aching for a distant place

Tags

fernweh, Germany, holidays, photo, photography, suitcases, 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!

 

back with a snotty nose & runny eyes

Tags

boats trip, crafting, dragon, family, hayfever, holidays, painting, runny nose

My two weeks away from home were exciting and fun but I arrived back with a snotty nose and runny eyes. Somewhere on my road-trip around Denmark I got a massive attack of hay-fever that decided to manifest itself with a vicious tenacity. So now I am at home blowing my own weight of snot into tissues and trying to work with teary eyes, but this too shall pass – at least I hope it will and just in case I wandered down to the pharmacy and bought the entire aisle of “hay-fever-be gone!” But even through all the sniffles and sneezing I had a lovely time away and I even made sure that my nephew and niece don’t forget me now that I am gone again – I painted a big boat on the “lookout” in their garden and even managed a decent looking dragon on my nephews shield.

pirates beware

the skull may look a bit off but the waves turned out great

fire breathing dragon

And even though I will miss my family and enjoyed my time away I have to say I was glad to be sleeping in my own bed last night, and not having to get up at 6.30am was an added bonus!

Weekly photo challenge – Nighttime

Tags

Egypt, Finland, holidays, Italy, Nighttime, photography, photos, Rome, Russia, Spanish Steps, St Petersburg, the Nile, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly photo challenge - Nighttime

 

I took this while in Finland. A Friend took me out to their cabin in the woods. After a long and very sweating time in the sauna I went down to the lake for a cold dip, and my only company was the moon

Last year I went to Rome and on my first night I took this photo of a lamp up near the Spanish Steps

A few years ago a friend and I went on a trip down the Nile, it was a wonderful holiday filled with mystical adventures and tales of the ancient world. Every night we would make our way down the Nile on a lovely cruise ship and the sun setting over the water would always make me dream

I am particularly proud of this photo. I took it while in St Petersburg and somehow the light was just perfect. I rested my camera on the bridge I was standing on, terrified I’d drop it into the water, held it with my left hand , took the shoot with my right hand and hoped the picture would be clear. I think it worked quite well

 

remembering Rome

Tags

city break, holidays, Italy, photography, photos, Rome, travel

Today is one of those beautiful sunny days that makes everyone smile. Maybe it was the happy mood that is floating around Dublin, but for what ever reason, I decided to treat myself to a lovely lunch at my local Italian, the best in all of Dublin. And maybe it was the food but with each forkful of pasta my mind wandered to my my trip to Rome last year. It was in November, so  the weather was mixed, but it didn’t matter the city was enough to enchant me.

And because I can’t share the images and memories sin my head here are a few of my favourite photos:

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leaving on a jet plane

Tags

aer lingus, aviation, Dublin, flying, Hamburg, holidays, miscellaneous, random, transportation, travel

“My bags are packed and I’m ready to go”, well not quite I still have an hour before the taxi comes and whisks me off to the airport.

The first time I flew on my own I was five years old and my sister was seven. We were unaccompanied minors and on way to visit our grandmother and aunt in Germany for the summer. I remember being all excited and anticipatory, not really knowing what to expect or what would happen. It was the first year that Are Lingus flew directly from Dublin to Hamburg, if memory serves the first flight ever, and there was a bit of a buzz about the whole thing.

I had been to Germany before but it was always with my parents and we did sometimes drive, so flying on my own, well with my big sister, felt grown-up and very special. The only down side was that we both had to wear a bright orange plastic purse around our necks containing our passports, tickets and all the other vital travel documents.

I was never a quite child, I was always chatting to strangers and quickly made friends with the beautiful Aer Lingus stewardess who was looking after us. My sister and I got sweets and colouring books, a few toys and we spent an enjoyable time up in the air. What we didn’t know was that my mother was having a panic attack back in Dublin.

As soon as we had taken off, the airport attendees in Hamburg went on strike and we were re-routed to Holland. I loved the adventure of the whole event, we got to stay in a VIP lounge in Amsterdam and drive around in a little buggy, while everyone around us was frantically trying to get us to our relatives in Hamburg.

I can’t remember exactly how long the whole thing took, but it was dark outside when we finally arrived. I know that both my aunt and mum were very relieved when my sister and I ran into the wide open waiting arms, legs and blond hair flying, and in my case an stream of excited chatter following in our wake.

Today I am quite use to flying, but I still love the anticipation of going away,  however nothing can quite compare to that very first trip. What made me grin this morning was that my sister told me Hamburg is back on strike, so I am sort of wondering where I’ll end up, a possible adventure on the horizon. The only downside is that I have to be back on Monday morning to teach.

rocking around my christmassy home

Tags

advent calendar, Christmas FM, Chrsitmas, holidays, Last Christmas, Wham, Yuletide

On Saturday, before opening my marzipan advent-calendar,  I changed my radio station to 94.3fm and have been rooking around my home to a constant supply to Christmas songs ever since.

I have to admit a big part of loving Christmas so much has to do with the cheesy music and sing-a-long texts, and as soon as I hear “Last Christmas” by Wham for the first time I know Christams is near.

So on Saturday and Sunday I emptied out my chest (yes a real wooden chest) of decorations and started christmasfiying my home. I hung up stockings, stars and even some beautiful shoes (well skates) and frolicked around the place in yuletide glee.

On Sunday I lit the first candle and had breakfast in the warm glow of the flame already looking forward to lighting the next one this weekend. I sat and wrote my first Christmas cards, packed my first parcel (New Zealand is along way away) all the while humming, singing and often even yowling along to every Song Christmas FM threw my way.

