Red Lights in Amsterdam
By Lothar. Filed in Netherlands |
It is raining most of the time during our stay in Cologne. Monday, February 22nd is no exception. Today we take a chartered bus to Amsterdam, Holland. We leave with our 30 Shen students from Koeln-Porz Gymnasium at 8 AM, and at 9 AM, we are still stuck in the Cologne morning rush hour traffic. Stefan, our bus driver, lives in near-by Leverkusen, and knows every short-cut and back-alley. He leaves the Autobahn, where the “Stau” has caused the traffic to come to a grinding hault. For the next 30 minutes, he drives our big bus through narrow city streets and residential areas of Cologne. Gabi and I are sitting in the first row, and have a chance to admire his heart-stopping driving skills. A few times, we hold our breath, when he drives full speed dangerously close to parked cars. Any minute now, I expect him to wipe out a few cars with his big bus, but his aim is perfect. Eventually, we come to the Autobahn in Leverkusen, and can cruise to Amsterdam without further delay.
In pouring rain, we meet our Amsterdam tour guide in front of the Hotel Victoria. He is a young man from New Zealand, and his first priority is to give our students a tour of Amsterdam’s Red Light District. He explains the rules of “conduct”, and how the prostitutes rent street-front rooms, where the girls sit in a big window, looking for customers. Prostitution is a legal profession here, and the girls can refuse any man they don’t like. They are self-employed and have to pay income tax! Our guide also warns the students not to take any pictures. The ladies don’t appreciate this, and may punish the offender with a shower of urine. This is all extremely educational for our teenagers. We see a few ladies “dressed” in intimate apparel, but fortunately, our crazy New Zealander does not come through on his promise to show us some naked breasts. Although, we do see a sculpture in front of the church next to the “Ladies” windows, depicting a hand caressing a naked pair of breasts.
A visit to the Anne Frank House is next on our agenda. I find the museum disappointing, with only a few pictures on the walls.
The only good message, we take away from here, is an appeal against racism and persecution.
The weather is cold and rainy, and we skip a boat ride on the “Grachten”. Sight-seeing is no fun in the rain, and instead of a museum, the kids go shopping. On the way back to Cologne, we again hit rush hour traffic, trying to get out of Amsterdam. The drive home takes 4 hours. We are only back at the school in Porz at 10 PM. In retrospect, this was a long day spent on a bus. In return, we received very little in terms of fun or education. The only thing, the kids learned, is how many Euros it costs in order to have 15 minutes with a prostitute.