2013-09-18 Ferry over 't IJ, Zaanstad-Amsterdam, NL

't IJ is the one of the dominant features of Amsterdam. Where as the Amstel river is cutting city in half separating West and East, the mighty 't IJ separates the centrum from North. It is historically a bay, not a river. There are tunnels for cars and ferries for pedestrians and bikes. But there's also one  ferry called Hempont, not so widely known one, for cars - connecting the neighbouring city of Zaanstad to Amsterdam. This, like many others in the neighbourhood, is hosted by public transportation company GVB.
This time I made a small exception to my "5 minute in one spot" rule, because technically I didn't move. It was the spot (my car on the ferry) itself that was moving. 
And the outcome: 13 photos to go, in chronological order.

Waiting for my turn to get onboard the ferry Hempont.

My ticket! Paid by cash to the real live people selling them - no fancy-pancy pincards nor NFC here.

Somebody's home on the waterside.

Exit view, the half-abandoned shopping mall on the Cornelis Ouwejanstraat.

Good to have these things onboard as well, don't you think?

Another rear view - and yes, the ferry is lime colour.

Pipe connections for... I don't know.

Sign 'Motoren afzetten' means turn off the engine. This scooter boy wasn't bothered by it, and happily kept his scooter running for the whole trip.

Up there the bridge, where all the steering magic happens.

Hydrofoil ferry from Amsterdam to IJmuiden. Sadly these Fast Flying Ferries (name given by their operator Connexxion) were discontinued 2014-01-01. They looked awesome!

't IJ isn't a river, but originally a bay. Nowadays it's an important waterway.

A (short) moment of sunshine.

Boats and ships of all sizes pass by all the time.

As the South bank of 't IJ is getting closer, people are already getting ready to get off the ferry.

So here we are, Amsterdam!

2013-01-16 Spaklerweg, Amsterdam, NL

Monday after the weekend in France. A bit dull, but back to the normal everyday life. I went to a hardware store for some odds and ends for the apartment renovation. The rainy weather eased down for a small time of sunshine - and with some amazing colours! The photos I took are not enhanced for saturation, they are pretty much as is.
There's one funny twist to this location: there used to be some old water cleaning facility, decommissioned years and years ago. Even the Google satellite view still shows the old situation from at least 4 years ago: http://goo.gl/maps/vARqT
And the outcome: 12 photos to go, in chronological order.

They are busy building an apartment block. Already half a year gone, but on the other hand they are creating vast underground parking area into something that could be best described as wet sand.

Modern day Dutch habits: using your smartphone while cycling.

Not miniature tombstones, but warning posts for gas pipes. No idea why they have so many here.

Rain + sun = rainbow! (Ends up in the hardware store Gamma, funny enough.)

I guess those Liander cars have some sort of a nest nearby. They were constantly driving back and forth, here 2 of them.

Even though this is not the centrum and despite the fact it's in the middle of the day, there was reasonably lot traffic.

Only a couple of a years ago there was just wasteland, where this building now proudly stands.

These charming buildings have been there, behind the railway and metro track, for a little bit longer. They are jail buildings - so criminals are the few lucky ones in whole Amsterdam who actually have a nice view :-P

One just must love the colours with the after-rain light.

Some cyclists were too fast for my camera.

180 degrees around, and you are greeted with a very different view.

As a last photo, close-up on the grass littered with these white flowers. Feel free to inform me about their name :-)

2013-09-15 Place Nouvelle Aventure, Rijsel-Lille, FR

We had a nice weekend trip to France, visiting the city of Lille (or Rijsel, as it is known in Dutch). I took literally hundreds of photos there.
We stopped to a cafe on the market square Place Nouvelle Aventure (near the Marché Couvert market hall). The open air market is called Marché de Wazemmes. I decided to take few photos for this blog as well.
And the outcome: 11 photos to go, in chronological order.

Having a beer on the terrace, watching the people passing by.

These gentlemen had something seemingly funny to discuss about.

...while some ladies were not all too happy about some smells around. (It was actually just a smell of a regular open air market, nothing overwhelmingly bad there.)

Some kids spotted me shooting and wanted to participate, too! They were not begging, just having fun.

Shoelaces needed some attention.

Mother and son? Aunt and nephew? Cougar and a catch? Can't tell, but one can really come up with interesting alternative stories about people walking by :-)

The shops extended their services to the street, which just makes sense.

Needless to say, people of all ages and sizes like the sunny market.

Even the professional beggars need a rest. They were shouting and begging for a while, but then sat down for a break.

The eye brows.

Sunny day on a terrace, not a bad place for a date.

13-09-12 Rijnstraat Amsterdam NL

I was just doing my regular groceries, when I found the tree with a bench built around it. In a bit funny spot along the Rijnstraat in Southern Amsterdam. Why not to stop and take few traffic shots!
So I endured the staring people from by-passers, cafe customers and car drivers, and let my camera sing again. By the way, the buildings seen here represent the typical Amsterdamse school, a pre-war architecture style.
And the outcome: 13 photos to go, in chronological order.

First view: Amsterdamse school buildings, cars, bikes and a P-sign without any parking spots.

Construction worker having a break; smoking a cigarette and playing with the smartphone.

No two Amsterdamse school buildings are the same, even when they might appear so. This one has been spiced up with the GSM antenna.

Amsterdam is not Amsterdam without the bikes.

Some of the kids sport the trendy cruiser bikes - spiced up with a typical Dutch front rack.

Dutchies can sometimes be a bit creative with their driving routes and bending the rules.

It's not raining, so it's a proper weather to sit out on a terrace.

It would have been a nice photo if the single mother actually was driving that truck with her kids :D

Snorscooters are allowed on bicycle paths. In theory they aren't supposed to go faster than 25 km/h - a rule very often bended.

This little branch mistook the autumn for a spring.

The pentagon seat around the tree I mentioned earlier.

One can only wonder how come more people don't get hurt in the traffic. This is nothing unusual and not even a close call - just normal road crossing.

As a last image, the pentagon bench work-around (pun intended).