Theme Day: Sister City

It's Theme Day for the City Daily Photo blogs!
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants


Photograph by B. Boevink. Used with permission.

Schenectady, NY's sister city is Nijkerk, The Netherlands because the founder of our city, Arent Van Curler, was born there in 1620. Today there are almost 39,000 people in Nijkerk, compared to almost 62,000 in Schenectady. There's a construction boom in Nijkerk compared to here - over 200 new houses built in 2005. That may not seem like a lot, but imagine trying to find 'new' land in a place that's been around since 1413!

Nijkerk is a bit far for me to travel to get a photograph, so I browsed Flickr, looking for photographs in and around the city. Mr Boevink was kind enough to let me use his photo of his new house under construction for theme day. I pondered a bit on what sort of photo I wanted to use; there are many wonderful photos of beautiful Dutch girls in traditional costumes, windmills, clog shoes... but I thought I'd rather use a bit of actual city life as it's happening right now.

Looking at the photo, I can see our designation as sister cities is more than a mere formality. My brothers and sisters in Nijkerk have the same weather I have here! I hope this doesn't slow construction... When I saw the houses in the background, I was struck with the similarity to some of our houses here in Schenectady. I know it's crazy to compare a photo of a single house in Nijkerk to a photo of a single house in Schenectady, but the theme is 'Sister cities' and so I hope I'll be forgiven for deliberately looking for similarities!

It was a very interesting exercise to look through various web sites about Nijkerk and read up on the goings-on there. It was very interesting to see how similar the two cities are, even in 'mundane' matters like a growth plan; thinking about how the city will look in ten, twenty or even a hundred years from now. Even our weather seems similar, although we get more snow than Nijkerk does...

Looking through Google Earth, I see there's a lovely fountain in the centre of the city:

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For comparison, a similar view of the smaller fountain at the centre of Schenectady:

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Many thanks to Mr Boevink for sharing his photo of his house-to-be with us, and Groetjes (greetings) to all my brothers and sisters in Nijkerk!!

Here's a list of everyone participating in Theme Day this month:
Adelaide, Australia by Gordon,
American Fork (UT), USA by Annie,
Arradon, France by Alice,
Aspen (CO), USA by IamMBB,
Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar,
Aurora, South Africa by shelagh,
Avignon, France by Nathalie,
Bandung, Indonesia by Bunyamin,
Bandung, Indonesia by Harry Makertia,
Bandung, Indonesia by Eki Akhwan,
Barrow-in-Furness, UK by Enitharmon,
Belgrade, Serbia by Bibi,
Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA,
Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah,
Brighton, UK by Harvey,
Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham,
Bucharest, Romania by Malpraxis,
Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt,
Budapest, Hungary by Isadora,
Buenos Aires, Argentina by Karine,
Busan, Korea South by iamnbinb,
Canterbury, UK by Rose,
Cavite, Philippines by Steven Que,
Château-Gontier, France by Laurent,
Chateaubriant, France by trieulet,
Chateaubriant, France by Bergson,
Cheltenham, UK by Marley,
Chennai, India by Shantaram,
Chennai, India by Ram N,
Christchurch, New Zealand by Michelle,
Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic,
Darmstadt, Germany by Elsch,
Edinburgh, UK by Dido,
Edmonton (AL), Canada by ,
Evry, France by Olivier,
Geneva (IL), USA by Kelly,
Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie,
Gothenburg, Sweden by Lo/David,
Grenoble, France by Bleeding Orange,
Hanoi, Vietnam by Jérôme,
Helsinki, Finland by Kaa,
Helsinki, Finland by PPusa,
Hobart, Australia by Greg,
Honningsvag, Norway by J.,
Hyde, UK by Gerald,
Hyde, UK by Old Hyde,
Istanbul, Turkey by mustafa34,
Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005,
Jerusalem, Israel by Esther,
Karwar, India by Yogesh,
Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin,
Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine,
Lakewood (OH), USA by mouse,
Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo,
Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl,
London, UK by Ham,
London, UK by Mo,
Madrid, Spain by Tr3nta,
Mainz, Germany by JB,
Manila, Philippines by Anthony,
Mashhad, Iran by Meead,
Menton, France by Jilly,
Mexico City, Mexico by Poly,
Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg,
Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch,
Misawa, Japan by misawa mama,
Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly,
Monterrey, Mexico by rafa,
Muizenberg, South Africa by Pentaxjunkie,
Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu,
Nashville (TN), USA by Chris,
Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben,
New Delhi, India by Delhi Photo Diary,
New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser,
New York City (NY), USA by • Eliane •,
New York City (NY), USA by Kitty,
New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless,
Newport News (VA), USA by ptowngirl,
Nice, France by Angelaj,
Norwich, UK by Goddess888,
Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla,
Palos Verdes (CA), USA by tash,
Paris, France by Eric,
Paris, France by Elsa,
Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben,
Pensacola (FL), USA by P J,
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay,
Petoskey (MI), USA by Christie,
Philadelphia (PA), USA by Andrew Foderaro,
Phoenix (AZ), USA by Sharon,
Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise,
Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar,
Portland (ME), USA by Corey,
Portsmouth (VA), USA by ptowngirl,
Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03,
Ramsey, Isle of Man by babooshka,
Rancho Palos Verdes (CA), USA by Sarah Adams,
Riga, Latvia by Riga Photos,
Rouen, France by Bbsato,
Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter,
Saigon, Vietnam by Simon,
Saint Louis (MO), USA by Strangetastes,
Saint Paul (MN), USA by Kate,
Salem (OR), USA by jill,
San Diego (CA), USA by Felicia,
San Francisco (CA), USA by Burd Zel Krai,
Schenectady (NY), USA by Buck,
Seattle (WA), USA by Kim,
Seattle (WA), USA by Chuck,
Selma (AL), USA by RamblingRound,
Seoul, South Korea by Phil,
Sesimbra, Portugal by Aldeia,
Setúbal, Portugal by Maria Elisa,
Sharon (CT), USA by Jenny,
Singapore, Singapore by Zannnie,
Singapore, Singapore by Keropok,
Sofia, Bulgaria by Antonia,
South Pasadena (CA), USA by Laurie,
Springfield (IL), USA by Aubrey,
Stanwood (WA), USA by MaryBeth,
Stayton (OR), USA by Celine,
Stockholm, Sweden by Stromsjo,
Subang Jaya, Malaysia by JC,
Sunshine Coast, Australia by bitingmidge,
Sydney, Australia by Sally,
Sydney, Australia by Julie,
Sydney, Australia by Ann,
Tamarindo, Costa Rica by David,
Tel-Aviv, Israel by Olga,
Telluride (CO), USA by mtsrool,
Tempe (AZ), USA by angie,
Terrell (TX), USA by Bstexas,
Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine,
Torino, Italy by Fabrizio,
Torun, Poland by Glenn,
Turin, Italy by Livio,
Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2,
Villigen, Switzerland by z,
Virginia Beach (VA), USA by ptowngirl,
Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin,
Washington (DC), USA by D.C. Confidential,
Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb,
West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria,
West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara,
Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto,
Willits (CA), USA by Elaine,
Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,