Amsterdam is a city of "hidden" courtyards, usually with a single entrance to a street. These are left over from times when horses were stabled in the courtyards for use by those who lived in the residences surrounding the courtyard. With the advent of motor vehicle, the courtyards were transitioned to private mini-parks as many of the access entrances to the streets are sized for horses.br/br/One has to pay attention to the courtyard entrances. Many were closed. But, occasionally I passed one where the entrance had been left open. The courtyards were interesting, but so were the entrances themselves.br/br/Note: This photo was captured with a Canon SL1 - marketed as the ""world's smallest true DSLR." Indeed it is small and makes for a great travel camera. Now, if they would only come out with a series of "world's smallest true lenses" for this camera (but the physics of light control much of what can be done).