We're still at the Vijzelgracht street in Amsterdam, walking in the direction of the city center. We cross the Prinsengracht canal. On the bridge we pause to enjoy the view and maybe take a few photos. Note the beautiful canal houses along both sides of the canal.
We're at the Vijzelgracht street now. They are building a brand new metro line in Amsterdam, and there will be a station here at the Vijzelgracht.
On the Museumplein square in Amsterdam, right in front of the Rijksmuseum, is a temporary skating rink.
We continue our visit of Amsterdam that we started last week. We're still at the Museumplein, looking towards the Concert Hall. To the right of the concert hall we see a couple of buildings with beautiful gables, on the Van Baerlestraat (or Van Baerle Street). The lawn on the foreground is part of the Museumplein.
Yesterday we were standing on the Museumplein square, looking towards the Rijksmuseum. Let's turn around (so that the Rijksmuseum in our back). In front of us we can now see the 19th century Concertgebouw, or Concert Hall, of Amsterdam.
We continue our visit of Amsterdam at the Museumplein (Museum Square), the museum quarter of Amsterdam.
In the background of this photo we can see the monumental Rijksmuseum, home of many Dutch golden age masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer and their contemporaries. Though the museum is famous for its golden age paintings, it has a lot more to offer. It is the main arts museum of the Netherlands.
The round building on the left is a wing of the Van Gogh museum. Another important art museum with great paintings.
The Stedelijk Museum, a modern arts museum, is also here but not visible on the photo.
It's still winter, as you can see on today's photo - there is no snow or ice, but the trees are bare. We're still in Amsterdam, but we left the hustle and bustle of the city and stroll through Amsterdam's largest park, the Vondel Park. We're not alone, though: Dozens of seagulls joined us and are now resting or strolling on the small island.
This week we are visiting Amsterdam. Yesterday we were at the Leidseplein square, today we walk from the Leidseplein towards the Stadhouderskade street and enjoy this view while we cross the Singelgracht canal.
Join me for a visit of Amsterdam this week. Today we are at the Leidseplein square, and we look at a detail of a monumental 19th century building called the Stadsschouwburg (City Theater or Municipal Theater), the main theater of Amsterdam.
Former hotel Kasteel van Antwerpen (Castle of Antwerpen), along the Oude Gracht canal in downtown Utrecht City. I'm not sure what this building is now, but I don't think it's still a hotel. A century ago it was a hotel and restaurant of some renown, but I was unable to find out much more.
The spire of the 13th century Dom church in Utrecht city. The church was once St Martin's Cathedral, but is a protestant church since the reformation.
The church tower, the highest in the Netherlands, is not connected to the church. The nave of the church, unfinished for financial reasons, collapsed during a hurricane in 1674 and was never rebuilt.
We're at the Steenweg street, a busy shopping street in downtown Utrecht. It's not busy on the photo, but I took that early on a Sunday morning. In the background you can see the tower of the Dom church.
The Steenweg has a long history that goes back to at least the middle ages. The modern shop fronts don't give a medieval feel to casual observers, but if you look up to the gables you will enjoy the many old, monumental buildings
Yesterday I showed you a major Dutch canal, heavily used for transport over water. Today an old city canal, hardly used anymore.
We are now in the Lombok quarter of Utrecht City, looking at the first part of the Leidse Rijn canal, once Utrecht's connection with Leiden. The ducks in the water are always there, the seagulls in the sky visit from time to time.
The Amsterdam-Rhine Canal connects our capital Amsterdam with the river Rhine, one of Europe's main rivers. I took this photo from the bridge I showed you yesterday. On the left is Utrecht, on the right Nieuwegein.
A detail of a bridge over the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. This bridge, known as the Jutphasebrug (Jutphaas Bridge) connects the former village Jutphaas and Utrecht City. Jutphaas is nowadays part of the larger town Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht.
I took this photo early on a winter morning.
An early morning photo of the Merwede canal.
I took this photo in Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht.
