When history freezes in stone, time sprouts wings and flutters around. This random moment caught from Brussels seems to gain life in the very juxtaposition of the frozen statue of stone and the very dynamic figures on skateboards. And yet when frozen in the frame of a photograph, they are all still. Despite the large rivers of time flowing between the times when the statue and the photograph were frozen, the very stillness unites them. Time here, has paused.

Even when the Rhine roared nearby, this little one seemed unaffected. It hopped around a bit. It alighted and landed at intervals , and it was some time before I got a shot. A slight drizzle disturbed the otherwise clear weather. The roar of the river descending down through the rocks contrasted with the tiny chirps of the bird. Nature and her essence exuded from the bird, the river, the rain, and life.

Sliding down onto the road, the Austrian alps are a beauty to behold. They stretch out on both sides of the road as you enter the country. Distant white tops and a lingering sense of a chilly wind blowing from somewhere above. The Alps are high and mighty. But most of all they let you fly out with its winds, far far away, to the alpine paths where fringed gentians bloom.

As the day waned, a brilliant sun poured out the last of its rays. It fell in patterns down the vineyards. On the way back from Venice, I still felt the buoyant Adriatic beneath my feet. I heard the seagulls above my head, and the multiple voices of the thronging crowd of tourists. A small breeze ruffled the lombardies. The bright rays melted down to a soft twilight.

The Inn river had breached its banks the day I reached Innsbruck. Only light rain pattered on the windshield, but the snow on the Alps had started to melt in the first warmth of summer. There was an urgent need to cut short the visit and return to where I was staying in Tyrol. But as I hurried through the streets, I spotted the wall. A narrow street and on the side the wall. Peeping over them was a spray of roses. A wind ruffled them. The moment had passed, and I walked on.