Gotta admit, I really do like Arnhem! Btw if you want to keep track, the building with the odd virus and micro-biology sculptures on the walls and sidewalk is one side of Eusebius Church, which we’ve shared a few times before.
We’ve shared views of Arnhem’s Eusebius churchseveral times before. This was my second trip up to the top of the tower that was rebuilt following a competitive design bid process after the church’s partial destruction at the end of WWII. As you see both above and below, Arnhem lies on what’s called the “Lower Rhine” here, or the Nederrijn, one of two main shipping channels that run from the Rhine’s entry into NL over to the west. During the allied advance in late 1944 and early 1945, this city and its inhabitants were very heavily affected by the tides of war. Here I’m showing you some views looking out the windows high up in the tower, with a sense of the panels explaining history and what you see out the windows. I highly encourage visitors with enough time to get down to this region for its mix of history, beautiful parks, and as always here, great bike trails and museums, public transit and so on :-).
Whilst Sam and I were enjoying a lovely concert by the US National Youth Symphony inside the Concertgebouw, across the street from us on Museumplein, World (LGBTQIA+) Pride was holding a wonderfully energetic outdoor concert and celebration. I expect that, as usual, the row of flags indicates the many countries where queer folks risk imprisonment or death. In case anyone was in doubt about what kind of world we’re still living in.
Last week’s solar eclipse peaked here in Amsterdam at just about 89% coverage of sun by moon, shortly before I took this photo with my phone. Note how many people you see out enjoying the unusual event. I spent most of it ensconced in my sunroom, with my eclipse glasses on, and have shared below some highly-unprofessional shots in which I either popped the glasses over the lens so you could get a bit of a sense; or tried out the manual settings on my phone. I emerged with one strong recommendation: if an eclipse is happening near you any time soon, DO get eclipse glases in advance, and DO put them on at the time the sun starts being obscured, and keep them on. It’s a rare thing and I’ve now added eclipse chasing to my list of probable retirement pastimes. Included below are other shots once the moon had cleared and the sun continued it usual beautiful arc below the horizon.
(so much world, so little time....) 