Mondragon IV: The One With The Symbols...

[Pierre von Mondragon]

Yeah, that was pretty cool, needed a few days to digest the whole thing, but there you go.

So I rolled into Centraal about half one in the afternoon, I must admit to loving the 1st time travelling without hold baggage, and no corresponding wait at the carousel, I was on the train platform within 15 minutes of landing, and pretty much in Voyagers only slightly more than half an hour from disbursement. Straight in about the Holy Grail and Shoreline, but only smoked the latter as I had to keep it together, as I had educational business in Utrecht at 6pm, and I knew I could maintain up to a pretty high (ahem) level, but no point in tempting fate with Indica mud on the brain.


After half an hour or so, headed off down Gelderskade way, stopping at the Head Shop for a device to last the trip, found something reasonable, crucially with glass gauze for that inert pathway flavour, for E18 all told, I left said device behind in Voyagers on Sunday on my return, perhaps it resideth there still, or maybe it was snaffled by some observant type, all good.


Carried on wandering downawards, towards the Hotel Museumzicht where I would be staying, but detoured to the new downtown Boerejongens, picking up some Nepal Lavender and White Choco Boc Hashishes


On getting to the hotel, and seeing that the stairs might have qualified as the 23rd tallest mountain in the country, I was nonetheless uplifted to see a flat-roof balcony outside my room, which I promptly asked the hotel lady if I could use. Permission was granted on grounds of not being a lunatic or that, so Hotel smoking was fully ON, a total result.

Didn't have much time as it was off to Utrecht, had some time to kill before my appointment, so went to T'Grasje and got some Treble 000, and Mazar I Sharif hashishes. The place seemed so nice, the host welcoming, and the menu damn good, so I resolved to return later.

Doing just that I also took a bag of Lemon Royal, and a small 5E bag of outdoor Silver Haze which I regret... not buying a much bigger bag of! No photo of it as I caned it super-swiftly, The Lemon was also very tasty and elevating, as well as aesthetically pleasing.


I took my leave of Utrecht, suitably impressed by the city, its university, and at least one of its establishments, and returned to the Dam, a swift smoke up at the hotel and out to dinner, the rain had started, and was to intensify through the night, so I got as far as Gauchos on Leidseplein and splashed out on a 300g fillet steak, affa nice it was too...

Then made my way to Noon for a post-prandial chong, and to obtain the 4g Blueberry special, along with some Champagne hashish. The Blueberry was tasty enough, and suitable for rolling bifters with, but the Champagne was very strong and gluey in consistency when heated, lots of win, apart form being totally soaked on a mission to get more cash.



I then somehow lost the hash, the above is a photo of the replacement bit I got the night after, which will be a tale for another day.


T'Grasje

[pengaldinho]

Great start, keep it coming How were the hash's from Boerejongens?

[Marok21]

nice start
I am curious to see how this report continue it
seems like u love great hash like me

I met a guy from Utrecht in the train to Amsterdam
some months ago... he told me that T´Grasje is his
favorite coffeeshop in Utrecht... best quality in Utrecht
he said Would u agree with him?

[gapie]

[Pierre von Mondragon]

The BJ fermers stuff I bought was spot on, both E8.50 or thereabouts, not the super-strongest, but clean, tasty and effectful, the GSC bloc was 9.50 and a bit stronger. The stuff higher up the menu looked good too, the Nepal is best though, does have a whiff of lavender.

I didn't go anywhere else in Utrecht, I was going to go to the Culture Boat, but I figured they were unlikely to have as good a selection, and it was time to go back. It was better than quite a few Dam cs I've been in, let alone anywhere else.

Hey G, you missed a monster stash finishing session, I had at least a half q of the best buys to hack through, it was hard work, but I managed with the help of the vape. Good to catch ye again man anyway, safe.

[madmaxxx]

the culture boat only has about,4 types of weed and 4 of hash,you didnt miss much

[Pierre von Mondragon]

Yeah, figured as much, so anyway, I've got the Thursday pretty much to myself, but I decide I need to buy some sort of cheapskate courier type bag, as managing all the stuff I am accumulating is becoming irritating, and that must be how I lost that bit the other night. So I decide to go get one, and stupidly I head towards the Kalverstraat, which is ridiculous because name brand proper shit is not what I'm after. In all my wandering I find the Begijnhof courtyard, which I well wanted to see, so go and check that, the RC chapel, and the super-cool wall tiles.




