The effects of the global economic recession have been less severe in Amsterdam than in many other parts of the world.  But there are signs of its impact.  A couple of banks being bought out by the government over the past couple of years, houses taking longer than usual to sell, and international monetary exchange rates yo-yo'ing considerably from month to month... Several neighborhood businesses have also shut down in recent months.  Nothing major.  Honestly, they're the kind of businesses that always seemed a bit improbable, anyway:  a shop selling old audio cassette tapes, a men's boutique specializing only in sweaters, that type of thing.  But to me, these are some of the ways that I notice the economic climate in Amsterdam.

There's this one particular men's clothing store that has just recently shut down, and I found it odd how the storefront was arranged after the business had been evacuated.  That is, they cleared out everything except for seven identical -- completely naked -- mannequins.

Four of them are still positioned in the front window, looking at each other with lifeless eyes.  And three of them are lying, half-dismantled, on the floor, looking around like factory workers on a smoking break.  It strikes me as a very bizarre, very poignant signal of the failed business.  The mannequins literally lost their shirts in the financial downturn.  Life goes on, and the mannequins continue to make do as best they can.  But it's a little bit awkward in the meantime.