As part of a long-mandated safety inspection of our building's façades, we've had to disassemble our "enclosed balcony." For the next several months (...) all our balcony windows and decking are stowed inside the apartment. A big hassle we had a bear of a time scheduling, this turned out in the end to be a little less disruptive than we feared, though still literally cramping our style. Unexpected consequence is that, while the balcony's off limits, we now have an unimpeded view of our neighbors - and they, should they wish, of us.