Netherlands 11/09/13 - 16/09/13

[Spaldwickapeface]

Hi guys sorry for the delay at posting anything about my last trip, but the fear of not returning due to changing family circumstances left me a little Amsterdamaged and unable to even come and browse the directory; however the pull of The Netherlands is a strong one and I am now booked for a return in January to celebrate my 30th Birthday. Big thanks to my friend and girlfriend who sorted out the next trip for me without my knowing. Right onto the important business of recalling my adventures

Day 1: Amsterdam Wednesday 11th September

It's an early start up at 4am to drive down to the airport at Southend, so much to my surprise I wake up at 5am as my alarm did not wake me up, arrrgh panic stations the plane leaves at 7am and I am over 100 miles away. No time for a shower or to pick up the last bits I wanted to take, it was simply throw some cloths on, brush my teeth and drive like the wind! I made it in the nick of time, luckily Essex Police were not keen on the early start as I must have averaged 90mph driving down the M11.

It's a short 35 minute flight over the North Sea and all goes well, I am sat next to a girl from Colorado so we had an interesting chat about the cannabis legalisation that is currently happening in that state at present. I arrive at Amsterdam Centraal at roughly 11am local time and can not check into the hotel until 2pm, hmmm oh how can I pass the time? I had been having Liberty Haze cravings for some time so straight to Barney's. I know it's an expensive shop but I have always had good grass from here, though I am not prepared to give them more money than I have to so I got my 1.25g for €20 then I visited Le Grotte down the street for a coffee and my first joint of the trip, this is a great little cafe it does not sell weed but feel free to take your own along. Now I had been smoking some strong skunk at home but this was a top batch of a great strain, a good choice to kick off the holiday with, super resinous and sticky, it got me has a Mother F**ker.

Then it was out into the autumn sunshine for a stroll around town and some fine cannabis shopping, next stop Voyagers a quick look at the menu and I was indecisive over the Strawberry Sour Diesel or the Skywalker x Kosher Kush, in the end I opted for the first again €20 this time for 1.3g. After a brief stroll around centrum I found myself at my favoured Kadinsky at the bottom end of Spui, having read Smith 2's report on Leeuwardens lack of quality hash, I took advantage of the 5gs for the price of 4, so 5gs of King Hassan €46, no time to stay its 12 o'clock and the grey area is open. I arrive to see the que well out the door so I opt for another joint of Liberty Haze sat by the cannal while it dies down, it doesn't, even after another loop round the block so I give up on the Grey area for now and head down towards the Hotel Quentin England where I am staying the night as my bag was starting to feel rather heavy.

On the way I poped into Tweede Karmer, an old favourite, it was busy so I just bought 1g of Rifman Sunrise €8.50. I got to the hotel at about ten to one hoping that the room would be ready early, unfortunately not but no problems with the Vondelpark at the end of the street, I found myself a bench in a sunny position and settled back, watching the world go by puffing on some more Liberty Haze. I was a happy boy and the hour soon passed, I checked into my room; the budget single was much better than the low budget single I had previously stayed in at the same hotel, it is not exactly classy but was more than suitable for my night in dam, I was only there for leaving my bag and sleeping after all.

After a quick shower and freshen up I was out on the streets again, I had a couple of hours to kill before the TnT at Sibere at 6pm so I headed towards The coffeshops in De Pijp. As I crossed the Museumplein the heavens opened, it went from glorious sunshine to raining cats and dogs in a matter of seconds, I was stranded so I found a sheltered doorway and smoked the last joint of the Liberty; I figured the owners of the house would not mind me sitting there given the monsoon lashing down the street. It was a heavy shower but it did not last more than ten minutes luckily so I head on my way.

