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items tagged with amsterdam
A WOW-experience
Hi , I have a story I would like to share with you. I am 32 years old, making a living in South Africa. I was born in South Africa and grew up there. I visited Amsterdam in March 2008 and after reading a lot of articles on Amsterdam, I wanted to make the experience worth while. I spent the first day in my hotel room and main shopping area. The second day I spent in the shopping area as well and the evening I visited the red light district. What can I say. I have always told myself I would never pay for sex, But I have always lived with the intention to always be able to say in anything that can be done. "I DID THAT, I HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT"
Read More About A WOW-Experience...
Hi , I have a story I would like to share with you. I am 32 years old, making a living in South Africa. I was born in South Africa and grew up there. I visited Amsterdam in March 2008 and after reading a lot of articles on Amsterdam, I wanted to make the experience worth while. I spent the first day in my hotel room and main shopping area. The second day I spent in the shopping area as well and the evening I visited the red light district. What can I say. I have always told myself I would never pay for sex, But I have always lived with the intention to always be able to say in anything that can be done. "I DID THAT, I HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT"Read More About A WOW-Experience...
Amsterdam for Americans
AMSTERDAM: LOVE THE CULTURE, BUT BEWARE THE BIKES
Watch out for the bicycles. Oh, and the scooters, too. To anyone dreaming of heading to Amsterdam, Holland’s epicenter of liberal values, liberal ladies and over-the-counter marijuana, this would be my primary piece of advice. No, seriously. Until you’ve stepped out onto the Amsterdam pavement, narrowly having your nose clipped off by a local as he or she sails by on a pastel-coloured cruiser, North Americans simply can’t comprehend the prevalence of the bicycle in this bustling overgrown village of around 700,000 people.
I learned this lesson mere moments after stepping out of Amsterdam’s Centraal station, a short 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Walking from the station doors out into the summer sunshine, I’m immediately immersed in the Amsterdam vibe. Families laughing. Bicycles gliding. Small boats floating leisurely through the canals as trams whisk by, competing with bicycles to see which can give unsuspecting tourists a bigger fright.
And at that moment, I’m not paying enough attention. While admiring the architecture of a building to my left a bicycle approaches from the right, bell jingling a terse warning. Narrowly I jump back, lesson learned.
Amidst it all I manage to purchase a tram ticket and make my way to the Museumplein area of Amsterdam, about a 20 minute tram journey from the storied Red Light District. After checking into my hotel, I make my way to the Leidseplein area for a bite to eat. The streets are filled with locals, tourists, merchants and performers, and I take it all in from the window of the small restaurant.
Walking back along a canal toward my hotel, I take a moment to watch the locals as they whisk past me on their bikes. Overprotective North American ideals surrounding safety are unheard of here; no one, and I mean no one sports a helmet. Teenage boys carry smiling girls on their handlebars, as business types keep one hand on the handlebars and one hand on a BlackBerry. And then there are the baskets. Each bike has a basket attached to the front handlebars, or behind the seat; in some cases, both. And the Dutch seem to carry everything in these baskets; fresh flowers, baguettes, clothing – I even spot a small puppy riding shotgun on a pink cruiser.
Removed from the bustling Red Light District the stillness of night sets in early in the Museumplein, and the streets are hushed by 10 p.m.
The following morning I find myself eating a bagel at a café – yes, café, not coffeeshop – and sipping a fantastic mug of frothy cappuccino. Across the narrow street are a number of buildings, meticulous architecture dating back to well before Calgary was more than a buffalo breeding ground. I’m partway through my breakfast when a thirty-something man strolls in, laptop in hand – and a shaggy dog at his feet. He orders a bagel and a beverage and starts tapping away at his keyboard. No one comments on the dog now curled up under the café table. It seems to go with an overall attitude of “hey, whatever works!” that permeates every street and alley in this city.
Breakfast finished I make my way to the Van Gogh Museum, getting in line for the Colours of the Night temporary exhibition featuring some of the Dutch painter’s best-known works. Inspired by dusk and twilight, the collection includes The Potato Eaters and, most notably, Starry Night, temporarily on loan from its permanent home at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art.
