Hehehe. Happy to oblige.

However

It isn't, has never been. But the first Bulldog on Leidseplein is IN the former police station there.

You can see it in the opening credits of Vandervalk episodes. Remember those? 1972!


​​​​​​​How car dominated the city was then!

The 90s for me were when Amsterdam got "modern", the Bijlmer disaster (in our neighbourhood by then, because we moved to Zuid Oost) and the birth of my son, a movie I worked on, my first "real" job. And new public transport infrastructure being built in the suburbs. Also the time of a jewish cultural resurgence that I was part of, that died out relatively quickly in the noughties, but seemed hopeful then. Also the time when the Dutch government first made reparations to the jewish community for property stolen by the government or never declared as appropriated in the aftermath of the 2nd world war. Amsterdam became start up heaven, after the mid 90s for all kinds of internet related tech, "boutique" consultancies. (we even invented a precursor to Facebook, but it never flew, because everyone was still on dial up, and mobile internet was only WAP browsing).

The 80s was marked by the battle (literally) for affordable housing in the city center. Basically what is being dismantled now, before our eyes. And there was one huge demo against cruise missiles. 1 million people attended. And yes, I was one of the stone throwers on Blauwbrug as well.

The Battle for Blauwbrug

Such a shame these are not subtitled: this is an episode from Rik Zaal's experimental interview series "Zaal over de Vloer". Here, featuring Dutch Rock Icon and National Junkie Herman Brood

that was addressed to PQ, not you.

thanks for the links to the "historical" Amsterdam. Found some others in the suggestion list on the right in YT.
I liked Van Der Valk.

menachem there definitely was a police station kitty-corner from Melkweg and in sight of it - maybe before your time. Certain things one never forgets. I really value your insights.

I witnessed many a 'battle for Amsterdam' in the streets - one to empty a squat in the centrum and some at the Stopera - a squat where the City Hall and Dutch National Opera are now located.

Yes I do too, it's a time capsule. I think they derived much from Jan Willem vd Weterings police novels, also set in Amsterdam

Is that Rutger Hauer? Why yes, it is!

Yes, you're absolutely right.

And look what I found

wow -many of those images even pre-date my first visit.

Anyone interested in history of Amsterdam should visit the Amsterdam Museum (formerly Amsterdam Historical Museum) right in center - also has a neat cloister or whatever they call those things.

https://www.amsterdam.info/museums/a...orical_museum/

Just a footnote about those little poles they put along narrow roads along canals so I guess folks won't park there - look like little barber poles- one Dutch guy told me they call them "Amsterdammages" because of the many scrapes cars get from getting to close to them.And there are supposedly more of them in Amsterdam than Amsterdammers he said.

STREET CRIME WAS RIFE

Someone above mentioned the seedy people always hanging around the statue in Dam Square - they just seemed to sit on the steps around the statue and maybe even sleep there. I did walk near them occasionally but it really was a scraggly assortment with looks of drug addicts - addicts were rife then I understand and street crime was rife too - often a correlation.

I wondered why the city would allow such a neat area to be infested with these types - basically putting it off limited to all others. Pickpockets were rife in the area and the red-light district - the only time in 40+ years of world-wide travel that anyone ever tried to rob me - a down and out type just came up and thrust his hand in my front pocket - of course I always had all my valuables in a money belt under my pants. But many folks got pickpocketed - never heard of strong arm robberies though. Centraal Station was also a place one wanted to get out of quickly if a tourist as many of these down and out looking types accosted people there - either asking for a handout or pickpocketing, etc. And I was often accosted out front of the station too. All in all not a really good initiation to the city.

Of course that all got cleaned up in the 90s IME as did street crime. Amsterdam did have undercover cops as I saw one day on Haarlemmerdijkstraat when two guys dressed as flower sellers with a wheel barrow to move them in suddenly dropped everything and tackled someone they were looking for. I'm sure Amsterdam still has pickpockets but probably not anymore than any tourist city but in the 80s it was really bad. There was even a street- Zeedijk Straat by the train station that resembled one in Detroit to me - vacant buildings and tough looking black dudes hanging around. I rarely ventured down that street which now is all gussied up of course.

You probably means Amsterdammertjes.. I think you need to pronounce the diminutive ending "jes" (plural) a bit like English "yes" :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdammertje

Technically yes but the Dutch guy explaining it to me said a play on words - Amsterdamages with stress on damages - because he said so many cars speeding down those narrow canalside roads hit them, damaging their car.

But thanks for showing me the real word! Now I can get the full meaning of the play on words. I thought he was making up the word Amsterdamages.

Another night I was chased by a goon in the red light district while trying to photograph a large bright red neon sign advertising "Real fucking live sex"

feeremog's nice post far above brought back memories of hearing this chant for years coming out of a glitzy-looking on outside at least Live Sex Show - there was a barker out there who was billowing <REAL LIVE FUCKY FUCKY> an only in Amsterdam type thing for that time.

Wonder if that Live Sex Show is still there and the barker still barking out that phrase? It was just down from the original Bulldog. Never went in - never was into seeing other folks having sex on stage or prostitution but feel folks should be able to legally do that.

Hmm.. I wouldn't dare to challenge a local's explanation.. but the streets along the grachten are not really narrow.
From personal experience I'd say that you would hardly hit an Amsterdammertje when just driving in A'dam with a regular vehicle. The (one way) streets on each side of a gracht are not any narrower than a single lane elsewhere.
But it could happen when you try to park the car. (Not necessarily a bad thing when you consider dumping your car in the gracht if there were no pollers)
Or it could happen when you were driving some larger vehicle like a small truck.

r it could happen when you were driving some larger vehicle like a small truck.>

the link you provided interestingly says that trucks often it the pole and dislodging them such that they were useless for intention. And of 100,000 Amsterdammertjes it's down to 40,000 and soon to be 20,000.

One thing I recall seeing all over Amsterdam were drawings on posters promoting gay sex shops and shows of a guy sitting on one - with its kind of penis-like head seemingly going straight up his rear.

But yes cowboy, the guy could just have been spouting nonsense.

I think I remember those as well... ;-)
It was somewhat surprising (back then) to find out that there was no dedicated or seperated gay neighborhood in Amsterdam but that is was sort of mixed into the regular RLD, mostly along Warmoes straat.

That was terrible, except the oldtimers.:tu: