28 May 2008
The breathtaking Oude Kerk, Old Church, located in the heart of the Red Light District. With lovely green pissoir in the forefront.
Imagine buying marijuana along with your espresso beside Toronto's Royal York Hotel. Or window-shopping, literally, for a prostitute behind the Westin Harbour Castle. And doing both openly and legally.
You can in Holland, within a few steps of two of Amsterdam's top hotels. Big cities on this side of the Atlantic downplay their seedier sides; Amsterdam marks its Red Light District on tourist maps. It accepts that hookers, soft drugs and porn appeal to some folks. Rather than criminalize those activities, it legitimized them.
There's another reason to visit the Red Light District. It's in one of the oldest parts of the city, with winding cobblestoned streets and canals lined with tipsy-looking buildings whose staircases are so narrow an outside hook and pulley are needed to move furniture in and out. Even during the day, pot-smokers and peeping Toms are outnumbered by parties of camera-snapping foreign tourists.
More at
canoe.com
26 February 2008
From
Only in Holland, Only the Dutch.
Visitors arriving to the Netherlands are immediately awestruck with the enormity of the inhabitants roaming these lands. The Dutch, on average, are the tallest people encompassing this earth. In numerous studies and reports around the world, the Dutch unanimously come out on top in attaining the towering distinction of being the tallest people on the face of the earth. Actual statistics vary slightly in these reports, but the average height of Dutch men soars to just over 6 feet (184 centimeters) and the average height for Dutch women ascends to slightly over 5 feet 7 inches (170.8 centimeters).
The latest statistics can be found
here.
29 January 2008
"For the first time in history the inhabitants of Manhattan will be able to see the piece of paper which led to the establishment of New York, the Volkskrant reported on Saturday.
It takes the form of a letter dated 5 November 1626 which states that the Dutch settlers bought the island from the Canarsie Indians for 60 guilders."
Read more:
Dutchnews.nl
(click to enlarge)
From
Only In Holland, Only The Dutch: "Perhaps only the Dutch, with their notorious frugality and neverending quests for tremendous bargains, could have purchased the island of Manna-hatta for a mere pittance. The commonly told story is that the Dutch purchased modern day Manhattan from the Indians for the now legendary price of 60 guilders, or a paltry $24. This legendary $24 came in the form of beads and other items that served little use to the Dutch, but were cherished by the Indians of the region. Once the purchase was finalized, the island was promptly named Nieuw Amsterdam and served as the hub for Dutch business transactions and logistical endeavors throughout the entire Hudson River valley. Incidentally, modern day Wall Street, the financial hub of the world, is the site where the original Dutch inhabitants built a wall for protection against Indian attacks. The Dutch have always been heralded as shrewd European businessmen due to their cunning negotiation for the purchase of Manhattan from the trusting Indians. A present day monument even exists in lower Manhattan depicting a Dutchman purchasing the island from an Indian for a mere $24 worth of beads.
As with much folklore, the story of the Dutch cleverly purchasing the island of Manhattan for a song and dance is more myth than reality. The Dutch actually purchased Manhattan for upwards to thousands of dollars worth of goods such as kettles, steel tools, knives, guns and blankets. They purchased the island, however, from the Indian tribe the Canarsies, who didnt even live on the island of Manhattan, but lived in modern day Brooklyn. [...] The story of the Dutch purchasing Manhattan for $24 in a friendly transaction with amicable Indians is a much more pleasant story than what really transpired, which undoubtedly led to the story's propagation throughout the years."
29 January 2008
"Amsterdam's famous - or infamous - Red Light District looks likely to become slightly less 'blue' in the near future if the Dutch capital's municipal authorities get their way. The city council wants to put an end to criminality and trafficking in women in this notorious, yet highly popular part of town."
Read the rest of the article on the website of Radio Netherlands.
In the same news and in relation to the book: Famous RLD fixture Casa Rosso is the latest red light establishment to be threatened with closure. Immortalized within the pages of the book you will find the famous penis fountain with rotating balls that once marked the Casa Rosso:
(click to enlarge)
From
Only In Holland, Only The Dutch: "The Dutch don't have any statues of great statesmen or war heroes, for that would honor individual greatness, which rewards people who stick their heads above the crowd, but they proudly exhibit the infamous penis with rotating testicles statue. There are more pictures taken of that infamous statue than the most cultural sites throughout Europe!"
Unfortunately, the statue has since been taken down...
22 January 2008
"In addition to the numerous Febos in Holland, raw herring stands are strewn across the country and are just as popular as the deep-fried food stands. These raw herring stands are not bait shops for fishermen, but food stands that the Dutch swarm to in order to eat raw bait fish -- a delicacy that the Dutch, and perhaps only the Dutch, find truly delectable… To eat the raw herring, the Dutch hold the fish by the tails, tip their heads back and slowly lower the entire fish into their mouths. The mere sight of watching the Dutch devour these raw fish leaves many visitors queasy in their stomachs. The distinct aroma of dead fish doesn’t help with that queasy feeling either."
(click to enlarge)
(From
Only In Holland, Only The Dutch.)