I checked the paintings in the chapel, but no top rank stuff to be seen, and my morning bake has worn off a bit by now, so off to Tweede Kamer I go. I've not been in here since my very 1st trip in 07, but it's not changed, for a start the music is still excellent when I go in, last time 'Electric' by The Cult, this time some 1st Zep album biz, fucking nice one, I love reggae more than most, but the playlisting ranges from lazy to woeful in most places (honorary mentions to Voyagers for decent tech-house and Utopia for a spot of doomy metal!).
Get the Rifman Maliki and, to keep a lid on spending, the Bio High Rise, which is totally honking, in a good way.

yeah, typical really

I often find myself dashing off too soon, trying to fit everything into the allotted time, but it was soooo chill, and the gear was good (I had some of yesterdays biz in my pocket, but of course), so I tarried about an hour and a half, the b/t was sound, and all was well with the morning.
I still need a bag, and reflection brings the realisation that I'd get exactly what I need at the Albert Cuyp market, so off I toddle, killing my feet in my new boots... fucking suave though! So when I get there it takes at least 10 metres trek to find exactly the place I need, with a cheapchat 12E job AND a Simon Meissen bakers, double win. Seeing as I'm in the area it would be rude not to go to Club Media and pick up some Champagne Haze and some Manali (slightly overpriced at 15E, but nice enough example of it)


Yeah, life's too short to rotate pictures, so I head back to the hotel for a bit, and check the Media blaw oot. Get wrecked and have a wee snooze, remembering to set my alarm for 6 as I have my T&T at 8...

Need a cuppa the noo, to be conted...

[Mack 10]

Love a good Manali ! The good stuff has a wicked high.

[Pierre von Mondragon]

Love a good Manali ! The good stuff has a wicked high.

Absolutely, but this stuff was merely good, never mind, anyway, I wake up, and have a preparatory blast before heading out to Utopia for my T&T, or rather G&T, as there was only one person there, and you probably know who that was...
Checking out the menu I decided on 2g of the Citral, as I love most lemon things, apart from actual lemons, in the other kind of G&T, as it were, it went on to limes for a while, it's probably bloody dwarf grapefruit that's trendy now.

So I catch up with the Stanmeister, and we get stuck into the bong with a few things, including the Triple 000 which was nice, and there was a bit of doomy Soundgarden on, which was a good change to the usual c/s lazy default reggae, or far worse, terrrible eurotrance. After an hour or so it's off to Voyagers, where the menu has changed since yesterday already, and there is something called LA Silver on the menu, LA Con x Silver Kush, so I get a G.5 of that, I noticed that most c/s seem to be willing to half a g if it's more than one, of course some will any way, and that is to be commended. Anyway this stuff is the business, cutting through the murk of the days smoking to create a whole new, distinct murk...

Keep smoking to near closing time, when Mr Proprietor HB and his massive hound come in, very entertaining hound I must say, and G wanders off home, and I decide to walk for a while to get some food on the relative cheap. Get a spinach thingmy from the baker opposite 420, then walk home further...

...and dine with the devil at the McDonalds near Leidseplein, it's alright for crap, but overpriced I think. Then I either go to Noon again, or go to the hotel, then go to Noon again, epending on how much dosh I had left, probably the latter, but I can't be sure, get another bit of Champagne to replace the bit I lost, and an amusingly named new addition to the weed menu, Mandarin Cream... What would Edgar Froese make of that I wonder, so I get some and it's nice, not that I can really tell much at the time.

