After some rainy days, the terraces are outside on the sidewalk again. At the Turkisch cafe-restaurant Divan, Sjoke and Dave are enjoying a drink. They’ve ordered olives, bread and spicey chicken. Sjoke and Dave live in Hoorn, but often visit Amsterdam to shop, stroll and relax on a terrace. They’ve been together for thirteen years. Dave has a construction company and Sjoke regularly works in a shop owned by a friend. From Central Station they walked to the Haarlemmerbuurt, from there to the nine streets and ended up at the Elandsgracht. “We come here quite often, it’s a cozy neighbourhood”, says Sjoke. They are familiar with most of the shops here, like fashion boutiques Tenue de NÎmes and Jefferson Hotel and shoeshop Daniele Dentici. For home accessories they go to Gra8cht. They would love to stay for dinner in Amsterdam, but their sun is at home, so they will stop by at Albert Heijn and Kaashuis Tromp for some delicious snacks to take home.

Photography by BerendBoersma.com and interview by Gerda Lammerts