Walking the Streets of Amsterdam

This trip dates back a year or so ago to February 2020, just a few months before covid reared its ugly head and we were rudely placed into our first lockdown. Its just a little over a year later now and we are in the exact same situation, relegated to our homes, back in a semi-quarentined state. But anyway, enough of that.

I'm sure that February isn't an ideal time to visit the Netherlands. The flowers aren't in bloom and generally the winters in Northern Europe tends to be wet and rainy with an ever present cover of grey clouds in the sky. This was certainly the case for us during our trip to the city. But bad weather aside, we still enjoyed our trip to the big city and we even managed to snap off a few half decent pictures.

Even in drab and dreary weather Amsterdam has quite a bit to offer.

For one thing there is the architecture of the old town which is a mix of modern design along side what I refer to as old timey Flemish. We spent pretty much an entire day just walking the streets of this part of the city, taking in the views and experiencing the culture.

Speaking of interesting cultural notes, sex work and prostitution is completely legal in the country. In many of the ground floor windows, like the ones in the above two photographs, we actually saw a few lingerie clad sex workers. They would be just sitting there, half naked in a chair reading a book while they waited for a customer. We saw this both during the day and at night, though the workers seemed to be a little more lively at night time and a little more skimpily dressed.

Like many parts of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is full of canals. Everybody who reads my blog knows how I feel about canals. I love them!

Many of the canals are lined nose to tip with house boats, which I just think is really cool. I have this romanticized view of what it would be like to live in one. Many are probably cold and damp but I picture them to be all warm and cozy inside.

Boat tours of the canals are another big attraction in the city. It wasn't something that we took part in but it was neat seeing the boats make their way through parts of the city.

We spent a lot of time walking through the streets and alleyways of the old town and popping into a few shops to view their goods.

Drug culture is big in Amsterdam, of course. Practically every drug is legal in the country and you can buy them all in many stores in town. Coffee shops as well sell marijuana and people smoke while they sip their coffee. We didn't partake in any of that either but it was still neat to experience such a different culture than what we are used to.

One neighborhood that we walked through had about a dozen stores with these long arms in various poses holding up the store signs. I tend to get a kick out of details like that.

Often its the smaller details of a city that gives it its character. I really liked the bright red painted shutters. We saw them in a few locations.

We saw these bronze, back to back, his and hers art sculptures during our walk from the subway station to the downtown. I dont know who the artist is but I quite like the design.

At night my wife and I did a self guided tour of the Redlight district and both agreed that its something that has to be experienced if you visit the city. Sex work is typically very secretive and relegated to the dark outer corners of society. This makes it all the more interesting to see all out in the open, in plain sight. Its almost like you're in a bit of a different world. The whole area was quite busy but there was security patrolling all over the place so everything felt very safe. You aren't supposed to take pictures in the district, for obvious reasons so I don't have any to share. But it really is the type of place you have to see for yourself anyway so there is no real loss.

As a consulation I have one last photo of the city at night. I know its not as interesting as a sex worker bathed in the red glow of neon lights but its all I got, so hopefully you enjoy it.

Well, thats all I have for Amsterdam at the moment. Until next time. Thanks for reading!