Category Archives: Amsterdam

Diemerbos

On a rainy Sunday, I headed to explore this little forest, which I only recently discovered despite having lived in my current neighbourhood for the better part of a decade.

Koffie met appeltaartje was delightful despite the crowded restaurant, which I nibbled while sitting at the bar, as that was the only spot available.

It was loud with noise from the nearby motorway and railway tracks, but it was quiet and quaint. The damp weather elevated the saturated green grass tones, making it stand out against the muddy grounds.

These trees reminded me of Speulderbos – Forest of dancing trees. It also reminded me to consider getting back onto road biking, which I fell off seven years ago after that bike went missing.

It brings me great joy to see well-behaved dogs, off-leash, merrily exploring around, occasionally waiting for their owners to catch up to them.

Photographing dry reeds is always fun, and all appear just as same as they are different.

A bridge emerged from the foilage, and I had to go up for a peek.

It was a relaxed 45 walk, though the trails website described it as a 2-hour circuit. It is close if you were herding a few restless kids and a dog or two with every step you take.

Winterparadijs

Christmas is here, which means lots of fun markets and fairs, which translates to expensive food, shitty drinks, random music but good company of friends and excellent opportunity for capturing some photos. That last two bits usually makes braving the cold on a weekend afternoon, quite worthwhile.

Winterparadijs event is one of the largest that happens in Amsterdam and despite me living in this city for almost 7 years, its the first time I ended up there.

Continue reading

Sunny Sunday in Amsterdam

It was a sunny day. After vegetating for most of the weekend, I decided to step out and cycle around for few hours exploring some of my favorite spots and discovering some new ones.

Reeds with the advent of spring have found themselves growing out of their oblivion. I never get tired of taking pictures of them.

I proceeded to bike towards the sluice locks Oranjesluizen, which connects river Ij with Buiten-Ij. I discovered that it has been around for close to 150 years (opened in 1872).

The red bridge Schellingwouderbrug stood out separating the deep blues on either sides of the horizon today.

What surprised me further was the fact that the water level towards the inland was much higher than Ij.

I leisurely biked around, exploring the dijks on the other side of the sluice locks. The house boats, all bunched up looked exceptionally pretty

The underbelly of Schellingwouderbrug looked quite dramatic and so stopped to capture few shots. I then took the ramp on the right to get onto the bridge itself.

After crossing the bridge, I followed onto Zuiderzeeweg and reached a spot near camping zeeburg. I often pass by this area when I am commuting to work on bike. Today I took time to stop by and explore

Then sunny backdrop was quite deceiving and it was quite cold all throughout my ride. My fingers were going numb and so I decided to call it a day started to circle back home.

Morning Commute

I usually commute to work by the tram, and it involves switching to another tram at Centraal. Ever so often, I either get down several stops earlier after changing or just walk all the way from Centraal to work in Rembrandtplein via the Dam Square and Kalverstraat areas of Amsterdam.

On the lucky days that I am early, I sit down around the area and enjoy some quiet minutes amongst the hustle and bustle.

The Kalverstraat area is devoid of tourists in the morning, which makes for a pleasant stroll. At any other time of the day, it is a full house with barely any space to walk.

Window shopping is a must-do, especially for flowers and clothes.