Easter is coming and so is spring! Although I quite like the warm Christmas we have in the southern hemisphere, I do find that spring is probably a nicer time to have Easter, like they do in the northern hemisphere, since it comes with the added excitement of the arrival of spring. In Germany I first came into contact with the Easter egg tree, and have since also seen them in other countries such as Czech and Slovenia (apparently you can also see them in Austria, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary). Sometimes people decorate trees or shrubs outside, but you also see cut branches decorated in vases. This year I decided to make my own Easter egg tree. Continue reading
Europe
Tübingen in Photos
Tübingen is a picturesque, hilly university town in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, only 30km from Stuttgart. To the north is Schönbuch, voted one of the most beautiful forests in Germany, and to the south east are the Swabian Alb mountains. The river Neckar flows through the town, which has many beautiful old buildings, canals and cobblestone streets. In fact, Tübingen has one of the most intact historic old towns in Germany, so it’s surprising that it’s not on most people’s tourist radar. Like in another famous university town, Cambridge, boating is popular in Tübingen, which has its own version of the famous Cambridge punt boats, called Stocherkähne. It’s very pleasant to visit Tübingen and wander its streets. Here are some of the photographs I took during my visit. Continue reading
The Year 2015 in Instagrams (Part 2)
Time for part two of my recap of 2015 using some of the Instagrams I created on my phone throughout the year! I don’t have Instagram photos of all of the places we visited, but going through my Instagram folder has given me an overview of 2015. When I ended off in the last blog post, we had just reached summertime. Along with a lovely trip to the Ostsee (Baltic sea) in summer, we also took a four day trip to visit some friends in Seville. Together the four of us also travelled to Granada, where we visited the beautiful palace of Alhambra. Continue reading
The year 2015 in Instagrams (Part 1)
As 2015 draws to a close, it’s time to look back on the year and prepare for the next one. Since my phone is overloaded with photos I’ve taken during the year, I decided to clean it up to make space for next year’s adventures, but in the process ended up browsing through my old Instagram photos and thinking about the year that has passed. For those of you who don’t know Instagram, it’s a phone application that allows you to edit your photos easily and share them with others. The instant filters are fun to use and sometimes help capture the feeling of a place better than the original photo, since when you’re taking photos the light isn’t always ideal. So without further ado, here’s a look back on 2015 with the help of some Instagrams. I’ll split it into two parts as it’s a lot to go through! Continue reading
Meeting Santa at the North Pole
Since Christmas is coming, I thought I would share the story of when I met Santa Claus at the North Pole. And no, I am not kidding 🙂
Charmed by a Finnish friend’s tales of cloudberries, reindeer, snowy landscapes and northern lights, I jumped at the chance to visit Finland when invited. Even more exciting was the fact that we would drive far north to Rovaniemi, in the arctic circle, as her son was participating in the winter swimming championships. Continue reading
Daily Life
Since moving to Berlin I’ve seen and experienced lots of new things and have learnt a lot. At times there has also been some culture shock, although now that I’ve been here a while I don’t tend to notice these things anymore. Here are some posts I’ve written about our daily life here. For more on our travels, you can visit the Travel page.
10 things I dislike about Berlin
March – Wildlife in the Garden
How to make an Easter egg tree
The wedding planning continues
South Africa meets Czech Republic: our Protea-themed wedding
Weekly Small Pleasures Blog event:
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #1 – Park Life
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #2 – Weekend in Czech
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #3 – Strawberry Fields
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #4 – Beer, food and sports
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #5 – Food and more food
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #6 – Summer days
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #7 – Summer flowers
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #8 – Summer thunderstorms
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #9 – Cake and Kayaking
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #10 – Changing seasons
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #11 – Early autumn
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #12 – Christmas is coming
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #13 – Christmas market season
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #14 – Frost and Christmas
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #15 – Emerging from winter
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #16 – Spring has arrived!
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #17 – Berlin and Brandenburg
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #18 – Lilac and canola
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures # 19 – There and back again
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #20 – Cambridge in spring
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #21 – Summer days
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #22 – Summer in the city
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #23 – 2 in 1
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #24 – Holding onto summer
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #25 – Winter is coming!
