water flow

And this canal system is surprising. Canals in my understanding are static bodies of water held in human made in effect troughs, with no inherent flow. Yet here they rush and gush without fuss, suddenly beside you as you cross a small street in the old town or bubbling noisily under a tiny bridge as you enter a bar. At night they can be the only sound and in the day an all pervasive calm seems to float from this ancient system of complex water hydraulics.

Interesting how many bicrophonic cities I’ve immersed myself in have under city water systems, diverted or drained from swamps or rivers to allow humans to build and spread above. Thinking, Ghent, Brussels, Borken, Nürnberg, most recently Taipei – which was a surprise as there, there is no street level evidence of ancient bog being drained/diverted at all.