The first time I came across a public piano was when I arrived at St Pancras, London, in 2012. It was the first time I went to London by train instead of plane, to visit the Olympic games. When I entered the shopping area, I was welcomed with piano tunes from a skilled fellow traveler. It couldn’t have been a better welcome to a city that was hosting the olympic games.

Now, years later, the public piano has become a common object in public spaces in The Netherlands as well. Whenever I’m travelling to Utrecht, people are playing the one in the train station. I think the public piano is one of the best social inventions of the zeroes. Whenever someone is playing, it attracts others.

A lady playing and singing at Utrecht Central Station.

It’s mostly amateurs who kill some spare time, but sometimes artists use it to give public performances. And every time I pass someone playing really well I wish I learned to play the piano when I was young.