It was the third day of our travels through Italy, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands. We had woken early in our hostel room and the grey rain clouds outside had unwittingly set the tone of the day. The frenetic pace of the last few days had caught up on the children and my eldest was being defiant in regards to everything. His feet slopped heavily on the pavement all the way to the coffee shop and he slumped his body over the table in a protest of manners. They had been excellent travel partners until now, but today we were a long way from home and they needed a break. Ordering breakfast was the classic whirlwind of emotion when tantrums are brewing. Wanting everything, then not wanting anything at all! Ordering their favourite only to find that the minuscule flecks of cinnamon were not like the ones back home, rendering the cake untouchable. It was one of those kind of mornings…
Our mini family drama was interrupted when just next to us, a seagull suddenly threw back its head and shrieked at the hilarity something – maybe us? It curved back it’s neck and it’s beady yellow eye stared at us unblinking. My kids stared back, unblinking. Few people were out so early on this drizzly Friday morning, instead we found ourselves in the company of a mob of gulls that had surrounded a bag of rubbish. The group of bawdy seabirds jumped around their find and grabbed at the plastic bag, pulling holes. We watched as they dragged They pinned down used containers, smeared with mayonnaise, evolutionarily perfected for rolling waves, and now they hold down filthy wrappers and poke their hard beaks against the saucy remnants on take-out packets in cobbled alleyways.
Across the square from our coffee shop was a library that we had noticed the day before. Some quiet time was needed for the children so we decided to have some time amongst books to bring back some balance.
Travelling is an exciting experience for children. They love to see new places and they are perceptive to new cultures and surroundings but it can tire children out; changing surroundings and new beds, new foods.
The Neude Biblioteek entrance sis under an archway of playful broadway signposts attached to a industrial but plain looking building. Walking inside we hadn’t expected to find anything extraordinary. Instead the main hall stopped us in our tracks for a few minutes. The hall’s arched roof is so tall and narrow that the walls appear to have been folded in half. Large rings of light hang in high pitch of the roof, where a soft silence hums.
The main entrance welcomes visitors into the embrace of it’s warming walls. Hushed acoustics of concentration reverberate. Knowledge and community grow into the vast capacity within the ashy bricks.
An escalator took us to the second floor where we found the children’s room.
The entrance was piled in buggies, coats and wellies. The feeling was that the people inside had returned home to the belly of the library.
The room was bright white. A low bookshelf ran around the edges of the room and the meters of window followed up to the ceiling. The rain outside did not dim the brightness of the room.
The library building was once the Uterecht post office and a hub of letters and parcels passed in and out the doors. In 2011 the post office was shut and in its place was built a public library.
Time quietly faded away and all four of us felt completely at ease inside the library. We browsed the books and secretly people watched the families around us. Harmonious all together. Little legs walking along the book shelves. Big round eyes exploring the pages of books. Fathers sitting with their toddlers and reading the pages out loud. Mothers chatting together as their children played and bickered together.
After a while it was time to get back onto the streets, but we had all been reset, the children were calmed and the next part of the day was in a more relaxed pace.