First up De Grall for the five gram deal on some black hash, I know it's not as good a deal as Kadinsky but saving €1 on every gram is better than nothing, I went for the Nepal 5g €40, now I was nicely stocked up on hash for my journey north the next day. I also wanted to take some good smoke up to the TnT that evening so I poped round the corner to Club Media, disappointingly they had no Champaigne Haze so I picked up 1g Canaloop Haze €10 and and 1g of Ice hash €15. I spoke to the bud tender about the sign saying that it had become a members only club, but she told me that if I wanted to go in and smoke it would be no issue, I am not sure why shops are starting to do this but there must be a good reason, I declined and headed to centrum hoping for more luck at the Grey Area.

I was indeed in luck with there only being a couple of people waiting to be served, this gave me the chance to look at the menu and see what was on offer, it was the first time I had been there when they had evergrey in six months so I ordered €20 1.25g, in hind sight I should have taken a look before buying but I trust the Grey Area, it was good gear but not as good as the last time I tried it. After the Grey area I had time to pick up some stamps and have a quick beer before heading to Sibere for the TnT at 6pm, as I had only smoked the four joints of Liberty Haze all day and I had a pocket full of Hash I was craving that sweet Moroccan taste that I love so much.

Sibere was fairly empty when I arrived no sign of Stan or anyone else I would recognise yet so I went through to the back and ordered a coffee and some bud to mix with my hash, Californian Orange Bud 1g €9. I went back into the smoking room saved us one of the large tables and proceeded to start rolling a fatty of King Hassan, it was not long untill Stan arrived with four other members. We sat and smoked constantly for about an hour, it was a good session with a lot of weed and hash being burnt. It was here that I was introduced to Grunt who I knew was staying in Haarlem the same days that I was, but I also found out that he was also going to the Ajax match on the Saturday night, great we were on for pre and post match spliffs NICE. It was a good to meet some new members and sample many different strains, my favourite of what I had taken was the Ice from club media, a clear buzzing head high well worth the money.

After the hour had passed we took a slow walk across to Voyagers, well this gave me the opurtunity to pick up some of that Kosher x Skywalker that I had ignored earlier in he day 1g €15, we sat around and had a few more joints before going our separate ways. I ended up in the Globe Hostel and sports bar just north of the old church, it's a bit of a dive really but they sell Heineken bottles for €2.50 and they have a large smoking room after my first it was happy hour, two draught pints for €5 so I gave this a go, the beer was flat so in future I will be sticking to the bottle. Well I smoked more king Hassan watching American Football untill my beers were drunk, I rolled myself the rest of the Ice and headed for a dirty walk checking out the ladies of the night, Now I really noticed the effect of the ice, it was strong and clear an enjoyable active high, wowzers the more expensive ice from media must be amazing, maybe I will try this next trip but having said that I was more than happy with the €15 variety.

So I walked buzzing my nuts off all the way back to the hotel, were I slept like a baby in preparation for the adventures to come over the next few days. It was a great day, like all days in Amsterdam should be.

[gapie]

good meet at Siberie

[ftcarer]

Nice start Spaldwick always try to give Siberie's Cali Orange Bud a go

[Cisco]

Great start , look forward to the rest

[TwoCanucks]

Good start, noted the 15e ice from media, will give er a try when i pop by for hindu, cheers

[Colino]

Good start, noted the 15e ice from media, will give er a try when i pop by for hindu, cheers

pay attention to the batch of hindu. I've always been a fan of the strain and of the shop in general but last summer the bud was real fluffy and taste was near to nothing. wasn't definitely what it used to be ( both the shop and the gear). hope you'll be more lucky!

[TwoCanucks]

Good start, noted the 15e ice from media, will give er a try when i pop by for hindu, cheers

pay attention to the batch of hindu. I've always been a fan of the strain and of the shop in general but last summer the bud was real fluffy and taste was near to nothing. wasn't definitely what it used to be ( both the shop and the gear). hope you'll be more lucky!

Thanks Colino will def keep that in mind

[Smith2]

Great stuff, and I'm particularly looking forward to the Leeuwarden leg. Was just there last week, and ironically I did find at least two interesting hash sorts, though nothing stood out on the weed side. I wish the idiosyncratically named strains Repelsteeltje used to do would come back; I gather they've come and gone somewhat erratically before.

