Coppola at Tuschinsky

[rentboy]

December 10 2024

Wednesday Day 1

Leaving home went seamlessly, my perfecto leather jacket was a little tight, but every schilpad needs his shell. Flying a bargain airline was new to me, and the process went very smoothly. Security was a breeze and the terminal was elegant, with flowing chaise lounges. The flight was quaint, with the busty flight attendants wearing baby t’s and Christmas hats. I had a delicious boterham. On the flight from Reykjavik to Amsterdam I slept like a rock, despite lacking a pillow. A wind farm in the north sea looked like the graveyard at Normandy.

I lit up a cigarette when I stepped on the tarmac and this very uptight dutch woman threatened to have me locked up. After I got my bags went out in front of Schipol to have a smoke. There were no smoking signs everywhere, but there were droves of smokers, many of them employees and flight attendants. I took the train to Central and eventually found the Damrak. The Palestinian flags were flying high on the square, and I felt a little like arriving at the Reichstag in 1942. I probably should have taken a tram because of all the cobble stones. Before going home I stopped at CS 420 and smoked a pre rolled with a couple of fly by night brits. They were mildly menacing, but polite all the same. I eventually found my hotel, in the heart of the Jordan, near the prinsensgracht.

I hadn’t eaten anything since the sandwich on the plane, but I made a made a path to Rembrandtsplein where I sat in front of a cafe and had a glass of wine. Three cops stood and stared at me. Then I walked up the Rokin through Waterlooplein and through the red light district and went to Bellushi’s. Bellushi’s is a hip club on Warmoestreet, in the center of the red light district. You can smoke in back and the clientele is very cool. I meet a lot of young people there who are staying at the attached hostel. First I met a Colombian, who told me there were lots of Rhode Islanders in Bogota, then a gothic Brazilian teenager, and then a Spanish guy, who was very good company. He was visiting from Arnheim and staying at the hostel. We sat down with an English company of three charming blokes and watched a Barcelona soccer match. We politely quibbled over sports, Football or soccer better, is Rugby more dangerous than American football. This would be a conversation point on this trip. I got kind of loaded and caught a cab on Warmoestraat. Because of the layout of the streets it took ten minutes and 35 euros to get home. I must have gone to sleep after that because I don’t remember anything else that day.


Day 2. Thursday.

I woke up at about 8:30 and went to the box social. It’s a kind of cute bistro where they serve bistro food. I had a sandwich that was comprised of a large sausage patty, thick cut bacon, egg , cheese, on a nice roll with a bed of hash browns. It had a sweet sauce on it that grew on me. I went back to my hotel and grabbed a scarf. I felt like I might be coming down with something, and the weather was cold and wet. I walked to westerkerk and got some post cards, they were very expensive. I was meeting up with a Dutch friend, and I filled out the post cards until she showed up. She arrived and we went out. I hit an atm and we went out to a cafe. There was a problem because they refused to speak Dutch, so we left and went to a better cafe. We stamped the post cards and sent them out.

Afterwards I wanted to go to Leidseplein. I took a picture of what looked like a giant stein. I tried to take the Keizersgracht to Leidsestraat, but I ended up near Rembrandtsplein. I stopped at a vibrant bag shop, with hundreds of beautiful, clean bags, with pictures and lettering. I bought a David Bowie bag and he packed it with another bag, a freebie. I was entertaining the idea of going to the Tuschinsky theater and catching a movie, so I walked directly west of Rembrandtsplein, and what do you know, there was Vijselgracht and the Feijoa genever bar. A few years ago I had a great night there. I walked in and declared, “I found it, Where is Demetrius?” Demetrius, the owner from last time was no longer there, but the Portuguese bartender poured out the end of a bottle of genever. I said “those are the dregs, you should give them to me for free" and he did. I drank that and decided to have another of a different kind. Genever is one of the truly solid things in this world, along with marijuana and cigarettes. The dimensions of the flavor are like fire and ice.

