Jay Patrick Langhurst - Amsterdam

My apartment, workplace, and other surroundings

01/10/2002
Amsterdam

This is where I work, Rivierstaete, Amsteldijk 166 in Amsterdam. To get here, I walk over about two large block to the east from where I live and then south a block to the Weteringcircuit (something like that folks) Tram stop, where I hopefully catch the number 25 tram in short order. After riding it around the little circle, past the fake brewery, past the shops and the rolling park sandwiched between two tram lines I arrive at Victorieplein, where I leave the little tram.
I walk across the street, south two blocks, then east/southeast for two blocks until I get to the Rivierstaete building. I enter through TWO security doors (I swear, somebody important must be in this building or they just overbuilt security) and then I'm on, of course, the 0 floor and after taking the elevator up to the 4th floor (which is the 5th) I go into the office and sit in a cubicle positioned just in the middle of traffic (right along a major hallway) in cubicles that are those little half-walled ones. It is a unique working environment to say the least.
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They are, and have been the entire time I've been here thus far (about a month), digging up the street along the side of the building. It seems they dig up one part, rebury it and then a few days later dig it up. Perhaps they're burying treasure and playing some game to find it again. Or maybe it's just road resurfacing and re-laying pipes.
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Well, enough work, lets head back home! So, here we find ourselves along Prinsengracht and Leidsestraat. Just down the road (south) is the famous Liedseplein and just up the road is Kerkstraat and my apartment! For more info you can view a general map here or map my address here (Kerkstraat number 83).
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Well, before we head back, a few glances along the canal finds somebody fixing up an old building (which you can find happening almost anywhere all the time).
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We also find someone watering flowers (which you can usually find as well - at least right now)
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A short walk down near Liedseplein is this symbol of American influence, the Burger King logo, here interspersed with the ever-present bicycle
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Ok, so here we are standing just over the Prinsengracht along Leidsestraat facing up the street. This is quite the busy road all day long and also at night. Lots of tourists going from the museums and parks/shopping to the south to the main inner city with shopping and other historical places to the north. The trams, people, bicycles, shops and sometimes cars all fit into this small street...quite a cozy place.
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Ok, a quick right turn onto Kerkstraat (the first street after you head north (or straat as it may be) after Prinsengracht) and there's my apartment (highlighted).
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How organized I am...this nice slip of paper behind tape marks my apartment...nice doorbell though.
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Billy the Bluejay sits behind the bars on my front window, guarding for foes, welcoming friends.
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Here's the main entrance area. On the first floor you have the entryway, bathroom, bedroom, shower/laundry room (actually more like a VERY small washing machine in a little cabinet), and garden. On the second floor you have (after some STEEEEEP stairs) the kitchen and living room. Overall a very nice place. The owner is a law professor and art dealer, so there are several expensive paintings in the apartment...I'd rather they weren't there for liability purposes, and I really can't say I like them, but they do fill wallspace I suppose.
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Ah, here's the bathroom - the only toilet in the place and a rather small space, but hey it serves the purpose just fine.
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Here's my bedroom (180 degree panoramic) with the TV, small closet, two twin beds, and window to the garden.
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Here's the shower/master bathroom, the washing machine (A "Candy" brand...doesn't that sound like cleaning power to you -- "Candy"??) is in the cabinet on the floor in the center of the photo.
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The garden is nice, I don't spend too much time out here, but I suppose I should in the future. Some of the plants have some kind of fungus disease, but most are very nice and there's a table and chairs as well...rather relaxing. The neighbors next door on the first floor have the same and across you'll find the "backyards" or "backgardens" of the people along the next street up. Their gardens are much larger though, but I think their houses are as well.
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Here is the view from the second floor, come on up. But BE CAREFUL...this is nearly a ladder with the pitch of the steps.
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The main living room area complete with monitor/keyboard area for my laptop to hook up to, large picture window (looking out on the people across the street looking at me!), a couch, an ugly painting, and a modern bookshelf.
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Much better with the window open though
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Looking out the window to the right (comic book store with the sign)
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Looking out the window to the left (east), apartments
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Here's the kitchen with small table (don't really use it), sink in the back with window looking over the gardens, range and lots of cabinets
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My magnet collection from places I've visited so far in Europe above the range
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Open the window to the gardens...
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...and look down below to see my garden on the right and the neighbor's on the left
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Ah! A hidden treasure...it's...
The Top Ten Dumb Things Jay Has Done While Adjusting To AMSTERDAM!

