North Holland Cities
Because it's all called Amsterdam, isn't it?
North Holland is amost devoid of the traditional windmills, but makes up for it with row upon row of wind turbines, stretching off into the haze.
Small water lilies in Edam (no, not Amsterdam).
Big water lilies.
Heron.
Stocks.
Hideous ornament.
Draw your own conclusions from this one.
An attempt to replicate The World Is Not Enough fails miserably.
Classic old cantilever footbridge.
Another very wonky building. This one is a museum, perhaps dedicated to wonky buildings.
Shutters on the wonky building.
Some nice old buildings here. 1616, in case you needed help.
A very steeply arched tunnel from 1795. Most cars would ground themselves on the top of the arch, so it is only a footbridge.
Shutters.
Dutch gables.
Edam is internationally famous for its cheese, so here, have a cheese shop.
Site of the old cheese market and weighing house. They regularly hold recreations too (once a week, on Wednesdays, it seems).
The weighing scales and cheese museum.
Window in the market. See underneath the window.
Brace.
Canal bridges.
Old industrial buildings, with elevated loading doors. Note the leaning walls of the two right-hand buildings.
:o
Trying to find a T-shirt that has Netherlands on it, but nope. Tourists must call it Holland. Oh, and I would swear this was Edam, but no matter where you go in the Netherlands, all tourist merchandise has only these two labels; Holland, and Amsterdam.
Dutch traffic jam.
We camp by the edge of the Markermeer, the vast man-made lake. The water is nicely warm, and ridiculously shallow. You can walk out for well over 200 metres and still only be up to your neck. Sadly the water comes from Amsterdam's canals, and is not exactly clean.
Beautiful natural colours of the lake and sky at sunset. It feels very strange to see the water a lighter colour than the sky. Here we had some idiots on a jet ski, racing far too close to the swimmers. Then along came the police jet ski - a positive beast compared with the idiots' model - with speed boat as backup. The idiots had their ski and documentation checked, and were sent to a non-swimming area. Quiet laughter echoed over the water from all the swimmers.
Wild hare.
One (Edam) ...
... two (Volendam) ...
... three, and we arrive in Amsterdam. The bus would not stop for me to get my own picture, so I settle for this one from a brochure.
Elaborate station building.
Mechanical wind vane.
Kaiser helmet.
Sint Nikolaaskerk.
On the block behind the cathedral is a canal.
The sides of the canal are lined with brothels. This is the famous red light district. Many cities (including our own) have a red light district, but I have never seen one quite so blatent, due to the relaxed social acceptance of the Netherlands. Many brothels have a mostly-naked example of their wares on display, though the one in this particular window seemed a little camera shy.
The brothels are easy to identify. The red light is taken literally, red lanterns outside, and red curtains inside.
A well known sex museum. No I did not visit, since we had a small child with us, and for that reason I was rather hastily removed from the district, realising as I left that right behind me as I was taking my pictures was a topless prostitute in a window, who had been watching me the whole time. Tourist! One question though; why are the prostitutes who are sitting in the windows always so ugly compared with the average Dutch? How is that supposed to attract customers?
Chinese arch.
Schreierstoren, part of the original city, dating back to 1480.
Montelbaanstoren, dating from 1512.
Zuiderkerk.
Barge cogs.
Multi-storey house boat.
Patterns in the moorings.
Lazy coot.
Replica of the 1749 ship Amsterdam, that sank off the English coast in a storm. The original ship was used as a merchant ship sailing to the Dutch East Indies. This was the era of the Anglo-Dutch wars, where England and the Dutch competed for maritime supremacy. Eventually the British won, despite several smaller defeats, and the experience was of vital importance in building up the British Empire. It even earned the Dutch the nickname "frogs", as they were seen to be living in marshes. The name later transferred to the French (as a mutation of "frog-eaters") when they became the new national enemy of the British. There's some useless trivia for you.
Elaborate stern.
Bow ropes.
Mast.
Mast ropes.
Aft cannon, mounted on the poop deck.
Beds for important crew or their families.
Capstan.
Muskets for defence if boarded.
Cannon.
More cannon. This is also the living quarters for sailors, who would string hammocks up over the cannon.
Barrels in the massive hold, which clearly identifies this as a merchant ship.
Decorations.
Figurehead.
Dam, with the Koninklijk Paleis and the Nieluwe Kerk.
Rijksmuseum.