The bartender told me that Tuschinsky theatre was right around the corner, and I finished my drink and walked over. Regulierbreestraat reminded me of Paris, and it made me think that maybe Paris would upstage Amsterdam on the next trip.The theatre is an art nouveau treasure, very French. I bought a ticket to megalopolis. The ticket taker said that it was horrible, but I’m a huge fan of Coppola, and I took a chance. I was going to go into the casino across the street, when some savvy dealers tried to loop me in. I didn’t have cash anyway. I went to Dunkin donuts and got a donut and some coffee. The Donut was better than the ones I get in the states. I bragged to the pretty counter girl that I came from the birthplace of Dunkin Donuts.

I have never been to a movie theater over seas, except in Hawaii, but I’m a huge movie buff, and I was right in my element. I talked hardcore movie talk with a dutch guy with curly hair.
Megalopolis wasn’t a disappointment. Despite all of the criticism, Coppola would be honored at the Kennedy honors, and they would say that it would be thought of as his greatest work. I was stunned by the earth splitting execution, the Shakespeare Caesar references, and the batmanesque vibe. The theater was gorgeous, with comfy chairs and sofas, and lights on the arm rest. The movie was the holy grail, a modern Coppola! Adam Driver, Audrey Plaza, Lawrence Fishburne. It was quite sultry. There were elements of Batman, but very futuristic.

After the movie I chatted briefly with some young people out front. They pointed out a plaque to Tuschinsky in front of the building, and I commented that it was great to have a plaque to a Jew in front of a famous movie theater. I believe that the theater would play films during the occupation.

I was getting on a Tram to go home and this girl knocked my card on the floor by mistake. She apologized and I got over it.

Day 3. Friday

I went to a coffeeshop in the morning, and then several more on the way to Harlemmerstraat. I stopped at Jordinos and bought some chocolates, which were delicious and not too expensive. I kept them in my room for the whole trip and ate them at night. I took a picture of Noorderkerk and visited the Dampkring, where I bought some very powerful hash. The Dampkring hash was 8 times as potent as anything else I smoked.

I tried to sell some t-shirts at a head shop, and I came face to face with the kingpin of Harlemmerstraat. I petite spanish looking fellow, unassuming but unmistakably powerful, he told me “come back when you’re sober, I can’t deal with you like this." I walked out chuckling. I stopped in a leather store where they pressured me heavily to buy some things, but my wallet never came out of my pocket, and I didn’t buy any of their overpriced merchandise. Always check for tags when you’re buying expensive clothing.

I wanted to go to Nemomuseum, for the view on the roof. The information counter at Central station gave me the clearest directions I’ve had in Amsterdam. I boarded the 22 bus, but when I got off I didn’t see Nemo, so I went to the shipping museum. I was highly impressed, and recommend the museum to anyone


Day 4 Saturday

Today I had reservations at the Rijksmuseum. I didn’t sleep much, getting into bed late the night before. I took the tram to museumplein and walked in. I went to the Asian Bronze exhibit and snapped some photos of the erotic statues there. I sat and stared at the stained glass. I had some food with a tourist from Hong Kong, and then spent an unknown amount of time in the permanent collection. There was a special collection of weapons. Thousands of muskets. I talked with a guy from Tennessee over an iced tea. I enjoyed the gallery with the young Rembrandt portrait. I sat and had an audience with some of Rembrandt’s merchants, fascinated by the way light inundates the models with meaning and depth. Rembrandts models are beautiful and rugged, the envy of any artist.

After the museum I walked up Vijselgracht. I passed by something that I saw on tripadvisor that I wanted to do, the Bonton educational tour. It’s a brothel and a strip club that gives educational tours. They didn’t have a tour a tour for a couple of hours, at five, so I went to Albert Cuyps market. I walked around and eventually found some raw herring. With the improvements in the Amsterdam food scene there are less and less haring stands, but I am very partial to them. The pickles and the onions and the segmented haring were delicious. Then and I went to Katsu and talked to some kids, one of whom was from New Hampshire.

At 4:40 I arrived at Bonton’s. I was under the impression that it was a legit museum, but it was very strange and shocking, and shouldn’t be advertised on trip advisor. I killed some time at the fantastic art store next door. They had some very nice paint and I bought a pen, which I will use on my next project.

