Trip #8

[moe.]

Great report moe. Is this your first trip back since we met in 2007 at the Cup?

Yes, it is.

[moe.]

moe-

if it's your style -

could you talk to budtenders and owners and find out their thoughts on the new government's agenda.

inquiring minds want to know : >

ENJOY!!!

Doing it.

[moe.]

Great reports...hope your face is ok :)

Please keep them coming...you've even managed to bring out WonderBev!

When is the Magnum bar moment coming???

It is on my to do list today. I was wishing to get a box of them from AH, but there is no freezer in the fridge. I hate paying €2.50 for 1 when I can get a box of 4 at AH for less than a euro more.

[moe.]

How's your face???

As pretty as ever.

Seriously though, the swelling is all gone and the scabs are almost all gone.

[moe.]

Nice job Moe... appreciate the efforts... I hope you brought Bev's camera if you are taking pictures...
Enjoy the trip! Best to Viking and theGuest!

Thanks.

No, but she bought me a really nice Lumix for my birthday before I left, so I'm getting some great shots.

Viking says to tell you he has his 10th anniversary lighter with him this trip.

[theguest]

It was raining when we left, but by the time I got my bike unlocked and got to the corner it had stopped, yay.

Same with me, I had a big smile when this happened.

Enjoy the trip! Best to Viking and theGuest!

Hey Banks! How's it going!? :) I think moe says he brought one of your 10th anniversary T-shirts with him :)

[worldcitizen1723]

thanks for bringing us all along with you!!!

enjoying the reports.....

[boneymaroni]

Ditto...nice read.

@The Guest...are you living in Mokum now?

[excitableone]

Awesome reports!! 19 days till my voyage begins.. Reports to follow..

[Generous_J]

On my way back to the room I sadly got my first kill. Riding past the monument in the Dam, by that cheesy yellow clog, headed towards the RLD, 3 tourists started off the curb. The first two saw me, and the second one put his hand on the third one's shoulder, but she wasn't looking and kept on walking. She went down like a sack of potatoes. The first thing I did was ask if she was OK, but she wouldn't look at me. I figured, if thats the way you're going to be and said " You gotta watch where you're going. Pay attention!" and rode off down the street to my room.

This is why you have a bell.

[Banks]

Nice job Moe... appreciate the efforts... I hope you brought Bev's camera if you are taking pictures...
Enjoy the trip! Best to Viking and theGuest!

Thanks.

No, but she bought me a really nice Lumix for my birthday before I left, so I'm getting some great shots.

Viking says to tell you he has his 10th anniversary lighter with him this trip.

Those are sweet cameras... look forward to maybe seeing a few shots!

All the best to Viking! Great to hear the award lighter is making the trip... I wonder how many times it will be refilled? :)

[Banks]

Hey Banks! How's it going!? :) I think moe says he brought one of your 10th anniversary T-shirts with him :)

The Birdman had those fine shirts done, my friend... it's just that was how you recognized me that hazy morning at The Kap... With you and Viking being in Amsterdam at the same time, the only missing member of the 3 Hashketeers is PurpleHaze... :)

All the best!

[BlueBerry]

hey moe. sorry you may be disappointed to find out that SOLO (formerly STIX) no longer has gunpowder on the menu... i was just there a week or so ago and was sad to hear this :(
Jon was even out of crystals at the time, but hopefully Grey Area will have them now!

have a safe and fun trip,
BlueBerry

Only one of the Stix shops is Solo, the one on Utrechtsestraat is still Stix.

oh wow i had no idea, i just assumed all of them changed... i went to the one off the nieuwmarkt, never was in the area near Rembrandtplein so ill def have to get by there next time ;)

Enjoy the rest of your time in AMS...

BlueBerry

[BlueBerry]

hey moe. sorry you may be disappointed to find out that SOLO (formerly STIX) no longer has gunpowder on the menu... i was just there a week or so ago and was sad to hear this :(
Jon was even out of crystals at the time, but hopefully Grey Area will have them now!

have a safe and fun trip,
BlueBerry

BB!!!!!! Miss ya babe!

Awe, miss ya there to ski.... dont post here too often anymore and it seems you're not around much either, but i do check in from time to time to read the trip reports (which are very few these days)
I do frequent ACD and enjoy it more as the site is more AMS related with reports posted almost daily.

keep in touch and take care!
BB

[BlueBerry]

Pretty darn good report, looking forward to more I hope. Don't see reports on here too often anymore, really appreciate your time.