This is the only picture of this ridiculous place. I'm not interested in named artists like this - art is a fashion where the best art is dismissed because it comes from an unknown artist and the worst art is kewl because some idiot says it's kewl. This guy was a religious man, who had mental problems, painted prostitutes (very religious - not that I object to this part), cut off his ear, and eventually shot himself. I see no need to glamorise anything that came out of his broken mind. Getting in requires a lengthy queue, removal of any bags you're holding, and a security scan in case you want to slash the paintings with a knife. Cameras are stupidly forbidden. What I will say is that if you know this guy as something like "Van Goch" (Welsh/German/Scottish ch), you're wrong, though closer than most. If you know him as "Van Goff", you're wrong. If you know him as "Vang Go", you're painfully wrong and apparently can't read all the letters that are there. It's a Dutch name, that sounds more like "Fan Choch" (gentle Welsh/German/Scottish ch).
Different styles of canal bridges.
Lead-flashed house boat. Ever hear of sinking like a lead balloon?
Sorry for the shaky picture, but it's the best picture I managed to get of these floating coot nests.
Westerkerk tower.
Anne Frank's museum and house. Again, I see little purpose in glamorising her life. Horrible though it was, she was no different from any other of the obliterated lives in World War II. By putting emphasis on her, just because she wrote a diary, dismisses the other people whose suffering was equal or worse. Nonetheless, the museum is immensely popular, and queues are typically over one hour, or bookings can be made in advance (at least a day early if you want it to start at a good time).
Canal bridges.
Ornate facade.
Arched bridge, with lights fitted for that stereotypical night time picture.
Shutters.
Lock gates. Many have been converted into bridges, removing the locks, as seen on the bridge here.
Lock gates.
A multi-storey bike park, filled to overflowing with bikes. Seems that while huge numbers of people cycle into Amsterdam, very few cycle around it.
Overflow bike park under the bridges.
Not enough? Then have a bike park on a platform in the shipping lane. With an extra tier for bikes to be put above each other.
Still not enough? Then add a car ferry converted into a multi-tier bike ferry, and apparently moored permanently as a bike park.
Colourful train station.
Well, the gay pride events were due to start that evening, so even the boats were getting ready.
Guard dog.
Triple arch.
Cantilever bridge - the tour guide claimed there were 1300 bridges in this city. I promise not to show you all of them. This one is called the Magere Brug.
Reguliersgracht Bridges, seven arched bridges in a row.
Mansions overlooking the canal. Each house has a unique decorative design with family crests.
North Holland is amost devoid of the traditional windmills, but makes up for it with row upon row of wind turbines, stretching off into the haze.
Small water lilies in Edam (no, not Amsterdam).
Big water lilies.
Heron.
Stocks.
Hideous ornament.
Draw your own conclusions from this one.
An attempt to replicate The World Is Not Enough fails miserably.
Classic old cantilever footbridge.
Another very wonky building. This one is a museum, perhaps dedicated to wonky buildings.
Shutters on the wonky building.
Some nice old buildings here. 1616, in case you needed help.
A very steeply arched tunnel from 1795. Most cars would ground themselves on the top of the arch, so it is only a footbridge.
Shutters.
Dutch gables.
Edam is internationally famous for its cheese, so here, have a cheese shop.
Site of the old cheese market and weighing house. They regularly hold recreations too (once a week, on Wednesdays, it seems).
The weighing scales and cheese museum.
Window in the market. See underneath the window.
Brace.
Canal bridges.
Old industrial buildings, with elevated loading doors. Note the leaning walls of the two right-hand buildings.
:o
Trying to find a T-shirt that has Netherlands on it, but nope. Tourists must call it Holland. Oh, and I would swear this was Edam, but no matter where you go in the Netherlands, all tourist merchandise has only these two labels; Holland, and Amsterdam.
Dutch traffic jam.
We camp by the edge of the Markermeer, the vast man-made lake. The water is nicely warm, and ridiculously shallow. You can walk out for well over 200 metres and still only be up to your neck. Sadly the water comes from Amsterdam's canals, and is not exactly clean.
Beautiful natural colours of the lake and sky at sunset. It feels very strange to see the water a lighter colour than the sky. Here we had some idiots on a jet ski, racing far too close to the swimmers. Then along came the police jet ski - a positive beast compared with the idiots' model - with speed boat as backup. The idiots had their ski and documentation checked, and were sent to a non-swimming area. Quiet laughter echoed over the water from all the swimmers.
Wild hare.
One (Edam) ...
... two (Volendam) ...
... three, and we arrive in Amsterdam. The bus would not stop for me to get my own picture, so I settle for this one from a brochure.
Elaborate station building.
Mechanical wind vane.
Kaiser helmet.
Sint Nikolaaskerk.