At Bontons, we were all crammed into the tiny lobby, and we climbed the steep red carpeted steps to the lounge where there were free drinks and the tour guide was a sex worker. She started giving a shpiel about how they danced on the tables we were sitting at, and she said that someone coming here would be frisked at the door, causing me to empty my joint onto the table. I wasn’t sure what was going on and she said that anyone coming in would be charged 50 euros for entry, and I was thinking, “I already paid 22 euros, now I have to pay 50 more?” Then she said that it is 300 euros per hour per girl and started to realize that it wasn’t a museum, it was a working sex club, the kind of place I try to avoid. The tour was comprised of a multimedia app, where you scan QR codes with your phone. The host on the multimedia was a very attractive black prostitute. The first room had a double sided black dildo and a Japanese Jacuzzi. The next room had a panic button on the wall that I couldn’t locate, and another room had a giant bed for guys who want to get laid together. As I was scanning the QR code on the big bed, I took a picture by mistake, one of my best photos from the trip. I wanted to leave but couldn’t get out of the front door. Total tourist trap, do not recommend. I left in a daze, I called a few people to tell therm of my misfortune, but nobody seemed moved. I was having a great time though.

I was cued in for a concert at the Concertgebouw, and I thought I would walk through the winter market on museumplein. It was shoulder to shoulder crowds, and very hard to exit. The lines for food were outrageous. I would highly not recommend it. I had a hot dog with onions and relish and ketchup and mustard, it was pretty good.

The Bonton tour left me with an appetite, so I had a bowl of potato soup at Concertgebouw. I was running out of cigarettes and a little freaked out and I decided to leave. I was a little aggressive with a tram driver and he yelled at me. I boarded a tram in front of the Concertgebouw with a lit cigarette and had to explain myself and apologize. I got a smile out of him and got off at leidseplein and went to Dolphins. I felt filthy, but an Afghan student calmed me down and I walked home. I spotted Westerkerk and walked home directly.

Arriving home I de-loused and was rolling cigarettes in the lobby until they told me never to do that again. I bring my own tobacco to Europe with me to roll with hash and in case I run out of cigarettes. Dutchmen are always very impressed with my tobacco, they always smell it and ask for some. The shag in Europe doesn’t roll very well.

All of the tobacco stores were closed, except for a service station ten or fifteen minutes away. I had been at the service station when I stayed at marnixstraat a year ago. I set out to find a pub where I could roll cigarettes. First I went to Black Star CS where I was rejected and almost kicked out. Then I went to a Dutch pub Had been in the night before, but the bartender took a dislike to me, and essentially kicked me out. Then I went to an Egyptian owned pub, called Bakke, funny, cause I was on the Bakke and my zig zags had an Egyptian guy smoking a cigarette on it. Through a monumental feat of tact and clever manipulation I got the barhand to let me roll cigarettes. He directed me to the pumping station where I had been before to get cigarettes. I stopped at 1 e Help and smoked some really good weed, white widow. It was some of the best weed I’ve had in Amsterdam. After that it was an easy walk to the pumping station, where I felt like the hoi poloi, waiting in a chow line for cigarettes.

I passed by a lively Dutch party, and I felt like yelling “I have good weed!” But instead asked if it was a club. They said “go to the pub.” And I said “I have no money.” I passed by a very fancy garage, a kind of security loading point, and tried to give off good vibes.

Day 5 Sunday

Last night when I put a fresh pair of pants on I found a lost zippo in my pocket. It has a Japanese Frieze on It and I brought it on my last trip too. I needed zippo fluid and I remembered a cigar shop near the Spui. So I went to the Spui and asked after it at the book store, and they gave me good directions and I got my fluid, and the lighter worked. I walked to Dam square and walked into the madame Tussauds wax museum. I got a discount with my museum pass. I took some selfies including one brilliant one with Johnny Depp. It’s cool showing the picture. I was worried about knocking over the statues, just as I was at the asian art exhibit in the Rijksmuseum.

