Mushroom/truffles for a mixed pair of people!

[Ringobaby]

Hey folks - I'm heading to Amsterdam next weekend for a week with my girlfriend. We've been twice before, had a great time. I'm a long-time smoker, but I can confess that even as a Norther Californian, the Amsterdam weed knocked me down! My girlfriend is much less a smoker, but enjoys it as a holiday/weekend thing. She's a scientist, I'm a musician if that explains anything!

Anyway, I'm eager to try mushrooms in Amsterdam (truffles, most likely.) I've taken mushrooms maybe two dozen times before, but my girlfriend hasn't ever. Given that on weed she's sometimes prone to paranoid freak-owts, like publicly panicking over her imagined lost wallet before finding it in her pocket or purse, I'm a bit nervous about doing mushrooms with her. I have a deeply positive experience of mushrooms - it's a sacred thing to me - and I'd love for her to enjoy them too. My guess is that we should simply purchase a modest-strength strain and maybe even split that.

Anybody here have advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

[Marco]

Hey folks - I'm heading to Amsterdam next weekend for a week with my girlfriend. We've been twice before, had a great time. I'm a long-time smoker, but I can confess that even as a Norther Californian, the Amsterdam weed knocked me down! My girlfriend is much less a smoker, but enjoys it as a holiday/weekend thing. She's a scientist, I'm a musician if that explains anything!

Anyway, I'm eager to try mushrooms in Amsterdam (truffles, most likely.) I've taken mushrooms maybe two dozen times before, but my girlfriend hasn't ever. Given that on weed she's sometimes prone to paranoid freak-owts, like publicly panicking over her imagined lost wallet before finding it in her pocket or purse, I'm a bit nervous about doing mushrooms with her. I have a deeply positive experience of mushrooms - it's a sacred thing to me - and I'd love for her to enjoy them too. My guess is that we should simply purchase a modest-strength strain and maybe even split that.

Anybody here have advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

Yes, don't do it unless she is comfortable. There are a million more things for her to freak out over in Amsterdam than at home.

[Ringobaby]

Hey folks - I'm heading to Amsterdam next weekend for a week with my girlfriend. We've been twice before, had a great time. I'm a long-time smoker, but I can confess that even as a Norther Californian, the Amsterdam weed knocked me down! My girlfriend is much less a smoker, but enjoys it as a holiday/weekend thing. She's a scientist, I'm a musician if that explains anything!

Anyway, I'm eager to try mushrooms in Amsterdam (truffles, most likely.) I've taken mushrooms maybe two dozen times before, but my girlfriend hasn't ever. Given that on weed she's sometimes prone to paranoid freak-owts, like publicly panicking over her imagined lost wallet before finding it in her pocket or purse, I'm a bit nervous about doing mushrooms with her. I have a deeply positive experience of mushrooms - it's a sacred thing to me - and I'd love for her to enjoy them too. My guess is that we should simply purchase a modest-strength strain and maybe even split that.

Anybody here have advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

Yes, don't do it unless she is comfortable. There are a million more things for her to freak out over in Amsterdam than at home.

So true. I asked her about it last time we were there, and given how completely mental everything already was, she said she'd rather try them in a calmer environment. We've rented a flat - I can't recall the neighborhood - but we're not so central this time, so we'll see if that makes a difference to the overall tone of our visit. We did talk about taking a train to Leiden, or somewhere quieter than Amsterdam.

There's the option of just me taking mushrooms, with her enjoying my babbling company or such. I'm glad we have more than a couple days this time... there isn't that pressure to hit every coffeeshop and see every painting and eat every pancake! We can pace ourselves let things spread out a bit more naturally.

[TTx2]

All Coffeeshops stock the same truffles from the same company. I believe you should get something light,and find a confortable and calming place for a first trip. I dont think tripping in appartment is that a good ideia because generally trips get a very instropective vibe that might freak out newbies. I think imeeting mother nature is a proven decision for agood place to trip, go to vondelpark, botanical garden, even artis zoo are excelent place to trip. Do it during the day too, at night there are too much wasted people going around town.

[Ringobaby]

All Coffeeshops stock the same truffles from the same company. I believe you should get something light,and find a confortable and calming place for a first trip. I dont think tripping in appartment is that a good ideia because generally trips get a very instropective vibe that might freak out newbies. I think imeeting mother nature is a proven decision for agood place to trip, go to vondelpark, botanical garden, even artis zoo are excelent place to trip. Do it during the day too, at night there are too much wasted people going around town.

Hey - thanks for the suggestions. If my girlfriend is up for trying mushrooms, I agree something light is the only way to go. My first trip was pretty subtle, yet sublime. If she's not into it, I might take them on my own, but either way it's great to have your list of places to visit. The botanical garden seems like a must-see regardless!

I'm not much a nature-boy, but mushrooms always push me out the door in any weather. I go out and start kissing trees if there's no one to see me!

