July 20: Amsterdam arrival 2

There was a good chunk of time in the morning after I arrived before the class was to meet up at our hostel, so I kept walking around like mad, soaking in the cityscapes.

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Just past De Bazel along Vijzelstraat, a particularly orderly view over the Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal), another of the concentric canals.

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A rather elegant separator of townhouse entries, along the Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal, yet another concentric one) west of Vijzelstraat.

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Looking northeast on Nieuwe Spiegelstraat from the Prinsengracht. It's interesting from a street design point of view how the bollards divide it in three narrow lanes of nearly equal width.

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This appears to be a quite Early Modern building, along Kerkstraat northwest of Nieuwe Spiegelstraat. I often find such buildings' materials to have a more human feel than later higher-tech modernist buildings.

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The canal bridges of Leidsestraat, here over the Prinsengracht, are bookended by what appear to be lurking-crocodile stones.

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An unsuspecting victim standing right next to the crocodile. Prinsengracht pidgie. Pidgiegracht.

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A chiaroscuro parking garage, along Lange Leidsedwarsstraat between Leidsekruisstraat and the Spiegelgracht.

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A look northwest along the Prinsengracht where the Spiegelgracht (Mirror Canal) joins it at left.

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Further east on the Prinsengracht, I took a little break from the walk and sat down at the canal's edge. This is a seated view east to the Vijzelstraat bridge.

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And one to the west, back past the Spiegelgracht/Spiegelstraat bridge.

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The coots became curious.

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A few minutes later, an airplane bilocated above itself as it crossed overhead. —What? Bilocation isn't real? Well then you tell ME why there's only ONE contrail!!

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Cute coot.

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A charming speed bump (how oxymoronic) further along the Prinsengracht, east of Vijzelstraat.

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Right nearby, a couple of beefy posts helping out a troubled lintel. I assume this was temporary, but it's actually a pretty cool-looking structure.

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At the intersection of the Prinsengracht and the Reguliersgracht, a delicate operation unfolded. First, in under the north bridge...

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...now swing 'er around just so...

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...and voom!