THE NETHERLANDS – In the last few years, I put so much effort into processing all my photos that I ended up with a huge backlog. This means that I don’t feel like making new pictures which add to that pile very often. Better keep that for special occasions (such as my recent trip to New York). On every-day occasions, I thought I might as well make pictures with my phone, and post them as they are. This is a lot less work and is just as effective in showing you what the ordinary places I visit are like. Not every photo has to be a work of art.
At least that what I was thinking when I was in Arnhem (a city in the east of the Netherlands) to see a bookkeeper yesterday. It would be a pity if I didn’t show you this town just because I don’t feel like getting my camera out (in fact I didn’t even have it with me). Because Arnhem (population: +/- 160,000) is a very distinct city in the Netherlands. It feels more like a big town than some bigger Dutch towns, such as Breda, Enschede or Amersfoort. Being close to the German border, it also feels slightly foreign. It even has hillside neighbourhoods, which is very rare in the Netherlands. Some things remind me of Liège (where I lived from 2009 to 2017, and which is still one of my favourite towns). And being the first time I visited Arnhem since I came back from Germany (where I lived for 19 months) last summer, I can definitely say that it also reminds me a bit of the nicer places in Germany.
Anyway, now to the pictures of my short walk, which started behind the central station, in the upmarket neighbourhood on the hill to the north of the city center. I have to say that Arnhem was giving off good vibes on this warm day near the end of the intelligent lockdown. It was also the furthest I had traveled since the beginning of the corona crisis, which probably explains why I found it slightly exotic.
