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Mata Hari's shoe turned up in the wifes suitcase ...The suitcase missed the ride home , somehow the Delta/ NWA/KLM conglomerate decided it needed an extra day in Amsterdam , lucky bastard of a suitcase ...when the Delta driver showed up with it the next day ,we eagerly tore into it to see all our goodies , and there it was . A fancy high heeled shoe -1 ...in 25+ years of togetherness ,de Vrouw has never worn such a thing ...Perplexing ... only thing we can figure out , it must be Mata Hari's ... though I suppose its possible some inept customs person in Cincy could be responsible , as Vs stuff had obviously been rifled thru.
We had MH sightings from the moment we left the FriesMuseum in Leeuwarden ... Rumor has it her Great Great Grand-daughter is the Budtender at CS Repelsteeltje there... and if there were Oscars for Coffeeshops ,Repelsteeltje would get my vote ... but I'm getting ahead – We hit the ground on a sunny 4th of July . The Prinsenhof was ready for us even at 9 AM . Excellent start...Our travelling companion L was totally jetlagged and immediately crashed ...V & I just as immediately headed out for the closest real jetlag medicine we could find ...ended up at CS Little and sampled Morning Breeze , nice start, Good to be back in Amsterdam after a 13 month absence .... First day visits included Yo Yo ,and Home Grown Fantasy ,which was L's first CS experience ...The Silver Pearl there immediately went on the list for a best smoke award ...thats some powerful stuff . Yo Yo goes on the list for “visit it every trip . “ Not so much for killer weed , we sampled the Haze ,it was fine, but for the neighborhood , staff and ambiance of its scene . The highlight of the 2nd day was a trip to the Hollandsche Manege ,which is Amsterdams version of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna . V had a ride in the indoor arena ,on this huge Dutch Warmblood ,a 17 hander at least . Was nice to watch from the overhead gallery ,sipping a Grolsch , while she cantered around the place . A stop at CS Tweedy afterward was a pleasure. Got our first Hash of the trip a 5 euro of Marok ... Was a good start in the Hash Dept. ,and indeed we noticed thruout the trip , the Hash was of Fine quality this summer . Later that evening we made it to Basjoes . The Special went on the best of trip list ...not sure which one , even James admitted there are 2 distinct Bas Specials , but it was oh so tasty , potent , and effected the Auditory sense in a most interesting way . Earlier in the day we stopped by Green Place -the Purple Kush was a real treat ... and we liked the space / vi be and staff at Hill St. Blues - W-Straat.
Enjoyed the 7/7 meetup with Squigs, Kadys parents , Andy & R at HSF...Squiggy hands me a joint “Lemon Haze “ ...Andy passes one : “Bas Cheese”,then “HGF Cheese “...and so it went ... There was a gulf between us though in smoking method ...pure vs. w/Tabak... V & L would not touch a tabak joint , and R . told me he found pure J's too strong ...but we managed ,and it was a great wrap up to leg one of our trip ...(K's-The kids devoured the sweets from the UK upon our return ,and claimed they were top notch ...the chocolate bars however never made it back ...but I enjoyed them immensely during a furious munchies attack near the end of our trip ..Did y'all manage to keep Squiggy out of the Hershey Bars ? )...other CS stops included Katsu -Black Widow ,on the best list , Tertulia – an E5 of Choculope , Sevilla – White Rhino...and additional trips to BJs... ... V & L had the HGF Silver Pearl as their top Strain...I was between the Bas Special and Black Widow ..We pulled out of AMS noon or so of the 8th heading for Fryslan ...

wat

Sounds like fun.

The Afsluitdijk was 30 Kilometres of driving rain and gusting winds. The few brave souls we saw on bicycles were clearly struggling . I remembered Spydergawds recent report ,and hoped they had had a better day ...No stop to admire the view ,or toke in a little refreshment ... onward to the Lions Ears . We found our B&B in the heart of the centrum pretty easily . The website advertises – Free Parking,Smoking, Drinking and Pets allowed , NO Children ...sounded good to us . They told us Mata Haris 2nd cousin used to live there , but you can't believe every thing you hear . Ten minutes later we were in CS Utoop with The Jefferson Airplane -Saturday Afternoon playing . That, and a 5 of JackBerry ,– a JH / Blueberry cross put us in a right good state of mind .





Leeuwarden looks great this year , the centrum is all spiffed up ... and theres a CS around every corner it seems . Honestly , if you gave me a choice between AMS and LW for a weekend , it would be a toss up . CS Repelsteeltje is in a class by itself , and De Os would be a top notch shop anywhere ...


