Netherlands

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Country Canals.78


City Lights.68

Early morning just about a month ago from my lovely balcony at home. If all works out with flights and weather, I might see roughly the view after I wake up at home on Saturday morning, though moon is already waning a bit. 🙂

Ah, Royalty.38


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Urban Entrances.138


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Village Views.89


Village Views.88

Houses under construction in the little village across the water from Muiderslot, which you see in he middle distance, next to one of its defensive batteries on this side of the (Vecht is its name, if you’re curious) river. Around the time this post appears, it’s my hope I’ll be landing from the flights I signaled in a post a few months ago but wasn’t able to take due to circumstances in the destination country. So yes, Sam, I’m lining this one up early so that there’s a bit of buffer, but I hope soon to be posting close to live from the nation that gave birth to my whole “series” concept about five years ago…

Coasting.107

The Dutch coastline at Ijmuiden, early morning May 14th, as our plane flew north – northwest across the North Sea after crossing the islands of Ireland and Great Britain on its flight path from Chicago to Amsterdam. The most common landing path I’ve experienced is up this way, sharp right turn over the land, then lining up for the runways in a more or less due-south pattern which I can watch from the windows of my apartment :-). Below, three photos taken each a bit later on the same trajectory.

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Urban Entrances.137


Ah, Royalty.37

Above you’ll see the one of the most impressive and oldest original items in this semi-royal residence museum which I’ve only shown you once before even though the visit was in late May. I’m posting just about every remaining photo from my visit to the Markiezenhof now, since I have plenty of other photos for this series and currently reside and work in a nation where royal palaces are much easier to find than mountains. Strike that: in which anything one could reasonably describe as a mountain does not in fact exist, but people considered royal and thus their residences and such are generally rather plentiful. In the gallery below you’ll see some explanations of the displays including the altar above, if you’re interested. And at the bottom is the entrance to the whole compound: apparently my trip happened on day when some commercial company had rented the entry for an event or party of some sort or other, thus the folks with drinks in hand crowding the entrance.

 


Islands.67

The island of the title is at the top left above, middle in the closer-framed image below. We’ve shown you this island before, but taken from above looking down at this lake: my home is in the tallest building you can see just above at the top middle, and you’ve seen and will continue to see many lovely photos taken from my windows near the top left of that particular building :-).

Urban Canals.177

Indeed, right inside the city of Amsterdam but in the lovely park I’ve been showing you since I moved to my new place last year :-). Above, looking west one evening last week and below, looking east from the same foot / bike bridge over the canal. For orientation, in the photo below, the apartment from which I’ve taken all the various photos of this lovely lovely lake would be on the far side of the lake and to the left a bit (northeast).

Urban Canals.176

Before its residents voted to incorporate the lovely town of Weesp into the City of Amsterdam, I’m not sure I could have chosen to categorize the canals you’ll see in each of the photos in this post as “urban,” especially when you consider the lovely little images of coot parents building their nest in two of the photos below. But … a part of the city of Amsterdam Weesp now is, so here you see some of it’s “urban” canals and other delights.


Urban Garden.206


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Signs of the City.96


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Village Views.86