Kategorie-Archive: » Germany
I once was asked by a kiwi woman if there is a sea in Germany.
I never answered as I thought that she was pulling my leg.
She also asked me if we have universities!?
Well, here’s the sea…1st question answered:
Believing my GPS I should be on the German island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea (for those geographically challenged, that’s to the right of the great North Sea and in a somewhat coldish latitude).
But I’m not sure, I have a sense that I took the wrong exit and that I somehow sleepwalked to Greece.
According to the lore that I grew up with, where I am should be grey, cold and miserable.
I should be lucky to ever see the sun and life should be no bucket of laughs.
Yet I’m not seeing it, and I still can’t recall a single negative impression from my week on Ruegen.
This island is in what was once the dreaded – by West Germany anyway – GDR (German Democratic Republic or simply East Germany).
On the charts of fun winter holiday destinations it was said to be equal to northern Siberia. And the country’s sincerety and openness was only matched by North Korea.
What I’m getting here though is a sense that I’ve been conned a little by western information flows.
I’m having my own experience that puts the western propaganda about the East to roughly what it was, a political propaganda porky.
By the way, East Germans were fed similar nonsense about the West by their political leaders (so I was informed by one very interesting East German gentleman).
The East in fact is stunningly beautiful.
It has wonderful forests that have been protected and left alone for a very long time.
The people are incredibly friendly, open and relaxed. There is a rich history, and the architecture is just magnificent.
The images below are a few examples of what awaits in this part of Germany.
It all seems Greek to me.
It’s definitely autumn over here in northern Germany.
What I love most during this time is the crispness of the light on a sunny day.
It makes my heart jump up and down in joy – it’s that beautiful – and I just love it.
I also love walking around while looking at the light.
There is a new melancholy in the air that I hadn’t noticed in the summer.
Watching the people go about their day it’s clear that life is slowing down and getting ready for the long winter months.
The people will miss the light and warmth that the warmer seasons provide.
There are different sounds in the air and what appears loud in summer suddenly seems muted.
Not sure if this is just my impression – or if sounds really do sound different in autumn – but to me it’s a tangible change that I enjoy.
With the change in the light and sound comes a certain quietness that has a sense of calm.
As the world chooses a lower gear it’s the people around me that grab my attention.
I notice lots of them enjoying the rarer sunny days and making the most of the warmth that soon will seem like a luxury in the harsher climate of the German winter.
Awwww…
