Aug. 18-28 travelogue

[courtjester]

There isn't going to be a lot of flowery prose here because I'm not interested in spending the time. I'd love to download pictures because they add so much but...ditto. I'm in Amsterdam. This every couple days is as good as it's going to get:

DAY ONE

Lost a night on the plane from Detroit to Amsterdam. I slept maybe three hours, the missus hardly any at all. Raining to beat the band upon arrival in Amsterdam at noon. Bags secured, off to Centraal Station, a stopoff at the visitor's office to secure 3-day IAmsterdam passes and 7-day tram passes, which gave us travel for all 10 days of the trip, then it was off on the No. 13 tram to Eerste Hulp.

Eerste Hulp, 2G Choco Kush/€26: First time in the shop. Smooth, nice smoke. Took the edge off nicely from the traveling. Sat in the back U-shaped bench upstairs and watched the cat chill while we did the same.

On to Leidseplein to drop off our bags at the hotel, then to our next coffeeshop stops.

The Noon, 4G Blueberry/€25: One of the best batches of Blueberry I've ever had from anywhere, much less The Noon. It's sometimes a shaky proposition but this batch was flushed well. And it's always a pleasure to see Mahmoud the budtender. I'll also point out here that I came with an overarching goal of not spending more than €8 per gram, on average, for weed and hash. It may or not be reasonable, it isn't a hard-and-fast budgetary goal, just a goal. We'll see how it works at the end of the trip but this fits the plan.

Happy Feelings, 1G S5Haze/€13.50, 1G Nepal Creme hash/€9: I like Happy Feelings. There are a few things that stand out, the purple hue to everything, the turnstile into the place, the Verdampers at every table, the self-service drinks and the money in various denominations overhanging the bar. In this case, both the weed and hash also stood out. The S5 Haze stepped up early as the best weed so far. "I'd grow this," Mrs. CJ says, and in our household, that's the highest possible praise. The hash was pliable and rolled into lovely sausages later, when we tried it.

Tweedy, 0.4G Lemon Haze/€5: So much for the uplifting smoke. Between the fatigue of travel and the buzz from the Lemon Haze, Mrs. CJ says she's getting tired. Two minutes later, her eyes gradually close. The moment her eyes were completely shut, her mouth started to gradually open. It looked like pulling down a window shade. "Really?" I said, and she woke up laughing. When we walked outside a little later, I impersonated her little act and she had to stop and bend over, she laughed so hard. Thanks Tweedy.

The Rookies, 1G Cheese/€11.20: My first visit to The Rookies a few years back was kind of a dud and I always have gone there with low expectations since. I'm thinking it was just a one-off. Had some good experiences here, and this was the same. The Cheese was very nice indeed, and a good nightcap after Mrs. CJ got her third or fourth wind. Time for bed.


DAY TWO

Hollywood Coffeeshop is closed. Double Reggae appears to be closed.

Picasso, 2G Poison/€15: Mrs. CJ loves this place so we trammed it down into the city and made it our first stop. The weed smelled like black pepper but smoked better than it smelled. Had a chat with a Dutch fellow who, when the rain picked up, took his umbrella outside and put it over his dog, who was sitting in his bike basket. I liked the guy immediately.

Grey Haze, 2G Grey Haze, 1.5G The Wobbler/€40: Buy and fly. These were the only two weeds under the 3.5G/€40 offerings, and I was allowed to mix and match, since they were the same prices.

Amnesia, 1G Amnesia Haze/€14: It's still the best place in the city to get its namesake.

Voyagers, 1G Testing Tuesday Week 34/€10: Meh. Whatever.

Interspersed with all of these stops were a seed stops at DNA, TH Seeds, Sensi, a couple others. We then decided to work our way to Rembrandtplein for a stop at Old Amsterdam and the Ajax shop. Old Amsterdam, at 4 p.m., was closed tight. This long has been one of my favorite coffeeshops but its reliability in opening is shaky and I'm going to quit planning around it. The Ajax shop also is closed and has moved down to AmsterdamArena.

Old Church, 1.2G Pineapple/Grape Haze/€16: Nice smoke but overpriced. Not a big fan of Old Church, just wanted to see what the remodeled Rokerij looks like. It's nice but it's definitely one I can pass in the future.

The Other Side, 1.2G Chrystal/€10: A very nice sativa, particularly for the price.

We walked around Leidseplein but got caught in a storm and worked our way back to the hotel and had dinner. Tried The Wobbler from Grey Area at Vondelpark and it was a very good knockdown indica for a nightcap.