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #26 – Cold but cosy
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #27 – Autumn pleasures
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #28 – Going back in time
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #29 – Chocolate, kriek and autumn forest
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #30 – November ’16
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #31 – Spring things
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #32 – Roses and burrs
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #33 – Monsoon summer
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #34 – Work hard, play hard
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #35 – Winter is coming (2)
Travel (Eurasia)
Here you can read more about our travels in countries in Europe and Eurasia, listed in alphabetical order. As we live in Germany, our travels in Germany are rather over-represented, so I made a separate page for our travels within Germany which you can find here.
Azores
Exploring the calderas of Azores
Belarus
Canary Islands
Canary Islands – Fuerteventura
Czech Republic
The nativity scenes of Třebechovice
České Švýcarsko / Czech Switzerland
Brno, the second largest city in Czech Republic
Biking in the Moravian winelands of Czechia
Denmark
Finland
Meeting Santa at the North Pole (Finland)
France and Monaco
From Cote d’Azur to Gorges du Verdon
Georgia
Italy
Ireland
Lithuania
The Netherlands
Slovenia
Switzerland
Europe road trips
Roadtripping from Czech Republic to Slovenia and Croatia
Summer roadtrip from Germany to France
Souvenirs
Festival of Lights 2015, Berlin
Every year in Berlin, just after the first golden phase of autumn with sunny days and blue skies starts changing into mistier weather with bitingly cold nights, the Festival of Lights comes along to illuminate the city. Traditionally we always ride our bikes around the city to check out some of the illuminated landmarks; every year I forget how cold it was the year before! But it’s worth it as this way you can ride easily from one spot to another. We took a route starting at Alexanderplatz and rode to the Dom, Gendarmenmarkt, Potsdamerplatz, Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg gate) and finally to the Siegersaule (Victory column). Here are some photos. Continue reading
Middle Europe Weekly Small Pleasures #10 – Changing seasons
It’s been a while since I updated on the little pleasures that make the week good!
First it was really busy at work, and then I was away on holiday for two weeks. The first week I was at home in South Africa (always a BIG pleasure, nothing small about that!) and the next week we went on holiday in Slovenia and Croatia, which was also fantastic. But here are some of the little moments I’ve enjoyed over the last weeks.
While summer was still here, swimming and playing badminton at the lakes, and a weekend trip to Cesky Raj and Prague with our friends.
Spending time with the kitties and dogs in Czech. I miss having pets so it’s always great to spend some time with these guys.
A trip home meant springtime in South Africa. I went on hikes, visited the beach and Kirstenbosch garden, marvelled at all the spring flowers at West coast national park, enjoyed the sunshine and most of all just enjoyed being home. It was also nice to have my car back for a few days!
During the 2 weeks I was away from Berlin, summer suddenly disappeared and autumn arrived in its place. That means it’s time for cold weather foods such as goulash and stews, and seasonal foods like pumpkins and pomegranates. It’s also time to start doing some indoor sports such as squash and climbing/bouldering.
To read what other people around the world have been up to this week, check out A New Life wandering. Have a lovely week!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Monochromatic – Snow Scenes
I saw snow for the first time when I was 19, just a sprinkling in London that was enough to turn the ground white for one night. Watching the snowflakes falling was magical. It was midnight and I ran outside in excitement, my grandmother’s sister came out with me to make sure I didn’t catch cold. After a while she left me there, watching the snow. When I was all alone, two foxes appeared in the field opposite the house, I can still see them standing there in the snow, watching me.
When I moved to Europe again at the end of 2012 I finally saw lots of snow, and every time I see it, it still amazes me. The way it transforms the landscape is also something astounding. Some photos I’ve taken in the snow, you would think it’s a black and white photograph, so that’s why I’ve chosen some snowy scenes for this week’s weekly photo challenge, Monochromatic (although I suppose technically black and white are not colours!). Here are some of them below. When skiing on a misty day, only the bright clothes of the skiers add a splash of colour.