For a long time, I’ve known about Amsterdam’s Red Light District. In the back of my mind, my imagination envisioned seedy, desolate side streets lit by glowing red lights while perverts of all sorts meandered the streets with sunglasses and a low-browed hat, trying to remain anonymous.
Upon my first visit to the RDL, I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the quaint Dutch buildings nestled alongside a gently flowing canal decorated with locked bikes on the metal gates. The beauty turned to chaos as I watched overly high and drunken British blokes stumble out of coffee shops and finding the nearest dumpster (or corner) to piss on.
I thought, “This place is not so scary.” In fact, the AMS RDL is a jam-packed tourist hotspot filled with curiosity to discover “the dark side of Amsterdam.” Finding a coffee shop, actually a café where they served lattes and not bud-infused lollipops, I uploaded a picture of the RDL canals on my Facebook wall.
Ping. Ping. Ping. What the heck is that noise? I glanced down at my phone to notice people are commenting on my pictures. Nearly every sexually conservative American posted, “Get the hell out of there. Stay away from that area. Stay safe.” Get out of here? Is this place supposed to be dangerous? I felt as if I sinned against the Holy Bible itself.
I thought, “This place is not so scary.” In fact, the AMS RDL is a jam-packed tourist hotspot filled with curiosity to discover “the dark side of Amsterdam.” Finding a coffee shop, actually a café where they served lattes and not bud-infused lollipops, I uploaded a picture of the RDL canals on my Facebook wall.
Ping. Ping. Ping. What the heck is that noise? I glanced down at my phone to notice people are commenting on my pictures. Nearly every sexually conservative American posted, “Get the hell out of there. Stay away from that area. Stay safe.” Get out of here? Is this place supposed to be dangerous? I felt as if I sinned against the Holy Bible itself.
I felt safer in the RDL than I do in many pockets of America. But anyways back to the good stuff. The “modern day” RDL bustles with people from around the world to explore the “puff puff pass” culture and gaze or “window shop” at the strangely XXL dildos and condoms that “hang” around.
This place was so out of the box for me (since the Aussies once teased me that I was that ‘sexually prude American’), I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell people can actually do this stuff? I found it amusing as it’s a culture that I completely do not relate to. But if you are a sinful lover than AMS is for you. (If you’ve seen the recently released movie Brooklyn then you can categorize me in that old-fashion romance culture).
But trust me, everyone else found it amusing including the two Asian girls next to me in a sex shop holding a 2-foot tall sexual device and taking selfies with it. I’m not sure that’s the type of picture I’d send home to mom, but ya know, when in AMS – explore the culture.
Bizzare? Yes. Extremely strange? My god yes! I don’t think it’s a place to take the kids (or your passport), but it’s certainly interesting to explore at least once in your life.
I couldn’t help but look at the women in the windows. Although most were very attractive, and probably Eastern European, my feminist side kicked in and my stomach dropped thinking of what that life must be like. In that moment, I could not help but thank the universe for being me. I could not imagine being subjected to that life of soul-sucking energy.
Just a side note, do not dare to take pictures of the women in the windows.
But trust me, everyone else found it amusing including the two Asian girls next to me in a sex shop holding a 2-foot tall sexual device and taking selfies with it. I’m not sure that’s the type of picture I’d send home to mom, but ya know, when in AMS – explore the culture.
Bizzare? Yes. Extremely strange? My god yes! I don’t think it’s a place to take the kids (or your passport), but it’s certainly interesting to explore at least once in your life.
I couldn’t help but look at the women in the windows. Although most were very attractive, and probably Eastern European, my feminist side kicked in and my stomach dropped thinking of what that life must be like. In that moment, I could not help but thank the universe for being me. I could not imagine being subjected to that life of soul-sucking energy.
Just a side note, do not dare to take pictures of the women in the windows.
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Right around the time I moved to Europe, Seattle passed its law making marijuana legal. Although my experience with this was slim to none, I could not help but notice how many people enjoy getting high. Trust me, now-a-days drugs are not just for the bums. People of all ages and backgrounds enjoyed a “little bit of something” at the coffee shops. Each coffee shop, decorated to fit its brand, catered to a variety of budget-friendly to high-class smokers. Many shops played house or electronic music to stimulate that extra-sensory feeling.
Baked, like a fresh brownie coming out of the oven, coffee shops overflowed with smoke flowing outside every time the front door opened. And what else to try when you’re flying high as a kite than to eat a freshly baked Dutch waffle.
Baked, like a fresh brownie coming out of the oven, coffee shops overflowed with smoke flowing outside every time the front door opened. And what else to try when you’re flying high as a kite than to eat a freshly baked Dutch waffle.
Sweet, sugary and ultra-addicting, Dutch waffles are the perfect treat for your magic carpet ride around town. Whether you are high or low, one bite of a Dutch waffle will ignite Iggy Pop flashbacks and the days where bowls of cocaine were as prevalent as daytime desk job candy jars. Seriously, there is a reason why cocaine and sugar light up the same parts of the brain – it’s addicting!
So, if you’re looking for the real deal, buy the fresh waffles or the inexpensive ones made at the Albert Heijn grocery store. Every sugary morsel will melt in your mouth faster than an ice cube. Those premade ones at the local French-fry and bakery shops are not-so-tasty. Besides getting a seizure from a diabetic coma, the thick glaze and whatever else preserves these waffles and they sit for days (I think). I’m not a food snob, but I have a sweet tooth and high expectations for dessert.
So, if you’re looking for the real deal, buy the fresh waffles or the inexpensive ones made at the Albert Heijn grocery store. Every sugary morsel will melt in your mouth faster than an ice cube. Those premade ones at the local French-fry and bakery shops are not-so-tasty. Besides getting a seizure from a diabetic coma, the thick glaze and whatever else preserves these waffles and they sit for days (I think). I’m not a food snob, but I have a sweet tooth and high expectations for dessert.
If drugs, sex and sugar addictions scare the pants right off your legs, visit the RDL during broad daylight. Whether the RDL was once a seedier or a classier place, it’s now a spectacle for “stag and hen” parties, happy hours and student-discounted cafes. It’s a cool place to grab a hangover shake or admire hipster graffiti. And we can’t forget the hippies. Hippies have changed nearly every shit-holed area in major cities around the EU (and the world) making it cool before developers gentrify the neighborhood pricing artists and creative minds with young families who are flushed with cash.
Whenever you have drugs and sex together, it certainly attracts the seedier crowd. But, there’s no need to fear – use common sense, keep your head on straight and your pockets tight. I find the RDL to be harmless, not to be confused with being naive. No matter where you are in the world, if you seek trouble, it will find you. If you want to explore (or have a laugh at) the underground sex culture, buy flowers from a market, taste-test Dutch cheese or photograph a historic church - you can discover everything that (not so) normal people do (without sugar coating it).
And avoid what the British do – overconsuming high quantities of drugs and alcohol. Things take time to capture the essence and so do the overhead cameras located on every street.
Whenever you have drugs and sex together, it certainly attracts the seedier crowd. But, there’s no need to fear – use common sense, keep your head on straight and your pockets tight. I find the RDL to be harmless, not to be confused with being naive. No matter where you are in the world, if you seek trouble, it will find you. If you want to explore (or have a laugh at) the underground sex culture, buy flowers from a market, taste-test Dutch cheese or photograph a historic church - you can discover everything that (not so) normal people do (without sugar coating it).
And avoid what the British do – overconsuming high quantities of drugs and alcohol. Things take time to capture the essence and so do the overhead cameras located on every street.
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