Wishful Thinking

I took better photographs of the big starfish I found in Noordwijk, Netherlands.
But I cannot find this photo at the moment - the only choice now is between NOT to write this post or use this not so perfect photo.
Reality versus perfectionism.
Sign of beginning wisdom that I let realism win?

Why "Wishful Thinking"?
Well: about two weeks ago, walking at the shore of the North Sea in Holland, I thought:
"I want to find a seahorse."
(It is always good to aim for something high: genus hippocampus is nowadays so rare in the North Sea, that a few years ago the fisherman Manfred Sophra in St. Peter Ording (Germany) who found a litte seahorse among the caught fishes and crabbs, brought it instantly to a breeding farm).
Yet I wished.
And No - I did not find one.
But I found something else (though took it not with me): a starfish.
When I showed the photos to Wietske, who is in Berlin my Dutch "tandem" and friend, she said: "I NEVER found a starfish, NEVER."
I did. Expecting something extraordinary sometimes help. (Advice: Never be too specific if you are looking for something - all women know that: if you err through a department store in search of the cobalt blue blouse, you will find lots of pink, white and green ones --- but cobalt blue? Sorry..).

I love this little story about starfish:

A young man and his friend walked along the sea, and on the shore they saw many many starfish after a storm, still living. 
The young man bent down, threw a starfish back into the sea, bent down again, threw another one back into the sea - until his friend asked:" What are you doing?" 
"I throw them back to the sea, so they can live." 
"But", said his friend, "look at the shore: there are hundreds and hundreds on it! Honestly: it will not make any difference if you throw a few ones back to the sea!" 
"To this one it does!"  answered the young man and threw another one back. 

Arthur & Claire

Now I am well again - a little feeble maybe after being sick from undercooling, as the blossom of this magnolia, but underneath I am still "steel".
I lost two kilogram and weigh now 59,4 kg - not so much for my 1.78m.
But one visit to the Netherlands will change that again... :-)

The film "Arthur & Claire", with Josef Hader and Hannah Hoekstra was a very funny, black comedy (nowadays they would call it "bitter-sweet") - two suicidal persons spending a night in Amsterdam.

"Do you always invade in someone else's room? Do you Germans still do that?" cries the young Dutch Hannah outraged, when Arthur enters her hotel room to hinder her to swallow an overdose of lethal pills.
"No idea", he replies, "I am Austrian."
"Even worse", she replies.

or:

When she asks him why he choose the Netherlands and not Switzerland as country for legal assisted suicide, he replies:

"By no means I would die in Switzerland. There you will not even realize that you are dead."

Mmmmh, mmmhhh, mmmh. May be I should eat a cream tart to gain weight and glee. mirth and cheerfulness again?

But honestly: the movie was great!

Horror trip with train(s)

We have here minus 12° (or, as they describe it nowadays on the Weather App: "feels like minus 17°).

Can you imagine that at these temperatures the Netherland and the German Trains broke down on Tuesday. 1. March, (I came from Amsterdam) - a breakdown of energy - so we had to leave the train in Amersfoort, and stood there - hundreds of people! - for over an hour in the biting cold - without shelter, without information, and all they said was "There will some busses come to take you to Bad Bentheim".
The people: very civilized - the busses came not quickly one after the other, yet almost nobody pushed in rudely.
The busses brought us to - Apeldoorn. Out again.
Then a small train to Hengelo.
From there busses to Bad Bentheim - Germany. The only official person there saw us - and buggered off!! No waiting room for us, no toilets, no informations -  but half an hour icy wind.
Then came out of Nowhere a little train. Someone said: "Those who want to go to Berlin should leave in Rheine - a slow train will bring you from there to Hannover, and from there you can go by taxi to Berlin." 
The distance between Hannover and Berlin is 286 kilometers.
And I said: "Oh no. I will not leave in Rheine. I go to Osnabrück and take a hotel there."
The others left the little train obediently in Rheine, I clung to my seat.
In Osnabrück it was weird: a station like a Hopper-painture - and a small empty glass-box in dark colours: the Information-Point.
I pushed the glass door. It opened! 
Behind a desk hid a little man.
"Do you see any chance to go to Berlin tonight?" I asked him (more a rhetorical question, to be honest).
"Nah!", he said, and scrolled listlessly through his computer.
Then - after a pause - he exclaimed:

"I can't believe it. Never ever before has an ICE stopped in Löhne (40.000 inhabitants!) - but now one will. Take a little train to Löhne, you will catch it." 

