An Ode to Oost

We've moved!  No, not to Switzerland.  We've gone West, Young Man, to the bustling yuppie-and-tourist-filled neighborhood of De Pijp, Amsterdam.

But before I share the new sights and sounds and flavors of our new 'hood, I want to share what I will miss about our old neighborhood, where we lived happily for one year on a quiet, out-of-the-way wharf just east of the Amsterdam city center.

Such as
Flevopark:

The Artis:

The free view of the Artis fauna from the Entrepotdok:

The ghostly loom of the Scheepvaartmuseum at nighttime:

The cool, intriguing, corrugated-steel-sided building that I didn't realize was a climbing gym until the week before we moved, despite its GIANT CAPITAL LETTERS reading "Climb Wall":

The train tracks that we couldn't hear from our apartment, but whose bright blur always reminded you of traveling.  Also cool/frustrating to be on the inbound train from somewhere and pass your apartment building.

Oosterkerk's cupola against the always-immaculate Dutch sky:

 This lazy, greasy-furred, attention-grubbing watchdog:

"The Whale":

Other modern buildings:

The various odd footbridges of Java eiland:

The mirrored buildings on Java eiland:

Restaurant de Groenland, where we only ate once, but spied on with daily constancy:

Mocking the signage on the apartment building's bulletin board:

.  

Answer:  No, Small-Neighbor-Child-Whose-Parent-Obviously-Lettered-This-Sign, we're keeping ALL the Keuken Mini's for ourselves.  And turtles are not part of the Keuken Mini collection.  

Living across from the once-shipyard of the East India Company:

Being able to see various renditions of this view every.  Single. Day.

 Ahhhh.  It was a great year, in a great part of town.  On to more of the same, showcased differently.  The city has yet to disappoint.

Moving!  Must.  Burn.  ALL THE CANDLES.