My plan was to survive on minimal sleep over the next 3 nights, however I knew that if I had gotten up with my alarm at 7am that it would be a decision I may later regret in the day – trying to make the most of this sleep, I lay back down for a couple more hours. It must have been 10am when my friend and I had dragged ourselves out of our beds; the first full morning in Amsterdam is always special but it was made a little more so by a rendition of Mr Ludwig von’s “Ode to Joy” bellowing from the Oude Kerk bells – what a beautiful way to wake up, not to mention having the pipe or two of Blue Cheese.
Since my last trip over the new year period I had come across the hempcity website and a number of downloadable video clips of Haarlem along with the Willy Wortel empire of coffeeshops, these had made me want to take a trip to Haarlem ever since and today was the day. I had a printed map of Haarlem in hand and it was down to the Centraal Station to get a day return ticket. I knew (thanks to Channels) that it was only the second stop from Amsterdam, but I still didn’t expect it to arrive so quickly – I was still enjoying a Blue Cheese buzz from the hotel room when I saw the famous windmill on the canal bank pass us by….wow…we made it already!
Greeted by a burst of sunshine as the train dropped us of at our destination, we lapped up in the atmosphere that Haarlem exhaled – no more than 5 minutes after stepping off the train; we were looking in the door of Willy Wortel’s Sativa. A great layout for a shop, lots of space, lively daytime atmosphere but still with that very relaxed feel apparent in the majority of coffeeshops, and the dealer counter was but a few steps from the entrance (who could ask for more?) The menu, as expected, certainly did not disappoint – I pretty much knew what I wanted to buy in Haarlem, smoke wise, so I opted for a gram of Bubblegum hash at €9. A very soft, bendable hash which to tell the truth maybe didn’t really suit a pipe smoker as I found it hard to get a bowl to smoke on some occasions, but when I got a lungful – boy did I know it!!! Still reeling from the couple of Blue Cheese bowls not more than 30minutes prior, it was decided that we keep on walking to enjoy the fresh air and make the most of the unpredictable sunshine.
The walk down the main street (or the long street south from WW Sativa), was most enjoyable and probably the only time of the 4 days when it was a case of just walking with no set destination – although I was really enjoying looking at the old style houses and just generally relishing in the even more laid back style of Amsterdam; after a short while we decided on finding the Regine coffeeshop. I always considered my map and direction skills to be pretty confiding, however when we reached the X marked on the map for Regine, the shop was no-where to be seen?? A little walk east and we were on the main shopping street – a little walk west and more shops?? I remember seeing 3 or 4 other coffeeshops that were not on the agenda (useful for next time I guess) but it was a bit of a bummer that we never found the Regine as their Regine Special weed was on my want list. Not to worry though as when in Holland I find there is no such thing as problems, just solutions – and our solution came to us by name of Willy Wortel’s Indica.
On route, a detour through the mini RLD was definitely in order which although seeing no ladies in the windows was a most spectacular beauty spot; lots of small narrow alleys with walls covered in plant life – could be bit of a sketchy scene after the sun has set, but during the day was a very much appreciated walk. We were really blessed with the weather on this day as the sun shone throughout all the daylight hours, and after taking in more beautiful canal views we were grateful to eventually have the second Willy Wortel shop in sight, as a drink was essential by now.
Another nicely laid out shop once inside, the bar and friendly dealer greeted us directly upon entry and the only other customer seemed to be a friend of the barman – I was instantly attracted to a gram of Lavender Haze (€9) as I am a fan of the Lavender strain as it is, and as I anticipated the Haze was out of this world, the nicest high and best texture smoke of my whole trip in my opinion (was a shame I never bought anymore but I had plans for some ice hash anyway), I also bought 2g of Honing Marroc (sp) at €7/g which I never ended up smoking till the last day (guess the others were that good) and the dealer said that as I had €23 in total so far, another €2 would get me some extra free – I can’t remember the detail of the deal (although it was written on the menu too!) but I know for €2 more, I got another 1g or more of a real nice fluffy pollen hash, which was responsible for getting me totally baked over the next 1hr or so spent in that shop. We got the comfy chairs looking out the window and sat back with a well deserved cold coke – it was a cool moment to see Nol come down from upstairs for a smoke and chat with his buddies (another local guy had entered after us) at the bar too – if I wasn’t so loaded I would have said hello instead of just exchange a stoned nod across the room (not that he has any idea who I was), which probably made me seem a bit unsocial but that is what a couple of bowls of pollen can do (temporarily remove my acknowledgement of the outside world) until I adjust to the surroundings.
