Seeking an aesthetic in the Grim

Some days fill one's heart with rapture; others can get you down. The built environment that surrounds us also has a major influence on how we feel. Beautiful surroundings designed by high-minded architects and urban planners, not pinching pennies but aiming to create spaces that lift the spirit. But can we enjoy the grim? Depends on the atmosphere (klimat) created...

It's a bit like major and minor keys in music - we all now that minor corresponds with 'sad' while major corresponds with 'happy' - yet we haven't got a clue why that is.

Below: Wrocław, corner of ul. Dubois and Pomorska.

Below: Warsaw, the footpath linking ul. Foksal and ul. Smolna

Below: daybreak at Jaworzyna Śląska station, after the departure of the train to Szklarska Poręba.

Below: New Year's Day, Mysiadło, just across the fields from Jeziorki.

But the sun is shining, it's time to get out and catch the Sublime Aesthetic!

This time two years ago:
UK overtakes France as the World's Fifth Biggest Economy

This time six years ago:
Ice in the Vistula

This time seven years ago:
A consolation to my British readers

This time eight years ago:
Winter in its finery

The time nine years ago:
Snow fences keep the trains running