I know of two “volksbond” outlets in Amsterdam.

The first is a clothing store on the Haarlemerstraat that sells second-hand clothes. Everytime I pass, there’s always some disheveled, disoriented guy sitting in the window, drinking coffee from a disposable plastic cup.

The Volksbond caters for the lost and dishevelled.

The Koffiehuis is the second establishment I have found and, unlike its counterpart, this place seems warm and cheerful and extremely inviting.

Cheap food and good beer – that’s what’s on offer here.

And on a grey winter’s day, that red-bricked exterior is one of the best sites in town, if you ask me …