Amsterdam 2008

Despite the hurdles we jumped to get here, we finally made it. It took about 14 hours of traveling time and a total of 4 airports, counting Schipol, before we finally landed.  This would be my first time with check-in luggage, so we had to wait for that…anticipation building.  Then off to the VVV in a part of the airport I’ve never been.  I know we picked up our tram/bus passes here.  I’m sure we got tickets for some of the sites we visited too.  Back to the larger part of the terminal, where we picked up our train tickets to get us to Amsterdam Centraal.  On the train for 15 minutes or so, then out of the train station looking for a tram to take us to De Pijp.

We had booked an apartment through City Mundo based upon it’s kitchen.  As we would be making our own meals, I wanted a full stove, not a toaster oven and a microwave.  I’ll note a downside to City Mundo, they arrange the time for you to meet the apartment owner based upon your flight arrival.  I was unable to arrange for a slightly later meet, which I wanted so as to not feel too rushed and also be able to have my first smoke prior to checking in.  Alas we were about 10 minutes late with no way to contact the owner.  No worries though, the apartment was very clean, with an excellent location.  

We did a quick unpack and organize, then my wife crashed.  I probably could have too, but I’m in Amsterdam.  Time for Coffeeshops!  I believe I went searching for a lighter first, and I got one from the grocery store.  My first shop was Katsu.  I had heard great things about this shop, and was excited to do some shopping.  I knew I wanted the Black Widow, so I got a gram of that and 2 grams of Big Buddha’s Cheese.  

I really wanted to enjoy the beautiful day, so I grabbed my bud and headed to Sarphatipark.  I had brought pre-rolled cones for 1 gram joints which I used to smoke some of the Cheese.   The wonderful stinky cheesy smell did not come through in the taste, but it was nice and strong.  I laid back for a little bit, taking it all in.  At some point on this walk, I stopped in Club Media to pick up some Hindu Kush.  From there, I headed back to the apartment, grabbed some shopping bags and headed back out.  Just around the corner from us was a great little bio shop called  De Aanzet.  It was really small, but had everything we needed.  I picked up a couple things and headed back to the apartment.  If I’m not mistaken, we both went back there that afternoon.  Then…I crashed.

I awoke thinking I was missing something.  We have a concert to go to, Ween!  The concert took place at Paradiso, an old church converted to a concert venue.  It was one of the more memorable shows I’ve seen.  The band was top notch and the venue was one of the best.  The even sold a wit bier, tasty.  If I had to complain about something, it’d be the drunk people standing next to us.  I smoked the Black Widow, and boy did it make me stupid.  Sweet and skunky tasting, I didn’t want to get out of the chair.  

After the show we stopped by Rokerij, but they were packed and the Black Widow left me feeling unsociable.  I’m pretty sure we stopped by the pizza stand nearby and then we went to Big Bananas Night Shop, where we picked up some munchies and a bunch of fruit I’ve never seen.   We stayed up until 3, taking pictures of the canals and smoking the rest of the Cheese. 

I awake at 10 and my wife is still sleeping; time to run some errands.  First off, I head to a nearby housewares store and pick up an alarm clock.  Then it’s off on the tram to Damrak to cash in my American Express Travelers checks.  Little did I know the American Express office closed down.  Damn, now I have to pay an extra fee to cash the checks.  Back on the tram and head south to Mellow Yellow.  This seemed like a nice shop with a split level.  I had heard great things about their Super Silver Haze, and I was not disappointed.  This was the smoke of the trip.  A nice sweet skunky smell, with a touch of hazy sweetness.   I also picked up a gram of their Cheeze, which smelled and looked just like Katsu’s Big Buddha Cheese.

I went back to the apartment and, with my wife awake, we had some breakfast and headed out in the rain.  We dropped by Club Media to smoke the gram of Super Silver Haze and enjoy a couple of coffees.  My wife liked their coffee and we both like the mix of music they were playing.  I think they had motorcycle racing on the TV screen as well, not bad I guess.  The Super Silver Haze tasted so good all the way through the fat 1 gram joint.  The high was great too, a nice motivating high with some relaxing body stoniness.  Easily the smoke of the trip.

Time for a walk back in the rain.  We made our way up Vijzelstraat, stopping by Independent Outlet, where my wife picked up a graphic design book.  We headed over to the Spui where, on Fridays, they have a book market.  There are stalls set up selling all sorts of books and prints.  We picked up a car book for my step-son and a couple of prints taken from some obscure children’s book.  Then we took a stroll through the Begijnhof.  A tranquil spot in the heart of a bustling city.  

Next we made our way easterly stopping by a few of the many book stores in the university section of town.  We then did a little grocery shopping at a bio store near Waterlooplein and then back to the apartment to fix some grub.  

On Friday nights the Van Gogh Museum is open until 22:00 and they serve drinks and have either bands or DJs providing music.  We had purchased tickets online before we left so that we could skip the ticket line.  Tickets in hand we walked over to the Museumplein.  We had not intended to visit the Rijksmuseum as most of it was closed for repairs, but they were selling discounted tickets and it seemed a good chance to view the Night Watch.  I had seen it previously, but it still impresses me.  After two visits to the Van Gogh Museum, it still remains one of my favorite museums.  Van Gogh’s artwork is displayed in chronological order with plenty of history and information about where he lived to put everything in context.  There are also paintings from his contemporaries.  

After our museum visits we headed over to Rokerij, which seemed a little less packed than our last attempted visit.  We grabbed a couple of seats and I went over to the bud counter and asked if they had any Kali Mist.  They did not, but I was shown some very lemony, almost fake, smelling Sour Diesel.   I picked up a gram of this, but decided to save it for later.  I opted for a joint of Club Media’s Hindu Kush.  While this strain didn’t have much bag appeal or smell particularly strong, the effect was a knockout full body stone, which I enjoyed.  Wobbly knees and all, we made it back to the apartment.