Then I return to the hotel, watch and fall asleep to an episode of 'Fresh Meat', think it was the Geology Field Tip Ep, haha, haha, zzz

[samseed]

great report , nice pics

[gapie]

[Trashcanman]

Great Reporting Mondragon IV !
I'm droolin' over those pic's dude

[Pierre von Mondragon]

Cheers, I'm slacking a bit though... So then I had to go to Leiden on a more mission-based agenda, so I had to keep it together on Friday morn and nae totally cane it. So I have a leisurely breakfast, before stashing the excess for lunch again, and tram it up to Centraal and off to Leiden. A quick scenic journey later and I'm in Leiden, I've scoped it out a lot on Google Maps n shit, but need to turn on mobile data for a few minutes (and pounds) to get my onboard mapping going. The uni is my destination, I get there, and it's very impressive, and looks well funded to say the least.
Leiden is super -picturesque

So I finish up about 10 past 4 and head off to check out c/s Leidseplein, but when I get there, shitmandhu, now it's bloody 5 opening, I head to the one up the street a bit but it's the same, have the council pushed it back another hour? that's a bit much, I was always able to study in whatever shape, I blame the lightweights! Go for a wee wander and end up in the former Roman Fort thingy whose name I have forgotten, it's well cool, have a bifter I'd packed and a bowl of something nice.
Fort entrance


Anyway I was pondering getting a beer at the bar in the fort garden, but see it's after 5 , and head to Leidseplein. Which is fucking hoaching, seems a lively lot who all know each other, presumably in some collegiate spirit, but fuck trying to get a seat in about it, get some Maroc Ice and do a boost. Decide to back towards the station way, stop off in Double AA, but the things I liked the look of were off, and I wasn't going to buy something for the sake of it in a place I couldn't sit down in, so I go to Paradise and buy something for the sake of it so i can sit down, B52, smelled like dog weed, but wasn't actually that bad, so the worst weed of the trip was OK, I'll take that as a win.
B52, Paradise

Have a bifter made mainly of the B52, then head back to the station, and back to the Dam. It's about 7 by now so I head back, stopping at, sigh, Burger King for a relatively cut-price feed, as the budget is straining by now. So in a way it is a good thing that when I get back to the hotel with a couple of beers, and smoke up on my balcony, I then proceed to drift off quite early while trying to watch Repo Man on my phone, mmm budget-conscious dreams...


Anyway, now it's Saturday, and my last full day, up an at em about 9, breakfast and lunch collection, and time to hit some places on my must visit list, It being the weekend I figure De Graal will be open normal hours, and get there maybe half 11, can't remember, got 1.5 g of Promo Ice, which I haven't a photo of for some reason, and maybe something else, also conspire to drop 10e on the floor somewhere, argh, anyway, I have a seat and take a photo of the chameleon...

I go for a wander with the idea pf going to the Brouwerij T'IJ windmill place for a craft pint, but it's been raining all day, and intensifies to super-pishing Glasgow style rain, so I only get as far as Het Ballonetje near the place I stayed last time, under new management, but the music is nearly as poor as last time, get a g of Amnesia which is nice again

After a while head back to the hotel rather than go further east, a shade too soaked, change, hit up the bong a few times, and head off to that other mandatory stop Grey Area. Classic, now they have a queue handler to keep egregious street puffing from erupting! Was pleased to see some nice YES action on the sticker front, we lost, but the cause remains alive!


I get served and go for 1.5 g of Warda reek'n' (again testing the .5 upsell) and a g of that old reliable Grey Haze, shit scored,


but even though a seat opens up, it's still a maelstrom, so I head to Amnesia, but I only want LSD, it's out, and everything else is striking me as overpriced so I head to Utopia. Heyhey, there is the Stanmeister again, safe. I get a bit of Masari hash on the tenuous connection that one of LSD's genetic parents is the Mazar-I-Sharif landrace strain, and it has the trippiness deep within it, as I discovered when I also had Mazari Rhino once, so I'll try anything with those genetic in it. No photo of it either, it's, er, black hash, you can guess the rest.
Catch up a while with Stan til I get hungry, and he's off to Grey Area, which would only tempt me to blow more cash, so off for a spot of scran, back to the hotel, and then during a wee post-prandial wander, drop into the Cafe Welling near the Concertbebouw,which I remember from when I stayed at the Heemskerk when it was a hotel, not suites. A fairly cool welcome from the barmaid, not that I give a shit, but I decide to have the most excellent Gulpener outside, where they have seats and a planet-killing-yet-cosy patio heater...

Jeezo! that was ace, I have another, then head back to the hotel to watch some videos, listen to some tunes, and try and make a dent in the ridiculous amount of weed I have left, Succeeding in that I drift off sometime 'round Midnight...

[swizzy]

Top quality pics mate
Thanx 4 sharing

[gapie]