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What a great installment, and I just adored the pictures in this one. Thanks, it really went well with my wake and bake!

DAY 9 (Monday July 16th)

Another day with a completely blank page in my notebook. Pretty sure it was a long working day followed by dinner out with my colleagues. The end of the day no doubt involved smoking lots of joints, a little walking, and a little picture taking….



DAY 10 (Tuesday July 17th):

Tuesday night after work, I was ready for another visit to Grey Area, so I got of the metro and Nieuwemarkt and cut across the centrum to reach my destination. There was a medium sized queue for the bud counter. As I was standing in line, a rather tall guy with glasses finished talking to Stefan at the counter and made his way out the door of the shop where I was standing. As he passed and I got a good look at him, I realized with astonishment that it was the famous American travel writer Rick Steves!! I’m a huge Rick Steves fan and I have used his books many times in my travels through Europe. He is also known in the US as a marijuana legalization advocate. Determined to say hello I abandoned my place in line at Grey Area and followed him out in the street. He and another person were standing down at the end of Oude Leileistraat. As a light rain fell, I walked up to the two of them and gently interrupted their converstation….

“Excuse me, but are you Rick Steves?” I ask.
“Yes, yes I am” he said and smiled. He asked if I was on vacation and I explained how I was here working. I quickly just thanked him for all his books and travel advice, told him how I had used them all the time and how much I appreciated them. He introduced me to his Dutch colleague and said he was in town “doing research for his next edition”. I didn’t have the cheek to ask if his “research” including making sure the product at Grey Area was still up to snuff…

Not wanting to intrude any further I said goodbye and he wished me a pleasant stay in Amsterdam. It was so cool to meet him in person; it was a special moment of that trip that I’ll remember for a while.

I made my way back into Grey Area, which by this time had gotten more crowded at the tables, but the line to the counter was shorter. Stefan was working on this evening, and he greeted me warmly when I was my turn at the counter. As I reviewed the menu I asked after the quality of the Silver Bubble, which always been a reliably hard hitting strain that I enjoyed. What Stefan showed me did not disappoint, frosty green buds that smelled amazing. Oh yes, 1 gram of that please my friend. I had also not yet had any decent Diesel on this trip, so I asked to see the East Coast Sour Diesel. This also smelled really really good, but at 16 euros per gram it’s pricey, so I decided to get a ½ gram to try it out first. Stefan was more than happy to accommodate me, and I got the 1 g of Silver Bubble + 1/2g of ECSD for 20 euros total.

The shop was pretty full but it was also raining pretty hard outside at this point, so I grabbed a spot at the little bar along the side of the shop and did some bong loads of ECSD while I was waiting for the rain to lessen. The ECSD tasted really really nice, and the effect was equally nice, a combination of a soaring, flying sativa buzz with just a hint of body stone. I really liked this weed, despite it’s high price, and I bought it several times more on the trip. I’d rate it a solid 9/10.

After a while it was time to move on, and after a brief stop at the hotel to drop off some of my purchases, I headed over to the Pancake Bakery for dinner. The place was pretty crowded, and I ended up sitting at a shared table with a Japanese couple. For dinner it was a Bacon and Apple Pannekokken and a double cappuccino. The pancake came pretty quickly and the combination of the bacon, apple, and pancake made for a unique flavor. But it was a bit greasier than it needed to be and a bit overpriced for what it was. Overall I thought the pancakes at this place were not as good as Sara’s down on Radhuistraat. After dinner it was just nearing sunset so I spent some time walking around the Oude West neighborhood where the Pancake Bakery is located, enjoying once again the myriad of beautiful scenery in this part of town.





Eventually I made my way back towards the centrum and across to the east side and finally to Voyagers for my nightcap. Highly Blessed was working and greeted me as I came up to the counter. He asked how my trip had been so far and we exchanged other pleasantries as I looked over the menu. I had seen and heard lots of good reports on the Lemon Skunk (either Bifton or Treetop had been raving about it at an earlier TnT), so I went for a gram of that at 13 euros/gram. Sadly I had arrived too late in the evening to get any of the Tasting Tuesday special.

I settled at the skinning counter and rolled up a joint of the Lemon Skunk. This one had a great flavor and a strong effect – I don’t have many more notes about it than that but I’d give it an 8/10. As I was smoking that joint and rolling up a few others, out of the night appeared the ACD Ambassador, Stan the man, aka Gapie. After the customary exchange of fist bumps with HB and the other Voyagers regulars, Gapie joined me at the table and immediately began to pack up a bong with some weed he had gotten from HB, I think it was some of the Tuesday Taster that HB had saved for him. Many more bong loads ensued, as well as one of Gapie’s notorious coughing spasms, I seriously thought he was going to cough up a chunk of lung he was hacking so hard…. Having to be at work by 7 am the next day i said good ,nght to the boys and headed back to the hotel and my bed.

Lol see u tomorrow
Success at work

Chapeau! Great report, great memories

Safe travels, have a great time. Wish I could join you and Gapie for a smoke. Alas.

