back in Belfast

Tags

Belfast, northern ireland, photography, photos, travel

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

Advertisements

the windows in Galway

Tags

#jjcommunity, dreams, Galway, imagine, Ireland, Mystery Tour, photography, photos, travel, windows

Galway is one of those wonderfully colorful cities that attracts locals and tourists alike.  On my recent trip my gaze was often drawn upwards at the eclectic selection of windows that adorned the houses I walked passed. Like people, they seemed to have individual personalities and I enjoyed looking for them as I walked by.

In doing so I couldn’t help but think about how people say ‘that eyes are the windows to your soul’ and wondered if it then follows that windows are the eyes into a houses soul- if such a thing exists. And if so what would the windows of the houses I was photographing say about the home they hid behind their glass.

Still musing these thoughts on the train ride home my eyes caught glimpses of strangers lives lit up in the dark from within. And I remembered how, as I child, I often made up stories about the people I saw, imagining why they were doing what they did and what they would be doing afterwards.

Again my mind drifted, this time to one of my all time favourite fairy tales: The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen. I loved the way, with the strike of a match, the wall to the house she sat huddled up to would turn into a see-through veil and display a life that she so longed for and dreamt of.

So maybe windows aren’t just the eyes to the soul of a home, but maybe they can also be an aperture into a world of fantasy and dreams, one that inspires to create and imagine – even if only for one’s own enjoyment

new year- old haunts

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

Weekly Photo Challenge: Magic

Tags

Egypt, magic, photography, photos, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Magic

A few years ago a friend and I went on a spontaneous trip to Egypt, we literally booked it on Monday and flew out on Thursday. No preparation, no idea what was in store for us and no time to make any plans.

We landed in the middle of the night in Luxor and were herded off to our waiting boat in a flurry of hand-gestures. But as soon as we set foot on board a magical trip began. The trip took us from Luxor to Aswan, docking along the way to allow us to visit all the ancient temples.

We dipped in and out of history, our wonderful guide telling us about the stories of old and explaining the magic of the ancient Egyptian world, and experienced modern Egyptian life on the banks and bazaars. But for the most magical moments were all spent on board the boats, the cruise ship we slept on (we were upgraded to a wonderful suite with french windows opening out onto the Nile) and the Felucca (a small sailing boat) that took us to the beach were we swam in the Nile.

Maybe it was the hot sun shimmering on the Nile and the light breeze you could only feel while on the water, or maybe it was the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the boat or maybe it was just the sense of otherness that seemed to open up a door into a truly magical world.

But what ever it was when ever I think of Egypt and all the Pharaohs and temples I can’t help but but feel a little bit nostalgic about the trip my friend and I took. It was a break, in the truest sense of the word, from our everyday life, a break from reality, a break from what you’ve come to expect, a break from looking at the clock and a break from who you think you are. A truly magical journey.

the Nile is a magical place – old and new melt into one and something magical is in the air – especially on board a felucca

Weekly Photo Challenge: tiny

Tags

art, photography, photos, St Petersburg, TINY, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: TINY

While traveling I often find myself looking up at windows, gutters, roofs and lights and often I find a kinds of beauty just above my gaze. On one of my trips, to St Petersburg a few years ago, I spotted these tiny musician jamming atop a light fitting. I loved the patina of the bronze miniature and only wished that I had been able to hear what tune they were playing.

tiny musicians

Weekly Photo Challenge: Chaos

Tags

Berlin, bikes, chaos, cycling, photography, photos, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Chaos

At the moment Dublin city center is filled with the chaos of Luas construction work. And as most chaos does this has created circle upon circle of chaos in Dublin’s daily life. Cars are rerouted, streets narrowed down creating tricky traffic situations all over town. As a cyclist I often feel more than a little risk as cars come to close and double-Decker buses even closer.

So when I read the title of this weeks photo challenge I was reminded of a sculpture I saw in Berlin a few years ago. It was at the center of a community garden near Kreuzberg, colourful bikes were wrapped around an old tree in a somewhat haphazard fashion creating a vibrant bit of chaos at the center of the clam of nature.

bike sculpture – beautiful chaos

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transmogrify

Tags

Denmark, photography, photos, Transmogrify, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Transmogrify

Last year I joined my aunt for a trip to Denmark. the weather was awful and my nose got stuck in between hay-fever and a cold.

On our last day we stayed in a beautiful small town called Kerteminde. It was a magical place, cobble stones and tiny houses with colorfully painted shutters and pots of geraniums outside every door but it rained non-stop as we walked around, our feet getting wet and my nose dripping as much as the drainpipes.

Just before lunch we ended up in the artists Johannes Larsen’s house. I was feeling quite miserable, my shoes squelched when I walked and my wet hair dripped down my back. I was just about to ask my aunt if she was ready to leave when suddenly a bright ray of sun filled the room we were in, dipping everything in a greenish hue (a reflection of all the trees outside) and creating a magical atmosphere – one filled with promise and joy.

a ray of light and suddenly the world changed

 

mornings on the go

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.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Mirror

Tags

Mirror, photography, photos, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly Photo Challenge: Mirror

Mirrors seem to be everywhere in our selfie-obsessed world waiting for someone to check their clothes, fluff up their hair or adjust themselves. But mirrors aren’t always our best friends, those puffy eyes early in the morning isn’t something anyone really wants to see, and often they only changes the perception and don’t tell us the truth.

mirrored pillars under the bridge (Dublin)

a mirror in an old church changing your perception (Lisbon)

mirrored ornaments (Berlin)

Weekly photo challenge – Look up

Tags

Look up, photography, photos, travel, Weekly Photo Challenge, Weekly photo challenge – Look up

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