1st ever trip report 9-13th Jan

[treetop]

Before I start just a small disclaimer. I'm not a weed smoker outside of Amsterdam/Holland so it effects are strong on me especially as a non smoker I smoke pure weed joints.
As a result this trip is very hazy

The first thing to say about this trip was that it was COLD!

It might be the last time I ever visit AMS in the depths of winter.

My flight which was delayed (Easyjet) got in about 6pm on Friday evening. A couple of words about Easyjet. Cheap but false economy perhaps. Extra charges for luggage and food,drink and unreliable service.

Next time I'm going KLM which is much better in comparason.

My hotel this trip was The Luxer on Warmostraat. Great location, a lift, a bar, room ok and warm with good shower. Smoker friendly place as long as you are discreet.

Even though Hunters (which I like) is right by the Luxer I was meeting some friends in Cafe Remember in the Red light district and I was late. Needed to get some money and weed so went to atm on Niewendyke then Green place to have some of their Blueberry cheese.

Now possibly for the 1st time ever I had researched this trip in terms of where to go to find the weed that I wanted. It paid off as the blueberry cheese was exactly what I wanted. Counted 13 different stages to my stoned high on this stuff and even though it was a decently pricey 13 eu a gramme I felt it was the best weed I smoked on my trip.
Great tasting smoke and not at all harsh even though I don't touch tobacco and always smoke weed pure it was quite palatable with that lovely cheesy aftertaste and fruity smell.

Later that evening I found myself in Amnesia having battled my way in the freezing cold across the singel I needed warming up and this lovely oasis in the night served it's purpose beautifully. I think I had the amnesia haze and as I recall it was as strong as anything I had on this visit.
My friend had the LSD I think and he said he did not know why he didn't have the amnesia haze as well. Amnesia has been re vamped and smartened up since I was last there. It is really nice and look foreward to going there on a nice warm afternoon sometime.
We were there late and it was closing time. What a state to be stumbling off into the sub zero chilling amsterdam night!
Where we stumbled off to next is anyones guess but I hope it was warm!

Next part incoming when I remember enough to post

[Bob2]

nice start mate, i try not to travel from late December till the end of February it just gets too bloody cold

[Toker70]

Cheers for that.Looking forward to the next part

[Adamster]

Nice! Got pictures? cant wait for the memory to be back .. know it hard to remember been there b4

[intricatethakid]

Good report so far.

[treetop]

Good report so far. I know its hard to recall all those hazy memories lol

Anyways, how did you end up handling all the smoke? I used to be a daily smoker but I've stopped for a while now, but I still want to go to Amsterdam this summer and toke to my hearts desire. Were you able to handle everything even though you don't smoke outside of the Dam? Or did you find it hard to really function from being too fucked up? Were you still able to put together a good smoke list? Or did you really have to limit yourself?

Looking forward to the rest of your report

To answer your question it depended on the type of weed I was smoking. Generally speaking it hit me quite hard and it was not long before I could not smoke any more without coughing after every drag. Next visit I will look to find another way. Maybe a pipe or a vape or a bong. What kind of facilities do the various coffeeshops and bars have for these items? Do you have to bring your own 'paraphenalia'?

Mostly I handled it by getting all the stuff that required any sensible thought out of the way before hitting the coffeeshops in the afternoon/evening. By the 2nd day I was waking up with a decent weed 'hangover' anyway so was able to be nice and floaty till the next top up anyway. Has anyone else noticed this effect?


The next day I went to Den Haag. This trip I was determined to visit a few places and Den Haaag as well as Antwerp was on the list. 10 eu and about an hour on the train later I was there and walking through the busy main shopping street. Just past the main square I saw the most beautiful art deco building.

I had to go in and find out about it some more. It turned out it was a purpose built department store built in the 1920's by a couple of Jewish fellows who fell foul of the war. It was still quite a 'swish' department store whose staff were more than happy to answer my questions. However when they suggested I might want to continue my research in the local library I felt it was time to move on
The main square was quite impressive but the town was too cold. In the summer for instance I can imagine the main square being a lovely place to be. At this time of year when they were just taking the xmas decorations down and everyone was scurrying about it seemed less welcoming. After walking around a while and asking a very cute female policewoman the way to the nearest coffeeshop I went in to find a retired bar which now only sold weed etc. i did not stay because they only had one type of weed and it did not seem up to much. the next stop was for some food in a great little dutch cafe right on a canal. Totally enclosed it was very small but made delicious fresh food which everyone really seemed to be enjoying. It was not the most comfortable place to eat. I have noticed the Dutch seem to be big on functionality but not so lavish in their dining scenarios.
I had the Rib plate and while it was good the woman next to me with the fish and chips looked to be onto a real winner. what a massive piece of fish she had! I was quite impressed when she ate it all up and finished before me. Good going there
After walking around some more I happened on another coffeeshop in the Chinatown district. Only 2 types of weed on sale and neither of them looked up to much so again I didn't stay and walked back to the train station to meet a couple of friends in the dam.