[Spaldwickapeface]

Day 2: 12/09/13 Amsterdam to Leeuwarden

I was up early despite my relatively late night the day before, I wanted to walk up to Centraal station before 9am; firstly I needed to roll up some joints for the journey up to Leeuwarden, so it was to be four joints of the very fragrant Strawberry Sour Diesel that I purchased from Voyagers the day before. Bag packed and I was under way crossing the leidesplien and walking up the herengracht, it was a warm autum morning and I was pleased to have the suns rays on my face. Once I had got up as far as the Grey Area I was now alive enough to have my wake and bake, I sparked up on of my pre-rolls and walked on through the small Red Light District smoking away, the joint was very tasty and I was nicely toasted by the time I arrived at Centraal.

I had opted not to go directly to leeuwarden but instead catch a ferry across the Zuiderzee. I caught the train to Enkhuizen, the journey took a little over an hour and I was glad to be on the train as the rain started to fall over the flat Dutch countryside. This was one of the few times on the trip that my rail ticket was inspected of course I had one, though a couple of lads sat next to me were not so lucky, it ended up costing them €60 each to go from Amsterdam Solterdijk to Hoorn a journey that would have probably only cost them about €6 if they had bought tickets; that was lesson learnt for me, always buy a ticket!!

When the train pulled up at Enkhuizen the rain had subsided, Mother Nature was on my side today. I was ready for another joint by now the SSD was good but not as strong as the Liberty Haze I had been smoking the previous day. I would have gone to a Coffeeshop as some caffeine would have gone down well but the town only has one and that does not open until 4pm, so instead I found a lovely park and sat smoking on a bench. That set me in good steed for exploring the town, Enkhuizen was a major port from medieval times but when they damed the Zuiderzee it lost its connection to the sea and the trade dried up. Well this has left a completely unspoiled town, the buildings were amazing so old but well preserved, parts of the town looked like a film set, it was not touristy at all and was a pleasure to wander around. I would happily move to Enkhuizen a gorgeous Dutch town full of friendly happy people just a sort trip into Amsterdam every now and again to stock up on the very best weed and hash.

There was just enough time for another joint of the SSD on the sea wall before the 12:30 ferry to Stavoren set sail, as it was not the nicest day and the open top deck was relatively full I headed inside and down the stairs finding myself a window seat at a table. When the boat set off no one had joined me on the bottom deck so I had the whole restraunt area to myself, I was nicely stonned and ready for some food. The crossing takes about an hour and half, enough time for a burger, chips and three pints of beer; I was very happy sat back with my pint looking out the window and playing football manager on my IPad. The Zuiderzee offers some great sailing and we past some wonderful boats along the way ranging from family's out for the day to massive three mast ships under full sail, the Dutch have always been keen mariners and it would appear little has changed, the water was alive with boats.

We docked at Stavoren, the town is small no bigger than a village realy with a couple of shops and cafes but not much more. The autumn sunshine had reappeared so I found a small beach at the edge of town and blazed the last of the SSD in the warmth of the sun. I had to catch the train from here up to Leeuwarden, but there is no station, it's just the end of the line with a platform and a ticket machine. This machine only took coins and I only had notes whoops, with a bit of paranoia thanks to the joint I just smoked, I ventured to the super market and managed to get some change from the reluctant check out girl. There really is not much to say about Stavoren but I was glad I had taken the ferry across it was a nice experience, enhanced by some of voyagers finest.

