WSTalk Fall Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 27
Holland!
Simply the best!
f you’re traveling to
Amsterdam any time
soon, be sure to visit
the Red Light District
because in the not too
distant future, the government has plans to
move and restructure it in a
new location, possibly con昀椀gured into a high rise sex
scraper/hotel brothel on
the city’s outskirts, but the
debate rages on how best to
make this happen.
Amsterdam’s current
Mayor, Femka Halsema, is
heading the e昀昀ort to curb
the legions of curious tourists, many seeking legally
promoted sexual fetishes
for hire, some arriving just
to gawk, which is my category of curious. The 昀椀rst
time I visited, I tried to be
nonchalant which was pretty di昀케cult. Talk about an
eye opener. I’m not a prude
but I was freaked to be honest. More than 800 years
old, De Wallen consists of
approximately 300 cabins
rented by prostitutes to ply
their trade.
Lining both sides of the
street, large houses with
large dimly lit windows
glowing with red or black
lights, curtains drawn, feature a bevy of professional sex workers advertising
their proclivities as potential clients pause to consider purchase. There has
recently been a proposal to
close the curtains to restrict
viewing. Who would visit
there if there’s nothing to
see?
This Fall the street was so
crowded it was almost im-
I
possible to navigate without bumping into someone
and I can’t imagine what
it would have been like
during summer vacation.
Health checks are required
to keep both the workers
and the clients safe, and
no pictures are allowed to
be taken of them. As you
can imagine, closing this
district will have a negative
impact 昀椀nancially on the
neighborhood which also
supports numerous restaurants, retail shops and cafes. It will be interesting to
see what transpires.
Lastly, but maybe most
importantly for international travelers, the Dutch
are required to learn English in elementary school
because no one outside of
Holland speaks Dutch except in some of the islands,
Surinam and South America. It’s an easy European
nation to get around for
sure. And the Dutch are
wonderful humans to hang
out with, always ready to
have a good conversation
and a hearty laugh.
There’s so much more
to cover about our Dutch
adventure, but sadly, it
will have to wait for another time. I hope you get a
chance to book your own
travel a昀昀air. However, you
can learn more about my
great travel a昀昀airs, fun destinations, food, art and culture. ...............................
Follow me on IG @
dpereau. Until then,
Toet Zen!
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