[Bullah]

If you decide to take your tripping out selves to Artemis zoo, which I can heartily reccommend. Do not think " I know what would very awesome. I'll go sit in the planetarium and trip out in a nice dark room looking at stars, just to find you have gone into the kids showing with its hyperactive paced, fake sesame street characters, talking/floating blue orb and a cartoon kid called Art travelling through space in a flying car , all of whom were babbling in Dutch at 100 mph. " Unless you really want to blow your mind. Quite simply the most intense experience of my life. It was awesome, but completely crazy. One of my friends freaked out and tried to leave but couldn't find the exit in the dark and ended up back in his seat laughing hysterically. I was sitting there looking up, mouth open, desparately trying to take in what was going on and make some sense of it all.

The aquarium section however was sublime when tripping.

I have found that when in Amsterdam with my now wife, who is entirely drug free outside of Dam, the couple of times I did do shrooms with her, I always made sure she didn't eat that many so she wouldn't freak out or find it too crazy and intense and at the same time, I would find myself trying to make sure she was ok rather than giving myself to the trip I was having. I would seriously suggest considering taking them at different times. First you let her take a good dose and you be her sitter whilst relatively sober yourself, then another day do them yourself. Then next time you go, you can both do it together much more comfortably and with less stress or worry for both of you.

Have fun.

[Ringobaby]

Hey - one last question on the topic. Are there any preferred smartshops I ought to try? As I mentioned, I've taken mushrooms maybe 20 times, but since it would be my girlfriend's first time (if she's into it, that is...), it'd be great if we found a shop where the staff were cool to talk to. I know we drifted into a couple shops last time - one was on the street with the flower market and was rammed with customers. The other shop was a bit spacious and the girl working was sweet, saying to let her know if we had any questions etc. Of course we were very stoned and just drifting in and out of shops and such, so I don't know where this place was or what it was called!

Thanks!

[Bullah]

I'd recommend the Magic Mushroom Gallery shop. I found them very helpful last time i was there. They had a good range of truffles and i was able to find exactly what i was looking for.

[Ringobaby]

Hey - I just wanted to give a quick report on our lovely experience last week. We picked up a 20g box of Atlantis truffles from Magic Mushroom Company, and the next day chopped up about 6g each. Some ginger tea and a few tiny bites of dark chocolate to help with flavour and keep our stomachs cool.

I can't write it all up here, so the micro-version! Within probably 20 minutes of leaving our flat, colours were starting to perk up. We walked along a canal and a grey heron landed on the roof of a houseboat. This was a cool start to the journey! We stared at him for a few minutes as he stared back at us. Turns out the grey heron symbolises rebirth, so not a bad way to get going. Anyway, we walked another 10 minutes or so until it all started to become too much! We were trying to get to Vondelpark, but we landed on the first strip of grass that would have us. My girlfriend, who had never taken mushrooms started seeing the Tree-People, as she called them. Little people in the branches calling to her, waving hello. The daisies on the grass were also greeting her. I wasn't getting anything as detailed, I was just in awe of how green the tree above was. I loved hearing her describe what she was getting - she's usually a very practical-minded person, hardly a hippie, but voom! We sat giggling and grinning for ages, then got up to continue to the park. A few waves of nausea hit us from time to time in the first hour, but nothing worse. We worried for a moment that we were too tall, but it was obvious to us that nobody else knew we were giants, so we carried on. Crossing the road was a challenge, all those fierce cars and serious-faced people, but we made it and ended up flopped on another strip of grass! By now I was seeing Ganesha looking up out of the breathing grass. A friend back in England rang me and I tried to talk to him. He was having a stoned time on the Devon coast, but I was too distracted by Everything to give a decent report! Anyway, onward again towards the park, but as you can guess we only made it another 100 yards or so before finding a statue of Gandhi. He was walking the opposite way as us, and standing on a mandala base. The tiles on the ground were liquid of All Colours, everything moving and grooving. I was in a nice post-language state - I just didn't need words anymore. My girlfriend was in heaven too, and I was so delighted to be with her. Often when I've taken mushrooms on my own, I've heard a voice of Female Wisdom in my head. This time the voice was my girlfriend's, and she had a new confidence and clarity that I'd never heard. Anyway, this is supposed to be a short description! Uh... we gave up on finding the park, thinking we were now lost and had better find our way to the flat we were staying in. We'd been traveling Forward the whole time, down the most gorgeous street in the world, but we took a quick left and discovered to shock and many more giggles, that we were a block from our flat. I swear, we thought we were MILES away by now when really, we'd probably traveled no more than 10 blocks. Everything was so circular by now and it made sense.

