City Love II

 

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Venice is one of these cities - even if you have never been there, you probably have an image of the city in your head. It is one of its kind, there truly is no second city like it (although it has inspired some recreations, but more on that later...). Because of its unique character, it is often used as a backdrop for adversting, fotoshoots and films, and that is one of the main reasons it is so well known worldwide. A lot of people see it as a tourist trap, a city you visit once and then you can cross it off your list. I have been to Venice many, many times, and I still don't get tired of it. It's not a mega-city like London, Paris or New York. It's a place full of history, almost like a live-in museum, that still operates as a functioning, modern-day city. Most of all it is a beautiful place, where you want to stop and admire your surroundings every other minute. Once you've done the tourist thing you can start exploring the sideways, back alleys and empty squares, and that is where the charm of Venice is at its strongest.

Someone who knows the city very well, even lives there, can still stumble upon new areas, can still find a place where they have never been before, which is quite an astonishing thing for a rather small city. It is an old city, but it is also constantly changing. Shops close, cafés open, restaurants move and bars re-open. There is always something new to explore.

 

 



 

 

 

In July I had the pleasure to fly to Venice for the first time, before that I have always arrived by car or train. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the city from above, and I was rewarded with so much more. Due to some unidentified object on the landing strip, we actually had to abort the landing and circle around Venice for a second time, which was quite a magical experience. The city seemed to small, yet I know how complex and dense it can be. 

 



 

Now on to those recreations I mentioned earlier: While on vacation in Thailand a year ago, we stumbled upon two interesting places. The first one is in the area of Bangkok. It's a work in progress, a project that tries to build a version of Venice, as a place of business. We saw it in its early stages, but I can imagine that it will resemble the 'real thing' in quite a few aspects.

 

 

 

The second place is close to the beach resort of Hua Hin. It tries to be a 'fake Venice', a place where you can eat, drink, shop and be merry. Here, you can still recognize that they tried to recreate Venice, but it seems like the attention to detail wasn't very important, and it would be more fitting to say that Venice served as inspiration rather than as an instruction manual.