Pompous Passau

Why I travel this much these days?
Good question. Maybe because I notice how easy it is. Maybe because so many more places come to my attention that I want to discover. Maybe also because there are people here and there who I want to see again.

Dear friends from the time in New Zealand are spread across Germany and the whole world. To Passau I didn’t go just to into the blue, for I had a lovely home for the time staying there.

Also, the weather blessed me with luck. And that at the very day I walked m camera. 🙂 Please look at another wonderful German city from above, below, left and right and one fabulous drake:

 

 

 

 

Without a doubt, the highlight of the weekend was not the city itself, but the hours spent together. Every moment shared is worth double. It was a wonderful time! Time before Christmas, I should say.

The last Christmas at home was in 2013. 2014 in Wellington and 2015 in Dunedin. Pretty memorable. This year’s celebration might become the least-routinely Christmas of my life…

Winter Wonder ob der Tauber

You can say what you want about the Deutsche Bahn, but I like to make use of it. Either summer- or Lidl-special-offer-ticket, I saved a lot and got to all the far out corners of Germany in pleasant style.

As this time, to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Trier, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Berlin you know already, but this little settlement is not as well known. At least not for people who don’t browse the internet for the cutest cities in Germany.
International tourism is fully present in the remarkable old city and was, if not about anything else, only bearable because of the cold season.
I gave myself one day’s time and tried to capture the (Christmas-) wonder of the city.

At noon I walked though the gates of the city.

 

 

A remarkable specimen.

Looking at this, I got the meaning of a city wall back then.

This one shows you very exactly where you stand in the space-time continuum.

 

 

The ‘Plönlein’ is the most famous places to be photographed.

 

 

It went dark quickly, which I welcomed. A medieval city in full Christmas decoration, what more could a photographers heart wish for? 😀

 

 

 

 

Little children ask their mother, clueless: ‘What is he doing?’ and their mother has to explain to them that I am taking photos. Other voices you hear mumbling: Now he’s going at it. Oh, using a tripod!
Do a tripod and a bridge camera look fear-inducing in times of the ever-present photo smartphone??
Apparently they do. 😀

I can recommend visiting this fine city. It is that small that I have dashed from one end to the other several times. On the way(s) I of course took some rests to have some rustic meals and some cups of coffee. I will return here, that is for sure!

Three Little Golden Days

‘In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet.’

– Lin-Manuel Miranda –

 

The last weeks were more turbulent than I would have ever wished for.
With the stage play, heaps of loads of work and the extensive curriculum of the apprenticeship there was little time left, to come back to the surface and breathe.
Today, the last performance took place on stage and thus, I parted from an incredible ensemble and from an era in my life, which is nicely put in its place by a stage play.

In the true hurricane of the last weeks there was these three days, where I made my dream come true. The dream to be part of a Dale Carnegie Training.
Dale Carnegie was a trainer in communication and motivation, who left us a vast legacy in regards of positive thinking. With wide eyes I once read his famous book ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’. The rest of it is history since two weeks.

I found myself in Berlin and moved through an icy night towards the hotel using the beloved substitute traffic solutions. After the opulent breakfast we met in the room. We were about to learn skills, far from our everyday lives, helping us to succeed in it.
A composition of the most different of personal and professional backgrounds and for me personally a gold mine of examples made the group.

 

 

 

 

It was about self-development, visions for the personal life, strengthening relationships, excitement, putting ideas out there clearly, giving feedback, broadening flexibility and looking forward more.

The particular contents were preset because of the orientation along Dale Carnegie’s ways of teaching, so the focus and curiosity towards the different attendees and the great course leader got heightened attention.
It was just brilliant, to be in a room where you could look up to each and everyone with big, learning eyes and put yourself against some high bars not in reach otherwise. Part of the course was to tell appreciation to each other. I could hardly decide what was more enjoyable: Giving or receiving appreciation.

So, the course left me with far more than most valuable input to the approach of Dale Carnegie. I learned a lot about myself and life. It might sound cheesy but I mean it very seriously.

As I walked through Berlin on the third day and after the conclusion of the training, enjoyed some superior coffee inside the KaDeWe, strolled past the embassies of many nations, took a detour around all the barriers due to the visit of Barack Obama and still managed to shoot some worthy ‘Berlin pictures’, I looked at and out to the future with some other looks.

It was worth while!

The Richard-Wagner-Memorial at the Tiergarten.

 

 

The Reichstag.

Only at the theatre tonight it came through to me that the first Sunday in Advent has dawned already. Curious. There were times, when you had more time to ready yourself for this ‘tranquil’ and ‘devout’ time…
Life changes and you do, too. And you can even set the direction. That fact you tend to forget when fighting through a storm.
Those who hang on get the reward.

 

 

If the Wind toys with my Leaf

Cold. Grey. Dark. Falling leaves. Autumn air. Clementines. Heavy sweater. Short days. Mist. Fireplace. Yellow leaves.

Just like that, summer is gone.
I don’t take it too hard, to be honest. Maybe that is because I had my last German autumn 2 years ago.And my last winter here is but 3 years in the past now.

In every new week I spend in school or at work, the difference of this life and the one I have lived for 1,5 years gets to me all the clearer.

In the end I have longed for a place to stay for a longer time. Have a genuine daily routine. Not to be on your way with everything you own after a few months. And it is good this way.

My nephew proceeds to say my name all over already (sounds like Owee) and can take more and more steps on his own.

To write a blog post, you got to have two things. Something exciting to tell and on top of that time (and maybe to be kissed by the muse).
Unfortunately I had to admit to myself not getting a hold of either lately. At least in those times, where the mix of the apprenticeship, stage play and all aside the personal life don’t let you breathe freely.

I miss the time abroad, when you wouldn’t be able to list more responsibilities other than eating and sleeping. And maybe taking pictures. Everyone having traveled a long way would know that coming home is not easy. If at first everything seems so familiar, things have changed, still. Inside yourself and in the places you find yourself once more. It will take some time to process and arrange that for yourself.

Even if these days you don’t take your camera with you on every step, you can still land some nice shots.

Life ain’t not uneasy, I overheard one saying. How true. You have to take back here and there to come out of the dark valley. But some travel plan(s) I got for the time coming, don’t fret…

You’ll hear from me.

Medieval Spectacle

I like time travel.

 

 

And I like animals. And cuddling with owls. And animal pictures.

 

 

Funny blokes all around.

 

 

And I like to capture light.

 

 

And I like classy ‘medieval’ music with its, let’s say…fiery quality.