Hello again everyone! It’s been a while, hey? Despite the lack of posts here, I have been busy editing, and I’m proud to say that I’m the most caught up on photos I’ve been in years I just haven’t had the energy to finalize new photo essays, but I am behind and have too many drafts at this point.
Last fall, I took a trip that was years in the making, to a place that weaves itself between history and aspiration, a place I’d felt connected to despite never setting foot in. Holland. This isn’t just the place I’m from, but the place I’ve idealized for how closely it fits my lifestyle preferences. For that, Holland reminds me of the irony of time.
But, so much is boasted about the Netherlands in urbanist circles. Do I need to regurgitate them? Here’s the Coles Notes if you’ve been living under a rock: the architecture is beautiful, the public and active transport options are great, the cities are vibrant, the food is cheaper and fresher, the social safety net is incredible, the people are hotter, and the climate is nice and temperate.
Despite all of that, I had very mixed feelings about Amsterdam. The overtourism is real. Of course this is something affecting all of the world’s great cities, but what was strange was how Amsterdam didn’t give a section or a few sections of its City Centre to the tourists, but the entire City Centre. A huge chunk of what makes the city so venerated isn’t able to be properly enjoyed by its residents and isn’t oriented for them in the slightest. That feels weird, even if my presence was contributing to the problem. Amsterdam feels like a place I would’ve enjoyed much more 30 years ago.
I will have 3 sections to my Euro trip. This is part one, dealing with Noord-Holland province (and Utrecht). Included are photos from Amsterdam, Kasteel de Haar, Utrecht, and Volendam. The next post will be photos from Zuid-Holland (South Holland), which, spoiler alert, I enjoyed far more. Then, to finish it off, I’ll have a third section from Belgium. I wanted to add more commentary with the photos for this post, which is why I’ve rested on it for so long. But, you know, I’m tired, and would rather just have the photos out.
Theres a lot going on here. I'm going to need some time to really look through them. I will say my initial favorite, no surprise, is the king on the train. The love of street dies hard.
So good to see all these pics! I think because you lean more into the more abstract/architecture side of photography the times that there were people stood out to me. That and the various shots of nature that are sprinkled through this post. The one people shot that stuck with me was the one where it was at a train station(?) and all the people were looking on their phones. Feels like it should be a cover of some type of sociology book, maybe a reprint of bowling alone. Also so good to see that your dad(?) went along with you! I initially thought it was a slowly trip and while that can be fun that's nice that family was able to go along!
All the colours, the shapes, the angles. Love it as always.