I broke a filling and/or part of my right, rear molar having a sandwich and a beer at the JFK bar on the way to Amsterdam.
Lucky for me I was bringing my left over oxycodone from my last kidney stone in October 2009 during a trip to Hamburg.
I felt a new one brewing in the week leading up to my trip.
In hindsight, Aer Lingus was fine. Direct flights are ALWAYS better, especially while you sit at your connection point lamenting 'I could have already been there by now.' The daylight approach afforded me
a view of extensive wind farms installed at sea. God, I love this country.
12:15 Thursday May 5th, we land.
FINALLY breeze through customs, grab a train into Centraal and a quick dash across to Central Coffeeshop and
asked for a predominant Indica. I selected the Edelweiss from a choice of 3, mainly because I had never tried it, but also
because it smelled so wonderful. 1.8gr E12.50 .... Ahhhhhh ......Edelweiss, I AM so happy to greet you.
Some poor fellow at an adjoining table looks like he took a bad beating, with blood on his face and shirt, but he is not bothering anyone.
My joints are puny in comparison to the locals since I use the paper that comes with my Peter Stokobye tobacco, or Samson's if they run out.
One joint and off I head up Oudezijds Voorburgwal to the Bulldog Hotel. I love this place, my pace quickens.
Lucky for me, both Sandra AND Sander, two good Facebook friends, are at the front desk when I get there. Feels like home.
I usually travel alone, but this time my cousin, best bud and best man is meeting me. I am staying 7 nights, he's coming in
tomorrow and staying 5 and we're staying in a dorm room for 12. I covered it, that’s 12 nights altogether. Their normal rate is
E30 per person per night, which is a pretty good deal considering the swank surroundings, convenient location and ubber
friendly/helpful staff. The bill came to E280 and I had to ask him if he made a mistake. Terrific. I copped an abandoned pipe,
grinder and lock, and got my stuff put away.
Quick change into stoner wear and downstairs I go to the lounge for a drink.Here in the bar, and accompanied with a half pint of La Couffe 8.5% alc. Belgium beer, I was able to enjoy more fully
the unique floral qualities of a second Edelweiss joint. Checking notes: 'nice buzz', 'floral', 'losing shit within 45 minutes happy face'
Off for a walk across the Dam Square to Grey Area ... notes: '1st time didn't get lost!'
Here, Adam greeted me, and only when I asked did he recommend the Shoreline. I hadn't heard of it before, told him I was
seeking a dominant Indica, and he showed several stains in addition to the SL. I opted 1 gram each Kandy Kuah and Recon
for cannabis and 1 gram each OG and Golden Soles. I had read favorable ratings on ACD on everything except the Recon,
which I had not read about.
In hindsight, I missed the shortcut to my favorite strain that Adam offered me, more on Shoreline later.
Bong hits of the KK and then KK+OG ... mmmm.... oh yeah ..... I like the bongs at GA, and I like
sanitary swipes they give you for the mouthpiece. It can be tight, but if you are alone and the front window is wide
open, it can be very comfortable. The music has always been good. Getting to the bathroom is like a stairway to Hades, my sole complaint.
One the way back to the Bulldog I stopped at Albert Hein for essential grocery items. Back up to Room 308 bed #1, sweet.
Today is the anniversary of Dutch independence day over the Germans in WW2 ... there are bands everywhere, especially on boats, beautiful sunshine. LOVIN IT!
My notes from Thursday peter out with the Albert Hein grocery list and a note about getting into the OG Hash. Also, 'shower and internet'.
I recall heading over to Basjoes around 10:30 but I was too stoned to wait in line behind a large group to ask the budtender if anyone from ACD was there.
On Friday May 6th morning I woke up after 7 hours rest with bad kidney pain. 2 Tylenol knocked the pain back, Shit, Shower, Shave and down to the lounge for a Recon joint.
Here I saw my FB friend Bryan. He liked the NY Yankee cap I brought him and it was good to catch up. I also met two lads from South Hampton,
Dan and Aaron. A little later I met BongWata formerly of the Channels site. He was traveling with his buddy from Atlanta, Jack. These two
guys became like best friends over the next few oh so foggy days. Jack turned out to be one of the funniest dudes I have had the pleasure to meet.
