This view was a 90 minute walk from our hotel… and in the red light district.  Beautiful reflections of Amsterdam.  I waited and waited for the lights in the residence above the rowboat to come on.  They finally did, but only for less than 15 seconds.  Fortunately, it was during one of my long exposures so I captured the whole duration.

Did you know you are not allowed to photograph the girls sitting in the windows in the red light district as they advertise their business?  There were no signs stating photography of the ladies was not allowed.  How was I to know?  Getting scolded by a scantily clad lady was most embarrassing… More on that later.

(click these photos for a larger view)

Canal Reflections of Amsterdam

As I took this photo, right next to me was a very good piano player playing songs familiar to the Amsterdam crowd.

I researched the above view well before my arrival in Amsterdam.  I was worried that the leaves would have already fallen.  Turns out I was a bit early.

Certainly at one time the original owner who bought this boat was extremely happy and proud.  Did it change hands multiple time?  Did the owner pass away with nobody left to take care of the boat?  This was not an unusual sight.  Surprisingly, possibly half of the boats were in a similar condition.

 

I did not think the still photographs fully captured the beauty of the reflections of Amsterdam, so I took some movies of them.  Below is a short 35 second video of the scene and reflections.

Have your sound on…

 

The Diary of Ann Frank

Below is the home where Anne Frank and seven others spent over two years in hiding.  It was her father’s place of business with hidden stairwells and rooms.  The stairs were remarkably steep to climb.  In preparation for this trip, I read the book a second time.

 

The diary of Anne Frank has been published in 70 languages and numerous versions.  The various versions all contain her diary writings, but some include or exclude the more explicit parts.

Red Light District of Amsterdam

 

Above is the same view as the lead photo but with blurred lines from a passing boat and squiggly reflections from the waves.

The name of the video below is “Kitty is Busy.”  This is the group of windows where I got yelled at for taking a photo of the ladies ‘advertising their wares.’  It was quite embarrassing to get yelled at on the street by a lady in a bikini.  Not one to give up easily, I was later able to compile a very short video, below, as I again walked past the ladies’ windows.  I was using my phone for directions back to the hotel.  The video is so short I play it twice in a loop.  We will see if this video makes it past my editor in chief…  Have your sound on…

Kitty is Busy

 

Goodbye and Goodnight from Amsterdam

Amsterdam is home to the Van Gogh Museum…  Few artists, if any, bared their inner most thoughts like Van Gogh did through his letters to his brother Theo.  These letters, which ended up in the hands of Theo’s wife, Jo Van Gogh-Bogner after Vincent and Theo’s death, are the main source of the detailed interpretation we have for the subjects Vincent painted.  Wishing to market and sell these painting to support her son, she released these letters and sold only a few of the hundreds of paintings.  This peaked the artist world’s interest in Van Gogh and led the art community to view Vincent as a deeply thoughtful and visionary artist.  This is a truly remarkable and successful marketing story.

 

 

Good night Vincent and good night Amsterdam.

The next travel blog will be on India.