It was another hour or so on the train to Leeuwarden but the time soon passed, again another comftable clean train, Britain has a lot to learn when it comes to public transport. Friesland is very much like the majority of the Netherlands flat and wet, I saw a lot of the Freisian cows and horses that the area is renowned for. By the time we pulled up in Leeuwarden I was glad my traveling was over for a day or two, by now it was early evening and everyone was rushing home from work as I walked up to Hotel 't Anker; I passed the Red Light District which looked quite rough and several of the coffee shops all in close proximity to each other. The hotel was basic but it has a nice bar where I had a quick pint before heading off to explore the town. I was already carrying more than enough hash so did not really need to go into any of the coffeshops, I rolled up a couple of joints and set of for another wander; I did however stop in De Zone for a coffee, a sit down and one of the pre rolls (tasty king Hassan from Kadinsky, nice and smokey, a lovely stone for an evening) , there was a cracking atmosphere the locals all new each other and I really enjoyed watching them come in and be greated by each other, this was probably my second favourite of the coffee shops in town, very entertaining indeed. I remember think that if all the coffeshops were like this then I will really enjoy my time in the city.

I was surprised at how close everything was in the city, none of the sights were more than a couple of minutes walk away from the hotel and I soon found my bearings in the city and found a couple of quite locations to smoke my Hash in peace. I can't of been late to bed maybe 10pm or so, again I slept like a log following all the travelling and walking around the four towns but i think the black hash I had brought up from de graal was the real knock out blow, a lovely pre bed stone. I wanted to be up early for breakfast and see what Leeuwarden had to offer the next day.

[KeyMonCha]

Excellent... Thanks!

...I take it Kadinsky's KH is up to their usual standards? ...It's been a consistently decent smoke for the last few years, imho...

Looking forward to part three.

[Grunt]

Cracking write up.

Twas a good game, thought we were gonna scrape a draw until De Jong came on and turned the game for us.

[Bocco]

Nice! Looking forward to your reports about Leeuwarden, my home town
Be sure not to miss De Os and Repelsteeltje.
De Os because there's a whole cupboard with board games and lots of people willing to play, weird chairs and a whole pot of tea with cookies for 3 euros (try the bildse heksentea). And Repelsteeltje for exquisite quality weed and hash, and their awesome view from the 3rd floor.

[Spaldwickapeface]

Day 3: Friday 13/09/13 Leeuwarden

I woke up early enough to grab some breakfast, the usual continental Buffet affair, very tasty and filling setting me up for the day to come. I had no great plans, it was nice to have a day without sitting waiting on a train station platform. I performed my usual trick of rolling up four joints to smoke before anything else, on this day Evergrey. I set off wandering around the city in a cannabis induced state of bliss, watching the city unfold before my eyes like an act. The Everygrey was a bit of a disappointment to be honest, though smoking a biffter to myself was undoubtedly strong the bud was not as good as when I previously smoked it. The buds were not as immaculately manicured, they did have a nice almost eucalyptus smell to it. It was nice enough just not the super weed I had remembered. I had preferred both the Liberty Haze from Barney's and the SSD from Voyagers

As I walked smoking away through a canal side park there were a group of teenagers building some kind of floating pontoon and diving into the cannal, it took me a minute to realise that I was not in Amsterdam and hence the water would be relatively clean. Still the cold September morning hardly made me want to don my swimming trunks and go for a dip! I wondered on, when I came to one street I noticed groups of police blocking all the alleyways running to the south. I rounded the corner when I could to find a square filled with excited people looking at the stage, though I did not know what was going on at the time, I had stumbled upon the opening of the Fries Museum by queen Maxima, a quite surreal experience. By now it was lunch time and I had smoked my quota of Evergrey, so I returned to the hotel via the supermarket for a bite to eat and a siesta.