[Pipo]

thanks

[Lemon Haze]

Nice one man. I've had good luck at Rookies, so good to hear it's looking good right now.

[gapie]

[jim n soj]

Thanks for sharing Courtjester, I love travelogues.

[courtjester]

Thanks everyone.

DAY THREE

Started the day in Vondelpark, testing the Grey Haze, which was everything I remembered it being. Great way to start the day. Tripped through the Max Euweplein area and looked through a sporting goods store there for Ajax gear. There already was a group gathering around, watching a game at the big chessboard, and another couple of chess games on regular boards going on nearby. Lively area where the Hard Rock Cafe is. Took the tram from Leidseplein to Albert Cuyp Market and walked the length of the market. Arrived at Katsu at 10:36 for an 11 a.m. opener. Arrived at YoYo at 11:10 for a noon opener. So backtracked a few steps for the first coffeeshop stop of the day.

Carmona, 1G G13 Haze/€11, 1G Shoreline/€14: I hadn't tried the Shoreline before but it was a very nice sativa and the price was better than most places. I haven't tried the G13 Haze yet but it looks nice. Also, value sometimes is in the details, and there are different sizes of Spa Blue. Carmona gives you the big size for €2.

YoYo, 1.6G Amnesia Haze/€10, 0.8G White Widow/€5: It went right in the roach bag. It looked terrible and why I bought it, I have no idea. Got there at 12:10 after leaving Carmona and the woman who runs the place was just arriving on her scooter, bag of weed slung over her shoulder. Said the little cubicle's back window had been broken out by thieves so she has to take all the stash home at night. She could leave it there for all I care.

Hugo de Groot, 3G Amnesia Haze/€24: Went there for the 25-percent off special on the 20th of the month. That offer no longer exists. The €8/G Amnesia Haze is the new house special and it was a very good example of the strain. Skinned up at the bar and smoked at the tram stop. Good purchase.

Greenhouse Tolstraat, 1G The Church/€15: Pretty good indica. Nice coffeeshop. Badly overpriced. It always got my business, however, because it was the closest C/S to The Taco Shop. Now that the restaurant has closed and the owner moved back to Colorado, I have little reason to go back here. Small Spa Blue is €2.50.

So disappointed about The Taco Shop, we ended up working our way back to Leidseplein for dinner. We also swung by the sports betting place next door to Starbucks on Leidseplein. I wasn't aware there was sports betting in Netherlands. I asked for the Ajax-PSV line because we're going to Sunday's game but was told it wouldn't be out until tomorrow.

Central, 1.35G White Widow/€10: We were about to activate the museums/attractions portion of the 72-hour IAmsterdam pass with a canal ride, so we stopped here for some cheap WW. Midway through the second joint, I asked the missus what the difference was between this and The Church at Greenhouse for twice the price. "This is better," she said. Case closed. The €8/G goal may be out the window but the value shops are winning on this trip.

The canal ride was interesting enough (I didn't know that canal water is fresh). You have to be in the right mood for it. We smoked up at Central, were ready to get off our feet for an hour, then ready to get back to a CS when it was over.

420 Cafe, 1G 420 Kush/€12: Probably our last stop ever here, with it on the closing list. Decent smoke. Was never my favorite shop but I'll miss the place and have some memories here.

We worked our way through the RLD and it was packed on a Wednesday night. Got some fries at Vlaamse Frites on Damrak and worked our way down to de Tweede Kamer. Packed. Walked over to de Dampkring. Packed. Stood outside de Dampkring, smoked the rest of the WW from Central and caught a late tram back to the hotel.

DAY FOUR

Began the day contributing to the delinquency of a couple minors at Vondelpark. As we smoked the morning Grey Haze, a couple 14-year-old girls rode up looking to bum a light. None of my business what they're smoking. They fired up their ciggies, doubtless stolen from one's smoking parent, and rode off to eighth grade, I suppose.

The IAmsterdam card kind of leaves you chasing. You learn pretty quickly to take your time and see what you can. Artis Zoo is amazing. So is The Hortus Botanicus. We went to Het Ballonetje for the first time in eight years in between.

Het Ballonetje, 2.8G White Balloon/€20, 1G Raspberry Haze, €12: The Raspberry was really nice. The White Balloon was basically White Widow, renamed to reflect the shop, the budtender said. Good smoke at a good price. Sat upstairs at the same table as our only previous visit here. Just a really nice shop.

