Showing posts with label Amsterdam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amsterdam. Show all posts

Overheard: Amsterdam summer

Friday, August 21, 2026


Summer 2026 in Amsterdam gave heatwaves, cloudy days, 200,000+ lightning discharges, World Cup flags, boat trips, WorldPride - and I heard people saying these words:

  • Cos everyone wants a unicorn, but no one wants a lumberjack.

  • Wounds can be healed! Wounds can be healed!

  • Brussels? Absolutely not! Brussels? What a shit show!

  • If you go to the UK, to London, they are all orange in the face.

  • It's very, like, claustrophobic here.

  • I think he's straight... but he does play with his hair a lot.

  • The Dutch are pretty much the badasses of the world when it comes to languages.

  • Some nights we sleep together, some nights we don't.

  • What about the consequences, the enormity?

  • Oh, this wine is expensive... oh, this wine is good... This was a lovely wine, I'm going to get more.

  • Like, he will buy three baskets of peaches and five boxes of extension cords.

  • What happens in Chile on a Tuesday evening?

  • I'm following you... Do you know where you're going?

  • Thank God I brought chicken wings.

  • Take your winter coats out!

  • That McDonald's is good, it has an upper floor.

  • I don't think anyone is pretty like me... or prettier.

World Cup Flags in the Netherlands

Sunday, July 19, 2026

My favourite thing about the World Cup is seeing flags from countries around the world where I live.

In 2014, I took photos of World Cup flags I saw in London, so I thought I would do the same in 2026 - here are World Cup flags in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam

Orange flags in Jordaan


Teeny-tiny Colombia flag


Small Turkey flag











Rotterdam









The Hague



Utrecht


19 instagrams celebrating cities' typography and type

Monday, February 16, 2026

Brick wall with black stencilled letters spelling Canvas

Walking through a city, one of the things I enjoy most is simply seeing words: typography, signs, lettering in all its forms. As you move through the streets, it often feels like the city itself is talking to you.

For years now, I’ve been sharing my take on these on one of my Instagram accounts, posting stylised snippets of words, tiles, bricks and other details that catch my eye. They come from many different places as I travel, from Bulgaria to New York - though most often from Amsterdam or London.

I’ve started to wonder whether these kinds of signs and lettering form a 'personality type' for a city, a visual language shaped by history, design and everyday life.

Today, I am highlighting a selection of nineteen Instagram profiles that focus on typography found in cities around the world, each offering a take on how urban spaces speak through letters.

EDIT: Since sharing this post on Instagram, I've received lots more recommendations, so I've added them as a list below.

Amsterdam


Bari (Puglia)


Berlin


Birmingham


Brussels


Dublin


Edinburgh


Frankfurt


Istanbul


Krakow


London


Madrid


Marseille


New York


Nottingham


Oslo


Rome


Rotterdam


Tokyo