Friesland calling

A couple of weeks ago I was walking these silky sands in Friesland,in the north of Holland. We took the Catamaran transportation to one of those beautiful Islands out from the Dutch coastline. This area, " The Dutch Wadden Sea Islands",including five different islands, belongs to Worldheritage. Our visit focused on Terschelling, where we took part in a yearly organized Theatre festival called "Oerol". The whole Island turns into a big art experience during this period and the groups of culture enthoustistic visitors can pop into different locations with their bikes. The Nature is so beautiful and the beaches are comforting big, feeling of freedom is dominant. Even it is a big happening, there is no feeling of oversized masses of party people. The cultural happenings are spread all over the Island, many of them in the middle of the the woods, fields or dunes. The Nature seems to have its own voice and the Theatre plays are composed in harmony with this powerful element. A big part of the Island's Nature is protected and there are no architectural monsters destroying the feeling of pure nature. The built and natural history of the island seems to be in good balance.

I was doing this first time journey in this Festival with my husband and with our two friends. We were on our bikes most of the time between drinks, theatre, concerts and meals by the sea. And because of the speed of the cycling, I did not take as many pictures as I would have liked to. I was the only photo person in our group...I had to be flexible. But I fell in love with the beauty of Terschelling and will come back to one of these Islands again and take some more time for pictures too. 

We went to see an interesting Theatre play in the dunes called "Wind still life" and I think it is still inspiring me. Before joining this performance we had to leave our telephones, cameras and other belongings behind. We listened to this theatrically spoken essay over the time and how we sense it and use it as human beings in this bigger context of natural world. It was magical, we walked over the dunes with the headphones on in silence. On the path we could find signs with numbers, we had to stop to the number symbolizing our age. So the path was marked with us, individuals with variety of ages. We heard about the relativity Theory of Einstein and other philosophies from the same period of history, also some personal sounding experiences from the actors. The time has a different meaning to different living creatures and the life span is individual for everyone. And actually how all that time is stored in your minds as memories. Recalling those visions and happenings we are still somehow there, like all time we lived is always part of us and still present. It is comforting to think, we are the time and there is not just measured time, the life is a forever continuing movement. Nothing will stay as it was, everything is changing all the time.

Street performance - dancers in action

"Zo als het is, blijft het niet" (Nothing stays as it was)The location of the "Wind still life" performance.

Reflecting ball was used to reflect visually the landscape and happenings in there via small hole in a big closed cube, where we were closed for a small period of time during the play. Visually and mentally interesting solutions :-)

The whole experience made me a bit poetic and I will continue from here with this mood, combining the pictures with my texts.

There is no one journey, instead of that many possible ones, crossed, separate and together melted paths. The unique chaos of silent dreams, the visible choices and all shaking moments - the good ones and the bad and the sad. A jungle of journeys during the given time.

Like walking in no man's land, taking off those daily shoes, leaving the weight of them behind. We can be ready for the refreshing sensations and views of the present moment. The sand is so perfect and the windy master artist shaped it so well. I don't want to break the silence of this composition. I know the wind is fast and my marks are wiped away very soon. The relief falls into my heart, I do not want to take the same steps back, I want to find new perspectives and accept the firm kiss of the wind.

The time is a modern totem for us. Impulses of the digital seconds and moving pointers of a clock, how we are used to be organized by measuring the day and dealing it into periods.. like minutes and hours and the fast passing seconds. And in the end, the best measurement of a moment is the rhytmn of our own breathing. The better we use it, the better we can enjoy the moment and use our whole capacity.


Breathing in and out

Cycling along the coast line. 

The harbor of South Terschelling

Decorative looking nets from a Fisher boat.

The Brandaris lighthouse in Terschelling - the oldest lighthouse in Netherlands (from 1323)

Breathing the freedom of Summer!! 

Wishing you wonderful moments :-) Erja

Seaside spa

The best place to have a face treatment is a windy beach at the Atlantic coastline of the Netherlands. You do not need a special spa day: the moist and salty air, the hard blowing wind and the flying sand will do the trick. If not a professional way to get a smooth and pink cheeks, at least a healthy way to air your mind and to feel, smell and hear the power of the Nature. 

I had it both ways last weekend: first a gentle morning at the hotel beauty centre taking care of myself and enjoying the treatments. Something that I do not normally do, but should do more often. I was  alone and followed my own rhythm of relaxation, did not have to talk to anyone. Even I had a plan of planning some practical things for the next week...I did not hardly do anything. I am proud of that and felt not quilty, just took my laptop with me for no reason :-). The second part of my spa stay...walking at the beach was the best. The wind kissed my skin with sudden attacks and I fought my way through the sand to have my glass of wine at the beach restaurant and enjoyed the beautiful light and views.

The place I went is called Egmond aan Zee. It is not the prettiest beach I have been so far in Holland, but the area is worth to visit and if you walk a little bit further at the beach you do not have to see the ugly architecture. The village is located very near to the sea, just behind the dunes and you can just walk from the main shopping street directly to the sandy beach . It is an easy location for tourists. I used to live for many years in Germany and during my visit the main language I heard was german. I can speak dutch, but it was funny how the people working in the restaurants started to speak german to me, because of my foreign accent. 

After a good night sleep at the hotel, I had a nice morning walk. The night was very windy and I even woke up in the middle of the night, because the noise of the sea was so powerful. On my walk I saw the fresh marks of the night waves, which reached much further along the sand in the dark hours. The old lighthouse is standing in the middle of the village, giving a nice character to the views. 

