And one of a host of favorite images from Amsterdam,
it's boats and canals.
From the beginning over 400 years ago,
very much a part of it's urban tapestry...

Nikon D600, 28-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

And more threads,

some on water,
as the city goes to sleep

and more,
as the city awakes...

Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens.

More threads,
in the tapestry of Amsterdam...

Image 1, Little girl watching her Mom coming up Kerkstraat.
Image 2, Morning coffee and news fix in the Jordaan district.
Image 3, That looks good, shopping on Haarlemmerdijk.
Image 4, Chilling out with his owner, Haarlemmerstraat.
Image 5, Violin Player at the Central Station.
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

The on going Amsterdam urban tapestry...

Perhaps we are like tiny threads in a giant carpet,
that is constantly being woven,
and never finished...

We all leave our mark,
some,
form part of the foreground,
but most of us,
remain part of the background...

But I would say,
the background is pretty wonderful...

Image 1,  A couple react to the sound of a pigeon crushed by a tram.
Image 2,  An open street vendor shop on a bridge over the Kaisergracht.
Image 3,  Inside the Oude Kerk in the heart of the red light district, mostly empty of worshipers.
Image 4,  Toy store window for men.
Nikon D600, 105mm F2.8 AFD Nikkor lens

Art hanging on the walls,
or hanging about on the streets...
For me
it was the on going tapestry of Amsterdam...

Image 1 and 2, Working man and women by Vincent Van Gogh, from the Van Gogh Museum.
Image 3, Cloth vendor in the Westermarkt.
Image 4, Looking for something, Haarlemmerstraat.
Image 5, Waiting, also on Haarlemmerstraat
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm Nikkor lens

Continuing the idea of art of the everyday...

What was so unique about so much of the Dutch Art of the Golden Age from 1580 to 1700
was that for the first time in Europe,
painters created work about every day scenes,
from political moments to parties, home life, and labouring  in the fields...

What appealed to me most in Amsterdam
was the everyday moments,
the art of everyday living...

Here two moms with twins on a yummy outing, on Haarlemmerdijk,
one of our favorite shopping streets.
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm Nikkor lens

Not far from our flat on Kerkstraat,
More street art,
art of the everyday...

Image 1, a doorway to a storage room in the Jordaan.
Image 2, a quiet fellow with his cat outside a coffee house just off the Prinsen Gracht.
Image 3, sleeping man outside a lawyer's office along the Keizers Gracht.
Image 4, book bench in front of a, (wait for it) book store, again on the Keizers Gracht.
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm Nikkor lens

Outside the Rijks Museum,
across the street and down a few canals...
Is more Dutch art,
though of different flavour and context...

Amsterdam street art seems alive and well...
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm Nikkor lens

The 10 year restoration of the Rijks Museum itself included much restoration work on the art as well.
The dark muted tones I remember from my first visit as a teenager 40 years ago,
have been replaced by the brilliance and vibrancy that Rembrandt, Frans Halls and Bartholomeus van der Helst painted them over 400 years ago...

These wonderful characters seem as alive as they were so long ago...
And they certainly loved to dress up and party!

Image 1, Hung at the end of the Grand Hall is Rembrandt's 'Nachtwacht' of 1642, brilliantly alive once again.
Image 2, hanging just to the left in the Grand Hall, 'De magere compagnie' by Frans Halls and finished by Peter de Lange (after some dispute) of 1637. I love the guy on the left in Dutch orange.
Image 3, and hanging on the right of the 'Night Watch' is '1648 Treaty of Munster' by Bartholomeus van der Helst. I was captivated by the confidence of the fellow with the blue sash.
Nikon D600, 105mm AFD F2.8 Nikkor lens. (A meager imitation of the original...)

The newly re opened Rijks Museum is full of wonderful art,
and is especially known for the art of Holland's Golden Age
from 1580 to the early 1700's.
But what I find equally captivating,
is the public reaction to the wonder hanging on the walls...

Image 1 and 2 were shot in front of Rembrandt's newly cleaned and amazing 'Night Watch'
Image 3 was shot around 11am in the new entry court, and the reason to get to the museum at 9am as soon as it opens.
Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

The Rijks Museum,
one of the world's premier art museums,
was re opened only a couple of months ago after some 10 years of major renovations.
And after much protest,
the bike way through the middle of the building and into the art park beyond,
was re opened as well...

Time less again,
and,
well,
It is a Dutch thing...

Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

It is a Dutch thing...

Bike taxi,
Dead bike,
Sushi delivery...

Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens

Classic Amsterdam continued...

I can't help thinking that getting the city laid out right over 400 years ago,
has allowed the city to reinvent itself continuely over the centuries...
Even with it's obvious constraints,
Amsterdam remains vital, ordered and
cool..
Maybe it is a Dutch thing.

Amsterdam is also blessed with one major advantage not shared by many European cities,
certainly not shared by Rotterdam not far away,
freedom from 20th century war damage...
Berlin, our next stop,
was an eye opener.

Nikon D600, 105mm F2.8 AFD Nikkor lens

Classic Amsterdam...

Nikon D600, 105mm F2.8 AFD Nikkor lens

More

Bicycles for everything,
And I mean everything...

Texting while riding, (there must be a rule against this)
commuting to work,
and naturally,
the family SUV ride to school...

Nikon D600, 28mm-70mm AFD Nikkor lens