Last Saturday I had the pleasure of spending a whole afternoon in my old apartment, a sunny loft in the Western part of Amsterdam, in the company of Alehandra, who is currently living there.

The moment I stepped out of the tram in those very familiar surroundings, I felt as if I never moved away. I kept on hearing a voice in my head saying “Welcome to Antillenstraat!” – the words the old lady living in the building told me on our first encounter in the Summer of 2010.

I rang the door bell, the door opened and, the moment I met Alehandra at the top of the stairs, I told her: “Wow, it almost feels like visiting my grandparents in their house!“. I had that kind of feeling of time standing still.

The Spanish couple – still living in the apartment below. In the little hallway, on the cupboard, letters of people who lived there even before, still receiving correspondence on this address. “Any letter for me?” – I asked Alehandra with amusement.

Just like on the previous occasion when visiting her, more than a year ago, when she moved in and I moved out, the hours went by like crazy. She is the type of person with stories to tell and I like to believe I am a good listener. 🙂

This being said, welcome to the house of sun and enjoy your stay! There really is no other place like this in whole Amsterdam.

Alehandra`s loft:

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My loft: