Thursday, March 31, 2011

AMSTERDAM NOORD & NEMO

AMSTERDAM - JUNE 2010

I must confess that I'm an Amsterdam fan; anyway...


"NEW OFFICES - By the IJ, the body of water that separates Amsterdam from Amsterdam-Noord"


"THE IJ FACTOR and the restaurant at the ferry pier..."


"CONTAINER HOUSES"


"AMSTERDAM PORT"

Probably one of the first songs I knew by heart in French language was «Amsterdam» by Jacques Brel, just before knowing almost all other of his great hits. It remained one of the most impressive memories and every time I get to Amsterdam it comes back to mind...





"PASSENGER'S TERMINAL & MÖVENPICK HOTEL"


"TERMINAL & MUSIK GEBOUW"


"LIBRARY"


"NEMO - The largest science centre in the Netherlands, in a building by Renzo Piano"


"NEMO"


"NEMO & ARCAM"


"ARCAM - The Amsterdam Centre for Architecture. Located in a very futuristic-looking building on the IJ waterfront, it promotes contemporary Dutch architectural design"


"WORKS - Everything seems to be under construction or renovation: The Central Station, the buildings by the IJ, the Maritime Museum, the Concertgebouw, the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Dam Square and the Royal Palace..."

54 comments:

Trotter said...

Hi Everybody! If everything runs well, I’ll be out the next week; but I wouldn’t let you without something new to enjoy... ;)
Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities, since 1969 when I first travelled there... This time I went to a meeting and spent most of the time in the areas that were more unfamiliar to me. The first journey will take us to Noord, an autonomous borough north of the IJ, the body of water that separates it from the centre...
Enjoy, leave your comment and have a fabulous weekend and week ahead!!

Olivier said...

c'est impressionnant cette architecture, j'adore. Par contre Brel en anglais ;)

Rajesh said...

Very colorful and unique buildings of modern era. Wonderful images.

magiceye said...

WONDERFUL IMAGES OF A BEAUTIFUL CITY.
LOVED THOSE CONTAINER HOUSES TOO!

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Pour nous Français l'association Amsterdam-Jacques Brel est un réflexe pavlovien !
Merci pour ce post !
Je viens de passer quelques jours dans les Alpes, la neige se fait rare.

A Lady's Life said...

Well this was different and interesting.
The song was interesting as well lol
I still like Cote DAzure for the scenery.Less sailors lol

diane b said...

Amsterdam sure is an interesting city. There are some amazing buildings but it does look a bit higglety pigglety. Hopefully it will look better when the construction is complete.

Regina said...

Beautiful Amsterdam!
Great captures Trotter.

Thank you for sharing.

Regina

Thérèse said...

Une toute autre dimension! Et quand on se trouve au pied de ces mastadontes on est remis a notre place dans l'univers!

Gattina said...

Ah yes, the modern part outside Amsterdam, I find it very ugly.
Last time I have been there at Christmas.

SusuPetal said...

Oh, I'd like to visit Amsterdam some day!

Are you travelling somewhere the next week? If so, have a happy holiday!

eye in the sky said...

I love Amsterdam so this set brings back memories! The "container houses" seem misplaced in this city. ;->

joo said...

I love Amsterdam! Thanks for showing it in a bit different way:)
Have a great time whenever you are and come back soon!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Amsterdam is an impressive port! I liked the photos of the cruise ship peeking through the buildings.

Have a wonderful time wherever you are going next!

Nikon said...

I'm used to seeing pictures of the old city with tree-lined canals - so this is quite a different view!
They really like to push the envelope of architecture there!
I'd love to visit Amsterdam..........

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Absolutely splendid!

Amsterdam has always been on my list of to be visited places!

Thanks so much for sharing these interesting pictures!

Pietro Brosio said...

Hi Gil! Thanks for this nice tour of Amsterdam, great pictures and collages! I've been there, it's a splendid city indeed.
Have a pleasant weekend!

yyam said...

Oh I love Amsterdam too! Such a fun place to visit! These are awesome photos...a little walk down memory lane! :)

Enjoy your week out....;)

Ola said...

I have always imagined myself this city in a different manner-thanks for sharing those pictures

Ron said...

Very nice post. The architecture is very amazing. I've been there and that is one of my favorite cities as well.

[G@ttoGiallo] said...

Love the idea of 'container houses, there are some in France as well.
Enjoy yr trip, Gil.

My Unfinished Life said...

have a nice trip!!!

pretty different views of Amsterdam than what we see in travel promotion pics..but nevertheless good!!

Anonymous said...

Loved those colorful container houses and the name too. We gave my oldest son an extensive trip to Europe as his graduation present. One of his favorites was Amsterdam too. Love the different view of it you have showed us today. Have a great time wherever you may be going. :)

Cloudia said...

clever and lovely town!!!




Aloha from Waikiki


Comfort Spiral

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Light and Voices said...

Enjoyed the music and the pictures of Amsterdam!
Joyce M

Joseph Pulikotil said...

