Jewish Cultural Quarter and the Red Light District

Not in the same place or at the same time.

I really enjoyed going to the Portuguese Synagogue and the Jewish Historical Museum the last time I was here so we went there today. The complex has added a Holocaust Museum which they call a work-in-progress. Very small at this point; it was opened in 2016.
The Portuguese Synagogue was completed in 1675 and is the oldest synagogue in Europe and was the largest at the time it was built.

Portugeuse Synagogue

The Jewish Historical Museum is located within 4 Ashkenazi historic synagogues.  The Holocaust memorial is across the street from the museum. You are encouraged to visit all 4 sites because they're covered by the same ticket.

Close to the cultural center is a small botanical garden. We got the old person's rate of half price. It has a cafe where we ate lunch, outside gardens, and a greenhouse which includes a lovely butterfly garden.

Heron on the canal by the Greenhouse 

Butterfly in the Buterfly Garden

We bought a 24 hour transportation pass so we rode trams to and from the sites.

After a rest, we went to Dam Square, the main square, which is not exciting except for the Royal Palace but no one seemed to be home. There was a fire juggler who drew a crowd. We had hamburgers at the only restaurant directly on the square so we could people watch. When it started to rain, everyone went into the restaurant to finish eating. It was a brief rain and we were able to continue the other planned event which was a tour of the Red Light District.

Dam Square

The city had been crowded since this afternoon.  Full trams on a Sunday. Crowds of people sitting by canals, boating, wandering around. The RLD was no exception.  Packed everywhere.  Besides the red lights on the side streets, there are lots of marijuana shops, pizza places, and Dunkin Donuts. Somehow,  all these things seem to be related. We saw a lot of tour groups but we didn't join. We had also decided not to listen to the Rick Steves 90 minute walking tour of the RLD app. The streets were packed and trying to avoid bikes, motorcycles,  and taxis was difficult.  When you get off a tram, you have about one foot of platform before you step into a bike lane, then more tracks, then the street. The bike lanes have their own stop lights that are not the same as those for cars so you often get stuck crossing the street but then waiting for bike lane traffic. On our last tram rides, we must have looked either old or tired or both because young people gave us their seats. 

There are no pictures of people posing in windows because taking pictures is considered impolite.

Mickey left quietly this morning and reported she made it to the airport and through security in a little over a half hour. She is going back to work Tuesday which means lots more flying but probably not near as much fun.