That night met some friends in a Red Light District bar called Cafe Remember and had a few drinks and smokes. I smoked all the weed I had left over from the night before and we all were headed towards Amnesia for more weed before I got 'distracted' on the way. Not wanting to lose my friends I hurried towards Amnesia to catch them up but the ice was to have it's say!
Coming over one of the little canal bridges my feet just suddenly were not there anymore and I was flat on my face. My forearm broke my fall and while it was sore I did not think there was any serious damage. This made me take a reality check, a few deep breaths and the question entered my mind. When did you last eat? Are you in a fit state to continue the evening? So to cut a not so long story even shorter I went and got some food, took it to my room, ate,watched tv and dropped off to sleep.

Maybe a bit of a boring option but earlier that evening my friend and I had seen a British bloke with soaking jeans up to his thighs asking us the way to a bar. He had obviously been drunk enough to think he could walk across the ice and failed and now was walking about in the freezing cold lost looking for his mates/more beer.
Well I didn't want that to be me so probably glad I went back to the hotel....


Next part coming sooner than this one I hope!

[Nepenthe]

Mostly I handled it by getting all the stuff that required any sensible thought out of the way before hitting the coffeeshops in the afternoon/evening. By the 2nd day I was waking up with a decent weed 'hangover' anyway so was able to be nice and floaty till the next top up anyway. Has anyone else noticed this effect?

Haha, yeah... we call it a stone-over Got the term off a friend I used to toke with at work, who used to come in looking baked all the time, from the night before. lol.

Glad you enjoyed your trip, I'm heading over next weekend for some relaxing time We were over in August and actually found it too hot - maybe it will be too cold in February, but we're hoping at least the coffeeshops and things won't be too busy. The place was packed in August.

Looking forward to going back to Amnesia, really liked that place and only found it on the last day of my last trip. I need to smoke more of their menu

[intricatethakid]

lol @ the ice. I'm sure those canals have got to be tricky as hell in the winter. At least you had your head about you to get some food in ya' and take it easy.

[RR]

Good reporting there Tree top !

I think you made a good call on going to bed early, better to be safe than sorry especially when your away from home !!

I can't wait to smoke up ! ! ! like you i dnt smoke in the UK Dam only !

Really enjoyed your write up a chance of any pics ? !

[treetop]

Good reporting there Tree top !

I think you made a good call on going to bed early, better to be safe than sorry especially when your away from home !!

I can't wait to smoke up ! ! ! like you i dnt smoke in the UK Dam only !

Really enjoyed your write up a chance of any pics ? !

Very sorry to report that on this trip I forgot my camera which was a shame because it may have been cold and miserable and slippy but it sure was beautiful at times with all the snow and ice on the canals.

[treetop]

Sorry about the delay. Had a report all typed up on here and hit post and the auto timer had logged me off so i lost everything. After that writing another report did not seem so attractive

The next day I met up with a couple of friends in the old church where I only purchased a coffee without any problem. My friends were not smoking/buying either. No probs.

Said goodbye to one of them who was off back home that day then went to central station to catch the train to Antwerp with my Boston mate.

Although we paid for the fast train we ended up on the slow one and got there at 3pm.

The best thing I saw in Antwerp was the railway station! What an amzing place. Multi leveled and open as you arrive and a lobby/foyer which took my breath away.

After that we had a walk around and found the city centre then wandered into the university district and finally the rather large red light district before having a beer or 2 at a local bar and returning to Amsterdam.

The bar we went was very friendly and relaxed. Seems like quite a nice place overall with it's own kind of charm. Worth a night over to have a better look around next time. Once again the cold weather made it difficult to sightsee. The highlight (or lowlight) of the trip was smoking a joint by the urinals right in the middle of the red light area. How delightfully seedy! Even after the joint none of the ladies looked that great either so I was not tempted to step in out of the cold like my friend!

After getting back at 9:30pm and a few nice Belgium beers in a lovely bar on Niewmarket. I think we got that the wrong way around although we did drink Stella artois in Antwerp. Boy is that belgium dark beer stuff strong! The night fades into disarray somewhat but I'm sure I didn't fall over and I'm sure we ended up at Rock city at some point although if a bar even exists of that name I'd be surprised

the last day I was flying out at 9pm so had the whole day. Decided to go and get some culture at the Rijsmuseum. My advice - DONT!!
What a massive rip off. 23 eu for entry and audio tour and it is in a small wing of the main building with a pitifully small collection of art including very little variety in terms of non canvas materials.
Of course Nightwatch is good and some of the other paintings are excellent but this town and this country can do so much better I was horribly disappointed.
Just a rip off plain and simple the council needs to spend more time sorting this kind of thing out and less time trying to close coffeeshops and red light windows if you ask me. Why are they trying to make Amsterdam just like every other city? I'm convinced the local councilors must be big fans of 'fox news' or something similar.

