Even in a place as relatively small as Aruba, no one could plausibly claim to have seen every single thing. However, spend a full week on the island and you may be able to say that you have seen practically everything of note. I certainly believe that I have. This…
Spending whole days at the beach is never something we plan to do, and our time on Aruba was structured to alternate beach-going activities with other diversions. That included several animal-centric attractions. One was the Donkey Sanctuary, home to over 130 animals whose numbers are best illustrated with this perspective.…
For an island that cannot be considered large to any degree, Aruba offers an unexpected variance of climatic zones. Its west- and southwest-facing coasts are a vacationer paradise, with great beaches and pleasant if generally windy weather year-round. The northeast-facing side, where rocky shores abut an arid desert, is much…
As I stated in my “back from” announcement, you don’t come to Aruba to go sightseeing. You come for the beaches, for the outdoor activities, for the nightlife. None of those attractions and pursuits customarily align with carrying around an expensive semi-professional camera. And yet, I always bring the camera…
A few more impressions from my recent trip around Netherlands. Houses in the village of Het Kalf. Country landscape between Zaanse Schans and Het Twiske park. In the village of Muiden. In the village of Weesp. Looking over…
Some might argue that the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Holland is not windmills but tulips. Definitely in the top two for me. So, during the car-enabled portion of my journey around the country, I stopped here and there to snap some tulip fields pictures. Turns…
This is not a World Heritage site. It can be quite touristy at some points and even feel artificially prettied-up. And still, this windmills-centric attraction is awfully picturesque and cozy, and I count it among my favorite destinations in Holland. Here is a sampler. …
Van Nelle Factory is the newest Dutch addition to the UNESCO list, having been inscribed just last year. Its recognition stems from its pioneering place in industrial architecture. The couple of interior pictures at the official link above suggest elements of interest but I doubt I would come here at…
Windmills. I suspect this is the likeliest image to form in anyone’s head after hearing the word “Holland”. Not surprisingly, there is a World Heritage site in Netherlands which is mainly about windmills. Kinderdijk is recognized by UNESCO as yet another example of Dutch ingenuity in the art of water…
Rietveld Schröder House is a small family house, built in 1924, that is recognized as one of the icons of the Modern Movement in architecture. It is one of the smallest – if not the smallest – UNESCO World Heritage sites you can see, but it definitely leaves an impression.…
Through quirks of planned and unplanned travel, Utrecht holds the distinction of the most frequent destination for me in Netherlands – I seem to always stop by for a few hours whenever I am in the vicinity. On the most recent trip I had a specific target in mind (more…
Schokland is technically another polder (or part thereof), but it has a different history and a different look to what we earlier saw at Beemster. To an unsuspecting eye, it looks like a nature preserve, part woods, part fields, with a few minor points of interest. In its past, it…
Another testament to the Dutch conquest of their watery homeland, Wouda Steam Pumping Station is the largest installation of its kind and has been in operation for almost a century. Recognized by UNESCO as the engineering and architectural masterpiece, it can still carry out its functions of managing the excess…
As I decided to cover all World Heritage sites in Netherlands on my recent trip, I could not bypass Wadden Sea. It would be my first UNESCO site in the “Nature” category – I admit that I am more architecturally- and culturally-inclined and my travel destinations are almost never nature-centric.…
Having had my fill of boisterous city scene in Amsterdam, I spent the last few days in Netherlands driving around the country in pursuit of my World Heritage obsession – and more serene locales. Netherlands, as the name implies, has a large portion of its territory barely above or even…
[Update: In 2021, the Defense Line of Amsterdam serial site was refactored by UNESCO as a “linear” property. That means that although there are defined locations – now numbering 20 – the core zone is a contiguous crescent surrounding the city of Amsterdam comprising nearly 100 “segments”. The castle of…
I am a very indifferent and mediocre people photographer. I also tend to avoid crowded places as much as I can. Nonetheless, one of the attractions of going to Amsterdam in April was an opportunity to observe – and photograph – the celebration of the Kingsday, the biggest national holiday…
One of the main reasons Netherlands was chosen as the destination for my recent photographic trip was the fact that Amsterdam had been among the worst-photographed major cities on my past travels (as lamented in my favorite sights Amsterdam entry several years ago). Wandering all over the city for several…
A more extensive photo-essay from more recent trip can be found here. Our itineraries took us to Amsterdam just once on our journeys, and it was during the unfortunate period of time when we did not yet quite catch on to the fact that our main camera produced inexplicably grainy…