The center is great indead! By the way the river is called Aa, instead of Aar.

Just wanted to say thanks for posting so many pictures with your posts. They really help bring the copy to life for me. None more so than whilst “following” you round Amsterdam and environs.

It’s a part of the world I love, and seeing it portrayed through others’ eyes is often frustrating, but I really enjoyed being with you on your sojourn.

Thanks again – good luck with the talks, and keep up the writing and blogging!

Nice story.
Just a small remark:
“De Kleine Winst” does not translate as “The little prophet”, but rather as “A small profit”, or “little profit”.

R.

The commentary in your blog has that same stillness, that same depth. Like what happens to a person who has found a repose of the soul in a deep space of meditation.

It’s where I go with Bosch if I sit and look at his work long enough. All my nervous chatter dissolves and my mind’s true state emerges.

I can’t believe you spent a half an hour in a reproduction of Bosch’s working studio. What a gift. What an -honor-.

About Bosch’s visions, I rather regret the loss of the mandrake mythology. I’m not sure I want to embrace the ergotism thesis but it sounds plausible to me. I’ve read about whole medieval towns being poisoned by bad rye grain. Still, a painter doesn’t have to be addled on drugs to do good work. In fact, the less addled the artist the better the art.

If you do write a book about Bosch I hope you follow up on your preesentation of this artist as a clear minded, sharp witted symbolic renderer. Or find a way to work that vision into your current trilogy.

You just made another one of my dreams come true – to get up close and personal with the second of my great artistic idols (Bruegel and now Bosch).

Thank you and bless you again for this beautiful travelog.

~ a. d.

I’m glad you liked your stay with us. Nice blog. If you’re in the vicinity again, don’t hasitate to drop by. you’ve got my number..