To cut a long story short: I did! Arrived in Berlin a quarter after midnight at the main station.
That was my very private "Miracle of Löhne".

PS: The ones in the slow train could not catch the ICE when it stopped in Hannover.

PPS: Although there were many, many trains affected by the breakdown of energy - in the Netherlands and in Germany - there was not one word in the newspaper about it. Which I think very, very strange...

Use Your Eyes!

Berlin has a lot of cinemas - and I am so happy: I have a subscription that allowes me to visit all 12 Yorck Kinos (the photo you see above is one of the smaller 6 cinema halls of the newly built delphilux - smaller hall used to show films in the original English version) -  and a whole year long I can watch every film as often as I want.
(Come to think of it: I could almost give up my appartment... and the seats are very comfortable  :-)
I counted: this week just the Yorck cinemas offer 98 films - though of course in some cinemas they show the same films. (And if you find nothing that might please you: there are so many, many other cinemas in Berlin).
On Sunday, when I was in dire need of a pause, I watched "The Dark Hour" about Winston Churchill.
I was very moved - and learned more by watching than I had learned at school.
Although I read at the moment further "The Churchill Factor. How One Man Made History" by Boris Johnson, it was the fim that reached my heart.
Which was, of course, their intention.
 Well done!

Hurrah! Juchhu!

I am so happy: everthing was fine! 

And now I feel as if I have wings again - 

and there is so much time to choose from 

(or so it seems at the given moment - but you know me by now :-) 

Balance

Only a few words, as I am occupied, having verbal exam on Monday - in Dutch...
Our seminar starts at 8:30 - yes: in the MORNING! - and over the term I witnessed the sun rising earlier and earlier. As I  ("I'll follow the sun" :-)
A few days ago something was different.
The wooden sculpture of a fox stands there. 
Well-chosen for the aim of an university.
Wich reminded me of my old blog-titel - I frickled it into my header by now, to remind us all that we are both: "Witty and Pretty".

The Last Weeks...

                                     

... were filled with learning: Dutch grammar, Dutch vocabulary, Dutch newspapers and Dutch books. 

(And the after pains of the flu). 

Today at the university we did our written exam, the verbal will follow next week. 

So: 

there was no time for ironing! 

Worse: 

there was no time for creativity! The gouache colours for my birthday (end of December): still not touched! 

But soon life will start to become vibrant and colourful and exotic (and more orderly - that is what I call serenity..) 

again. 

I feel it. 

Better!

Seems that I am over the flu.
I start feeling much better, have no longer fever. Have lost a few pounds - which was NOT necessary and makes me still a bit feeble - but I can think again, the muddiness in my head is blown away.
I still feel weak - but I no longer feel stuck.
I see improvements, and have a lot of plans. I "only" need patience.

So, I'm happy again!  

I Believe in What I See

I always knew: HE REALLY EXISTS! 

Admitted: he works under a few aliases - in the Netherlands he calls himself SINTERKLAAS, and as a man with a full agenda he visits the children earlier than in Germany or Great Britain.
Netherlanders will not tire to tell you about their historical influence in America - think of Niuew Amsterdam (later changed to New York) - and so you will easily see the metamorphosis from Sinterklaas to SANTA CLAUS.

In the Netherlands he arrives at December 5th, and he comes in a steamship from Spain - in pakjesboat 12.
His companion is de ZWARTE PIET (the Black Peter) - and in our hyper-politically-correct time poor Piet (being black and stereotyped) has a lot of hostilities to endure. He tries to convince his adversaries that he is only black because he comes through the chimney, and only all that soot, this fine particulaired matter, is blackening his face, but a lot of grown-ups shout: "Don't pull that black wool over our eyes!" The Mayor of Dordrecht, where Sinterklaas' boat landed this year, manly forbade a demonstration against Piet.
(Nothing new under the sun: in Delft (Netherlands) in 16th century all Sinterklaas-festivities were prohibited. But then, in 19th century, the man in the red cloak with those cute silky white long curls was everywhere accepted, and utterly loved by the children).