I felt I would die laughing several times over the next few days.
A big stag group from the UK game through the lobby, the center being a dude named Andrew. I admire how cruel Europeans can be to their stags,
poor Andrew being dressed as a baby with a onesie and a giant pacifier. Andrew would later pose for a shot with me, but somehow it got erased off my camera, I think I know how.
I ran up to Chicago Boom to reserve a spot on the St. Nick's Canal Boat Tour for Saturday. When I got back I met Katalina from the front desk and Toshi visiting from Japan.
There is a joint burning every 1-2 hours, but already my notes are missing these details. Suffice it to say I am voraciously going through what I bought and detailed above, so far from Central and Grey Area.
For details on the Toke & Talk I arranged for Friday May 6 from 8-10pm at Abraxas, see this link
https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... 11&t=17502
Now I leave to meet my dear cousin at Centraal Station at 5:15, for a little background on Charles, see this link:
https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... 11&t=17217
I was worried we’d have a problem since my mobile phone wasn’t working. No sooner do I arrive at the front of the station and
here he comes. Big hugs and off we go to check him into the Bulldog. We meet Joe BongWata, and Jack. Jack is visiting
frequently with Mr. Daniels of Lynchburg fame. We’re having a blast already, Joe scribbles ‘The Coolies “Doug”’ in my notebook.
Charles’ lock also doesn’t fit the locker, so I volunteer to go get him a lock. Katrina has no free locks for me, so I break a E10 to
go get one out of the vending machine. I run the ‘lock’ up to Charles, he opens it and says ‘There must be some mistake, this is
chocolate.’ I laugh and take the ‘chocolate’ and say ‘This isn’t chocolate, its fucking laundry soap. Jesus, what kind of chocolate
do you eat up there in Norway?’ I go back down to try again. This time I spot the lock for certain, except it has two identification
numbers to choose from. Hmmm … hand written, or printed? I guessed it HAD to be the hand written or else it wouldn’t be there.
MARS BAR? More euros – LOCK!
I bring it proudly up to Charles and try it on his locker, it fits. The room is filled with a group from of young men from Canada. I make small talk and get the boys laughing. I am trapped by Charles by his locker between
two bunk beds and as we make ready to leave I say ‘Um, I have to leave, this is strange, I am getting an erection.’ They boys
laugh REAL hard and it is only then that I notice the OTHER two roommates – two 18 year old girls! ‘Uhmmmm – Sorry?’
We go downstairs.
MUCH cannabis documented above is CONSUMMED. Charles kicks my ass in our 1st game of chess and he indulges in
La Couffe and a contact hight. My notes again get lost in the haze and I try in vain to capture one of Jack’s more
hilarious jokes, “Ram / Mule / Ass / Ram / Ass / Goose”. Lost in translation and in a beautiful cannabis high.
On Saturday May 7th we ate breakfast and I toked up with Joe and Jack before heading up the the Leidesplein for the
St. Nick’s Canal Boat Tour. It was BEAUTIFUL but 1 of the 2 boats was out. We were on the wait list so while waiting
we had a nice Irish Breakfast at Reneers for E8 each. Then over to the Bulldog Palace (my first time there).
Carla was bud tending and I got Chocolope and OG Kush for E12 each. Notes are failing miserably at this point, I
think it was 1.2 gram each. We didn’t get on the boat so we wait listed ourselves for Sunday and had an awesome day in
Vondal Park. The park was PACKED and the human trick show was AMAZING.
When we got back to the hotel, Charles said he needed a nap so I went up to the awesome Bulldog Hotel roof patio with a
Heineken and a Chocolope joint. My temporary filling came out so I patched it again. A few guys from Ireland were up
there too listening to some awesome old school ROCK and I asked if I could join them, smoking up my hash to help dry out
the filling (yeah right, THAT’s why!). Dicky, Clove and David were here for yet ANOTHER stag party.
After about 3.5 hours I went to check on Charles and wake him up. When I opened the door he is sitting on the edge of his
bed engaged in a conversation with Sarah (22?). My facial expression reads ‘thumbs up’ as I ease out the door. NAP MY ASS!
