Amsterdam is easily my favourite city (so far) for walking around and taking photos, as I am want to do on occasion. I made several trips there a few years ago when I was working in the Netherlands and became quite familar with the city, and it was the site of many of my favourite photographs - at least three in my main 'portfolio'. It's a pretty easy place to get nice photos though, very scenic with the rings of canals (Singel > Herengracht > Kaizersgracht > Prinsengracht > Amstel River) and the historic and often uneven houses lining them.
It's a bit of a drive to Amsterdam from where i'm staying in Essen (Germany), about 2hrs15min, but I got up early and left in the darkness to get there before 9. The main reason for my trip was to visit the newly reopened Rijksmuseum - I was planning to get there by opening time and and skip the crowds, but I got distracted following the Herengracht (the 'Gentleman's Canal' - where the wealthy merchant families built their houses) and taking photos in the early morning light. I made it to the museum by 10:30, luckily still early enough to get straight in.
It was a bit strange finding my way around again after almost 2 years, but I covered a lot of ground and saw a lot of the places I knew before. It became a very long day though as I walked almost non-stop apart from a few coffee breaks at Coffee Company on the Dam Square, and dinner at Burger Bar, both old favourites. I eventually got back to the car around 8:30, and not home until 11pm, with more coffee in the car to get me there... I thought about a hotel room, but Amsterdam is not cheap anywhere convenient to the city, unless you want to share a hostel with drunk/drugged Britons.
Other than the Rijksmuseum (to follow in detail next time) I had several more items on the agenda, but as usual I planned more than I could achieve, given the time I always spend exploring and taking photos! I also went to the FOAM photography institute again, which has changing, first-class exhibitions, and to De Krijtberg - an impressive church on the Herengracht which I'd visited before, but didn't get a satisfactory photo of last time. I covered a lot of distance by foot rather than miss anything good taking a tram, and somehow the city felt a lot bigger than I remembered by the end of the day.
I had a good (but exhausting) trip to Amsterdam, and although I'm not sure I made any portfolio-worthy photos as from previous trips, I do quite like the last one with the sun setting over canal bridges, and I'm glad I made a better representation of De Krijtberg. It's all practice anyway...