I have just been to Amsterdam for a few days. A capital city yet so relaxed and friendly, very pretty too. I loved the quirky 'moomintroll' like houses (pictured above in the Jordaan area of the city). The houses were taxed according to their width so they were built as narrow as possible to keep costs down. They usually have two doors at the bottom - one for the ground and middle floor entrance, one for the top floor. Furniture cannot be taken up the narrow steep stairs but has to be hoisted up the outside of the building with a wynch. The houses were built on deep piles held in sandy earth and many of the houses are tilted at odd angles after years of subsidence. The area is an Unesco World Heritage site and a pleasure to visit.
