I took a little trip to Amsterdam this week. It's only 45 minutes by train, making me wonder why I haven't done this sooner. It's been too long since I've visited our nation's capital city.
I arrived at Central Station around 10:45 and started walking towards Dam Square, the heart and center of Amsterdam. With the Royal Palace (photo above) to the west and the National Monument (below) to the east (Google Map).
Did I mention it was the most beautiful day? A few small clouds would have made it perfect photography wise, but I wasn't complaining.
The 'Magere Brug' left of the tree.
The Royal Theatre Carré near the Amstel.
The Amstel with the Royal Theatre Carré on the right with the light grey roof.
Carré on the left.
Probably the worst image of all. Bad lens-flares and bad lighting, but it's the Heineken Brewery, so I had to add it.
Not too far from the brewery is the Museum Square with the famous Reiks Museum (with almost 2.5 million visitors last year), the Van Gogh Museum (almost 2 million visitors last year) and the Stedelijk Museum.
Rijks Museum - Canon nFD 14mm f2.8L
Rijks Museum - Canon nFD 14mm f2.8L
One of the most beautiful buildings in Amsterdam. The details are amazing!
Center left detail of previous photo.
Taking the passage to the Museum Square, you can see the atrium of the Rijks Museum on both sides. Head over the the website of the Rijks Museum for more info.
Just a few meters onto the Museum Square you'll find the big 'I Amsterdam' letters. The slogan is 2 meters tall and about 24 meters wide. More info can be found here.
Walking across the square, you'll find the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum on the right side.
After all this walking I needed something to cool off. So I headed to Rembrandt Square to sit down and have a nice cold beer.
I completely forgot to take some shots of the square. Especially the representation of The Night Watch painting with the bronze statues. I took a picture of the statues about 2 years ago.
After enough 'resting' I headed back to Dam Square starting to make my way back home.
The Royal Palace up close
The 'Nieuwe Kerk' (New Church) center left
Royal Palace with some pigeons
Click for larger version
And back to where I started; Central Station. Also a beautiful building, by the same designer as the Rijks Museum (Pierre Cuypers).
I've had a great day! I hadn't planned anything, so I ended up walking about 12-15 km. I probably could have taken a shorter route. Next time I'll do some planning and see some less obvious places.
Thanks for reading!
If you have any questions, let me know. If I made an error, feel free to correct me. :)
Some technical info:
All photos are taken with a Sony a7RII. Most of them with the Olympus OM Zuiko 21mm f/3.5. Two or three shots with the Canon nFD 14mm f/2.8L and one shot with the Canon nFD 50mm f/1.4. If you want to know more about the 50/1.4, please read my Canon 50mm comparison review here.