A bird’s-eye view of down town Amsterdam – once only a dream, now temporarily possible. An extension has been added to the oldest building of Amsterdam, the Oude Kerk (Old Church). It has been adorned with a transitory platform 
high in the sky. Placing scaffolding against the north-eastern wall of the church, artist Taturo Atzu constructed scary steps that lead up to a spacey white observation platform. This platform stretches between the church weather vane, bell tower and the steeple. By doing so he has given us the opportunity to see both the church and the rest of Amsterdam from a totally different perspective.
It is a unique experience to look down onto the centr
al canal of Amsterdam, the Oudezijdsvoorburgwal, from way up high. Into the windows of the red light district and the bell gables of the canal houses. I used to live at the top-end of the canal and it is a delight to see my old place from the perspective of a seagull. Just as seagulls perching along the slated roof of the church have been observing the city for centuries, watching as Amsterdam cha
nges but always remains the same. Sometimes changing a bit more – for a moment, only to nestle down back into its status quo. The platform will be there up to the 6th of September 2015, and will then fade from memory leaving the seagulls to their vigil.
mogromo 
I visited Oude Kerk when I was in Amsterdam and saw this amazing platform! Unfortunately I didn’t get to go up because my boyfriend is afraid of heights – thanks for posting these photos so I can experience it virtually!
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You did miss out, but I’m happy I could my pics can show you some of it. Hope you did get to go into the Oude Kerk though – it is worth it.
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Yes, I did get to go in Oude Kerk and it was very beautiful! I loved the organ and the old gravestones.
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What a stunning, stunning city. After seeing your photos, I would very much like to visit it one day. I have never been in Holland though, when I was a child, my father once brought me some wooden shoes after he visited on a business trip. I wanted to feel authentic, so I actually wore them around sometimes in the yard.
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Amsterdam is a beautiful city, an open air museum. A beautiful perspective is also from a boat on the canals. You should visit it one day, it is absolutely worth it. It is both modern and old and has an atmosphere all its own.
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That’s one thing I missed in Amsterdam was a high rise building of some sort to get panoramic views of the city. Great idea to add the platform, and such a shame it won’t be staying longer!
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Hi Becky, There are some more possibilities such as the Central Library or the Amrath Hotel (Scheepvaartshuis) which is also a very beautiful building. But this is certainly unique- right in the centre.
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