I wanted to climb the Oldehove tower in the afternoon but firstly I checked out the coffeeshop Repelsteeltje that I had herd so much about, well it certainly lived up to the hype. This place oozes class and sophistication, it's some how olde worlde, extremely tastefully decorated. It was all positive in my eyes good service, comfortable, nice coffee and sweet sweet cannabis. You drop down a flight of stairs to the counter, the menu contains many familiar strains and a few hashes. The most expensive weed was €12g though you buy in either €6 or €12 bags, I bought the amnesia haze €10g, I honestly do not think I have seen bud with so many tricomes on before. I sat on the middle floor and did not venture up to the top, the table over looked the street below, a very pleasant view. A few people came in but as it was a weekday afternoon it was hardly busy. I did get speaking to one local guy, our conversation ranging from information about the city, through our world travels, politics and on to football. All the time we kept returning to the subject of how lucky he was to have this coffeeshop as his local, I am glad he appreciates this fact

Well this killed a few hours, in which time Repelsteeltje had firmly planted itself into my top three coffeshops. We parted company and I headed to Oldehove, the fact the leaning tower is still standing after nearly 500 years baffles me. I climbed up the spiral staircase which leans itself, whilst being lean myself, it was quite a challenge and I was rather dizzy by the time I reached the top. It was not the clearest day, but given the right conditions and the lack of hills in that part of the world you must be able to see for 30 plus miles, I could see the city stretching away from below and into the surrounding countryside. You feel very high up untill you see the modern skyscrapers dwarfing the historical city beneath, it really is a special city. The descent is just as difficult and I was ready for another joint by the time I returned to ground level.

I went into several of the other coffeshops and looked at the menu on my way back towards the hotel, either there was something lacking in the atmosphere or nothing on the menu that I fancied so I left. I went back to De Zone it was a similar time to the night before and it was just as busy, this time I picked up €10 1.25g for Jack to use as my hash mixer, again I liked this coffeshop experience. I also found time to pop back into Repelsteeltje and buy some more Amnesia, Hindu Kush €10g and Super Silver Haze €12g, I wish I could have bought more to take back to Amsterdam but I had reached my 5g limit for the day and I was leaving before opening time the next day.

The rest of the evening was largely spent stoned in the hotel playing computer games, not the most exciting I know but I was knackered after the previous three days sight seeking on foot. I did manage to get motivated enough to go and get a mediocre pizza from an Italian around the corner. Then I poped into coffeeshop Downtown for a 'night cap' as it was just over the road from the hotel, I bought 1g €8 of Turkish hash having only had it from Paradox before, this was a lot softer (though so is stone!!), once smoked there was the familiar taste and high that I'm used too; this gave me the idea of arranging the meet for Paradox the next day upon my return to Amsterdam.

I returned to the hotel and packed my bag ready for the morning. I very much enjoyed my time in Leeuwarden and would recommend it as a stonner destination if you want a break from Amsterdam for a couple of days, it was small and quite in comparison but if you want more of a traditional Dutch experiance along with good weed then maybe this is the town for you. I do regret not going to Repelsteeltje on the first day aswell as it is just that good, though I may have never left!! It also looks as I missed De Os, but there is always next time

[Smith2]

I climbed up the spiral staircase which leans itself, whilst being lean myself, it was quite a challenge and I was rather dizzy by the time I reached the top. It was not the clearest day, but given the right conditions and the lack of hills in that part of the world you must be able to see for 30 plus miles, I could see the city stretching away from below and into the surrounding countryside. You feel very high up untill you see the modern skyscrapers dwarfing the historical city beneath, it really is a special city. The descent is just as difficult and I was ready for another joint by the time I returned to ground level.

There's no handrail, which gets to you after a while. I had never climbed a tower before, or even thought about it, until I saw that it was on Nimrod's list of things to do. After all, there are enough stairs to climb in the Netherlands without having to pay for more; it's a height that may have seemed impressive once, but looks a bit silly when there are modern buildings much higher; and if you find the landscape breathtaking, you've probably got COPD. But I was in Leeuwarden, so it had to be done. Two things bothered me – what if I met someone coming the other way? It would be rather frightening to try to pass without something to hold onto. Also, what if you're at the top and have a heart attack, which must happen to somebody at some time, by the law of averages? How would paramedics get them down? Fortunately, I had no occasion to find out.

[gapie]

Leeuwarden - lionarden lol