Spring!

Spring has finally come to Amsterdam. On Saturday morning the town blossomed after what seemed to be a long winter. Our time in Arizona did nothing to prepare us for the gray, cold days we initially experienced here, making this weekend’s weather a welcome change.

Looking up we see the blue sky filled with round, puffy clouds mixed with the views of the tops of old buildings.

Along with the change in the weather, the behavior and fashion of the people also switched. The mostly vacated outdoor café tables we now full of people dressed in fresh pastel colors. The canals busy with small local boats hosting friends to wine and cheese, navigate the maze-like waterways. Facial expressions are relaxed and people show more smiles. On the top of everyone’s to-do list is to “soak up the sun.”

Vondelpark is one of the most familiar and important places for the citizens of Amsterdam. On Sunday, they began to arrive before noon to claim their spots, spreading blankets, baggettes, cheese, salami, wine, and fruit of all sorts. Their energies exploded into play with bicycles, inline skates, and of course, soccer balls.

There were so many people in the park late in the afternoon that the scene reminded me of Ohanami (outdoor cherry blossom parties in Japan) or a summer afternoon in Golden Gate Park.

The sky is still indigo blue at 9:30pm, and an occasional breeze feels a bit chilly. It was a day with surprising sharp sunrays and warmth. Even at days end the café windows remain open. The vertical silhouette of a cathedral, neighboring houses, the curve of bridges over the canals, and the orange glow of streetlights intermingle with the gradation of the late sunset. The color is gorgeous and the people move around my view. They move through the night unhurried, taking time to enjoy the warm evening. Their calm energy grounds me as I sat observing their movements.

The time one cannot exchange with money, the time when inspiration begins to flow, this is the time when time itself is art. Consciously or not, the people here know this.