- Of course the architecture didn't disappoint! There were beautiful doorways and rooftops at every turn. Many of the houses are built with the top jutting out to protect against weather, so that provides for some interesting viewing!
- I was a also intrigued by the dress code. Granted we were in the absolute city center, so the urban influence was unfairly skewed in the direction of high fashion, but still...they were extremely fashionable, in a very European, casual kind of way. Surprisingly, we especially noticed how fashionable the men were - hopping on and off of their bikes with very trendy accessories, longer wavy hair, ultra-cool sunglasses, hipster jeans, etc.. My friend and I commented many times that they could step right into an ad and look just right!
- On the downside, the city was incredibly dirty. I was pretty turned off by that because it detracted from the charm of the city. It also smelled quite a bit - they have little stalls for public urinals that don't have any drainage so you can imagine how that works out. Not so nice. That would be my only complaint and typically I am very tolerant of this in cities...
- The cafes were incredibly charming and cozy, with a bohemian influence. This was the case even in the infamous red light district, where one can find a window with a woman waiting for her next customer, followed by the next window opening into a beautiful restaurant.
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
This was the door of our hotel. Notice the large tobacco leaf above the door - apparently this used to a tobacco company in some form, way back when...
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
Yummies.
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
What's he smokin'?
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
The architecture had me snapping pictures left and right...
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
More cool architecture!
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
Notice the tipping buildings...
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
We enjoyed a couple of wine flights in this sleek wine bar - very fun.
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
A very typical street scene - well, usually there are more bikes than this!
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
This is a very typical entrance...a short flight of stairs, a beautiful grand door with a decorated transom of the top. I love this look!
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
Iron railings - one of my favorite architectural elements to photograph
when I am traveling to gather design ideas...
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
These columns were part of a series wrapping around this
building - all decorated differently.
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
This was a great, old, dusty, bohemian-type cafe that we hit the last night of the trip...I loved all of the old stuff way up high. Endless eccentric eye candy. :)
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
I haven't looked up the translation to this yet but I am thinking it's something like "Bon Appetit". I noticed that most of the signs, as well as their personal handwriting (the few times I observed it) had this beautiful swirl to it - beautiful!
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
A beautiful letter slot.
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
The world-famous canals. Everyone here is dressed in orange to
Queen's Day - a rowdy street party throughout the city.
We had a fun visit to the Heineken store. It was a great place to find gifts to thank our husbands for taking care of the kids during our getaway!
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
Heineken bottles...
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| Photography by Barbara Jordan Dettweiler |
I thought it was only appropriate to end the post on the cheese. :)
If you're wondering where all of the pictures from their famous
flower market are, you can look here!
I love the chance to get to see visitors shots of the city rather than the official PR ones. I love the images of the doors - perhaps because I am trying to decide what to paint mine x
ReplyDeleteLove ending the post on one of my favorite things..cheese! Good post...interesting as someone else I know who was there last year really enjoyed their travels there amongst many other places but did remark that they found it to be quite dirty in comparison to other European cities.....loved the sleek wine bar and the beautiful architecture is always such a treat. Looks like it was a lot of fun! Those Europeans are quite chic...gotta hand it to them..they really do have wonderful style.
ReplyDeletebeautiful architecture...and so interesting that Europeans take such pride in their appearance as to dress so well...(but then in the case of Amsterdam, allow the town to smell quite badly....)..interesting to see how others live...
ReplyDeletemaureen
Cheese, pastries! Wow!!! I'm craving Amsterdam now! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures. So beautiful!
Have a Blessed week!
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
What beautiful architecture!! You must have had a wonderful time. Thanks for taking us along.
ReplyDeleteWow what a beautiful city! Their entries are so amazing, the huge heavy doors *swoon*. I kind of regret turning down a trip to Amsterdam next week now =( At least I got to see it through your eyes =)
ReplyDeletexox Linda
I love the architecture details in your beautiful pictures.....it´s a stunning place.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Cecilia