Amsterdam XXX (long overdue)

Amsterdam is a crazy city. I suppose now I should probably elaborate a bit. It may be the most interesting city I have ever been to. There is literally no place like it on earth.
I'll start out by clarifying a few things about the city. First of all, it's not 'all' about drugs and sex. Just a very high percentage. Ha, no but really it's more about just a really liberal lifestyle. Also, the city of Amsterdam has an enormous amount of history and culture. For example, the obvious things like the Anne Frank house and Van Gogh mueseum are historical resources and artifacts that have affected the world. Anne Frank was a very humbling, powerful experience. So many emotions go through your mind when looking and thinking about what occurred here all these years ago. Van Gogh museum was pretty awesome. I am a fan of Van Gogh's work and I think about it now, they must have though he was a pretty trippy son of a bitch back in the day. I can't even imagine people's reactions to some of his abstract paintings back in the day. Anyway, Amsterdam is a very historic city that has an extremely liberal outlook on life and modern culture influences.
Let's talk about weed. I had always heard that people just walk into "coffee shops" and order weed/hash. I wondered, is "coffee shop" some kind of inside term they use for places that actually sell it. Nope. People literally walk into coffee shops, get a cappuccino and roll a j. Or maybe just buy a pre-rolled guy or a even a gram for their piece. The point is, these coffee shops are littered through out the city and it is just a part of these people's every day lives. Agree with it or not, it is fact. Be it as it may, for the record, during my time abroad I have decided to embrace the cultures of these different countries, to a healthy(ish) extent. With that said, there is some pretty dank bud in that city for what seems (at least to an amateur as myself) a very reasonable price. Sky high. One complaint about the coffee shops, they need to get some better tuneage. With the exception of one or two, most of the music wasn't much to ride home about. Also should be noted for those of you who it may interest, though I didn't have one while I was there, the "space brownies" seem to take a little while to kick in. Ha, a few of my acquaintances found that out. As far as my experiences lie within this category, at least for now, we'll leave it as a leave your question for the author subject. Or perhaps a we'll elaborate later on.
The Red Light District. I had heard thing about it, but had no real understanding of it. Obviously I knew some things about it but I really didn't. I will do my best to describe it for you, but in all honesty it is best to just experience it yourself at some point in time. The Red Light District is oldest area in Amsterdam. The city itself lies on a canal system that leads into the sea. Obviously back in the day, sailors used these canals to come into the city and get what ever "things" they needed. Sailors were not the most reputable of people in these times. I have no idea how it came to be, but at some point prostitution was introduced in Amsterdam and it never left. It is completely legal and in case you didn't know/get the impression from the above paragraph, weed is as well. Back to the Red Light District. It literally lies in the center of the city and is pretty decent sized. In the day time, it is easy to walk into it without even realizing it. Night is a different story. You definitely know where the RLD is at night and when you are walking into it. At night, this place is pretty freaky. Especially if you have been in a coffee shop at all before you walk through it. Best to do it in a group. Don't get me wrong, I felt safe walking through it, it just feels a little bit sketch doing so and here's why...There are tons of great bars, shops, coffee shops, strip clubs, and what not and these are relatively normal. What's not normal are the prostitutes standing in the windows with a red light ambience creeping around the window pane with nothing but skimpy lingerie on. You just don't see that everywhere. The part that is kind of sketchy is that sure you have your normal tourists like us walking through just to check it out and what not, but you forget about the people who actually live there and 'take part' in some of these promiscuous activities. For example, we were walking by a window when a Mercedes comes screaming past us, puts on the brakes 15 feet in front of us, a man gets out walks in one of the red lit window-doors and closes the curtain. Yep. I will leave the rest up to your imagination. The RLD is not the same during the day, though I was very surprised to see those nice ladies standing in the windows even during the day. It was also interesting to note and think about the fact that most of the buildings in which the ladies are standing in the windows are very nice, old buildings that are really apartment complexes. So while you may have a hooker standing in a window for business on the street level, you also have whole families living their normal lives 4 floors above. This is the part of this city that just astounds me. Like I said, it's a completely different way of living and outlook on life. Agree with it or not, it was a fascinating experience and I am definitely glad I did in fact experience. It should also be noted that Amsterdam is a total "bro-trip". I don't feel as though I need to elaborate. I can also tell that while I was in Amsterdam I did not partake in any illegal activities. I promise.