Category: Photography

Walking path along the Noorder Canal in Rotterdam with the highway and the old Hofplein viaduct

10. April 2023

The Rotterdam Ringroad Hiking Trail

Where other cities have a ringroad, Rotterdam has the Ruit, which literally means the Diamond. The A20, A16, A15 and A4 together form a diamond-shaped road network that has led car traffic around the city since the 1960s. But would it also be a nice route to walk? No, not over the hard shoulder of course, but over hiking trails in the immediate vicinity of the highways? Dream Believe it or not, the idea for the Rotterdam Ringroad Hike came to me in a dream. I dreamed that there was a long-distance hiking trail that followed the Ruit. It seemed… Read More

Reddish brown highlands with patches of snow and a hut for hikers near Hraftinusker in Iceland

Photography / Various

23. March 2023

Laugavegur, Iceland’s best hiking trail

In July 2023 it will be fifteen years ago that travel companion A. and I hiked the Laugavegur trail, according to many the most beautiful long-distance hiking route in Iceland. That’s a good reason to write a blogpost about that epic journey. Illustrated with photos taken with the simple IXUS850 camera that I had back then. It actually made quite nice pictures, but in the alien landscape between Landmannalaugar and Þórsmörk that is not too difficult. July 28, 2008: Landmannalaugar – Hraftinusker (10.3 kilometers) In the days before our hiking adventure there is a heat wave in Reykjavik. In Iceland… Read More

The Nieuwe Maas river in Rotterdam with onder other side Zalmhaven tower and some lower buildings and a piece of Erasmus Bridge in the blue hour on a morning in January

Photography

30. January 2023

Blue Mondays in January

The third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday. According to some scientists Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year. It is cold and gloomy and the alarm rings well before sunrise. Christmas is long ago, the holidays are far away. And the new year’s resolutions turn out not to last. Although it is clear by now that Blue Monday was a fabrication for an advertising campaign, there is of course a grain of truth in it. I myself have tried to give it a positive spin this year. The blue hour This blog has a… Read More

Reflection, with considerable distortions, in the facade of the Depot building in Rotterdma, taken from the Podium on the roof of the New Institute

Photography

26. December 2022

Countdown: the best photos of 2022

It’s time again for my annual review with the most beautiful photos of 2022. Since 2016 I’ve been compiling these top 10s with the best photos of the year. The best photos I’ve taken myself, that is. Or at least the photos with the most interesting stories to tell. Also this year I cannot escape the long and painful selection process. The longlist contains about 200 photos, of which 190 must be abandoned within sight of the harbour. Anyway, with the deadline, New Year’s Eve, approaching rapidly, I present here my photographic annual overview for 2022. 10 – Rear View… Read More

The tramtracks at Coolsingel in Rotterdam: unnecessarily paved with street tiles

Photography

26. November 2022

Nominees for the Tile-Flipping Championships

Over the past two years, the Dutch Tile-Flipping Championships have been organized. A competition between cities to replace as many pavement tiles as possible with grass, shrubs or other greenery. Also in my neighbourhood I can think of places where some tiles could be taken out. Greening Apart from facilitating a bit of healthy rivalry, the Dutch Tile-Flipping Championships also have a more serious goal. If you replace pavement tiles with nature, you make your city more climate-resistant, more biodiverse and, above all, more beautiful. I don’t have any tiles I could flip: I live on the tenth floor of… Read More

Westersingel canal in Rotterdam at nightfall on a day in november

Photography

9. November 2022

The Canals of Rotterdam

The canals of Rotterdam, also known as singels, draw beautiful green lines through the city. How did we actually get those canals? In this blog article, illustrated with pretty autumn pictures, I dive into the history of these green structures. Surrounded Traditionally, singels were the waters on the edge of the old town. The city was literally surrounded by by them, hence the Dutch word omsingelen. Mostly they were defenses, meant to keep invaders out of the city. Singels and vests Rotterdam has never had such impressive fortifications as some other cities. But there were indeed a number of singels,… Read More

Wild hops growing in the polder near Boskoop, The Netherlands

Photography

6. September 2022

A Beer Hike to Bodegraven

This is the fourth blog post in a series: the Best Beer Hikes in the Benelux. During previous beer walks, travel companion A. and I visited La Trappe, De Leckere and Gulpener. Today our target is brewery De Molen (The Windmill) in Bodegraven. 22 kilometers It’s a 21,8 kilometer hike to De Molen’s brewpub, through a variety of landscapes. The route can be followed on the map, which, as usually, is clickable, zoomable and pannable. Click here for a larger version. Gouda The walk starts at Gouda’s intercity railway station. The city is famous for its cheese and stroopwafels, but… Read More

Graphic image of South-Holland as a piece of copper with on in the most beautiful mountains and hills of the province

Photography

13. August 2022

Mountaineering in Holland: the Highest Peaks

What? Mountains in Holland? Are there any? Yes, because although our country is, understandably, not very popular with mountaineers, there are places that really stand out above the surrounding landscape. Which seems to me the most accurate definition of a mountain. In the far southeast of the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, there are peaks like the Vaalserberg, which reaches a staggering 321 metres. But as you may know, the name Holland, often mistakenly used for the whole country, only refers to two provinces in the west. In this blogpost I limit the scope further down to the province… Read More

Park bench along the footpath on the Promenade in Münster, Germany

Photography

3. August 2022

Münster: the Promenade and the River Aa

At the end of July I spent a few days in Münster with traveling companion I.. It was the result of a glance at the map: Münster appeared to be closer to Rotterdam than Groningen. And yet we had never been there. A good reason to take a look. We found a nice, relaxed town, with lots of Kneipen and Biergarten. With old and new architecture and also with lots of greenery. Most noticable were the Promenade and the river Münstersche Aa. Cycling City Münster has a little bit over 300,000 inhabitants and is therefore about the same size as… Read More

View from a cableway gondola at the Floriade expo in Almere, The Nethelrands, including the Floating Forest

Photography

10. July 2022

Floriade Horticulture Exhibition in Almere

The Floriade of 2022 in Almere will not go down in history as the most successful edition. The visitor numbers are disappointing and the budget gap is approaching 100 million. When all Almere’s aldermen resigned for that reason at the end of June, it was even feared that the world horticulture exhibition would have to end prematurely. Criticism At the opening, there was also quite a bit of criticism about the character of the exhibition itself. It would all be a bit meager. Due to covid19, a number of participating countries had dropped out. Work was still in full swing… Read More