On the second level of the museum a small exhibit featuring Van Gogh’s letters, reference materials and artifacts welcomes visitors, the deep violet walls adding to the overall nocturnal theme. Etched on the wall is one of Van Gogh’s famous quotes, from a letter to his brother Theodore:
“Looking at the stars always makes me dream. Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star.”
Slightly chilled I make my way back out into the Amsterdam sunshine, and sit atop a hill in the middle of Museumplein overlooking the famous Concertgebouw music hall (said to have some of the best acoustics in all of Europe).
Couples stroll hand in hand. A man running a snack stand comes out to water a small plant, a wooden shoe for a planter. KLM Royal Dutch planes soar overhead, leaving white trails against the otherwise clear blue sky.
Forget the marijuana-scented coffeeshops. Forget the alluring windows in the Red Light District. This, right here, is Amsterdam.
by Amanda Preece
AMSTERDAM: LOVE THE CULTURE, BUT BEWARE THE BIKES
Watch out for the bicycles. Oh, and the scooters, too. To anyone dreaming of heading to Amsterdam, Holland’s epicenter of liberal values, liberal ladies and over-the-counter marijuana, this would be my primary piece of advice. No, seriously. Until you’ve stepped out onto the Amsterdam pavement, narrowly having your nose clipped off by a local as he or she sails by on a pastel-coloured cruiser, North Americans simply can’t comprehend the prevalence of the bicycle in this bustling overgrown village of around 700,000 people.I learned this lesson mere moments after stepping out of Amsterdam’s Centraal station, a short 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. Walking from the station doors out into the summer sunshine, I’m immediately immersed in the Amsterdam vibe. Families laughing. Bicycles gliding. Small boats floating leisurely through the canals as trams whisk by, competing with bicycles to see which can give unsuspecting tourists a bigger fright.
And at that moment, I’m not paying enough attention. While admiring the architecture of a building to my left a bicycle approaches from the right, bell jingling a terse warning. Narrowly I jump back, lesson learned.
Amidst it all I manage to purchase a tram ticket and make my way to the Museumplein area of Amsterdam, about a 20 minute tram journey from the storied Red Light District. After checking into my hotel, I make my way to the Leidseplein area for a bite to eat. The streets are filled with locals, tourists, merchants and performers, and I take it all in from the window of the small restaurant.Walking back along a canal toward my hotel, I take a moment to watch the locals as they whisk past me on their bikes. Overprotective North American ideals surrounding safety are unheard of here; no one, and I mean no one sports a helmet. Teenage boys carry smiling girls on their handlebars, as business types keep one hand on the handlebars and one hand on a BlackBerry. And then there are the baskets. Each bike has a basket attached to the front handlebars, or behind the seat; in some cases, both. And the Dutch seem to carry everything in these baskets; fresh flowers, baguettes, clothing – I even spot a small puppy riding shotgun on a pink cruiser.
Removed from the bustling Red Light District the stillness of night sets in early in the Museumplein, and the streets are hushed by 10 p.m.The following morning I find myself eating a bagel at a café – yes, café, not coffeeshop – and sipping a fantastic mug of frothy cappuccino. Across the narrow street are a number of buildings, meticulous architecture dating back to well before Calgary was more than a buffalo breeding ground. I’m partway through my breakfast when a thirty-something man strolls in, laptop in hand – and a shaggy dog at his feet. He orders a bagel and a beverage and starts tapping away at his keyboard. No one comments on the dog now curled up under the café table. It seems to go with an overall attitude of “hey, whatever works!” that permeates every street and alley in this city.
Breakfast finished I make my way to the Van Gogh Museum, getting in line for the Colours of the Night temporary exhibition featuring some of the Dutch painter’s best-known works. Inspired by dusk and twilight, the collection includes The Potato Eaters and, most notably, Starry Night, temporarily on loan from its permanent home at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art.