I don't think I could manage to hold a job AND enjoy the Centrum for 3 days let alone 10 or more... another great installment, thanks Lamont!

TwoCanucks wrote:I don't think I could manage to hold a job AND enjoy the Centrum for 3 days let alone 10 or more... another great installment, thanks Lamont!

I think the key is making sure some types of weed that give a 'stone over' are avoided. Most of the time I wake up feeling happy and refreshed after a nights smoking unless the night goes on too long then I just don't wake up! Such are the advantages of MJ over other more legal drugs.

TwoCanucks wrote:I don't think I could manage to hold a job AND enjoy the Centrum for 3 days let alone 10 or more... another great installment, thanks Lamont!

The key for me is to stick with sativas and avoid indicas during the day. If you saw the room I was working in (basically a big noisy data center), you'd want to be stoned too.

DAY 11 (Wednesday, July 18th):

The alarm for work came way too early, and the weather outside was still rain, I honestly have become used to it at this point. A rainy Wednesday walk to the Metro calls for only one thing, a big phat joint of Silver Bubble. The SB was just as good as always, once again a solid 9/10 in my book. Love this strain.

After work it was a joint of Amnesia on the way back to the Metro station, followed by another visit to Solo in the Nieuwemarkt area. When I arrived the staff was just doing a shift change, and the budtender apologized for the delay by making me a cappuccino. I thanked him and settled down at the aforementioned awesome window seat and began to roll a joint from the Super High Rise from De Graal. After smoking and enjoying my cappuccino the budtender was available so I picked up another gram of their lovely Cheese on my way out. Let me just say again how much I enjoyed the vibe of this shop, I’ll definitely be returning here on my next visit.

From here I caught the Metro at Nieuwemarkt back to Centraal Station, and then walked to my hotel, grabbing some yummy Wok to Walk on the way. Chowed down on that in my hotel room while I had to take part in a conference call. Last work obligation sorted, it was back out into the night and a very light rain was falling as I made my way down the beautiful-no-matter-the weather Singel. It was back to Grey Area again, where I waited in a relatively short line for my turn at the counter. This time John working…yay!! For those that have never experienced him, the great thing about John is that he really takes his time with each customer at the counter, talking and listening to them, guiding them in their selection of “medicine”. This is great for the person in the front of the line, but I can understand how some folks find it frustrating when they are waiting in the back of the line. I never let it get to me because I know when I do finally get to the front of the line, I’m not going to feel rushed or pressured to make a selection and I can really take my time looking at all the product.

When I finally do get to the front, John gives me a warm smile and a handshake, and asks how my trip has been going so far, how work was going, etc. The whole experience feels much more like chatting with a friend rather than a retail sale, which, along with the high quality buds, is why I keep coming back to this tiny shop with the long lines. I eventually did get around to buying some weed, another gram of the fabulous ECSD, as well as a gram of the Shakzilla (as John says, the only weed strain with it’s own sound effect ). John was even nice enough to restock the tubs with fresh nugs from the bags behind the counter so I could get some prime choices, a real class act.

The place was packed but it was raining pretty hard so I asked to sit down at a table that was being shared by several travelling stoners. As I bonged some of the ECSD I chatted with my table mates, one guy from New York City on his second Amsterdam trip and an Asian guy from somewhere in the UK.





DAY 12 (Thurdsay July 19th):

On Thurdsay night I met Gapie and Bleak at t’Nes for a TnT. Bought a round of La Chouffe for the guys and then we embarked on an EPIC vaping session. Bleak had a bought with him a new portable vaporizer he was reviewing called the Thermovape (how great is it by the way to be able to get paid to do vape reviews! ). He wanted us to put it though it’s paces to see how it would hold up to three hard core smokers. It did a pretty good job, but we also mixed tokes from the Thermovape with regular bags from the Volcano, courtesy of super-host DC. An accounting of our “double-barrelled vape session”:

In the volcano:
1) Shakzilla from Grey Area
2) Champagne Haze fromUtopia (tastes AMAZING in a vaporizer BTW
3) Champagne Haze + Grey Crystals from Grey Area
4) 420 Kush from 420/De Kuil
5) More Shakzilla

In the Thermovape:
1) Dog Kush (unknown supplier)
2) Chocolope from Utopia
3) Amnesia Haze from Anyday
4) Super Lemon Haze from 1e Hulp

Quick comment on the thermovape, this might be the ultimate stealth vape, even easier to conceal than the MFLB, but providing more and stronger vapor hit than the MFLB. As we smoked with came up with more and more creative ways to conceal this vape, including the genius idea to incorporate it into a Camelbak hydration backpack for a “vape bong on the go” the things stoners thing up while under the influence.

After so many vape bags Bleak was ready to call it a night, but Gapie and I decided to grab a nightcap over at Utopia. While there Gapie rolled up a super mix joint containing the following: Shakzilla + Champagne Haze + Zooltjes Hash from Club Media. An amazing powerful smoke dominated by the spicy notes of the Zooltjes.

