My August Trip is Underway

[twinkles]

Monday August 15, 2016

Everything I know about packing light, I learned hiking the Appalachian Trail. First rule is no cotton. On the trail cotton kills. That means no jeans, no cotton t-shirts, no cotton socks, no cotton underwear, no sweat shirts. Even when you don't have worry about freezing to death on a mountain, cotton is just to bulky and heavy. Also, no traditional sweaters--they are too bulky.

If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be wearing nylon underwear, I would have told you that you were nuts. But now I wear Under Armour nylon underwear, with six inch legs exclusively. They prevent chaffing when you are walking 15-20 miles a day up and down mountains. But they also work when strolling down Warmoesstraat 15 times a day. They are light weight and roll up into a tight little sausage.

I wear Under Armour t-shirts, but any nylon t-shirts should be fine. For short trips, like this one (eight days in Europe and two travel days), I have one for each day of my trip. For my month long adventures, I bring 10 and wear one, and then I plan on doing laundry twice. Normally, I wear one golf style nylon shirt with a collar on the plane, in order to look a little more dressy than a plain t-shirt

I bring one or two long sleeve button up the front style hiking shirts. The number depends on the time of year, and how often I plan on eating in restaurants where a t-shirt would be too casual. I always wear a t-shirt to help keep the long sleeved shirt clean.

I wear nylon hiking pants. I wear one and bring one spare. I found some with 5 zippered pockets. Speaking of pickpockets and security, I wear two money "belts." One is a passport holder that I wear around my neck and under my shirt. The other attaches to my "belt" and is inside my pants. I put belt in quotes, because I use a nylon belt with a plastic buckle--no need to take your belt off going through security.

I like wool socks. Smart wool were my favorites, but Costco sells a knockoff that is superior. But good synthetic hiking socks are also fine.

I have experimented with different shoes. I finally settled on Mephistos. But any black walking shoes are fine. You can wear black tennis style shoes anywhere that you might want to venture. I have visited many a fine dining establishment in my black tennis shoes including a few Michelin 3 stars. You would look absurd trying that in multi-colored Nikes.

For warmth, the old saw about layering applies. For a trip in the middle of winter I bring a pair of silk long underwear, because they are slightly less bulky that the synthetics, but I wouldn't argue about that choice. Next is your t-shirt. Next is your long sleeve hiking shirt. Next is a synthetic wind shirt. I have a GoLite Wisp. It has an integrated stuff sack and is about the size of a tennis ball. Finally, an ultra-lite down jacket/sweater works down below freezing. I sprung for a custom made Nunatak Skaha Down Sweater. It stuffs down to the size of a softball. It kept me warm in the snow on Jungfraujoch.

I am a backpacker, and I use an Ultralight Adventure Equipment OHM pack. My pack fully loaded for a month in Europe weighs in at about 23 pounds. My wife and I have a motto: if we can't carry it on the plane with us, then it is not going. But even if you prefer to use a heavier, bulkier roll aboard, I still recommend using stuff sacks. I use Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil dry sacks. For this trip, I have eight as follows: socks, t-shirts, underwear, long sleeve shirt, pants, electric, toiletries, dirty clothes. I roll up each piece of clothing, with a dryer sheet to keep things smelling fresh. Put them in their respective stuff sack. Using your body weight squeeze the air out and roll up the seal. That is how you reduce bulk and turn that bulky down jacket into a soft ball. (For a winter trip, you are going to have a sack for your jacket and long underwear.)

I debated whether to bring my down sweater on this trip as insurance, and gambled that my wind shirt will be enough. If I get cold I will buy a cheap sweatshirt. I am sort of violating my rules with one item. Years ago, on a whim, I bought a ExOfficio travel vest. You know the type. It has eight or ten zippered pockets, and is worn by retired American tourist men. It then hung in my closet for several years, because I was to embarrassed to wear it. But on my February Amsterdam trip, I decided to wear it. You know what? It was incredibly handy for carrying my stash, rolling papers, grinder, lighter, and on this trip, it will also carry the new Mighty, along with the filling tool. And even though it is August, I haven't been uncomfortable wearing it in Atlanta.

