I'm finally going back to Amsterdam. It's been almost four years since my last visit and this time I'm going it alone. I can't wait. I've not smoked any weed in about three years so I was thinking about buying a small pipe so I don't have to mess around with rolling. Any recommendations on strains? Whatever I end up smoking I'd like it to taste 'nice' not chemically. I'm after something with a very mellow, calming high and if possible something else that'll give me a nice euphoric buzz. Also, I just read a couple of other posts that said that mushrooms were illegal and that coffee shops were no longer allowed to sell alcohol. I don't remember it being like that when I was there last. What else has changed in recent years?
Any recommendations on the weed? I don't want something that'll wipe me out. I'm after a nice, chatty, intellectual high, if you know what I mean.
i'm heading there too in november. all alone, cant wait! alot of the coffeeshops will have information about the strains, or employees with lots of knowledge. i've been smoking around 10g's a day to prepare myself. i plan on smokin' myself into a coma there!
The situation with alcohol in the coffeeshops is much like the situation with weed from what I understand. Coffeeshops are not legislated and therefore trying to legislate that you can't sell alcohol in something that doesn't 'exist' in law is hard to enforce. I recently moved here and although I don't frequent the city centre coffeeshops I was searching for some guests from the UK in The Bulldog on the Leidseplein and it appeared people were doing both. Plus, there are so many bars that are weed-friendly it just makes a mockery of the entire thing. The idea of making smoking even cigarettes indoors has just meant they cordon off a smoking area away from the bar in many coffeeshops or they have jars of a non-tobacco mix in jars for you to use (free). I think if the coffeeshops currently have alcohol licenses then they're ok but when they have to renew them the city council may just say no. Mushrooms are illegal. I agree with footezhigh - the employees are generally quite ok and will make recommendations for you based on whatever you tell them you're looking for. The Rokerij guys are particularly helpful when I've been in there - plus they used to sell alcohol, maybe they still do? The Dampkring/Tweede Kamer and The Grey Area are places that I recommend for good service. For what it's worth I'm smoking Oceans 13 as I type, first try of it and it's making me, well, express myself.....! The pipe seems like a good idea, I'm guessing you don't smoke tobacco? To be honest, pipe smokers are not a regular sight, you might get people giving you a double-take in places other than coffeeshops. Perhaps it's advice you don't need but don't plop yourself down in the parks next to a family with kids and stoke up the pipe! Enjoy your visit, the weather is great now so get here soon! I'm not sure where you're coming from but if you come back enough like I did you might end up living here - and that's a good thing I can assure you! J
Hi Shiny J. Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear you're enjoying living there. No, I don't smoke tobacco anymore. The pipe seemed like the easiest way to go. But I'm not sure about smoking anything in public. It might not be illegal but I thought that, generally speaking, it was frowned upon. I'm in London right now but I've been keeping an eye on the weather over there. I think summer missed us this year and went straight to Amsterdam. I'm scheduled to arrive on 1 September but I'm tempted to alter my plans and show up sooner. I'm eager. Oceans 13, I'll have to remember that one. I'm not keen on weed that renders you dead to the world. I prefer to smoke something that'll stimulate my mind.
I'm with you on the choice of smoke - weed is better as a muse than as a couch. Smoking in public is fine if you're discreet - hence my comment about pipe smokers. Again, avoid areas with kids but it's all about being sensible and not intruding on anyone elses environment and you'll be fine. I've smoked outside most of the bars in Rembrandtplein for example (my partner works nearby). Skin-up a bunch of doobies in advance with a non-tobacco mix where you buy your weed and then light up where you feel comfortable - you'll work it out so don't be paranoid. Worst case scenario, you'll be asked to put it out if it's inappropriate so enjoy it until then! I live 5 minutes west of Vondelpark and it's a lovely place to visit with some pre-rolled joints, a book and some music, just sit by the little ponds and canals and watch the beautiful people go by - they're not in short supply. We have a coffeeshop map somewhere here on the forum that was created by some kind soul - maybe we should create a bar/restaurant weed-friendly map as well..... hmmmm... I lived in London for 21 years but I must say that my girlfriend and I began to hate the place towards the end; I hope it's not doing the same for you as I know it has some great attributes. I found that spending so much of my life on public transport became soul destroying. The bike is King (or Queen) here and it's liberating to spend less time in a a big red tin can on wheels or in stuffy tin can underground. Instead, I'm getting on a friends boat tomorrow evening and other collecting friends from work so we can go for a swim in the Nieuwe Meer. We'll have a bbq and cycle home slightly drunk, stoned and sunkissed. That was never an option in Brixton. Yes, I'm going on. I blame the smoke. All the best, J
"weed is better as a muse than as a couch" - sounds like good wisdom to me. I'm not too fond of London. I've lived here almost all of my life. It's a hostile city. Hearing you talk about Amsterdam is making me think that I should alter my schedule, get on a plane ASAP.
