Berlin to Bergen

Been back for almost a week now - long enough to know that the honeymoon is over, but not long enough to be over the jet lag nor to have finished tackling the giant pile of laundry!

In a month filled with daily paradigm shifts, its hard to distill the experience into bite sized chunks. But I guess my not-so-short list of highlights include:






















Firstly, whilst in Berlin...

Potato dumplings the size of tennis balls at the Alte Fritz Kartoffelhaus.

The subtle but exquisite Martin Gropius Bau and the Richard Avedon exhibition contained within.

















Ampelmann, amplemann, ampelmann (the East German pedestrian stop and go symbols). I (heart) amplemann.

The Jeff Koons exhibit at the Neue National Gallerie (and the freebie Blue Flower Balloon around the corner at Potsdamer Platz)






















Marvelling that a 6 pack of beer was cheaper than a 6 pack of water at the supermarket.

Seeing Eis bears (Knut!), Pandas and Flamingos all for the first time in one day (my head nearly exploded)

Snaffling the last Comme des Garcon wool jacket in the bedlam at H&M (much to the dismay of several other shoppers).

Walking, walking and more walking around Berlin's broad and stately streets.

The consumption of many berliners

(Ein Pfannkuchen wenden Sie sich bitte!)

















German MTV (and subsequently addiction to Deichkind's "Arbeit Nervt")

Tracing the scar of that infamous wall with our feet, only barely being able to comprehend its impact. Astounded that the "wall" is just one of many epoch defining moments in the city's incredible history.

















Playing with particles at the "Welt Machine" - an interactive exhibit about the building of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

(Nothing like observing an animated discussion about sub-atomic physics between a cute German physicist and my husband to get me all steamed up). Now that's my idea of a threesome.

















Overhearing a tour guide saying Berlin is the greatest city on earth, and quietly agreeing with him.

Then on to Copenhagen...

















Smushi at the Royal Cafe (a cross between traditional Danish smørrebrød and sushi).

The fish that got away (AKA the most wonderful pair of bright blue, knee high leather boots). Alas, not to be.

Shop after shop of to die for fashion, furniture and homewares, some more interestingly named than others.

















Being given shit for asking for orange juice with my steak by the Muscle Mary barman at a local pub in Denmark. Fair enough.

The BEST florist shops I have ever seen - Their sheer ingenuity (when winter makes fresh flowers prohibitively expensive or just plain unavailable)

Finding the Aladdin's cave of haberdashery among the tiny cobbled streets.






















And finally, when in Norway, and the picturesque town of Bergen...















Snow, snow and more snow on our arrival.
















Eating ice crystals. I love snow.

Sun, snow and sea.

















Sparklers in the snow on Sotra Island.















Tandem sledding down the hill beside the house. Very romantic (in a scary, squeally kind of way). Did I mention that I love snow?















Bergen op-shops (oh to have a suitcase big enough for all the great stuff we found).

So many shops filled with exquisite Norwegian handicrafts. No 'Made in China' here thanks.

















Glow-in-the-dark frisbee with Darcy in the snow and the inevitable snowball fight.















Snowman hate crimes.

















Following deer tracks in the snow, taken aback by the stillness and ghostliness of the forest that quickly encompassed me.

















Refraining (only just) from asking the MIL to sell all our stuff and put the animals on a plane. The Weebl's got it wrong (no offense Kenya), but Norway is the best place on earth.

(And apparently it's even better in summer)

Livin' on the (selv) edge

I have been dutifully collecting the registration prints from the selvedges of fabric over the last year or so. I don't have much.

I don't buy lots of fabric - I tend to leech it of others and purchase miniscule bits that are already on sale (I am the poxy customer hunched over the scrap basket trawling for gold). And they are ever so small - so this was only ever going to be a small scale project.

But I just adore them. Sometimes I pull out my wee stash out and just look at it lovingly. Quite possibly it's the rainbow thing.

I had revolutionary plans for these little bits, and thought I was being oh so VERY original. But then I discovered, as you usually do (there is no such thing as original thought - thank you Aristotle) that someone else has been there and truly done that. Far more up scale and amazing than anything I was planning. Phooey.

Never mind. I'm happy to stand on the shoulders of giants. It's a great view.

Rainbows and Unicorn chasing

The good news is I haven't been to work in over a week. Yay!

So why haven't I been posting every 5 minutes?

The bad news is I have RSI of my right arm.






















So no cutting, crafting, cooking, cleaning or computing (accept perhaps for maybe a 5 minute session once a day - consisting of pathetic left-handed mousing and painfully slow one finger typing). This missive is in fact brought to you courtesy of several days of strained and dogmatic attempts to post.















I can't surf the net, hold a book or even hold a pen. And yoga is only to be undertaken within very strict parameters.

I certainly didn't appreciate how much I would yearn for something as simple as downward dog. And how my heart almost broke when class this morning finished off with handstands (while I lay in a sad puddle on the floor).
















I am sick of watching TV and being house bound (oh yes - no driving either). Even supposedly "low impact" walking can be quite painful as every jolt seems zero in on my inflamed joints.

So blah blah blah - woe is me.














Feeling more than a little glum (and just a tad bored) last week I was reminded of the concept of unicorn chasing. I haven't googled it - but the premise as explained to me by my bestest beloved is that whenever you see or read something awful - the need to replace this ugliness in your mind's eye with something pleasant or cute is known as "unicorn chasing". So for example, after reading a news post about war atrocities one might recover by having a quick perusal of the Cute Overload archives. Or doing an image search for Unicorns (if that's your thing) - hence the name.

















Well in dire need of supplanting the idea of being out of action (or at considerably reduced capacity) for some time, and the usual kitten /puppy route not antidote enough - I thought instead of the serendipitous joy of finding a random rainbow amongst the flotsam and jetsam of everyday objects.


The refraction of light off a glass. A cluster of shiny colouring pencils. A stash of fabrics assorted by colour. Showers of rain coupled with sunshine haven't cornered the market on spontaneous gratification as far as I am concerned.

I love rainbows. How could you not?




I am sure, in the great encyclopaedia of life, its listed under the entry "to be human".


I recall a moment in high school - whilst rehearsing for our production of the Wizard of Oz.

The stage crew were assembling the set whilst around was general mayhem. School bags, scripts and instruments strewn from one end of the Alexander theater to the other. The cacophany of students, outnumbered teachers trying in vain to quell the storm. All reduced to a silent awe as the 20 meter silk rainbow was lifted to the apex of the stage.

Mesmerised. Speechless.


Pretty powerful stuff.


If I can't go back to my current job, I am seriously considering the possibility of Unicorn Chasing as career.