We spent a weekend a couple of weeks ago in Amsterdam, so I was back in the city I lived in for two years after being away for seven. It struck me being back there again how strong the memories came back. From the pea shooter rat-a-tat of the old bike coming up the street behind you. To the smell of the streets, briney, dirty and rough. I remembered again how busy Amsterdam was compared to the comparative emptiness of Helsinki and the organic quality of the city at eye level. Hardly any building line is straight, or repeated. It feels like the city sways with the canals, moves with the muddy earth beneath on imperceptably slow waves. Contrasted with Helsinki which feels planted motionless on the hard rock beneath. The shabby chique of the nine canals seemed a little more chique this time around but otherwise everything was mostly as it was. A beautiful city full of the undiscovered around every corner.
Amsterdam weekend
We spent a weekend a couple of weeks ago in Amsterdam, so I was back in the city I lived in for two years after being away for seven. It struck me being back there again how strong the memories came back. From the pea shooter rat-a-tat of the old bike coming up the street behind you. To the smell of the streets, briney, dirty and rough. I remembered again how busy Amsterdam was compared to the comparative emptiness of Helsinki and the organic quality of the city at eye level. Hardly any building line is straight, or repeated. It feels like the city sways with the canals, moves with the muddy earth beneath on imperceptably slow waves. Contrasted with Helsinki which feels planted motionless on the hard rock beneath. The shabby chique of the nine canals seemed a little more chique this time around but otherwise everything was mostly as it was. A beautiful city full of the undiscovered around every corner.