dam, I snap some drama clouds over Magna Plaza. And yay, there's that bright spot in the sky.



After the museum, it's time for a happier place and I have another shop on my list that I've never been to. So off we go to Paradox, where I get two 5€ packs. PPP and what the menu calls Super Silver. Whatever End up at the bar in interesting conversations about bridges, dams, sharks and other assorted animals. The very nice bar/bud tender is convinced the wietpas will not happen in Amsterdam. No bud porn from Paradox, too tied up in the fun to take pics.

After another rain shower ends, I leave to aimlessly wander around the most beautiful city some more. That is, after all, why I'm here.

While I'm walking past the Anne Frank house, I see an opportunity for a public service announcement. Everybody knows the lines at the Anne Frank house. Especially during the 'real summer', when Europe is on vacation, ...



And here's the thing: See that door at the far left of the picture? The one where nobody is waiting? Here is how to get to walk in through that door.



Get your tickets online and print them out. Then just ring the bell at that door and you're in. It's that easy. The catch is that you need to pick a date and a 30min time slot for your arrival. If you can live with that, it's the fastest way to get in.









Last stop for the day is Rookies where I get a large pineapple juice and sit down to destroy the rest of my stash. Oops, slight misjudgement. By the time I roll up my final joint to be smoked outside Centraal Station, I find myself with a little too much time on my hands but no more weed. Damn! So this is one of the few situations where I would buy a pre-rolled joint. And I do. The last to-do item, of course, is to find someone to pass the grinder on to. I find a young couple from Spain who look like they just got into town and are busy rolling without a grinder. I ask them to pass it on when they leave so that I have a fair chance of getting it back on my next trip. We share a laugh and I make my way to Leidseplein to catch a tram.



I get back to Centraal with 20 minutes until my train leaves. That's what i call perfect timing as it allows me to smoke my good-bye joint and get a sandwich and a cold drink before I hop on the train. That sandwich at 9pm is the first food since the breakfast bagel. These babies really do pack a punch.

Sadly, this is where it ends. But the sandwich was really, really good.

good stuff Dude, really enjoyed this... I've found that the Dutch are a pleasant bunch when it comes to sharing the road and appreciating those around themselves... nice pics, thanks for posting.

Ah, thats really nice man .

Great report. Really enjoyed it and all the pictures!

Great report, I enjoyed it thanks Dude!

Dankeschön!

Great report, I thoroughly enjoyed it.