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happy birthday pear!

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it is really interesting how environments change through day and night. such an interesting feeling of emptiness in comparison, as different sources of light is missed in different settings. in this ocassion, neons and signs and the warmth of reflections of light through candles and drinks in the daylight, compared to the warm sunshine of sunrise, sunset, and their cloud effects at night-time.

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a grand walk down/ up damrak streek. a complete experience for the first dutch walk on a sunday morning.

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so as i walked down, past all these crooked houses in amsterdam, i realised most of these had a hook at the top. hmm, i am guessing it’s to lift larger and heavier objects up to the second and third stories. but how do such things fit through the windows?
happy birthday alexandra!

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the are ten northern european cities that claim to be the venice of the north. makes me wonder, what’s so “venice” about amsterdam, where the canals are wider, decorated by trees, with vehicular transit and the fact that it is already sunken (below sea level)? hmm, that’s odd, it has canals.. very venice i shall say..

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this is like the ‘behind the scenes’ of a flea market in amsterdam. i bought three random silver bromide prints from this old man in amsterdam who had a huge collection of these along some random household items and other fake antiques and touristy products. these vendors appear to be so organized (in their own way). found them pretty interesting and quite reasonable too after some negotiation.

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with over a hundred kms of canals, amsterdam is also known as the venice of the north. the layout and beauty of the planning of this city dates back to the seventeenth century. the design itself narrows down to four main concentric half circles of canals, which are distributed as residential and commercial on the first three and the fourth for defense and water management. other benefits include alternative transportation and communication ways.

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either one likes street art or not. even though the line between street art and vandalism is still very ambiguous, i do feel there an enormous grey zone: often filled with colors, abstract shapes, and everyday-social-political messages. don’t get me wrong, i really love street art and other public art installations. some go beyond creativity and play with dimensions, while others play with light and time. in this occassion, this subtle sticker was enough to make me smile.

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speaking of holland, amsterdam is such a remarkably pleasant city. within such a rich cultural context and progressive mindset, the dutch have come a long way. still today, capital of windmills, tulips, cheese, bicycles, canals, coffeeshops, history and culture amongst others, amsterdam has more to offer by the day. just this past weekend they the hermitage in amsterdam (dependent of the world-famous museum in saint petersburg). anyway, this engraving was on public bench in the middle of amsterdam. they do appear to know where north is.