July 21: Amsterdam – Westerpark

After leaving Het Schip, we wandered into and through Westerpark — the park itself, and the larger neighborhood named after it.

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Just down Zaanstraat from Het Schip is another neat Amsterdam School building, also designed by Michel de Klerk, I think.

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The slight angling of these red tiles and the alternating A-shaped marks on them are curious touches.

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The beefiest railing. No pigeons allowed.

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By the simple addition of the hose, this window shifts into a vaguely sci-fi realm.

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We crossed under the railway here at the end of Zaandijkstraat to get to the park.

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Westerpark itself is very green and serene.

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Beyond there to the west is the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek, an old gasworks redeveloped into a park and cultural center. Its northern edge is this boomerang-shaped shallow pool that is obviously a big hit in the summertime.

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We stopped in at Het Ketelhuis (The Boiler House), a cinema in the Westergasfabriek, housed in a grand old factory space.

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What's really cool is that the theater itself is a wooden box suspended over the main space. I think.

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Thence we kept on going along the plazas around the Fabriek.

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In the distance can be seen one of the monolithic buildings of the Waterwijk (Water District).

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We stopped at Pacific Parc for refreshments. They have this great all-sides stübli outside...

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...with some pretty original tables.

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The interior of the restaurant has an intriguing network of beams and cables for the roof structure.

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The decor is an amusing sort of American/South Pacific fusion, although this chandelier appears to have emerged from a fever dream.

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The balcony view.

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A summer rain started.

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But just like that, the sun came back out...

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...which teased out a rainbow in the other direction.

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Rainsunglare.

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Off to the side of the plaza were these large sprays of cute pentagonal flowers. I'm not sure what they are.

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Minimal but bold canopies outside, as more rainclouds arrived.

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The canopy sort of kept the rain at bay.

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Another great drawbridge, connecting the Westergasfabriek to the Haarlemmerweg over the Haarlemmervaart.