On "Green grass" and fences, and thumbscrews

Yesterday we all didn't feel so well - but in the late afternoon I took a brisk walk through the neighbourhood, and saw with delight that the lambs had grown, and all sheep enjoyed the pasture. 

The goat stood and watched her goatling 

which proved once again: 

"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence!"

PS: I just wanted to test whether I am now able again to put my own photos (and I always use my own photos) onto this blog. That wasn't possible for three days because Google decided to force me to buy 100 GB for keeping my photos in their cloud. Some time before I had refused, and it worked - but now they decided to put their screws on me. 

And they won. 

A Frog Who Turns into a Prince?

 

The triplets are now three and 8 month. We read a lot to them. They do not watch TV. 

I bought a simple little wooden theatre: you put huge sheets with pictures into the slot which in this photo shows the red curtain - and then I tell the story - with many comments from the audience. 

The audience was taught to behave: they show their little entrance card, sit in a row in front of the theatre, and applaud loudly before the curtain raises. 

A fairy tale as "The Frog King" is a bit diluted by the makers of the sheets - but "Nana" (that's me) does NOT let out the part of the King: "What you have promised, that you have to keep!" 

Interesting: little children, though oh so sweet, can be quite cruel: the threesome cries out loudly that they think it utterly right that the princess throws the ugly frog against the wall when he insists on climbing into their little bed... "But the princess promised..." 

Raucuous laughter: "We would throw him with gusto at the wall, yes, we would!!!" 

Come to think of it: good so. A very clear attitude, no rotten compromise. :-)   

And this was the greatest surprise in "Flowers Forever": "Calyx" by Rebecca Louise Law

 

Do you remember the feeling when, as a child, you slipped into a pergola, an arbour, feeling hidden, protected, invisible and surrounded by many interesting smells? 

I saw so many happy faces in the huge room which felt just like that: a pergola made of thousands of dried flowers which hung from the ceiling, the special smell of dried roses lingered above all, a smell that said "gone",  "romantic" and "lost". 

Here the text of the Kunsthalle Munich: 

       Calyx 

The British artist Rebecca Louise Law (...) made this installation of dried flowers. Together with many volunteers she dried and wired together far more than 100.000 flowers which would otherwise have been thrown away.  ...

Two aspects are the center of Rebecca Louise Law's artistic work: the conscious and sustainable use of natural resources and engaging people from a wide variety of backgrounds to create something together. 

 

The exhibition "Flowers Forever" in Munich swept me from my feet (almost literally)

 

 One week after Bremen I went to Munich - which, being already in Bavaria, takes me only two hours by train. 

I love Munich so much - and thus I went, because I just had decided to be more wild and spontaneous - and therefore the Gods rewarded me royally: 

On an advertising pillar I discovered the poster for the exhibition "Flowers Forever" - and whisper "Flowers!" into my ear and you will see me flourish even after a long strenuous day! 

I rushed over the Viktualien Markt, crossed the place in front of the Rathaus and "Woosh" - flashed into the exhibition. 

I walked through it as if I was in another world - so happy, so glad. I took so many photographs that I could feed you with them till Christmas - every day from now on. 

So many exhibits enchanted or fascinated me. 

Some were overwhelmingly luxurious, some brilliantly crafted, and some made all your senses jubilate. 

And some were a surprise. As the following one: 

When I entered a room I thought that I saw a collection of flower drawings - but no, it was something very different: 

And now, dear reader, I hope that you are so curious --- that I can lure you (look at the first photo of this post) at least once to my flower-blog: https://blumenundgarten.blogspot.com/ 

Happy Easter!

                                 Happy Easter to all of you! 

Since two days I'm back to pastoral life in Bavaria (after 6 days in teeming Berlin). I was greeted like a pop-star: the triplets stood on platform One (there is only one, but with Teutonic thoroughness it bears a  signpost) 

You remember the shrieking of teenage girls when the Beatles appeared somewhere? Well - my own fan club (by now three years and 8 month old) stood there in a variation on pink and filled the air with so loud joy in the exact Beatle Britta-mania that the whole village sighed: "Oh - SHE is back!" 

The Landfrauen (equivalent to Women's Institutes) have decorated the village water well - first time since the pandemic that they could do it in the traditional way.                         