Yeah this is unfortunate because there used to be Killer reports posted regularly on here but over the last few years this section has declined to the point where there are hardly ANY reports being posted.

as stated in above post... ACD has reports posted almost daily, if you havent already you should ck it out!

BlueBerry

[moe.]

On my way back to the room I sadly got my first kill. Riding past the monument in the Dam, by that cheesy yellow clog, headed towards the RLD, 3 tourists started off the curb. The first two saw me, and the second one put his hand on the third one's shoulder, but she wasn't looking and kept on walking. She went down like a sack of potatoes. The first thing I did was ask if she was OK, but she wouldn't look at me. I figured, if thats the way you're going to be and said " You gotta watch where you're going. Pay attention!" and rode off down the street to my room.

This is why you have a bell.

That was before we went back and asked the bike shop to install them.

[moe.]

Day 7

Up at 8 but awake earlier thanks to the trash collectors. The usual morning routine plus tea. I was off on my bike to Carmona by 9:30 to post Day 6. It just doesn't feel like my birthday today. I have to keep being reminded by others when they wish me Happy B-day. Viking showed up shortly after 11 and we toked out for a bit. He gave me a birthday card with a gram of Casey Jones from Grey Area inside. Thanks again dude!! We then cycled off to La Tertulia for a tosti lunch. Next Viking wanted to check out a coffeeshop he hadn't been to for a few trips that was only a few blocks away. It is a second hand shop as well and I think it is called Samarang, or something close to that. I petted the house kitty while Viking bought a couple kinds of hash. Viking's old style kick stand broke when we left La Tertulia and was being held in place by twist ties, so his next stop was the bike shop to get it welded while I went to AH to buy some tea to bring home. By the time I got it back to my room and packed it, I looked out the window and there is Viking already. Wow, that was a quick fix. Last I saw, the twist ties were still on the bike, lol. I had one more chore to take care of, that was a long sleeve Dampkring t shirt for Bohannon, mission accomplished. I'll be up there at New Years for the Furthur show, I'll bring it up then. I had wanted to try a restaurant I learned about online and tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity. It is called Barbecue Castell and is located on Lijnsbaangracht. I had read that reservations are required, so that was our next destination. When we got there it was empty except for a couple of employees. I inquired about reservations and was told they were already booked for the night, on a Wednesday no less, but we could sit at the bar as those seats are not reserved. It was suggested that if we wanted little or no wait to get there between 6 and 6:30. As we left, Viking got a text from TheGuest. Where are we? We reply and he says he will meet Viking at the Noon while I head over to Carmona to chat with Bev. TheGuest doesn't know where Carmona is and followed Viking there from the Noon. We stayed until close to 6:30 and then beat it back to Castell. We were informed there would be a 20 minute wait and were seated along the wall to wait. Soon a hostess came by with a basket of bread and butter and took drink orders. 15 minutes or so later we were seated at the bar. Viking ordered frogs legs as an appetizer and a filet with salad for his dinner. TheGuest had spare ribs and salad and I had a filet with baked potato. Everything was exceptionally good. TheGuest couldn't finish his ribs so Viking and I got to sample them. They were falling off the bone tender and very tasty. We could see the coal fire the meat was cooking on from our seats at the bar. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone. They have a website with menu. They have seafood as well and a very nice selection of wines and a well stocked bar if that is your idea of a good time. After dinner it was off to Rookies since it was practically behind us on the other side of the block and a bit rainy. A while later we headed over to Katsu only to find that it closed in 25 minutes. We said screw it and headed to Carmona just a few minutes away by bike. That is where the night ended for me. I stayed for a few bowls and was too beat to go on so I headed back to the room around 11:30 to write this all down and get some much needed sleep.

[moe.]

hey moe. sorry you may be disappointed to find out that SOLO (formerly STIX) no longer has gunpowder on the menu... i was just there a week or so ago and was sad to hear this :(
Jon was even out of crystals at the time, but hopefully Grey Area will have them now!

have a safe and fun trip,
BlueBerry

Only one of the Stix shops is Solo, the one on Utrechtsestraat is still Stix.

oh wow i had no idea, i just assumed all of them changed... i went to the one off the nieuwmarkt, never was in the area near Rembrandtplein so ill def have to get by there next time ;)

Enjoy the rest of your time in AMS...

BlueBerry

You know what they say about assuming...

I'm having a great time, thanks, but it would be better if Bev was here with me.

[Bohannon]

Pretty darn good report, looking forward to more I hope. Don't see reports on here too often anymore, really appreciate your time.

