Reflections

Louis Vuitton made this installation to promote some perfumes in the department store "de Bijenkorf" in Amsterdam. A sort of broken Greek colums I suppose.

From the outside the mirrors in the columns reflected the houses opposite the street.

With a funny result. Linking to "Weekend Reflections"

Road works

I think it is in other big cities the same but summer in Amsterdam is always time to break up the streets. Although it is autumn now the work is not yet done.

It always causes massive traffic jams in the city.

But this road worker is quietly making a nice pattern with the coblestones. Watch the piece of wood against the shop, that has been used to make the proper curves.

Patience

In the coutyard of Museum the "Hermitage" in Amsterdam I saw this artwork made of grog or chamotte clay made by dutch artist Marcello Pieter Stokhof.

I remembered I had seen it before last winter in the dark during the Light Festival, but now I had a better look. It is named "Patience" and represents the invisible bond that is called friendship. The dog is hesitating to enter the tunnel and has to trust his boss to reach him.

Sofietje

This is the place Sofietje prefers for a sleep, stuck against the window when the sun shines, we call it her tanning bed.

What!

Prinsjesdag

The third Tuesday of September is traditionally Prinsjesdag (Little Prince's Day) on which the reigning  Monarch of the Netherlands, currently King Willem Alexander, adresses a joint session of the Dutch Senate and  House of Representives in the Hall of Knights in the Hague.

It is a day with much pomp and ceremony and the King and Queen arrive by carriage with horses. Usually they use the Golden Carriage but due to renovations, they had to go with the Glass Carriage which looked equally beautiful.

The Hall of Knights packed with the members of Parlement waiting formthe arrival of the King and Queen.

And here they are.

King Willen Alexander reading his speech.

The members of Parlement with our Prime Minister Mark Rutte in front with the grey trousers.

The King and Queen leaving the Hall of Knights to start their carriage ride back to the Palace.

Queen Maxima needs a little help to get in the carriage with a long dress and a very small step.

And off they go.

Passing the narrow streets of the Hague.

And the old Queen Beatrix always waving to  her son and daughter-in-law in the carriage in which she also used to ride herself for years.

The arrival at Palace Noordeinde.

Where a huge crowd is waiting for the King and Queen on the balcony.

And here they are for a last farewell together with Prince Constantijn, the brother of the King and his wife Princess Laurentien. Linking to "Our World Tuesday"

Your star reporter was not in the Hague herself but watched it all on television with her camera in her hand :)

Experimental constructions

In Almere Haven are a few places where you can build your dreamhouse without all the building restrictions by the government. A contest was held to design a house and seventeen winners were allowed to build here in the "Reality quarter". Here somebody made a kind of hobbit home.

A house made of steel and glass.

A house on posts, ready for floods?

The houses were built in 1977 and after 5 years they had to be demolished, but by their succes they are still there and inhabited.

Street music

Street musicians in Amsterdam.

Reflection

A reflection at the Museum square in Amsterdam.

Linking to "Weekend reflections"

New front

A view at the new houses in Amsterdam built along the Westerdok with the bright blue sky and corresponding summer temperatures we had here the last two weeks.

Linking to "Skywatch Friday"

Antique and brocante

Last weekend we had an Antique and Curiosity market in our village at the Harbour Days. I like it to watch all the old items, some of them remember me of my parents interior.

I like dolls, I played so often with them as a child and they all had their own names.

In that zinc tub at the right I had may bath in the kitchen, we didn't have a bathroom in the houses in Amsterdam during the fourties and part of the fifties. My parents had a bath in a bathhouse outside the house.

Missing

At first sight I thought a pretty decorated bike with flowers in Amsterdam.

But it has a sad message about a missing cat named "Lappie". "High reward, we miss her so", says the text. 

Linking to "signs, signs"

Hot days

The warmest month of September in a century here!

Well, I don't mind.

And recovering hubby either. Linking to "Our World Tuesday".

Monday Mural

The restaurant in Amsterdam where we had diner with Bob Crowe was situated in a former department store that had to close a few month ago.  On the fourth floor a so called pop-up  restaurant has arrived. It is temporarily as long as the building doesn't have a new owner.  They decorated it very special with all kind of murals around.

Hubby "sccollections" photograped the decorations in the "Loo" department. So have a look at his blog for some very funny ones. Linking to "Monday Murals"

Come fly with me

This is how the Amsterdam trams look like nowadays, full of commercial advertisement.

Linking to "Weekend Reflections"

Bloggers meeting

Yesterday we had a very nice diner with fellow blogger Bob Crowe of  "St. Louis Daily Photo" and his wife Carolyn in Amsterdam.

Hubby SC of  "sccollections" joined us only a week after his appendix operation.