On the block behind the cathedral is a canal.
The sides of the canal are lined with brothels. This is the famous red light district. Many cities (including our own) have a red light district, but I have never seen one quite so blatent, due to the relaxed social acceptance of the Netherlands. Many brothels have a mostly-naked example of their wares on display, though the one in this particular window seemed a little camera shy.
The brothels are easy to identify. The red light is taken literally, red lanterns outside, and red curtains inside.
A well known sex museum. No I did not visit, since we had a small child with us, and for that reason I was rather hastily removed from the district, realising as I left that right behind me as I was taking my pictures was a topless prostitute in a window, who had been watching me the whole time. Tourist! One question though; why are the prostitutes who are sitting in the windows always so ugly compared with the average Dutch? How is that supposed to attract customers?
Chinese arch.
Schreierstoren, part of the original city, dating back to 1480.
Montelbaanstoren, dating from 1512.
Zuiderkerk.
Barge cogs.
Multi-storey house boat.
Patterns in the moorings.
Lazy coot.
Replica of the 1749 ship Amsterdam, that sank off the English coast in a storm. The original ship was used as a merchant ship sailing to the Dutch East Indies. This was the era of the Anglo-Dutch wars, where England and the Dutch competed for maritime supremacy. Eventually the British won, despite several smaller defeats, and the experience was of vital importance in building up the British Empire. It even earned the Dutch the nickname "frogs", as they were seen to be living in marshes. The name later transferred to the French (as a mutation of "frog-eaters") when they became the new national enemy of the British. There's some useless trivia for you.
Elaborate stern.
Bow ropes.
Mast.
Mast ropes.
Aft cannon, mounted on the poop deck.
Beds for important crew or their families.
Capstan.
Muskets for defence if boarded.
Cannon.
More cannon. This is also the living quarters for sailors, who would string hammocks up over the cannon.
Barrels in the massive hold, which clearly identifies this as a merchant ship.
Decorations.
Figurehead.
Dam, with the Koninklijk Paleis and the Nieluwe Kerk.
Rijksmuseum.
This is the only picture of this ridiculous place. I'm not interested in named artists like this - art is a fashion where the best art is dismissed because it comes from an unknown artist and the worst art is kewl because some idiot says it's kewl. This guy was a religious man, who had mental problems, painted prostitutes (very religious - not that I object to this part), cut off his ear, and eventually shot himself. I see no need to glamorise anything that came out of his broken mind. Getting in requires a lengthy queue, removal of any bags you're holding, and a security scan in case you want to slash the paintings with a knife. Cameras are stupidly forbidden. What I will say is that if you know this guy as something like "Van Goch" (Welsh/German/Scottish ch), you're wrong, though closer than most. If you know him as "Van Goff", you're wrong. If you know him as "Vang Go", you're painfully wrong and apparently can't read all the letters that are there. It's a Dutch name, that sounds more like "Fan Choch" (gentle Welsh/German/Scottish ch).
Different styles of canal bridges.
Lead-flashed house boat. Ever hear of sinking like a lead balloon?
Sorry for the shaky picture, but it's the best picture I managed to get of these floating coot nests.
Westerkerk tower.
Anne Frank's museum and house. Again, I see little purpose in glamorising her life. Horrible though it was, she was no different from any other of the obliterated lives in World War II. By putting emphasis on her, just because she wrote a diary, dismisses the other people whose suffering was equal or worse. Nonetheless, the museum is immensely popular, and queues are typically over one hour, or bookings can be made in advance (at least a day early if you want it to start at a good time).
Canal bridges.
Ornate facade.
Arched bridge, with lights fitted for that stereotypical night time picture.
Shutters.
Lock gates. Many have been converted into bridges, removing the locks, as seen on the bridge here.
Lock gates.
A multi-storey bike park, filled to overflowing with bikes. Seems that while huge numbers of people cycle into Amsterdam, very few cycle around it.
Overflow bike park under the bridges.
Not enough? Then have a bike park on a platform in the shipping lane. With an extra tier for bikes to be put above each other.
Still not enough? Then add a car ferry converted into a multi-tier bike ferry, and apparently moored permanently as a bike park.
Colourful train station.
Well, the gay pride events were due to start that evening, so even the boats were getting ready.
Guard dog.
Triple arch.
Cantilever bridge - the tour guide claimed there were 1300 bridges in this city. I promise not to show you all of them. This one is called the Magere Brug.
Reguliersgracht Bridges, seven arched bridges in a row.
Mansions overlooking the canal. Each house has a unique decorative design with family crests.