NL 6/05 AMS,Fryslan & Beyond
NL 6/05 AMS,Fryslan & Beyond
We spent close to 3 weeks in NL in June ...It was our 5th year in a row for such a trip ...I mention that as one may wonder why we went to some "off the beaten path " sort of places....anyway we started in Amsterdam ,stayed at Hotel Fantasia,which was as entertaining as about anywhere else in the city ...smoker friendly would be an understatement...great cast of characters ,as well as a fine hotel ...Its located on Nieuwe Keizergracht around the corner fron the Magera Brudge ,and a short walk from the Waterlooplein Market...trip got off to a nice start as I met up with the Lemmings at Coffeeshop Basjoe on day 1 ...was quite enjoyable ,but unfortunately, as the Yanks on this board will attest, that first day can be tough and we only lasted till about 9PM ...Our main CS stops in Amsterdam were Basjoes,Het Ballontje,Siberie , and at the recomendation of one of the staff at Fantasia: Arabica on Amstel. Now this place has BAD reviews on this site not so sure why-de Vrouw (who is the expert in things weed) saw a deal on their house Weed - 5 Grams for 10 Euros -and since we were heading for the provinces the next day, she tried it - She claims that next to Siberies Purple Outdoor Skunk (5 Grams/15 Euro) Arabicas deal was the best of the trip...Myself I tended to buy the least expensive pre-roll a given shop had ,might last me two whole daze (yeah I'm a cheap date)...Another highlight of our Amsterdam stay was being left "in charge" of an Amsterdam Coffeeshop (apologies to the channels people who may have read this a'reddy ,but I'm easily thrilled)...It was in de Kroon ,opposite the 420 which was to crowded and loud at the time ,so we ducked into de Kroon ...got to chatting with the fella on duty -He was excited about the upcoming NL-Finland World Cup qualifying match...so the phone rings ,and he dashes out of the place ,then dashes back in and says "Watch the shop for me?" ...there were a couple of giggly kids in the back ,but otherwise it was quiet ...by the time I realized just what had transpired ...well he was back ...couldn't have been more than 2 minutes...nice shop by the way ...We really didn't make it into a large number of shops in Amsterdam ,lets see,besides the ones allready mentioned...Softland , new ownership I think,they weren't playing techno...one of the Rokeries in the Jordaan-The instant we walked in the door the girl asked me to remove my hat (which is some parts of the USA is akin to asking for your balls)-maybe its becuz of the religious icon stuff they have everywhere,but it wasn't even comfortable ,so we downed a Looza ,used the facilities, and were on our way... Katsu- was a treat ...suddenly it was an hour and a half later,if theres a coffeeshop hall of fame ,this one deserves to be in it ...anyway, Amsterdam was great fun this year ,check out Hotel Fantasia if you don't have your own favorite ,its under new ownership since spring 05 ...time to feed the horse so the Provinces will have to wait ....
Last edited by Epsilon on Thu 16th Feb 2006 09:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The Provinces
Took a while to feed the Horses...suddenly its October...anyway,we've visited the Netherlands each of the past five Junes,usually for about 3 weeks.
Starting/Ending in Amsterdam/Haarlem or vice versa...this year we visited some old favorites and a new town or two...from Amsterdam we headed out in our rented Ford Ka (from SixT,best price and least hastle so far of the various rental companies we've tried) across the Afsluitdijk into Fryslan...We had loaded up with some Outdoor Purple from Siberie ,and the House Special from CS Arabica (5 grams/10 Euro-amazingly good stuff for price ) One goal was to complete our own Elfstedentocht ,visit the final 3 of the 11 cities of Fryslan we hadn't seen yet...Our first stop was the Coffeeshopless Dokkum...Dokkum is a well preserved historic town of 13,000 or so about a half hour between Leeuwarden and the ferry terminals to Ameland and Schiermonnikoog.It has a reputation for being somewhat conservative ,but its beautiful and friendly ,and we've never had any problems in the Pension we stay in as far as Smoking and in years past the "juicebar " Hakuna Matata (affiliated with a CS in Drachten) was a place to meet the friendly local tokers ,kind of a CS that doesn't sell...unfortunately this year it wasn't open, don't know why ... a 30 minute drive takes us to Leeuwarden the capital city of Fryslan ,and home of perhaps the best coffeeshop scene out of the Randstad...early Sunday afternoon,cool rainy ,but free parking in the centrum puts us within a block or so of 4 fine shops...(and several others we just haven't gotten in to )and they are ALL bustling ... A very happy vibe , didn't hear any other English speakers in any of the shops we visited,though we were welcomed in all and addressed in English after trying to place our orders in Dutch...When I read about NL coffeeshops being for weed tourists I wonder if the writers have ventured into the Provinces and seen just how lively the local touristless scenes are throughout the Country ...
