Hippy's Daily Dutch Toke

[hippy_man99]

The Random unpredicted delights:

It was a long day in the lab... I've been pouring over these soil samples trying to make my eyes constantly adjust and sharpen. Plus someone new was in the lab today and she took my microscope!! grrr....

(For those who don't use microscopes, especially stereo-microscopes I'll explain... You know those 3D images you see from olden times? the two photos separated giving your eyes two slightly different flat images and making your brain think it's 3-D.... Thats how the microscopes work that I use. They're all different and the one I was using was the best in the room
. because she took mine I had to use a different one... with less light and wierder images...)

So imagine that for 5 hours a day.... It definitely does a number on your head. Almost like a sativa high but more uncomfortable....


I was done by 3:40... my brain just couldn't take the constant staring... it hurt my eyes.... plus again it's super nice outside. And I was stuck in a lab facing the blue sky and clouds... like its mocking me....

But I admit it wasn't all bad... I figured out a few seed ID... found a bunch of shit... I do it for a reason ya know

So it's 3:40 and I'm outside on the bike. I was in a real move for a smoke to relax.... but the shops open up at 4..... A small dilemma but nothing cycling 2-3 times around town won't take care of.... With the wind in my hair I finally enjoyed the cool breeze I was denied in the hot cramped lab.... So I pull up to Leidseplein and notice two bikes that are packed with luggage and packs and waterbottles... It looked like someone camping by bike.... which coincidentally was exactly what it was. One of the Bikes was actually a Rented Macbike from Amsterdam! On the back was a little canadian flag patch...

I wander on in and up to the bar. I order a gram of the Shiva and a coffee, as I listen around the busy shop right next to me i hear a distinct eh? at the end of an english sentence. So i struck up a conversation! They were two BC canadians, a guy named Ryan and a Lady who I can't for the life of me remember her name...... i believe they were married... but i can't remember that either... (we smoked a few joints and pipes.... so my heads a jumble)
Seems that they had been biking and camping around the netherlands and belgium since the end of April and were here until the end of June. They had come for the Lady who was an artist and taking a number of unique pictures around the netherlands....
The decided to come to leiden on a limb and we just happened to run into eachother... we chatted for a bit, enjoyed the Lovely Northern Lights and White widow he had bought from Leidseplein, as well as my Shiva... (All of which by the way are 7 euro a gram... the only more expensive weed there is a cannabis cup winner... black something something... but it's deadly worth it... I think 12/gram)


I showed them around town and we chatted about life and what not...Then took them to the edge of town and pointed them in the right direction of Amsterdam. I told em about Noordwijk and the Flying pig beach hostel. A nice place for a rest and a chill.... and about the Old Amsterdam and the White cheese... So Andy if you're there.... which I know you are a lot ... look out for the two Canadians with backpack bikes... real nice couple with a bunch of fun stories...

Only one simple problem.... I was going to go climbing today, but after meeting and chilling all afternoon, I missed everyone at the wall by an hour... oh well... I was too stoned anyways for big heights...

peace and happy toking

hippy

[hippy_man99]

Friday
I was planning on spending a quiet evening at home watching TV and relaxing this friday. It had been a long week in the lab and I was looking forward to some down time. I popped in a PS3 game that's my roommates' and started to play. About an hour into it I hear a ring on the doorbell. Now the only other people who have used the doorbell have been the police to complain about the noise... ( our ass of a neighbor called the cops on my roommate for playing music and cleaning his apartment on a Saturday morning at 11)

So I look down and it's my buddy J chillin with a pipe and a chess board! We hop on the bikes and wander through town to the little park to play some chess in the Sun... a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Once we finish the clouds start to roll in and we start to feel little pricks of rain subtly hitting us... I decide lets head on over to the bar next to my fav. coffeeshop (The Leidseplein... i know i talk about it often.... but it really is awesome...)

So we grab a beer and smoke a jay talkin about cultural differences between the US and Europe. (He's a Belgian from Antwerpen with some interesting viewpoints... I enjoy the intelligent conversation!)

We head back to the coffeeshop next door and I grab another pre-rolled haze joint. (it has a bit too much baccy in it for me, but I enjoy supporting the shop. they deserve it) I run into my American buddy Noah who's studying here as well. We chat, we smoke, and we long to play another chess game in a shop with far too many people in it and not enough table space. I suggest a free squat/bar down the road that has a really lovely smoking room filled with plants called De Linkse Kerk (The Leftist Church). A bit of a socialist haven. We head on over and to finish our game.

