Here’s my trip report. I was in Amsterdam from the 14th – 16th of July. Sounds like a lot of smoke, but I didn’t smoke it all in A-dam. Consumed a lot of it over the next week or so in France. I have some pics but they didn’t turn out too well. Overall, the weed scene in AMS seems to be getting more stratified, with a few key shops getting more, better stuff and everyone else pretty much watered down. I only went to shops that I tried before or had good reputations. Overall, a lot of fun and good weather.
Abraxas (the larger one)
Nice crowd, lively atmosphere. Bought 2 grams of Mr. Nice HP x G13, and some Silver Haze. Decent weed from what I recall.
Grey Area
Anywhere from moderately-crowded to packed the couple times I went in. Tried the Grey Diesel which was a decent representation of a sour diesel-type strain. Later got some of their Super Silver Haze, which was absolutely fantastic -- one of my very favorite strains when done well. Also, tried the “Sour Lope,” which I believe is SD x Cannalope. This was the best weed of the trip hands down, best cured, great high, amazing taste. I know it’s cliché but among their varieties, the GA has the best smoke in A-dam consistently, by a pretty big margin.
BasJoe
Nice relaxed atmosphere, tried their Amnesia Haze which was decent. Out of the way location. Terrible soft-rock music. Chess set was in use in a lively game when I was there.
Central
A little bit cramped at times, visited twice. Overall friendly, very take-out type of place. Bought 4.8 g of Super Polm on one trip. Was really more like a lightly pressed kif than hash (more grainy than pliable), but had a nice but typical maroc flavor and mellow high – I believe I got it for 25E. Later got a gram of the “peacemaker” which has a “caution” sticker on the bag (and the guy also made a point to tell me it was really strong). Well, it wasn’t weak weed, above average maybe, but hardly merited the warning. He also said it was a flavor bomb, but really wasn’t that flavorful.
Bluebird
Traditionally good shop with good vibes and decent service. Appeared to be the same as it ever was. Tried their Kushage which was not well dried or cured but still was one of the top 3 weeds of the trip, great flavor and strong. Also tried their HP x G13 which was very similar to Abraxas’ – must be the same grower. Last day of the trip bought some “Kashmir Ice,” which is allegedly bubble hash imported from Kashmiri hash plants. This really looked and broke up more like iso hash to me, but I can’t say for sure. Decently strong but no knockout. No cheese or blue cheese – they did have a strain listed called “Bubble Kush” which I hope is not some lame “Bubba Kush” (US Strain) knockoff, but sounds like it is. Bluebird also has a great chocolate space cake.
Amnesia
Hung out in here for what seems like hours on shrooms smoking fatties. Met some cool American students in there. Very laid back nice atmosphere. Tried their NL x Haze, which was nice but not amazing. Looks like I should have tried more from this shop.
Dampkring
Bought Rifman Nouzha here. Very nice bendy pliable top maroc hash. Neat environment, good vibes. Bud-bar consistently packed.
2e Kamer
Crowded, but very neat shop (my first visit). Hard to find (bring your ACD maps). Bought some Rifman Noor here which is very similar to the Nouzha and equally as good. Very pliable, thick aromatic smoke. Also got some Neville’s Haze, which I didn’t see much in other shops. This appeared to be the real Nev Haze and was great smoke.
Kadinsky
Bought a gram of White Russian at the CS, decent smoke. Hung out quite a bit in their bar across the way which was a cool little place to chill at night with a beer and a joint.
Nes
Stopped in just for a moment, did confirm they are no longer a CS, just a smoker friendly bar/pub.
Old Church
Tried some of their Royal Cream (“cup winning”
) maroc hash. This was actually very nice – a good mix of a traditional polm and the rifman style hashes, aromatic. Nice outdoor area for sitting on a nice day.Stix (koningstraat)
Shop empty on both days visited, still very nice clean place with good views out large windows. Very friendly staff. Tried several grams of their Gunpowder which is the best deal in town, unpressed triches for 12.50 a gram and it lasts forever. The hard part is smoking it – works best in a pipe or bong, not always so well in a joint. Also tried their Temple Ball, which was representative of what I had before but not mind blowing. Came back the next day and tried their Sage n’ Sour Haze, which had a very nice, bright flavor, good stuff. This is a great shop.
Seedsdirect/Seedboutique/Seedbay
Near the Grey Area. Best seed retailer in the world. Please support them. “Old Pink” is the fellow who works the front and is a real nice dude. Buy an IC MAG t-shirt, they are 15 E and really cool.
DNA Genetics Shop
Talked to the guy (American guy – forgot his name) at the empty shop at length. While their gear (from the Grey Area) was some of the best of the trip, I got a little turned off at the guy’s attitude – not to me, but to other breeders. Within about 15 minutes the guy had put down or called as rip off artists nearly every player in the seed biz (other than DNA). Some of what he said was true but he made comments about other breeders passing off strains, etc. when I know those breeders (no names named) are legit as I’ve used their products extensively. To add to this, his explanations weren’t so great as to the questionable areas of DNA’s breeding (i.e. what SD or Hazes they are using in their crosses, etc.) It never got contentious but I didn’t buy any seeds because of that.
Head Shop
I think this place is called “head shop” or “the head shop.” It’s a really big store in the center (can’t really remember exactly where). Bought a cheap plastic grinder (which sucked) there and some Mexican shrooms. Good service, shrooms were served cold and did the trick nicely.
Greenhouse Seed Shop
Despite all the negative things said about the Greenhouse org, I still think they deserve a chance. I asked the guy about the “Road Kill Skunk” they are hyping on their website as “coming soon.” He looked clueless having never heard of the RKS name or that his company was even (allegedly) working on the strain. Then he apologized said it was his “first day.” Why you’d have a first day (by himself) employee helping customers with expensive seeds seems irresponsible to me. Picking the right seeds is important.
Fly n’ Hy (Breda, NL)
Stopped here on my way out of country (by car). Apparently, this is the only remaining coffeeshop in Breda (or so I was told). I bought 3.5 grams of “Haize” which I assume is a Haze strain (looked very sativa/airy). This weed was like Mexican swag minus the “bricking” part. That is not to insult this weed, just to say it had a very mersh, unremarkable quality – not flawed, just nothing special about it. Also bought a NL pre-roll which was basically a drum tobacco joint, no high, not any real weed flavor. One good thing about this shop is that it’s next to a pretty good little smart shop that carries refrigerated mushrooms. Bought 2 cartons of Mexicans there, which were nice.
-- I met up with some family in France, but they don't smoke. I smoke every day, usually a lot. Tolerance is probably a big factor in my reviews, if something stands out to me it will prob blow a newbie out. Not trying to brag, I actually wish I could lose this tolerance and enjoy weed more.