Back downstairs to the bar. There is a new barmaid, very cute. Sander introduces me to Tamara, she is from Sander’s home
town. He is about 6’8”, she is about 5’3”, not everyone from town is a giant.
It’s good to run into OLEG from security again, he loves the NYPD hat I got him. I meet a new reception desk employee named
Fabio with whom I would grow close over the next few days.
There is commotion outside and police run into the hotel. I wonder aloud what is going on and a Brit sitting next to me says a
member of his party is ill up in his room. ‘What is he on?’ I ask. ‘Nuthin, not a thing!’ he says. I don’t believe him. Paramedics
arrive and leave after about an hour saying ‘He needs to sleep it off.’ I go back up to the roof patio for a while since Charles
is done ‘napping’. When we come back down in the elevator, the paramedics are taking this guy down, he looks in rough shape.
How is it I am in the middle of all this? Later on I see the same guy taken to the hospital at the bar drinking and I think ‘WTF?’.
Oleg explains ‘He is an alcoholic and he went into bad withdrawal. The hospital sent him back here and told us to keep him drunk,
but not too drunk.’ God, how I love this country.
Sunday May 8 was ANOTHER perfect day which I started by sitting at the Bulldog Energy Shop's most excellent seating
outside the hotel. Barbara (ah, carisima) is working, what a beautiful woman! I meet a Frenchman named Fabricio and we shoot the shit
for a while. Assuming I am lucky enough to return next year, I will set my future T&T's at this location, I probably spend about 30% of my waking hours at this spot anyway.
After a bit, I saunter across the canal to Greenhouse and score 1.8Gr of Green Crack from Vlad. We headed up to the
Leidesplein to waitlist the St. Nick’s Canal Boat and again were left out due to overbooking. This time we got a confirmed spot
for Monday, so we walked over to the Herengracht and followed it to the Hotus Botanicus (Botanical Garden). This was a
REAL treat for Charles as he is quite an avid gardener, in fact he has one of the most extensive and respected private collections
of rhododendron in Europe. I polished off a Green Crack cone and we had a grand time. I especially enjoyed watching mating
dragonflies with the most extraordinary neon blue antenna. To ensure this was not a hallucination, I asked Charles and yes he saw
them also! We ended our visit with an awesome lunch (broken tooth friendly!).
We walked back to the Bulldog and sat in front of the Energy Shop. I heard the same crazy techno tune that had a jet engine in it
from my last visit April 20th, 2010.https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... ilit=+hajj
Many may recall the grounded airplanes due to the volcano. It took us stoners more than a few minutes of looking up to realize
the jet was in the soundtrack. Anyway, I heard the song and asked Barbara who is it was DJ BENDER.
Sometime after this I made an ass of myself by making an inappropriate joke about Bongwata, I AM AN ASSHOLE AT TIMES,
sorry about that Joe! Joe and Jack left, and so did we shortly afterward, heading for Grey Area. The Canadian boys from our
room showed me some Shoreline that they were particularly excited about due to its DEEP ROYAL PURPLE BUDS.
Stefan was budtending and I got 1 gram each of Shoreline, OG18, Chiesel and Super Afghan Hash for E52. Things got
pretty crazy back at the hotel/bar with Charles and I discussing Sandra so much, she had to come back into the bar from the
front desk to quiet us down. What a blast!
My next notes are written by Charles, apparently he was favorably impressed that the Bulldog cook Abdel washed his hands
‘very thoroughly’ after using the bathroom. Charles was also impressed with the ribs (E5.5) and burgers.
Monday May 9th was Charles’ last full day. It was our first rainy day and in spite of our Canal Boat Tour reservation,
we opted not to get wet. Instead, we went to the Amsterdam History Museum and had a blast learning all about this amazing
city and the people who built it. We got some Chinese food to take away and saw Francine, a young teacher visiting from Korea.
Later we went up to Albert Cuyp market where Charles bought a windchime and a camera tripod. I bought a roast kip for E4.50
and 3 meat pies for E10, and the best berry jelly donut ever created by man, EVER!