I picked up some medicine in dam square, the counter girl was beyond helpful, making sure I bought the right thing. I easily found my way back to the hotel and went to cafe Sonneveld. It was really nice, and I got a bowl of split pea soup with sausage in it. I think Dutch soup is among the best in the world.
Then I went to Paradox CS and sat with a friend for a couple of hours. I returned to the hotel lobby and conversed with a high society American for about an hour. The lobby was comfortable with free tea and coffee, and I sat and transcribed my journal.

Day 6 Monday

On Monday I was thinking about going to Albert CuypMarket but over a cup of coffee in the lobby a nice lady tipped me off to noordermarket, only a five minute walk from the hotel. I wanted to sell some custom silkscreen t shirts at the market, so I bagged them up and went out. I walked around a little bit and managed to sell a couple of shirts, and gave a couple out. I bought a handmade wool cap, and gave the hat maker a shirt. I bought a shawl for mama, and a set of schnapps glasses. I bought a new pair of jeans, they had ones that fit me. I entered the church and had some free coffee with some locals, who were right out of a Johnny Jordaan video. There was an old man in a red sweater singing Bing Crosby. I leaned back in my chair and almost toppled over. In the wake of my success I went to Paradox CS and sat with a Latvian for a while.

I then went to the tulip museum on the Prinsengracht, I would recommend it, tulips are scintillating. I found a cafe on the Prinsengracht that is famous for apple pie. It was absolutely delicious, near perfection, but I am partial to the apple pie back home. They don’t put as much seasoning in it, and no raisins. The restaurant served sausages that looked amazing, but I didn’t have time to try one while in the city.

After that I stumbled into Cafe T’Smalle and had a beer. Then back to Paradox where I talked to this cool Dutch guy for an hour or two. I told him I would stop in after I went to Utrecht on Tuesday, but I ended up not going to Utrecht and not seeing him again.

Day 7 Tuesday

I was thinking of going to Utrecht, but decided to go on Wednesday when they had their markets. So I went to Leiden. Last time I was in Leiden was 2005 when I rode from Noordwyck to Leiden on a bike. On the train I studied up on Rick Steve’s guided tour. If culture is sexy, Leiden is a sex pot. My favorite part was the Burcht. It’s a fortress built a long time ago, on a man-made hill. The stones used in the structure are from Roman times. It was used by the people of Leiden during sieges, and there’s an all important well in the middle. You can climb up to the wall and see different mapped out sites. I looked at an old orphanage. In a civil society like Holland, orphanages are very important. I climbed the hill, not sitting for a smoke, because the benches had mud on them.

I bought a pack of 45 Gaulloises, and headed back to Amsterdam. I came in around the back of the station, so I decided to cut through the Red light district on my way back to the Jordaan. My zippo had run out of flint, so I got a light from another, very Dutch, Smoker, who also had a zippo. I didn’t wander around too much, just enough to say I did it. I stopped in the chocolate shop on Oudekerksplein, But the bitch wanted 10 euros for a piece of candy. Walking out of the store this bozo backed into me, which didn’t throw me. I was enjoying all of the neon lights and sex clubs.

I stopped at Bellushi’s, for a Grolsch and had a passionate courtship with a young Lithuanian boy. I didn’t know that Vilnius was the capital of Lithuania. We were thinking of going to the Prinsengracht for the pie and sausages and then Cafe T’Smalle, but he had to charge his phone, so he said “Stay.” And he went and charged his phone. I stayed around for a while and talked to a professional writer, DJ, from LA. He looked like Johnny Depp, with long hair and sunglasses, at night. His work was fascinating, content that I would think of. I talked to my requisite ruddy Irishman, from Derry, but couldn’t keep him talking, and I walked back to my hotel. I walked through Dam square and smoked a cigarette at the monument. The Palestinian flags were no longer flying high over the square, just a couple of small flags peeping out of a stand. I didn’t feel afraid. I visited a coffeeshop or two and and then ordered Uber Eats. The Thai food was a nice way to cap off a great day, and I stayed up late in the lobby drinking tea and smoking cigarettes.