Small houses side by side at the beach. Some people have summer houses like this in Holland.

The wind is making nice music when moving the masts of the small sailing boats. I love that sound!

The seaview from the dunes. I am standing beside the lighthouse here.

Sometimes is good to be alone and find back to your basic self. To think, watch and listen without any interruptions, demands and routines. To find a place even for a short time to just relax and find the ways and the motivations to make some small changes that will help you to feel better in every day life. I made a little mind map collage during my weekend journey. I wrote down the things that I love to do, would like to do and develop and will use this as a guideline to plan my weeks better. This makes it possible for me to do the things that I would like to do and find even a small spot from my days to focus on. I am a dreamer, so a little bit of planning is always good for me.

Today will be a sunny day and one of the rare warmer days this spring time. I will go and enjoy that!! I know some of my friends are having hard time in Finland now, because there was snow again. I will send my warm greetings to the North and let's hope the warmt will spread all over. Happy weekend!

a Walk in the woods

Some places, smells, sounds and textures are bringing so many memories from the past. I got this familiar feeling suddenly in the East of Holland (Overijssel) when we had a walk in the woods. I was surprised how this part of Holland near Holten can be a bit hilly too. Also the variation of pine trees brought me back to my childhood landscapes in Finland. I even noticed one house on our way was called "Kalevala", a very well known national epic book of Finland. Maybe some finn moved to these woods in Holland, surrounded by the little vibe or nordic type of nature.

We had a walk in the National park of the "Sallandse heuvelrug", which is one of the biggest continuous heathland areas in Europe.

It is good to walk in the nature. The nature parks and protected areas have beautiful marked routes to follow.

Every year this miracle - so beautiful growth of green.

We had a nice lunch in a small restaurant with a this natural view. The east part of Holland is very beautiful and the countryside is wonderful for cycling trips. There are very many bed and breakfast places and also camping is popular. So instead of heading to the coastline of Holland and visiting just Amsterdam, a visit to the rural part of Netherlands is very interesting. 

I will write more stories again! My spring time has been full of other activities and the cold weather type this year did not inspire me so much. I am positive that the directions of wind will change soon and blow all the grey clouds away :-). I wish you a good spring time !

Spring boost :)

I need the spring so badly this year and finally I can announce: the spring has arrived. The darkest end of the winter is gone and there is enough of sunshine at least this week, to boost the spring time even more !! We have many blossoms, the trees are getting green, the boat traffic is slowly starting by the canals and the birds are waking me up in the morning.

But before going too much into details at the moment, I want to just show you a few pictures from Lisbon where I went for a weekend in the start of March. This was me a very nice kick towards to the season I love. It must be also partly because I was born in the spring time, that the spring feels like home to me. In Portugal I was fascinated of the architecture and the old textures of the streets and the houses. The hilly landscape was a sporty challenge, but the more hills there are - the bigger are the views. I really much enjoyed being outside this time and we visited only one museum, so there will be plenty to see when I go next time. I am sure I will, with some cities you just feel you have a connection...and I definitely feel I have a it Lisbon! It is amazing how many old historical houses are still there, even the enigmatic earthquake in 1755 was destroying big parts of Lisbon.

I just let the pictures speak of themselves. Like when I was in Portugal: I just enjoyed the life and the views as they were. I did not need any details this time, the freedom of mind was the main thing.

Textures and colors were amazing.

Narrow streets on the way to the Castelo de Sao Jorge.

A Catholic church in the centre of Lisbon.

There is many old people still living along the narrow streets. This picture was a photo exhibition on the street, but I saw a bit similar moments on my way.

The wall of the castle. A great spot for city views.

You can walk on top of the walls of the Castle and admire to views in every direction.

Modern architecture spicing up the view :)

When it still was very chilly in Holland, it was just nice to see these citrus trees in Lisbon. 

The old trams climbing up the steep streets.

The famous tram line 28. A roller coaster journey is waiting for you.

Convento do Carmo - the ruins of a Gothic convent. 

Praca do Comercio, the famous square in the centre - the heart of Lisbon.

These following pictures are from Holland. We drove to the beach of Noordwijk on last Sunday to have lunch. I like to visit different beaches and see the countryside views on the way. In early spring you find easily free spots for a little sun bath or a relaxed coffee moment. 

The children are always the bravest ones, taking off their shoes and even wanting to go swimming. I had to say no this time, the chilly wind was strong and there will be time for long beach days. 

This morning my very good friend from Finland sended me a message that her dog just passed away. We only see each other lately maybe maximal two times a year. I know how important this dog was for her and I felt the connection, how she wanted to tell me about this. No matter how rare we see each other, I felt a strong compassion and understanding. And I know if some very dramatic, sad or happy things are happening in my life, she will be the first one I will contact. And the best news are, she is coming to visit me in this spring. With a good friend you can have a safe journey, even the road can be a rocky one! 

I have noticed that the year of 2017 seems to be a special one for me. I have a feeling of reconnection and friendship with many people from my past. At the same time I think I am making new friends and appreciate it more than ever before. Some experiences in life just teach you how important it is to stick with those people who give you the good energy, who believe in you and trust you. I have always been a bit of a lonely wolf, not needed too much action or people around me. But the older I get, the more I understand how important it is to work on to be more attentive and let your energy to glow for others and get the same flow of positivity back.

I hope I could boost your day a bit :) I wish a wonderful spring time for everyone! I will go out and take some nature pictures now, to show you some colours of spring during the next days!