Sense of destiny

A chilly sunny morning in this new town I just read about and I couldn’t be more excited to get to explore. Got out a map and just starting walking on the narrow but cute sidewalks. The city’s river shimmering in the morning sun unraveled some of its mysteries from under the bridges. I could only imagine how the students threw out the shopping cart over the edge of the bridge or how the rusty bike, that you can barely see now through the blurry green water was slipped out as a joke by one lively teenager. The wind was making my lips dry and my eyes cry but I took advantage of every opportunity I had to learn more about the old houses along the river and try to understand how the cold was not getting any of the natives.
Getting closer to the city center and the old initial fortress walls with their cannons still in the defense position made my skin shiver while my mind was picturing the reality of their history.
I got lost in this dreamlike feeling of walking on the same steps as our ancestors did thousands of years ago and looked at the rough edges of the main gate, the graffiti on the stone walls, the silence of the former royal courtyard. I stopped seeing the ordinary shops and the people around me, as I couldn’t ignore the history left there.
I was feeling at peace, even more than before, and happy. My spirit awakened and I started walking towards the crossroad on the left. It was like I was flying on divine waves of joy and hope. I was just hypnotized. It was only when I stopped, that I realized the hypnosis I was in and became aware of the source of this elevating feeling. Without noticing I got attracted to this harmonious place, where a round big object, was making strange but clear, beautiful sounds; when touched by the playful hands of this man with the most beautiful and sincere smile I have ever seen. It was the perfect merge between Maastricht’s essence and his music.
It was surreal and there was nothing you could do to escape its magic. Time stood still and there wasn’t anything else around me except this one man who managed to transform a beautiful city tour into a cultural, deep and personal experience.
On the way back I was changed. I was seeing the city trough this musical lenses and it really gave a new different perspective on everything I laid eyes on. I left with an immense feeling of gratitude because I got to feel how living in Maastricht must feel like, which it wouldn’t have been possible without its sounds.