The Randomness of Days

Missed the randomness of my days… This morning at some random coffee shop in Geneva, I sat with my journal and my first cup of coffee, wondering how to kill time. I wanted to do something different.

An hour later, I found myself on a bus to Annecy, France.

It’s a short ride, just enough to read more than a few pages of 𝘒𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘯 by Kazuo Ishiguro. But mostly, I just stared out the window. I wasn’t rushing anywhere. I just wanted to switch off. 🙏🏼

Annecy’s old town reminded me of italy’s Lucca and Germany’s Füssen.

They share a certain feel… compact, walkable, dense with history. Designed long before modern zoning or traffic models, yet still functional. They slow you down without asking.

Annecy was more crowded though. A lot of tourists, hehe, people like me. But that really happens when visibility outpaces capacity. The layout doesn’t stretch to hold the volume. Lucca and Füssen didn’t feel that way though… if I remember correctly. Maybe it’s the timing. Maybe they’re less connected. Or maybe they’ve just been spared the spotlight a bit longer.

Still, even with the differences, the feeling I got was the same. Calm. Curious. Present. These towns do that well. I wish we had more like them in Asia.

Over a decade ago, I was speaking with a friend from the city of Champagne. We got on the topic of cities that seem frozen in time. He said Paris hasn’t really evolved… almost complaining, grumbling. It stuck with me, because from the outside, that’s exactly why many of us love it, isn’t it?

But yes, there’s always that tension. Do we preserve what gives places their charm, or “modernize” them to meet new demands? I always think about the local residents. How might they feel though?

Good thing it’s not an either/or. Preserving what exists can be just as innovative as creating something new. Sometimes, wisdom lies in having the discipline to leave something untouched.