08 Monday May 2017
Posted in blogs, photography, travel
Tags
A few weeks ago my mother came for a visit and we took a trip up to Belfast. Sadly the weather wasn’t great (wet and windy all day Saturday) and a little to cold for my mums liking. But all in all it was a lovely trip filled with interesting sights.
graphic door
a slender pub
inside City Hall, the decor was the inspiration for the Titanic
the wonderful St George Market
Queens University
Botanic Gardens in belfast
the Grand Opera is much smaller than the name lets one believe
02 Monday Jan 2017
Posted in photography, travel
Tags
Bavaria, Bmaberg, Franconia, Germany, melancholy, photography, photos, travel, unknown, wondering
It’s day two of the new year and it stretches out before me like a blank page, encouraging me to dream and plan, make changes and find a few new adventures. And while saying good-bye to 2016 was easy – it wasn’t a great year for me – I can’t help feel a little melancholy about the past.
This has possibly mainly to do with the fact that I spent the last days of the old year wandering around some old haunts of mine in Bamberg, a baroque town in Bavaria (Franconia) I lived in as a student.
It was a little odd to rediscover a place I once knew so well and reconnect with people I use to see nearly every day – odd, but good and a little sad. As I rambled through the tiny cobblestone alleys and clambered up the hills I couldn’t help but wonder about all the ‘what ifs’ and ‘could ofs’.
But since you can’t turn back time and I don’t even think I really want to now is the perfect time to close a chapter and begin a new one. So as I sit on the train and with those thoughts in my mind I think I will take one last look at the photos I took and begin planning the months that lie ahead of me. After all there is nothing more exciting than the unknown.
some bright berries coated with frost
garden still life
nature & man-made
where I lived as a a student
some pears left out on the sill
too cold to sit
stars
I finished my Masters after a few detours
walked through this door countless times
picturesque Regnitz
water levels not too high
pillars at the Dom
the main steeples are under restauration
well worn steps
the sun came out to show off the view
a colourful ending as I walked back down
27 Thursday Oct 2016
Posted in travel
Tags
airports, birthdays, family, flying, Ireland, leaving Dublin, life at airports, travel
I’m currently in the middle of six weeks of family birthdays, it starts with my nephews and ends with my own. And since one them is celebrating a wonderful noughty (or maybe it is naughty) birthday I am giving up some precious hours of sleep and boarding an early morning flight to Germany.
And although I had to drag myself out of bed just a few hours ago there is something really nice about airports in the morning. While the rest of the world is only slowly waking up the airport is already a hive of activity – it’s a bit like an enchanted universe all of its own.
I treated myself to a double espresso at Butlers and enjoyed the complimentary chocolate too and sat to watch the people around me. Curled up on a few seats were two little boys, still fast asleep beside their parents who were waiting to be called to their gate. Next to me sat a business man in a dark gray suit that matched his complexion, clean shaven but with dark sleep deprived bruises under his eyes, he was shouting into the phone in short busts of a language I couldn’t understand. A loved up couple cuddled up to each other as they shared a croissant, the rest of the world fading away their rose-tinted eyes.
And then it was time to take off … I left Dublin before the sun rose and as I flew towards Germany the sky was dipped in pink.
11 Monday Jul 2016
Posted in travel
Walking around I’m always amazed at how many people seem to have their eyes glued to their mobile phones, and I often wonder what they could be missing by not simply looking up. After all there is so much going on around us, maybe not always as (seemingly) important or exciting as what is going on in the rectangle we all seem to be unable to live without, but definitely much more real and beautiful.
hanging pots, Rome, Italy
hanging from the rafters, Donegal, Ireland
washing drying on a line in Lisbon, Portugal
hanging above my head in Amsterdam, Denmark
balancing act across a road, Berlin Germany
01 Friday Jul 2016
I’ve been in Germany for a week now and it has been filled with the search for the Internet. A search that has not been overly successful.
In theory it is really easy to join the surfers of the World Wide Web, practically near impossible. My first attempt frustrated me with its failing. I bought a stick, dongle or whatever you want to call it, added on some allowance and tried to surf the web, but I never caught a wave.
The stick was by a company called Tschibo – winner in price and simplicity of usage – but their advertisement was false, just plug-in and off you go turned into me cycling back and forth into the village and calling Tschibo all to no avail. The next attempt was the local electro store, here at least I had some customer service but eve he was not sure he could provide what I need – ‘you can buy this stick (Vodafonr this time and three times the price, plus the allowance double the price as well) and give it a go, but the coverage isn’t too good and I doubt it will make you happy.’
My wonderful sister then drove me to Cuxhaven where a lovely guy from a big brightly coloured media store told me that if my hotspot doesn’t work, neither will a stick. He showed me how to get myself setup, so now, if I climb two flights of stairs until I’m up under the eaves, and sit by an open window, and it’s not raining and not too windy, and not after 5pm I can try and access the Internet. It doesn’ always work but at least I can try!