1. Washed my clothes in water softener. This one was just recently, I washed my clothes and they definitely had a mildly clean smell, but not exactly what you'd expect. Of course, I was using the bottle of what I thought was Dutch detergent which was from Albert Heijn. I think I should stop making assumptions about ANYTHING from Albert Heijn. Anyway, eventually I translated the front which said something like Was Vaanderdajcht or something, and yep turns out to be water softener. So, back to the good old Woolite I packed (thanks Andy, Mom and Dad for the tip) and my clothes, although having dried painfully slowly in my apartment twice, have been cleaned once. But, at least I learned this lesson early on!

2. After getting a notice in the mail in Dutch that had KPN Telecom printed at the top I assumed it was my telephone bill. I walked confidently into the post office, where I had been informed that I could pay my telephone bill, since I didn't have a Dutch bank account, since I didn't have a sofi number, since I didn't have a residence permit, since I had just entered the country, and after waiting with my number in line (very Dutch...order and safety in the take a number system) I said "I think this is for my phone bill." My pride deflated immediately when the clerk smiled and said, it's for your telephone book. What made it even worse was that I was traveling to Barcelona that day, so I took the Dutch telephone book all the way to Barcelona and back since I wasn't going to lug it back to my apartment and then carry my luggage back to catch the tram etc.

3. Got a Ham and Ei sandwich at Albert Heijn (local grocery store) thinking it was a Ham sandwich (that's what it looked like...and it's ham, what could you do to it to mess it up?). Well, the answer is plenty. It turned out to be a ham and egg sandwich. While ham and eggs are fine separate for breakfast, there's something not so good about a cold ham and boiled egg sandwich that just doesn't appeal to me. But hey, I was hungry, so I ate half of it.

4. Walked right into a swarm of bicycle traffic causing a small child to come to a screeching halt and fall off his bike (this was the first day...a bad start)

5. At the foreign police office, I guess they assumed (who knows WHY, I'm obviously a foreigner) that I spoke Dutch. I was just paying the bill (258 euros...WOW) for the Residency Permit and they were talking in Dutch. I thought...hmmm...they're probably not saying anything majorly important, I can just nod and smile and take my change and copies and I'll be fine. However, after a while I wasn't sure if she was saying anything important so I looked at her straight on after she had said something, paused and said "I have absolutely no idea what you just said." She said, "Oh, you speak English" and then told be the yellow copy was mine and the white was theirs...duh...like I needed a translation there. Perhaps I should have just nodded again.

6. Stayed on the tram waaay too long since I had no idea where I was going

7. Got off the tram waaay too early since I previously had stayed on waaay too long, and had to wait for the next one

8. Tried to pronounce words that I have NO idea how to pronounce. I think these words over in my head beforehand, but when it comes time to ask for my stripenkaart (strip of tickets) to be stamped to wateringcircuit it just doesn't come out right and eventually, they give up and say something and I smile and nod and they stamp the ticket. Life is much better now that I have a monthly pass for the central zone of the tram system.

9. When a tram was stopping at my station once, another tram was at the normal pickup point, so I assumed it would wait for the first one then pull up and I could get on. Nope, it stopped behind the first then as soon as the first one left it took off, leaving me to wait for the next tram and meditate on the need for speed in the tram system.

10. Recently at Albert Heijn I picked up a croissant from the bread area, thinking that since it was the bread area I would be fine. I also bought some ham and thought I might have a nice ham sandwich with them. I got the croissants home and what do I find but ham embedded in the bread! It actually turned out to be very good, especially microwaved for 15 seconds.

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