Fenix Museum

 Yesterday I visited the latest architectural addition in Rotterdam: the Fenix Museum, featuring a double-helical staircase in the center, designed by architect Ma Yansong of Mad Architects.

The start

Looking upstairs

Try to capture the surroundings through the reflection created by the entire staircase.

All in all, well worth it.

I just don’t know what to make of this.

 Transformer station clad with images of Rembrandt’s paintings on Rembrandt Square.  A slightly belated post for Sami's Colourful World here.

Entrance?

Using the front door seems a bit tricky to me.(Header: Well, if no bikes are parked there, something else will take over the bike racks.)

Look up.

 The sky sometimes makes for a beautiful backdrop, like here with an inflatable bouncy castle. Here’s one for Skywatch Friday.

People-watching is definitely the most fun

 Go girl go.

The newest invention

Streets locked for bikers on both sides. One for Signs2 here.

 

Really, really busy

 Parking on either side is really no easy task.

Bike transport

 Just throw everything in including the kids. Saw this yesterday on the Prinsengracht. (Header text reads: Amsterdam buckles under the pressure by a renovation brick-lined embankment)  

Let's see if there's anything left to get.

 Goldfish or Koi. I like them both. Most of my neighbors have covered their ponds with a net, but you never know. Linking it to Saturday critters here

Café terrace expansion

 Well, you have to make do when you don't have much space. (Header: the lock between Prinsengracht and Korte Prinsengracht, with a view of the Wester Church)

Happy fruits and vegetables.

 

And the mousetrap was there again, too. One for Signs2 here.

Street furniture

 It really stands out, even though it's in a cluttered spot. Here's one for Sami's Colourful World.

Birthday Party

It looks like someone just turned 26, and that calls for a celebration on a bridge over the Keizersgracht.  

Aerial advertising

Apparently, even the aerial advertisements are in English, even though we’re in the Netherlands. Seems to have something to do with cryptocurrency. I’d call this double air pollution. One for Skywatch Friday here.

Signs in the vicinity.

 

You don't have to walk far to see that this neighbor keeps chickens in his yard. One of them, named Duco, seems to always make a run for it whenever the gate opens. Here's one for Signs2.

Its a colorful world

 One for Sami's Colourful World here.

A beautiful home.

Houseboat on the Amstel (Header from the archive. Window sill filler at Biebkriebels sister's place.)

 

Yesterday was truly a beautiful day in Amsterdam

 

 I had to stop by my old workplace and thought I’d walk from Central Station to work. I came across this welcome sign for visitors featuring an alternative to the St. Andrew’s crosses in the Amsterdam coat of arms. Unfortunately, very few visitors come to this spot and I haven't seen elsewhere.

Very sunny

and very inviting with all those spring green.

Mouse guard

 This is a real problem in downtown Amsterdam, especially when there's plenty of food around.  This really works best. A point for Signs2 here.

Today in Almere

Preparations for King's Day tomorrow are in full swing. Some children have already gotten their hands on some goodies or are bringing them in for sale.

And to think that someone has to stay up all night to watch over the stuff at a temperature of 5°C.

Header the old canal Utrecht from the archive.

Dutch Mountains

 One for Skywatch Friday here.

The frustration of street photography

 Photos taken at waist height. I didn’t look through the viewfinder and just snapped the shot with a standard-sized DSLR. Well, the focus ended up a bit off—something you don’t have to worry about with a cell phone, but I still haven’t gotten used to it. I like it so much anyway that I’m posting it.

Martin Parr

 

Following the death of Martin Parr (1952–2025), a Magnum photographer, the Amsterdam photography museum Foam has curated a small photo exhibition titled *Very Modern and Rather Ugly*. His photos have always offered a somewhat sarcastic and humorous perspective on our society, and it is truly a shame that we have now lost this perspective. ( Header entrance of the Hart museum Amsterdam)

The Amstel

 It looks like boating season is here again. (Last Thursday)

There has to be something to laugh about.

 From the archive. The Cat Café. One for Signs2 here.

Amsterdam bikes

 Its colorful

From the archive

 Street photography from the flea market. (Header tunnel under the railroad tracks near Central Station.)

At least there's still something to laugh about.

 So you definitely don’t make a mistake. One for Signs2 here.

Biking in the rain.

 I still love those rain photos. Header: Light Party on Dam Square.

In the Polder

 Old archive shot from 2014. One for Skywatch Friday here.

Erwin Olaf

His last photo.

A few impressions from the retrospective exhibition of photographer Erwin Olaf, who passed away suddenly two years ago at far too young an age (1959–2023). This is the exhibition’s final week, and last week I had a chance to visit. A truly beautiful exhibition. (Header the cycle path near the Frederiks square at 14:32)

Nice weather yesterday in Weesp

 One for Skywatch Friday here.

Still strange

 The fact that we have bookstores in Amsterdam that sell exclusively English-language books. One for Signs2 here.

The daily grind, even on Sundays

 Header In December, the city often illuminates the canals in a creative way.

A soothing view

 Some nesting poles for storks have been set up in our local park, but I can’t remember ever seeing one there. On the other hand, they do perch on power poles here and there. Yes, man plans, but nature decides. Here’s one for Skywatch Friday.