A few days ago I visited Amsterdam for the first time. My brother has been living there with his girlfriend for some time and it was about time for me to visit them… now that I’m finally settled in Zurich, it’s the perfect time to start exploring other cities and countries around me, and having relatives spread all over Europe is the perfect excuse to travel, isn’t it?

They say first impressions are the most important. Well, when I arrived to Amsterdam, it was cloudy and super cold compared to Zurich… but that didn’t impress me much (after three years in Ireland, I’m more or less used to dull weather). The first evening my brother took me to a cafe in the city center… and that’s when I fell in love with Amsterdam. The canals, the bridges with dozens of bikes chained to the handrails, the small buildings and the cute cafes and shops… they stole my heart! Amsterdam somehow reminded me of some of my favorite cities. For me, the canals reminded me of the islands in Stockholm… the cute buildings brought me memories from the Georgian buildings of Dublin… or maybe they were more like the cute little houses of the Greenwich village in New York? The stylish Amsterdamers were a bit like the Zurichers and Stockholmers…

After that first moody evening, the rest of the days roaming around the city where like a fabulous dream. The weather improved a lot and the rest of the week I enjoyed blue skies and mild temperatures, ideal conditions to do some tourism and explore the pretty streets and alleys of Amsterdam. I spent my days in Amsterdam just getting lost in the city, wandering its pretty streets, parks and canals, watching the Amsterdamers enjoying the last warm days of summer… and watching gorgeous sunsets before heading again to the city to take some night photos.

Well, here are some photos of my first days in this beautiful city! Do you think I got a good impression?? I hope you like them! 🙂

Amsterdam Nine Streets. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 57mm f/13 1/200sec. ISO200
Little alley. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/1000sec. ISO100
Blumenmarkt. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/15sec. ISO400
Blumenmarkt. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 35mm f/2.8 1/500sec. ISO200
Amsterdam little alley. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 45mm f/11 1/40sec. ISO200
Amsterdam little alley. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 45mm f/11 1/25sec. ISO400
Amsterdam Nine Streets. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 55mm f/11 1/250sec. ISO400
Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 50mm f/11 1/160sec. ISO320
Albert Cuyp street market. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/80sec. ISO320
Amsterdam canal and Rijksmuseum. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 70mm f/22 1/200sec. ISO320
The Nine Streets. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 50mm f/11 1/25sec. ISO100
Amsterdam canals. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 70mm f/11 1/500sec. ISO100
Damrak houses. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/160sec. ISO100
Damrak houses. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 24mm f/11 1/160sec. ISO100
Amsterdam at night. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 25mm f/11 5sec. ISO1000
Church of St. Nicholas. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 59mm f/22 8sec. ISO1000
Sunseet in Bosbaan. Canon EOS 5d Mark IV 26mm f/22 1/100sec. ISO125

This post is dedicated to my favourite Amsterdamer, my brother Fran, who yesterday finished another Ironman race in Mexico!! That’s a huge achievement!!!! Congratulations, little brother!!! I can’t be prouder of you!! I love you!!

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