Who knew that Germany – such a successful and rich country – was so far behind when it comes to Internet coverage. And sadly this may mean I will have to cut my plans short as I won’t be able to work with so little access to the Internet. I’ll try it for a few more days and see if I can make it work, if not I’ll be packing my bags again and finding a new refuge for a few weeks.
23 Thursday Jun 2016
Tags
bags, Dublin, John Denver, music, Narnia, packing, packing problems, sleep over, sleepover, travel
I can’t believe the day has arrived – it’s time to move out (for a little while) and on. Last night i spent hours packing, sorting, repacking, and finally going to bed very tired to dream about more packing – and I have to admit that I even got up a few times and took things out of the suitcase, added a few and tossed and turned wondering about the contents. The bigger problem is what I had to really scale down my ‘mobile office’ and books – who knew that clothes wasn’t the issue but books and note pads!
Now everything is stowed away and all I need to do is pack everything into the car and head out for my two-night-sleepover at the most enchanting home in Dublin. And while I am really looking forwrad to spending some time in a place I love so much it does feel a little bit odd to be in Dublin but not at home.
But since it is the beginning of my six week adventure I will just go with it and see what I find – I may even check out a few wardrobes along the way and see if I can find my way to Narnia.
22 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in travel
Most of today will be filled with packing, cleaning and bins, I just hope I don’t get them mixed up along the way and end up with old newspapers and plastic packaging in my suitcase.
Yesterday I spent most of the day working on a project and at a job interview so somehow I don’t feel ready to up my stales and head off for six weeks, but since the date on my ticket tells me a different story I better get ready.
The one thing I really hate about going away is packing, planning ahead for several weeks and having to make up your mind how much you want to bring always frustrates me. And for the last few days I’ve had the washing machine going at full speed trying to make sure I don’t leave any of my favourite items behind. I can’t help but wish for of those ladies maids that would wrap everything in silk-paper and make sure you were prepared for any occasion, all your belongings magically packed and unpacked without you having to lift a finger.
So as I stare into the sallow depths of my suitcase – why didn’t I buy a bigger one – I really long for a Mary Poppins style carpet bag, everything would fit in and I could even bring my own teapot!
17 Friday Jun 2016
Posted in photography, travel
Tags
curve, Lisbon, photograpy, photos, Rossio Square, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, weekly photo challenge: curve
Two years ago I flew out to Lisbon for a few days. It was the middle of November but the weather was still no-socks warm and even though there was some rainy days I was able to walk around the beautiful city that Lisbon is and let myself be enchanted.
I was staying in a hotel near the city center and one of the first things I saw was the stunning pavement at Rossio Square, I loved how the back and white cobblestones curved below my feet!
13 Monday Jun 2016
Posted in ACD &Masters, travel
Ten days, in ten days it will be time to hand over my keys and head out for my German summer. As always I have begone making lists (I know!) and I have to say I am looking forwrad to crossing things off them – particularly the ones about what to pack.
I will be swapping my tiny urban path-garden with a large green space and lots of trees, even a little wood for me to rest my eyes on, and my small blue bench will be replaced with a much longer one. I look forward to stepping out onto grass instead of concrete in the mornings and I know the pigeons and seagulls will be replaced with song birds and – if I’m lucky – a woodpecker.
Instead of hopping on a bus for a quick trip into town I’ll be cycling to the local shops for my food and the nearest town is a train ride away. The only cafe I know of is a cycle away – but it is in the grounds of an old manor and really beautiful with home-baked cakes.
So in ten days I’ll be swapping my usual urban living for some country life-style, Ireland for Germany and I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully my muse will board the plane with me and feel as inspired by the change of scenery and not suffer from hay fever!
09 Thursday Jun 2016
Posted in travel
It’s that time of year again were you find your friends packing their suitcases and heading out to discover far flung and foreign places. In two weeks it will be me who will be packing her bags, not so much for a holiday, and not to a very far flung foreign place either, but I will be heading over to Germany to write – retreat if you will.
I am really looking forward to a change in pace, a different sort of life, even if only for a few weeks (well six to be exact). And while I have no idea what I’ll be coming back to (some job related issues) just being able to board a plane and fly away is an enticing idea. Especially since this feeling that has been bubbling up inside me for a while now can only be described with the the German word “Fernweh” which literally means “having an ache for a distant place”.
Of course I know that once I’m gone, after a while, I’ll be longing for my own bed and my own things that surround me. But for now I am excited about the idea of an adventure and can’t wait. And I won’t need to wait long, in exactly two weeks I’ll be picking up my bags and locking my front door behind me. But there are a few things I need to sort out before then, and I have many lists to write – six weeks is a long time to plan for. So my ‘Fernweh’ will just have to wait for a bit, just a little one!
jensinewall 