Friday night in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Our first time together in Amsterdam and of course we had to check out the Red Light District, locally called De Wallen. From Dutch coworkers to the concierge at our 5-star hotel, we were told to make that one of our first stops. It wasn’t hard to find as we could follow the significant number of tourists making there way there in the early evening. Once we arrived, it was somewhat surprising to see that it was just like other parts of the city, with canals, beautiful canal houses, restaurants and coffee shops.  There was a scent of marijuana in the air and a New Orleans-like odor of stale beer, old vomit and pee that make us feel like we seeing something a bit seedy and undignifited. There were drunk people and homeless just as you’d find any any other melting pot of tourists, opportunists and hard-partying people.

Famous red windows

The famous red windows were mostly grouped together on the narrow side streets and at 8pm, most of the windows were curtained, making it seem like we were still early in the evening to see the oldest profession hard at work. The girls that were working were an expressionless variety of older and younger, nationalities and states of dress. What was common, though, was the effect of enormous amounts of makeup and purple and black lighting that made them look like mannequins in the windows. They mostly looked bored, which was understandable as the vast majority of the people walking by were not prospective customers and were couples and groups of men who were taking in the novelty of Der Wallen. The windows were often an opening to a room with a bed, meaning that the traveling distance to choose, negotiate and complete the transaction was just a few meters.

Architecture

The first thing to notice in Amsterdam is the sheer number of grandiose buildings. Every block has a remarkable example of human’s need to create massive structures. These buildings are churches, train stations, hotels and every kind of government building and reflect a very prosperous past. They make Amsterdam feel both elegant and old. It feels like a the gateway to Europe that it has been for centuries. To make the point even better, churches are located on the same streets as the brothels, demonstrating a coming together of ways of satisifying human needs that is a bit jarring but almost makes sense. Debauchery and confession can be ten meters apart.

Looking forward

We were back early and looking forward to a day of cycling, canal cruising and art. While the sights and smells of last night were what brings people here, we’re pretty sure that we’ll enjoy Saturday more that Friday night. Up next…Saturday in Amsterdam.

For a continuation of this story, see A Perfect Saturday in Amsterdam, Netherlands.