canal

View of Verona and the Adige river at sunset | Italy

Sunset in Verona | Italy

Do you recognize this view of Verona (Italy) from St Peter’s Castle? Apart from being one of the most popular shots of the city of

Dubai Marina day

Dubai Marina

When Dubai Marina opened, it was the world’s first man-made marina of this size. Not in “one day Rome was built” as they say. This

Ponte Vecchio by night in Florence, Italy

Ponte Vecchio in Florence | Italy

Florence’s Ponte Vecchio or “Old Bridge” was probably one of the first bridges spanning the Arno River. Its history is therefore not straightforward. It was

Island in the Venice Lagoon – Burano and San Martino Church with the Leaning Tower, Italy

Burano and San Martino with the Leaning Tower | Venice, Italy

The Burano, with its distinctive colours, was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I later learned that there was a purpose behind the colour-toned design. During the golden age of development of Burano, if a house owner wanted to paint his belongings, he had to apply to Burano’s government for a colour. The government would only allow a few options of colours of choice.

Venice gondolas standing still; summer in Italy

Gondolas | Venice, Italy

You mainly see gondolas in one place on this Earth – Venice. There is more history and meaning in them that you would probably expect. And there are only a few hundred of them – you can only be a gondolier if you receive a license from the Venice’s guild.

Sunset at Rialto Bridge and Gran Canal in Venice.

Sunset at Rialto Bridge | Venice, Italy

There is always a place like this for everyone in different parts of the world… I realised that the ‘place’ for Daria and I is Venice, particularly when I stood with my tripod trying to capture the sunset over Rialto Bridge.

Amsterdam Keizersgracht under a bridge during the blue hour, The Netherlands.

Keizersgracht | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Keizersgracht is the name of one of the main canals in the capital of The Netherlands and in my opinion, is one of the most picturesque places to view. The picturesque effect is likely due it being the widest canal, which is in the middle of three main canals crossing Amsterdam centre. Wandering around and observing the lights of the bridge turned on during the blue hour is amazing.

Amsterdam, Montelbaanstoren at sunset – canal view, the Netherlands.

Montelbaanstoren | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Montelbaanstoren is a tower in Amsterdam that sits alongside a canal named Oudeschans. This tower is over 500 years old and was built in 1516 as a part of the city walls and was originally a Watchtower; although this function was only given for 90 years. Montelbaanstoren is also famous, with due credit to a particular painter that you might be familiar with – Rembrandt. He used to reside in an area near the tower and was supposedly very keen on painting this structure.

Amsterdam’s Houseboats in the center, the Netherlands.

Houseboats | Amsterdam, Netherlands

After the second world war, there was a shortage of housing in Amsterdam. People then moved to live in boats on the water. Back then, they were not so comfortable compared with our day now, but at least they were cheap. With decades passing, houseboats have become more popular as an essential part of Amsterdam’s landscape, eventually becoming a main tourist attraction.

Papiermolensluis and the canal in Amsterdam during a sunny day, the Netherlands.

Papiermolensluis | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Papiermolensluis is a stone bridge over one of the canals. It is probably one of the most photographed landmarks, due to the composition of the houses as you can see in the background and the canal in the foreground are perfectly depicting the “atmosphere” and the architecture of Amsterdam. Back in time, on the corner house of Brouwergracht, was a hanging sign “De Papiermolen” – paper handler. The bridge was called Papiermolensluis because you can see this sign of the shop from the bridge.

Night view of Amsterdam, Netherlands – View of the canal, boats and houses.

Amsterdam at Night | Netherlands

There are exactly 165 canals, so the decision as to which one to capture was not so easy. The composition though was always accomplished by the presence of several boats. The boats pictured above were rather small, in comparison to the 2,500 other house boats which were all around Amsterdam.

Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark at sunset. The colorful gabled houses during a summers evening

Nyhavn | Copenhagen, Denmark

Originally the branch canal Nyhavn was trenched in 1673 to connect the marketplace Kongens Nytorv to the busy port of Copenhagen in order to boost the trade. Even though Nyhavn never went on to be a big port, due to its limited size and capacity it still led to a lot of businessmen settling down along the promenade. The typical colorful gabled houses were mostly built in the 18th and 19th century and are one of the most important sights in the Danish capital today.