Came here a few months ago, but I thought I'd finish my review before I forget how memorable the Red Light District was. And I'd say, once you've been in the Red Light District, that's just about it. You've been there! In other words, I walked and walked and walked and was totally excited at first, saw lots of interesting things to see. Did some window shopping, but never purchased. Chilled at a cafe or two and met a few nice tourists, and locals. Then after a while, overall I just didn't care for it. I was too busy thinking about the next restaurant I'm gonna yelp about lol!
Other than seeing the Red Lights, here's a few highlights:
~ The number of places to eat! Man o'man, there's so many restaurants that have yet to be reviewed. I'd yelp a place and be like, "Sweet, another FTR candidate. Yippee!"
~ Frites stands! Long lines for them too. I had it once, but didn't think it was anything special. I guess it's that mayo stuff they put on it. Plus I've eaten way too many fries in my days.
~ Hemp shops around every corner that sell everything from seeds, to blooms, vape stuff, edibles, etc. Talk about stoner heaven! But here's what's even worse, and my weakness...
~ Being here for the first time, I didn't know Amsterdam was known for CHEESE SHOPS!!! OMG!!! Like the hemp cafes on every corner, so were the cheese shops. I swore I probably stopped into every store! My eyes exploded, my hands grabbed every sample. I was growing whiskers and my fingers turned yellow. If anything, I was more worried about closing up my luggage with all the cheese I bought lol.
~ Bakery and candy shops. Eh, there were enough of those too.
~ Strolling through each alley, then alley after alley was just like HEY yay another alley. Some were interesting, some boring. The window shopping was like WOW, just like in the movies! So what was said about this place was true! I even witnessed one dirty old man leave one prostitute's room, opened up the next door, and into another girl's room. I'm just laughing and thinking... "What an old gross sick f---!"
Here's a 'dislike' about the RLD:
~ I know I'm forever going to be a tourist here, but seeing the hoards of tourists in large groups was just ridiculous. Now I'm talkin' groups of like 30-60 (I'll just say) foreign people. With stupid tour guides holding megaphones and their group sign. They'd sardine the alleys even on a very late Sunday night. Mind you, the alleys are fairly narrow too. And being so late, why would you even think about bring kids? So freakin' irritating! I actually sympathized for the women in the windows, as they too seem very irritated seeing the flood of tourists. They went from smiles to frowns in seconds.
Oh well, at least I can say that, I came and I saw! Amsterdam in general is a beautiful city! And with it being quite active, there's really no fear in cruising through here. Plenty of activities, and plenty to keep yourself visually and physically entertained. Or should I have said "stimulated" lol. The RLD is fun, but belive me there's more to discover outside of it. I'll be back! But more over to gather cheese wedges if anything! read more