Amsterdam Halloween 2024 Trip (lots of photos)

[HitTheNorth]

Well this is shaping up to be a rather excellent trip report.
Agree, Hazeface is a quality content creator, whatever happened to Pyrah? Does he still do YouTube? The Gasman too (he's my favoured Strain Cainer). Am I right in thinking Dam by the Gram works at Jolly Joker. Sounds like a cracking do all round.
Keep it coming gSmokeyBee, loving it so far

[Smokeybee21]

Wicked mate Hope your girlfriend was ok in the end!

On your post with all the photos, that one photo of the rugs/blankets/towels that are hung up, where is that, if you don’t mind me asking, and are they rugs? My wife loves stuff like that!

Cool you got to meet HazeFace! I enjoy watching him on YouTube thanks to Marok21 mentioning him in one of his posts. He seems like a proper sound lad He is 2024’s Andrew Pyrah Great content!

Thanks for the write up Smokeybee21

Thanks bud! The photo is at the Metro end of Albert Cuyp, if I remember correctly.

Hazeface is an absolute legend and eventually told me to stop stressing about spilling my drink on him, I'm still stressing now

Super write up's @Smokeybee21. How in the heck do you remember everything? Great photos too.

AzLaker

I kept a journal this time, and I've also been cross referencing the dates and times on my photos to keep track, I would not remember a thing otherwise

Well this is shaping up to be a rather excellent trip report.
Agree, Hazeface is a quality content creator, whatever happened to Pyrah? Does he still do YouTube? The Gasman too (he's my favoured Strain Cainer). Am I right in thinking Dam by the Gram works at Jolly Joker. Sounds like a cracking do all round.
Keep it coming gSmokeyBee, loving it so far

Pretty sure Pyrah moved home unfortunately, it was through his channel that I found Voyagers and 1e Hulp back in the day.

Yes he works at the Joker, a shop I would rarely bother with, but he gave us the royal treatment in there and the view is second to none, so more Joker for me in future

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

[Smokeybee21]

Wicked mate Hope your girlfriend was ok in the end!

On your post with all the photos, that one photo of the rugs/blankets/towels that are hung up, where is that, if you don’t mind me asking, and are they rugs? My wife loves stuff like that!

Forgot to say, my girlfriend was indeed OK in the end, she's more of a trooper than most

I'm pretty sure they were blankets, although they look like rugs in the photo, I'm not too sure.

[Smokeybee21]

Day Two - 01/11/24 - Morning & Afternoon

I had set an alarm for 10AM. The ringtone I had chosen really annoyed the Mrs, who opted to stay in bed. An hour or two solo in Amsterdam, perfection. Showered and dressed, I am at the smoke spot for a morning cigarette by 10:45. I favour these two benches, although I have the choice of about 15 along the canal, as well as a couple of jetties to sit on. I take a photo of the view from the left and right:

Left

IMG_20241101_105258~2.jpg (143.53 KiB) Viewed 1968 times

Right

IMG_20241101_105304~2.jpg (172.77 KiB) Viewed 1968 times

I head past Vondelpark to Spar Byzantium, an upmarket affair with fresh baked pastries and coffee, a far cry from my local shithole which always seems to be sold out of the exact thing I'm after. I get some croissants and juice, before staking out a bench in Vondelpark for breakfast. This was shockingly my first time ever in Vondelpark, since most of my trips have been in the dead of winter. I only venture as far as the entrance path to finish my pastry as well as the last of the Lemon Haze, and make my way back to the hotel.

Lemon Haze in Vondelpark

IMG_20241101_111153.jpg (164.35 KiB) Viewed 1968 times

Mrs SB is up and about, and has Albert Cuypmarkt on the brain. Off we go. Since we purchased 3-day travel passes at Schiphol, we made the short walk to Vijelzgracht Metro, yet another first for me. I'm impressed by the cleanliness and architecture of the station, and notice there is a speaker playing soft jazz music to soothe morning commuters. One stop and we arrive at the market.

