We were able to borrow a car from some relatives and make our way (GPS assisted) to a local train station and on to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a beautiful city but we didn't have such a great experience. We went on the standard boat tour of the canals. The buildings in Amsterdam look all the same at first glance but as the boat tour progressed, they started point out some of the architectural features and suddenly they all looked different.
We did make a wrong turn while leaving our boat tour and these left us in a decidedly un PG-13 alley with a number of 'coffee' shops. We quickly left the alley and wandered through the streets. We stopped into a souvenir shop only to find it was also R and likely X rated as well. Only later did we find out that we were in the worst part of Amsterdam. Leaving the boat tour, we should have turned right when we turned left. While this may be true, the regular people walking the streets didn't give us the impression that this was a seedy area of town. Also there were very respectable stores in the area.
To us the souvenir shops reflected what tourists thought of Amsterdam. On the same rack you had souvenirs of the red light district, the 'coffee' shops, wind mills and canals. These items were generally weighted towards the first two attractions. Also the average Dutch person didn't seem phased by it at all. It was just the way it was. To me it seemed sad that a city with beautiful canals, fascinating architecture and fantastic museums is known more for the Red Light district and coffee shops. I guess the Dutch believe these are two parts of the same whole.
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