These students were far tamer than the insufferable men who last year were warned their days of misbehaving “dressed like a penis” were over. Was this the kind of interaction that Amsterdam officials had in mind when, in May 2018, they launched the “Enjoy and Respect” campaign, aimed at stamping out the rowdy behavior of (mostly) young Dutch and English men in De Wallen? Was this the sort of low-brow carousing that, according to officials, had overwhelmed the city for years, leading Ombudsman Arre Zuurmond to describe it as “a jungle at night”? Probably not. They gave another hearty cheer, grabbed their bikes, and disappeared down the street. A tall young man, their big banana, explained they were on a university “treasure hunt” that involved dares and challenges across the inner city. After raucously belting out a drinking song, they forced me to drink warm (Dutch) gin on camera, cheering wildly as the rancid liquor went down my throat. The other night, as I made my way to Amsterdam’s red-light district, De Wallen, I was accosted by a group of students dressed as bananas, with large fruit-shaped hats wrapped around their heads. Who have promised their love to a thousand other men He drinks to the health of the whores of Amsterdam In the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who drinksĪnd he drinks, and he drinks, and he drinks once again