Vijelzgracht Metro

IMG_20241101_121151.jpg (69.96 KiB) Viewed 1967 times

We were still hungry so we went straight to Greg Monsieur, a toastie spot recommended to me by The Gasman. My expectations for a simple toastie were fairly low but my mind was blown, ham and gouda cheese on sourdough bread, absolutely next level, and I made friends with a dog while waiting.

Toasties

IMG_20241101_130908.jpg (93.87 KiB) Viewed 1967 times

Dog I made friends with

IMG_20241101_125639~2.jpg (114.05 KiB) Viewed 1967 times

Satisfied, we meander over to Katsu for a little hash session. I go for the Honing Pollen (at €11). Dark and hard to the touch, this smoked more like a black hash than what I would consider a pollen. A clean hash with a thick smoke, I enjoy the first joint. A Cookies and Creme joint and cappuccino later, we Metro it to Rokin, Dam Square exit. We have waffles and croissants at Rene's, then head for my usual haunt and my absolute favourite place in the world, Hill St Blues, for another joint and a rest. I have a few stickers featuring artwork of my best mate who passed away a few years ago, so I paste some around and do some tagging with a Sharpie. I find myself craving the Phenofinders weed of old, so a plan formulates.

Katsu pollen

IMG_20241101_123609.jpg (86.15 KiB) Viewed 1966 times

Sticker at Hill St Blues

IMG_20241101_161724.jpg (52.32 KiB) Viewed 1966 times

We walk over to Bagheera for the Lemon Bubble, a firm favourite of mine, but alas they are out. I opt for some of the Kosher Kush (at €15) instead, in an effort to recapture the glory days of 2013 Voyagers and the knockout indica of my younger days. I save this one for later and smoke some more hash on the terrace. We then make a pitstop at Solo, where I ask the BT for a recommended sativa, and I choose Lemon Shocker (at €11) from the two selections. We smoke by the canal up the road from Solo, and the Lemon Shocker is amazing. A lemon and lime taste similar to Sprite and with a slight almost-fizz on the tongue. We enjoy the view and take pictures, then opt to take the Metro back towards the hotel for a rest.

Bagheera

IMG_20241101_145206.jpg (88.67 KiB) Viewed 1964 times

Smoke spot near Solo

IMG_20241101_170233~2.jpg (125.34 KiB) Viewed 1964 times

Bonus photos, then Day Two - Evening coming next...

[Smokeybee21]

Some bonus Day Two photos...

[avfc-herbalist]

Forgot to say, my girlfriend was indeed OK in the end, she's more of a trooper than most

I'm pretty sure they were blankets, although they look like rugs in the photo, I'm not too sure.

Glad she was ok and it also gave you the opportunity of a middle of the night smoke thanks for the info, will go check them out

Brilliant travelogue so far mate, really enjoying this! The photos are great

Never been in Coffeeshop Solo, will definitely have to give them a go when I'm over in January, that Lemon Shocker sounds great and especially for that price!

Thanks Smokeybee21

[Lemming]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting.

[Smokeybee21]

Great stuff! Thanks for posting.

Thanks mate!

[AzLaker]

Another great write-up @Smokeybee21 & the pictures are definitely a bonus. Thanks again.

AzLaker

[Smokeybee21]

Day Two - 01/11/24 - Evening

We arrive back at the hotel around 5pm, have a quick shower each, and chill on the bed listening to Dutch radio and eating chocolate. I decide to pop to the Spar for a Fernandes (Grape, my favourite) then hit the smoke spot on the way back for another joint of the Lemon Shocker. The flavour still blows me away. I return to the Mrs, and we decide on pizza for dinner, so we find a little place off the Leidsestraat and settle in. The pizza is decent, but Mrs SB is tired and recovering from a sprained ankle sustained playing roller Derby, so she decides to call it a night around 8. I walk her back to the hotel and head out on a night mission.

