Choosing photos for my website can be maddening. Out of 25 shots of Sint Bavo, for example — many showing the entire facade with its amazing array of towers — I couldn't but choose one showing not the complex grandeur of the structure, but the intricate detail of the stonework. And that bicycle? Not really an outstanding shot, yet there's something so quintessentially Dutch about it that I couldn't not include it.
(Click on image to enlarge.)
 |
 |
 |
| Kathedrale Basiliek St Bavo: Just three out of a veritable "cascade of towers"
Haarlem, 2012 |
A Netherlands icon. (The sign reads "No bicycle parking".) Lepelstraat, Haarlem, 2012 |
Which bridge is closer? Think again. The older smaller Fremont Bridge is actually 500' closer than massive Aurora Bridge.
Seattle, 2012 |
 |
 |
 |
| This area used to be an execution ground. Its name comes from the galgen (gallows) that formerly stood here. Kort Galgewater 22-16, Leiden, 2013 |
These were loading docks when freight still traveled by canal. Now the old wharf is lined with charming terrace cafés.
Oudegracht aan de Werf, Utrecht, 2013 |
This whole street of stunning 15th- to 17th-century façades is sadly nothing but reconstructions due to damage in WWI. IJzerleen 16-8, Mechelen, 2013 |