My childlike soul still believes in decency, trustworthiness and uprightness.
And in love.

And so it is no surprise that I saw HIM:
Sinterklaas walked through the heavy snow that fell on the Netherlands (as in England).
Walked towards the North Sea to his ship.
And: He was alone.
I could not see de Zwarte Piet.

But then, admidst the heavy snowflakes, a second person materialized - and I understood: SINTERKLAAS, the saintly and sly old fox was so much smarter than his adversaries!!!

Look -- yes! -- trust your eyes: his new political absolutely correct companion is ---

                                                               A WOMAN! 

(Ok, Ok - I see that he is also a faithful man: there is a black person in front of him - and yes: it might be de Zwarte Piet...) 

Dear Bloggers, whereever you are in the world: 

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Yours, Britta                     PS: Believe me - wonders do happen! 

How to Catch a Dutch Owl (so necessary in December)

Dear You, 

for me one of the most fascinating aspects of learning a new language is that it allows me glimpses into the character and poetic heart of another nation and culture.
The idioms, the proverbs, the sayings - daily life dances in new clothes!

So I learned a lot Dutch expressions for "THE NAP". (An endangered pleasure...)
Of course you can use the common word: "een dutje" - BUT: how much more vivid and colourful is the older phrase: "een uiltje knappen" - and though the experts quarrel about the first meaning (maybe something with catching a "butterfly"), there is no denying that "uiltje" is the owl that the exhausted man or woman is trying to catch... feathery...soft...tiny...and evasive...
There are many more ways to say (or hide) how you will spent your time after lunch -
but even my Dutch docent was flabbergasted when I served her my finest find:

"Ik ga een Engelse brief schrijven"
- isn't that a very genteel way to hide the truth of napping?

To write an ENGLISH letter (or better: write a letter in English)
is evidenty such a difficult affair

that absolutely nobody should dare to disturb your concentration!

Z...
          zz .. 
                                ZZZZ...

ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZxxxZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  

Bungee-jumping at the FU Berlin?

I agree.
This building looks as crazy (and funny) as my newest project. It is a building on the campus of the FU Berlin. Where I study now:
yes - since October I study at the Freie Universität Berlin.

"What?", you may ask, "what???"

I hope you ask what is the subject of my studies.
It is the philology & languange I think so very cute, surprising, powerful, studded with humour - and very, very sexy. I am speaking of Niederlandistik.
I love, love, love it.
3 times a week (and very early too) I learn to pronounce the "cchhh" and all the other interesting sounds, fricatives and spirants - and that, Dear You, is only the tip of the iceberg - I have to learn many many hours, and you see me mumbling Dutch words in the subway ("Ja hoor" - I use every occasion to practise).

As much as I love (and laugh with) Virginia Ironside, I disagree with her in one point (when she writes in "No! I Don't Want to Join a Bookclub"):

"But it is too late!" I argued. "That's what's so great about being old. You no longer have to think about going to university, or go bungee-jumping! It's a huge release! I've been feeling guilty about not learning another language for most of my adult life. At last I find that now, being old, I don't have to! There aren't enough years left to speak it. It'd be pointless."

She is 59 when she writes that.
C'mon!!!
I might agree with her on bungee-jumping (though last Sunday I danced together with other models for two hours over the catwalk; will tell you soon) -
but learning a new language is pure bliss!

A whole new world is opening up!

Travelling for almost one and a half month,

... but I do not want to bore you, so just follow me on a little photo-tour!

1. The Narrow-Boat-Tour in England,

         ... beautiful and with a lot of exhausting locks:

                  Big fun with many international good friends,
                                                      and culture as in Cambridge and York:

                       ...and breathtaking landscapes:

 

2. Then from a cottage in the Peak District: 

                        Wonderful trips to gardens, castles and parks,

                           ... and an Edwardian Opera House in Buxton:

3. Then visiting the beautiful Netherlands:

4. Followed by the Book Fair in Frankfurt:

5. and a visit to Darmstadt:

6. and the Allgäu:

Now I am home again in Berlin -
and will tell you of my new adventures soon!