Passing NEMO

Photo by Stephen Bohn

The large, oddly shaped building in the background is the wonderful NEMO Science Center of Amsterdam. The current building was designed by Renzo Piano in 1997. The hands-on museum is the fifth most visited museum in the Netherlands.

Boats Along the Canal

A grouping of boats and houseboats that we passed during our canal cruise in Amsterdam.

The City Awakens

Another early morning photograph of an Amsterdam canal.

Amsterdam Sunrise

Photo by Stephen Bohn

A new morning dawns along the Singel canal in Amsterdam.

Old with the New

Amsterdam is a city of contrasts, a place where you can take in historic architecture and picturesque canal scenes punctuated by the occasional modern building or art installation. It all works together.

Dutch Swan

A lone swan swims peacefully during a lull in boat traffic in an Amsterdam canal.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

A partial view of the Dutch national museum dedicated to art and history. It was moved to Amsterdam from the Hague in 1808 and contains over a million objects, including masterpieces by Rembrandt and other Golden Age painters.

The Grasshopper

With a view of the canal boats at Damrak and close to the red light district of Amsterdam, The Grasshopper restaurant and coffee shop is well situated and popular with tourists.

The Beehive

Founded in 1870, the name of this Dutch department store chain (De Bijenkorf) translates to "the beehive" in English. Its flagship store is located on Dam Square in Amsterdam.

Across the Canal

The view across the Singel canal from our Amsterdam hotel, the Estherea.

Amsterdam Cafe

The view of Spuistraat from the Restaurant & Brasserie Luden in Amsterdam.

Dining on the Canal

This canal-side restaurant in Amsterdam, with its adjacent tourist office, seemed to be a very popular spot.

News in the Singel

Canal houses along the Singel canal in Amsterdam. This was our 'neighborhood' for several days during our first trip to Amsterdam.
Texture by Karen Burns

Singel 404

Bikes line one of the bridges crossing Amsterdam's Singel canal. Singel 404 is a highly recommended lunch spot.  Textures by leeber and mulberrymuse were added.

Cafe Life

One of our favorite places to eat in Amsterdam is Kantjil & de Tijger, which features Indonesian food. Their specialty is rijsttafel (literally "rice table") which consists of many small portions of dishes such as egg rolls, vegetables, satay and seafood served as side dishes which can be easily shared.

I've added textures from Kerstin Frank Art and Shadowhouse Creations.

Cruising Amsterdam

While enjoying a pleasure cruise of Amsterdam's canals, I took this photo looking towards Sint Nikolaaskerk church, not far from Centraal Station. The short, round tower in the foreground is Schreierstoren, which was built in the 15th century and now houses a cafe. According to Wikipedia, this is the spot where Henry Hudson set sail for North America.

I've added textures created by borealnz and les brumes.

Begijnhof, Amsterdam

The Begijnhof is an inner court consisting of 47 distinctive town houses, many dating back to the Middle Ages.  This statue represents one of the many beguines, or Catholic lay women, who were similar to nuns but took no vows and were able to leave their cloistered community and wed if they chose. When the last beguine passed away in 1971, the Begijnhof was turned into private housing.

I've added textures from Shadowhouse Creations and boccacino.

Bikes at Centraal Station

The first time I visited Amsterdam I was amazed at the number of bicycles everywhere I looked. It's the preferred mode of transportation and it took me awhile to adjust to the fact that bicycles usually have the right of way and pedestrians really need to stay focused in this city! This picture was taken at Centraal Station, the main train station in Amsterdam. Instead of multiple car parks, they have multiple bicycle parking lots.

I've added a texture by Tanya Felsheim from the Flickr free texture group.

Bike on the Singel

I believe this is the Singel canal, but I'm not 100% certain. Travel Partner and I stayed in a wonderful hotel on the Singel - the Estherea - a couple of times, and I love the location because it's convenient to nearly everything in Amsterdam.

After applying an HDR effect, I added textures from bocaccino and Shadowhouse Creations.

Red Flowers in the Jordaan

Bright red flowers adorn this bridge over a canal in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. I love the way each bridge and each canal are so unique and photogenic.
Texture: 136 ttv by Nasos3