1 November 2012

[Dogbreath]

“Dogbreath, you MUST try the vleescroquet at FEBOâ€￾.

“What, FEBO? Are you serious?â€￾

“Yes. If you try none of the rest of the food I have suggested, you must try this. The other FEBO foods are not very goodâ€￾

Coming from our Dutch mechanical engineer in our office, she is a card carrying certified Dutchie (an apple pie American also) and holds a Dutch passport, her advice carries weight, even the FEBO recommendation.

She went on, “They are made fresh throughout the day and replaced often. The absolute freshest are about shoulder height, because those are the ones people usually reach for and are therefore replaced more often.â€￾ Precise, detailed instructions, what one would expect from an engineering type.

Red and I stumbled across a FEBO on Leidsstraat, and we looked for the vleescroquet, and found other types of croquet, but not our objective. I examined some of the other food closely. The hamburger looked like a three day old McDonald’s burger. Perhaps my dog would enjoy that, but then again… We move on down the street and enjoy the morning...

A pack of four young Dutch women, about 18 to 19 years old, stop Red and say they are fashion students. They all have sophisticated looking cameras. They want to take Red’s photo. She is wearing a yellow sweater with scarf and black jeans. She really stands out in the crowd of almost uniformly black outerwear. They take their photos, say “Dank u welâ€￾ and move on.

Later, we stop at the post office to buy seed mailing stamps. The process went well; we have not yet started smoking for the day.

Later on a tram, we see a spry elderly German couple get on the tram. They clearly must be in their 70's and they look like they are having the time of their lives. Red comments, "Bet they are hitting the coffee shops just like us".

I can see changes in Amsterdam since the last visit six years ago. Oh yes… some new stores here and there… what one would expect. But the temper of the main red light district has cooled. The number of professional women having windows on the canals has diminished. The display windows in sex shops are more prudent and have few to none graphic, explicit sexual images.

But most of all, I sense that previous “primal beatâ€￾ to the RLD has diminished.

The coffee shops are as they were, but no longer sell alcohol. Most especially noticeable at 420 Café (formerly De Kuil). The vibe in this shop remains mellow and positive, however.

My sense is Amsterdam is ending an era, and starting a new unknown era. The seed shops now have much more competition from other areas, including the US. Yes, the city remains world class and offers a feeling and perspective no other city can. And the bottom line: where else on the planet does one have access to literally hundreds of different strains all within walking distance? At least for now. Perhaps not much longer, depending on how the new weed pass coffee shop law pans out.

We stop in Siberie for a coffee and try some Amnesia (10.5 euro). Locals sprawl out on the tables with laptops and chess games. Red likes the art in this place…. She used to own an art shop. We take two hits each of Amnesia. A half hour later we are blitzed. A nice uppity Sativa buzz.

In evening the sky clears and the air becomes cool. But I am developing a cold, running out of juice.

We hop the tram and make our way to the hotel earlier than usual. We smoke more amnesia. We sit there watching Dutch TV, very stoned, not having a clue about what they are saying. We find the commercials especially fun and interesting.

Another fine day in AMS.

Life doesn’t get any better…

Dogbreath

[worldcitizen1723]

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