After the Herring …

On August 30, 2026 0 Comments - Europe 2026, Photography, Travel

***please try to look at these photos on a bigger screen. Your phone will crush all the details***

This is the final post in a five part series. To start from the beginning, CLICK HERE.

Taking out the trash

I have been back home since yesterday (or maybe the day before?)

This morning, as I sat down and started sorting through and deleting photos from the trip, I inevitably found a few shots in the junk pile that I really like.

Generations

For the Amsterdam leg of this trip, there were four of us travelling together: myself, my good friend and his parents. His mom is the sweetest person: kind, considerate and patient. His dad is energetic, funny and always up to some mischief: either looking for discounts, trying to buy things that aren’t for sale (hahaha!), commandeering bicycles or impulse shopping. It was a lot of fun to spend time with them! This is the second time I have met them in Europe. We probably walked at least 20km a day and they had just as much energy as we did (possibly more).

Father and son listening to tall and handsome Dutch cheese-monger. They ended up buying a LOT of cheese! In their defence, we **did** eat all of it : )

Mother and son…and more cheese! Dad is way in back, plotting his next caper. Notice how both men are walking with their hands clasped in front of them…genetics at work. The sausage doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say…

Beautiful Light

There were many hours of overcast but also scenes like this….

This is from a balcony off our Amsterdam apartment. When I travel, I always try new ways to fight jet lag. Some time ago, I read that once you get up in the morning, you should stand directly in the morning sun and let it shine into your face and eyes to reset your internal clock. So every morning, I would crawl out of bed and stare into the sun on this balcony. The air was always fresh and cool. You could smell that you were not far from the sea. The sun is burning off some early morning fog here.

The evening sun just about to drop behind the buildings. This picture was taken from a boat on a canal.

City Scenes

These are a few random shots of Amsterdam. A good-looking city overall with many pretty details.

Amsterdammers will make a garden out of the smallest urban spaces. Window boxes, flowerpots and cracks in the sidewalk are all sprouting something colourful. I remember the same kind of little pot gardens everywhere in Tokyo.

Woman cycling in the rain past the premium stroopwaffel shop. Stroopwaffels are made up up two thin waffle textured biscuits with caramel in between. This shop made them fresh so they were hot and the caramel was soft. You can also buy stroopwaffels in packages at bakeries and grocery stores and warm them up by setting them on top of a steaming cup of coffee. They taste great together.

This was after the Prinsengracht concert. People are happily drinking and snacking as they boat home after the show.

This is a Sunday afternoon in Delft, Netherlands, another city of canals and bridges but much smaller and quieter than Amsterdam.

To Wroclaw

We boarded our plane at the Amsterdam airport by outdoor staircase from the apron. The sun was just setting as we climbed on board and I was able to snap this shot. I really love getting onto an airplane from the outside and giving the fuselage a *pat-pat-pat* before I get in… I just love airplanes. For anyone who is amazed by the great leaps in technology we are supposedly making right now, just stop and think about a jet plane for a minute….

One of the 800 or so Wroclaw Gnomes. These little brass dwarves have been appearing in the streets of Wroclaw since 2005. Collect them all! I think there are online maps so you can hunt gnomes all over Wroclaw like Eastern Europe Pokemon Go.

One of the buildings on the Cathedral Island. It is so spotless and perfect that it looks like a fancy cake with buttercream icing.

Different textures and colours all at once.

**The Tour Guide.** Most of the time, I travel solo and it is enjoyable but, a lot of work. On this trip, I had almost no say in the planning or the daily events. It was SO NICE! This is only the second time since I was a little kid that I have travelled strictly as a passenger. The first time was in Tokyo where I followed my daughter around all day just taking pictures and marvelling at my surroundings and trying not to get lost. Sometimes it is so relaxing to not have to make any decisions and just let someone else look after your well-being. As an adult, it is a pretty rare thing. Thanks to my Polish brother for looking after all the details. It was a very special and relaxing trip for me because of all the work you did to make it that way : )

Strange and seemingly random details and window placement. I love the way this place is put together.

Late night on Cathedral Island (sounds like a reality show: “On the next episode of Cathedral Island, Sister Mary-Margaret catches Bishop Giuseppe smoking in the vestibule…tune in Sunday night!”). The whole island is lit with gas lanterns.

Nostalgic Commie-grey against the blue blue sky. I think “communist concrete” should be a paint-chip.

A wildflower garden in a concrete planter surrounded by concrete buildings. The picture doesn’t quite capture how striking it was in person.

The End

This was a great trip. Whenever I go to this part of Europe I always I feel at home. I like the cities here, the way they are organized and the way they move. Restaurants and grocery stores are full of high quality and affordable meats and fruits and veggies and baked goods. And, being outside in the city is relaxing and refreshing. I hope to be back again someday.

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Amsterdam, photography, Poland

Amsterdam at Night / Delft

On August 23, 2026 0 Comments - Europe 2026, Photography, Travel

***please try to look at these photos on a bigger screen. Your phone will crush all the details***

This is the second post in a five part series. To start at the beginning CLICK HERE.

Prinsengracht Concert in Amsterdam

Once a year, the largest free classical music concert in the Netherlands happens on a canal on the Prinsengracht. A big orchestra is set up on a floating barge in the canal where the public can gather around for a night time serenade. The rich and influential Amsterdammers get front row seats on the water and anyone else who wants to see it has to camp out all afternoon to secure a good spot. There were so many people by the time we got there that we couldn’t get close enough to see anything at all, but at least we could hear it.

Crowds of people fill the narrow streets and bridges surrounding the orchestra barge. Packed like herring!

People come out in boats to listen too. I messed up my camera settings so many of my pictures were blurry but I thought this one looked like an oil painting so I included it here. If you zoom in on the boats or the people you will see what I mean.

Amsterdam cat way up in a window watching all the people below. I don’t see all that many cats outside in the city but lots of window kitties.

Almost all of the boaters had a table of wine, cheese and other snacks on board to enjoy with the music. I like the way the people on the bench are all watching this floating picnic pass by.

Outdoor restaurant patio right on the edge of a canal.

Patio glow. There is a lot going on in this picture if you look around. Good action and good faces too.

Quiet canals at night lit by old lamp posts and a near-full moon.

Anne Frank House

A glow of blue light above the orchestra in the distance. The tall tower belongs to Westerkerk church. This is the church Anne Frank writes about in her famous diary. She could see the clock face from the attic of their hiding place and hear the church bell ring every 15 minutes which, she wrote, was a source of great comfort. The church sounds gave her some small connection to the outside world during her two years in hiding.

Day Trip to Delft

Delft is the centre of production for the famous Dutch blue on white Royal Delft Pottery. It is beautiful small town. Canals, bridges and bicycles…just like Amsterdam but on a much smaller scale. It has a slower feel to it too. Only 1 hour from Amsterdam by train, it is a nice place to spend a relaxing afternoon.