First of all, a happy Easter weekend to all! In whatever way you celebrate this holiday, I trust you'll be full of resurrection joy!
This morning Donica and I will be driving a rental mini-van from Hannover to Amsterdam (AMS) with all our accumulated stuff from the last 2 years! The short story is that Donica was asked to move her European apartment to give more of a company presence in AMS, in conjunction with some global changes to her position.
Fine by us!
Where we will be living is on Elandsgracht street in the southern Jordaan area of AMS (within walking distance from the Anne Frank house and from where James and Matt live!).
This is a store front window on our street.
De Eland = Moose
Gracht = Canal
Elandsgracht = Moose Canal
(this street used to be a canal that was later filled in)
The following inside pics are from the website that was listing the apartment when we found it last trip:
Standing inside from the living room, looking out those same 3 windows. The blue secretary is where my laptop will be stationed! And yes, there are hardwood floors throughout!
The 3 windows are now on the right and you see how the kitchen is right out in the open! The fridge is on the left of the microwave, at least 3x bigger than our Hannover one!
Now the 3 windows are behind you as you look across the living room to the bedroom in the back (with 2 windows facing a courtyard for a nice cross-draft in the summer, I'm sure). The bed is to the left of that doorway and the bathroom to the right.
The bedroom, with huge floor-to-ceiling built-in closets and storage shelves on the left.
A HUGE bathroom, not only with the bathtub on the left but a standing shower out of the picture on the right. This was one of the features that sold us on this apartment. :)
So now you can picture where we are! I did the same thing with our Hannover apartment 2 years ago, believe it or not. Just call it my sense for posterity!
Be forewarned that even though we jump-started our Internet connection last trip, it may still take some finagling to get it connected. Monday is part of the Easter holiday in Europe, so we can't even pick up our moden at the P.O. till Tuesday. Let's hope it will be like magic when Donica connects all the wires. I do remember that it was at least 3 weeks before we got connected in Germany 2 years ago. Cross your fingers with me that it will happen much sooner than that!
Journeying mercies now to all who are traveling this weekend! Death and resurrection. A tear and a smile!
Be forewarned that even though we jump-started our Internet connection last trip, it may still take some finagling to get it connected. Monday is part of the Easter holiday in Europe, so we can't even pick up our moden at the P.O. till Tuesday. Let's hope it will be like magic when Donica connects all the wires. I do remember that it was at least 3 weeks before we got connected in Germany 2 years ago. Cross your fingers with me that it will happen much sooner than that!
Journeying mercies now to all who are traveling this weekend! Death and resurrection. A tear and a smile!
Great place, Ginnie!! It looks very open and sunny. I love the vibe in Amsterdam, the open-mindedness of the people there.
ReplyDeleteI love this post, it's so helpful for picturing you two there. What a great-looking place! And I picture you having a blast exploring the area. Hopefully you can find a near-by cyber cafe for posting until your internet is hooked up? I did that in Cork, Ireland last summer, just took my laptop in and hooked it up. Man, it's going to be fun seeing AMS through your camera lens and writing!
ReplyDeleteThe apartment looks great. I'm sure you and Donica will have a great time there. Amsterdam has so much to offer and WE can't wait to organize a meet-up with you guys there :D
ReplyDeleteRRD: We're here, safe-n-sound, and I'm connected on Donica's laptop. It has been a fabulous day!
ReplyDeleteRuth: The trip took exactly 4 hours on a sunny/overcast day. We arrived at our A'dam apt. by 2:15 and had everything moved out of the van by 3p. While Donica took the mini-van back to the airport, I unpacked. When she returned, we did a grocery shopping and then went to a Thai restaurant down the street for supper. Little by little everything is getting "settled in." It's wonderful! And yes, if I need to, I can go to an Internet Cafe to add pics to whatever post I may do next. I'll probably wait till Tuesday to see if we can get connected.
CS: The difference between Hannover and A'dam is the difference between night and day. Very hard to compare the two and both have their pros and cons. BUT, we are eager to tackle this city by storm and comb every square inch of it as possible. And yes, WE will get together here soon. I know it! :)
Now that is so awesome! Glad you made it safely. You are definitely living on a street I'd love to live on. And your place looks awesome. Oh the hardwood floors! Get me a job and maybe we can see hardwood floors again too. ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd now I've got a reason even more to visit A'dam... Hope you have fun meeting up with James soon!
Happy Easter Ginnie!...
ReplyDeleteYour photos are always so beautifuls!...And the story to.!
