Kurz Pause

 

Rest in peace, nice idea.

An evening walk back to the hotel from the restaurant where I just had dinner, in a peripheral district north of Bologna. I can't imagine the number of people who would be able to spot it and form any opinion about it. The road, flanked by bricks and concrete walls, promises to be one of those fast lanes where people rush either to work or home with no room for thoughts. As the two colleagues that joined me for dinner walk on taking care of not falling off the very narrow sidewalk, I stop for a picture and a few questions open up.

Apparently, I'm standing in front of a sign of protest. The metaphor needs no explanation. The inscription is there only to provide context and reinforce a sense of finality, reminding us how some promising thoughts can be prematurely discarded or neglected. I'm not sure whether the artwork was inspired by some personal experience. Am I looking at a statement about the abandonment of creativity and the pursuit of innovation? After all, the artist had an opportunity to express his thoughts. His creativity found an outlet.

 

Lobby's Butterflies

 

Where the streets have no name

South of Graz, the countryside unfolds through unnamed roads, fields, and quiet horizons. During an evening ride, after turning back to reach home again, I come across this small roadside chapel standing alone at a fork: a silent landmark in a landscape where orientation seems to depend more on memory than on signs. A place beyond addresses and destinations, where roads are less about arriving somewhere and more about moving through space, light, and solitude. For a moment, the absence of names feels like a form of unexpected freedom.