ONE AMSTERDAM CANAL – FIVE SHOTS

I was rather pleased with this early morning shot.

The balcony is our favourite part of our apartment, overlooking the Schinkel, Amsterdam’s busy working canal.

Taking the photo above reminded me of how extraordinarily different the Schinkel looks depending on the time of day, the season, the activity and the light.

AMSTERDAM – back home on the Schinkel

If you’re lucky enough to have wifi access from the cafe across the road, you can work in the outdoor office.

It’s nice to be ‘home’ in Amsterdam, at least for a little while. Followers of this blog may have noticed that Mevrouw T and I have been getting out and about rather a lot recently.

‘When are you going to spend some time in Amsterdam?’ Dutch friends and neighbours are asking. ‘Aren’t we interesting enough for you?’

We came back this week and Mevrouw T found an article in a Dutch newspaper featuring the history and present-day delights of our part of town, the Schinkelbuurt. The writer made it sound very interesting indeed, so I took the camera out for a walk, then googled the Schinkel to see what we’d been missing.

THE JOY OF JETLAG

Sloterkade, Amsterdam. There is something to be said for getting up before the wind does.

Awake at 3.02am, 3.17am, 4.48am, 5.04am. Dammit. Might as well get up and take some photos from the balcony, then post them on the blog.

HOLLAND – responsible peeing in Amsterdam canals

This sounds like a joke but apparently it’s a serious problem. At least 51 people died in Amsterdam canals over the past three years, most of them gentlemen who lost consciousness and toppled forwards while relieving themselves.

The state authorities have produced a safety video pointing out the dangers of this seemingly harmless activity, and demonstrating how to empty the bladder in non-life-threatening ways.

AMSTERDAM’S CANALS FREEZE – bikes on ice

It can sometimes be hard to find a place to park your bike in Amsterdam, but at the moment it's no problem. Photo: schlijper.nl

It’s been a long time since Amsterdam’s canals have been this frozen. I suspect if I were there right now I’d be huddled inside by a heater, but it’s nice to be able to admire them from a distance.

Thanks, Menno Heslinga, for bringing this to my attention via Facebook and acknowledgements to Thomas Schlijper for the photo above. More of his work is on schlijper.nl, including this bit of video of a young thrill-seeker trying to ride a bike across the ice.

DE SCHINKEL – Amsterdam’s most entertaining canal

It isn't always as quiet as this on the Schinkel.

There was a blanket of fog this morning on the Schinkel, the canal which passes below our balcony.

Its changing moods are a constant source of enjoyment to us, as we watch the various forms of water transport doing their various things.