Final Day

That's about it. It's day 10 and I have never before seen so much architecture in one trip. It has been an amazing experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I now have an incredible library of photographs and memories of a country that I have always been intrigued with. What has been documented here was just a taste of the places that I have seen and hopefully I will be able to better document the trip in the near future.
Jen arrived in Amsterdam last night so that she could experience the dutch lifestyle for at least a day and a half. Of course life in the center of Amsterdam is not typical of the country in general as it is influenced by tourists, coffee shops and the red light district. So today we have spent our time walking around the city and seeing the typical tourist sites. Tomorrow we're off to Ireland to enjoy some time to relax there.

Amsterdam reduX

I've come full circle back to Amsterdam. The trip is winding down with just a few more projects that I want to visit before leaving the Netherlands. In my last couple of days I'll be trying to just enjoy Amsterdam and visit a couple of places in the city center. here are a few photos from some of my favorite housing projects in the city.

Day 7 - Utrecht

Rotterdam & Delft

This morning I took another walk to the Kunsthal because it turns out that museums and galleries were closed yesterday (Monday) but luckily it was just one block from the hotel. The Kunsthal is a contemporary art gallery designed by Rem Koolhaas back in 1992. The building still holds up with the more recent architecture in Rotterdam and many people, like myself, go there specifically to see the building. Many of the spaces are ramped or have sloped walls and ceilings and the finishes mainly consist of architectural concrete, metals and plastics. The auditorium is one of the main features with its large glass side wall looking out in to the park.
Delft LibraryNAI RotterdamIn progress - Stainless building, DelftNice van but it sounded like it was about to fall apart.

Rotterdam

This city certainly feels different to any of the others in the Netherlands. It's clear that due to the destruction during WW2 that it lacks the historical context that Maastricht or Amsterdam have. The downtown area is now packed full of stores and has become a shopping precinct. There is a large variety of building styles and there is plenty of construction going on. It is also a city full of art. Here are some photos of my travels through Rotterdam today.
The Kunsthal
SchouburgpleinNAI RotterdamChabot museumKPN Tower - Renzo Piano

Erasmus

The Erasmus bridge is probably one of the recognizable cable-stayed bridges. This is the view from my hotel room. And some other views

DE UNIE

A classic example of the De Stijl movement by Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud in 1925. Often mistaken to be the original cafe De Unie, however, Rotterdam Center was mostly destroyed during WW2 and the original De Unie was a victim. This replica was built in 1986 a few hundred meters from the original site.

Having lunch here and they have good beer.

Day 4

Here's a selection of photos from today's drive from Maastricht to Rotterdam

Masstricht

Maastricht feels like a very traditional dutch city and not as commercial as somewhere like Amsterdam. The city center remains filled with original buildings and winding cobbled streets lead from square to square. There seemed to be a lot of tourists around but it wasn't as busy as Amsterdam gets. It's certainly a more relaxed city.
The river Meuse divides the cityThese are some nice scooters. there are thousands of scooters around here and mostly Vespas. plenty of interesting paint jobs to be seen.

Day 3

Here is a selection of photos from day 3 in the towns of Zwolle and Nijmegen.

Bricks & Mortar

This is the easiest way to lay brickwork. Just throw your bricks and mortar in a pile and hope for the best. Actually it's probably even harder to lay bricks like this and have a building in the end.