Saturday – February 4th 2006
We arrived from London Heathrow at Schipol around 2:00pm. Doll was on a fashion shopping break and aquired an extra suitcase in London so little alternative than a taxi from the airport (fixed rate of 39.00Euro). This was our second stay in the same apartment; two bedrooms spread over three floors with a private rooftop terrace, on a very quiet street near Nieuwmarkt with absolute privacy. After meeting our hosts at the apartment and chatting for a few minutes, we dropped our bags and headed out to our nearest coffeeshop.
Future was our regular stop on the last trip so a logical first choice. The current house special was K-2 and along with a HC (hot chocolate), I sparkled my first joint at precisely 4:20. With a good buzz on, it was time to head to Nieuwmarkt just five minutes walk away. After a trip to Albert Hein supermarket to stock up, back to the apartment to unpack and get settled. Once refreshed and relaxed it was time to strike out for the evening.
Stix Coffeeshop was a new and very pleasant discovery. Almost closer to home than Future, somehow we missed this gem on our last trip. It has now earned our first choice as best shop in Amsterdam. Located down a quiet street from Nieuwmarkt, it was always busy but mostly with locals who bought and left. Tastefully decorated with dark wood panelling complimented by a green colour scheme, it is a clean and classy establishment. Very friendly and knowledgable dealer who was there all week, his level of attention to the customers was excellent. The smoking menu was outstanding in both selection and quality, priced about average. My first choice was 2 grams of Bizar (High Times CC 2005 winner) pure Sativa. The sparkling crystalline buds smelled incredibly pungent of fresh skunk which filled the room when broken and was really sticky on the fingers. A smooth smoke which I found to be my Best Sativa of the trip. Before leaving I bought 2 grams of Gunpowder for 12.50gr with some good advice on using it effectively.
Back at the apartment I rolled a joint with K-2 and some Gunpowder. GP was really sticky powder which coated the weed perfectly as I mixed the two before rolling. The spicy taste of the GP really came through over the weed and it was a very stimulating happy head high.
Sunday
Since most of the city seems to sleep until noon we were in no rush to get mobile. After breakfast and a joint on the terrace we set out for some sightseeing. Walking the shops along Kalverstraat we later found our way to Rock Planet, formerly a licensed coffeeshop with a décor similar to Hard Rock Café. The nice Irish gal at the bar (who seemed to be the owner) said they did better as a bar and the hassles of selling both weren’t worth remaining as a coffeeshop. Not a concern however, as they are smoker friendly and you can whip next door to Rick’s Café for a good selection of smoke, and so I did…
Rick’s Café is broken up into many smaller spaces and you must find your way upstairs to the back for the dealer’s counter. There was a younger guy dealing who was a great salesman anxious to show and explain everything he had. The nicest looking buds were Santa Maria (Indica). The top Sativa on the menu was Silver Haze, so I purchased 2 grams of each. The Silver Haze was mostly shake but easy to roll, a slightly musty taste of old canvas with lavender, the lavender lingering on the palate almost artificially. Excellent buzz while enjoying some music videos and a couple of beers at Rock Planet.
Late in the afternoon we took a walk around RLD and Chinatown. I found a headshop with the full inventory of Vaporiser parts so I bought a package of three bags and a mouthpiece valve assembly for around 40.00 Euro (cheap health insurance).
On the way home we passed Future, 4:20pm on the button…
We spent the evening in the apartment with music DVDs, smoking Santa Maria and Gunpowder joints on the terrace. The fellow at Stix suggested GP in HC so I tried about a third of a gram with some Bailey’s Irish Crème, a highly addictive combination. The GP added just a hint of spice which complimented the chocolate perfectly. I was already blasted by smoking so I couldn’t fairly say what the effects were other than very enjoyable, but it gave me a baseline for injesting GP which was my primary objective.
Monday
As common in many European cities, Amsterdam has half of a weekday in which private shops close down. Often a mid-week afternoon, Amsterdammers must had their weekends in mind in when they chose Monday morning as the official closing day. Monday is still a good day to visit the street market at Waterlooplein so that was our first destination. Mostly crap at the market, I was ready to find a coffeeshop…
Balou Coffeeshop seemed to be a good choice, not busy and it looked clean. After a couple of people at the counter left we were the only ones in the place and had a very enjoyable conversation with the dealer. A discussion about the unique strains carried by some shops like Grey Area brought up the pitfalls of coffeeshop wholesale supply. While most shops sell a well known strain by it’s real name, the shops often can not verify that. So he felt that shops who said it was an exact strain like AK-47 may be inaccurate on occasion, while a unique name carried by only one shop is not going to mislead you. His own personal choice for best in the house was White Widow (7.50gr) and it was indeed an excellent recommendation. A bit below average for décor but Balou has good gear, good prices and good service.
While wandering the canals with no particular destination in mind, we were fortunate to happen upon Barney’s Coffeeshop #3. We had only been to the Breakfast Bar once before and it was overcrowded and much too commercialized for my tastes. Their newest shop is a refreshing change as a coffeeshop in it’s purest form. Sporting a modern Dutch decorating scheme, this is a very comfortable shop with a classy feel in impeccably clean surroundings. I would rate this as my second choice for best of the city, given a closer location to home it would be first without any difficulty. Being a quiet day, we were again the only ones in the place. The dealer was a cordial British lad who I would say was the most experienced dealer I have ever met, totally passionate about it. I wasn’t too concerned that they were out of Willie Nelson since I was salivating over the rest of the menu. Absolutely no rush as he brought out each container with a full description and an invitation to pick my own buds. Based upon good reports on ACD forums, I picked the largest single bud of Laughing Bhudda and a couple of Love Potion #1.
