Amsterdam, Netherlands

The mystery with the house just gets bigger. At very high speed the remaining scaffolding on the canal side of the building was dismantled today, as if the metal was urgently needed for the war effort or something like that, and the entire scaffolding was put up again on the street side of the building. That would of course be no problem if the canal side now looked glorious… but alas, as described in yesterday’s post, it’s really only the top two floors that look splendid. The ground floor has not been done at all, the first and second floors only very patchy. When I asked my upstairs neighbours if they knew what was going on, I got very evasive answers back via email. That doesn’t increase my trust in them, unfortunately, because up until recently I had assumed we were all in this together. I’m fairly sure that was not actually the case. A nasty situation to be in. The picture shows the scaffolding on the street side of the house in the evening, as seen from my living room.

Not so nasty, and actually very pleasant, was a rendez-vous I had with Sarah this afternoon. She’s still happily unemployed, slowly starting to look at her options for future employment, and it was great to see her again, to catch up with events in both our lives. We went to FOAM first to have a look at their current, big exposition on pictures from the New York Times Magazine, and afterwards went to Café Krom on Utrechtsestraat (after a quick detour via the new, big Starbucks on Rembrandtplein) where a couple of wines and happy chatting were the ingredients for a very pleasant afternoon with her!

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The weekend has arrived! That’s the good news, nay, the great news! Even though I now work officially full time again, I am very happy with the fact that there are still some four day work weeks to enjoy. This week I took the Monday off, next week I will be off on Friday (for Good Friday), and the week after the Monday will be a public holiday (Easter Monday.) That means that, at least for the time being, there are still a couple of three day weekends to enjoy.

The news about the house is not so good though. The building, now that it’s nearly stripped of its scaffolding on one side just looks awful. The top two floors are neatly done in new pointing and with bricks replaced where they were broken, while the two floors below (one of which is mine) contrast tremendously. They still look shabby, and look as if they have not been looked after at all. The most disturbing aspect of this all is that I really don’t know who I can trust anymore. Something went wrong with the pointing – so much is plain to see for the whole of Amsterdam – but when it comes to the question who is to blame, the options are not nice. To be fair, I don’t trust anyone involved anymore, and that includes some of my neighbours. That’s not a nice feeling.

The get my mind off things, I decided to go to Kriterion tonight to watch Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy. It’s been running for a while now, and I heard good things about it, so I decided to see it for myself. I walked to Kriterion past the Hollandsche Schouwburg (former theatre and assembly point for Jewish people in World War II – now a memorial) on Plantage Middenlaan. The picture is of its façade, the only part of the building that still looks splendid – as if a show can start any moment. The film was good, and kept me fascinated, but it was maybe a bit too serious for the mood I was in already. In any case I was glad out of the house tonight.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sleep came remarkably easy last night, given the horrible discovery earlier in the evening that it seemed as if the renovation work on my building was going to skip the lower floors. It was a shocking and very unsettling discovery, puzzling as well, but still, I fell asleep quite easily after Günter had left.

But it seemed that in the back of my mind the nagging feeling kept on doing just that: nagging, and nagging, and nagging. So it wasn’t really much of a surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night and started worrying about what kind of a nasty surprise had caught up with me now. Had I misunderstood the situation with the renovation work? Was it always the intention that only part of the wall would get done? But why in heaven’s name would it get done in such a different colour from the existing parts? Not being able to get any sleep anymore, I looked up the original description of the work to be done and it clearly said “all pointing will be renewed” so that put my mind at ease quite a bit. Something went wrong, seriously wrong, but at least I had it written black on white that I had paid for the entire wall to get done. That calmed me down a bit. So, just before I dozed off again at around 5 in the morning, I took the above picture of a completely quiet street in front of the house (something that is as rare as a white rhino) and then returned to bed… to return to the land of dreams – only to wake up with a shock when it was time to return to the office.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Günter came over for some pizza and drinks tonight, so on the way home I stopped at a supermarket close to where I used to live, and one where I used to go quite often. For old time’s sake, I walked through the shop and bought stuff for tonight, as well as the contents of a small vegetable shop. I was running out of ingredients for my daily salad so it was time to restock. After having found enough no-carb stuff to keep me going for a while, I got on my bike and cycled home, parking my bike on Oudezijds Voorburgwal and walking the short distance to my apartment on Oudezijds Achterburgwal.

When I saw the building as I turned around the corner, I was very excited. Yes! More of the building was now revealed because more of the scaffolding had disappeared. And the top half of the building, with its new pointing and its white paint, looked wonderful in the afternoon sunshine. I took the above picture and looked at the building, quite satisfied with the progress.

Then I looked a bit closer.

Then… puzzled. Confused. And the more I analysed the situation, the more confused and the more angry I got. The scaffolding was appearing way too fast. On my floor there was a large part of the wall, visible to the left of the picture, that simply could not get reached anymore. Surely that wouldn’t mean that they were just going to leave the wall like that? I mean, that would just look ridiculous, right? The good thing was that for the first time there was light coming through my windows again – the bad thing was that those windows were set in a wall that looked absolutely ridiculous. I walked into my apartment and was still thoroughly confused and upset when Günter arrived. “Aren’t they going to finish this?” is what he asked almost immediately as he walked in. I had no answer, could only send an email to my upstairs neighbours asking them if they knew what was going on… and try to put the whole situation out of my mind because it began to seriously affect my mood. It worked, because we did have a nice and relaxed evening… but in the back of my mind it kept nagging me all night… what the hell was going on with the building?

