The walk to the grocery store

This photo was taken on our street. K is walking to the neighbourhood grocery store at the end of the block. He is in the blue jacket behind the bikes.

We have the top two floors of a five story building. Four stories are visible from the street. The fifth floor is hidden behind the hook at the top.

The houses are a typical style for Amsterdam. The buildings on our street usually have three apartments and they always have two doors. The doors on the right belong to the main floor apartments, which are often occupied by families with young children. The doors on the left lead up the stairs to the other two apartments, which are occupied by people who are fit from climbing stairs or by hermits. (Just kidding.)

About the hook… The staircases in the houses are very narrow and are often curved. However, the windows are large. Back in the day, people hoisted their belongings outside their house using the hook, pulleys and baskets. We have seen some people in the present day moving that way, but it is a slow process. Our realtor informed us that portable exterior elevators are used now.

Of course, we did it the hard way and lugged everything up the stairs. 54. But, who’s counting? Thank goodness the apartment is furnished!