I can't call you jpbl68, it's a mouthful in a typing fashion - correct me if JP is too familiar... I'm not a Londoner either but I used to love the place. As a kid growing up in a field in Ireland I would occasionally visit the London-Irish extension of the family in Hackney and it was always my dream to live there. I moved over just before I was 18 and I loved it for years - I've lived at all of the points of the postcode compass at one stage or the other; E8, SW2, N6, W12 to name just a few. You've nailed it on the head for me - London has become a hostile city to live in. I can see why it's still a nice (but shockingly expensive) place for tourists to visit but it's no longer a nice place to live, in my opinion. Get on the plane JP - clearly there is nothing better that you could do. I'll buy you a drink if you get here before this Friday or after Sept 7th as I'll be on holiday myself during those dates - PM me if you're in town and please don't turn out to be some freaking nutter...! J
JP is fine. I resisted the urge to change my travel arrangements as I have some things to take care of before I leave. I plan to stay for at least ten days so I might take you up on that drink. I don't think I'm a 'freaking nutter'.
First off, let me say that I hope you have a good stay when you come over here. I've been living in A'dam pretty much all my life, and it's certainly a beautiful city, but the funny thing is, is this place has this liberal aura around it that doesn't quite fit the territory as well as it used to. The entire Netherlands are in the grip of some reactionary/conservative trip right now, ordinary Joes are perturbed as hell at anything and anyone resembling a "leftist," which in some areas could be anything from smoking a J in public to having "multicultural" clothes on. Once the capitol of tolerant reason, this place has been steadily sinking into a marshpit of obnoxious bitching and general negativity, and noone seems capable of doing anything about it. Only reason I poiint this out is because you talk about finding London a "hostile city." Funny, because last time I was there, I was struck by how polite everyone was over there, even in a crowded subway. Over here, it seems everyone's working on being more assertive, so in crowded areas, like around the Central Station, you get all these people with uptight glaring eyeballs hulking around like they want to walk straight through you, or something, no idea what's up with that. The rudest bastards on this planet are most likely Dutch, but there's definitely nice people here, though, again, for me the best part about Amsterdam isn't the weed but the steady influx of non-Dutch. But then, the grass is always greener on the other side, right? I reccomend any of the Sativa strains, it's really all good, but be warned, Dutch dope is STRONG.
That's good advice. I'm staying near the Dampkring coffeeshop on Handboogstraat. I've heard that they know their stuff so I'm hoping they can recommend something good for me. What you were saying about Amsterdam becoming more hostile does concern me a bit. I'd hate to think A. was turning into London. I guess I'll find out when I get there.
Yeah, de Dampkring is arguably the best in the city, imo. I always get my herb there, though not from the one in the Handboogstraat, but another one located at the Haarlemmerstraat, to your right when you walk out the central trainstation. Lately, I've been primarily smoking the Mexican Haze they got there, billed as a "long lasting, cerebral high." Actually, most recently I haven't been smoking at all, trying to give up tobacco altogether, yet getting my daily canabiloids by means of a vaporizer. Gets me high as a kite on just a thimble of herb, and in the mood for anything, be it something active or just to kick it, so to speak, at home. And don't stress too much about what I said about the place, chances are you won't even notice it. It's a global phenomenon, not at all confined to London or Amsterdam, people are just a bit crazy in the head, stressed out and angry at everything under the sun, be they "immigrants" or "communists" or "junkies" or whatever other label fits the day's shit-demographic. Amsterdam's not nearly as bad as some other places in the Netherlands, but the thing is, that as it was the place to befor so long, the obvious choice for backwater runaways to escape to in search of more inspiring city lives, there is ironically a far greater chance to run into obnoxious, backward-ass hicks in the city than outside. Urbanization leads to a cultural ruralization of city life as well, at least that's my working hypothesis. Amsterdam, like the Netherlands, like America and like liberal western civilization - or what must pass for it - in its entirety, has overshot its point of equilibrium, and has now entered a phase of irreversible, terminal decline. Just so's you know...
