Tica In Amsterdam

The building has grown a beard, just like many men in corona times. It is a way to say, leave me alone! Underneath the building hosts a jazz-themed bookshop. Only cash and debit card payments. It seeks small posters and old books, mostly in Dutch. It is a beautiful reminder of a world before digitalization. The green beard and the plants seem to be there to protect the shop and Jazz from modernization, pollution and noise. 

The Dutch are wizards of water. Imaginative. On a random walk, yesterday, I found this bridge over untroubled waters. What made them so good at this? Perhaps the sense that they were vulnerable and they needed to understand how to make water their friend. 

I have been reading “Don Quijote de la Mancha” and this giant tree with its big arms made me think of the moment when Don Quijote looks at the wind mills and believes it is gian men with big arms. The more I spent time with books and going for walks, the more peaceful I feel. 

Trees makes me humble, flowers curious, birds grateful. We spent one hour in this natural bath and by the evening I could see the effect it had on my reading and writing: patience, attention and humor. 

What a joy it gives to stand here while breathing and feeling free! Despite the pandemic some open parts of Amsterdam —the cáñala — look as if no pandemic is not occurring. This view is peacefully urban because we are inside the capital. I suspect it has looked like this - unfettered, relaxed, serene—for at least one hundred years. 

This is the bookshop in the street where we live. Every time I walk by, I stop. To enjoy it. To pay my respect to the authors. I admire them and seeing the covers gives me the impuse I need to finish my own book. I am working on it every day. 

The city feels like a young person wearing make up to look cool, to feel attractive, to get attention. This is around the corner from where we live and it is a revealing act of love for the street, for the season, love for life. A few blocks below I noticed a magically shiny spot while I walked back home to fetch a call. I stopped and discovered that I could see the lanky trees reflected on the sidewalk.  It is the city testing us, sending an SMS to check if we are paying attention.