Reinier Vinkeleskade in June

Amsteldijk

It was June 20 when I walked along the Weesperzijde and made this photograph. Slightly left we see the Okura Hotel again with the peculiar pink glow that comes from the top.

De Pijp June 17th 2012

Heineken Brouwerij

Houseboat at the Amstel

Berlage Lyceum

Berlage Lyceum in the Pieter Lodewijk Takstraat. 

Pink lights shining from the top of the Okura hotel

Sarphatipark on the 5th of June 2012

Amstel seen from Berlagebrug (June 2012)

De Amstel River Again In June

Red lights on the Ruysdaelkade

Muzenplein after a very warm day

From here to Apollo-House II

Along the Ruysdaelkade

In the middle of Museumplein

Monday the 23th of april 2012

Since two weeks or so, both of my legs are not so well and it's hard for me to go out at night. Unfortunately. I'm quite familiar with the pain as it is part of my multiple sclerosis. Usually these leg-episodes come and go (nobody can tell how long they last) but I hope to continue with my walks later on. As they still give me a lot of inspiration. This image of the Amstel was made on the 2nd of march 2012.

Van Gogh Museum

Anne Frank monument in May

Golden glare on the Ruysdaelkade

I was all the time curious how my photographs will change when the summer sets in. This night was the first pleasantly warm night of the year. The colors seem to swift towards yellow-gold I see now. Apart from this nice summer glare I also sensed an over all feeling of melancholy while strolling around the city. It was in the faces of the people I passed by. On the doorstep and in the bars for instance. But also in this strange romantic scene of the canal I sense it. The people on the little boat were playing a very bad, very vague, hip hop-rendition of 'Non Je Ne Regrette Rien'. It was the evening of May 21 when I made this image of the Ruysdaelkade. 

Azalea's on Roelof Hartplein

Standing on the Berlagebrug in May

Oosteinde

Oosteinde is a strange street in between the Frederiksplein and the Pijp. On the other side of DNB there is a parallel street called Westeinde, wich has more or less the same desolate atmosphere. The location of DNB used to be the place where the Paleis voor Volksvlijt was once. I was looking at a beautiful photo of the Paleis voor Volksvlijt just now. How impressing this neighbourhood must have been in the beginning of the 20th century.

I'm trying to imagine now.

If the Paleis voor Volksvlijt burnt down in 1929 and DNB was built in 1968, the area must have been quiet empty in the interventing period. Stan Rubens, the man that I already mentioned in my post about the Lekstraat Synagoge, was hiding with his family on Westeinde for a year. In his testimony Stan told a beautiful story about that period. 

The father of Stan brought a film projector with him to the appartment where they were hiding. And he somehow found a way to secretly rent 8mm movies at a company in Rotterdam. The movies were sent, via via, by friends and people from the resistance to the adress on Westeinde. I figure the Rubens family sitting in a bare and dark livingroom and enjoying the movie images. Every now and than, they laugh silently, despite the fear and the continuous threat for betrayal and raids.

the other side of the Van Ostadestraat

On many occasions I tried to take a good picture of the Oranjekerk in de Van der Helststraat but it's hard because the street is so narrow. All the streets in De Pijp are quite narrow and therefore it's not so easy to document the neighbourhood as it is. On the photo above we see the Oranjekerk just on the left side. I was standing in the sand and mud of the Van Ostadestraat when I made this image.

Hilton

Two times Museumplein

Van Ostadestraat

Sarphatipark in April

Looking at Venus and the Sarphati Monument

A while ago I got a letter from the municipality where they warn the citizens for criminality and aggression in the neighbourhood. Apparently 4 people were murdered in the last few months.

When I met my neighbour Miriam this afternoon she said the letter got her quite upset, although she never felt fear when walking at night. 'I don't sense much aggression on the streets either', I told her. We both came to the conclusion that we know it when things are not all right. Somehow we sense it.

Although a fair number of people were killed in the Sarphatipark, I can't remember feeling any fear while taking this photo of the Sarphati monument. Strangely enough...

Green, white, red on the Amstelkade

Blossom tree in the Burgemeester Tellegenstraat

Rialto

German shepherd on the Richard Wagnerstraat

After I took this picture, the German Shepherd, that you see vaguely on the left side of this picture, attacked me. It was a very eerie and oppressive incident. At last the owner entered this peculiar square and took the dog away. 

Weeping willows on the Mozartkade

Apollo House

On this very clear night I finally got a nice shot of the Apollo House building (1938-1939). I'm always surprised how big the building is when standing in front of it. I read now that it's also known as Oceaan Stomer (Ocean Steamer). The construction is made of a metal skeleton covered with white ceramic plates. It used to be the main office for an insurance company but since 2000 it is used by an international law firm. See how bright the moon was shining on that evening and look at the Iodestar (polestar) just above the Apollo House. Or is it Venus?

Kerk van Onze Lieve Vrouw Koningin van de Vrede (“Vredeskerk”)

Rai, Daf, Heineken and the mounted police coming from the left

 

White house Herman Gorterstraat

It is now almost 10 months ago that I started with my evening walks. Later on I will post a drawing with the routes that I usually walk. Certain places, like the Amstel, the Stadhouderskade, Museumplein, but also these bungalows on the Bernard Zweerskade are the places that I come around more often. I see them as the checkpoints or better the anchorpoints of my blog. It still is very nice to make the walks and to search for new perspectives for these motifs.

Oosteinde

Green and yellow lights on the Stadhouderskade

DNB

Victorieplein

Apollohal seen from Muzenplein

From here to "Apollo House"

Smoke on the Hobbemakade

Full Moon Museumplein

Passing by the Nicolaas Witsenkade

Albert Cuypstraat

Albert Cuyp

Een markt met een ingang, omdat het een straat is.

Ik sta stil bij de ingang, fiets aan de hand, kan naar binnen kijken.

Als het donker is kan ik door de straat heen fietsen.

Van liefde alleen het begin willen, dat is tot waar?

Nachoem M. Wijnberg * Geb 1961

ALBERT CUYP * Uit tien * Contact, Amsterdam, 2007


On my 39th birthday a friend gave me this nice poem of Nachoem M. Wijnberg.