Heleen met us and kindly waited as were delayed arriving. She had great advice to share on cafes,local food, transport and markets and made us feel very relaxed using her apartment for a few days.Also gave us pamphlets on sight seeing and a great map of Amsterdam. She was prompt and helpful when we needed help getting her tv to work, although in the end we were rarely going to watch tv as so much to see in Amsterdam. It was peak tourist season but the apartment is out of the madness of central down town . It was so so peaceful at night despite all the apartments in the area.The two balconies meant it was also bright in the living areas, with the back overlooking trees of the central courtyard enhancing the feeling of space. We hardly cooked during our stay as de pijp had lovely food stores , great Cafes only 5 minutes away, and even organic supermarket with pre prepared delicious meals. We used trains and trams each day and both easy to access and walking was great in that area too as the canal is less than one minute away. Initially the 2 flights of stairs looked challenging but we soon got used to it and worth the climb to get into the cosy serenity of Heleen's apartment at end of long days sight seeing.