You read correctly… 400 years!  The start of the Canal Ring in Amsterdam began in 1613.  For those that haven’t visited “Venice of the north”, there are over 100km of canals, 90 islands and over 1500 bridges.  I’ve been to Venice and personally, I find Amsterdam more beautiful that the famed Italian city, perhaps because it seems a bit cleaner and less smelly to me.  Don’t get me wrong, Venice is gorgeous, but Amsterdam has a completely different feel about it.  I’ve been traveling to the city regularly from the USA for work lately and I’ve come to really like the city.  The people, the culture, neighborhoods, the traditions, and of course, the canals, all add up to a wonderful experience.

During my last trip that I just returned from I spent the weekend in Brussels exploring the city and made a point to have my camera, so I took advantage of that when I made my way to Amsterdam for the week.  It was quite cold, but amazingly the sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon when I arrived.  I wanted to explore a few new neighborhoods and found myself taking many photographs of the bridges and canal areas when I was out at sunset.  It’s just so beautiful, I couldn’t help myself.  I took many photographs, but thought I’d share some of my canal photos with you in honor of their 400th birthday.

I hope you can capture the feel of the city and imagine yourself on a small canal tour boat, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying the view.  :-)

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