First snow of the season has descended in Krakow. The city of incredible history, culture, and castles, is now slowly being ganached in a soft and fragile layer of fresh snow. The bright and saturated colors of the city pop even more now, and as the snow melts, the city is reflected on the mirror-like finish of the cobblestone roads.
I have missed the snow dearly. It doesn't snow much at all in the Netherlands. So this is just as much of a treat for me. I am incredibly proud of the Hive Voluntary Service pilot that I was a part of. An incredible experiment of volunteering for the Kingdom while amplifying, validating, and showcasing a new layer of using HIVE differently and tangibly. Keep up with the posts, as more details will follow.
I decided to take some photos of the city and focus specifically on the people. People who are going through their regular lives as the earth takes a spin into a new weather. People who are excited for the snow and the coming holiday season. Same people, same place, different emotions.
For some reason, as the snow brought an extra layer of contrast, the peculiarities of the colors and environment stood out to me. The differences stood out to me, the differences that make us...us.
Below is one of my favourite photos of the day. The beautiful and epic backdrop of the city's architecture. Often that had to do with some sort of royalty or authority, a symbol of quality craftsmanship and architecture standing the test of time. And passing in front of it a very dapper and appropriately dressed man with an essence of mystery to him. Beautifully dressed in winter colors and and adding to the coolness of the day.
At the city centre, close to the main station, the ice rink has fallen victim to the freckles of pouring winter. It reminded me of this video I once saw of a guy sitting in the rain drinking wine. The man was drowsed in the downpour, and the glass of wine was illusively never-ending. Here, the glass of wine is the ice rink, and as much as he shovelled the snow away, it seemed to never be enough. To a point where he took a much-deserved break, and stared into nothing while brushing off snow from himself.
I used to love taking photos of the footprints laid into the snow in Ukraine. As the weather progressed, the same path would look very different. Some days, the footprints would disappear into dirty mush, some days the salt would leave a crisp outline of footprints, some days the prints would be deeper, and some days would float on the surface. Since this is really close to the station, a trail of luggage wheels has made a crisp division in the centre.
Honorary trash photo. Everything looks pretty in the snow, doesn't it?
There are no people, or snowtrotters rather, here. But yet, the connection to people and civilisation is crystal clear. A photo of a fleeting flock, much like the fleeting snow...and the fleeting stories we create every day.
My time in this city is coming to an end. It is a sweet and sour moment for me. It is a city where I have connected with incredible people, directly and indirectly, have everlasting memories in, and now that I am back here, the thought of leaving again is dreadful.
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