Hot springs, isolated farmhouses dwarfed by mountains, majestic Icelandic horses standing stoically in the bitter wind.
The south, home to glittering glaciers, toppling waterfalls, lagoons & volcanoes. In short: the country of fire & ice.
First impression: Iceland looks like Oreo cake.Spring in Iceland. Snow is melting.
Towards East the scenery becomes more dramatic. Black beaches. We got almost blown away not only by the view but the wind, “I can’t feel my face” weather.
Drifting through massive moss-covered lava field.Icelandic window views are the best!
Dining in a restaurant built into an 800-year-old lava cliff… Icelandic culinary adventure inclusive.
Fish soup.
Diamond Beach – Broken off icebergs from Jökulsárlón float out to sea and land on this black sand beach. We also saw 2 seals enjoying a swim.
The best: fish & chip in the middle of nowhere.
The tables painted in Ukrainian colors ❤️Lunch.Rough winters need big monster cars. Glacier Continuing East!
A luxurious problem these days. Clearly. Boarding an airplane again. First one in 2 years (Covid, hello!).
And here I am. 2 years later back at the same airport on the way to the same destination: Iceland. I have been constantly checking my emails in the past days for flight cancellations, delays, Covid rule changes…
Nothing came through. Instead: We are checked-in. I cannot believe it!
For everyone who forgot how traveling by airplane goes:
New: check Covid rules for destination country as well as home country. And remember, rules can change! Hourly!
Arrive at the airport (considering the good old problems which may still exist: Deutsche Bahn noticed it’s winter time and canceled YOUR train, traffic jam because some drivers crash while they were fascinated by airplanes in the air…).
Check-in & luggage drop is 2 hours before departure!
Security check (hubby’s metals don’t beep. Not exactly sure what the doctors used to put the bones back together… ).
Time for a quick coffee & people watching! My favorite part at the airport.
Boarding!
Entering the airplane. OMG it’s really happening. So excited. Lol.
Find your seat.
Store your luggage.
Buckle up.
Get yourself comfortable.
Listen carefully to the safety instructions (“…in the unlikely event of…”)!
Happy welcome on board from the pilot(s).
Ready for take off.
Rolling wheels.
Taking off.
We are flying!
Above the clouds.
Drinks being served by the stewards (did you know that Coke 0 is the most bubbling drink and takes the longest?).
“Welcome to Reykjavik!”
Landing.
Arriving at travel destination.
Lucky us. Traveling w/o Covid rules? We’ll find out how well that goes. Lol.Some things never change… the tomato juice above the clouds…
The airplane – a technical fascination and our most frequently used transportation method for many business trips and holidays in the past.
It’s hate week. It’s frightening. Nuclear war possible. New kind of war including internet & social media. It’s been a hate week. It’s been a week full of love & support! I’m sharing all the good Tweets and news of the past week. Make love not war!
Ich wäre im Bett geblieben, als ich krank war, anstatt zu glauben, dass die Welt ohne mich zusammenbrechen würde, wenn ich nicht an diesem Tag zur Arbeit gehe.
Ich hätte weniger gesagt und mehr gehört.
Ich hätte Freunde zum Abendessen eingeladen, auch wenn mein Teppich einige unbedeutende Flecken hatte oder die Farbe der Couch verblasst war.
Ich hätte Popcorn im ′′guten′′ Raum gegessen und mir viel weniger Sorgen um den Dreck gemacht, wenn jemand den Kamin anzünden wollte.
Ich hätte bei den Geschichten, die mein Vater über seine Jugend erzählt hat, genauer hingehört.
Ich hätte die „mehr“ Verantwortung mit meinem Mann geteilt.
Ich würde niemals darauf bestehen, dass die Autofenster an einem Sommertag geschlossen werden, weil meine Haare gut liegen.
Ich hätte vor dem Fernsehen weniger gelacht und geweint, als ich das Leben beobachtete.
Ich hätte mich auf das Gras gesetzt, auch wenn meine Kleidung davon Flecken bekommen hätte.
Ich hätte nie etwas gekauft, nur weil es praktisch war.
Anstatt mir zu wünschen, dass bald die neun Monate der Schwangerschaft vergehen würden, hätte ich jeden Moment geschätzt und verstanden, dass das Wunder, das in mir wuchs, meine einzige Chance im Leben war, Gott dabei zu helfen, ein Wunder zu vollbringen.
Wenn meine Kinder mich küssen würden, würde ich nie sagen: ′′Jetzt nicht. Geh dir erst einmal die Hände zum Abendessen waschen“.
Es gäbe mehr: ′′Ich liebe dich”. Mehr „Sorry“.
Aber mehr als alles andere, wenn ich nochmals eine andere Chance hätte, würde ich jede Minute nutzen, um meinem Leben wirklich Aufmerksamkeit zu schenken, intensiver zu leben.
Hör auf, dich um unbedeutende Dinge zu sorgen. Schenke niemanden, der dich nicht mag, deine Aufmerksamkeit.
Fühle und schätze stattdessen die Beziehungen, die du mit denen hast, die dir und deiner Seele gut tun.”
Jane Goodall 🦋
Jane Goodall (* 3. April1934 in London) ist eine britische Verhaltensforscherin.
We are both back home. Home home. One in Ireland. And the other one in Bavaria.
Heimat ❤️
Time to meet family. The favorite great aunt. Time for coffee & cake. Time for Bali spa. Enjoying mums & dad’s delicious cooking. Getting spoilt & enjoying it. I had a fabulous time with my family.
Bali spa. Japan meets Rhön.Bavarian Brotzeit Bavarian deliciousness.Home office buddy.The end of winter? The beginning of spring? For sure very stormy days…Favorite great aunt.
A culinary trip. As usual. The whole family likes eating. Haha.
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” – an Irish saying. And very true. Already looking forward to have us back home together ❤️
Stuttgart. Not a town to fall immediately in love with. But at a 2nd look. In our case it took a little longer due to pandemic & lockdown reasons. But here we are. Maybe Stuttgart is not a city like Shanghai… but it’s a town with a lot on offer if you look at it and give it a chance.
A new blog idea: happy places in Stuttgart. Today: soup & theater.
Cuisine & theater. We tried something new: eating soup in the theater. It was delicious & entertaining.
Cool concept! A stage feeling like sitting in a living room.
We are also working on becoming Swabian: we ate our first “Seele” (soul). With butter! Super delicious!
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, ‘What does love mean?’ The answers they got were broader, deeper, and more profound than anyone could have ever imagined!
‘When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore… So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.’ Rebecca – age 8
‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’ Billy – age 4
‘Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.’ Karl – age 5
‘Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.’ Chrissy – age 6
‘Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.’ Terri – age 4
‘Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.’ Danny – age 8
‘Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and just listen.’ Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)
‘If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.’ Nikka – age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
‘Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.’ Noelle – age 7
‘Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.’ Tommy – age 6
‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.’ Cindy – age 8
‘My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.’ Clare – age 6
‘Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.’ Elaine – age 5
‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.’ Chris – age 7
‘Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.’ Mary Ann – age 4
‘I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.’ Lauren – age 4
‘When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.’ (what an image!) Karen – age 7
‘Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross…’ Mark – age 6
‘You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.’ Jessica – age 8
And the final one: The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry.’
Happy Valentine’s Day! We all should be acting more like children & spreading the love!
Give the ones you love a big kiss, a hug and a huge thank you that they are in your life. Every day!
Stuttgart547 