Friday 11 May 2007

Walking

I’ve been walking a lot lately. It’s the most reliable sign of spring for me, because wintertime is too cold and slippery for walking.
I love to walk and it’s no big deal for me to walk for three to four hours. Or more.

Walking relaxes my mind. I do observe everything when I’m walking, there’s no sleepwalking for me, but at the same time my mind is strangely emptying itself mile after mile. My feet stroll along, my eyes pick up things I like to take a photograph of and suddenly I realize I’ve been walking for two hours and it’s time to have a pause and drink something.

I’ve been walking almost two hundred kilometres in Paris in one week. It was a warm autumn and I didn’t want to use busses or other vehicles. I wanted to see as much as possible, but not through a bus window. So I walked and when I got tired, I went to see for a movie, sat for a couple of hours in the dark, looking at some old film noir movie, maybe dozing a little, becoming refreshed to continue walking.

Prague, Casablanca, Amman, Athens, Budapest, Ras al Kheimah, walking, walking, walking. Seeing, feeling, being a part of the street or the road. Hearing the voices and noises, being thrilled of the scents of spices lingering in the bazaar alley.

Walking is a state of mind. You can get the same sensation wherever you walk, it doesn’t have to be in some foreign city, it can also happen while walking in Helsinki or strolling along some dusty country road in the middle of nowhere.

Tranquillity.



9 comments:

hpy said...

Walking is something I affectionate, too. Maybe we have met not only in Helsinki but also in Paris, without knowing it, but maybe recognizing another walker in someone we just saw briefly.
Walking is the best way to get to know a city, to feel it in your bones. Walking alone is even better as nobody disturbs your thoughts.

SusuPetal said...

I don't wonder about people whose desire is to walk around the world, HPY. But to do it running -that's something I don't understand.

Yes, maybe in Paris, too:))

Anonymous said...

What kind of shoes do you have?! I could never even dream of long walks as every pair of shoes I own will kill my feet quite quickly.

SusuPetal said...

Ordinary shoes, Viivi, walking shoes, running shoes and in the summer sport sandals. My shoes are pery practilal, no high heels for me but reasonable and of good quality. Shoes made for walking.
I'm ready to pay any amount for good shoes, because I have some problems with my feet. No use in sparing money when buying shoes.

SusuPetal said...

"pery practilal"....????

very practical it should be!

Anonymous said...

"Walking is a state of mind."

Bicycling is a state of my mind.

Olen kävellyt Pariisissa ja kaivannut Eccojani. Olen kävellyt Espanjassa ja kaivannut hotellin ilmastointilaitteiden suojiin. Olen kävellyt Budapestissa ja kaivannut kesävaatteitani. Muuallakin olen kävellyt.

Jos minulla olisi ollut pyörä, olisin voinut hilpeästi viiletellä kävelevien ja hikoilevien ihmisten ohi. Koska minulla ei ollut pyörää, hikoilin heidän joukossaan.

SusuPetal said...

Pyöräily on myös mukavaa, mutta pyöräillessä joutuu välillä seuraamaan muuta liikennettä ja se on pois(ainakin itseltäni) muun näkemisestä.

Ei helle haittaa, se vain hidastaa, ja kiireettömyys on tärkeää kävellessä.

hpy said...

Walking IS a state of mind. If you don't have it, you can't WALK and enjoy it.

SusuPetal said...

That's true, and there's no use, if you don't enjoy it.
Luckily there are all kind of means to go forward.