We stopped at Greenhouse again and I got 1 gr (messy notes) Mary Sourcom(??) for E8.5 and some Alaskan Ice
for E12. We met a new roommate from Oregon – CODY, who looked exactly like Shaggy from Scooby Doo. This was my worst day for
notes, because my next notes are from Tuesday, the day Charles goes home.
Tuesday May 10th – Charles departure day. He is up a bit earlier than I, I half stumble, half fall out of bed. He is showered and
packed. ‘I am going to do a little last minute shopping’ he tells me. ‘Do you want company?’ I ask. Charles is a sharp cookie and he
realizes all this Indica is making me a snail. ‘Maybe I would get it done faster if you didn’t come.’ I pretend to be hurt, and then tell
him no problem, I wanted to go to Greenhouse again anyway.
Tim is budtending, I cop some more Alaskan Ice and he asks me about cannabis supply in NY. He seems surprised at the high
price, guess I need a new connection. I grab a water with gas and sit outside and roll one up. Some dude named Rich sits next to me
and we strike up a conversation. Oh the things total strangers will tell you in Amsterdam. CENSORED!
I head back across the canal to the hotel, Charles is in a mild panic, me not so much. We commence our walk to Centraal Station
wheeling Charles luggage. ‘This is the wrong type of bag for Amsterdam.’ I say. He says ‘Why?’. After 200 meters of cobblestones
he understands.
A little confusion getting on the train due to my head full of ice, but we still make it a full 45 minutes early. We say our
goodbyes and he says he wants to do it again next year. This is a monumental step forward. For his entire visit, we
have been monitoring Charles' "Discomfort Meter" on a scale of ZERO - FULLY COMFORTABLE to ONE HUNDRED - COMPLETELY UNCOMFORTABLE. To provide a reference, my figure averages close to ZERO for
my entire stay. My most uncomfortable moment this trip was seeing the poor fellow bleeding at Central Coffeeshop, where I went from a ZERO to a ONE. We got him down to the low twenties this time. I have become
perfectly comfortable traveling solo, I am perfectly happy my best friend now wants to join in.
Back to the Dam, it’s another perfect day. I walk over to Grey Area again and Stefan is there tending. I pick up another
2 grams of the Shoreline, stop at the Chinese fast food, get some Satay, Samosa and dumplings, grab a Heineken and
head up toward the roof patio. My bullshit was in overdrive now, and I am telling anyone who will listen ‘I lost my Norwegian, if
you see him, make him wait here for me. I KNOW he wouldn’t leave me here alone!’ I have to apologize to Bryan at the front
desk, whom I later found out was looking for Charles all day in vain. I meet 3-4 of the cleaning staff on the elevator. ‘Why didn’t
you invite me to the party?’ They are going up to ‘clean’, we hang out and bullshit for a while. I didn’t see any cleaning but it
wasn’t really dirty up there anyway. Notes starting to fade away again … ‘lost my Norwegian and broke my pea’ … WHAT?!?
Up on the deck are two new ‘lads’, Kevin and Martin from Austria, they’re in a Ska band. I meet Pablo from Romania who works
in the bar. We talk about all that is wrong with the world and he grows irritated over the extensive corruption in his home land.
I try to encourage him by pointing out that he is taking the negative and turning it positive by moving to and living in Amsterdam.
We toast, and he says ‘The Devil is our Bitch, he sucks our dicks everyday’. YEAH! He writes down the OTHER chef’s name
I am having problems remembering, Christian.
It’s getting late, I walk over to Basjoe’s again to try and ad-hoc hook up with some ACD’ers. I get 1 gram of Basjoe Special
and I sit with a West Indian man named James. 1st he says he is from ACD, then he says he is not. We make small talk, but it’s not
easy. A woman James knows is leaving, they hug and it is obvious that there
is a deep affection between them. It is very beautiful and it makes me smile. We toast to LOVE with our cannabis. I finish my cone, wish him well and leave.
Wednesday May 11th, my last full day.
As usual, I begin the day with a cone except by now I am not noting what it is comprised of. Great cannabis is a good guess. After
breakfast, I go outside and Barbara is setting up and cleaning the outdoor seating area. What a doll. At The Bulldog Energy Shop
I grab 2 grams of 00 Hash on her recommendation for E25.
