A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
055: Lone musician on canal bridge
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
Netherlands
All posts tagged Netherlands
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
054: Twin child’s seat
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
052: Canal
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
051: Bicycle parking station
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
050: Medieval town wall
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
049: View on a canal
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
048: Warning for slippery pavement
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© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
033: Binnenhof Square
For centuries, the Dutch political power is concentrated around the Binnenhof, in the historic center of The Hague. Little is know of its origin, but the Gothic-style castle, built in the 13th century, was a residence for the counts of Holland, until 1584, when it became the political center of the Dutch Republic. It is the oldest House of Parliament still in use. The Prime Minister’s office (Torentje), the Cabinet, the Senate as well as the House of Representatives are housed within the Binnenhof complex. From 2020, the Binnenhof will be renovated completely, an operation that will last at least five years. Meanwhile, the politicians and their staff have to be housed elsewhere. Also the tourists will be barred from the complex. The tourist group in the photograph listened to the broad history of the Binnenhof, provided by a local tour guide.
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
026: Wandering guitar player
Most Dutch living at some distance from the Dutch capital know it already: whatever you can imagine, you’ll meet that in Amsterdam. Anything that is odd, crazy, weird, it’s there. Sometimes, Amsterdam appears to be a city without limits, where you can meet people pushing their limits, people who have no limits. Everything sees to be possible. And if not, people just do. They just do what they want to do. Even then they are lacking talent, skills for that. Like this man, wandering, with his acoustic guitar. People in the street stopped their activities, when he walked past them. He was singing, but he clearly didn’t have the talent for that. Absolutely not. But he was just doing what he loved to do: playing guitar and singing in the streets. And gaining little money too!
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
020: Black-suited woman
Like many major cities in the world, Amsterdam has also to deal with rush hours and traffic jams. It’s quite frustrating to spend several hours every day commuting from your home, just outside the big city (what many Dutch prefer), to your office in the city. Therefore, many people take public transportation like the subway, bus or train. Others prefer to be more independent on public transport and choose for the bicycle, motorcycle, or scooter. Like the woman in this photograph. Despite the fact it was a cold day in March, with the temperature floating around seven degrees centigrade only, she sat there on her white scooter in her black uniform. It was as if she were a policewoman from some decades ago. It was no wonder that she caught some attention from bystanders, even in Amsterdam, where you may observe many people that will draw your attention.
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
017 : Zittend Kind Statue
When I went to work or to my room from the center of Nijmegen by bike, I always passed this little stone boy. The boy, in a squatting pose, is staring in front of him and seems to be lost in deep thoughts. But you expect that he suddenly may look at you or even jump up. When I walked the Four Days Marches, I walked along this statue, and I regarded him as a silent, unmoved supporter of us walkers. This artwork was made in 1969 by the famous Nijmegen artist Ed van Teeseling. It was recently included in a fourteen kilometer long bicycle route along fifteen Van Teeseling’s art pieces.
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
016: Waste bin
Ter voorbereiding van mijn verdediging aan de universiteit, verbleef ik enige dagen in Nijmegen. Dagelijks was ik in de universiteitsbibliotheek te vinden, waar ik de benodigde literatuur raadpleegde. Het was een koude periode in de eerste week van maart, de temperatuur was slechts iets boven nul. De meeste dagen waren getekend door grauwe, grijze wolken, waaruit van tijd tot tijd ijskoud aanvoelende regen viel. Aangezien ik zo’n twee weken eerder vanuit een zeer zonnig en zomers Brazilië was gearriveerd, miste ik erg de zon en de warmte. Maar op een zeldzame zonnige dag in die week maakte ik een wandeling vanuit de universiteit naar de Waalkade, en ik genoot van de zwakke winterzon. De zon liet de omgeving in een letterlijk ander daglicht zien: het was veel kleuriger, vrolijker dan tijdens de grijze, sombere dagen. Toen ik de Heyendaalseweg volgde naar de Waalkade, viel mijn oog op deze afvalbak, die met de opening op de weg was gericht. In het midden was een soort roos gemonteerd, wellicht bedoeld voor het beter mikken van afval. En de mogelijke doelgroep? Heel waarschijnlijk automobilisten en ook fietsers.
In preparation for my defense at the university, I spent a few days in Nijmegen. Every day I was in the university library, where I consulted the necessary literature. It was a cold period in the first week of March, the temperature was only slightly above zero. Most days were marked by gray clouds, from which ice-cold rain fell from time to time. Since I arrived two weeks earlier from a very sunny and summery Brazil, I missed the sun and the warm temperatures. But on a rare sunny day in that week, I made a walk from the university to the Waalkade, and I enjoyed the weak winter sun. The sun showed the environment in a literally different light: it was much more colorful, more cheerful than during the gray, gloomy days. When I followed the Heyendaalseweg to the Waalkade, my eye fell on this waste bin, with the opening directed to the road. In the middle, a kind of rose was mounted, perhaps intended for better targeting waste. And the possible target group? Most probably motorists and also cyclists.
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
A personal selection of photographs with their stories.
013: Dog’s patience
When you arrive in Nijmegen by car, it is almost impossible to miss the giant traffic rotund of Keizer Karelplein (Charlemagne Square). More than seventy thousand vehicles use this rotund every day. It is a so-called classic rotund, and may be very confusing for those who make use of it for the first time. The rotund was created in 1879, when the remaining fortress was demolished as part of large-scale urban expansion works. It was named after Charlemagne, who had one of his favorite palaces located in Nijmegen. In 1944, a crucial battle was fought in this square between American paratroopers and the German army. The Americans failed to conquer, which resulted in a decisive delay of the advancing allied troops on their way to neighboring Arnhem. The square now hosts a small park, with some ponds and a statue of Charlemagne. However, it is impossible to reach the park during rush hours. The dogs on the photograph are waiting patiently until they are allowed to cross one of the six streets that gather at the Keizer Karelplein.
© Adriano Antoine Robbesom 2010, 2017
