Enabled by Technology, Powered by Stupidity - Hack it, Break it, Fix it!
What if you would not be featured in Google Street View and be annoyed about the camera car passing you? Right, give them the finger…
Always better than being spotted on Google street view while walking in the Red light district while delivering a package or staring at somebody's ass.
After Amsterdam, Groningen and The Hague were launched on Google Street View, yesterday Mister G launched a great number of other cities in The Netherlands. This meant a lot of folks were searching for the funny shots they could find. One great tourist attraction of The Netherlands is the Red Light District of Amsterdam. And although this is the best known outside of Amsterdam, there are many more red zones throughout The Netherlands.
Prostitution in The Netherlands is legal. I’m not always particular proud of the fact that almost all people outside of The Netherlands start asking me about the way prostitution is legalized. First thing in a conversation when you say you are from Holland, is probably marihuana, porn or prostitution. Nevertheless, here are some screenshots from the red light districts around The Netherlands found on Google Street View.
In Eindhoven, you could find a DHL delivery man taking a break at the red zone. I highlighted the address in the different screenshots.
Between the trees, you can clearly see the red and yellow uniform. Red and Yellow are the DHL colors.
He is walking towards the entree/exit of the red light zone in Eindhoven…
Where his large DHL red/yellow truck is parked at the entrance. Do you think he was delivering something…?
In Deventer, a whole street has been photographed in the red light district.
It must have been on a warm day, as a number of the ladies have their door wide open. Maybe they do this to make it more inviting to enter, as it seems to be pretty slow this day.
Or did the men know that Google Street View car was passing by today? I bet these guys didn’t…!
The ladies are bored. They are either calling on their cell phones, or taking a nap in the chair behind the window.
In the window you can even see a reflection of the grey Google car making all the photo’s.
Only one picture of the Red Light zone in The Hague, but somebody would probably whished he stayed at work that particular day. The picture is probably clear enough for anybody who knows the man calling on the left side to recognize.
On a blow up version, you can see more, although I decided to make his face unrecognizable.
Google Street view went live in The Netherlands this week. Across The Netherlands bloggers are in search of juicy pictures. While The Netherlands is well known for the paintings of Van Gogh, windmills, cheese and flowers, the country also is well know for the Red Light District.
Update: Now that Google Street View went live in other cities in The Netherlands, the hunt for more screen shots of the Red Light District is on.
Google did a good job in keeping these streets of the map for the drivers. See below the map of the area around the red light district in Amsterdam, with the street view in blue, and the Red Light district streets in... well Red!
The Red streets are not available for Street View...at least that's what Google thinks! Still you can find some interesting shots of the Red Light District in Amsterdam on the Google Street View. Although these street views are available, Google is rushing to blur as many as possible, so some of these won't be available anymore by the time you read this.
Furthermore, you would have to know where the Red Light District has its borders to the non-Red Light District streets. You can only know as a native of Amsterdam! As I have lived for 12 years in Amsterdam, and worked in a cafe next to one of the canals that make up the Red Light District, I pretty much know where it starts and ends!
I animated some of these to showcase what is happening. In most of the screenshots the address is readable, so you can go look for it yourself. As Street View is not real time, you won't see what is actually happening right now! I can tell you that the pictures are made during the summer, as the weather is beautiful, people walking around in T-shirts, and there are Orange flags hanging everywhere. The Orange flags indicate that the Google car was passing these scenes during the Euro-cup last year.
And looking in if there is something he likes...
Is there something for sale here..?
Always wanted to visit a SexShop in Amsterdam. Just make sure you are not walking in when the Google Street View is passing by. I'm sure those movies in the DVD cabin are also available on the paid movie channel in your hotel!
Wow, did she just grabbed her ass...?
This guy is checking out the ladies behind the window, but guess what, he is been spied on from above...
And then he walks off...
And for schoolboys there is nothing more exciting than to sneak out the classroom and start to walk over the streets in the Red Light District with your friends...
Hey, shouldn't those street sweepers be working? Instead these guys are enjoying the view on a quite Tuesday morning. No cars parked on the street means there is a lot of street to sweep. I bet they spend a couple of hours to make this the cleanest looking street in Amsterdam...
All those windows these guys are staring at, are "The Windows"...!!!
And then last but not least, you can almost imagine these guys thinking...
Hey, Isn't that the Google Street View car? Am I being photographed?
Update: In Groningen the searchers for ladies behind the windows have been more successful than in Amsterdam.
Windows Red Light District Groningen
