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Amsterdam sex drugs & bicycles

April 11, 2014 by David Herd

A good place to start

Amsterdam sex drugs & bicycles

Amsterdam sex drugs & bicycles are what comes to mind when I think of this great city. The red light district attracts tourists like moths to a flame. Marijuana is freely available if that’s your thing, & every time you walk down the street you are in danger of being run down by Cyclists who believe the roads & footpaths were built exclusively for them to use.

In Amsterdam, this is the only windmill I saw, I know there are many more in the country however my 6 days were spent exploring the city.

Central Station

My journey started & ended here at the very busy Central station. I arrived by train from the airport and my wonderful B & B was only a five minute walk, then 6 days later I caught the fast train to Brussels.

Did I mention bicycles by any chance?

Authorities say there are well over 600.000 bikes in Amsterdam. The population is 747,290 in Amsterdam proper, and 2,158,592 in the metropolitan area.

Opposite Central station

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges.

Lots of good restaurants

There are hundreds of restaurants to choose from in Amsterdam, just wander around until one catches your eye.

Fresh seafood in Amsterdam.

THE FRESH SEAFOOD LOOKED FANTASTIC.

Late night cafe

This is one of my favourite Amsterdam photos, I was wandering around the back alleys looking for somewhere to dine.

Ava Thomas, Italian restaurant

This Italian restaurant was the one I chose, nice food at a reasonable price.

The Grasshopper

The Grasshopper — one of the world’s best-known Cannabis cafés — is no longer selling cannabis, hash, or related products. The coffee shop located in landmark building across from Central Station, is one of the first of more than two dozen such shops in and around the Red Light District that are to be closed down over the next few years.

Amsterdam want to create a “grand entrance” — Amsterdam’s ‘visiting card’ — to include high quality hotels, shops and restaurants — and coffee shops simply don’t fit into that picture. To make this ‘grand entrance’ a reality, in December 2007 Amsterdam introduced Coalition Project 1012. Named after the postal code for downtown Amsterdam, the project is designed to clean up the entire medieval center of the city. That includes the Red Light District, where the city has been working to take back control over the area from what one alderman referred to as ‘riff-raff.’

The project’s goals are to ban window prostitution from all but two locations, close down businesses set up with (or ‘susceptible to the involvement of’) white-washed money, reduce the number of coffee shops in the area, combat organized crime, and to promote the ‘Red Carpet’ vision.

At the introduction of Project 1012, then-alderman Lodewijk Asscher said that Amsterdam wants to recapture the historic city center in order to “give it back to the Amsterdammers.” Clearly, it’s not just the locals the City council was thinking about, but also well-heeled tourists more interested in fine dining and upscale shopping than in using soft drugs. Sadly if this eventuates Amsterdam will never be the same. NB: Coffeeshop (yes, one word) is a Dutch euphemism for establishments where soft drugs are legally sold and used. Enjoy this while you can.

Amsterdam sex drugs & bicycles

De Wallen is the largest and best known red-light district in Amsterdam and consists of a network of alleys containing approximately three hundred one-room cabins rented by prostitutes who offer their sexual services from behind a window or glass door, typically illuminated with red lights. These “kamers” are the most visible and typical kind of red light district sex work in Amsterdam and are a large tourist attraction. Amsterdam sex drugs, you can count on it.

De Wallen Amsterdam

I imagine this whole district will just move to another location, Amsterdam can’t afford to lose the millions of tourists that come to see the RLD with Amsterdam sex drugs & rock & roll. 🙂

Amsterdam sex drugs & rock & roll

It really is a wonderful city.

Window shopping at its best

May I remind you when I think of Amsterdam I think of sex drugs & bicycles. 😆

Amsterdam sex drugs & bicycles

As with other countries, estimates regarding the total number of prostitutes vary. Most sources place this number between 15,000 and 30,000. An article published in 1997 in the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality claimed that the total number of prostitutes in the Netherlands was about 15,000 to 20,000. CATW has stated that there were 30,000 prostitutes in the Netherlands, citing “Sex tax Ticks off Dutch,” Associated Press, 14 October 1997. According to Radio Netherlands, in 1999, there were estimated to be 25,000 prostitutes in the Netherlands, with 12,500 working at any one time at a total of 6,000 locations. A later study by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2000 estimated that there were a total of between 20,000 and 25,000 prostitutes in the Netherlands

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Watching the boats

This bridge was 30 meters from my B & B and 20 meters from my favorite restaurant, De Belhamel.

De Belhamel

I had dinner twice here and on two other evenings called in to the delightful bar for a nightcap.

Lamb at De Belhamel

The Australian lamb at De Belhamel was magnificent, put this delightful restaurant on your list.

De Belhamel bar

That’s my red wine sitting on the bar, this was my compulsory stop before retiring for the night.

de belhamel is Dutch for “the rascal” – literally translated, but the Dutch translate it as “naughty child”

My friend visits in September 2015

The blonde lady Joyce Weir has been a friend of mine for over 40 years, I told her about this great restaurant, I’m so pleased she took her friends there, naturally they loved it. 🙂

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One of the 2500 house boats in Amsterdam

All year long canal tours show people from all over the world how amazing the historical canal houses of Amsterdam look from the water. Some people enjoy this view every day from their own houseboat. Holland counts many houseboats, but Amsterdam holds the record with approximately 2500 houseboats.

Always lots of activity on the canals.

There is never a dull moment in Amsterdam.

Stout Restaurtant

Another good restaurant close to where I was staying.

Nice atmosphere.

TripAdvisor rate it #109 of 3,243 Restaurants in Amsterdam.

A pie at Stout.

With such a high rating it seems a shame to only have a pie, however I only found out about the rating when I was back home. 🙂

Cafe de Prins

I had lunch here twice, good food, cold beer and a great spot for people watching.

Cafe de Prins

The perfect lunch. 😎

The traffic can wait

Another way for the tourists to see Amsterdam.

Science Center NEMO

NEMO proves that there is a fun way to learn more about science and technology. The largest science center in the Netherlands has five floors full of exciting things to do and discover. All your senses will be stimulated by exhibitions, theatre performances, films, workshops and demonstrations.

The replica of the three masted “Amsterdam”

The replica of the three masted “Amsterdam”, a large vessel of the Dutch East India Company, which in its maiden journey to Batavia sank in a storm in the English Channel in winter of 1749, stands high above the waters of Ij Bay, directly at the museum quay. The wreck of the ship has been discovered off the English coast in 1969, and the museum replica has been completed in 1990. Visiting the ship, you may see how small and primitive spaces were to house 350 people during the ship’s journey, with more comfortable but equally minute quarters for the ship’s captain and officers.

A wonderful B & B

Of all the places I stayed on my “seven super cities” adventure, my B & B in Amsterdam was the best accommodation by a long shot. There are only 2 apartments in the building beside the delightful couple Tony & Loes who live there.