Ciao, Bella! Blog: Day 5 - Monday

On Monday, I slept in so late that I almost missed the hotel breakfast. (Brendan was sweet and brought me back a few things from the lounge.)

Amsterdam is a city with many sides -- you have the trendy restaurants and world-class museums, at least two major universities, beautiful canals and bridges -- and on the other, you have this seedy underbelly that has made the city infamous -- and at the top of that list is the Red Light District.

Who better to guide us through the seedy underbelly than the guy who's seen everything? Yup, this was another job for...

...Rick Steves!

(Yes, he even has a podcast walking tour through the Red Light District.)

We returned to Dam Square to begin the tour, plugged into our phones and began walking toward the oldest section of the city. We decided to visit this neighborhood in early afternoon, since we weren't looking to *actually* experience the district when all the bells and whistles (i.e., prostitutes and drugs) come out at night.

I'll spare you most of the details, but a quick overview is that the area is fascinating and sad all at the same time. We saw a few women in windows in varying shapes, sizes, and ages. We learned that the district actually prides itself on being safe -- there are security guards and cameras everywhere -- and we never felt threatened (although we did take care to watch our wallets a bit more closely). Most of the "work" is done at night in the narrow alleys between the canals -- these alleys are so narrow, you could almost spread your arms and put a hand on each side. Many of the windows are empty during the day, but you can only assume most are full at night.

With such a sleazy experience, you'd be surprised to learn that we ended up visiting in this neighborhood one of the most interesting... churches.

Our Lord in the Attic is a "secret" 17th century Catholic Church, where Catholics were forced to worship outside the public eye. And it's nestled, where else, but where one can expect the demand for reconciliation was high -- the Red Light District.

We entered the museum and were greeted by a very modern foyer and information lobby where we watched a short video that provided more context. Then, we began walking through the canal home/church on the self-guided/audio tour.

We couldn't believe everything we were seeing fit in the nondescript canal home we had entered. Many of the finishing were authentic -- so much so, that guests were required to wear cloth shoe coverings to protect the floors. Even the tiles were authentic 1600s, complete with hand-drawn designs original to the house at that time period.

After lunch in the museum's cafe (which came with a great view), and Brendan's introduction to the concept of a "flat white" latte (popular in Europe, recently introduced at a Starbucks near you), we left the church and began wandering the city for the rest of the afternoon.