Hello,

Lovely photos of a wonderful place. I get to see so much of the world through your excellent photos.

Wish you a wonderful trip.
Joseph

BLOGitse said...

I love unusual but practical architecture.
Haven't visit Amsterdam for years...
Enjoy your week!

rochambeau said...

Thank you for the photos. I like people from Amsterdam, their attitudes. So it is interesting to see your photographs. Thank you. Those container houses. Very interesting and creative. Have a good trip to you and Mrs. T!!

xox
Constance

Cergie said...

La terre à l'assaut de l'eau. Un peuple de marins. Y aller pour un voyage d'affaire donne un autre point de vue, peut-être moins ludique mais plus profond. Je commencerais par le ludique volontiers...

PeterParis said...

Real modern architecture can be nice, when it's not just square, neutral, dull buildings. There seems to be some good attempts here (not only, but..)! Piano has left a landmark like in Paris (Centre Pompidou)! To have water around helps also a lot!

I see that the older part of the city prepares for my next visit! :-)

Bhushavali said...

Indeed a great architechtural place!!!
Arupathumoovar Festival
The 8-piece skirt

Emm said...

Ooooh, I'm not sure if I like that!I love modernity and modern structures but this place looks kind of soulless!!

juka14 said...

The offices by the IJ are great, I didn't see them before. You can see so many unusual buildings in Amsterdam.

Emery Roth said...

Thank you especially for Jacques Brel and ARCAM. Although Brel moved me to put my hearing aids in, I didn't have to. I could listen through the desktop the way Beethoven listened through the floor or feel him through my eyeballs. As for ARCAM, what a terrrific little building! Thanks for showing it to me.

alicesg said...

Wow the buildings looked so beautiful and unique. Love the one that looked like a ship. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos.

Georgianna said...

These are certainly views of Amsterdam I've never seen, Gil. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week! Georgianna

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

i've been to amsterdam...but never really seen many of these buildings...

leo said...

I always fascinated by modern buildings, the science and architecture centre even the library are fascinating. Happy and safe travelling wherever you are ...

Mariposa said...

looks like a busy place to be! have a wonderful weekend :)

Venksh said...

Hey Gil,
its really long time i was away from blogging bcos of my work...
Now iam back again...
Amsterdam seems really superb nice place to be...
Give me some time will figure it out wat all i have missed in Blogtrotter...

Kven.

Trotter said...

Hi Folks!! Well, it seems that this part of Amsterdam didn’t raise much interest around the few visitors to this blog... Shame, because it has some wonderful buildings and Nemo is a fantastic creation by Renzo Piano!! Anyhow, thanks for your comments, the stamina this blog needs to keep going...

Olivier,
L’architecture est magnifique!! Et Brel, bien sûr, chante en français... Tu ne l’as pas entendu? En anglais tu as seulement les sous-titres, comme si on était à l’Opéra... ;)

Rajesh,
Modern architecture at its top!! But this year the Pritzker Prize (some kind of Nobel for architects…) was awarded to Souto de Moura, a Portuguese architect… It’s the second, after Álvaro Siza Vieira to win the Prize…

Magic,
The idea of having houses looking like containers or containers working like houses doesn’t excite me much… ;)

Daniel,
C’est vrai: pour moi Amsterdam a été mon premier Brel et le début of a «of a beautiful friendship», comme Bogie l’avait dit à Casablanca quelques années auparavant… ;))

Lady,
The song is a 60s masterpiece of the French song and Jacques Brel, together with George Brassens, Leo Ferré and a few others, the top of French music in the 20th century!!

Diane,
It’s true that everything seems to be under construction/reconstruction in Amsterdam... But the city is becoming more and more beautiful as the works finish... Anyhow, there is still a lot to go, it seems... ;)

Regina,
My pleasure!! Great to take you on this virtual trip and much happy that you enjoyed the programme!!

Thérèse,
Ça dépend du concept de mastodonte... ;) Imagine les gens qui regardaient les pyramides, les cathédrales du Moyen Age ou la Grande Muraille, pour ne nommer que quelques-unes… Ils devraient trouver toutes ces œuvres immenses, et pourtant… ;)

Gattina,
OK! That’s the great advantage of diversity: some fin it ugly, others like it very much... Democracy, respect for others’ views, in particular when we don’t agree, everything we need for a nice and interesting chat... ;))

Trotter said...

Part Two:

Susu,
Not that far; and furthermore, you have direct flights from Helsinki... ;)
Was travelling that week, but the result is that the subsequent weeks are incredibly busy... ;))

Eye,
It seems that the crisis is touching everybody... No wonder the «container houses»... ;))

Joo,
There are so many different ways to see Amsterdam... But it’s always a charming and an exciting city to visit...

