A Month in Europe: The Netherlands

I'd just like to say (write/type/whatever!) how much I loved all the countries I traveled to, but also I really enjoyed the in-between parts. I felt almost euphoric whenever I got on a train that was heading to a new country. What will I see? What will I hear? What will I taste (perhaps my favorite question!)? What will I feel? That in-between state of not quite being at my destination gave me a lot of time to daydream. Watching fields, little villages, rivers with tugboats, forests and farms drift past me. Listening to languages I'll probably never know. Sublime. 

Amsterdam and Utrecht were both wonderful. Amsterdam felt chaotic, but had a denseness that reminded me of San Francisco. Bicyclists everywhere, delicious vegan food, color and texture everywhere! I was starting to feel a little weary of taking photos of buildings though, (there are a lot of beautiful buildings in Europe..... and my camera was getting worn out!) so I decided to do a little art project centered around the interesting textures of the Netherlands. One day while I was in Utrecht I became enthralled with their doors. I was probably scaring the neighbors but I noticed that as you moved through a neighborhood the doors would change not just in the design of the door, but of the beautiful glasswork. It's funny how when you attune your attention to a certain theme, you start to notice all these previously inconsequential details you might have passed by a moment before. Bricks, tiles, street iconography, hopscotch, graffiti, chalk drawings, stain glass, old band posters, rusted pipes, spools of thread. The world contracts into a magical microscopic place and I start to wonder, has this always been here?