I Did It.....Not Proud

I DID IT! I ate Dutch Halibut!!!!! You see, a very popular food in Amsterdam is halibut from a local food vendor. The traditional way to eat halibut in the Netherlands is to grab the fish by tail, tilt your head back, and eat it in one big bite! Honestly, I couldn't do that, but I did eat it kind of like a hot dog. They had all sorts of toppings and sauces to put on it which I loaded up on to help with the taste. It wasn't the greatest, but I felt like a local for a moment! I'm just glad I bought that orange earlier. It helped with my breath.

Danish Halibut

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was on my way to the Red Light District. Again, the Red Light District is kind of like Bourbon Street in New Orleans with the exception of more up-scale shops. Yes, I did walk in some of the sex shops just to have a look. Almost bought Jimmy a Willie Warmer and my sister Heather a bright green banana hammock, but I figured that getting these items through customs would offer me more than a few strange looks. Plus, I'm not a big fan of novelty-type gifts AND whatever I buy I need to lug around with me everywhere. Anyway, I turned down a couple of streets and there they were, the famous windows of the Red Light District. As you walk by the skimpily dressed girls look at you and give you a wink, a smile, or blow a kiss to you. Many people were walking down the street with their groups of buddies just checking out the views. I was expecting guys in long coats with an old hat just looking around shamefully before entering the area. Not so. At one point a guy walked out of one of the small rooms and the girl had walked him to the door. No more than seconds later (the guy is still in ear shot) the lady looks at me and says, "Hey, what's you name?" I just nod and keep walking. In some of the windows the curtains were drawn so either they had the night off or "business was up".......no pun intended.

The Red Light District was an interesting experience and I'm glad I sought it out. It was larger than I expected. The area with the windows that I saw also brought one very interesting realization. The girls in the windows are extremely attractive. I mean model quality attractive! My dad would love walking down this street and getting all the winks!

Side Note:
I can also imagine Jimmy's dad walking down the Red Light District. He'd walk down and the first girl to wink at him he would stop and talk to. Not about a price either! He'd be blushing while he asked the women about her job and as he proudly told her that he's in law enforcement. I'd also envision him ignoring his wife Carla as she tugs him on on the arm saying, "Jim! Let's go!!!!"

Anyway, back to the story. Like I said, these girls are VERY attractive. I was expecting people who were more old, ugly, sleazy, and disturbing. The one thing that I thought was funny was each had their routine. As if, they had no idea that a person was about to walk by the window. They all had their unusual sense of fashion as well. Quite interesting!

On the walk back to the hotel I found another section of windows. I must had walked by this street several times over the past couple of days and never seemed to notice. I didn't realize that these windows were in various groupings around the district. This smaller ally was home to what I had originally expected: The old, ugly, sleazy, and disturbing. This satellite area must have been were they sent the Red Light Rejects. Not to be rude, but it hurt my eyes! So, here is the funny part!!!! As I left this area I still had no idea where my hotel was. As I turned the corner I noticed some familiar buildings. I turned the corner again and that's when I realized that my hotel was directly against that portion of the Red Light Rejects. In other words, the backside of my hotel is the front of those windows! How fun!

Red Light Rejects

Well, I decided that it was time for one more stop. I need to go into a "Coffeeshop". Now, in Amsterdam there are "Cafes" AND "Coffeeshops". Cafes are where you get coffee AND Coffeeshops are where you get more than coffee. Well, don't get all excited I just ordered an Espresso! I just wanted to get a feel for the place and look around. Didn't smell as bad as I thought and I'm glad I wasn't in one full of people. The store keepers did give me quite a look when I just ordered a drink, but who cares! I did like the music and the style to the place.....very Santa Cruz-ish.

I headed back to my room. So, one thing I need to mention. I had to move to another room because I decided to stay an extra night. The hotel I guess was kind of full. Now, I get a new set of roomies. I walk into my room and I'm alone. A few moments later this kid (who is stoned out of this mind) tried his best to have a conversation with me. For a brief moment I thought it would be funny to just start messing with him and giving him elaborate fake stories when he asked me questions, but I kept it brief. When he started rolling that is when I decided to go into the lobby and get some writing done before dinner.

So here I am. Got the chance to speak with my sister Megan on Skype and she doesn't have a mic so I think the people around here think I'm crazy since I was talking to myself as my sister typed her questions to me. It was nice though!

Tomorrow I wake up early and I hope to spend the afternoon in Cologne and then it's off to Bacharach.

Should be exciting!!!!!