Frank Jansen Photography

As promised, here is the first update from my trip to the Netherlands, even though I’m still bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. The weather upon arrival at Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam was sunny with temperatures just above freezing; what we would call a great day in New England.

One of the first trips was to hook up with my father at the Central Train Station in The Hague, where I took this shot of bicycles parked in front of the station.

This is very typical of what you see in Holland, as people of all ages and stations in life use the bicycle to commute.

After a great lunch of poffertjes (a batch of small Dutch pancakes, which are about 2 inches in diameter), we went off to Schiedam, where my father lives. After settling in, I took a couple of images of the street that give some of the flavor of the Dutch city.

The first image gives some perspective on the parking situation that is prevalent in most cities, as they were not designed for vehicular traffic (when these cities were planned, only rich people had horses).

This second image gives a view of the rooftops of the traditional style of row housing that is still very much in place in the larger Dutch cities.

Enjoy…more to come during the trip.