Amsterdam, Netherlands

And so, it was back to the office… but not after having had a swim in Zuiderbad in the morning. To be honest, I hardly recognise myself these days. Where previously I would have thought that getting up early in the morning (at 6:15) – definitely after a weekend where the clocks were moved forward by an hour for Daylight Savings – would have required a tremendous amount of discipline, it actually turns out to be an amazingly simple thing to do. And, even more so, very enjoyable indeed. The quiet city in the early morning is a blessing compared to the helter-skelter an hour later. And where previously I would have considered a diet without bread, potatoes, rice and pasta entirely foolish and inconceivable, it turned out to be a remarkably easy switch as well. I don’t eat any processed foods anymore. Fresh veggies, fresh and unprocessed meat and fish, fresh fruit. Nothing much else – and I love it! I’ve become a surprise to myself, but a nice one.

The picture shows the window cleaners that are currently the windows of the 27 floors of our office building. Now, a while ago, I would have said it was inconceivable that I would ever get up in there, only to be suspended by 4 cables from a certain death. Then again, that’s what I also would have said about my early morning swims and my low carb diet. Maybe I would surprise myself in that respect as well… Naaaaah!

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I guess this picture tells you best how this day went for me… It was a lazy day. I did not go into the office because, out of homesickness for my part time days, I had taken this day off. That turned out to be extremely lucky timing because the weather was just astonishingly beautiful. The guy in the picture, in his sleeveless shirts, stood on Dam Square, in front of the National Monument, while all around him people where sitting and lying in the sun, in surprisingly pleasant temperatures.

It was really my intention in the afternoon to go to Huis Marseille (the other Amsterdam photo gallery) to see what was going on there, but as I walked through the tiny streets in the main canal ring I simply couldn’t bring myself to go inside a building. I wanted to be outside, needed to be outside, to soak up the sun as much as possible and to enjoy the buzz of the city in the spring. So, instead, I walked in and out of many little shops of the ‘Negen Straatjes’ (nine little streets) area, where you can find some wonderful antiques and design shops. I didn’t buy anything but was tempted a couple of times. But, even while coming home empty handed, I was very happy that I had taken a day off on this glorious day.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Today is the 20th anniversary of my coming out. I didn’t celebrate it (even though it really is as important as a birthday to me, possibly more actually) but I did think of that Wednesday 25 March 1992 quite a lot today. This whole year will see a lot of things remembered that happened exactly 20 years ago, because without a doubt 1992 was one of the most important years of my life… so far, anyway. It was the year that I graduated, that my mom recovered from a difficult period in her life, that I moved to Amsterdam after my one (and so far only) time of being unemployed, the year that I started my working life… and yes, the year of my coming out. I won’t go into detail what all was discussed on that Wednesday night two decades ago, there at my parents’ kitchen table in Sittard, but suffice it to say that it was a discussion that was as difficult as it was necessary. It had to get done, and I’m glad that, in hindsight, all went well.

The picture shows my neighbour on the other side of the street. Now, from seeing this picture, and especially from the way it was taken, you may think that I’m spying on him (and who would blame me, because the guy is cute) but rest assured, that is definitely not the case. The guy has a seemingly unhealthy obsession with the plants in his window. He can easily spend up to two hours per day just minding the handful of plants, watering them, rearranging them, and whatever he does with them. For a long time I didn’t have a clue what type of plants they were, and it was only with the help of Günter and Steve that we determined that these were actually strawberry plants. What surprised me most when I moved to my new apartment is how close by the neighbours on the other side of the street are. This guy doesn’t seem to be too disturbed with that though. In the entire year that I’ve lived here, and after those many hours that he has spent on his plants, did he look at my place only once (at least that I notice) and that was more or less accidental because he looked away straight away. Peculiar guy.

In the afternoon I met up with Christophe, who is spending the weekend in Amsterdam. He now works in France full time, and he comes to Amsterdam to relax a bit from his new, hectic Paris life. It was great to see him again (the last time was in November) and really a shame that his husband Jacques couldn’t join us because of a flu. The weather was absolutely perfect and despite a couple of attempts, Christophe and I didn’t succeed in finding a place on a terrace outside so we opted for a place in the sun in the window of a nice, small cafe on Leliegracht. After meeting up with Christophe, I went for a swim in Zuiderbad. Gotta keep that going as well!

