two days at the beach in the rain

Two weeks off work have come and gone with us mainly hunkering down at home, preparing for autumn and generally not doing many blog-worthy things.
We did get away for two days to the beach in the Netherlands though.



Unfortunately the weather really didn’t cooperate and it rained pretty much the whole time we were there.



Now I’m usually pretty hardy when it comes to weather but while being soaked through once or twice is quite the adventure… by the time you lose count how many times you’ve gotten wet and everything is just dripping and cold it really stops being fun. We just tried to make the best of it.

And while we’re at this being a bit of a rant, I’ll say that the week after didn’t fare much better with me having headaches and a stomache-ache for most of it in addition to not being able to sit very well (old injury from a fall off the pony which decided to make itself known again), culminating in the worst, head-splitting headache yesterday. I’ll be so glad to see the end of this week. Sorry, just needed out today.
And I promise my next post will be more cheerful because I have some sewing to share as soon as I am recovered enough to take photos 🙂

Advertisement

a very late easter post

So sorry for disappearing for weeks and not even managing an Easter post! I have no idea where the time went, I meant for this post to go up right after Easter but then work and stuff got in the way and now it’s the middle of April already! I’ll try and be a better blogger, promise. And I can tease and tell you there’s a big announcement coming up pretty soon photography-wise.
But first, Easter weekend! I spent the long weekend on the beautiful dutch island Ameland with friends (yep, just like last year).
We were looking forward to a few days of rest and outdoor time and enjoyed every minute of it.


Even though the weather didn’t always cooperate (no, it still isn’t spring yet over here, yes, that is snow on the beach), we spent hours every day just walking the island, resting at the beach café’s every now and then for a nice slice of cake or some fries. Working inside most of the time makes me forget just how hungry some outdoor time makes.
Or how good it is for body and soul. Walking is a bit like yoga, you move your body while completely resting the mind with the added advantage of fresh air.



In the evenings we ate delicious home cooked dinners, mostly fish we had picked up fresh from the day’s fishing in the village, and settled down for some creative time. Somehow, between us four women, we worked on two sweaters, a pompom-rug and I knitted a tiny baby vest for my friend who is four months pregnant. To be shown here on the blog as soon as it’s washed and blocked and has some cute buttons added.




We even colored some eggs on Easter sunday before setting out again.



I have some more images from our beach trails up on my photoblog.
The rest and workout was much needed after the long winter and I’ve decided I really enjoy walking and hiking so I will try and find some nice trails in our surrounding areas to keep it up on weekends.
Now, wishing you a resting weekend!

last weekend

Finally through with sorting and editing. I hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Watching the sunrise in the dunes on a September morning is something else.





My friend who bought my old DSLR from me was making a first foray into photography and what better opportunity than this!

After the sun had risen we climbed down to the beach and even met a few early morning people like ourselves who had come to enjoy the crisp, quiet morning.



For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –
(Emily Dickinson, I dwell in Possibility)

I think poetry and photography were made for each other.

beach sunrises

Getting up at the crack of dawn, throwing on a few clothes and hurrying up the hidden stone steps through the dunes to watch the sunrise at the beach. Perfect.

Another weekend at the sea, very much needed and very much enjoyed. Came back rather late last night, so more photos coming whenever I get a chance to sort through them 🙂
Have a great week!

***Edit: On a completely different note, I signed up for the online Coursera “Modern and Contemporary American Poetry” class from a UPenn professor which starts today. So exciting!

my italy #2

Find last year’s post on Italy here.
Last weekend I flew down to Italy again for four short days of visiting. My dad needed to go on business and I tagged along to visit my friends.
My Italy is




a warm welcome by friends both old and new.
baking summer heat, dry and salty.
swimming in turquoise water so warm it feels like silk on the skin
colorful, shady streets in the city centre.
a sweet baby boy, who I last saw when he was only a few weeks old and who has won my heart so completely that it was so hard to part from him, knowing he won’t remember me when I’ll see him next.



tiny village shops to buy the best goods in town.
waking in the middle of the night because it’s still basically too warm to sleep.
drinking copious amounts of Estathé, the taste of my childhood.



More photos and infos on Italy over on my photo blog.
I’ll just sit back and dream about sun and beaches and good food and speaking italian while trying to blend out the second cold and rainy summer in a row here in Germany. Back next year for sure.

beach day

A couple of photos from our day at the beach before the solstice party.



