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Bikes, Umbrellas and Canals

If I had to sum up my impressions of Amsterdam in three words I would say bikes, umbrellas and canals. There were a lot of each. To take it a step further, operating a bike shop here is steady employment. As well, I think that selling umbrellas might also be big business.

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Bikes, Umbrellas and Canals
Bikes, Umbrellas and Canals in Amsterdam

I stood on an adjacent bridge taking photos of people as they crossed this bridge. This scene typifies the central canal district and is repeated hundreds of times from one bridge to the next.

Because I was carrying a camera I didn’t have an umbrella, otherwise it’s a good idea to have one. It got me thinking that umbrellas haven’t changed much in a hundred years, they still look and operate the same.

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Lo and behold, a few weeks later I started seeing ads on TV about new type of inverted umbrella. Without going into all the details I think it’s an amazing idea and the only thing I can’t figure out is why nobody invented / inverted it years ago. My wife was so impressed she bought four and gave them away as gifts. So here is a tip, someone needs to open up an inverted umbrella stand in Amsterdam, I think it will be license to print money.

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Midnight Along the Canals

I took this while walking after midnight along the canals of Amsterdam. There aren’t many places in the world I feel safe walking late at night, but this city is one. Maybe I am naive, but it’s a good sign when you see all manner of people out walking at the same late hour, as though it was a perfectly normal thing to do. As I write this I am returning from a major American city where I spent a few days. To be honest I would not walk alone at night in that city. But Amsterdam is different in many ways.

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Midnight on the Canals
Midnight Along the Canals of Amsterdam

I was discussing this with a friend recently and we were trying to put our finger on the essence of European cities like this. His take was, and this is a generalization, that Europeans tend to be more mature about things. I’m not sure about that but I’m willing to consider it.

Generalization break down as soon as you look at individuals, but at a macro level you notice differences. Maybe it also has to do with countries that are smaller and have a greater sense of altruism on a national level.

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Smarter people than me will have a better explanation, but it’s something I think about. And more than that it’s something I’m grateful for as I visit and am able to walk around at night and take pictures.

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Amsterdam Centraal

The main train station is known as Amsterdam Centraal, and it was one of the first places I walked to when I arrived from Florida. I was here for the opening of the BTP exhibition and this is where I caught the train to Harderwijk the next day. But as I was still on North American time, I was up late into the night walking around the central district with my camera and tripod.

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Amsterdam Centraal

I wasn’t sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised by how many people were out that night walking around the city, to my foreign eyes it was magical, everything I hoped it would be and more.

Here I stood on a bridge and captured the train station over the still water of the canal. This is a long exposure three image panorama. As I was taking this I had several people come by and comment on the picture showing on the display at the back of my camera.

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Actually there were great sights all around me and I was a little like a kid in a candy shop. I’d walk around the canal shooting images in every direction. Finally around two in the morning the long flight started to catchup to me so I headed back. However, even as I walked away rest of Amsterdam showed no signs of slowing down.

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First Impressions of Amsterdam

This is one of my first impressions of Amsterdam. I arrived a couple of days ago for the opening of the Best Top Photographer exhibition. As soon as I got to the hotel I was out walking around the central section of the city. For some reason I had it in my mind that it was cold and not many people would be out. I’m obviously not from around here. There was a light rain but no wind and everyone was out enjoying themselves as though it was a summer evening.

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First Impressions of Amsterdam
First Impressions of Amsterdam on a Saturday Night

That was awesome to see, so much going on, so many people outside, walking, biking, …whatever. It’s nice to be in a place where people still know how to have fun. Someone told me last night about a saying from Iceland, that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

For someone just stepping off a plane from the states and on to the streets of Amsterdam, the one thing I would mention is to stay out of the bike lanes. The bike lanes are highways and if you’re not from around here you could be in for a surprise. Bikes are the main source of transportation and they’re everywhere, no exaggeration, everywhere.

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Anyway, after a long flight from Florida, walking around the central district on a Saturday night was just what I needed. About an hour past midnight I made it back to my hotel, but the city kept on buzzing late into the night. It was a good first impression.

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Palavas

This little costal town along the French mediterranean has a harbor, restaurants, shops and miles of beaches. It's no wonder the population grows from eight thousand to one hundred thousand in the summer. It reminds me a little bit of my home in Florida, though only a little. The mediterranean culture and French sensibilities are what make this a unique destination for vacationers. I was fortunate enough to be here in October when the streets were relatively empty and we could just walk into any restaurant without a wait. For me the experience was indeed unique.
Palavas is along the Mediterranean in southern France                                 Buy print

This little costal town along the French mediterranean has a harbor, restaurants, shops and miles of beaches. It’s no wonder the population grows from eight thousand to one hundred thousand in the summer. It reminds me a little bit of my home in Florida, though only a little. The mediterranean culture and French sensibilities are what make this a unique destination for european vacationers. I was fortunate enough to be here in October when the streets were relatively empty and we could just walk into any restaurant without a wait. For me the experience was indeed unique.