The Anniversary, The Typhoid, The Abundance and The Fin de Siècle

Couple of days ago I got a short message from the Instagram God. My most popular post from two years ago.  From Mozambique with love. Ocean defined time, photos of blue wilderness, emojis of clouds and boats. Also - the time when, after thirty hours long chicken bus trip,  I arrived in the Ilha de Moçambique to be completely defeated by typhoid (not typhus, folks). 

I was  happy to celebrate the memories of Mozambique flushed at me by the Instagram God in the comfort of my own bed, with a slight cold. I thought about discussion I had with my friend - in Cracow, two hours and flight with kleine weintje away.  He talked about Fin de Siècle that never ends in our heads. Well, at least for the last thirty years. The hope, the excitement, the new beginnings,  things we leave behind, the lightness of being and the decadence. We have to travel, we must see  those unknown places, we must experience extremes, we certainly shall do it local style and we shall not stop until we are in the middle of the mysterious  indigenous. Thou only mysterious indigenous - the simple life out there in the wild - will help us understand something true about the complicated us.

Till end of September we could see the treasures from the Golden Age of cartography in the Citizens Hall in Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Great that I am  reporting on past events - I know. Take it easy friends and folks: we may enter The Universe Of Amsterdam within Palace visiting hours.  Truly -  we've already been given one entrance ticket for life.

Once the Town Hall, now the Palace, has quite a story to tell.  Story of grandeur. Stories of discoveries. Adventures, grand travels, prosperous trade. The Golden Age with Amsterdam and its People as THE CENTRE OF UNIVERSE (apologies, irony never too small for big caps). Knowledge, wealth, abundance, dominance, marble, gold - what do I know. I know nothing John Snow - but it sure did  feel like I was stepping through the Vatican of The Flatlands. A temple for celestial idea carved in hell.

I was visiting this Universe of Amsterdam with a Dutchman, a proper Amsterdammer. Raised and born. "What are you talking about, it is great! Look at the mayor's office - it is so tiny, so very small. Look at the citizens hall and its grand size. The space for debate. The dialog, the exchange of ideas, the democracy."

Indeed. And so it goes. And so the debate continues in the Flatlands.  Should we really call this our "Golden Age"? I mean -  it was not that golden for all in this wealth race. We shall not say 'slave trade' - for one is not born a slave - perhaps 'enslaved'?

Semiotic arousal and how The Dutch love a good ole debate will definitely be a theme in my next charming post.

For now let me wish you a good night.

PS. Blog post about me and the typhoid has till today remained the most popular post on this blog.

Hey, hey - Fin de Siècle!
Hey, hey - it is all coming to an end!