About five years ago I was given the opportunity to travel to Europe with one of my best friends (who happened to be the only girl I have ever truly loved, but thats a different story, for a different post). We had just graduated high school, and our parents gave us the money for plane tickets and said have fun. So we flew to Munich, Germany. Arriving jet lagged, but excited, we found ourselves a cheap hostel to stay in, and well, we partied our asses off to say the least. Now to the good stuff. After a few days in Munich, we caught a train to Amsterdam. We arrived and it was pouring down rain, and we walked with our giant backpacks through the rain for miles and miles trying to find the hostel. We were sopping wet and exhausted by the time we finally reached the hostel, but that day happened to be my 19th birthday, so we pushed through our hangovers and set out to see what the Red Light district had to offer. After partaking in a few, well lets say around 10 joints at the coffee shops, we were sufficiently baked. In our daze we happened to walk into another coffee shop of some sort. Though instead of menus filled with names like sour diesel, king kush, or white widow and endless jars filled with green buds, there was just a plain white menu that said truffles at the top. This menu was basically a scale, it rated these "truffles" in terms of visual hallucination, body high, heightened awareness and stress relief. Needless to say, me and my friend had no idea what we were looking at. So I say, "What the hell is a truffle?" to the man behind the counter. He responds and tells me that they are magic mushrooms and that they had outlawed the sale of mushrooms in Amsterdam a few years prior so instead of quit selling them, they just changed the name from Psilocybin mushrooms or Magic Mushrooms, to truffles. I had never done any type of hallucinogenic drug before and neither had my friend. Though both of us were eager to buy the most potent truffles the man had to offer, because I mean shit, how many times will you be celebrating your birthday in Amsterdam tripping on mushrooms? We are both the adventurous type, so we bought a quarter ounce of "truffles" and went on our way. I specifically remember the man saying, do not eat more than ttwo whole mushrooms. There were around 8 in the bag, and me and my friend split it, and ate them all. We strolled down the side streets next to the canal, while the lights that draped the bridges seemed to be melting and dripping into the canal. The prostitutes behind the glass turned into glowing naked godesses, and the stones beneath my feet began to pulse in different colors each time I took a step. We both walked aimlessly, tripping our freakin balls off, until we came across this bus stop. We sat at this bus stop for hours, taking in the intense images and colors that were exploding around us as we sunk deep into our hallucinations. There was a sign across the street. It was bright blue and the image has stuck with me to this very day, an image I will never forget. It was beautiful, vibrant, I even felt a sort of love for it. It read "Hugendubel". This was a sign for a bookstore across the street. I have never quite experienced anything like it before. And that is why I will never forget the word "hugendubel" and the time I ate magic mushrooms in Amsterdam, sitting at a bus stop, staring at a bookstore sign.