On the second level of the museum a small exhibit featuring Van Gogh’s letters, reference materials and artifacts welcomes visitors, the deep violet walls adding to the overall nocturnal theme. Etched on the wall is one of Van Gogh’s famous quotes, from a letter to his brother Theodore:
“Looking at the stars always makes me dream. Why, I ask myself, shouldn’t the shining dots of the sky be as accessible as the black dots on the map of France? Just as we take the train to get to Tarascon or Rouen, we take death to reach a star.”
Slightly chilled I make my way back out into the Amsterdam sunshine, and sit atop a hill in the middle of Museumplein overlooking the famous Concertgebouw music hall (said to have some of the best acoustics in all of Europe).
Couples stroll hand in hand. A man running a snack stand comes out to water a small plant, a wooden shoe for a planter. KLM Royal Dutch planes soar overhead, leaving white trails against the otherwise clear blue sky.
Forget the marijuana-scented coffeeshops. Forget the alluring windows in the Red Light District. This, right here, is Amsterdam.
by Amanda Preece
Amsterdam targets crime in Red Light District
Authorities announced a major crackdown on organized crime in Amsterdam's Red Light District yesterday , for the first time allowing national police investigators and tax authorities to see the extent of what had long been seen as a local problem.
With its scantily clad prostitutes posing in brothel windows and coffee shops oozing the pungent aroma of marijuana smoke, the area's seediness has always been part of its attraction.
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Authorities announced a major crackdown on organized crime in Amsterdam's Red Light District yesterday , for the first time allowing national police investigators and tax authorities to see the extent of what had long been seen as a local problem.With its scantily clad prostitutes posing in brothel windows and coffee shops oozing the pungent aroma of marijuana smoke, the area's seediness has always been part of its attraction.
But the district is a magnet for petty criminals and, authorities believe, human traffickers, drug lords, and mobsters who take advantage of the situation to launder money. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, and coffee shops are licensed to sell small amounts of marijuana. But prostitutes don't have cash registers and drug vendors don't give receipts, making it easy for them to launder money for crime lords.
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Amsterdam to cut back on brothels
The city of Amsterdam is to close 51 of the window brothels in its famous red light district. This is about one-third of the total.
The city has reached a 25m euro deal to buy many of the premises and turn them into shops or housing.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, said that although prostitution was legal in the Netherlands, there was too much of the sex trade in the city centre.
He also said that the trade involved exploitation and trafficking of women, and other kinds of criminal activity.
Read More About Amsterdam To Cut Back On Brothels...
The city of Amsterdam is to close 51 of the window brothels in its famous red light district. This is about one-third of the total.
The city has reached a 25m euro deal to buy many of the premises and turn them into shops or housing.
The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, said that although prostitution was legal in the Netherlands, there was too much of the sex trade in the city centre.
He also said that the trade involved exploitation and trafficking of women, and other kinds of criminal activity.
Read More About Amsterdam To Cut Back On Brothels...
Amsterdam to reduce sex & drugs
Amsterdam authorities said on Saturday they would halve the number of brothels and marijuana shops in the city's "red light" district and surrounding area.
The city announced plans to clean up the area a year ago and since then 109 sex "windows", from which prostitutes attract customers, have been closed. The new measures aim to reduce the number of windows to 243 from 482 last year, a city spokesman said.
Amsterdam also wants to close half of the 76 cannabis shops in the city centre.
"Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do not see on the surface but they are hurting people and the city. We want to fight this," says the mayor.
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Amsterdam authorities said on Saturday they would halve the number of brothels and marijuana shops in the city's "red light" district and surrounding area.The city announced plans to clean up the area a year ago and since then 109 sex "windows", from which prostitutes attract customers, have been closed. The new measures aim to reduce the number of windows to 243 from 482 last year, a city spokesman said.
Amsterdam also wants to close half of the 76 cannabis shops in the city centre.
"Money laundering, extortion and human trafficking are things you do not see on the surface but they are hurting people and the city. We want to fight this," says the mayor.