Yeah this is unfortunate because there used to be Killer reports posted regularly on here but over the last few years this section has declined to the point where there are hardly ANY reports being posted.

as stated in above post... ACD has reports posted almost daily, if you havent already you should ck it out!

BlueBerry

You should post more, Draino and Numptypunk seem to be getting tired of flaming the current roster of Channelgals. They need fresh meat! lol

Peace

[TrekknHil]

Yeah, BB...weren't you just there? Where's your report, chickie?

[Dano]

You should post more, Draino and Numptypunk seem to be getting tired of flaming the current roster of Channelgals. Peace

Don't cry babybo

[theguest]

Oh yes, I forgot the T-shirt was not yours, The Kap, what a cool place, I remember us smoking that joint out the window after meeting at breakfast, good times.

Yes, I am living here :) Don't often do toke and talks, but I'm still around :)

[moe.]

Day 8

Up at 8:15 but again woken up by trash collectors much earlier and kept that way by 3 very loud claps of thunder. Morning routine... Viking said he was going to a museum in Rotterdam today to see an exibit by the guy who painted Scream so we plan to meet up between 3 & 4 this afternoon at Siberie. I got a late start to Carmona waiting for the rain to let up and waiting for the bathroom door to be open signalling it's availability. I waited over an hour then quietly went up and tested the door handle. Unlocked, and the light is off. D'oh! I wish people wouldn't close the door to an unoccupied bathroom, grrr. Once the rain stopped it stayed that way for the rest of the day with the exception of a few sprinkles around 10 PM or so. I rode to the ATM first and was pleasantly surprised to find that I was able to get a full €250 out this time. The rate must've dropped a penny or two. Off to the post office to mail a "special" birthday card and then on to Carmona to post Day 7 and use up the rest of my time there. This has been a great place to chill, post reports and chat with people from home on Yahoo IM while toking to my heart's content and the house cat is very friendly. Having 4 at home it helps to not miss them as much. But as nice as it is here, I get my wings clipped tomorrow when I turn in my bike and last night TheGuest made me aware of free internet service at the library so I will be looking into that later today. Once my time was up I rode back to the Dam Square area and picked up a couple of things on my must have list and brought them back to the room. While I was there I grabbed my camera. I haven't tested out the video function yet and since it is such a bright, sunny day this would be my best opportunity to take some video of the carnival which is now in full swing. From there I went to O'Reilly's for breakfast. Shit, its past 2 o'clock, make that brunch. While I was eating Viking called and said that he was running late and had just gotten to Rotterdam. The meet up time was pushed back to 6 PM. After brunch I rode over to the library behind the floating Chinese restaurant and confirmed that they do have free internet and that I would be able to print my boarding passes out there for a per page fee after checking in online . Sweet, I'll be there when they open at 10 AM Saturday. From there I popped next door to Centraal Station to inquire a bit more about buying an advance train ticket for Sunday morning. It seems the only way to avoid walking over there and stamping/validating the ticket at 4 AM Sunday morning is to go and buy it at the counter. If I use the machine that takes coins, I have to go there and stamp it before going to the Barbizon. Buying it from the counter costs .50¢ more but its worth it to save the time and footsteps. I took the train ticket back to my room and put it in my small carry on so as not to risk losing it. From there I rode over to Siberie to meet up with Viking. He got there about 10 minutes after I did. He has been doing a lot of small nice things for me since he's been here and to say thanks I bought him a gram of Casablanca hash. We toked out for a bit waiting for a possible appearance from TheGuest. After a bit Viking got a text that he was at Rookies chilling. We headed over to the carnival to munch on some healthy food before moving on to Rookies. There was a place there grilling the longest hot dogs and brats among other things that I've ever seen, I took pictures. Viking had a small hot dog. I went and ordered the same thing but was given a bratwurst. No problem, a bit of spicy mustard and it was dinner. I had an olliebollen too. No more of them for me, I thought there was something else inside. Not just a big lump of fried dough. I'll be back to sample more of these treats over the next couple of days. Once at Rookies I went to the market next door and finally got a Magnum bar with almonds. It was just as good as I remembered. This is the first one I've had since 2005. The budtender saw me eating the Magnum bar and shooed me outside to finish it, no problem. While outside I notice that right across the street is a place with internet access and I have not touched base with home yet today. After toking a bud of Casey Jones I went over and had a quick half hour chat then went back to Rookies. Around 10:30 we packed it up and rode over to 1 E Hulp coffeeshop. Viking bought some Intensive Care bud and some hash for a blunt, we got some drinks and went upstairs to continue toking. Somewhere around midnight TheGuest and Viking decided to head back to Rookies for a nightcap. I decided to ride back to the room, write down the days notes and crash.

