Amsterdam, Netherlands

Alone, I rarely venture too far at night. This particular evening, I found myself  following my path back to my hotel after a late afternoon tour of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

I was waylaid into the evening due to an annual holiday gathering of the Netherlands Parliament near the Swissotel where I stayed for my last night on a long overseas trip.

I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the Queen, but later found that they had unfurled the red carpet at the back entrance to the building in Dam Square. After the later-than-planned, but provocative visit to Anne Frank's home, I was in a hurry through the dark streets and winter cold to return to the hotel and warm up, but I found myself captivated by the warmth of lights along the canals and the matte effect of thin ice forming over the water. So, I walked a bit slower, and patiently balanced my camera on a railing to capture a still image of the evening glow.