Whenever I speak to my Dutch friend, I can sense distinctly different undercurrents of life from his simple words and expressions. A little less hurried, a little more modest and a little bit of something else thrown in for good measure. Satisfaction, perhaps? But it is more than that.
What I discovered myself is that the Dutch enjoy themselves completely. The pace of life that I witnessed on a Monday afternoon is so vastly different from life in the States. Walking down the streets of Utrecht on a beautiful sunny spring day, people were laughing and talking and shopping in the dappled sunlight. Bicycles are, of course, omnipresent and the people glide around as though walking was only learned as an afterthought. It was heartening to see that each and every one of the hundreds of bicycles chained to the canal fences had a distinct personality; I had a wonderful time "reading" them, dreaming in my head all kinds of stories that each battered, beaten, dusty bike could have to tell.
In Amsterdam I saw hundreds of thousands of bikes... maybe more! And almost none of them were fancy, shiny and new like you find at home. Each wheeled companion is unique and undoubtedly these minute characteristics are what allows each person to find their ride again at the end of a long day. No bells or whistles (OK, many of them did have bells) but loyalty and above all, character, much like the distant voice of an old friend. It made me smile to see all of the irregular, jagged lines of handlebars and baskets and chains and cobwebs, leaning against each other along the water as if exhausted from the trip.
Sitting on the sidewalk in the shade and breeze, sipping tea and sampling European delicacies is one of the best experiences I have ever had. The Dutch life lends itself exceedingly well to this practice, and there is no better way to spend a day than to do so in good company. I noticed that ice cream is another commodity that is quite popular in the streets. Never before in my life have I seen so many happy old men and women walking away from an ice cream seller with such childlike bliss and crisp cones in their hands. The blithe happiness made me feel as content as them and I could feel it spread through my soul. It was warmer than the tea, more benevolent than the sunlight. The whole country was infectious!
My time in the Netherlands will always be inflected with easy smiles, warm sun, flying birds and laughter. It was a brief but perfect spell in a world of innocence and simplicity, Life distilled into the empirical components of delight, relaxation and freedom.
Netherlands: Utrecht and Amsterdam 2008