When I inquired about the Vaporiser he was pleased to give me a full hands-on tutorial. When I produced my own bag and valve he was quite surprised, assuring me that he just replaced the bags so I would be using a new one and should keep mine. The Vaporizer looked new and was really clean. I broke up a full chamber of LP#1 which smelled wonderfully of fresh spruce needles. I was really impressed by how smooth it was although I discovered very little taste to enjoy from the method. Vapo’d two bags by myself and then after a tea we continued our walk. So how did the Vapo work? WOW!
I got totally screwed up for directions and for the next two and a half hours kept leading us back into Rembrandtplein. I finally got out the map after three attempts (and a slap upside the head from the Doll), fortunately it wasn’t raining this afternoon.
Having regained my comprehension as we returned to RLD, I hung out in Rock Planet while Doll went next door to a cool shop, Diabolo. She took an hour while I had a beer and smoked a joint of LP#1. When she joined me we had a couple of beers and were cruising along with some great music videos until the Night bartender came in and threw in a DVD of hardcore punk that totally grossed us out. It could have spoiled a nice afternoon but I wanted to go home and see what she bought anyway...
After we dressed for dinner, we decided to find a local Eetcafe on Nieuwmarkt with a nice atmosphere. Lots of choices, we had an excellent dinner with drinks for around 60.00. It became really packed by 9:00pm so we moved down the street to Stix which was a good choice as it was not too busy. While enjoying the strawberry tea, I smoked my first joint of Barney’s Laughing Bhudda. Man this tastes familiar… I would later verify that it was the same batch, if not the same plant, as Rick’s Silver Haze. The gear from Rick’s was shake and Barney’s LB was a nice bud but I think they were exactly the same in terms of effect and quality: BOTH Excellent Sativas!
There was a perfectly clear sky so we went home and smoked some White Widow on the terrace, then climbed up to the loft playroom for the rest of the night.
Tuesday
We planned to make some day trips out of Amsterdam with a three day rail pass, and the first destination was Delft. We started the day early, for me that meant a full gram of Gunpowder in HC & Bailey’s while smoking a joint of Laughing Bhudda. A few LB joints for the road and we were on our way.
While almost nothing is rushed in Holland, the trains are a strict exception. Our experience has been that NL Rail schedules are to the second 100% of the time and the system will deliver you to the center of almost any place in Europe.
Delft seems to very tourist oriented and as a result, they shut most shops in the Marktplien for the winter. Being a fairly small town it is an easy walk from the rail station to Marktplien along quaint historic streets. Unlike Amsterdam which is a very littered city, Delft is virtually spotless and reflects positively on the pride the residents take in their home. During the summer when everything is in full bloom this must be a beautiful place to visit.
One of the main attractions in Delft is the Nieuw Kerk. Anyone who would enjoy a climb to the top of York Minister or St. Paul’s dome will find the Tower challenging. Almost 400 steps up a steep spiral no wider than a couple of feet, you can experience a spectacular view for miles while getting an intense cardiac workout. The Dutch have a relaxed attitude to public safety by many other country’s standards so watch out that you aren’t swept off the top by the wind.
The only coffeeshop I found was The Future. This shop is hard to miss since it is on the route into Marktplein. It has a clean high-tech stainless steel interior but really tiny with only ten seats at the most. When we passed the first time it was crowded but later in the day it was packed to the door. If any of the patrons were of legal age they surely could not have been over 19, it looked like the place local school kids hang when they cut classes.
A walk along one of the quiet canals with your own gear seems to be a good alternative to a coffeeshop when visiting Delft. Remember that I injested a gram of GP this morning – what an excellent day this been as a result. I didn’t really feel like smoking a joint most of today since I was cruising along so nicely on the Gunpowder. The selection of Cafes and Bars is excellent regardless so I recommend eating your gear before you go and you won’t miss the coffeeshops.
The return to Amsterdam by train is barely 45 minutes and the walk home takes us past Future. Well I missed today by an hour… Say hold on, it’s 4:20 in London!
It was full day out and I was starting to wind down from the Gunpowder so we opted to stay in for the night. White Widow on the terrace and then a movie as we passed out on the sofa together.
Part 2 to follow....
Great trip February 2006 - Part 1
Must admit that the travelogues before and after sections are my favourite topics on this site.
Anyone who has been knows what it feels like for the person who is about to go and then the report when they come back brings back all the memories from the readers previous trips.
Gets you thinking about going again. The whole Amsterdam thing is a drug and it is very addictive in a very positive way.
By the way Doc, great report, very informative. Looks like mine is gonna have to be some sort of masterpiece to keep up with the ones that have gone before.
Anyone who has been knows what it feels like for the person who is about to go and then the report when they come back brings back all the memories from the readers previous trips.
Gets you thinking about going again. The whole Amsterdam thing is a drug and it is very addictive in a very positive way.
By the way Doc, great report, very informative. Looks like mine is gonna have to be some sort of masterpiece to keep up with the ones that have gone before.
8 Days, 6Hrs, 43mins to go!