Balou, 1G AK47/€8: After leaving Het Ballonetje, and before going to the Hortus, we went to Burger Bar on Rembrandtplein for lunch and swung by Balou for a quick smoke. The weed was fine. A woman came in to buy coffee and was not aware of the local custom. She stalked out.

De Overkant Hortus, 1G Indigo hash/€8: Went here after the Hortus and smoked a couple joints of something from the stash, don't remember what. Put the hash away for later, perhaps to eat before going to the Ajax game on Sunday. The thing that stood out most was how comfortable this place is now. There were four outdoor tables, as well as an indoor table with several seats and several more seats along the bar. This used to be a stand-up-only shop so it was a nice transformation to see. We actually stayed for a second coffee apiece, it was so relaxing outside.

Funky Munkey, 1G White Munkey/€8: A nice, cheap, head-rushy little sativa. Smoked at the table outside the shop.

Went back to Leidseplein for dinner, then to Stedelijk Museum, which is open late on Thursdays. We'd never been there before and it's a fascinating multi-faceted modern-art museum. Mostly, we were just happy the rain stayed away for a day.

Rookies, 1G Power Plant/€9.80: Rookies scores again with a nice indica for a nightcap.

DAY FIVE

Went to the Persmuseum (the newspaper/press museum) in a downpour. Kind of a hard place to find. we smoked on the walk from the tram stop to the museum, and on the way there, I spotted a coffeeshop called Nogal Wiedes on the No. 10 tram line, so I knew we were safe going back. Spent about 45 minutes in the museum, which is quite interesting, a lot of it focused on the 1600s, when Amsterdam and Haarlem were the media capitals of Europe.

Nogal Wiedes, nothing: We got off the tram specifically to go here. At first, I was concerned it was a buy-and-fly. I say "concerned" because it was raining to beat all hell. The foyer was blocked off from the rest of the CS by glass, but the budtender was at front and there was a door into the smoking area. "Oh, good, you do have a smoking area," I said. Budtender: "Yes but you have to be a member." I wheeled around like Karl Malone on a pick-and-roll. The missus no-looked out the door like John Stockton. Walked right across the street, under cover, and smoked a pre-rolled of The Noon's Blueberry. To hell with this place at Czaar Pieterstraat 122. There is no excuse for a membership fee. I didn't ask how much. It could be 50 cents and I'd walk.

Back on the tram, we went to Museum Willet-Holthuysen, an amazing canal house. On the way, we spotted a new Boerenjongens. Still no smoking area. Sorry, it's raining. Not interested in how good your weed is or isn't, we need a place to sit. And then we spot....

Sevilla, 1G Strawberry/€10: We'd never been in Sevilla before. That clearly was a mistake. The weed was excellent. The theater-style seating is unique to anything I've seen in Amsterdam. We stayed for two coffees apiece and three joints, both of the Strawberry (we roll half-gram joints, pure) and one of something from the stash while we dried out and the weather cleared.

We left Sevilla and went to Willet-Holthuysen, then the Museum of Bags and Purses, which was amazingly in-depth, if you're into such things. A lot of people put a lot into their purses.

Barney's, 1G Chronic Thunder/€14: We grabbed this powerful indica at the Barney's on Reguliersgracht. It was a sledgehammer between the eyes.

It was about 5 p.m. by now and we cut off some of our other musuem plans, including the Van Gogh Musuem on Friday night (we'd been there before). We'll pick it up tomorrow. We went to an organic market, The Marqt, on Overtoom, and got snacks for the room, then ate dinner at our hotel, smoked a couple joints of the Amnesia Haze from Hugo de Groot at Vondelpark, looped back to Leidseplein and bet €50 on Ajax Sunday against PSV (to win €41.50), and with Leidseplein starting to heat up, we walked back to the hotel, smoked a joint of The Wobbler from Grey Area, and called it night.

[jim n soj]

Thanks Courtjester, always fancied going to Sevilla in the past but never made it, your review of the place has made it a must visit for our trip in 4 weeks.

[gapie]

[pengaldinho]

Nice write up and list of smokes I agree good things can be found for E8/g - you just need time and patience to root them out.

[KeyMonCha]

This has been a good week for Travelogues...

Excellent report so far... Nice that you gave Happy Feelings a thumbs up... I've been in a couple of times, and although the atmosphere isn't the best, and the coffee is in a machine, the weed itself has been pretty damn good in my experience, yet it never seems to get reviewed.

