My first time in Amsterdam...Day 1

[Mike]

I arrived at the airport in Amsterdam at 6:00a.m. for my first trip to the Netherlands. I find the train and make it to Central Station with little trouble. I find a taxi to take to me to the hotel. Without looking around I jump in a taxi and off we go. Then I see the city of Amsterdam all around me. It is beautiful and so different than any city I have ever seen. I look to my right as we pull out of Central Station in the taxi and see hundreds, if not thousands of bicycles. My head is turning all directions trying to take in the city landscape. "Wow, I'm finally here." The design and architecture of Amsterdam is amazing. I arrive at my hotel the Best Western Eden and check in. The room is small and the bed looks uncomfrotable but I'm not going to spend much time there so it is just fine. The location of the hotel is super. The Rembrantplein is right behind the hotel so I walk around checking out the surroundings. Not many places open that early in the morning, but I do find a bakery that has great coffee and pastry.
The first thing that surprizes me is how compact things are. I had figured (by the maps I saw) that the bridge near the hotel was probably about 300 yards away. It was less than 100. When I was looking around the Rembrantplein I was amazed the the Bushdoctor and Smokeys was so close to each other. I didn't go to Smokeys (thanks to the Channelites). When the Bushdoctor opened I walked in and bought a gram of some type of ice haze hashish. But they didn't sell pipes so it would have to wait. I stuck it in my pocket and decided to walk to Dam Square since everything else was so close. I walk to Dam Square with little problem. I remember that there is a coffeeshop near by called the Abraxus. I find it and go in. I buy a pure pre-rolled joint of White Widow. I smoke half of it and I am about floored because of how good it is. I get up from the couch I'm sitting on and remember that how I heard(in this forum) the space shakes were so good there. I order one, relight my joint, take two sips from the shake when the dealer tells me the effects of the shake will hit me in 45 minutes. I ask what effects? She then explains that there is a half gram of hash in the shake. So I drink it like it is a Dairy Queen blizzard. I figure I better get back to the hotel soon since I have been up all night and I am very very stoned. I stumble out of Abraxus and I'm walking along thinking "why does everyone say they get lost in the town when it is so small? They must have no sense of direction." I get to the corner and I look up and...... I"M LOST .....No need to panick I tell myself I can't be that lost. Almost two hours later I find my hotel again. WHEW.....I lay down in the most comfrotable bed in the world and go to sleep......

[FlyByNite]

Congatulations, You survived your first day of your first trip. Amsterdam is a very compact city, it's all those curved streets and canals that get you lost. You seem to have adapted well, tell us about the rest of the trip.

Enjoy
FlyByNite

[Maid Marian]

Mike stated "why does everyone say they get lost in the town when it is so small? They must have no sense of direction." I get to the corner and I look up and...... I"M LOST .....No need to panick I tell myself I can't be that lost. Almost two hours later I find my hotel again. WHEW.....I lay down in the most comfrotable bed in the world and go to sleep......"

I found that to be hilarious, Mike........Not everyone admits they were lost, especially so comically.......Nice humor about the bed also :)

Can't wait to read more.......

Last Hamlet and I have 5 more days and we will be there........

Excellent first day
Thanks...........

Peace........MM

[loser]

Brought back memories, my first trip I stayed at the Eden also. Did the same thing ,walked to Dam square and started walking in circles. Finally found the Rokin, and then I found a Irish Bar a block from the hotel and parked it there for the rest of my first evening.
Cool report keep them coming...

[Meegybaby7]

"why does everyone say they get lost in the town when it is so small? They must have no sense of direction." I get to the corner and I look up and...... I"M LOST .....No need to panick I tell myself I can't be that lost. Almost two hours later I find my hotel again. WHEW.....I lay down in the most comfrotable bed in the world and go to sleep......

Oh yeah, that had me laughing too. The floor would have been comfortable at that point! How many times did I think I knew where I was going, then didn't.
Great first day, Mike. How long did you sleep?

Maid Marion, I am so excited for you and LastHamlet! Have a wonderful time! Nothing beats that feeling of anticipation before a trip! Are you packed yet?
Peace
Meegybaby

[Boner]

What a 1st day - hell I've been 8 times and I can guarentee that I've got lost every trip, I remember - I think it was my 2nd trip and we got lost looking for Anne Franks house it took us about 2 hrs to find it and when I eventually looked at the map (I had read that one of the big no-no's was to walk around with a map in front of you ie: TOURIST = Harrassment - but now I dont care!!!) we were originally about 20 mins away and walked in the opposite direction.. God I love Amsterdam...

