Walk on the beach

After the hectic King's Day last Saturday (pictures on the blog will follow later this week), there was a relaxing Sunday with a walk on the beach with my friend H. It started out as a rainy day and we went to Ikea first to buy a new desk and a rug. I'm planning to convert my bedroom into a study; a spacious room with a lot of light. I would like to create a place where I can work comfortably and leave things on my desk even if it's not finished without having to clear it up before guests arrive. I will show the before and after pictures later.
When the rain stopped, the sky slowly opened up and the sun appeared. It wasn't cold and there was no wind, so the sea was very calm. It was very joyful to walk in the sand.
Have a look at what I saw and experienced.

colored beach houses

patterns of the beach

These kids playing on the beach reminds me of a painting by Dutch painter Jozef Israëls (1872: Kinderen der zee).

diagonal line in texture of the sand

footstep in sea foam

harbor entrance

man's and dog's footsteps

two guys rowing

simplicity: two boots on the beach

running boy and dog

sea foam

glittering sea

man and woman with umbrella

walking women

partial menu written on glass

A picture from King's Day

Today was our first King's Day in ages. We've had queens reigning our little country for centuries and now for the first time in a very long time we have a king. Here is already one photo from that day that I spent with friends. As usual dressed up in one of the costumes our friend Veronie made (far right on the picture). The names on the skirts are the names from our princesses. The woman in the background is supposed to be the queen.
More photos will follow soon!

Picture taken by an unknown passer-by.

You can see pictures from our last Queen's Day over here.

Fallen petals

Spring is progressing and the blossoms that were on tree are now falling to the ground in abundance. They form lovely patterns on the sidewalks, like confetti. I remember I shot many pictures of that process last year, see over here. 
Today I went to the grocery store and again I had perceptions of pink and purple petals on the sidewalk and on cars. I really enjoy seeing the petals, it is so festive! I hope you enjoy it, too.

petals on motor bike 

petals and seeds in the gutter

seeds and pink blossom on white car

shadow of a bike with pink blossoms

purple petals on sidewalk

Seeds and flower on green car

seeds on red car

Have a lovely weekend!

Family visit over Easter

My niece's blond hair

Easter has come and gone. My sister and her three girls stayed with me and that was quite busy! The twins are about 12 years old and the eldest will turn 16 in a few months time. One of the things we did was going to the Vondelpark and relax.

We looked at other people (like at this little guy picking daisies), read a book, played a card game and rested.

The twins still liked the climbing frame, they still enjoy paying around. In a little while we'll have to entertain them with other stuff. 

Playing a game of cards is always good stuff, no matter how old they are.

I went for a walk with the twins and we spotted a green parakeet, so well camouflaged we nearly missed him. 

The twins completely fell in love with these little chicks swimming behind their mother, so adorable. 

 My eldest niece felt like sleeping.

And I was reading this book by Austin Kleon. I am half way now and he is telling some good stuff!

Twin sisters side by side. They can be sweet together and they can be very difficult.

They all love crafting: drawing and making collages. That kept them sweet for most of their stay and I must admit the outcome was pretty rad!

Eating and drinking in Prague

This blog post is not about the best places to eat and drink in Prague. It's about the things I saw when we were out and about.

Reflection: having a drink

We were in a bar having a drink and a sandwich when I saw our reflection in a huge mirror opposite us.

Contact: cup and saucer

This was a more fun perception: reading the text on the cup and really making contact with what I saw.

Simplicity: cutlery

Simplicity is about an object and the space around it. Here that applies to the cutlery laying on a white napkin.

Form: drops in an empty bottle of water

I was touched with the corset like shape of the bottle and the straight lines behind it, together with the drops inside the bottle.

Contact: glass of green tea

I really liked the blue brims and the top brim with the surface of the tea with floating leaves.

Simplicity: glass of water

Again this is about an object, in this case a glass of water, and its environment.

Textures: entree of fried goat cheese with rice & pumpkin

Actually, this was a delicious entree. I would really like to try to make the fried goat cheese on a bed of rice & pumpkin one day. But as an image I was thrilled with the textures and lines of the creation.

Contact: glass of original Budweiser beer

Apparently there is a story to this. American Budweiser thought they could get away with copying a Czech name, but unfortunately they lost the battle.

Color: raspberry daiquiri

Simply, a stunning color of red.

Two circles: a cup of tea and an ashtray

My eyes went to the circles, not a good combination taste wise, but black and white go well together visually.

Reflections in the Amsterdam canals

One of my fellow Miksang Contemplative photographers calls me the Queen of Reflections. And it is sort of true, in the sense that I certainly have a preference file for reflections. I have not shown the reflection photos from Prague yet, but I certainly will.
I've been back for more than a week now and I have not stopped taking pictures. So here is a blog post in between Prague and Amsterdam. The good thing about traveling is coming home and appreciating your own city.

Reflection of Amsterdam canal with tree

Reflection of an Amsterdam canal

Reflection of Amsterdam canal houses

Reflection of offices in Amsterdam canal

Reflection of Amsterdam canal boat

Amsterdam canal boats