So, looking forward to the next part, and hoping you might post some pics when you get back home... I know it's a hassle, but some of us like our porn!

[matty223]

i see your bummed out about the taco shop,, i also noticed youraround Vondalpark,, there is a great tex mex place up the overtoom http://www.tomatillo.nl,, i can highly recommend the place,, also check out RED for a nice steak dinner they serve lobster and steck only ,, but nice place for 2 fora nice evening out,, 10 min walk from Rookies if that

peace matty

[courtjester]

Thanks for the feedback all. J/S, I don't think you'll regret Sevilla. And Matty, thanks for the Tomatillo suggestion, place looks like just the ticket and we'll definitely try it.

DAY SIX

Started the day by smoking the second Testing Tuesday joint from Voyagers in Vondelpark, then took the tram downtown.

Hunter's 1G G13/Amnesia, €12: I remembered this cross from last visit here and it was excellent again. Sat and talked a while with a brother and sister from Dubai (he lives in London now). He was quite interested in our roach clip (we smoke like Americans, even in Amsterdam...it's just how we roll, no sense changing just for show).

We left Hunter's in a bit of a shower. A Dutch guy about my age, early 50s, said he has never seen a worse summer here. I believe him.

We went to Church of our Lord in the Attic, which was quite fascinating indeed, then set off to Centraal Station. But by the time we hit Zeedijk, the rain turned torrential. We were close enough to run back to Hunter's, so we did. Stood in a packed shop, with everyone trying to get out of the rain, and smoked a Grey Haze joint. Didn't buy coffee, didn't buy weed, just waited out the rain a few minutes. The staffers didn't say anything because, presumably, I'd already tipped out the budtender and the bartender. Don't forget to take care of your wait staff, folks. They'll take care of you.

Went to the Geelvinck House and the Van Loon House, two canal-house museums essentially directly across the street from each other. Fascinating to get a look inside these old places. The gardens are magnificent, too.

Barney's, 1G Tangerine Dream, €16: Went here after the two canal-house museums. Midway through the second joint, the missus says, "I'm done." I just looked at her. "No, you don't get it, I'm good. For like an hour." It takes an ass-kickin' weed to back down the missus and she was backing down. Good job, Barney's.

We then went to the Houseboat Museum on Prinsengracht, and that was the last use we got from the iAmsterdam card. Walked to a small Italian place for a pizza and salad, then worked our way to the tram back to Leidseplein.

Get Down To It, 1.19G AK-47, €10.70: It was €9 per gram and the guy put a nice single bud on the scale. It was the missus' choice, and a good one. This was our first time in this shop and it's deceptively big, two pool tables, seats everywhere, a massage chair...you definitely should be able to find your own space here. I like it.

We light-packed, so we dropped back by the hotel and washed a load of clothes, went to Vondelpark and smoked a joint from the stash. Put the clothes in the drier and smoked another joint. Folded the clothes, went back to Vondelpark, smoked a joint of the Amnesia Haze from Hugo de Groot. Then it was time for a walk.

Get Down To It, 1G Bubblegum, €9: I don't know how it smokes yet but the shop was convenient and I just stuffed the bag in my pocket and went for the other half of the back-me-down Tangerine Dream joint from Barney's, then the last two joints of Hugo's Amnesia.

Finally, about the iAmsterdam card...we went for the three-day version at €67 apiece. It includes 72 hours of tram/metro/bus travel, plus 72 hours of museums and attractions. The two clocks tick separately, so they needn't be the same 72 hours. If it hadn't been for the totally garbage weather we would have gotten even more out of them. We planned to go to Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem as part of the package but the weather convinced us not to wander too far. We cut off several things we had planned, too. You really kind of have to commit yourself to using it, so it's a mixed bag as to whether it's for you. A completely individual decision. This is our sixth trip to the 'Dam and we didn't mind setting aside three days for it. In the end, these are the attractions in which we participated and the a la carte cost if purchased individually:

100 Highlights Cruise €15.50
Artis Zoo €19.95
De Hortus Botanicus €8.50
Amsterdam Tulip Museum €5
Stedelijk Museum €15
Persmuseum €4.50
Museum Willet-Holthuysen €8
Museum of Bags and Purses €9.50
Church of our Lord in the Attic €8
Geelvinck Museum €9
Van Loon Museum €8
Houseboat Museum €3.75
3-day tram €16

€130.70 value for €67, so it worked out.

[gapie]

[matty223]

too bad you didnt get to the Frans Hal museum,, i really enjoyed it

[Mack 10]

nice review.