Amsterdam: the canals

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I’m sure in any game of word association, the first thing to spring to mind for Amsterdam would be “canals”. Here are a few of my favourite canal scenes, offered without commentary, from our most recent visit in May.

This was our eighth stay in the city, but it was different from the others in two ways. One, we had never been at this time of year so hadn’t experienced Amsterdam in warm sunshine before, and two, we weren’t alone – we were accompanied by our friends Valerie and Kenn. They had only made one half-day visit to Amsterdam many years ago, so naturally we were pleased it was looking its best for them.

As it doesn’t seem that long since I wrote up our last trip, I’ve decided to do shorter, thematic posts this time, of which this is the first. The others are:

Netherlands ,

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  6. oh these are beautiful. Stunning shots and remind me of my first and only time in Amsterdam. It is glorious in the summer months.

    Hope you are well. Sorry not been in touch for ages. Lost control of the ‘to do’ list!

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  10. Beautiful place! Beautiful photos!
    I am somewhat embarrassed that I totally failed your word association game. My first choice was “drug”, and my second was “Van Gogh” (or Museum”) . Ha ha.
    Have a great day.

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  11. Those canals look so inviting! My husband and I are really hoping to go on a river cruise next year that will either begin or end in Amsterdam. If we do, I want to spend a couple of extra days there, touring the area. Especially the canals!

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  12. Beautiful photos of the canals, Anabel. You transported me back to Amsterdam. I love visiting Europe in May. The weather is always kind of hit-or-miss, but May has surprised me in a good way; that blue sky is hard to beat!

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  15. This makes me want to go back right now! Love your photos and the weather looks like it was perfect. I hope it was not too hot but, who cares, you were in Amsterdam with friends.

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  16. Even before you mentioned it at the end I was thinking that the weather looked so much nicer than during your winter visit 🙂
    Amsterdam canals will always be a big hit!

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  18. Really captured the atmosphere and canal life. Nice set of images. CRM documentary was repeated again tonight on TV if you missed it. Enjoyable even 2nd time around.

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  20. What a difference the sun makes. I’ve never been in Amsterdam in summer, and even spring brought grey skies. Lovely pictures and nice to see you smiling in the sun.

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  22. Hi Anabel – lovely you were able to share this trip with your friends … and as you mention … it looks just perfect weather … cheers Hilary

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  28. I really enjoyed our trips to Amsterdam and your photos remind me of those times. Thanks for refreshing our memories. Also enjoyed the trip along the dikes in the north of the Netherlands.

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  31. I love the photos of the canals, and the thematic approach. It looks like you got some nice weather this time around. And to have friends along is always nice. I’d love to link this to my photography invitation of July 19, if you’d like. 🙂

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  32. Thanks, Anabel, for reminding me of our forthcoming trip to Amsterdam and further afield where we get to be on a canal boat for a couple of weeks with friends. Lovely photos and it certainly makes a trip more pleasant with sunshine and warmth. Let us hope that it is the same in September. 🙂

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  33. Beautiful photos, Anabel. I don’t think I’d like to live right beside a canal in Amsterdam – all those boats pulled up alongside reminds me of a local town where tourists take up all of the on street parking spaces outside people’s homes during the summer 🙂

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    • Some are houseboats so I would think of it more as the other side of the street rather than parking – I don’t think you can just casually “park” your boat – the annual mooring fees can be quite hefty! Now I wouldn’t like to own a car if I lived in central Amsterdam – that would definitely be tricky. But it’s so walkable and public transport is so good I wouldn’t need to.

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  35. Great photos, I really like the 3rd, 4th and 5th ones. I’ve been wanting to go to Amsterdam for years but never made it yet, maybe your photos will encourage me to get there sooner rather than later now 🙂

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