It wasn’t long before going in search of another coffeeshop, this time it was the Theehuis – to tell the honest truth, if I was aware they had the same menu as the Overkant Hortus I may have made an effort to visit a randomly chosen shop, but as it were I found myself purchasing a gram of Gentle Fury from the small weed counter in the Theehuis. The shop had a few customers making it almost full but of a spare chair or two – the service and quality of the weed were pretty good, nothing special but certainly better than some places; the girl behind the food counter made a sandwich for my friend without any problems but seemed to get a grump when I asked for a cup of tea – hot water on a tea bag! I could have done it with less hassle myself (and I always considered myself as the good looking one of us two friends, guess she thought otherwise). Quite a cute little shop but I doubt if I would be rushing back there next time in Haarlem.
Still taking in much of the beauty this town has to offer, it was then a gentle stroll south towards Willy Wortel’s Sinsemilla – finding it surprisingly with ease, it was a dash across the road and upstairs following the sounds of music. Opening the doors at the top of the stairs was an amazing site, recognising the layout from the web cam, my friend and I both commented on the size and appealing décor of the room. My day was topped off when I finally saw the Shiva Ice on the menu (top of my want list) which I bought a gram of at €23. Grabbing a cold drink and looking at all the cool stuff around, joint vending machines, up-to-date jukebox etc. we decided on a couple of games of pool, bargain at €1 a game. Slowly loading a pinch of the Shiva Ice in-between shots I was about to have my first proper smoke of ice hash – and what a smoke it was, the hash just melted and bubbled in seconds, forcing you to remove the flame for a second only to return it to harder resin and continue the lungful….that is pretty much all I remember at the time; apart from substituting my game of pool for taking pictures of all the cartoon art-work on the walls from my camera phone. An amazing smoke, possibly the highest I have ever been, but I did find it hard to smoke without coughing too much, not helped with the fact I felt a slight cold coming on anyway.
Since buying the Shiva Ice, my note taking severely decreased as well did the number of pictures I took – that hash should come with an amnesic warning. So to say the afternoon was a little hazy may have been an understatement; I know this was the last shop we visited in Haarlem before taking a leisurely stroll back up towards the train station and heading towards our home-for-now in Amsterdam. Picking up some chewy sweets and couple of other sweeties from the mini-supermarket in Lange Niezel, just round the corner from out hotel which was next to get our heads together before the night out.
Just down the road in Warmoesstraat, my friend wanted to go in to Route 66 just to buy the Tornado hash; as it happens this turned out to be a pretty cool shop as was the chick behind the counter (I noticed many more female budtenders this time round – not that I’m complaining) so we ended up stopping to continue the game of pool we never accomplished earlier that day. I could imagine this place would get crowded easily due to the layout of the tables but there were few other customers that evening which made for a pleasant atmosphere.
Walking the streets of the RLD started off as a ‘shopping’ stroll at first but I was certain I had smoked way too much to contemplate any action for tonight – there were many ladies which were truly tempting but I decided on looking on that side of things the next day. I also introduced my friend to the Excalibur that I had ventured in the night before much to my jubilation – there is nothing more rock and roll than loading a bowl and sipping a beer in front of a suit of armour! I was planning on trying out the Last Waterhole as many people on these forums have said a good word or two, but I was so happy with Excalibur I christened this my ‘local’ over the holiday. Finishing off the night with a final walk of the shiny red streets, I was forgiving of my attitude to yesterday’s first impression of the RLD – the building work took nothing out of the character of the Wallen and I felt the ambience was as strong as ever, if not greater.
Ending the night with the ritual of a stale waffle and smoke from the hotel window watching the city streets slowly go to sleep around 3am – and it was not long before my lights were turned out on so far a perfect 2nd day from 4.
Day 2 - May 31st
day -2 may 31st
Thanks valo. Another great report. Haarlem and the Wlly Wortel shops are definitely on my agenda for my July trip. Keep those reports coming 
Wow Valo, talk about comprehensive! You'll have to save these posts to add to your memoirs in 50 years time! 
Seriously though, great travelogue, brah.
Could I just ask you, Valo?: how did you book your room at the Effect...? Did you manage it all online or did you have to do what it says on the Hotel booking section of this site & send a fax...?
Seriously though, great travelogue, brah.Could I just ask you, Valo?: how did you book your room at the Effect...? Did you manage it all online or did you have to do what it says on the Hotel booking section of this site & send a fax...?
I was thinking of adding them to myspace blog's sometime (when I get round to using that page); guess it's more reliable than my own memory tends to be.JSB wrote:Wow Valo, talk about comprehensive! You'll have to save these posts to add to your memoirs in 50 years time!
Could I just ask you, Valo?: how did you book your room at the Effect...? Did you manage it all online or did you have to do what it says on the Hotel booking section of this site & send a fax...?
I used this page to book my reservation, although did email the GHE on their website address for conformation - to which they replied almost immediatley.
~ Is that a grinder in your pocket? ~
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Weed is a deed
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