After the museum I spent a good while looking around the antique district which was really a lot of fun. Great stuff there including a lot of very old tiles. Amazing how many there were in one shop I visited.
I'm into antiques and in particular pottery and porcelein so this area was a real treat.

Next time plan to do some of the indoor and outdoor markets too. Try and pick up some dutch bargains!

Well it was soon time to go. Had time for a joint at hunters on the way out and as usual rushed off to the station to find my flight was delayed till midnight! Well bonus - after a beer or 2 at the airport I made a snap decision to return to amsterdam to get a hash cake/brownie.
Went to a really nice and smart coffeeshop down on the same street as Barney's - was really swish and will return that way again. Seems like a decent part of town to visit.
All went according to plan until my locker at the airport stopped working and only just made the flight as a result. Was having such a great time I would not have minded too much if I'd missed it though!
feeling tired and emotional I scoffed my cake on the plane and was in a great mood to face the icy journey home.

a few thoughts for my next trip. Have never ever consumed hash in any form in the dam - I don't smoke - dislike tobacco and actually can't take a lot of joints before my lungs give out. any suggestions as to how I can widen my options whilst still being able to taste the distinctive flavors of the various pots and weeds?

2nd - Coffeeshops - feel like I have to buy everywhere I go. Is this really necessary? Is it really ok just to have a coffee?
Food - once again had very little luck finding decent places to eat. Am lactose intolerat so that really cuts my options down a lot I know. Any suggestions?
What I'd most like is to be able to eat a decent meal in a place I can also smoke weed and probably drink beer as well at some point.

Coffeeshops further afield - feel like I've only scratched the surface on this topic and really lookijng foreward to trying the places a bit further out such as media cafe and katsu and others. Not least because the prices seem to be a lot more reasonable there.

More culture next time. Not sure about this one. Any suggestions?

Never ever ever going in the depths of winter ever again.

Finally would love to spend a summer there (like us all I'm sure)

the end - next time I'm taking my camera!

[Balou]

Nice report, thanks.

any suggestions as to how I can widen my options whilst still being able to taste the distinctive flavors of the various pots and weeds?

Stop by Barney's on Haarlemmerstraat and give the vaporizer a try. They have one at each of the tables, just ask if you don't know how to use it. The Verdamper at Katsu is also great, I enjoy it more than the vape.

feel like I have to buy everywhere I go. Is this really necessary? Is it really ok just to have a coffee?

I usually only buy in select shops but visit several to smoke. I have never had an issue outside of Old Church, which it seems you didn't. I just purchase something and have a seat.

Food - once again had very little luck finding decent places to eat. Am lactose intolerat so that really cuts my options down a lot I know. Any suggestions?
What I'd most like is to be able to eat a decent meal in a place I can also smoke weed and probably drink beer as well at some point.

Yeah being lactose intolerant does limit your choices. Maybe go for a steak or ribs and veggies. There are several places like this around town. The Satellite Bar on the Leidseplein was decent. Have a walk down the street right beside it, towards Rookies, and you will find several options. Maybe Gaucho's on Damstraat near Coffeeshop Paradise. La Grotte and Barney's Uptown, both near each other on Haarlemmerstraat, allow pure smoking. They serve food and have a full bar.

Coffeeshops further afield - feel like I've only scratched the surface on this topic and really lookijng foreward to trying the places a bit further out such as media cafe and katsu and others. Not least because the prices seem to be a lot more reasonable there.

Katsu is a must visit. Take a wander through the Albert Cyup Market, on the way and stop at Club Media on the way back.

More culture next time. Not sure about this one. Any suggestions?

The Rijksmuseum is under renovation right now, hence the smaller exhibit. Maybe give the Anne Frankhuis, The Resistance Museum or The Van Gogh a try.

Finally would love to spend a summer there (like us all I'm sure)

I love the Summer in Mokum. It is usually sunny and warm in the day. But I try to visit in the Winter as well. I like the slower pace and smaller crowds. And if I am lucky some snow and frozen canals!

Peace,
balou

[Cisco]

Nice reporting man another culture option is the modern art gallery Stedilijk (i think its called) i have not visited myself yet (have meant to last couple visits) i would also like to check out the resistance museum !