One of the first words most foreigners learn in the Netherlands is file. It means “queue” and is most often used to refer to a backup on the motorways. The Netherlands is a small, crowded country and to make matters worse, its motorways form an important part of the principal north-south routes across Europe, so there is a lot of transit traffic as well. It does not take much to create impressive tailbacks. On a bright and sunny Thursday morning I set off for work; a few km down the road I entered (or rather, tried to enter) the A27 motorway towards Utrecht and further south. But instead of zipping along, I found myself in this:
(Canon 1D Mark II, 24-70mm L Canon, ISO 100)
A bit further ahead on the motorway there was construction, narrowing the 2 lanes of the motorway. And this morning a truck had a problem. Not even an accident, just a mechanical failure of some kind. The net result was that I spent 55 minutes on this on-ramp together with a few hundred of my closest friends 😉 There was not much to do except listen to the radio and take pictures of the other people caught in the misery:
(Canon 1D Mark II, 24-70mm L Canon, ISO 100)
When I finally did get to the office, I had another photo opportunity. The diesel generator that is meant to power our data centre in the event of a power outage was undergoing periodic maintenance:
(Canon 1D Mark II, 24-70mm L Canon, ISO 100)
Later in the week, on Saturday, my 17-year old son went to Spain with three friends to spend a week partying and chasing English girls. At Schiphol airport, he allowed himself to be hugged goodbye by Mom, making sure that none of his friends were nearby:
(Canon 1D Mark II, 16-35mm L Canon, ISO 800)
After dropping him off at the airport, we drove into Amsterdam to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. It is not a great culinary experience, but my 12-year old daughter loves it, and we thought it appropriate to compensate her for staying home with us while her brother was having fun in Spain. Anyway, on a lovely evening like this, the Hard Rock Cafe is not a bad place:
(Canon 1D Mark II, 16-35mm L Canon, ISO 100)
Nathan
I always enjoy your pictorial essays – this one is no exception – thanks
for sharing and continue to publish your gems
Sincerely
Joseph Low
Comment by Joseph Low — 18 July 2006 @ 23:53