Wed- Last Day

I must have woken up at about 9:45. I had a plan to visit the royal palace, where I had never been before. I thought I would stop at the apple pie shop on Prinsengracht, but when I passed Oude Leileistraat, I though I’d make a final purchase at Grey Area. They were closed, so I went to the poffertje place across the street. Not only were the poffertjes and strawberries delicious, but for 90 cents they had real maple syrup. I tipped and left and went to grey area. I greeted the chief telling him that I was from Rhode Island and I had custom silk screen shirts. He gave me a free lighter and told me to come back at 6:00 with my merch.

I walked to the royal palace. I would highly recommend a visit. It really shows off how wealthy the city is. It’s along the lines of a town hall, but exquisitely decorated with art and statues and furniture. I love the empire style furniture, and was compelled by the profound heroism, of something that exists to propagate beauty and love . Heroism to spread art, and wealth, like an enlightened fishing boat that can be anywhere at any time, it’s hull heavy with riches and smelly fish. My favorite parts of the tour were the mediation table where the lords settle disputes to preserve prosperity, and the ministry where death sentences were handed out.
The view from the balcony where the queen makes announcements was a point of interest. Now the Palestinian flags were small and harmless.

I wanted to do some shopping, so I went up Spui Straat. Spui straat always confuses me but I am getting pretty savvy at finding my way around. All of a sudden I got this craving for orange soda. I had a box of 45 Gaulloises, so I was wanting to smoke. I stopped at a (very classy by US Standards) cafe and had a drink and a smoke. Then I walked a couple of meters and I found it: Cafe Hoppe. It’s been there for 335 years, the waiter looks like Jack Nicholson, there’s a Rembrandt on the wall- it’s a cultural treasure. I could hardly handle the stimulation, the beer was about 16.5 proof. I made a toast with some Spaniards who were also leaving the next day, and I went shopping in the nine streets. I stopped at a cafe and got lobster bitterballen. I had never eaten them before, and I was quite taken, they are the perfect hot snack for a winter day. I sold some t-shirts at the grey area, but I ultimately went to sleep early.

I had been home for but two days, I was doing errands and decided to stop by the record store. My friend who runs it always gives me good deals and will find albums for me. I told him that I had been looking for Bowie’s port of Amsterdam when I was in said city, and he pulled out a 45 with an orange tag on it- “is this it?” It said Amsterdam on it. I paid 4$ and left.

XXX

[AzLaker]

Wow, interesting. Were there any shrooms involved on this trip??

AzLaker

[rentboy]

Not that I can remember

[AzLaker]

Not that I can remember

There should have been. Because that was one HELL of a trip.

AzLaker

[rentboy]

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback.

[Tokeing tom]

Hey rentboy....tell me about deep seek

[rentboy]

Deep seek is a motherfucker, AI in general. What exactly are you asking?

[Lemming]

Looks like this is posted on the wrong web site. Or maybe just forgot to seed the AI with some appropriate words like Skunk.

[rentboy]

Sorry about the lack of weed information, if I had known I would be posting here there would be a lot more

[avfc-herbalist]

Nice read rentboy Thanks for taking the time mate.

[Tokeing tom]

Looks like this is posted on the wrong web site. Or maybe just forgot to seed the AI with some appropriate words like Skunk.

I'm no expert..but this fkn stinks of AI ..and just happens to be the same week deep seek was launched ...hopefully I'm wrong rentboy

[rentboy]

I don’t understand the question

[Tokeing tom]

It's an assumption

[Lemming]

Has everyone read this now? If so, I'm inclined to delete it. It's kind of interesting as a demonstration of the future. I couldn't be bothered to read all of it. It seems little more than random words really. There might be some key phrases that could potentially be edited into links to exciting opportunities.

[colinzeal]

I don't agree with the assessment that this LLM generated. It might be but I feel it's too idiosyncratic which suggests it is not.

If the policy is no llm generated content please consider that many for who English is not their first language and people who lack confidence in their writing may use a llm to express themselves. This is often seen by me when reviewing job applications.

Otherwise, given that it is either a person who wrote a strange thing, a person who use an llm to assist writing a thing or a unfeeling computer programme I feel some responses have fallen below the usual friendly standard I am used to seeing here.

My 2 cents. I love you all.