July 2, 2025

 Wednesday. Nederhorst den Berg, the old commute. Nikor. Warm, then warmer; virtually no wind, then light breezes out of the west. Day of the spoiled vistas. Already from the car, the Vecht between Vreeland and 't Hemeltje: for a while, we've had that stupid, ugly development (for which the road along the dike had to be cut, so that the owners could have a little marina with river access, leading to the disaster with the new bridge), but now the horse/polo place has built a large, light green barn. So much of new construction in the countryside gets the sizing plain wrong; stuff gets built far too big (and usually too ostentatious also). The two new places at the Overmeerseweg (maybe all three) are a case in point: they reference older architecture, but it's on steroids. Compared to that, the new place at the end of the Ankeveensepad could have been a lot worse, even though it's still pretty bad, especially the way it crowds the path. The "dog" beach (my spot really since the years of the Euromissile Crisis, if not before) was receiving some maintenance. It was deserted aside from two workers on break. The lake I had to myself. On mornings like these, the lake doesn't change (if you ignore the Blijkpolder structures). On the road then, as seen from the 's-Gravelandseweg, a new mansion along the Utrechtseweg facing the river--see above (once/if landscaping is allowed to take over a little, at least that place may get obscured somewhat). Then the Zeedijk at Muiden: that row of bulky, bullying structures is not really new, but today I realized that each gets its part of the green space all the way to the dike for a backyard. What used to be there was a long row of allotments, some maintained very well, others less so, but on the whole it was a place where ordinary folks could garden or just be outside. The users resisted, but in the end had to make way; I remember the angry signs they posted. Superficially looking at the change, one might say that it shows how the country has become wealthier, and this may not be incorrect. Be it would be more precise to say that, as the country has grown wealthier, the old and the ordinary has had to make way for the wealthy and their often vulgar ways. IJburg to Javaplein. In the news the U.S. pause on arms deliveries to Ukraine. Just the next stage in being jerked around by an indispensable but untrustworthy partner. It could be different again next week, until the next time. The sooner this part of the world can take care of these kinds of challenges (air defense), the better. Then Bushuis, then back. It was so warm as to be fairly quiet on the bike paths, but clear: Marken lighthouse visible from the dike before Muiden. After Muiden, on the way to the Hakkelaarsbrug, another spoiled vista, that of the dike running to Muiderberg. Not really new, but those high rises on the other side of the water, stick out like sore thumbs. A little further, the view of Weesp from the Keverdijk also spoiled by new, really new, high rises going up in the Bloemendalerpolder. Self-similarity across scale: from the city itself to private homes and barns, a beast of bigness gradually takes over everything.