While we were sitting in the shop smoking that joint, in walked another ACDer that recognized Gapie, nickname was “Hemlock” if I have it written down correctly. He seemed a very pleasant chap, just over to Mokum for the weekend. As we were talking he shared some Laughing Buddha with us which Gapie promptly rolled into a joint. I probably sat there for another hour or so with them, smoking and chatting, but eventually the massive quantities of weed consumed caught up with me and I had to call it a night. I said goodbye to the lads and headed out into the night and back up to my hotel, collapsed into my bed not long after that.

Great update wifey's been looking over a few strains/menu's & looks like a visit past GA to hopefully try the Shackzilla is now in order

was in grey area last week, but didn't get the Shakzilla this time. Silver Bubble was banging as usual and the Grey Crystals were particularly good this time around. Also check out the Casey Jones it was the surprise strain of the trip from GA - knocked me on my ass after 5 days of heavy smoking!

DAY 13 (Friday July 20th):

On the way into the office I saw the world’s coolest delivery bike, a DHL bakfiets, I just had to grab a picture of it:

DHL Dutch Styley:


This was my last full day in Amsterdam, and the weather forecast for the first time in 13 days did not include any rain. Determined to enjoy a little sun in the canals, I worked only a half day in the office and then said goodbye to my work colleagues.

First destination was the Albert Cuypmarket for lunch and to complete the requisite shopping for presents for the kids. First start was the legendary Burger Meester, which I had not been able to visit on any of my previous trips. Got the mini Meester Biefburger @ 3 euros. It was really tasty and far superior to burgers from Burger Bar, which in my opinion has fallen off a bit over the years (but they do have fries there which Burger Meester does not).

Mini- Meester Biefburger:


Mini Burger Meester truck :


Burger sorted it was over to Club Media to load up on some quality smokes for my last day. This time I went for 1 gram of the Hindu Kush at 11 euros and 1 gram of the Champagne Haze at 12.50 Euros. I grabbed a table inside, ordered a cappuccino and rolled up the champagne haze. I spent a very pleasant hour in here enjoying my smoke and coffee as well as taking advantage of the available power outlet to charge my phone. Just love the vibe of this shop and the quality of the gear almost never disappoints.

After chilling at Media for a while I headed out into the sunshine and spent a good hour walking around and just enjoying the vibe of the city. It seemed like most folks in town were ready for some sun after so much rain over the previous two weeks, so the streets were buzzing with activity.

I had setup one last meetup for Friday afternoon with Bleak and Gapie, not at a coffeeshop but instead a brewery, the Brouerij t’Ij on the east side of the sity. It was an easy 10 minute bus ride to get out there and nice to explore part of the city I’d not been to before. I arrived before the guys so I spent some time checking out the place, which is situated in a sweet little building attached to a windmill, and with an ample outdoor beer garden to enjoy your adult beverages.



Eventually Bleak arrived and we grabbed a table outside. Not long after Gapie showed up and we ordered up the tasting set of all the beers plus some yummy cheese and sausage to snack on.



Balou also managed to make it out to join us about a half hour later, and together we spent a pleasant few hours sitting in the sun, drinking beer, smoking from the thermovape that Bleak bought, and just savoring a summer afternoon in Amsterdam.



I had plans for dinner with one of my work colleagues so I said my farewells to Bleak and Gapie and Balou and headed back to the Centrum on the bus. Many many thanks to Bleak, Gapie, and Balou for coming out to spend a great Friday afternoon with me.

My notes for this trip kind of trail off here, I think after two weeks of working + enjoying everything Amsterdam has to offer, I was ready for home and family. After dinner there was time for one more evening walk through the streets of Mokum, where I actually ran across a little boat named Mokum in the Oude West….



DAY 14 (Saturday July 21st):

My flight was insanely early, so I was up at 4 AM, final packing and checked out of my hotel. On the walk to Centraal Station I chuffed away on two “mega-cones” I had built the night before from all the weed, hash, and kief that I had left. Followed by a sad, if uneventful train ride to Schipol, checked in to my flight, and downed the first of two space cakes I had bought for the flight home (the second was consumed two hours later somewhere over the North Atlantic. )



So that’s the end for this trip report, thanks for reading and for all your kind words. Don’t have exact smoke totals but I know I purchased at least 35 grams of weed and 4-5 grams of hash & kief. Thanks to all the ACD friends who I met up with on this trip, you really do make the whole experience more fun.

In closing I encourage you all to enjoy Amsterdam, explore parts of the city you’ve never been to before, and write your own stories in this wonderful place….until next time….

Fantastic. Just fantastic. Rick Steves has taught you well

I think that picture of the DHL bike is about the best ever and the burger looks mouthwatering. Will be giving it a try next time. If there is one

Those space cakes really make the return journey 'fly by' don't they?

Nicely done, that brewery trip for the taster tray sounded like an excellent decision. that's not something I'd thought of, would def go for a beer or two... thanks again for sharing Lamont!

Awesome. Hope your current trip is just as super, with some better weather. This report was completely enjoyable beginning to end. Thanks for all the great pictures and stories!!