Day one...The anticipation

[Boner]

Day 1

We left home approx 6am the flight was due to leave at about 10 so we left in plenty of time to stop on route and grab a cooked breakfast from a little Chef (Roadside cafe/restraunt). The breakfast was ok but very expensive.

We get to Liverpool airport (John Lennon Airport - Official name!) in plenty of time, walk up to the easy jet counter show them passports and at that point we recieve our tickets/boarding cards (Flight cost about €150 for 2 adults return).

After a quick coffee we head to the departure lounge which took about 1 minute to get to 'this airport is tiny' - everybody boards, we then get comfortable. My wife grabs the window seat due to this being only her 3rd time in the air - the captain announces thet due to the fact everbody has boarded we are going to take off 15 mins early HURRAY shouts loudly inside my head an extra 15 mins in Heaven..

The flight and landing were what I would describe as normal, the taxi-ing to the actual airport took my extra 15 mins away in one foul swoop :(

After finding our way to the luggage caroursel to my surprise our suitcase in one of the first 6 or so off so at that point we head to the train station..

We purchased our single tickets to Haarlem at a cost of about €4.5 each - we got on the train and awaited the quick journey to Central station when we arrived in Ams I decided in all my wisdom to venture to Picassos a day early suitcase and hand luggage in tow, the wife stands outside whilst I nip in to get some Poison so I ask for 1.3 grams @ €10 and 1 gram of orange bud @ €6 we then decide (the wife decides really!!!) that we need to get to the Hotel as soon as possible so we head back to Central station just as we get there the train pulls into the platform and were off to Haarlem.

During the train journey what takes about 10-15 mins total I spot the Windmill which immediatly made me think of Vikings avatar and of course Willie Wortels Indica so I made a mental note of the rough direction so we could head there straight after dumping our luggage off at the Hotel.

We arrived at the hotel after a short (15 min) walk passing Willie Wortels Sativa c/s then I spotted Empire c/s and then I spotted the hotel The Amadeus Hotel, from the outside you get a typical Dutch looking building with Heinekin in large letters scrawled across the near top of the building you enter via a door to the side of a bistro/restraunt which is directly underneath the hotel "WARNING" there is a steep 12 or so stairs up to the reception level there is a lift there after but you have to drag your luggage up some stairs..

We were greeted by a lady who asked the name and then asked for payment in full I don't really agree with this but I knew before we booked it so I can't really complain my main gripe is if you have something to complain about they have already took your money so they probaly dont care..

The lift was big enough for maybe 4 adults tops luckily it was just me and the wife and our luggage in a Lift that if I'm totally honest STANK of sewers even over the air fresheners in the lift itself, anyway the room was quite nice we were on the top (3rd) floor overlooking the square and a McDonalds - if you stuck your body completley out the window (which you can do in all saftey) and looked to the right you can see the Church in all its glory.

After a quick freshen up we head out looking for the WW Indica after heading in what i thought was the right direction for about 15 - 20 mins I spotted the windmill North of where we were so we headed in the right direction (I was only slightly off track) I found my way - we entered a nice looking place and 2 people athe dealer and what looked like a friend - I looked at the menu and noticed "Sugar Sense" and the word New next to it I asked if it was any good and the Dealer replied that there was only a little bit of that left and asked how much I wanted I said just a gram, which he weighed out in front of me I think it cost €8 a gram I then asked if the Bublegum Polm was any good he replied it was what he was smoking at the moment and he highly recommended that so I had a gram of that as well (can't remember the price) I rolled a nice little joint of about half the sugar sense and a few flakes of the hash lit it up and aaaaarrrrrr... nice to taste some nice Marijuana in just over 3 months since I last smoked in the Netherlands, the smoke was nice but what I didn't know was the Sugar sense was a sativa and I'm not a big fan of the taste but neverless it still tasted mighty fine to me :)

After the smoke we decide to head back to the Hotel for a freshen up before we head out to try the "World Famous Wilma & Alberts Steakhouse" which we had spotted on the way back to the hotel so as soon as we were ready we hit the steakhouse we had some lovely bread and garlic/herb butter to start, the wife had the Ribs for her main I went for the tenderloin with pepper sauce which was out of this world so HUGE thanks to everyone who recommended this restraunt :) I would go as far as saying its worth visiting Haarlem just for the steak :)
The wife said her ribs were some of the best she'd ever had, she had a profitta (sp?) dessert and I had some Dame Blanche ice creamy thingy which was very nice as well all washed down with several large Heinys.

After the meal we head in search of a coffeeshop for something tasty I headed in the direction of Empire and apart from one of the best looking dutch women I have ever seen (working the dealers counter) they had a nice looking menu as well I chose the Sneeuw-wit (snow-white) which was really sweet and got me 'zonked' for quite a while, it was getting late so we headed off to the Hotel to get some sleep before tomorrow...

[stuartsdog]

nice one boner sounds like you are geting in to the swing of things on the 1st day .....................have fun

[jerkypete49]

All Right, Boner. I was at WW Sativa when I was there in April.

Me and the nephew were looking for some place to eat and I had COMPLETELY forgotten about Wilma and Albert's D'OH!!!

Oh well, There's always November. :)

[LastHamlet]

Getting started with day one, and a day in Haarlem is always wonderful. So peaceful and nice. Way to go Boner, I simply must stay in Haarlem one of these days.
I felt a bit down as of late, but the recent wave of Trip Reports has cheered me up.
Thanks a lot Boner, very well written. It is such a short flight for you that the loss of 15 minutes was really nothing at all. Still, I know what you mean,,, 15 minutes is 15 more minutes. However, you did save much time at the baggage carousel, so all worked out grand.
Can't wait to read more, Many Thanks,
LH

[viking]

I spot the Windmill which immediatly made me think of Vikings avatar

Which means you must have been thinking of me, too:)

the hotel "WARNING" there is a steep 12 or so stairs up to the reception level

Ha! There are 47 steep steps up to reception (and another 32 up to my room) at my usual hotel with no lift and no warning. Pack light, hehe:)

I went for the tenderloin with pepper sauce which was out of this world

That's what I chose when I ate there in March:) Tasty!!!

Great report, boner, keep them coming.

[des]

Excellent Boner, looking forward to the rest of your story! Sorry to hear the lift smelled, but at least you got a room with a view of Grote Markt. Thanks for the tip about John Lennon Airport. The cheapest flights I've been able to find from Manchester in December are £118 return, so I'll definitely look into flying from J.L.A.

Peace, Des.

[Boner]

Thanks for the kind words everyone Day 2 is nearly ready..

'Des' Easyjets prices for Oct are about £68 return so in about 2 months you should be able to book for Dec.

...Boner...

[BlueBerry]

Off to a good start Boner...

Haarlem is a great place,, Glad to hear you enjoyed Wilma & Alberts,, Always My Favorite :))

Thanks!

BlueBerry