I'm speaking with the bartender and he tells me the jam group from Bar en Boos (I've been to a number of music and drum jams with these guys) are playing an acoustic Jam session. So Noah and J head off home, and I head into the dark hall behind the bar... There's soft red and yellow light dimly lit. there's a smokey haze in there as well, slightly bluring one's vision and perceptions.... A circle of people were sitting playing guitars, bass, drums (bongos, Djembe, etc.) and a few microphones with percussion gadgets... Going in with my harmonica we had a great jam session into the night...

a good way to start the weekend!

hippy

[StonedSince67]

... a good way to start the weekend!

and reading this was a good way to start my sunday!

still enjoying, thanks

[hippy_man99]

thanks!

[hippy_man99]

Headin back to America for 2 weeks to visit assorted family members and the girlfriend.... then I wont be back in the Netherlands until August... hope to see you all then!

peace,
hippy

[StonedSince67]

Headin back to America for 2 weeks to visit assorted family members and the girlfriend.... then I wont be back in the Netherlands until August... hope to see you all then! peace, hippy

well way back in the late 60s when one or more of a group of stoner friends was due to leave the scene and 'split', we would all give them the following message -

via con dios amigo

take care and have a good journey ...

[SoulRider]

Headin back to America for 2 weeks to visit assorted family members and the girlfriend.... then I wont be back in the Netherlands until August... hope to see you all then!

peace,
hippy

When are you off? Oh and enjoy Oxford in July You got time to pop over for a smoke before you fly?

Catch you soon dude

[hippy_man99]

When are you off? Oh and enjoy Oxford in July You got time to pop over for a smoke before you fly?

Catch you soon dude

hey hey andy,
Sorry I won't be able to get back into the Dam.... Leavin on Wednesday at 9AM and from now until then I gotta get all my shit together....

Lol oxford in July.... yeah thats gonna be interesting... I've already done 2 oxfor summers.... 1 was fucking roasting, the other was cold and rainy and miserable..... who knows what'll happen this year eh?

I'll be back in August for a toke though,

peace,
hippy

[cheese]

best of luck on your adventures .

cheers

[darkglobe]

[img][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/ ... ruckin.jpg[/img][/img]

Have a good summer,man...

[sh@dy]

nice blog, keep them coming.

[hippy_man99]

Slowly weaning off the Baccy

Since moving here I daresay I've started smoking a lot more. It was fine at first, however slowly I started to see the detrimental effects of mainly smoking spliffs. When I first came I smoked cigarettes as well. Since then I've stopped smoking cigs alone, but the fact that most spliffs use a fair amount of tobacco, I was still smoking far too much...

I started getting short of breath and coughing quite a bit. It always seemed to be less when I smoked pure joints or used my pipe.... but I kept going... simply because hell I like getting high eh?

So finally I'm done with the tobacco for good. Since quitting my coughing has cut down and my chest isn't nearly as tight as it was....

How does this relate to my story? well these 2 Canadians I met started me on the path to non-tobacco usage.... and I let the story begin...


One last stoney tail before friends, family and normal life outside the netherlands.

A few weeks ago I had run into the BC canadian couple biking around the Netherlands. We had a wonderful afternoon of chillin in Leiden and I sent them on their way!...

Honestly I thought that I wouldn't see them again.. but lo and behold I get an email last week from Ryan (the guy) that they were heading back into Leiden to check out the saturday Market and we should hang out..... well who am I to turn down a fun saturday with fellow stoners? We met up outside the Leidseplein at 2... Ryan was very impressed with the Northern Lights hydro from the Leidseplein... he kept telling me that it was by far one of the best weeds he's smoked the entire trip.... (they've been here since April and are still in Holland...)

We stop outside behind my university for a pipe or 2 (I had my Northern lights, he had somthing i can't remember but was quite nice), then proceed to wander in and out of all the back streets and alleys through leiden meandering towards the saturday Market, all the while enjoying the PERFECT weather we were having.... warm, sunny, amazing.....

We wander through the market and pick up a few things here and there... most notably 2 small baskets of Strawberries which tasted AMAZING....mmm we wandered slowly watching the locals do their weekly shopping. The sites and sounds, the smells just scream genuine culture.
As you walk slowly the smells change depending on the booths.... Fresh baked bread first permeates your senses as you near the food section, slowly you get the hint of fresh fruit. This past month has been Cherries, strawberries and pineapple. that sweet and tart combination excites the senses....As you move through, you see all the colors of fresh fruit and vegetables slowly turn to olives and nuts... You can hear the middle eastern guys yelling how "mooi Lekker" their goods are.
Turning the corner and crossing the bridge a wave of fish smell hits you like a ton a bricks.... and this is the most crowded place in the whole market.... numerous fish stalls selling everything imaginable... here you see the families gobble down raw smoked herring with onions or the deep fried fishy delights they seem to love here....

pure dutch culture...
This is the way the Netherlands should be seen, not from a hazy coffeeshop on the Warmoestraat watching tourists and shady dealers stumble by.... but from the local market in a bustling dutch town...

but I digress... we decide that since I'm leaving the country quite soon, I might as well get rid of the excess food I have....we pick up a few items (chicken, peas, eggs etc.) and head over to my pad and I cook up some lovely stir fry chicken and fried rice. There we sat, laughed, ate, smoked a few more pipes, and watched some south park....


