CopenHELEN: Amsterdam (reader discretion is advised...)

This weekend I met one of my best friends from school in Memphis, Annie, in Amsterdam for the weekend! We had a great relaxing weekend finding cool eateries and sight seeing.

We went to the Anne Frank Huis on Saturday morning. I had been before when I was ten, it was Annie’s first time. I was really glad I got to go again, I remember a lot of the Anne Frank house from my first visit. I think it is hard at that age (understandably) to truly understand the Holocaust and what was going on in Amsterdam and the world at that time. While after having studied World War II, and having traveled to Berlin and seen many of the memorials there, I felt much more knowledgeable about the time and the chronology of the events that this second visit was much more meaningful for me in that respect. However, I think there is something about visiting the Anne Frank House when you are about the same age as Anne was when she was in hiding there. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit twice.

That afternoon we bopped and shopped around just taking in the city. I have to say Amsterdam has a lot of cute local stores, coffee shops, clothing designers, etc. We had a great time exploring!! I was a little surprised how much the streets resembled those in Copenhagen, I felt right at home! Annie was shocked at how early it got dark…I remained un-phased as it was lighter outside than it is in Denmark.

That evening we went on a guided tour of the Red Light District. This is one of my favorite tours I have ever taken in my life (it’s a close contender with the Jack the Ripper Walking Tour in London which I have raved about for years--just for some perspective). The tour is two hours, first you visit the Amsterdam Prostitute Information Center--it is unsurprisingly the only prostitute information center in the world. There we spoke with an ex-prostitute about the history and current situation of the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Then we got to stand in a red-lit window to get a feel for what it looks like for prostitutes in Amsterdam (there were an array of costumes one could choose from but we decided to just stand in our winter coats as to not have a “too real” experience, as it were…)

READER DISCRETION!! You are entering the section of the blog about the RED LIGHT DISTRICT (Grandma--STOP READING NOW.)

Afterwards we walked around the Red Light District, which if you didn’t know is one of the safest areas in Amsterdam. For it’s historic value the real estate there goes for millions of euros just for an apartment. Residents are acutely aware they live in the Red Light District, there are day care centers and small coffee shops, etc that were closed because it was late at night but it was clearly an affluent neighborhood.

The Red Light District itself also has different divisions, there are both window and club prostitutes. Some women prefer to be in a club as it is a more discrete way of doing the job. The window prostitutes also vary in age, size, gender, price, they are all very different. Different sections of the district represent these different demographics. There is a street specifically for transvestites, for example. We also went on the most historic/expensive street in the district which was interesting to compare to the other windows elsewhere, this tour was very educational! Our tour ended up being a really small tour of just five of us, us, a Scottish couple, and a man from Singapore, but our tour guide told us that she always loses a couple people (guys) every time she brings a big group of thirty or so through the most expensive/historic street. It is said that the most attractive prostitutes work on this street. I must say I disagree, they looked quite fake (if you catch my drift). I preferred the transvestite street personally.

They told us a lot of statistics and practical information on the tour as well. It costs about 90 euros/per 8-hour shift to rent out a room, each window prostitute rents her own window, and it has a small room with a bed behind it. The door can only be opened from the inside, the prostitute hand picks her customers, and pretty much all prices are negotiable (except on the expensive street where they really aren’t). The standard price is 50 euros for ten minutes, other “extras” or more time is more money but also negotiable depending on the prostitute. The prostitute will typically advertise with a small sign in the window if she has any special extra things she offers. Our tour guide also told us that almost all the prostitutes are educated--a large percentage are working to pay off student loans. For Dutch girls it is an easy way to make a lot of money. And that is all it is about for these prostitutes. An ex-prostitute in the center said to us there might be some passion in certain encounters, but for the girls it is all about money--and never any love involved.

I must admit I have been pondering my feelings on prostitution--in general and in Amsterdam--after this tour and I feel very conflicted. It is hard I think to understand what makes a person enter this business, but at the end of the day if prostitution is going to happen, at least let it happen in a place where the girls make the decision themselves, have access to a center, a support network, and testing services such as the girls in Amsterdam do. A very historical place and sight I must say this goes down as one of my favorite experiences traveling.

Oh and Amsterdam has delicious Indian food. yummy yummy!!