Amsterdam - Day 4 - Central & Red Light District

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Geo: 52.3673, 4.8661

First of all, Amsterdam is a pedestrian possible city. In our case we are in an area which is a 25 minute walk from the central plaza. I use the word possible rather than friendly because pedestrians seems to be lower in importance than bicycles or even autos. Some bikers travel at significant speed and come around invisible corners to find pedestrians in the line of fire. It seems that bikers feel they can jump over to pedestrian lanes but heaven help pedestrians who step into a bike lane. In some ways, pedestrians in south east Asia seem to be better if (my opinion). Vancouver needs to make sure bikers obey the laws which is pretty loosely followed at the moment. Ignoring the rules will make for a bike friendly but not pedestrian friendly city.

The tram system here works well and pedestrians, bikes and cars share the roadway with the trams. Vancouver needs to look at some of these systems rather than the more expensive alternatives being considered.

We walked back to Dam Square which is the start of our other 2 walking tours.

The first tour explores the central area starting with the train station and early settlement areas.

The name of the city comes from the name of the river which was dammed to allow for dredging, etc.

Several pictures show tilting buildings. Amsterdam was basically a swamp are. Dykes were built and canals dredged to provide "land". The land however was marshy and the foundation for the buildings consisted of logs being driven into the swamp to depths of about 30 feet. Many of these logs have rotted or sunk further resulting in crooked buildings.

Many streets are brick paved which is wise because the infrastructure needs constant work and bricks are replaced easier than repaving.

The central station is located on the site of the river dam which was the first step in the creation of the city.

Our second tour was the Red Light District. The Netherlands has a different approach to sex and drugs.

Marijuana is regulated not disallowed. Some statistics suggest that per capita use is less in the Netherlands than in the US where pot continues to be illegal federally. In fact the decrease in hard drug use is very significant and the Netherlands now sublets some of their prison cells to Belgium.

Sex attitudes are also quite different although I suspect the views may be different again away from the city. Prostitution has been tolerated since the beginning of the city with its origins as a port and a sailor clientele. The prostitution is tolerated and regulated. It is a safer solution for all parties. However, recently the city has been try to Gentrify some of this area.

The population is close to being evenly divided between Catholic and Protestant as well as those who choose neither. During the Protestant Reformation most Catholics had to conceal their churches.

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Comments

[crw]

As we grow older, I think we increasingly realize that there is no right or wrong, just different points of view. And, over time, our opinions will change regarding such things as drug use and sex. It is interesting to note that Singapore w
as built on a swamp and has developed very differently.