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Confusion over red light window count
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No-one seems to know just how many red light district windows there are in Amsterdam, the Volkskrant reported at the weekend.
Even Charles Geerts, the sex industry boss who sold 18 of his properties to a housing corporation does not seem to know how many there are.
Geerts told reporters on Friday there are 250 windows and that the sale of his 18 buildings means the loss of 51, or 20%.
The day before Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen spoke of 51 windows being one third of the total.
The city council's Trend report estimates the total at 360 windows and Els Iping, the leader of the city centre borough council, puts the figure at 350, including brothels outside the official red light district.Read More About Confusion Over Red Light Window Count...
History of Amsterdam
In world history, culture and commerce, the role of the Netherlands, with Amsterdam as its capital, is significant. This is mainly due to its strategic position. The river Rhine, which passes through several European countries, made it a centre for business and industry. Since its early development, 700 years ago, the city has had a important position in the province of Holland (later to become part of the Netherlands). Starting of as a fishing village, the city developed into a center for trade, arts and politics.
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History of Amsterdam
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Magic Mushrooms banned
Soon smartshops, of which there are many in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, will not be allowed to sell fresh magic mushrooms anymore. The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced, tightening the country's famed liberal drug policies after the suicide of an intoxicated teenage girl.
The ban, in response to the death and other highly publicized adverse reactions involving the fungus, is the latest backlash against the freewheeling policies of the past.
Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh mushrooms continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands along with herbal medicines in so-called smart-shops.
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Soon smartshops, of which there are many in the Red Light District of Amsterdam, will not be allowed to sell fresh magic mushrooms anymore. The Netherlands will ban the sale of hallucinogenic mushrooms, the government announced, tightening the country's famed liberal drug policies after the suicide of an intoxicated teenage girl.The ban, in response to the death and other highly publicized adverse reactions involving the fungus, is the latest backlash against the freewheeling policies of the past.
Psilocybin, the main active chemical in the mushrooms, has been illegal under international law since 1971. However, fresh mushrooms continued to be sold legally in the Netherlands along with herbal medicines in so-called smart-shops.
Read More About Magic Mushrooms Banned...
New restrictions
Amsterdam councillor Mr Asscher has launched a plan to raise the minimum age of prostitutes from 18 to 23. Mr Asscher wants to clean up Amsterdam's Red Light district and is proposing a whole raft of measures.
In addition to raising the minimum age, he also wants the Red Light district in the Wallen area to close down between 04:00 and 08:00 in the morning.
One of the councillor's aims is to strengthen the position of the women who work in the sex industry.
He told NOS public radio, "We recently saw the escape of a people trafficker who used extreme violence to pressure very young girls who were far from home into prostitution in the Wallen area. An 18-year-old girl from Bulgaria, for example, is less able to fend for herself than a woman who is older.
Read More About New Restrictions...
Amsterdam councillor Mr Asscher has launched a plan to raise the minimum age of prostitutes from 18 to 23. Mr Asscher wants to clean up Amsterdam's Red Light district and is proposing a whole raft of measures.In addition to raising the minimum age, he also wants the Red Light district in the Wallen area to close down between 04:00 and 08:00 in the morning.
One of the councillor's aims is to strengthen the position of the women who work in the sex industry.
He told NOS public radio, "We recently saw the escape of a people trafficker who used extreme violence to pressure very young girls who were far from home into prostitution in the Wallen area. An 18-year-old girl from Bulgaria, for example, is less able to fend for herself than a woman who is older.
Read More About New Restrictions...
Open Day
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Open day in the Red Light District of Amsterdam
Amsterdam's sex workers came to work early today (31th of March 2007) to offer a free look into their business in the red-light district.
Hundreds of wide-eyed visitors queued in the sunshine to enter the dimly-lit sex clubs and peep shows that draw thousands to the city and to snoop around sex workers' neon-lit boudoirs.
“I think the open day is a great idea,” said Love, an erotic dancer at Amsterdam's Banana Bar, who was on hand to answer questions and pose for photographs.
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