Home for a cup of tea (after 4 flights of challenging stairs!) and a chance to regroup and reflect. My gf picked up my guitar, which we realised she'd never done before (!), and started playing the loveliest little tune. I mean, she doesn't really play guitar, but she was just wandering around the notes and I was in tears. Lots of purple light and All-Seeing Eyes everywhere. We took some photos - her with guitar looking like an angel and me on the floor looking like a goon! We wanted to head out again, as we felt pretty headless in the flat... did I just pee? Do I need to pee? Should we have another cup of tea? Etc... like we thought we should be in Normal Reality again because we were inside a building or something. But one of the best moments was when she put on her coat - it's a purple velvet(ish) coat - and Vrrrrrmmm! - she was LOST/FOUND! She became the Queen of Denmark! I've heard people talk of "ego-death," when tripping, and my own sense of ego usually diminishes into the All, mannnnn, but this was a clear case of ego-BIRTH! Down the stairs and outside again (I didn't say before, but it was beautiful sunny day - so good!). She was blessing people (well, in a subtle way!) as they passed! Hysterical! And for someone like her who is so inclined to always take care of other people, it was cool to see her tripping on herself, sensing that Everything started with Her. She blessed a few trees and a dog and we then went to a bridge to watch (bless?) boats. By now, we were both really into looking at people, like in the eyes. Saying hello and being a bit fearless. This went on for a while, and we wandered around, finally starting to feel things winding down. Of course the wind-down was long and lovely too, and the sun was going down along with our Epic Heads. Found a cafe for tea, and by this point were fully capable of actually ordering/drinking/paying like proper decent people!

Still, the vibe carried on all night, and here it is days later and we're both still grooving. The down side was smoking some weed the next day. We'd bought a couple pure joints, but I swear this stuff is just tooooooo hard, and it kinda pulled the magic carpet from beneath us. Reality was all about feeling uptight and paranoid and blah blah. Still, even this was something to learn from, seeing the contrast and all, but it just wasn't any fun! Happened again the next night, and I stopped with the weed then. Talked to a guy at a gig, a local, who said that he grows his own or smokes hash. The first couple times in Amsterdam I was into the mindfuck weed, and as we don't smoke that much (nor do we smoke tobacco), a pure joint seemed a way to go. Nah, we'll buy a pipe and grab hash next time. I like getting fucked up on weed, but not after one hit!

So, we're back in England and still vibing on the mushrooms. For me it was a profound reminder of how it feels to be more properly Tuned to this whole mess of life, but it also really brought me closer to my girlfriend, no question. I could really see how Wise and Aware she is. I'm curious to see how it sits in her as she moves back to Normal life. This is an odd thing to mention, but she did get on the phone to Virgin Media to complain about a bill they'd sent, and I've never heard her pissed/focused like that. Honestly, I think it came from a deeper confidence. She wasn't unkind in any way, but she really spelled out how they'd screwed up and that the bill was unclear etc, but in a quite impressive and forceful manner. They've been trying to get hold of her all day now, but we're too slow to answer the phone yet.

So... that's so not a short report, but you can tell I'm excited and happy to share. We went to Magic Mushroom Company and that was fine... I took a smaller dose than the salesguy suggested, but I think maybe he didn't want an "experienced" used being disappointed and coming back to complain. That's a bit cynical of me, but thankfully my girlfriend and I seemed to know between us what was a Right dose and we simply had a perfect, Cosmic trip!

Thanks again, by the way, for the feedback here - you guys have been great!

[Cisco]

Wow great little trip mate thanks for the write up

[wileykat]

Hey - I just wanted to give a quick report on our lovely experience last week....

That was a wonderful read pal, sounds just like what I want to experience. Can you let us know what you paid please?

[Ringobaby]

I swear I tried to do a super-quick write-up, but you know how it goes!

We paid €21 for 20g at Magic Mushroom Company. As I suggested previously, maybe the salesbloke was concerned for me having a full-on enough experience, or maybe he just wanted to make a few more pennies, but we ate approx. 6g each, so a 15g box would have been perfect. I'm not complaining, mind, as it was one of those trips that took care of itself, if you know what I mean. We bought the right kind, took the right amount. I tend to err on the cautious side, and I wanted to be present enough since it was my girlfriend's first trip. I'd say she was more tripped than me, seeing the tree people and the daisies bending to welcome her etc, but that was great. I was taking in her descriptions and that was just as much a part of the whole thing. I def. liked the Atlantis, and I'd probably get those again.

We stopped by Conscious Dreams a few days later, and I remembered it from our first visit. Same vibe as then, meaning the people working were sweet and chilled and informative. Plus it's a great space - open and full of art and such. I'm pretty sure we'd buy from them next time. MMC was fine, but a bit more "urgent" in sales pitch and less space in the shop...

[HighTree]

20g is probably about right, 15g is about right for a good strong trip if you are experienced. The first time I tried them the somewhat inconsiderate salesman recommeneded a whole 15g box each, and what followed can only really be described as a profound religious experience sitting in Vondelpark. I felt connected to a higher level of consciousness, a kind of nature god. It was brilliant, but also somewhat terrifying. Anyway, powerful stuff, those truffles!

[ktown smokerz]

Nice write up, glad you enjoyed them

I have always eaten the whole box, which is a nice mellow trip IMO. Going to be searching for real shrooms next week tho, I want to trip out properly lol

[angry pirate]

What a read..wow. Well played man.
Good bump that, ktown.