Revelations

The Dutch just love their aesthetics and nowhere is this more evident than through their windows, whether commercial premises or private homes.

My favourite time to mooch around the city is at sundown (or, more usually, the time when the sun would be going down if we got to see it); this is the time when the lights go on in homes, giving nosebags like me the perfect chance to peer inside. At these moments, the Dutch passion for interiors is at its most evident and all manner of styles are on display. From monumental grachtenpanden groaning with antiques to small flats cleverly kitted out to maximise space, Amsterdam residents take care to select striking pieces and display them to their best advantage.

Shop windows are another joy. Dutch shopkeepers know that their windows are the perfect advertising space and, accordingly, lavish them with attention. These window displays are designed to catch your attention, reel you towards them, then suck you through the door.

Below is a typical example from the apotheek (pharmacy) on the Westerstraat in the Jordaan. The display features a number of objects, each of which is a play on words. In true double Dutch style, a single word has a number of meanings. For example, a schoenlepel is a shoe horn, but the words schoen (shoe) and lepel (spoon) have been deconstructed for this little montage of a booted spoon. Similarly, stilleven means 'still life' and here our clever chemist has framed a musical score without any notes to represent a silent (still) life (leven). Double Dutch indeed.

This window display changes regularly and I love the care and passion that goes into it. It's not bad for improving my Dutch vocab either.

Finally, my favourite window display this week, from a Thai restaurant on the Elandsgracht. This little guy encapsulates for me everything that's Amsterdam: daring, quirky, and practical.