Pat,
It’s one of the X-brand ships of the Celebrity Cruises that was docking there... I wonder which one of them... Captain’s Club adventures... ;)

Paul,
The old fashion Amsterdam, with the traditional lined-tree canals will come back in the following post... ;). They have currently a nice group of modern architects in the Netherlands (Rem Koolhaas from Rotterdam is probably the most famous...), but this year the Pritzker Prize went to Eduardo Souto de Moura from Portugal... ;)

Rakesh,
My pleasure!! You should bring Amsterdam a little bit up in your list; with the fabulous museums and all the rest they have there, you’ll be delighted...

Pietro,
I’m sure you had a great time there, and that you greatly enjoyed the Rijksmuseum and the Vincent Van Gogh museum, just to name two of the most important... ;)

Yvonne,
I wonder what kind of fun you were thinking when talking about Amsterdam... «Naughty girl»... ;))

Ola,
It has many different ways to be seen; but Noord and the area around the IJ is also worth while exploring...


Ron,
Great to know that you also enjoyed it there!!

Trotter said...

Part The:

Gatto,
It seems that the idea of container houses is spreading out everywhere like mushrooms... ;))

Star,
There are many ways to attract tourist to a city; no wonder they put different views on the tourist brochures... ;)

Lynn,
Lucky boy your oldest son, to get an extensive trip to Europe... In 1969, I hitch-hiked from Lisbon to Stockholm (and back), with Arthur Frommer’s «Europe on 5 (five) Dollars a Day» in my backpack... ;))

Cloudia.
Lovely yes; clever, there are surely different opinions on the subject... ;)). But OK, I agree with you!! ;)

Joyce,
Great that you listened to the YouTube video; you were probably the only one who had time and patience t do it... ;). But it’s a shame, because we are in presence of a remarkable performance by Jacques Brel, a fabulous singer of the golden generation of French singing... I adored (and actually still adore) his songs!!

Joseph,
Thanks! It’s my great pleasure to bring you along to these virtual trips. I’m truly happy that you enjoy them!!

Blogitse,
OK, next time you make Helsinki-Amsterdam-Lisbon and back and you’ll kill two birds with one stone... ;))

Constance,
I agree with you with regard to people of Amsterdam... Container houses were used for workers in construction sites; now it seems they’re spreading to regular inhabitants... ;))

Lucie,
Un people de marins, je connais bien... Et pour cause ma passion d’Amsterdam et de Brel... Voyage d’affaires, si tu en as le temps libre et tu es en système de remboursement des factures, c’est magnifique… J’avais du temps libre, c’était déjà sympa… ;))

Peter,
I think that they have some interesting new buildings there; but, not so recent, I still think that Renzo Piano’s Nemo science museum is probably the most fabulous achievement in the corner...

Trotter said...

Part Four, and final for the time being...

Friend,
Indeed!!

Emm,
I’m not so sure it’s soulless... The IJ Festival and the Noord factor are creating a different atmosphere in this part of town... ;)

Juk,
Those offices look amazing, and the views from there must be great...

Ted,
My pleasure!! Brel was a fantastic singer and his live performances were always in the limits... Exceptional experiences!! ARCAM was actually a surprise, but I think that Piano’s Nemo Science Museum is a fantastic achievement!!

Alice,
That’s Renzo Piano’s Nemo, the science and technology centre, where it’s «Forbidden NOT to touch… » )

Georgianna,
My pleasure!!

Jen,
One needs to walk a lot and have the eyes wide open, but not only for fancy restaurants… ;)) Just kidding…

Leo,
The Library is amazing! Did you notice the bikes? Incredible…

Mariposa,
Amsterdam busy? Oh yeah... ;)

Kven,
Great to have you back!! Look forward to reading you here more often now!!

Beefybob7 said...

Hi Gil,

Hope you and family are well.

Haven't blogged for a while.

Off to Canada (and boat) via San Francisco. Will take some pics and blog.

Best wishes Mate,

Bob

Trotter said...

Bob,
Great to read from you!! Things are as good as they can be...
Hope you have a great trip to Canada and look forward to seeing the pics!!
All the best!

Marja said...

Cool didn't know all these buildings. Love the Jaque Brell song.

Trotter said...

Marja,
Great to read you back here!!

Dutchbaby said...

I arrive here after seeing your comment at Constance's Rochambeau.

I love your selection and presentation of Amsterdam's ever-evolving architecture.

The clip of Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam" was incredibly stirring. Thank you for sharing it.

Trotter said...

Dutchbaby,
Thanks for your visit and first time comment here! My pleasurto take you on this virtual trip and glad that you liked it... Look forward to reading you here more often!! Thanks!

Nicole said...

Beautiful glimpses of Amsterdam!
You make me even sadder that the times I've visited I didn't care yet to take photos.
But it's one of those places we one day will visit again :)
Thanks for the beautiful memories!

Trotter said...

Nicole,
My pleasure! Thanks for dropping by and commenting!!

lyliane six said...

J'y suis allée pendant l'année de la canicule , il y faisait très beau et plus haut les plages du NORD, qu'elles merveilles!!!
Avec un petit shitt c'est très bien...

Trotter said...

Lyliane,
Pendant la canicule, le Noord doit être agréable; autrement, il pleut... ;)