Bourbon Street (nr. Leidseplein)

IMG_20241101_174131~2.jpg (103.06 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

Pizza restaurant

IMG_20241101_174805~2.jpg (83.92 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

I wander past the Rijksmuseum and around to Terps Army 2. I have never been in here, nor the other location, at least since the days of El Guapo. I'm looking to sit down and smoke indoors, but the place is packed, so I loop around to Rookies and the terrace of Bulldog Palace, also full. I head to Easy Times, asking to look at the Cotton Candy and the Tropical Runtz. The former has a very interesting smell in the tub, but the latter is absolutely reeking of a tropical fruit salad, so I opt for a gram of that at €11. I could probably squeeze into a seat here, but I choose to try somewhere else.

I walk north and weigh up my options, Happy Feelings or Dolphin's. HF seems to have had a bit of a glowup, but the seating looks uncomfortable. Dolphin's definitely has better seating, but I haven't been in there since 2013, when we were shouted at about buying drinks and seating arrangements and promptly left. I've also heard about something of an improvement at this place too though, with some Amsterdam Genetics products on the menu, so I decide to go for it, but cut my losses and head home if I can't get a seat. I can see on the CCTV behind the counter that there's a couple of prime seats downstairs, so I get a White Choco pre roll and stake my claim in the smoking area. A pleasant smoke and a Strawberry Looza later, I am flagging, so I decide to head back after all.

Dolphin's

IMG_20241101_202454.jpg (98.17 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

I roll a joint of the Honing Pollen from Katsu, and another of the Tropical Runtz. I arrive at the hotel, but go to the smoke spot and blaze them back to back. The pollen is nice enough, but I was not prepared for the Runtz. An explosion of mango, pineapple and lemon terps with a gassy kick, the smell more than transferred to taste and the effect was strong and relaxing. Not to spoil the ending, but this was the smoke of the trip for me, Easy Times absolutely smashing it as always.

I go up to the room, but the Mrs is dead to the world and I have a second wind from the joy of the Runtz, so I sit at the desk, turn on the extremely-conveniently-located lamp, and set to work on crafting 3 beautiful joints. One Tropical Runtz, one Bagheera Kosher Kush, and one cocktail of the Kosher and the last of the Cookies and Creme hash. I decide to knock myself the fuck out and get an early night. I hit the town once more. Smoke spot for the Runtz, the second joint even more enjoyable than the first, if Willy Wonka grew bud it would taste like this. The snozberries definitely tasted like snozberries. I fancy a change of scenery for the next joint, so I cruise over to Museumplein, another obvious Amsterdam location I've never been to. Hoping to see the famous fountain, I am instead presented with a site fence and boarding all the way around it. This was only the first disappointment of the evening.

Museumplien

IMG_20241102_002338~2.jpg (91.5 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

Museumplien

IMG_20241102_002409.jpg (90.48 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

Museumplien

IMG_20241102_002730~2.jpg (109.31 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

Rijksmuseum

IMG_20241102_003202.jpg (86.27 KiB) Viewed 1789 times

I vividly remember my first time trying Kosher Kush. Me and 5 friends in a hotel room above Warmoestraat in 2013, all of us knocked for 6 and snoring pretty soon after. A strong and heavy indica with that classic kush flavour turned up to 11. This, as well as the Don Tangelo/Fromage Bleu/SBLH/Kaligria of the Voyagers days, put Phenofinders at the top of my list for all these years. This, unfortunately, was not the Kosher of old. Lacking in punch and flavour, this was more akin to the standard Kush I see back home, not bad at all but just not a standout smoke. The second joint, supercharged with the Easy Times hash, has a stronger end result, so I stroll on back to the hotel a little happier and hit the hay.

Day Three coming soon...

[jollylittlehun]

Really enjoying this and the pics. Thanks

[talkrum]

Great photos and reporting. Thank you for sharing.

[HitTheNorth]

Sick report, nice one.

Snozzberries lol that brought back some memories

[Smokeybee21]

Thanks for the kind words all, here are some bonus day 2 pictures.

[avfc-herbalist]

Brilliant! Thanks for all the photos mate !!