Moving in Amsterdam

I’ve been remiss in posting these past few months. This has been mostly due to a slow computer and to apartment hunting in Amsterdam. There is nothing quite like the housing market here.  We finally found a place at the end of December. Although we hadn’t envisioned ourselves living in the centre of Amsterdam, it’s where we happened to find a place. It is squarely in the middle of the Red Light District of Amsterdam, but within a quiet courtyard area away from all traffic. The apartment hasn’t been touched since the mid-80’s, and it soon became apparent that we would need to do a complete kitchen remodel, including replacing the whopping 3 circuit breaker box and relocating plumbing to accommodate the new cabinet configuration (a repair had run copper pipes through the previous cabinets)  and a dishwasher.

Dutch kitchens typically have one set of lower cabinets with an attached countertop and sink that rarely exceeds four feet in length.  Sometimes there are a few top cabinets. Many only have a stovetop and no oven at all, and almost never a dishwasher, which explains the 3 circuit breaker box.

The apartment looks very different now. I was fortunate to get a referral for a wonderful handyman who is on track to complete the remodel in less than two weeks! I’m looking forward to cooking in my first American-style kitchen in almost 4 years. Photos coming soon….now back to packing.