Speaking of wearing extra clothing, when I travel with my wife and we may be visiting some dressy restaurants, I will wear a sport coat. But this is a solo trip, and even though I might do Restaurant Vermeer, one night, they have never require a jacket in the past.

I got to the airport five hours before the flight is suppose to leave. I typed this up while sitting in the business class lounge, sipping a bourbon and ginger. I know that you want to hear about coffeeshops and smokables, but that is still about 15 hours away. I am flying to Dusseldorf to save miles, so after I arrive in the morning I will take a train to Venlo and will report on Coffeeshop Nobody's Place tomorrow evening.

[BongHug82]

Have a great time!

[twinkles]

Thanks bong. It is about time to walk to the gate. Four hours of jack and Ginger will make this an adventure.

[Willjay]

Have Fun

[Roccy Tittzenbeer]

Four hours of jack and Ginger will make this an adventure

Sounds promising, might as well start as you mean to go on I say. Looking forward to hearing more reports of your alcohol, food and cannabis consumption in due course.
Have a jolly fine time,
All the best.
RT'n'B

[twinkles]

Tuesday August 16 2016

Sometimes a plan simply works perfectly, but back to that later. I am in Venlo at the Hotel Wilhelmina. My first stop was Coffeeshop Nobody's Place. I asked the bud tender for a strong Sativa and for some hash to sandwich into it. He sold me Bling Haze flowers at €25 for 1.7 grams, and Ground Zero hash at €25 for .7 grams. I cold not finish my first bowl.



I want to give Nobody's Place a thumb-up. For something connected with staying open, you have to be a member. I had joined about a year ago, but I had no idea where my card was. They punched my name into their computer and I am still a member. I think membership was about 5 euros.

But they would not permit a menu picture.

About the plan coming together. I had 45 minutes to get from the plane, through passport control, customs, walk to the monorail, ride the monorail three stops, and buy a ticket for the train. No problem. I got to my hotel just before noon and they had a room ready to go.

I got some confirmation of nylon clothing last night. About an hour out of Dusseldorf a stewardess decided to clean off the pod table, next to where I was sleeping, with my back to the isle. Well she dropped a glass of water on me. Other than startling me awake, no harm was done. I was dry instantly. We dried off the seat and I decided to just eat the breakfast.

[LLMReb]

Great post. My wife and i often challenge ourselves to carryon as well. I enjoy reading how others pack.

Have a great time and keep the reviews coming!

[Fat_old_dwarf]

Lots of useful stuff in there, Twinkles, even for those of us who mostly go for a few days at a time, though I remained unsold on the nylon underwear at least. I recently saw a young lad with a suitcase nearly as big as he was, and realised he, like me, was waiting for the rooms at the top of Voyagers to be ready. He couldn't have been staying more than a couple of days, and was apparently unfamiliar with the stairs. His face on seeing them for the first time was priceless.

[twinkles]

Wednesday August 17

I over slept this morning, but no harm no foul. Set my alarm too early and so didn't get up, and fell back to sleep until 8:12. My train was leaving at 8:49. Ok, skip the free breakfast and get a jump on it. I made it. And when I got to Amsterdam, I had a ready made excuse for a nice lunch at Mandarjn. First time I have been to Mandarjn. It was so good, it gives me a reason to consider moving my home base. I love good Chinese.

After getting food, I went to Boerejongens Centre. I got two grams of Amnesia Haze for €32 and .5 grams King Kong Ice for €40. They had no space to sit, so I went to Hunters across the street. In retrospect, the King Kong Ice was worth it.

