Bijenkorf by night

The Bijenkorf department store, on an early and cold winter morning in Amsterdam.

Buy print

Kasteel van Antwerpen

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.

Buy print

Spire

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.

Buy print

Downtown Utrecht

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

Buy print

Leidse Rijn canal

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.

Buy print

Amsterdam-Rhine Canal

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.

Buy print

Bridge

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.

Buy print

A Dutch canal, early in the morning

An early morning photo of the Merwede canal.

I took this photo in Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht.

Buy print

Oude Gracht

The medieval Oude Gracht canal in Utrecht, with the tower of the Dom church in the background.

Buy print

University Hall

Next to the Dom church in Utrecht is the University Hall. While most of the university moved out of the city to a campus on the outskirts of Utrecht, the University Hall is still there. It is used for academic ceremonies - graduations, inaugural lectures and the like.

Buy print

Herb garden

Yesterday I showed you the arcade around the herb garden that is part of the Dom church in Utrecht. On today's photo you can see the garden, as seen from the arcade. It's winter, so the garden looks a bit dead now.

Buy print

Arcade

Outside the Dom church in Utrecht is an old herb garden, surrounded by this medieval arcade.

Buy print

Lepelenburg Park

Yesterday I shared a view from the Lepelenburg Park in Utrecht, in the direction of the downtown area. I have another one today, with a different viewpoint. The background is the same, with the tower of the Dom church. In the foreground you can see part of the park itself.

Buy print

Utrecht

I took this photo on the Lepelenburg park in Utrecht. The buildings on the foreground are on the Servaasbolwerk street. On the left you can just see a part of the Leeuwenbergh church. In the background is the tower of the Dom church in the heart of downtown Utrecht.

Buy print

Paved road

During a city hike through Utrecht I came across the Zonstraat street, more or less by accident. A beautiful old paved road. Note the advertisement on the wall of the higher building, for a former laundry shop. Very old (1920s?), though probably recently restored to its former glory.

Buy print

St Anthony Hospital

This used to be St Anthony's hospital, the catholic hospital of Utrecht City, the Netherlands.

The hospital still exists, but it moved to the town Nieuwegein, a suburb of Utrecht. It's not a catholic hospital anymore, though. I shared photos of it in the past, here and here.

Buy print

Stream

The Minstroom, a little river in Utrecht. I took this photo from the corner of the Rembrandtkade and the Prins Hendriklaan streets.

Buy print

Soestdijk

The last photo of Soestdijk, for now. A frontal view of the palace against an autumn sky. I hope you enjoyed the photo tour of the palace (that started here), and please join me next week for a new daily photo.

Buy print

Soestdijk Royal Palace

Until 2004, Soestdijk was the home of Queen Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard. And this is how you could see the palace: from outside the gate. When the former Queen and her husband passed away in 2004, the palace, state property, became vacant. Since 2005 and until a new destination for the palace is found, it is open to the public.

I visited both the palace and the palace gardens this fall. Photography in the palace is, unfortunately, not allowed, so I only have photos taken in the gardens. Most of those photos were impossible only a decade ago (unless you were a guest of the royal family).

Buy print

Fountain

A fountain in the pond of the palace gardens of Soestdijk Royal Palace, against a backdrop of autumn leaves.

Buy print