Although we visited three wonderful and postcard-picture cities (Amsterdam, Brugge and Brussels) in three and a half days, the culture in Amsterdam really struck me as fascinating. Aside from the marijuana and prostitution, the Red Light District certainly adds a lot to the atmosphere of Amsterdam. Not far from the train station, the Red Light District sits in the center of the city, spanning across three canals. This area boasts many beautiful bridges and great scenery including interesting narrow houses and canals lined with boats and bikes. At night with the Old Church brightly lit in the near distance. It is quite a picturesque place you forget you’re in the district. At night, the Red Light district is host to an extraordinary amount of tourists, mainly gentlemen, desperately searching down alleys to see the long red lights above the tall, glass window. As a woman, I was surprised that I liked this part of the city so much, partly because it was something so different than what we have experienced in the United States. Curiosity seems too intense to avoid this area entirely.
Prostitution became legalized in The Netherlands in 1815. Since then, 380 windows are open for girls to stand and flaunt their bodies. Although, it costs the girls about 75 to 100 Euros to rent the window for an eight hour shift. Recently, they are apart of The Netherlands Department of Commerce. For an encounter with one of these women you’ll drop fifty Euros for about fifteen minutes behind the red curtains. A lot of this information I retained from our free tour by Sandmen’s New Europe: Amsterdam. This tour is everyday at 11 am and 1 pm leaving from the tourist office. It gives a great overview of the city and tells a lot of the mundane particularities of the city.
I found that the Red Light District really intrigued me since many tourists flooded this area at night, but during the day it blends in with the rest of the districts with similar building architecture. Entering into the Red Light District, one can immediately feel a different relaxed, but promiscuous atmosphere. There are gates, like small knee-high pillars with red lights to block the entrance of cars and a red brick road. This symbolizes the territories of the different districts. About every hundred feet there are outdoor men’s urinals called Pisswars that line the canals in the district. Walking by them you can smell the odor of urine. As you look right and left, there are sex shops, live sex shows, “coffee shops” intertwined with bars and shops. At night, this area seems to become incredibly crowded with people shouting and drunk. Walking by one of the live porno shows a man could tell we were American and shouted to us “You Americans like big c***, see it here and I’ll give you a discount.” We just laughed it off and continued enjoying our night viewing the wonderful red-lit area.
Toward the start of the Red Light District lies the Oude Kerk, which is the Old Church. This building was fascinating with stained glass windows surrounding the building and a large steeple with a gold clock on it. This church definitely stands out among all the buildings. It was ironic to see that the circular street surrounding the church were a bunch of red lights with prostitutes behind the windows and next to the church was a breast coming out of the ground with a hand touching it, how appropriate for this area! It made me feel better about the area that there was some symbol of religion, even though today it has been replaced by a new church and is used for exhibitions. The canals definitely divide the area into different districts, and since there are three canals across the Red Light District, it is pretty extensive. You can definitely tell the different territories leaving this area.
The Red Light District, I thought, seemed to be the best district in the Amsterdam area. This area, along with the rest of Amsterdam, is filled with twisting, narrow, cobblestone streets and alleys and pleasant architecture. All the buildings were very old brick or stone and all the buildings were slightly tilted forward with big hooks on the top to bring furniture up and down when moving in and out of the homes. The Amsterdamers seemed to take pride in this area and it wasn’t looked down upon as it may be in the United States. When talking to the locals in one of the bars near the area, they seemed proud of their thriving economy and the tourism to that area. Our bartender told us that less than five percent of the guests whom utilize the services of the women are Amsterdamers. Amsterdam even has its own XXX flag symbolizing the territory of Amsterdam!
I have to say that my unique experience in Amsterdam was awesome and totally not what I expected. This area cannot be missed since it is almost essential to the city. My favorite picture was the scene of the canal at night with the lights spanning along the sides. Amsterdam definitely has a lot to offer for every type of person. This map shows a great guide to the area where there is a lot of red!
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