The CS scene is Pure local , tourists are an afterthought , but we were well received in whichever we stopped in. If curious about what's on the menu- check FBNs menu site ... Generally the old tried and true strains are well represented : we tried ALL of the following -the Widows , K2 , Jack , NLX ,Sour Diesel ,Afghani, and a few Hasj varieties that were as good as anything this side of the high Dollar Terminator , Ice-o lators of AMS ...and we found our sentimental favorite- Master Kush at de Os – It was the best we sampled in LW. The Fries Museum has some nice wings including an extensive World War 2 floor as well as archeological finds , silver , complete Renaissance era Rooms , and of course ...home-towner Mata Hari gets her own wing.





A Friday daytrip took us to Dokkum ,an ancient city (they claim St. Bontifacius was murdered here in the 8th Century )...Dokkum is home to Hakuna Matada , a branc h of the CS of the same name in Drachten .Its a Smoker Friendly Bar ,we first visited back in 01 .Its been trying to get its CS license ever since ...Bring and Roll your own , have a bier , the locals are always friendly ,and smoke in a style most of you are accustomed to...Dokkum should satisfy the Windmill cravings of most Photographers ,particularly if you can stick around until sundown.



Dokkum , one of the Elfsteden of Friesland

Another shot of the Centrum area in Leeuwarden ,some strange combos of old/new to be found in this town



We followd Mata Hari down this narrow street ...she entered CS De Zone and emerged a few minutes later with a small plastic bag ...We investigated ,and found a small ,but friendly CS , It turns out MH likes Afghan ...so did we



...so after 3 daze in Leeuwarden ,we packed up and headed for Bourtange ...





a little country air ,and moatwalking ....

Very nice Eps!

Bourtange is one of those fortress towns , right on the German Border...lots of open countryside to explore, people wandering around dressed like they were still fighting the Spanish in the 1500s .



Shooting off cannons ,and staging pike fights ...If the noise got to be too much , we'd just grab the Master Kush we brought from Leeuwarden ,and head for the moats...



It was here we learned how to order a Beerenburg and be understood ...
Beerenburg is a Frisian Jenever we learned about in Leeuwarden ...theres a Beerenburg Museum there , which offers Samples ...its available all over the NL , but even DC wasn't sure if he had any when we ordered a round at NES later in the trip , but of course he did ...








V dumped that bottle into empty Spa Blau bottles to bring home , maybe that was why Mata Hari ,or the Feds were nosing around in her suitcase ...but they made it ...Little does she know I bought another big 'un at the duty free at Schipol ,and managed to get it home in one piece , even transferring it to my checked baggage once we hit the USA ,right under her nose ...So we spent a couple days enjoying the country air ...smoking Master Kush , and drinking Berenburg in the bars of Bourtange ...L meanwhile was going nutz in the Antique shops around the village square , when we caught up with her after the spree she had 2 mini sword replicas and an old pistol ... amoung other gifty goodies ...yikes...

Sunset was a real treat here





then it was off to Zutphen ...Via Germany ...the Autobahn- Mercedes and BMWs etc blasting past with the roar of a Jet Fighter ...for an hour or so ,and a Lunch in Nordhorn ,where we stocked up on Knoppers and other Deutschser treats ...and drove thru the Achterhoek into Zutphen

WOW! love that last pic.

I really enjoy your style of writing, thank you for sharing! Great pictures, and I agree with Boner, that last one is beautiful.

GREAT report, great pix. Thanks!

Thanks for the positive comments folks .

We got a sweet deal for the Eden in Zutphen ,booking thru this site ...39 Euro a night for a double ,.L got a single for 29 ...The reception was even amazed at our rate , but they honored it . The Eden Zut. is one of those sprawling old Manor Houses,with gardens and terraces ,and unmarked staircases leading to clandestine little smoking balconies . It was late on the first night ,at one of these ,that L opened her little stash can , and we were delighted to find some Katsu Black Widow and the Green Place Purple Kush left from AMS ...





One reason we keep coming back to Zutphen is that it feels almost like some Medieval Movie set ... albeit , a very well kept one ...The CS scene has paid lip service to the new laws , but it seems to be pretty much business as usual . Three friendly ,roomy CSes : Plein 48, Liberty and the Zoo ... the Zoo has made the most changes , and for the life of me I can;t figure out why they aren't utilizing a very nice ,large back garden area . Must be some zoning / legal nonsense ...But they've walled off their main shop area , turning a once roomy airy shop into a stuffy , hot ,smelly one. And to make matters worse their Scrabble game is gone ...The other two shops have taken less drastic steps , and were our preferred stops . Zutphens entry into the Best Smoke of Trip would be Plein 48s -48 Special ...Smoked some of this with R & Gapie at Andys Birthday Party - They approved ... R. even consented to roll one for us UK style...It's possible even Uncle Sam approves ,because guess what appeared in a dirty shirt pocket after we got home ? Didn't do it on purpose ...but ...what a treat



Anyway ... Wondering when an inane Mata Hari comment will come ?
Right now ...
It was after our 2nd 48 Special J that we noticed a partially opened ornate gate right cross the Plein from CS 48 ...L was intrigued ...so we followed her in ...and there SHE was...


