Viewing Amsterdam from a boat in a canal gives one a different perspective on one's surroundings. So as an interlude between the Rijksmuseum and lunch and the Van Gogh museum, our tour du jour included a one-hour canal cruise. Ours was a basic canal cruise in a semi-open boat.
But there are umpteen different canal cruises available depending upon the services offered. There are day time cruises and evening cruises, with some offering dinner and adult beverages. There are Hop-on Hop-off cruises, Burger Cruises, Pizza Cruises, Candlelight Cruises, and Watercolor Cruises.
There are also semi-open boat cruises, small boat cruises, and Dutch authentic boat cruises.
Obviously, there is a cruise for everyone, and my recommendation is to be sure to take at least one cruise to see Amsterdam from the water. Most cruises can be booked online in advance to avoid waiting in line. But with so many cruises offered, waiting until you get to Amsterdam probably works, too.
We were told that shutters on the windows suggest that the building was a warehouse. Now I wonder if they aren't a design element on many of the refurbished houses. That said, however, as with other features on these old houses, when remodeling owners must not change authentic architectural elements since much of the old city is a designated World Heritage site. So in these refurbished houses, perhaps that's why the shutters are still there, even though the building may no longer be a warehouse.
Along our cruise we passed this four-story bicycle parking garage near Central Station. Only in Amsterdam where they have more bicycles than people and certainly more bicycles than cars.
Central Station almost looks small seen from the water. And if you think it looks a lot like the Rikjksmuseum, you aren't seeing things. Both buildings were designed by the same architect, Pierre Cuypers, with a Gothic/Renaissance Revival facade.
As an aside, the land where Central Station sits was once all water. According to our guide (and Wikipedia) the station is built on three interconnected artificial islands. These islands were created with sand taken from the dunes near Velsen, which had become available as a result of the excavation of the North Sea Canal. The islands together are known as Stationseiland (Station Island). Like many other structures in Amsterdam, the station was built on wooden piles (8,687 pieces). The construction of the station was delayed because of the instability of the soil, which set back the completion of the work by several years.
Along the canal we passed many houseboats and live-in barges. In fact there are over 3000 registered boat houses, but no new licenses are being granted. Originally, the boats themselves were relatively inexpensive to purchase and renovate. However, the big expense came with rising costs to rent or purchase moorage along a canal. Like today's mobile homes and tiny homes, the space to park one's home often is valued much higher than the residence itself.
I particularly like the houseboat on the left because of the clothesline with laundry hanging. That's because another one of my favorite photo subjects is hanging laundry; so this shots fits the bill.
When I saw this building come into view, I knew I had to get a shot. That's because I had pre-purchased tickets for the Museum of Bags and Purses for our return visit to Amsterdam. So now I knew where it was located.
Also, notice the electric car plugged in. Many cars are electric in Amsterdam, and in fact, all the taxi cabs we rode in from the airport and back were electric along with a UPS truck I saw one day. And by 2025, all cars will be banned from parts of the city, making the areas exclusively for bicyclists and pedestrians. The city is already blocking off certain streets as we and our driver found out on our last taxi ride from our hotel to the airport.
As I stated in a previous blog, bicycles are the kings and queens of the road. They drive along the red-paved or painted streets and have right of way over cars and pedestrians. In certain parts of the city, electric trams also run, and pedestrians must be vigilant about those, too. Amazingly, I saw no bicycle/pedestrian/vehicle accidents in our six days in Amsterdam. Also, cyclists are not required to wear helmets because from most peoples' perspective, bicycles should not be dangerous.
After our canal cruise, we walked back to the museum district to see the Van Gogh museum. But because photos are not allowed inside the museum, I took this picture of Vincent as seen on the side of a bus to remember our visit.
The Damrak is an avenue and partially filled in canal at the center of Amsterdam, running between Amsterdam Central Station in the north and Dam Square in the south. It is the main street where people arriving at the station enter the center of Amsterdam.
From street-side it offers a beautiful view of typical row houses reflected in the canal. This photo was taken in late afternoon with the setting sun.
Here is the same row of houses from a slightly different perspective and time of day with the lights being reflected in the canal. This was near the Barbizon Palace, our first hotel, so we passed it often. On this night we were gathering on the bridge for our Red Light District walking tour.
Here our guide Jose is introducing himself and briefing us on the rules of taking pictures in the Red Light District. He is the third person in from the left. The guy in orange is Doug.
The canals come alive with color at night, especially in De Wallen or the Red Light District with so many cafes, coffee shops, night clubs and restaurants.
Amsterdam prides itself on its wholly liberal and tolerant attitude, embracing the fact that people may be into prostitution, soft drugs and pornography. And that it is only human. So instead of criminalizing everything, they enjoy the honesty of it all. In other words, it's all about one's perspective.
The name "Red Light District" comes from the red neon lights that highlight the 300 windows where women work. Window prostitution is what it's called because scantily clad women stand behind glass windows advertising their services. It is strictly forbidden to take photos of the women, although this photo of the curtained windows was okay.
According to our guide, 80% of the women are from Eastern Europe. There are few Black, Asian or Latina prostitutes. The women work for themselves and pay taxes on their earnings, but also receive healthcare benefits from the government. The basic sex service costs 50 Euros for 15 minutes. It involves no touching, no kissing or no caressing, also known as "girlfriend" services which cost extra and must be negotiated in advance.
This statue titled "Belle," of a prostitute standing proudly in the doorway of her place of business, honors the sex workers of the world. It was placed in the heart of the Amsterdam Red Light District in 2007. The project was conceived by Mariska Majoor, a former sex worker herself, who founded the Prostitute Information Centre in Amsterdam in 1994. After she retired, she decided to open the center to educate the public on sex work and to reduce the stigma faced by sex workers.
In short, she is trying to change peoples' persepctive about sex workers.
Another campaign that is taking hold in the Red Light District is known as "I live here." While window prostitution and the associated businesses may be the big attraction at night, many other people live and work in De Wallen during the day. They grew tired of visitors peeing in their flower boxes, vomiting in their doorways, and basically disrespecting the residents; so they took action.
The purpose of this campaign is to make visitors more aware that there are also people living in the Red Light District. Many visitors do not know that people live there, but experience shows that they adjust their behavior if they are actively pointed out. So people can change their persepctive if provided accurate information.
