Blog
A blog about photography and travel.
Netherlands and Germany
Last work trip before summer vacation
In early June, I travelled to the Netherlands for one final work trip before the summer vacation. I was there for two weeks and for the weekend I decided to go to the Ruhr area, which I’d not visited before.
The Ruhr’s claim to history was being the center of coal mining and steel production in Europe. That’s mostly gone now, but the Ruhr has evolved into the most densely populated area in Europe. A bit of a monstrous urban conglomeration that’s not that interesting to visit. Something to do with the area being built around coal mines and factories instead of city centers, and, of course, having been destroyed in the war.
Århus and Netherlands
Back in the saddle
Finally It looks like we are back to a normal work environment after Covid. Having face-to-face meetings with people again is so much more productive and fun. You get things done in a day that can take weeks over e-mails and conference calls. I also work with an excellent bunch of people that are committed to their work and have a good sense of humor, in a way that only engineers have.
For a photographer, a change of scenery and new places to visit really gets the shutter-pressing juices flowing. Being around people that I don’t meet every day also gives me the opportunity to sneak in some portraits, which I enjoy a lot.
For the trip I brought my Fujifilm XE4 and set of prime lenses (XF16F1.4, XF23F1.4, XF35F2.0, XF50F2.0 and XF80F2.8). Let’s just say that I changed lenses a few times!
First stop was Århus for some project meetings. I like Århus and half-lived there for 2-3 years to support the acquisition of a company. It’s not a large city and but it has everything and is very easy to be in, which is kind of Denmark in a nutshell.
The week after I had meetings in the Netherlands so instead of going back to Iceland. I flew over there on a Friday and stayed in Groningen for the weekend. I’ve never been to Groningen before as it’s way up in Friesland, but I can confirm that it lives up to its reputation as a lively city full of young people. I also drove up to the Friesland coast, which is an interesting place with wide open skies and mud flats that extend into the distance.
I then spent a couple of nights in Enschede before going to familiar Nijmegen, which is near to our main office in the Netherlands.
Working in the Netherlands
A couple of weeks in familiar settings
In the middle of September I went to the Netherlands for a couple of weeks to work on some projects. This was my first normal business trip since before Covid hit so it was really nice to meet the people again, work face to face, have a conversations over drinks and dinner and just get out of the country for a while.
The place where I work is in Brabant, close to the German border. As usual I stayed in Nijmegen, a lively city with a large student population. Nijmegen is situated on the river Waal (Rhine) and is supposed to be the oldest city in the Netherlands.
For the trip I took my XE4 and a selection of primes (16mmf1.4, 23mmf1.4, 35mmf2.0, 50mmf2.0 and 80mmf2.8). Not the lightest camera bag, and many lens changes, but good to try something different.
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is a seaside town close to the Hague. On a warm summer day the beach is probably packed with sun lovers but on this September evening there were only a few people there, doing their best to enjoy the last rays of summer. I drove there directly from the airport and managed to catch a couple of hours of photography as the sun was going down.
Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
The Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery is located near Nijmegen on top of a hill overlooking Germany. The cemetery contains the graves of 2619 soldiers, most of them in their twenties. It is a beautifully solemn place, and, like other war memorials in the Netherlands, impeccably maintained by young Dutch volunteers. I was there all by myself on a foggy Saturday morning and was touched by the experience.
Street photography
The Dutch are a good subject for street photography, being affluent, colorfully dressed and very much determined to have a good time. The Dutch cities are great for walking around with a camera, having a good combination of old and new architecture, canals, bikers, walkers, tons of restaurants and no cars.
Rotterdam and Hook of Holland
Rotterdam is a modern city with wide open spaces, very much not the typical Dutch city. You could say the same of Eindhoven, but unlike it I’ve always enjoyed Rotterdam’s lively vibe and modern architecture. On the other side of the Maas is the massive Europoort industrial and shipping complex, which stretches from the city of Rotterdam to the Hook of Holland.
Hook of Holland is an interesting place. There’s a beach with restaurants and holiday homes and on the nearby Maas you can watch an endless stream of cargo ships coming and going.
Odds and ends
I did take an awful lot of pictures during the trip :-)
Working in Germany
Germany in the depths of Covid
At the end of February I travelled on business with two colleagues to Germany through the Netherlands - my only business trip during Covid. Things have been relaxed in Iceland compared to other places so it was a bit of an experience to be in Europe where everything is closed. Quite a depressing atmosphere to be honest and a good reminder of how privileged we have been in our country.
We took a flight from Keflavík to Schiphol and from there we drove to Dinklage, a small town in the state of Lower Saxony. The town itself is not interesting but there is a nice woodland area and an old monastery on its outskirts which is well worth a visit. We also managed a day trip to nearby Bremen and a short stop in Amersfoort on the way back to Schiphol.
I brought along my trusty Fujifilm XT2 and the XF16-55 and XF23f1.4 lenses. If you need one lens for a Fuji X camera I can recommend the XF16-55. Good image quality, covers the most useful focal range and is built like a tank. I don’t agree that the XF18-55 kit lens is good enough, the XF16-55 is far superior in my opinion.
It was nice to get out of the country for a bit and I did get some good snaps here and there, my favorites being from a walk through the woods in the fog.