...Boner...(Wishing LH & MM all the best for their upcoming trip!)

[Delta9]

Thanks for the report Mike! You really captured that first wide-eyed look at the city very well. I know that "where's my bed?" feeling...funny stuff!

I never got lost. I must be doing something wrong. Promise I'll try harder next time. :)

Damn, I need to finish mine from (eek!) February...

[viking]

Yeah! Mike has started his trip report!

More please:)

Getting lost in Amsterdam is fun, isn't it Mike?

[jerkypete49]

Ha ha ha . Excellent , Mike. Really made me laugh. Great, isn't it?

As for lost: Last trip me and the nephew stayed at The Uptown Hotel w/The Rookies right downstairs.

Well, during our coffeeshop tour, we decided on The Noon as a must. On the map, it looked really close to The Rookies. No problem, right?

We must have wandered around for two hours that night, map in hand, asking directions, like idiots, until we wound up backat The Rookies.

WTF????!!!!????

How hard can this place be to find?

Next day, we realized it was on the other side of the canal from where we were. We had walked right past that street and were wandering God knows where. :D

D'OH!!!

[DutchBarbie2000]

Oh Mike that was great... now you have started the report ya gotta keep it up were all counting on you.. I still remember my first time and I was so surprised to be on a highway like an interstate and just like here in Orlando and then we made a little turn and BAM...were in the coolest place ever (but I had my suspicions for about 15 minutes out of Schipol) I always tell my friends coming for the first time because they always get the same impression.

[stiffoak571]

getting lost is easy - not just cos of the dope - sometimes all the canals look the same and it is dead esay to forget which one you are on - but obviously consumption of weed wont help which is why so many fall into said canals each year!

[StemsnSeeds]

Excellent report, Mike, the 1st day is always a treat. Keep 'em coming.

[dapoopa]

So how was the shake from Abraxas? You said you got lost on the way back and I was wondering if that was when the shake hit you. Talk about a disorienting moment...first time in Amsterdam, smoke half a doobie of White Widow, suck down a hash shake (all the while jet lagged but riding the adrenaline from finally arriving)...and then get lost on the way back to your hotel. Could have been a crisis moment..or two.

But it seems you made it back OK and then lied down right away for a nap. So I assume the shake wasn't so strong...or was it?

Please enlighten an Amsterdam veteran who has never tried a hash shake.

Fun first day report BTW.

[Maid Marian]

Maid Marion, I am so excited for you and LastHamlet! Have a wonderful time! Nothing beats that feeling of anticipation before a trip! Are you packed yet?
Peace
Meegybaby

As for packing, I have changed my 'wardrobe' at least five times.......It seems strange to be in the high nineties here and the sixties there.

I will probably end up finishing with the first clothes I decided to take.....
Sort of like shopping..... I usually look at ten different pairs of pants, (ie) and then go back to the first one :D.........

But I am so excited, sometimes I can't even think about anything, much less a wardrobe......

Thanks for thinking of us, we shall be thinking of you also............We would both love to meet you.......FOUR more days..........SWEET

Peace.........MM

[LastHamlet]

Glad to see you are steady at the keyboard after your journey, and it was funny about the bed. Seemed not comfortable at first sight, then after some ghanja and a shake, and a 'get lost' journey, that bed was the place to be. Very good take on a first day in the City of Multitudes, Amsterdam. Can't wait to read more...
Thanks Meegy and Boner for the kind wishes, wished we were meeting the both of you, and well, everybody for that matter.
You know I bet Maid Marian will trip seeing AMS for the first time.
In ways I wished I could feel that first time feeling again. However, in some ways each trip is like a first time. You see Amsterdam in layers, so each time your mind will let your eyes see another layer to the puzzle we call Amsterdam.

Many Best Regards All,
LH

Keep the reports coming Mike, I got 4 more days to pick up some last minute info.

[Banks]

Keep 'em coming... getting lost is part of the show! I get lost many times EVERY trip! I gotta finish my reports from last June...