First stop CS Reepelsiltje- Set up somewhat like Abraxax .3 floors, but decorated in a sort of Dutch Ancient manner , very elegant...comfy restaurant like tables, a few couches, DJ rig , pool table ,free internet at the counter...exotic calm music...a shop you'd take a date...they say the building dates from the 1300s...They name their weed after Fairy tales..."Sleeping Beauty" being perhaps the strongest of trip...well I could go on about this shop and the others in Leeuwarden ,but we also visited De OS , Utoop and Downtown(Polm,White Widow 5/gram...very fine) , all top notch shops with Utoop under new management ,but still very friendly,though weed not quite as knock your socks off as it used to be...left Dokkum for Bourtange , A 1700s fortress town on the German Border in Groningen Province ...Stopped in Groningen en route...Visited CS de Medley -An Arabic theme... these being somewhat intimidating at first for a Gringo, but after visiting Arabica in Amsterdam
decided that here is place we can reach common ground, and indeed it was a friendly ,comfy place ...and Reykejavic ,or something like that. nice stop as well(Purple 5/gram...top notch) ...after a few days of walking the moats and woods in Bourtange and pretending we were back in time 300 years (Bourtange is a very cool stop,with great deal at the "Soldiers Quarters" -should you be a history buff ,or a country person wanting a breather from the cities-and incidentlly plenty of room to light up on those walks, and no hastle in the room,free parking) . On to Sneek ... Decided to get off the Highway in Drachten ..it's one of those modern NL cities ,but set up like most others, main square, pedestrian shopping streets ,we found CS Gili Senang our second time down the street -In the provinces shops are NOT marked as garishly as in the Dam ...keeping a low profile ? ...friendly ,roomy ,working on an outdoor terrace ...nice stop...on to Sneek, stopping at Sloten Enroute (only two more to go)...
Sneek is a nice town South of Leeuwarden, two nice shops: Esera and Heaven...both have low profile fronts,but nice interiors ,Esera being the nicer ,with a comfy outdoor terrace ...both close fairly early on week nights ...Heaven open 13:00-21:00 - Esera closing at 22:00...Heaven having a nice gaming room ,and internet access,and is located just down the street from the Sneek Landmark Watergate...Sneek has a bustling shopping area,seemingly busier and with more variety than Leeuwarden...
Stayed at de Daalderplaats, no hastles in room...free parking on hotel lot
From Sneek visits to Stavoren and Ijlst completing our Elfstedentocht , and a visit to Hindeloopen, a real charmer of a town on the Isselmeer coffeeshopless, but plenty of sea front dijks and private spots to sit and watch the Meer and the Boats ...then back to Leeuwarden for a weekend of CS visits and getting together with friends we've made there over the years...
Back across the Afsluitsdijk to Hoorn ,an edgy town on the outskirts of the Randstad...Three shops, two open ...de boot near the station is a sort of Brown Cafe ,with an incredible volume of counter traffic ...lots of Euros pass thru this place ...T'Keteltje- a hole in the wall shop near the Grote Kerk (thats now apartments and a shopping center)...virtually no amenities ,not very comfortable,but friendly , chatty locals kept us there for well over an hour ,twice...passing joints ,buying us drinks ...go there if you feel like chatting ...There seems to be fad for old American cars in Hoorn ,these giant gashog 65 Cadillacs ripping through the town booming loud rap...Stayed at Hotel Keizerkroon a classy and well priced hotel ,no hastles in room, free parking with hotel ... From Hoorn to Haarlem ...A city well documented on this site and over at Channels ...enjoyed it greatly ...stayed at Carillon ...again no hastles with Hotel...Sativa and Sensimillia looked great...CS High Times a nice stop as well ...Theehuis (wet weed) ,Empire (tastiest Hash of trip) visited also...great CS town...all in all weedwise everything was good, no crap weed encountered ...no bad vibes...hope the 06 trip is as good
Starting/Ending in Amsterdam/Haarlem or vice versa...this year we visited some old favorites and a new town or two...from Amsterdam we headed out in our rented Ford Ka (from SixT,best price and least hastle so far of the various rental companies we've tried) across the Afsluitdijk into Fryslan...We had loaded up with some Outdoor Purple from Siberie ,and the House Special from CS Arabica (5 grams/10 Euro-amazingly good stuff for price ) One goal was to complete our own Elfstedentocht ,visit the final 3 of the 11 cities of Fryslan we hadn't seen yet...Our first stop was the Coffeeshopless Dokkum...Dokkum is a well preserved historic town of 13,000 or so about a half hour between Leeuwarden and the ferry terminals to Ameland and Schiermonnikoog.It has a reputation for being somewhat conservative ,but its beautiful and friendly ,and we've never had any problems in the Pension we stay in as far as Smoking and in years past the "juicebar " Hakuna Matata (affiliated with a CS in Drachten) was a place to meet the friendly local tokers ,kind of a CS that doesn't sell...unfortunately this year it wasn't open, don't know why ... a 30 minute drive takes us to Leeuwarden the capital city of Fryslan ,and home of perhaps the best coffeeshop scene out of the Randstad...early Sunday afternoon,cool rainy ,but free parking in the centrum puts us within a block or so of 4 fine shops...(and several others we just haven't gotten in to )and they are ALL bustling ... A very happy vibe , didn't hear any other English speakers in any of the shops we visited,though we were welcomed in all and addressed in English after trying to place our orders in Dutch...When I read about NL coffeeshops being for weed tourists I wonder if the writers have ventured into the Provinces and seen just how lively the local touristless scenes are throughout the Country ...
