Dutch Stairs

Amsterdam is called one of the first and best “planned cities” in the world, and it is clear why this is so. Every street and canal is laid out in a series of concentric semi-circles that radiate outward from the central district (Centrum). All the streets are lined brick-to-shoulder with narrow multi-story “canal-houses” which are a marvel of optimizing usable space. Rooms are small, but livable with every nook and cranny of possible space utilized in some type of fashion.

 

As I said, no wasted space, so when it comes to getting people to move between floors these Amsterdammers don’t hesitate to cram the most amount of utility into the least amount of space. The result is a harrowing spiral climb up narrow wedges of steps that climb steeply up (and down), almost as if a ladder had somehow been twisted and fooled into believing that it no longer belonged in the yard, but rather had been civilized into indoor duty.

 

These stairways are seriously challenging to walk up or down, and probably are a large reason(along with the bike riding everyone does) why most Amsterdam residents appear thin and fit.