Albany: A Land of Arts, Music and Love
It was just a few months ago that I arrived in Albany, NY, it happened to be Mother’s Day weekend, and the city had a celebration of Tulips, the sight was the most beautiful garden I have ever seen, many colors, many shapes and many people, all visiting the city just to see the flowers bloom. Pretty soon, this magic would have disappeared with the summer ending and the autumn arriving.
Spring in Albany is quite an experience; people unite around music and food and there are parades that leave you with your mind in awe. People in Albany really know how to live, how to enjoy their time with each other and how to help each other. This is displayed in the houses that show a little bit about what really goes inside their homes. It is difficult to imagine what we cannot see because only can the heart sees what it can imagine and the beauty of Albany is not about the display of government buildings or the power of the same, the beauty of Albany lies in people and in the care that Albanians take in making their world a better place.
Nearby cities to mention include Troy, which as referred to by the locals as Little Brooklyn, truly demonstrates the effort that the community makes to keep up with the arts and culture. The farmer’s market in Troy is one of the best in the area and many vendors bring different products and artifacts that locals and visitors enjoy. The Hudson River sits right next to Troy allowing for peaceful sights that nurture the commemoration of times past as boats navigate up and down the current.
The most majestic view of the Hudson River is located in the City of Hudson where the Amtrak train arrives in an old fashion manner to a train station where people from New York City arrive and leave for work and for vacation. Hudson carries, in itself, a history that is visible, yet difficult to understand as one imagines cargo boats arriving and leaving the riverbank, allowing for those that in times past traveled through the area.
Leaving Albany is not an easy ordeal, people make it hard to leave because you learn to love the environment here, the peace and the architecture, which at a small and large scale gives you the sense that you are yourself, history in the making. The Capitol is a building that has strength and imposition, and the many events that happen in Albany are only visible when one enters it and when the inside staircase mesmerizes the newcomer. Hotels, hospitality and the restaurants should be mentioned, too, as Albany makes an effort to keep the environment lively, particularly during the summer and any events that are negative for this purpose, are diminished quite quickly, creating the opportunity to truly enjoy life.
Some of the things that are most remarkable about Albany are the coffee shops, where coffee is an important factor of the life of the Albanian. Living life locally without closing the doors to the out of towners is a concept that Albany has really made an effort in conserving. The many musicians, artists and participants in the culture of Albany is vast and only one would know its richness after living here if only for a few months or years.
Albany is the capital of New York for a very specific reason, and that is: history is made here, and people make it a great place to live.