Oh yeah, I will be waving to anyone who cares on the Donniecam at 5 PM local time tomorrow. I'll stay for maybe 5 minutes.

[Bohannon]

Another good one; thanks Moe. I am (as usual) up early and if I have done simple math correctly you should be on the Donniecam at 8am PST... Silly, I know, but cool none-the-less. While there you should check out CS Johnny and Rokerij IV on Elandsgracht.

I have more Channelites (well ex anyhow) visiting tomorrow, we will be discussing your fine reports for sure.

peace

[theguest]

Had some great times chilling with moe and viking. Can't hang out tomorrow as I have stuff I need to do and am mega tired after a week's drinking and/or smoking.

But I am tempted to join for that donniecam... :) you never know

btw Bo for timing difference, compare to this:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=16

[moe.]

Had some great times chilling with moe and viking. Can't hang out tomorrow as I have stuff I need to do and am mega tired after a week's drinking and/or smoking.

But I am tempted to join for that donniecam... :) you never know

btw Bo for timing difference, compare to this:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=16

Cool. I hope you can make it.

[moe.]

Day 9

Up at 8, you know the rest, out the door by 10. I rode to the library to post Day 8. This is a really nice library. It is at least 9 floors with something interesting on every level. Great views from all the windows and seating placed to appreciate them. There is a snack bar on one of the levels as well and a pasta/pizza place just outside the entrance and occasionally someone will play a piano located on the ground floor. Once they were singing as well. When I finished up there I went to get a souvenir for Bev and then across the street to Greenhouse for a gram of Kali Mist and Super Silver Haze. I got another free grinder, cool. This one will go home unused. I went back to the room and sampled the Kali Mist, very nice. Then I grabbed my camera and rode off to meet Viking at La Grotte for lunch. While we were eating TheGuest texted Viking that he was on his way in to the city and wanted to know where to find us. Half an hour later or so he comes walking in and we proceeded across the street to Popeye's to start Viking's farewell toke sessions. We were there until close to 4 and then headed back to the bike shop to return our bikes. I decided to go back to being a pedestrian my final day. I hated giving up the bike, partly because it was sort of the beginning of the end of my trip and partly because I really got hooked on biking around the city. But it is nice to have my driver's license and €50 deposit back. I had left the strap-on bike lights back in my room so I quickly rode back to get them and then walked to Softland to catch up with the others. Viking had gotten one last chunk of Honey Maroc and was chipping it up for cones when I got there. We stayed there for a little while then migrated over to De Kuil so Viking would be close to CS. We pretty much hung out there chatting and toking until it was time for Viking to go to Schiphol and catch his flight back to Copenhagen for another 4 days of hash smoking bliss. We walked over to CS and bid Viking farewell. Then I said goodbye to TheGuest and headed to the library for a final chat session with Bev. On the way back I timed my walk from the Barbizon to the room to see how long it should take when I leave. 11 minutes, not bad at all. There is a more direct route, Zeedijk, but I'm not comfortable walking it at 4:30 in the morning. Now that I have that figured out I can go get something to eat. I wasn't really hungry for anything in particular, so I ended up getting a couple of ham and cheese croissants from AH''s bakery section and nuked them in my microwave. Dinner for less than €2, sweet. I had some iced tea in the fridge to wash them down and I was good to go. OK, time to pack the majority of my stuff so Saturday night can be as stress free as possible. The RLD is a real zoo tonight. I saw street dealers for the first time, about 4 or 5 of them between the corner and my place on the way home from AH. Viking had said he saw some the night he checked in. After packing I was sitting there watching TV and enjoying some Super Silver Haze when all of a sudden there were sirens and they were coming down the other side if the canal. I looked out the window to see a cop car with a couple cops running behind it, then an ambulance, a police van then another ambulance. They stopped by the next bridge and a large crowd of people had formed. I wasn't close enough to see what was going on but whatever it was, it was over in 15 minutes and the craziness continued. I continued to watch TV and toke until the sedatives kicked in about 1:30 and I thought I could sleep through the noise. I still ended up putting ear plugs in an hour or so later. Nice place, but I will not miss the noise.

[bigbob]

Hey, Moe
Great report. Glad to hear that you're having such a good time. Give my best to Bev. Hope to see you again someday.


Toke on!

bigbob

[islandgurl]

Fantastic and precise reporting, moe. Haven't seen you and Bev since 2007, hope to rectify that soon. Have a safe trip home.

[worldcitizen1723]

so what happened to the bike ride to Zandvoort?