Amsterdam's facade of lawlessness and hedonism masks the true logic of the city, one that takes more than a few hours to figure out.
How do you explain the oldest church in Amsterdam set in the middle of the red-light district? Why did Dutch Jews flourish during the Golden Age while elsewhere they were isolated and persecuted?
The answer to these questions, and many more, is $$$. Amsterdam is a libertarian paradise where cash is king.
The city is confusing to an outsider. The pecking order of vehicles is bikes, pedestrians, then cars --the opposite of the USA. Standing at an intersection, one must hop across the bike lane and press the crosswalk button, then jump back to the sidewalk.
The first location my friend Abhinav and I went to was, of course, the red-light district. After dodging a few bikes and being cursed off in Dutch, we entered a quaint neighborhood of skinny canal houses. The ground floors of these homes were bizarre: A shop dedicated to novelty condoms and another to S&M with a dummy chained to the ceiling. Coffee shops everywhere.
Most of the ground floor was taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows. Blue lights illuminated the scantily clad women sitting, often texting or eating, on the interior. Red lights shined outwards, the universal sign of prostitution. The interior blue lights, believed by many to be a designator for transexuals, are actually used to hide blemishes.
The bizarre thing about the red-light district was not the prostitutes or weed. It was the assortment of high end restaurants, day cares, art exhibits, and hipster cafes throughout the area. The city has been working to make the district less seedy, while the locals have been pushing to preserve the culture. The result is a precarious mix of hookers and high society.
The prositutes are not what I was expecting. In the red-light district, all women run their own businesses, and none are managed by a pimp. Storefronts cost about 150 euro per day, and prostitutes charge their clients 50 euro per 15 or 20 minutes, with additions for extras like the "girlfriend experience" (kissing, talking, etc.). The prices are not regulated, but due to the commoditization of prostitution in Amsterdam costs have standardized in the red-light district. Though these prices are relatively low, the women make good money. Typically they immigrate from across Europe to work for 3-5 years before returning to their home country with enough money to start a business or raise a family. The majority of the women are also married.
The hottest prostitute in the red-light district.
At the heart of the red-light district is the oldest church of Amsterdam. It lies along what used to be a major trading port in Europe. Sailors would come in for a few night's rest between voyages. After months spent at sea with only scurvy dogs for company, the sailors would seek out women at the port. The government recognized that this could lead to infidelity amongst the wives of Amsterdam. To fix this problem, they set up brothels at the port, in what is now called the red-light district. The church lay at the middle of this scene. Rather than protesting, the clergymen sold indulgences to the sailors. The sailors could have a lovely night with a prostitute, and then be forgiven by god before setting sail.
Later that day, we visited the Jewish Quarter. During the Golden Age, Jews were being persecuted across Europe. Knowing that the nearby Jews were experienced in the diamond trade, Amsterdam welcomed them with open arms. An island near the center of the city became the Jewish Quarter. Today, the quarter is unrecognizable. During the time of Nazi rule in Holland, shortages of wood caused locals to tear apart the homes of their Jewish neighbors who had been sent to concentration camps. The position of the Dutch during WWII was confusing, and I do not understand it well enough to explain.
In the 1970s, the city decided to decriminalize marijuana in order to increase tax revenue that could help cut down on hard drug use. There are now hundreds of coffee shops (not cafes. Cafes sell coffee, coffee shops sell weed) sprinkled across Amsterdam. For the curious, a brownie with 1/2 a gram costs about 6 euro.
Amsterdam was definitely the most fascinating city I've visited.
(Due to the rain, I do not have many good photos of Amsterdam.)