Christmas FM … have a listen

of fridges and christmas trees

Tags

Advent, advents kranz, christmas, christmas tree, first christmas gift, fridge, german christmas stollen, holidays, miscellaneous, random, seasonal, snow, winter

I love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of year. And although I am dieing to listen to Christmas carols, cut into my German Christmas Stollen and get the mulled wine bubbling I always wait till the 1st of December.

But because my christmassy anticipation is too much to bear I decided to order my Christmas tree yesterday, making my heart do some “drummer boy” impersonation. Of course I will now have to wait till the week before the big day to put it up and decorate it with all my favourite decorations, I just hope I don’t combust is a blaze of holly, ivy and mistletoe.

However it’s nearly time to light the first candle on my “Advents Kranz” (well this year I don’t have a wreath but a pretty row of candles to light the way up to Christmas) which will fill the need for piney goodness for a few weeks.

And knowing tomorrow I’ll be putting up decorations around the house while listening to crooners corning Christmas carols makes me all giddy with excitement. I even get to open up the first door on my Marzipan Advents-kalandar, a daily treat to count down the days.

And somehow I even feel as if I just got my first Christmas gift, a new fridge was delivered and installed yesterday night, a wish granted and a clean new home for cookie dough waiting to be baked.

So tomorrow I will spend the day at home, decorating, baking, singing and dancing my very own “jingle bells rock”. I can’t wait and all I need now for a perfect Christmas is snow and a kiss under some mistletoe. And neither are looking great at the moment, even Paddy Power has pushed the odds for a white Christmas up to 4/1 and I really don’t want to know the prediction for meeting a man is. However with the temperatures dropping I live in hope, for snow at the very least.

I used fresh green and a little bit of sparkle to decorate my “Advents Tray”

fleeing wet weather

Tags

beach, Dublin, holidays, Ireland, miscellaneous, random, sun, thougths, travel, vacation, weather, weather woman

Yesterday the weather woman told Ireland that July had been the wettest, bleakest, coldest and dullest one of modern times, and when I look out of my window August looks to be following in July’s footsteps in a big pair of wellies.

The next segment on the news was about the surge in people booking package deal holidays and how small loans applications had gone up. Normally most people book their sunny trips back in January but this year July has been the busiest month with people hopping on flights last minute style, suitcase in hand and dusty sunglasses perched on their heads.

Of course we all know that the sun can effect our emotions, helping our brains produce serotonin, the happy hormone,  making our moods rise with the temperature. For us Irish that means we got stuck somewhere in spring and since then our moods have been at an all time low, along with our finances and the sun.

Beside the loss of sun people need breaks from there everyday life. We need time to relax, wind down and be the person we really want to be, maybe its a beach bum or babe, maybe its a sky- or a scuba diver, maybe we just want to spend time painting, writing or indulging in hours of other fantastic hobbies reflecting the true us.

Studies have even shown that it is not just a break we need but actually spending time on the beach is good for us. Why is unclear, but the sound of the waves lapping up on the beach, sand between our toes and the sun making the water sparkle and glisten seems to affect us more positively than a stroll in the park or a weekend in any great city would. That we feel happier and more relaxed when walking on the beach or sunbathing beside the sea seems to just be hardwired into us.

So maybe the fleeing Irish are really just following the lure or the sea and by taking time away from the wet world of Ireland they will come home, happier, healthier and much more able for a probably equally wet winter ahead.

bad hare day

Tags

chocolate, Easter, families, fun, holidays, humour, love, miscellaneous, random, singles

The Easter Bunny may be visiting people far and wide today but somehow that silly hare has yet again forgotten to put me on his list of happy chocolate receivers. So with no chocolate loot to go searching for I made myself a little basket of chocolatey goodies, but it really isn’t the same and got me thinking about all those lovely family holidays.

I am big fan of Christmas, love the whole season surrounding it. The lights transforming the world into a magical place, the hot drinks and cold noses, the joy of being able to splurge on others and be as tacky as you like with decorations in your home. Valentines day on the other hand is a strictly couple affair, only exciting when a surprise gorilla-o-gram interrupts your day with a red chocolate heart and a card stuffed with love and hopefully an invite for the night. Mothers day is when we spoil those who put plasters on our knees, made us pancakes and helped with our homework. Fathers day is when Daddy’s spoil themselves and go off drinking with the lads. St Patrick’s day is the greenest day of the year with families dipping their heads and hearts into national pride.  But Easter stands a little apart for me. Although it is the most important Church Holiday, it also seems to be mainly a family event.

For some reason while others are gorging themselves with chocolate eggs and hunting down the last shiny orbs in the garden I often end up with no plans. Today is no different, but I am sure I will come up with lots of lovely things to fill the day with.  Yet I have to admit that it does niggle at me slightly that there is no day in the year to celebrate the singles amongst us. Which seems odd as we are an increasingly growing number.

So as my mind is untainted by a cocoa high I had this thought: maybe we should just invent such a day. I am thinking one day in the summer would be nice. No work for those who live alone and the singles cat Jingle (each holiday needs its bearer of gifts and what better than an alley cat?)  would bring us all cards, chocolates, flowers and condoms. And everyone you have ever given a gift to on their showers, wedding days, engagement parties and other couply events have to remember you for a change and exchange the favour. After all didn’t someone once say the joy is in the giving?

But for now I will eat a marzipan egg and see what the city has to offer as the sun is hiding behind grey clouds and my beach plans seem a little too dull.  And maybe the chocolate filled bellies will keep most families at home and I will have the galleries to myself. Yes, sometimes being single is perfect!