Scrolling through the images that Rob provided, I was immediately caught by the tall modern building, wrought of metal and glass, dwarfing the regal classical structure on the river. Just the stark contrast of the two was enough for me to immediately stop and say, “That’s one of my pictures.” 
While it might be a striking image, what does it say about culture? Pondering that question for a few minutes, I decided the cultural implications I gleaned were of a modern society trying to desperately hold onto its roots, displaying them proudly, with a red flag flapping, while having the modern world being the real dominate force in their lives. The glass building is of the size it is because that’s where the business is conducted, where the Amsterdamians go to work. While the new world may be looming over the old, I find it interesting that they are still keeping these worlds within the same space, what looks like right across the street, trying to keep their national identity as one. I also know, that there must be some presence of the the modern building within the old, new plumbing, an advanced security system etc. but I would be curious to know if there was any instance of the old world as a part of the skyscraper. Did they decide to build it on the river because of some past knowledge? Do they incorporate old techniques, or appreciation for old works inside?
While not as obvious in this picture, I was also drawn to the New vs. Old in the two types of transportation, the bicyclist going down one side of the road as the car goes up the other, as well as the modern building being front and center, with the older building off to the side. I liked the inclusion of the bike lane, showing an old cultural standard is still enjoying some life, as well as the melting pot of building structures, glass and brick, as well as wood. The overhanging wires, and lamp post, though still illustrate that this is a first world country, which may be visited by tourist for its past, but it is still a modern city. My questions from looking at this picture would be, why aren’t there more cyclists, as I thought that this was a very popular mode of transportation? Also, though there aren’t very many people in general, the cars seem to dominate the roads, so has the car culture begun to infiltrate Amsterdam?
