Setting NO example

Dear You, 

these two guys are from the Ordnungsamt (public order office - with glee they give you a fine when your car parks 2 minutes too long - sometimes I really watched them waiting!). 

The day when the stronger lock-down measures were imposed by chancellor Merkel on Berlin, ordering among others compulsary masks on certain streets - as for example Ku'damm - Tauentzien and Wittenberg Platz - those two went directly in front of me - without a mask. 

Polite but bluntly I asked them: "Why do you not wear a mask?" They waved at the street sign and said: "Still 10 centimetres to Tauentzien, haha!" 

Well - that is Berlin (impossible in Munich!). 

Still a bit angry (but of course not officially complaining - I am no deputy sheriff), I wondered what you would have done? 

Yours Truly

Britta 

PS: Of course I never say something to civilians who do not wear a mask (though I give them THE LOOK) - only when someone comes too near I say politely: "Please - would you mind to keep a little more distance?" and smile (which you can see around the eyes over the mask). I know that not much air especially under FFP2 masks make people really aggressive... and when you live in Berlin... 

PPS: The Look: 

 

How I outwit myself in Lockdown-times (my resolution no.3)

 
Dear You, 

you wrote that you fear to become a couch potato in these lockdown times, and I can understand that very well. But...

photo by Britta Hügel 

To stay fit you have to eat well. 

I eat each day what Gaylord Hauser called so appropriately "Sunshine Salad". 

I am a big fan of late Mr. Hauser (though "big" might not be the right word 😀) - but also a bit lazy: To cut all these carrots, peppers, courgettes, cucumbers, radishes and "all you can eat"! is Zen, meditative - but also a bit of a nuisance, sometimes. 

"Sometimes" begins around lunchtime. 

So here my lockdown rule number 3: 

I do that in the morning, right after breakfast - because I know myself pretty well:  around lunchtime a mysterious lethargy sets in - I just don't do it! 

So I have to outwit myself. 

I take the marvellous glas bowl (you see: it has a lid!), cut all the vegetables into pieces, put the lid on, back to the fridge (I know that I will lose some vitamins on that short run - but honestly: who wants to be perfect? And better 2/3 of all those vitamins than none at all!) 

So at lunchtime I only have to pick the salad to pieces, add pumpkin seed and feta cheese, and my homemade salad dressing 

(If you want to try it: 1 Tbsp Balsamico vinegar, 1 Tbsp Maple sirup, 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, a little dollop of Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground black pepper, and, if you have, some herbs - lovely - it is the maple sirup that does it...)  And always remember: 

"Vinegar like a scrooge, oil like a squanderer"

Add it 

 - 

"et voilà!" 

Stay healthy, dear friend - and look after yourself! 

Yours Truly, 

Britta   XXX 

"If the Weather Permits..." (My Resolution no. 2 in Lockdown-Time)

photo by Britta Hügel 

Dear You, 

thank you for telling me how you overcome Lockdown-blues by cherishing memories of past journeys!  

My second resolution in Lockdown-time is to stay curious. It is so easy to become bored and, as the radius for walks diminishes, think: "Oh, I know it all... blah...."

No, one doesn't know it all. In Zen they recommend: Look at everything with beginner's eyes. Which of course I cannot. But when I take my camera with me, or try to draw something, I look more attentive. 

And if it rains, I just take a beautiful umbrella, and the world looks friendly again. 

And when I'm not sure IF it might rain - I take this tiny one, not heavier than a bar of chocolate, mere 100 gram.  

So: The weather (almost) ever permits. Give yourself a little push - and go out and walk, even if it  is everyday the same route - try to see what changes. 

Hope to meet you outside! 

Yours Truly 

Britta 

 

 

Imaginary travels in lock-down times:

 

Dear You, 

you might remember this curious "map" which hangs on my kitchen-wall. 

I bought it at "Dussmann", the greatest bookshop in Berlin, Friedrichstraße - a boulevard that seems as far away as London in times of an almost complete lockdown in Berlin... 

That map was "only" a gift wrapping paper which I framed - but I love to sit at the table in front of it, studying the drawings which of course are not true to the scale :-)  

and know that I walked through all (yes: all!) those streets on my month-long stays in London. 

I miss it. 

I miss London, I miss England (and Scotland too). 

Green is the colour of hope, we say in Germany - 

so: it has the right colour. 

You asked me how I cope with being so much alone (as most people are these days). 

In the following days I will write what I do to avoid to not become depressed. The order is of no importance - I just like to start somewhere, so here it is: 

1. safe-bet (for me): 

1. Make a bucket list of places you want to see again. 

Look at your photographs, or your diary, or call to mind what you especially loved. Write about your imaginary trip, draw, dream. 

Be thankful that you had the chance to see it at least once. 

And: - I try to learn taking nothing for granted and  

 be grateful! 

What are you dreaming of, dear friend? Which Fata Morgana runs through your head? And what are your best hints?  

Waiting for your answer 

Yours Truly

Britta 

 

In 

Autumn is Beauty

In autumn I always like to draw a little bit - the colours are so tempting...

BUT: the real thing is better :-) 

Abundance ... or  

Zen-like. 

Always a feast for the eyes!  

Surreal Impressions of Berlin

 

Dear You, 

Here I show you some of the photos I took on my very first ride in Berlin. (I never use photoshop). 

Enjoy my little pleasure trip as much as I did! (Or does that sounds like Hyacinth Bucket - eh, Bouquet - with her Waterside Supper with added Riparian Entertainments...?)

Somewhere I read: "Courage is fear that has said its prayer and decided to go forward anyway." 

Yes - it was a victory over myself - but no need to instantly build a victory column! 

 

I took my courage into both hands...

 

Dear You,

"I conquered my weaker self" - (the Germans are are bit more drastic - "I conquered my inner Schweinehund - "swine & dog")

My weaker self did not want to bicycle! You know, I did it (under protest and very wobbly) in the Netherlands. And decided: After so many years of abstinence - why now? Now there is a real risk - especially in Berlin. 

Then I went into my cellar. There it stood: my "new" (because I never used it) Kettler-bike. The proverbial quality of German workmanship. Almost as old as my son, who now became 37. 

The owner of a typical Berlin-Bike-Shop said: 

"Wonderful! Wow! I have fans who would buy it instantly!" 

He is a good guy. He could have talked me easily around buying a new one - I would have believed him. Or at least he could have sold me new tyres. But no: he just checked the bike through. "Everything utterly ok!" 

No wonder that the company Kettler, the manufacturer of this bike, went bankrupt - which reminds me of the movie "The Man in the White Suit" with Alec Guiness. 

But I was so pleased! Bought a bicycle basket and two bike locks from him. You need them in Berlin as I cannot carry the bike over the very steep basement stairs - THAT would be REALLY DANGEROUS! So it stands in the Hinterhof, the backyard. 

And I use it - hurray! (TBC)