Kale growing wild on the Baltic Sea beach:


Sorry about the watermark in all of these, I had originally considered posting them on my photo blog, but decided to put them here instead.
There’ll be a video (of course) but it’ll be a while before I get it finished.
In other news, I might have fallen off my horse on Sunday and bruised my tail bone and spent two days on the couch with ice packs. Guess it had to happen after riding the little bugger for five years. Thankfully the icepacks worked a little miracle and I’m already up and not exactly running but working again 🙂
And pining for the beach.

scotland – first impressions

Whew, so many photos to sort through in this real summer heat we’re having here! I’ll be giving y’all a full account of where we went, what we did and how we liked (loved!) it, but for today there’s a preview on my other blog with the most beautiful landscape shots from our journey:

There’s also even more photos to be seen on my Facebook Page, so do head over there until I get myself (and my photos) sorted out for good. I can’t wait to tell you all about our vacation! And yes, there’ll be a video too in a while 🙂

easter weekend travel

I’m finally through with sorting about 2000 photos from our wonderful easter weekend trip to the dutch island Ameland in the North Sea. We (three girlfriends and I) spent three days there.
We got up at the crack of dawn on friday and drove a couple of hours to catch the ferry over.
Once arrived we found that it was raining softly but steadily. Nevertheless, we were there for the beach and so we set out on foot for the sea.

The beach is lovely in sunshine, but wild and beautiful in rain and storm and we didn’t regret venturing out in the rain.
This could well be the moon, couldn’t it?

We fought our way against the wind for a while before hiking back down the dunes and heading back towards the village we were staying in. Despite the rain and temperatures barely above zero we were warm from the exercise.

Back in our cozy little apartment we hung up the wet things to dry and settled down for a cup of tea and a hearty dinner, exhausted but happy.

The next day greeted with sunshine and we set out by bikes we had hired to the beach to watch a demonstration of the horse lifeboat being launched into the sea (here’s some more information if you’re interested).



Don’t be fooled by the blue sky in the photos though, we actually had hail for a couple of minutes during the demonstration!
We were cold from standing around in the icy wind, so next we biked over to the next big village. It is tour of about 10km one way, against the wind not a small ride for untrained (as in, not having ridden a bike in months) office girls like us.

The landscape is beautiful though and the exercise felt so good after the long winter months. Even though I was fighting for breath and starting to feel really sore, I felt better with each mile. I guess I hadn’t realized how much pent up emotions from the last few months I needed to get out of my system.
On the way back to our village we took a long break in the dunes and did some photoshoots in the sunshine. The first one of my friend in her wedding dress is already up on my Photo Blog. I’ll let you know when the next ones are up.
After the approximately 30 km we had biked that day we were wiped out and watched the sunset on the beach, heading to a sheltered beach cafè once it got too cold.




On Sunday (our last full day) we decided to just take it slowly, so we slept in and then headed to the dunes to find a place out of the wind and in the sun to read and relax.

After a treat of cake and hot chocolate at the beach cafè (otherwise we ate and cooked very healthy, promise) we stayed to watch the locals light their easter bonfire on the beach. We had some very good, hot mulled wine and headed home sleepy on our bikes.

Since it was raining on Monday anyway we didn’t feel too badly about leaving and caught the ferry at midday to be back home by evening.
Only three days by the sea, but it felt like a couple of weeks worth of good on body and soul.

For more beach and landscape photos there’s a whole post on that on my photo blog!

the summer we never had

I’ve been talking about our rainy rainy summer a lot, but it seems nature has granted our wishes for a beautiful indian summer. Though the trees are turning golden and the streets are already covered in leaves we have been having more sunshine this week than the whole summer.

Not willing to lose a minute of the last warm days of the year I spent the whole saturday at the river with some girlfriends.

You can’t really swim in the Rhine in our parts (well, you can, but you’re likely to drown because of the strong currents), but we soaked up sunshine and warmth for the colder days to come.

(reading this book)

A perfect day and so needed.
(We also did about five loads of laundry, including bedding and blankets, jumping at the chance to get a load or two dry each day. Just keeping it real here.)

a day at the beach

Because we had last week off and because the weather was gorgeous, my boyfriend and I decided to make a day trip to the sea.
The nearest beach is three hours away in the Netherlands, so we got started early, bringing tea and croissants to have a late breakfast there.



I got pretty crowded by lunch time but a little salty sea air and sand under bare feet and walking around collecting shells is just so good for the soul from time to time.