Ryan was talking quite a bit about the vaporisers because he was keen on using his new favorites strain... the Northern Lights Hydro from here.... we got into a discussion about it and I decided to head on into the dam with them on sunday to test it out....

I met them both at the 420 cafe around 11AM to start our day excursion. Unfortunately they wouldn't let us vape our own weed so we bought some blueberry... (lovely strain by the way... great taste for a fair price)...


He cranked the vape up to about 210ºC, a bit hotter than normal, but he disliked only vapeing the THC and forgetting about the cannabinoids....

I must say after the first bag I was more high than I've been in years..... YEARS! and thats after living in the netherlands the past 5 months.....
we finish off that batch (with another full bag) and then stealthily sneak in a mix of blueberry and the Northern lights for another go.....

my god.... my entire body was in a haze... slowly moving around... my visual perception a little tweaked as well....
The first time in years when I physically said "naw i'm good, don't need another hit"

so we finish and decide to look for a place I knew of that had vapes out for us to use on our own. (at 420 they have the vape at the weed counter and you couldn't mess with the settings)

we wander down in and out through the streets looking for this mystery shop I tried to remember from a long time ago...in my infinite wisdom forgot my CS map....First a quick stop at the HGF to pick up some lovely cheese I had been telling them about.... They both LOVED the smell... which honestly got me hooked as well
we make it down to Tweede Kamer and in my mind it's around the corner from there....
after about an hour of wandering we get quite hungry and decide to head to the Greenhouse lounge where they serve food..... we wander back up and run into an art exhibit.... nice local pieces for a fun gander....

After food I get some internet and realize that the shop I wanted to check out was Amnesia, and we had passed near it numerous times.... ahh I love being a stoner sometimes hahaha....

so we head on out over there to use their wonderful set of 3 vapes. I can't remember how many bags we filled but in total.... the amount of weed that was used was about the same amount I put in a big joint.....(for the 3 of us mind you)

I have to say Amnesia has an amazing atmosphere and really nice staff as well. There was no need to buy any more weed so we didn't purchase anything...

I think the best combination was taking the blueberry from 420 and the cheese from HGF.... and poof! you have yourself some niiiice blue cheese.... I really have to commend the vaporizer for flavor. I could really taste the sublte nuances from each different bag.... not to mention how ridiculously fucked up I got....


After our sesh, we again slowly meandered through the city, stopping here and there for me to get some new clothes and what not....

We finished out the night on the Warmoestraat at the Greenhouse effect with a bag or 2 more to vape.... all in all a lovely vapo-trip to the dam...


since then I've had 1 bowl.... and a brownie and i've been sorted...


now back to America where I hear news like this
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 1974.story



can't wait to get back eh?

[StonedSince67]

that was a really nice read, thanks

my favorite bits -

smoked pure joints or used my pipe

that's how i still smoke after all these years, i'm just a bit out-of-date really

As you walk slowly the smells change depending on the booths.... Fresh baked bread first permeates your senses as you near the food section, slowly you get the hint of fresh fruit ... The sites and sounds, the smells just scream genuine culture.

nicely put ...

.... ahh I love being a stoner sometimes hahaha ....

sorry but i love this sentence and just have to see it in a bigger font -

.... ahh I love being a stoner sometimes hahaha ....

now back to America where I hear news like this ...

well, this is the city where in the summer of 1968 when my hair dared to touch the tops of my ears and i was walking down the street, people walking past would shout out "hippie" in a less than friendly voice

can't wait to get back eh?

perhaps you could view it as a study of different modern cultures to be compared and contrasted ...

or perhaps you could run away for awhile to the art institute (do they still have the large statues of the buddha?) or the natural history museum (do they still have the dioramas?) or some blues club or the beach or ...

[cattales1960]

when I read your stories hippy, I feel like Im sitting around a campfire with you as the story teller. I love the way each person has their own flair for telling stories.

[Cisco]

Enjoying your reports man enjoy your travels this summer