Amster-DAMN!
Amsterdam is a beautiful city, rich with Dutch culture, cheese, beautiful canals, medieval cathedrals and squares. It is a tourists paradise as it is home to the Anne frank huis, where you can explore the secret annexe where Anne Frank's diary was written. Amsterdam was also the home of the eccentric artist Vincent Van Gogh, and the city is rich with art galleries and tributes to this troubled man.
Amsterdam is also every stoners paradise. Typically known for its decriminalization of marihuana, we were quite surprised to learned only 5% of Amsterdams population are regular smokers. The "de Wallen" district is home to over 50 "coffee shops" that will sell you a gram of premium bud that you can enjoy with a cappuccino and smoke with your best friends. This is where we truly found our home. As stereotypical western Canadians we have enjoyed marijuana in all it's forms for years, and even would consider ourselves conoseurs of a sort. But nothing could prepare us for what an Amsterdam coffee shop has to offer.
We arrived at Schipol Airport on July 18th to beautiful sunshine, and set forth to check in to our hotel in the business district just outside Amsterdam. We met with our good friend Carter Obleman, and immediately set forth to downtown to enjoy the first joint we would have in over a month. We made our way outside of Centrall Statione and dodged trams on our way to get lost in the many alleys of the red light (de Wallen) district. We chose a path and were immediately drawn to the red, yellow and green colors of the "Double Reggae" coffee shop. We entered and were given menus of the many different kinds if marijuana and hashish that they had to offer. With our jaws on the floor we read the descriptions of the strain, strength and description of the expected high you would get and each made our selections. After sitting down with cappuccinos we continued to roll the green gold we had just
aquired and it was time for lift off.
The ten days we spent in Amsterdam are a wonderful smokey blur. We spent three nights with Carter, trying new coffee shops, new strains of weed, getting lost in the canals and alleys, stopping to point out the interestingly dressed women in the glowing red windows, and eating as much ice cream as we could find. We laughed and giggled our way through each beautiful day, checking off the coffee shops on Carter's map as we went. Some highlights include a very informative afternoon at the "Canabis College" where you can get information on marihuana and hemp in every facet, which we found extremely informative. Along with entry you, get a lifetime membership to use there vaporizers and smoke for free on their comfy couch with a skylight right above you. They also had a grow room in the basement with all kinds of information about the plant, along with displays the Canabis plant in all stages of its grow cycle. Just next to the college is the, "Marijuana, Hemp and Hasish Museum", a must see for any stoner. It displays the first hash pipes, history of the Canabis plant and its many uses, Canabis and its influence on culture throughout the ages, as well as the many Eco friendly ways to substitute hemp into the production of many products. It is a four hour exhibit, especially when you are under the influence. (Haha!)
We also had a day in the Amsterdam bas forest at the annual "Electronic Family Festival". Surprisingly there was a zero tolerance drug policy at this festival and the average age, was closer to 40 than anything. None the less we danced away to Cosmic Gate and enjoyed a few drinks.
We said goodbye to Carter and continued the rest of the week much the same but with a trip to the Anne Frank Haus, and the 3D Van Gogh experience, both attractions being phenomenal. We were also on a constant quest for the perfect candy store and found the same one many times while being lost and roaming around. Still have no idea where this candy store was or what it was called. Also it is legal to grow and sell magic mushrooms in Amsterdam so we had an afternoon experimenting with some magic truffles.
Overall the weather was beautiful, with only one afternoon of rain out of the 11 days we were there. The marijuana was the best we have ever had and the ability to know and understand what you are getting was awesome. A few hints we picked up were to never buy a "pre-rolled" joint, as there is lower quality marijuana used in these. Although it is a lot more expensive than in Canada it is a great experience to enjoy this in public, safely and to understand your product.
Our hotel was wonderful, but it was a airport hotel, therefore the added cost of transit each day into town makes it more economical and hassle free to book inner city, even if your per night rate is higher.
