Highfunctstoner wrote: ↑Thu 14th Dec 2017 09:27 am
Thought I'd say hello as I'm new to this forum. ... I'd like to make friends in and/or around Amsterdam who appreciate and enjoy smoking and the coffeeshop culture.
Welcome. I would suggest you read some posts and you too may too become addicted to ACD.
Age aside, you and I have much in common.
The journey to Amsterdam is for me at best a 7.5 hour flight. This means I usually only get to go once a year, so I like to make the most of it.
My first trip was, like you, with a partner. It was great but it could have been so much better. I felt lost in an alien but beautiful world, in no way feeling 'at home'.
It was 3 more years before I returned, this time with no wife and much less than half the former collective assets to my name. The financial condition necessitated extreme economy so I booked a dorm room bed at the Bulldog Hotel and Hostel.
I was 42 at the time and had never experienced a hostel. This only added to my fish-out-of-water feeling. When I got to my room, I met one of my roommates, a girl my daughters age from England. The Puritan American Genome kicked in and I assumed I was put in the wrong room. I went back to the front desk clerk to straighten it out.
As I explained, Sandra politely listened to the long story waiting for 'the problem'.
'There's an 18 year old girl in my room."
She paused before responding. Her words were superfluous, her face said everything.
"So, what's THE PROBLEM?!"
Not even realizing it, Sandra cleared my mind of it's clutter and I finally saw before me the true wonder and potential of Amsterdam. Suddenly I felt at home.
Since that trip I have always returned to the Bulldog and in doing so made many friendships with staff and fellow dormers. Many of the dormers I meet feel the same way and return to the Bulldog.
One way you might consider achieving your goal is to become a repeat customer at your choice of lodging. The Dutch really seem to love this and I've grown to love it too. Too many perks to mention and I doubt the Bulldog is unique in this manner. At this point, as much as 80% of my friends and connections in Amsterdam are or were Bulldog employees or friends of employees. In contrast, about 80% or more of my ACD connections are from outside Amsterdam.
Just a suggestion, welcome to the forum.
Ed (the head)
Cannabis is highly illegal where I live and as such I only get to indulge whenever in Amsterdam or other cities that have legalized it. Would be great to get in touch with people who'll help me make the most of that time.