First stop CS Reepelsiltje- Set up somewhat like Abraxax .3 floors, but decorated in a sort of Dutch Ancient manner , very elegant...comfy restaurant like tables, a few couches, DJ rig , pool table ,free internet at the counter...exotic calm music...a shop you'd take a date...they say the building dates from the 1300s...They name their weed after Fairy tales..."Sleeping Beauty" being perhaps the strongest of trip...well I could go on about this shop and the others in Leeuwarden ,but we also visited De OS , Utoop and Downtown(Polm,White Widow 5/gram...very fine) , all top notch shops with Utoop under new management ,but still very friendly,though weed not quite as knock your socks off as it used to be...left Dokkum for Bourtange , A 1700s fortress town on the German Border in Groningen Province ...Stopped in Groningen en route...Visited CS de Medley -An Arabic theme... these being somewhat intimidating at first for a Gringo, but after visiting Arabica in Amsterdam
decided that here is place we can reach common ground, and indeed it was a friendly ,comfy place ...and Reykejavic ,or something like that. nice stop as well(Purple 5/gram...top notch) ...after a few days of walking the moats and woods in Bourtange and pretending we were back in time 300 years (Bourtange is a very cool stop,with great deal at the "Soldiers Quarters" -should you be a history buff ,or a country person wanting a breather from the cities-and incidentlly plenty of room to light up on those walks, and no hastle in the room,free parking) . On to Sneek ... Decided to get off the Highway in Drachten ..it's one of those modern NL cities ,but set up like most others, main square, pedestrian shopping streets ,we found CS Gili Senang our second time down the street -In the provinces shops are NOT marked as garishly as in the Dam ...keeping a low profile ? ...friendly ,roomy ,working on an outdoor terrace ...nice stop...on to Sneek, stopping at Sloten Enroute (only two more to go)...
Sneek is a nice town South of Leeuwarden, two nice shops: Esera and Heaven...both have low profile fronts,but nice interiors ,Esera being the nicer ,with a comfy outdoor terrace ...both close fairly early on week nights ...Heaven open 13:00-21:00 - Esera closing at 22:00...Heaven having a nice gaming room ,and internet access,and is located just down the street from the Sneek Landmark Watergate...Sneek has a bustling shopping area,seemingly busier and with more variety than Leeuwarden...
Stayed at de Daalderplaats, no hastles in room...free parking on hotel lot
From Sneek visits to Stavoren and Ijlst completing our Elfstedentocht , and a visit to Hindeloopen, a real charmer of a town on the Isselmeer coffeeshopless, but plenty of sea front dijks and private spots to sit and watch the Meer and the Boats ...then back to Leeuwarden for a weekend of CS visits and getting together with friends we've made there over the years...
Back across the Afsluitsdijk to Hoorn ,an edgy town on the outskirts of the Randstad...Three shops, two open ...de boot near the station is a sort of Brown Cafe ,with an incredible volume of counter traffic ...lots of Euros pass thru this place ...T'Keteltje- a hole in the wall shop near the Grote Kerk (thats now apartments and a shopping center)...virtually no amenities ,not very comfortable,but friendly , chatty locals kept us there for well over an hour ,twice...passing joints ,buying us drinks ...go there if you feel like chatting ...There seems to be fad for old American cars in Hoorn ,these giant gashog 65 Cadillacs ripping through the town booming loud rap...Stayed at Hotel Keizerkroon a classy and well priced hotel ,no hastles in room, free parking with hotel ... From Hoorn to Haarlem ...A city well documented on this site and over at Channels ...enjoyed it greatly ...stayed at Carillon ...again no hastles with Hotel...Sativa and Sensimillia looked great...CS High Times a nice stop as well ...Theehuis (wet weed) ,Empire (tastiest Hash of trip) visited also...great CS town...all in all weedwise everything was good, no crap weed encountered ...no bad vibes...hope the 06 trip is as good