PalenQ

Dog owners angry at public sex plan
Dog owners in Amsterdam are angry after the city legalised public sex in one of the city’s most famous parks.

Councillors agreed that heterosexual and gay couples could have sex in the Vondelpark which has ten million visitors a year.

But they promised to clampdown on dog owners who let their pets walk in the park without a lead.

One dog owner protested: “As long as the park has existed, we’ve been allowed to let our dogs run freely. It’s outrageous that we will be punished from now on but public sex won’t.”

A spokesman for the council which runs the southern part of Amsterdam said: “When the dogs are not kept on a leash they pee on whatever they see and they cause a lot of nuisance for other visitors.”

Alderman Paul Van Grieken defended the decision to allow public sex in the park from September.

“Why should we oppose a rule on something you can’t oppose a rule on. Moreover it isn’t a nuisance for the other visitors and gives a lot of pleasure to a certain group of people,” he said.

“There still are rules,” he added. “They must take their garbage with them afterwards and never have intercourse near the playground. The sex must be limited to the evening hours and night.”
– Source: Orange, Mar. 10, 2008

Well not sure if this has been revoked or not but at least it was legal not long ago.

Tulips

Pal, you said 'have legal public sex' in Vondelpark. I'm sure people do, but it's an odd recommendation to make in response to a poster who says he/she is mature and cautious, and interested in history.

PalenQ

tulips - I say above there is no real reason for any tourist to go to the park as Amsterdam for the novice tourists have so much else to do and I did not recommend it to OP - just to clear that up - the Vondel comments were all in setting the record straight about few tourists going there and for good reason.

menachem

>> Well not sure if this has been revoked or not but at least it was legal not long ago.

please google translate this

https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo-ontmoetingsplaats

and you'll find out what "legalized" actually meant. it's the same approach as exists with cannabis use: the practice itself is illegal, but policies for selectively maintaining the law seek to compartmentalize and so neutralize the behavior of people engaged in it.

PalenQ

which means they are de facto legal.

menachem

Uhm no, the opposite, but you'd have to be Dutch to understand the nuances of this. It means any times bystanders or families living next to the park object, the police intervene to move "the problem" elsewhere. As is happening with coffeeshops outside Amsterdam.

Also, what made the headlines was a concept policy notice by local council Oud Zuid, which argued that, enforcing the law in this case would be more costly than condoning the practice. But it was never enacted and so the "grey area" remained. As was inevitable, I suppose.

PalenQ

So legal or not technically it is in practice often tolerated - just like cannabis - to me that is legalized in everything but name.

Cheers - interesting aspect of it from a local is always cherished.

menachem

It's often difficult to get across that things that visitors from abroad praise as "liberal" are in reality frowned upon by the Dutch themselves. As goes for cannabis use and, indeed, public sex. You wouldn't say so, if you look at Amsterdam, but in many ways we're a deeply conservative and calvinist nation. That cannabis is condoned in Amsterdam is because of the revenues it brings.

BCHTexas

I want to thank everyone for their advice! I would have responded sooner, but out of town and no Wifi.
Colonna, I will be going to Basel first - I never would have thought about a Pharmacy Museum; glad you mentioned it and the Tinguely Museum. Dukes, I will be on the Tauck cruise ship and can meet them at the pre-hotel for transportation. Thanks for letting me know how far it is to the docks in Basel so I didn't make the mistake of taking a taxi.
Phil, I appreciate you telling me about the cost of a taxi from the Basel airport and advice re credit cards.
I will be docking in Amsterdam early Sunday and was wondering if the museums will be open? I was planning on the Anne Frank House, but glad PalenQ mentioned the Dutch Resistance Museum; and thank you MCheryl for the link to the WWII walking tour; all sound interesting. Will definitely get a Museum Card!
Enjoyed all the comments re Vondal Park. Sounds like most large parks in big cities - some areas are better than others.
Menachem mentioned Vondalstraat/Vondalkerk as being a really interesting area. I will also check into gotoursamsterdam.
Phil, you also asked what other things I like to do and you already answered one of them when you mentioned the outdoor concerts on the Middle Bridge. Do they have concerts every night? I enjoy outdoor activities like festivals, markets, and concerts. What about outlying areas that are easy to get to?
Also plan on a canal boat tour. Think PalenQ mentioned I could get one near my hotel. Do they have different types of boat tours or are they all the same?
One last question - can I buy tulip bulbs to ship home? And if so, can someone recommend a good place to buy them?
Any and all advice is so very much appreciated!

menachem

If you go to the resistance museum and you have time, pay a visit to the jewish historical museum. they also do tours of the portugese synagogue and on a sunday they're open for visits.

PalenQ

Enjoyed all the comments re Vondal Park. Sounds like most large parks in big cities - some areas are better than others.>

In WW2 the Canadian army bivouaced in Vondel Park - after the Germans left - I was walking in the park and a Canadian who was there told me about it -

Phil

BCHTexas:
Concerts will be held every evening except sundays from july 28 to august 15. You will find more information about events on this site:

https://www.basel.com/en

As for outlaying areas: You might enjoy Riehen with its Foundation Beyeler art gallery: www.fondationbeyeler.ch, easily reached by trolley #6 (included in the pass you will get at the hotel) or the Roman ruins at Kaiseraugst (http://www.augustaraurica.ch/en/), reached by regional train from Basel SBB rail station.

Enjoy your trip

Phil.

blebowski

You should be very careful in Amsterdam because there are lots of tourist trying weed for the first time and act ridiculously.

On February when I was in Amsterdam, I took a tram to go to the Dam Square. In the tram a guy looking really high said that he liked my scarf and then tried to take it off me. So watch your back

Binchan

Hi Phil,

I have a Thai friend who is traveling solo today in Basel. And she met a very helpful friend named Phil on the trip who helped her to explore Basel. But she forgot to ask the contact so that she can come to him later to ask for further advice.

So I want to ask is that you? I am just trying to help her.

THanks very much in advance.

Binh