Friday, January 27, 2017

In which we venture to the North Sea, in winter, again.



Last (well, now last last) year, a friend and I spent a wonderful, quiet Christmas on what we dubbed Cozy Christmas Island. In fact, it was so lovely that we decided to do it again this year, only this time on a slightly larger island and with the added company of my parents, who were visiting for the holidays. After much googling, we decided on Amrum, another island in the North Sea and one that neither of us had yet visited. I found a little house for us to rent for a few days, double checked train/ferry schedules to make sure we could get there and back, and that was that. On December 22 we trained north and west to the coast, then continued west on a large, comfortable ferry that took us to our destination. One crowded bus and one questionable, dark, dirt road later, we found our new home. The journey took the majority of the day, not to mention all the daylight hours, and we were ready to retire early that night. Save the exploring for the morning. All that.




The next day was full of last-minute grocery shopping and long walks in the cold wind. Our house wasn't far from the dunes and the southern lighthouse made its way into the majority of my pictures taken there.
 

Walking north brought us to the little town of Nebel (translation: fog or mist), and a walk back down the east coast introduced us to fluffy-maned horses and the Wadden Sea, tide in.





















After warming up a bit, I went out again that evening and made my way to the massive sand beach that is the west coast of the island, reached by a forest path and beautiful boardwalk through the wild and wandering dunes. The wind was blowing something fierce, but I stayed out until the light was almost gone, watching the flying carpet-like sand blowing steadily east and the beam from the lighthouse swinging round and round.









Sunday, January 22, 2017

In which we march.




Here are some scenes from the sister march in Hamburg yesterday, where a few hundred people (far exceeding the turnout expected by the organizers) of all ages, shapes, and sizes turned up to march from the town hall to the U.S. Consulate General (a short walk through downtown and along the lake). It was very peaceful and a police escort accompanied us along the way, stopping traffic briefly to allow us to cross streets and keeping their eyes on us as we held a short vigil in front of the Consulate. The building remained dark, and afterwards the German police officers on duty there came by to ask us to pick up the candles people had left on the fence, reminding us not to litter. 

As we chanted "Love not hate makes America great", it occurred to me that this might be the most patriotic I have ever felt, and how ironic to be thinking that on the first day of this new administration -- one which I fear does not represent or respect me or the majority of my loved ones, which makes me feel embarrassed for my country, and which fills me with a sadness so strong that listening to the news currently carries the risk of dissolving in a heap of emotions. As far as demonstrations go, it was pretty short and sweet, but standing there with fellow Smithies and Fulbrighters and Americans and Germans and so many other people with their own intricate histories and reasons for being there, I felt proud and grateful to be part of the movement of millions marching on that day.


















Wednesday, January 18, 2017

In which we go walking in the winter wonderwoods.



Put on extra layers to go hiking in the Sachsenwald with a friend over the weekend, where we tanked up on fresh air and evening sunlight, built a genial, mossy-faced snowman (dubbed Manfred-José), managed not to topple into any freezing ponds, and were thankful for good hiking boots. I wish I could say that winter in Hamburg is always this beautiful, though of course we appreciate the good weather all the more when it comes in small doses.