My Virtual Vacation Day 3—Holland

We had hoped in retirement to travel the world. So far we have done a pretty good job with trips to Mexico, Hawaii, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and The Czech Republic. However the pandemic has stopped all of that for a while. So while waiting for Africa, Alaska and Scandinavia, our current travel is going to have to be virtual. Today’s stop is The Nederland or Holland as Americans call it.

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Amsterdam

Amsterdam View from Central Station

Kinderjik

Water Managment Canal

Anne Fankhuis Removed By RedBubble

I was notified this week by RedBubble which I used to house my commercial storefront that they had adopted a new policy on sensitive events like the Holocaust and had removed one of my works. I thought at first that they had removed my image of The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. It turns out while I have used that image a few times on this blog I had never uploaded it to the commercial site.

They chose to remove this image taken inside the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. It’s not a high quality image. It was taken quickly with a 2 megapixel Canon Camera in 1999. I was still shooting film back then and didn’t take out my gear inside the Anne Frank Museum.

I like it because it was the window she used to stare out of and there are children going to school outside. It made me empathetic with how she must have felt. I appreciate RedBubble’s heightened sense of responsibility because of rising anti semitism in the world but believe they overreached in this case. Please let me know what you think!

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Anne Fankhuis Amsterdam NL

L’ Shana Tova

Tonight is the beginning of one of the most sacred holidays in Judaism: Rosh Hashanah. I can’t help but wonder what services would look like in the beautiful Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is known for its Red Light District, Canals, Coffee Shops and Museums. Nestled in this backdrop is one of the great Synagogues of the world. It was built by Spanish Jews escaping the Spanish Inquisition. Since Holland and Spain were at war with one another, those escaping persecution said they were Portuguese to gain entry in to the country. Many Synagogues in Europe today restrict access due to persistent anti-Semitic feelings. However the Portuguese Synagogue is open for visitors for a small fee. You can also attend services on Friday or Saturday without paying a fee. The entire Synagogue is lit by candles and there is an excellent Judaica store where you can buy beautiful souvenirs and find out about the history of the building.L’shanah Tovah (Happy New Year!)

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Portuguese Synagogue Amsterdam Holland

Smithsonian Candidate #5…Amsterdam

I am thinking of entering the Smithsonian Photo Contest even though I have zero chance of winning. I say that not to denigrate my ability as a photographer, but each category already has over 50,000 entries. Sure a lot of them are crap but some, well follow the link above and see for yourself. Also you can only submit work from 1/1/2016 until the present and all works with people must have a model release.

If you are familiar with any of my work (e.g. Moment and Souls) you probably realize I don’t have a lot of model releases.

Fortunately I do have some images that may qualify in other categories and will be publishing some here to see if you feel they quality. Please comment and let me know your thoughts.This one is in the Travel Category and is a view of Amsterdam from outside Central Station.

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Smithsonian Candidate #5…Amsterdam

Play Me

In every country we visited throughout Europe we found pianos in public places available for public performance. This one was inside the mall adjacent to the Central Station in Amsterdam. The piano was in tune and pianist actually knew how to play.

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gallery.

Play Me

Water Towers

We began our sail from Amsterdam in the Netherlands and stood on our veranda watching the Nederlands sweep by. Eight days and 7 ports later we would wind up in Basil Switzerland. Along the Waal river in Holland we saw a few buildings that look like castles. Closer looks reveal they are not. This is a water tower or pumping station. We also saw bridge abutments designed to look like castles.

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Water Tower

Amsterdam View from Central Station

This is a view of Amsterdam catching the afternoon sun in October. It is taken from the left side of Central station at the foot of the bridge.

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Amsterdam View from Central Station

Forty-Five… European Street Music

Recently we took a four week trip through Europe. We started in Amsterdam and finished in Prague. I made a vow to myself that I would take video of every street musician we saw. Some were great, some not so great but all provided an interesting taste of the countries we traveled through. What I like as much as the music is the action in the streets around the performers. Watch until the end and take a look at the “gold statues” behind the performers.

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Expedition Start–Amsterdam

For the last month we have been touring Europe to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary. Our journey through Europe covered 1600 kilometers and five countries. I took about 2000 images and videos and surely will be busy editing and publishing for a while. Like most good European journeys we started in Amsterdam. Our flight on Lufthansa had been canceled and we were forced to ride in middle seats on United so when we hit the ground we were hungry, bitchy, and jet lagged. On our way to find food and a coffee shop I stopped for a second to take this image.

Fortunately we have been to Amsterdam before because the next day we would board our ship and sail down the Rhine. We didn’t have too much time for sight seeing. This was taken facing the city from the central train station.

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Amsterdam

Amsterdam

En Bruges

I have never been to Venice where some people say the canals are beautiful and others say they smell like garbage or death. I have been to Amsterdam which is a beautiful city and loaded with wonderful canals which are actually part of the city’s flood control system. I have heard the canals are full of abandoned bicycles but can vouch they don’t smell of death or garbage.

Then there is Bruges which is sometimes called the Venice of the North. A magnificent ancient city with a wonderful network of canals. I have been there a number of times and each time I am struck again with the beauty of the ancient town and the cleanliness and blue waters of the canals. Everyone should visit at least once and if you can’t make the trip then at least watch the wonderful movie En Bruges and you will see what you are missing.

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En Bruges

En Bruges