Outside I see my gracht buddy Rob, I think he is a street person but I am not sure and I am too embarrassed to ask. I was told a story
by someone I trust how he jumped in the gracht to save a boy who had fallen in. I like people like this. I brought no hat or Tshirt for Rob
so instead gave him E20. My impression was he could really use it, he was very appreciative.
I head back up to the Leisdesplein to try once more to get on the St. Nicolaas Canal Boat, by this time it had become an
obsession, a mission. While waiting, I sit down at The Bulldog Palace and order a burger and a coke. I eat it along with
the Space Muffin I (evidently) bought at Grey Area. It’s early in the day, my notes don’t suck yet. I enjoy a cone comprised
of Grey Area OG KIF and Greenhouse Mary. I have two beautiful Shorline cones in case I get lucky and get on the
boat. I see a sign on the side street that says Up All Night, Got Demons to Fight YEAH! It’s a gorgeous day, and it is
not looking hopeful as people start showing up. I count 10, that has been the cutoff so far. Miguel, the boat captain shows
up and takes a count. He makes an exception and I am on the boat! Gotta love these flexible Amsterdam ‘rules’. We have a
great group, 3 people from Malaysia, a couple from Rhode Island, a couple from the UK, a couple from Buenos Aires and yours
truly. Lots of information being traded between everyone. Miguel is a joy to ride with. Many of us take turns driving the boat.
We get to a low bridge where everyone has to sit in the boats bottom to clear the low bridge. It’s LONG and dark and FUN
and I said ‘I wish you warned me, would love to have a cone burning!’ Miguel says ‘No problem, we are turning right around
and doing it again.’ The Malaysian’s and I fire up cones on the way back through. AWESOME! Miguel and I BS on the way
back and he recommends I look up Zeitgeist the documentary and the movement. I give him my card and he assures
me next year Charles and I will get on ‘no problem’. We all say goodbye and I give my card to Sebastian from Buenos Aires.
Back at the hotel, there are two street people arguing over cigarette/joint butts in the ashtrays. The term Gracht-tercation
comes to mind. Hanging with Sandra in front of the Energy Shop and I go to use the men’s room. I flush the urinal and it sprays
water onto the front of my pants. When I come out, everyone is laughing and they ask ‘What happened?’ ‘The Toilet is Dodelijk’
I say. We move up to the patio and Fabio and Manuel join us. Fabio is from Italy, at one point he says ‘How beautiful to see how
strange can be the human.’ WOW! This stuff is like gold, I love how this sounds.
Manuel tells me a story about how a Finnish Film crew filmed him in Vondal Park while he was tripping on truffles and playing futbol.
He would like to see the footage but has been unable to find it on Youtube. Has the Finnish Film Crew finished the Finnish Film?
This is hilarious to me and I lose it for several minutes, tears streaming from my eyes. I promise to ask my Finnish friend Keijo
who I met at the Bulldog in 2007. (ed the head-it: CORRECTION 2008 is when I met Keijo)https://www.coffeeshopdirect.com/forum/viewt ... die#p71014
Thursday May 12th - Departure Day
I promised Manuel I would stop by his shop The Basement Coffee Shop and score some Amnesia, it’s pretty good, but Manuel’s
cappuccino is the BEST in Amsterdam. GO THERE!
Departure time approaching, I go back to the hotel and handoff the rest of my unused hash to Barbara, she is very thankful and hugs me.
Then over to Fabio to hand off my left over Amnesia ‘Dude, I have 5 minutes, and I am in no shape to accomplish rolling a cone in 5 minutes.’
He takes my Amnesia, mixes in something of his own and prepares me a genuine Amsterdam long cone. ‘This will last you all the way to Centraal
Station’ he said, and it did. It is gone as I get to the CS front door, a cop gives me a nod, God how I love this place.
FAVORITES:
SHOP: Grey Area
Budtender: Adam
Great service, especially at 7:55 the night before I left when he let me in after they closed at "8"
Strain: Shoreline
Beautiful deep purple buds, delicious floral flavor, heavy hitter, long lasting.
2011 Hajj complete, I leave my Mekka and commence my next countdown.
358 days until I return.