Later in the afternoon, I went to Voyagers and got two grams of Girl Scout Cookies for €34. I was not that impressed. However, we do have the problem next morning (?):

Thursday August 18

Really over slept this morning, whatever that means when you have no schedule, but when I got out of the shower, I noticed that it was 12:20 pm. Anyway, I went to Greenwoods on Singel, and had Eggs Benedict. After which I realized that I was only a couple of blocks from Grey Area. So I went bot two grams Holy Grail for €32. I also bot the Gray Grains hash, but I don't remember how much I bot or what I paid. I smoked a sandwich sitting at a table.



As Long as I was all the way to Grey Area, I ought to visit Amnesia. I bot two grams of the Liberty Haze. I have not tried it yet. The stash is growing.



Along the way, managed to visit two beer bars, Het Elfde Gebod and In De Wildeman. I also visited Hunters and Route 66 frequently for a beer and a vape.

For Dinner I went to BurgerFabrique.

Thursday night, I also stopped in at Old Sailor. It is now off of my list of places to visit. They were rude.

[gapie]

ooh yeeh fuck yeeh more more smoke smoke wanna meet lol

[CopenhagenCouple]

Dang twinkles, that is some detailed (and for some probably very helpful) reporting!
We both cut our teeth packing for mountain hiking as well (Mrs. CC in Sweden and Norway, Mr. CC all over most of Europe), both still pack quite excessively now a days, but we also do a lot of different things while visiting such as going out which (especially for Mrs. CC) requires a bit of a wardrobe…
Hope you have a great trip hiking around the dam testing the nice wares. Never had the ice from Boer IWRC, but the block hashes are really good value if you fancy a go at such pleasures!:D

@Gapie: Nice to see you are in a good mood man, smoke a few for us!

[gapie]

Yessir schmokey all the time non stop trying

[woodz60]

Great report, twinkles. Your packing tips would've come in handy on my trips, which seemed to have always happened in Winter, and everything in my layering was cotton (or heavier.) Packing light was not an option that I exercised. Mentioning the guy who had never encountered the steep climb with heavy luggage brought back memories of hoisting a rolling duffel bag up suicide stairs on a few occasions. Much fun was NOT had fast-walking down Damrak in a light rain with a fever whilst lugging a gargantuan dirty clothes container attempting not to miss my flight back stateside. I had good excuses as to why I was sweating for the inquisitive immigration/customs person.

I am always tweaking my travel plan for my next trip to A'dam, which will likely be a few more years. Your tips will be included in my trip plans. Great smoke report, too! Enjoy the rest of your stay. We anxiously await another installment!

[twinkles]

Friday August 19

Woke up early enough to get to De Bakkerswinkel by 8:30. Had the French toast and bacon.

After breakfast, I went to Hunters for a cappuccino and a vape. I tried the liberty haze from Amnesia sandwiching the rest of the ground zero hash from Nobodies Place.

From there, I started wondering toward Barney's. Of course, that is where I ended up and bought three grams of Tangerine Dream for €45, and one gram of Liberty Melt for €60. Just past noon, I made a sandwich of Liberty Haze from Amnesia, and Liberty melt from Barney's. To be honest, no great shakes.

I drank some beer and wondered around until about 6:00 pm when I was time to get ready for dinner. Somewhere in the middle here, I went to the cat boat. I made myself a reservation at Restaurant Vermeer. I had the six course tasting menu with wine pairings and I added a cheese course option. It was a great meal.

I finished dinner around 9:00 pm and headed back to my room for vaping and bed.

[twinkles]

Saturday August 20

Since I had a big dinner the night before I decided to go for croissants at Sugar and Spice Bakery. After breakfast, I decide to cut over to Utopia. Utopia yields White Walker two grams for €32 and gram of Caramello for €10. I got my first menu picture at Utopia.





After Utopia, I head on over to Arendsnest. I understand why this one has high recommendations. When I first walked in, I thought that it might be a bit to lively for my taste. But a couple of groups left and it mellowed out. I had two stouts. One 10% and one 11%.



After I went to Route 66 and had a small Heineken and a vape. Then I headed to De Bekeer Suster for another potent beer.

I know that I had dinner, but with all of the vaping and beer, I do not remember the details other than it was Chinese.