PS: Involuntarily I organised my own search for the "golden" Easter bunny that I bought yesterday: before the triplets came to paint Easter eggs for their parents, (first time in their life - thrilling! secret! surprise! -  and I am very interested if they - three! - can keep that secret till today) I had put my Easter bunny away so that they could not get at it, "Set Boundaries, Find Peace" recommends a book - well: at least keep your bunny  :-)  and then, this morning, when it should festively glimmer under a little forsythia bunch on my solitary breakfast table - heck! - I cannot find it! 

Hahaha - so I have to leave you for a while ...rumble...mumble...rustle...

  

The Parkhotel in Bremen, Germany - and "The Power of Intention" :-)

I promised Helen to post a few more photos from the Parkhotel in Bremen where I stayed for 4 days. 

(I had only my cellphone, thus the photos are not utterly perfect, sorry). 

This photo I copied from Wikipedia: 

The Parkhotel has Five Stars and is a Hommage Luxury hotel (sadly I had to pay the full price because at the same time there was a congress). 

It is situated in the Bürgerpark, (that was founded around 1860). In 1872/73 there was "only" a Festhalle: 

then the Parkhotel was built in 1912/13 after plans of the architect Rudolf Jacobs - as Wiki says: a royal manor house in neo-baroque style. 

It was destroyed in World War II, and rebuilt in 1954 - 1956, when they added East- and Westwings.  

The dome had survived the airstrike, and they lifted it 1,40 m higher, and the whole building was enlarged from 65m to 100m. 

Here you see a glimpse from the little balcony of the hotel room: 

The Hollersee - a lake - is surrounded by massive Rhododendron bushes, which are so high that as a child I often played in them: 

The Free Hanseatic city of Bremen is my Home city, and when I went to grammar school (an academic high school - I am never quite sure how the German "Gymnasium" is called in Great Britain or America - there you make the "Abitur" - an exam that is necessary to study at an university), I passed the Parkhotel every school day and thought: "I want to stay there once!" 

The Power of Intention  :-) - I even stayed there twice (first time we were upgraded to the suite in the dome, which was shere bliss). 

Today I read in Wiki who stayed there too: 

 Michael Jackson, Bud Spencer, Sven Regener, (...) Robbie Williams, Siegfried & Roy, Herbert Grönemeyer and others, as the Swedish national footballteam in 2006. .

The first time I was there they still had imposant doormen - two respectable ponderous gentlemen with red long coats with silver buttons, a black tophat and - in Bremen, which has London weather - very useful: huge English umbrellas to lead you dry over the outside flight of stairs. 

Now they are no longer there. 

But the rooms still are luxurious - and the taps are still British: one for cold, one for hot water. 

Beautiful furniture 

and impressing lamps with the mythical creature (which I collect with my camera): Pegasus, the Winged Horse. 

Luxury at its best, space, kindness and - a special bonus for Bremen: 4 days of sunshine!  

I will remember all this very gratefully - and send a long longing glance (here you see its back) to the Parkhotel: 

 this one by GJ

 

 

Snippet: "Serve Yourself Well"

 

In the book "365 Health And Happiness Boosters" by M.J.Ryan she asks: 

"Have you ever had truly gracious service from a waiter? (...) What if you treated yourself just as well right now? What if you gently required if there was anything you needed and then quickly went off to get whatever was required?"

Well, I had this service for three splendid days in the Park Hotel in Bremen. 

Such a lovely stay - they even served 3 days full of sunshine, which is VERY unusual for my dear northern home city Bremen. 

I felt pampered and really happy. 

And when coming back into pastorale Bavaria having a lot of digital trouble with the Bundesbahn (German railway) and I went so nuts that for a moment I couldn't remember my password for my email-account (I use it every day!), I suddenly thought of Mrs Ryans' question and asked myself what would help me in this (mini) crisis at once? 

Instantly I got the answer: "A nice cuppa tea - and please: not the usual elegant Darjeeling but a strong brick-red English tea with lumps of sugar and milk in it - as served in the novels of Barbara Pym for women under shock!" 

My normal tea is Darjeeling without milk and sugar, because I read in a health report that it is far more healthier to drink it that way - milk seems to disturb valuable health qualities. But now I thought: "Who cares! I need something very strong and very uplifting now!" 

And it did work. 

What do you think of this self-serving rule? Do you treat yourself well - as well as you would treat a friend? Do you?