Every place has its own mood, its own particular flavour, even a certain "genius" of the place, like Peter Vayil once said. Holland's particular mood is one of a comfortable, contemplative sort of freedom. Holland for me is walking the streets of Amsterdam, day-tripping to any of the surrounding towns such as Delft and Alkmaar, taking a boat ride down the winding canals, navigating the crowds of bicycles, riding the train to Belgium for the day just because you can, stopping at innumerable street cafes and simply watching the people, then moving on... it is life well lived. The anonymity of the city is disarming rather than alienating, the windows are curiously bare of curtains, the dense crowds smoothly flow from one place to the next, as calm as the shallow canals. And just in the midst of it all there are quiet little corners, sunlit vines, moored boats, people utterly alive.
© Bella Kuchuk Photography
