More Bridges...

Back along the Rapenburg, we saw this cool arched bridge, which created a circle in the water...

...as seen from two different angles. 

This one was unusual, as it apparently used to be a bridge but was bricked up. 

The Nieuwsteegbrug (New Rose Bridge) dates back to 1389 during urban expansion, but this version is from 1864 with improvements as recent as 1990. 

On my favorite segment of canal is the Kerkbrug (Church Bridge). The first bridge here was built around 1350, but this drawbridge, one of the few bridges that is still opened manually, was built in 1867.

The Catharinabrug (Catherine Bridge) was built in 2016 to replace a much narrower modern bridge.

These final photos are bird’s eye views from under various bridges.

 

Upside Down Bikes...

One of the things that I find so cool about completely calm water is that it looks like a mirror. In this post, I’ve included photos of a bunch of bridges with what appears to be upside down bikes in the water. Here is the Koornbrug (Grain Bridge) built in 1642.

True, there’s no upside down bikes in this photo or the next, but they’re also photos taken that day that I like of the Koornbrug.

Here's the Karnemelkbrug (Buttermilk Bridge). There has been a bridge here since the 13th century, but this one dates from 1938.

The right-hand side of the bridge connects with the long tunnel with paintings of rats and lights that I have posted several times.

Between the Koornbrug and the Karnemelk Brug is the Sint Sebastiaansbrug (Saint Sebastian Bridge). The original dated from 1728, but this modern bridge was built in 1981.

Unlike the other bridges, which were all on the Nieuwe Rijn, the final bridge with upside down bikes was over the Oude Rijn (Old Rhine). This Sint Jansbrug (Saint John Bridge) was built in 1914 while the original dated back to the 12th century. 
 

Cars and Fairy Lights...

Despite the cars on lots of the canals, I still managed to capture a lot of cool reflection shots. 

Eventually the fairy lights came on in the trees along the Nieuwe Rijn (New Rhine River).

My night photography skills remain challenged even after all these years, but hopefully you get the general idea. 

I like the upside down fish from the fishmonger’s market booth.

We clearly were once again pushing our luck about our lack of proper lights. 
 

No Wind or Cars...

In the inner canals of the city, there was no wind, so the reflections were better. Even better still were those sections of the canals without any parked cars.

I’m not sure what took us so long to realize that this entire section of the street is too narrow to park cars, making for better photos. So it’s now my favorite canal in Leiden. 

 

Boating in the Fall...

On a Wednesday afternoon in November, Jimmy played hooky so we could enjoy the quiet canals of Leiden. 

It was interesting how parts of the canal along the elegant Rapenburg were still enough for reflections...

…while nearby it was windier (you should notice that the two above photos are both of the academy building for the University of Leiden). 

For the first time, we noticed that Leiden has a public urinal next to a canal...

…and a canon in a park in another part of the city. 

As you can see, Jimmy loves being the captain. 
 

2020 Presidential Election...

Carlin and Kent hosted us for dinner on November 3, the evening of the US Presidential election. I wore my pearls in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the incredible Supreme Court Associate Justice that fought for human rights throughout her long and empowering legal career. 

This year’s Election Breakfast was cancelled, so here’s a throwback to the one in 2012 when the girls joined us. Like previous elections, we slept a few hours and then stayed glued to the news for hours on the morning of the 4th. 

Continuing with the theme that nothing in 2020 was normal, there was no winner declared on the 4th. Instead the world had to wait until the 7th for Biden to be declared the winner. It just happened that we had invited Bob to spend the night since he was feeling lonely while Lisa was in the US for two months. I was so impressed to learn that she was working as a lawyer tracking all of the lawsuits filed across the country related to the election. Jimmy yelled down for us to join him in his office as the news spread that Biden had enough electoral college votes to be declared the winner. 

Later that night we brought over some bubbly to have a toast with our next door neighbors, who were completely fascinated with the American election process. 

Notice anything unusual about this flag? Bob noticed right away that it only has 48 stars (Alaska and Hawaii didn’t become states until 1959). 

Turns out that this fantastic large cotton flag was from 1945 and was apparently given to Martijn’s grandparents by American soldiers that had come to liberate the Netherlands.