The Netherlands
It isn’t the first European destination you think of visiting, but you should. Sure, Amsterdam is a popular city, but if you visit The Netherlands without straying outside its most famous location, you’ll miss out on a lot of beauty. We spent two weeks here in the summer of 2025 with the small city of Alkmaar as our home base. Drives to other cities and towns were relatively short, 30-45 minutes on easy to navigate highways and backroads. I carried my usual Fujifilm X-T5 digital with only the 16-80mm zoom to keep things simple. On the film side I had my Minolta CLE 35mm. You can check out film images from The Netherlands here.
A woman rides her bike through the city of Alkmaar.
Four young boys wait for a boat to pass under a drawbridge so they can continue jumping from the bridge into the canal on an unseasonably hot day.
A young girl sunbathes on a rare hot day.
Windmills in the town of Zaanse Schans, known for having one of the largest collections of functioning windmills in the country and its tourist attractions surrounding the town.
Skyline of Enkhuizen on a hot day.
A man rides a bike down an old street in Enkhuizen.
A ladies undergarments shop on a quiet street in Enkhuizen.
A crow rests on a railing in Volendam.
A street in Amsterdam.
Canal in Amsterdam.
Reflections in a laundromat window in Amsterdam.
Houses lean due to the soft soil of Amsterdam and are called "dancing houses."
Lighthouse in Egmond aan Zee, the Hague.
Lighthouse in Egmond aan Zee, the Hague.
Dunes near the sea.
Jetty on the mainland while embarking for the island of Texel.
A merchant on the island of Texel pushes her clothes rack back to her shop at the end of the street market.
A World War Two bunker built by the Dutch and then used by the Germans as part of their Atlantic Wall defense.
A woman sits on the beach on the island of Texel.
A barn on the island of Texel