It was winter and it had darkened early. We had our dinner in a restaurant just a few steps away from our small hotel, from whose window seat my wife and I could enjoy a dreamlike transition from late daylight to dusk. Also the Spartan menu of a proper pasta dish selected by us both had not disturbed thereby. When we finally stepped out into the clear cold air again, we decided to end the evening with a walk on the promenade. At the horizon one still saw the lights of a ship, which had left recently the port direction Sweden or Norway, the promenade was by a long row of the new LED lanterns, which had appeared in the last years everywhere, where a representative external surface had to be arranged again, dipped into silken brightness. It didn’t take long for us to reach the wooden pier, which was already attractive in daylight, but now it lured us with a picturesque band of lights running out onto the sea, which small spotlights on the posts of the bridge balustrade created. I had understood the hint and had captured the sight here on a quick photo. Then we dared the first steps onto the wooden planks, where the small cones of light of the lamps lining the path pointed us in the right direction, which despite the illumination seemed to lead us straight into the abysmal blue darkness above the water.
At the end of the way, leaning on the balustrade, we looked at the sea and were surprised that even now ships, leaving the harbour or heading for it, were on their way at this time of day. The waves were gurgling and chugging against the bridge construction anchored in the sandy ground. The cool breeze and the tiredness made us shiver. We took each other in our arms. The sea does something with the people, I thought.
Back at the hotel we fell into a deep sleep immediately after going to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night. Can you paint darkness, I thought? The night is not black, I answered myself. It is blue. I tossed a woollen blanket over my shoulders, took the mobile phone from the bedside table and looked at the photos from the evening. It would be my first picture of a night scene. The sky was already brightening up when I finally went to bed.
