I Went To A Peep Show In Amsterdam

When in Rome, as they say.

Photo by Miltiadis Fragkidis

I had no intention of partaking in any of the guilty pleasures of Amsterdam. But after a few drinks and some persuasion from my travel companions, I thought: Well why the hell not?
My pals and I gulped down our beer, and made our way down to the city's infamous Red Light District. We journeyed past the red-lit windows as women of the night tried to lure our male companions into their booths.

We approached a semi-open-air building and exchanged our paper money for coins. It's simply a euro to indulge in the mysteries of an Amsterdam peep show. You have a choice between “virtual” and “real life”. When you decide if you're looking for the screen or real thing, you then walk around a large circle of booths and select “what you want to see.” My friends and I selected a couple, as we felt it was the least risqué of the options.

You step into the booth, drop in your euro, and the lights go up. We then saw a middle-aged couple fornicating on a rotating circular red velvet bed. They changed positions every twenty seconds or so, and, honestly, the two of them looked so bored it was comical. Now, I know the real purpose a lot of these folks go to peep shows. But, for a group of friends in Amsterdam, it was quite comical to see the look of “is it time to go home yet?” these employees had.

After about two minutes the lights go down, and its time for you to step out of your booth, and let the next eager tourist enjoy their time in the exciting booth.

I was definitely nervous about attending, but in the end, it is one of the best stories I have from Amsterdam. Additionally, along this same street, you can visit the Museum of Prostitution. Whatever your stance on the matter is, the museum provided a plethora of information on the safety and regulations the Netherlands has implemented to protect both sex-workers and customers.