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Quite an active day today! Already in the morning I headed out to the southeast of the city. I went to the Villa Arena Woonboulevard, which is a big shopping mall specialised in home decorations, furniture, and anything that will help you make you house look like a Royal Palace. Its shops are not the cheapest in town, and I really had no intention of buying anything there, but it was just to get some inspiration. There are two things I really still need in my little apartment, namely a light for living room area, and a carpet with the dining table. At the moment there’s still just a bare light bulb above the couch, and the floor underneath the table is wearing a bit because of the movement of chairs on it (it’s not the best quality of laminate floor, but it was already in the apartment when I bought the place.) The only thing I found in Villa Arena that I really liked was a piece of art to hang over the bed… but that’s not the most essential thing I need right now and at 700 euros also something I should not be buying right now. I continued to IKEA (slightly more affordable) and did see a carpet I liked… but it turned out to be out of stock, so I would have to come back for that later on. No lamps that I liked, so I left the southeast again and returned to the city centre.

In the afternoon I visited the Bijenkorf department store to see what they had in their home decorations department. They do have a lamp that I love (it’s basically just seven glass bulbs suspended on their own cables, but it’s marvelously beautiful in its simplicity) but the price tag is just not friendly enough. As for carpets, they mostly seem to come in four-digit numbers so I was happy to just glance over them… and then I left the store again.

As I walked back to the apartment, I noticed that the worker who is doing the pointing on the building was working on the windows of the apartment of my upstairs neighbours. When I looked a bit closer, which was only possible now that the scaffolding is disappearing, I noticed that they now have new double glazed windows. I was actually a bit angry when I noticed that this afternoon. Why hadn’t they told us about this? Repeatedly I asked people if they knew how long the scaffolding would still be there and no one seemed to know (or even bothered to reply) and now it seems that it took so long in part because on the 3rd and 4th floor they were having completely new windows installed. I’m annoyed that no one had the decency to just communicate this and I’m puzzled about who’s been paying for this… and for the labour involved… Could it be that, unbeknownst to me, I have been subsidising my neighbours’ new windows? Let’s wait and see where this goes, but, as Queen Victoria would have said, we are not amused.

In the early evening, in a wonderful sunset, I had a long walk through town, and Amsterdam simply looked stunning. I walked via the main canal ring towards Leidseplein where a new Apple Store opened last week. The shop looks absolutely amazing, and the new iPad, with which I played for a while in the shop, looks fantastic. No money for it at the moment, but since a couple of months I’ve been putting aside every 2 euro coin that I get in shops, saving for an iPad. I’m about halfway… not going fast enough. From Leidseplein I walked to the Amstel River and that, as well, looked so beautiful this evening. The picture is of Magere Brug (‘skinny bridge’) where it crosses the river. Via the similar looking but smaller Walter Süskind Bridge I returned home. A busy day behind me.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

It was once again a beautiful day in Amsterdam, and it started already early in the morning, when this picture was taken just after 7. It shows Oude Kerk, Amsterdam’s oldest church in the heart of the Red Light District, in the early morning sunshine. Clear sky. The outlook for the weekend is great, and what’s even better, it will be a three day weekend for me, as I have taken Monday off.

The early morning swim was once more magnificent. The only ‘problem’ there really is, is that everything I do after the swim is aimed at cooling down as quickly as possible. When I leave the pool, my skin feels very warm, and even though I shower of course, as long as I’m in the pool, the humid and warm air inside the building keeps me dangerously close to overheating. In order not to break out in a sweat in the first half hour at work, I cycle to work from the pool with my jacket wide open, and with my backpack not on my back but on the front of the bike. As much as possible cool air, cooling me down. Even so, it does happen that I enter the office feeling tremendously warm. In that case I tell my colleagues it’s just hot flushes from my menopause. I’m old enough for that. I think they believe me. In any case, I’ve decided to continue with this early morning swim habit, rather than going to the pool after work, because the tranquility of the pool in the early morning is really great.

At work, one of my colleagues from the UK office and he had planned a three hour meeting with me, but in the end he only sat at my desk for about ten minutes. And he seemed more than keen to leave the office at 3 in the afternoon to start a party weekend in Amsterdam. The project I’m working on for him uses a database with many millions of records and any query running on that requires quite some time to complete, as he found out today. I’ll have to continue doing some work on this over the weekend, because eight hours in the office is just not enough to do all the work on the database that is needed.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

No swimming today – not before work and not after work, and given last night’s dinner at my place and the amount of food and (delicious) wine that was consumed, that was not necessarily a bad thing. Of course I returned to my low-carb regime, and quite happily so. My scales are still my best friend at the moment, whenever I stand on them (definitely each morning.)

The picture is of Prinsenhofsteeg, which is a narrow, pedestrian-only alley in between the two old canals, Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijds Achterburgwal (the one I live on) and it’s a very old little street. One of the houses in this street has a stone above the door showing that it was built in 1576. It’s absolutely wonderful to be living in a part of the city (and country) with such a rich and old history. What I wouldn’t give to see a picture or painting of the canal in front of my house just after that canal was dug, back in 1367… It would be so amazing to - just for a short while – walk around that ancient Amsterdam (or Amstelredamme as it was called then) and see the people that lived in those times and see the houses they lived in. The only thing I wouldn’t particularly look forward to is experiencing the lack of hygiene in those days and smelling the resulting rather obnoxious smells in the crowded city that was Amsterdam in those days… But I wouldn’t be surprised if Prinsenhofsteeg would have looked just about the same (apart from perhaps the electric lights!) The church in the distance is the Waalse Kerk.