Merci. Ritabisous.
So while we were driving south this morning you two were driving north!
ReplyDeleteThat apartment is just gorgeous - I'm sure you'll love living there and I'm definitely coming to visit some time! :-)
Hope the internet connection is up and running soonest.
Nice pad, and you hardly missed a blogging beat!
ReplyDeleteET: The plan is to meet up with James and Matt next weekend since they're out of town this holiday weekend. Europeans also have Monday off! And yes, you have another excuse to come visit us! A'dam is an awesome city!
ReplyDeleteRD: Thank you so much for stopping by again. Happy Easter to you and yours as well.
Christina: Actually, it was exactly due West the entire trip. 245 miles, 4 hours, most of which was on the autobahn! I thought of you and your family often yesterday. While I was sorry to miss you this trip, it was for a good reason. Hope you have come back refreshed from your vacation.
Susan: Well, I had the post created ahead of time and published it just before we left Hannover yesterday morning! Don't know when my laptop will have an Internet connection to keep me up with pics, etc. I may have to publish just text. :)
MMmmm... I'd live there in a heartbeat, it's so bright and airy. First time we crossed the border into The Netherlands I was smitten with their architecture and remain so until today - that and their proximity to the ocean. If I ever get the opportunity I'd love to have a vacation home there.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Place to both you and Donica, and hope the move goes very smooth.
i'm smitten simply because it's my adopted homeland.
ReplyDeletewhen we landed in paris from our redeye flight in '98, we hopped on the train up thru france and belgium to den hague, found some supper and a place stay and didn't know til the next day we hoteled across from the queen's residence!
then we spent 4 days with wilm's cousins and came back to ams to catch the train to switzerland.
we've talked often of coming back. an air mattress will be just fine...hang on, we'll be there before you know it!
in this transition, may the Peace of Christ be with you, in abundance.
jimbo & wilm
You know I just looked back at your post when you guys moved to Hannover and I think the biggest difference is the lighting!
ReplyDeleteWell that and no sloped roof. I remember starting to get sad because I was going to have to move from a place like AMS to a place like Hannover.. Really for me, that made all of the difference in the world..
Exciting place!
Oh Ginnie... What a terrific find! You are going to have so much fun in Amsterdam! I LOVE the Jordaan area- you couldn't have picked a more interesting place to live. I think I'm going to have to come and visit you! I am already looking forward to all your photos that I know you'll find there. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteLisa: Thanks a million, dear lady. (I hope you're feeling okay?!) Architecture throughout Europe totally fascinates me, but you are right about Amsterdam in particular. All those gabled houses on the canals! Come visit us sometime!
ReplyDeleteJim & Wilma: I really do hope we'll have a day when you can visit us here! Wouldn't that be a blast! Thanks for your comment, Jim. I guess we should have moved here a long time ago! :)
ET: The lighting is/was very good in Hannover's apt. but I didn't have PS back then to lighten up my pics! But you're definitely right about the sloped rooflines! I'll miss those. :) In making a move, we're very glad we're going this direction instead of the other way around! Although, maybe after a long time in A'dam, we'll want to move back to a quieter city? I'll let you know.
T1: Aha! I knew I could hook you somehow! Let's talk about a time when maybe you CAN come for a few days. Wouldn't that be a hoot!
Somehow a moose is just not something I picture as part of the Dutch way of life. Canada or Scandinavia maybe. What a great apartment! Looks like lots of room compared to the Hannover place.
ReplyDeleteHA! I know what you mean, Karen. Way too funny. And yes, we have quite a bit more room here...and lots of closet/storage space!
ReplyDeleteWhat a change from your old place!!! It's beautiful!!! Plenty of room for Yoga;)
ReplyDeleteYes, Rachel, a lot more room for almost 3x the cost! :) But it's open and bright. Very comfortable so far. Maybe you and Swede can come and do Yoga here. :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, be careful what you suggest- we are highly susceptible to suggestive thought! It's sort of like, name the time and place and we'll be there!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my Internet Fast begins as soon as I finish checking blogs- so I'll see you in 10 days:)
ReplyDeleteSo your fast is AFTER Easter and not before, Rachel? Hmmm. Okay then. 10 more days and we'll be in NYC at that time. ON VACATION (April 21-28)! :)
ReplyDeleteSo awesome, Ginnie!! What a fun apartment and it looks like a very fun location, too. I love how bright and open everything is. Those windows are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt's a very active location, Mad. A lot going on right outside those big, open windows. I love it!
ReplyDelete