Amsterdam — Mika's Photos

Lucky Mum is off to Amsterdam (via Paris) for a week-long getaway. I mean, work trip!

We've landed safely -- albeit late -- in Paris on this 777-300ER. And are now off to the terminal for a very quick transit.

And here's the little blue KLM that kindly waited for me. (Actually, it was waiting for a large group of school kids, but I benefited!)

A cute breakfast.

So many wind turbines across the Dutch countryside.

Flying over The Maasvlakte, a massive man-made extension of the Europoort port within the Port of Rotterdam..

So many industrial facilities -- all with solar panels on the roof!

Keeping a keen eye out for tulips...

... but only green, green fields as far as the eye can see.

Finally made it! Hello Amsterdam.

Outside the (downtown) hotel, it's a brisk morning (just above freezing) but the sky is blue!

One of the many house boats on the canals.

Less than 3 minutes outside, and along comes an excavator boat with a front shovel!

And the bikes! So many bikes!

And I managed to take a photo of the only person in Amsterdam wearing a mask!

Another house boat.

Long shadows -- remnants of winter remain.

Bicycles, as far as the eye can see.

A good boy.

More bikes!

The back of The Royal Palace Amsterdam (Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam).

And a shopping mall, in a deceptive neo-gothic building.

Cute old buildings squashing up against each other for warmth.

Here comes one of Amsterdam's many trams!

Entrance to the metro: a no-nonsense, very efficient little system.

And arriving at Amsterdam South - a little business district.

Tuesday morning: another brisk day, but a nice walk into the office helps warm up!

Sleepy canal boats and clear sky reflections.

Colorful (but not all straight) old residential buildings.

More morning reflections over the canals.

A bike showing its support of Ukraine.

The Rijksmuseum, with a once-in-a-lifetime Vermeer exhibit (tickets apparently impossible to get!)

The museum from the other side.

Some very cute houses along the Noorder Amstelkanaal.

Saw lots of kids being shuttled around in bikes like this.

A very cool complex (Valley) as we approach the office district.

Have I mentioned the bikes!? And this was just the overflow parking. The main parking is underground.

Waiting for our evening canal tour opposite the National Opera & Ballet.

View from inside the canal this time!

Iconic Amsterdam at night.

The buildings are narrow because they were taxed based on width.

Reflections.

And more reflections.

Thursday morning, spotted this Chiangmai Spa. I thought I'd come farther than this!

Woah! And now we're down south.

Heading back to the hotel after the last day -- beautiful (and warmer) weather.

Museumplein, between the Van Gogh museum and the Rijksmuseum.

It is charming that the walk passes right through the museum.

Picturesque weeping willows (?) along the canal.

A rainy Friday morning (finally). I have 30 min before my taxi to the airport. So let's do a quick walk!

Buildings definitely ain't straight. Apparently they were built on wooden foundations, which expand with the water / tides.

The cost of a houseboat is expensive, between maintenance and rent.

The canals are like a parallel set of streets!

The Anne Frank House, where she and her family hid.

Westerkerk Church, where Rembrandt is buried.

More intersecting canals.

I'm told this is more typical weather.

But still, I daresay it would be beautiful to live along here!

Something tells me these are not the original windows.

No free real estate for bikes!

They're redoing a lot of the brickwork / cobblestones throughout the city.

I would love to know how big the Thai population is, in this city of 900k people! They get a shout-out on this truck! (I guess they're all restauranteurs...)

Walking around the back of De Nieuwe Kerk (the New Church).

And here's a better view.

The front (?) of the church?

I've found myself in Dam Square, overlooked by the Royal Palace.

H&M -- another noteworthy landmark around the square.

And Madam Tussaud -- true royalty.

And a local, high-end department store to round it out.

Looking back at the palace.

Nationaal Monument, commemorating the dead of WWII.

Final photo -- now need to dash to the airport.

Miffy and I are ready for the long trip home.

As we established earlier, the tulips aren't in season yet -- but that doesn't stop the enterprising airport shops. Why not take home a bouquet of wooden tulips!?

That's quite the storm cloud departing Amsterdam.

The skies were busy over Eastern Europe on the flight back to Bangkok. Great view of westbound aircraft flying maybe 5000 feet above us? And this one, who was headed south and passed right overhead!

Saturday morning sunrise over Bangkok. Amsterdam was lovely, but good to be back!