Amsterdam harbour
Amsterdam has a very modern harbour in the Lake IJssel, with many large modern buildings. It lies just North of the cental station. The famous River Rhine, that flows through Germany and Switzerland, flows in Amsterdam. Rotterdam has a much larger harbour, but in Amsterdam the harbour is very integrated into the city center with many new residential buildings, hotels and other developments. Eastern Docklands, Overhoeks, Ooosterdok, IJburg and Ooosterdokseiland are all areas in the modern harbour.
Overhoeks - North of the station, across Lake IJ:
Overhoeks is a new area opposite the Central Station, across the water of Lake IJssel. Here you can find the brandnew film museum The Eye and Toren Overhoeks.
The EYE (left) and Toren Overhoeks, (right). The tower from 1970 is 80m tall and is famous for its bronze glass. It was the former Shell headquarters and has an observation deck on the top.
The EYE Film Institute, a very cool, brand new building designed by Delugan Meissl. It was inaugurated in April 2012 (and the trip was in May). It is dedicated to both international and Dutch films, totally 46 000 titles can be found.
Communting on free ferries between downtown and Overhoeks.
Eastern Docklands
(Oostelijk Havengebied):
Oostelijk Havengebied, as it is called in Dutch, is the development just Northeast of the central station, between the lake IJ and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. Together with Ooosterdokeiland you can find many interesting buildings in the area, including the Municipal Library, the NEMO science center, the new concert hall, some striking new bridges, a ferry terminal, new residential buildings, a floating Chinese restaurants and some large hotels. It was a derilict area until the new construction begun in the 1980s.
Eastern Docklands and Oosterdok skyline from the left: Muziekgebouw (concert hall)/Bimhuis, Mövenpick Hotel/ferry terminal and NEMO.
IJ-toren, a 20-storey highrise from 2002l. The curved annex in front of the ship's chimney is the ferry terminal. The bridges are very modern with its striking designs.
NEMO, a science center that has its origins frm 1923, but is since 1997 housed in this dramatic building designed by Renzo Piano. It has a green coppar facade adnd lies right next to the water. It is the 4th most popular museum in the Netherlands. It is situated in Oosterdok, just East of Eastern Docklands.
A very hot day outside the NEMO. Inside you can find science projects.
NEMO seen from the canalboat.
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, the concert hall for classic music and Bimhuis, a concert hall for jazz and improvized musuem. It is integrated with the Mövenpick Hotel highrise and the ferry terminal (note the ferry to the left). The building opened in 2005 and was designed by the architect firm 3XN.
One of the luxury ferries in Amsterdam's harbour, here seen from the canal boat.
Boat houses, and view towards the Old Town.
Old Town skyline and part of the Ooosterdok harbour.
The National Maritime Museum (Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum). Outside the museum there is a replica of the ship "Amsterdam".
From the left: Muziekgebouw, Mövenpick Hotel, ferry terminal and IJtoren.
The ferry terminal.
Ooosterdokeiland
This island is situated between Eastern Docklands and the Centraslstation. It is filled with ultramodern buildings.
The new walking bridge to Ooosterdokeiland.
Walking at the bridge that hangs above the water.
New buildings and the floating Chinese restaurant in Ooosterdokeiland.
Ooosterdokeiland, Eastern Docklands and Oosterdok.
Sea Palace and Sint Nicolaas church.
Ooosterdokeiland with the Doubletree to the left with its hanging annex.
Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam, the new Municipal Library on Oosterdokseiland. Very large and modern. It has 7000 visitors a day.
Openbare Bibliotheek opened in 2007. It has 600 computers with internet connections and 1.7 million books. There is an observation deck with views on the top.
The library has 10 floors.
Special lighting schems at the escalators.
The library is open 7 days per week, 12 hours per day from 10am until 10pm!
The interior of the library.
There are large glass sections in the library.
View from the outdoor café on the library's roof. You can see more of the views from there in the skylines section.
The Sea Palace is a floating Chinese restaurant that is a smaller version of the Jumbo restaurant in Hong Kong. It lies opposite the library.
Doubletree by Hilton, a new hotel.
Grand Hotel Amrath, just next to Oosterdok, but part of the old town. A rustic building.
The bridge betweeen the harbour and the city center, here in front of Sint Nicolaas Kerk.