Zutphen is full of interesting little statues , funky gates,hofjes and old wall sections from god knows how many years ago . It works for us ...at Sunset the crows ,and there must be thousands ,go nuts ,swarmin, swooping and cackling their way from their daytime haunts to the trees around the parklands and along the Martinasingel ... Just wear a hat if you're in the vicinity...The Martinasingel is the route around the old town wall, thats very much intact here. With one of the top views we've encountered in the NL . Too big , and not enough room for an all inclusive pic ...but this one ,photoshopped to hell and back , captures some of it


Got up early the last morning and got this shot ,between the Hotel and the Market Plein . I mean for 39 E a night they weren't about to throw in the 16 Euro breakfast buffet ...but they did let me fill the coffee cups .





Goodbye Zuphen ,Next Stop Delft

The pics are amazing, nice1

Beautiful surreal photos. KEep it coming.

Awesome pics .
May i ask how you got the crayon type effect of the city shot ?

Iko- I'm running Photoshop Elements 2.0 . Kind of incomplete ,bit out of date ,but for me loaded with cool features ... First I got rid of the white sky turning the brightness all the way down , introduced a slight wave from the distortion menu off the filter tab... sharpened the hell out of it in the unsharp mask ,and played with the Hue a bit in the enhance tab ...We got a good deal of boring white sky during the trip , which doesn't always make for pleasing pix ...heres a similar shot from Bourtange ,but with the sky not blackened .

Pulled into Delft after an uneventful drive thru a province or two ...Looking for Hotel de Plataan ,or the Sycamore auf Engels ...Hotel route clearly marked as one exits the A13 .Found it quickly , just off one of those Green Canals ...




Free parking always a plus ... Free drink tokens for the Hotel Bar nice as well...Later I got a Duvel ,V got a Berenburg ,which they had to dig out of the cellar ,apparently Mata Hari was the last person to want any ...This was our favorite Hotel of the trip ...almost an apt. with full kitchen, and by Dutch Standards a huge room ...creaky old glass elevator that took longer to get to 2nd floor than walking ...but V & L took great delite in riding it up...wouldn't hold all 3 of us . So with our CS map in hand we set out to explore Delft... We knew Delft would be no Leeuwarden when it came to Coffeeshops , but we had no idea it would have such a skimpy scene . Luckily the best shop for our needs was the closest . CS Vlouw , roomy , friendly ...with some very stoned patrons ...We decided everyone here must be smoking heavy Indicas . Even the pool games were in slow motion ... We sampled the NLX off their menu ,which came in 2nd in the NLX department to LWs CS Downtown . But I found later they do roll a mean Hash Joint .



Delft has this huge Rectangular Market Square (huh ?) . Impressive , but not as grand as Say Haarlems or Middelburgs . Lined with cafes , and shops selling the Blue Delftware , its the most touristy of the 3 for sure . We had to hold L . back , or leave her behind ,as we were on a CS quest ...We eventually found all 5 ...Future and the Keldertje are just but-n-go...no tables, drinks ,snacks...nothin... the Game was next ...a rowdy ,packed ,smallish shop ,between a green canal and the station .We decided this was where all the Sativa tokers hung out . Would be a great local shop ,were one a local ...their Silver Bud was the Best we sampled in Delft ...but we had the feeling of intruding ,by taking the limited , though comfy seating that WAS available , and never did we all get a seat ...though in the AM one day ,V and I hung out for a while , and enjoyed the place .




So only two bona -fide CSes in Delft . The 5th shop de Boedhha is aonther buy-n-go ...with the caveat that pure smokers can light up at the little table they allow customers who smoke UK style to roll at (but not smoke at) .Their Boeddha special was a nice smoke ...Before July 08 the buy-n go shops were apparently real CSes , but something spooked them to become what they are now . So the bottom line : CS wise Delft is pretty pathetic . Didn't sample anything that was even close to top AMS standards . But having said that , compared to where I'm writing from ...Hey , at least it's Holland . As far as being a delightful city to visit and explore , Delft came in last on this years itinerary , and wouldn't be on a top 10 list to return to were I to make one . Too touristy (yeah I know that's us) ,green trashy canals that look like they haven't been flushed properly since Vermeers day, and surprisingly little Golden Agey vibe compared to the other towns we'd seen...




If blue china is your thing , well its right up at the top. Main market day on Thursday was packed , and the antique/ craft market was on Saturday ...which was rainy/cold . We had to get the car back to AMS so we couldn't hang for long . But V & L were browsing / buying until the bitter end ...Me , I was ready to get back to AMS , and the Birthday Party in the park.