Categories
just life

quiet ode

I’ve searched the holy books and I’ve dogeared every page
I’ve stolen secrets from the sorcerer’s own sage
Although a connoisseur of fine legerdemain
I’ve just one word for you…

…extraordinary.*

after raising me and my brother, my nanny had grandkids: two boys, who were not exactly easy children – they were rowdy, loud, often getting themselves into trouble. i remember once, one of them broke his head while horsing around, and my mom took him to the hospital. when he returned home, fresh stitches on his forehead, his first concern was to show his wrist to everyone in the street. on it, my mother had drawn a big watch.

after that, i’ve seen her pull this trick on unsuspecting children a few times. if they’re crying or fidgety, she’ll quietly ask them the time, and whether they have a watch? when they say no, she pulls a pen from her pocket and proceeds to draw them one on their wrist. it’s always a big success, and the child will go off, big-eyed and proud, pain already forgotten.

she is extraordinary.

* song by jill tracy.

Categories
just life

grandpa died today, after a long, painful battle. he was a good man, a man of the land. i hope he’s in peace now, and that wherever he is, there are plenty of grapevines to prune and vegetables to plant. i know he’d be happy there.

Categories
in germany

the reichstag dome

the reichstag’s dome it’s one of those places that it’s safe to visit with almost anyone: it’s free, there’s plenty of history, a nice view over the city, and a well-made audio-guide that will point out all the interesting facts at the right time, in plenty of languages. since the booking is made online, there’s no waiting around and no queues. visits happen in smallish groups, and you can take as long as you need to wander and look around, enjoy the architecture and the view over the rooftops, and just watch the people…



… if you’re lucky, you might even see the parliament in session below! :)

Categories
in germany photography

walking on (frozen) water

these are from a few weeks ago in the canal behind our house… it was quite magical to walk in the frozen ice and even beneath the bridges. definitely a new perspective, and only slightly scary!

Categories
foooood in slovenia

kurentovanje, the carnival in ptuj

around this time two years ago, we watched the kurenti come to ljubljana on a freezing day… and we were so in awe of the whole event that we decided there and then that the next year we would go to ptuj and see the real thing from the source.

so we did! about a year ago, we drove all the way to ptuj on a mission. i remember it was unbelievably cold and windy, and yet we sticked around through the folklore and performances, warming our hands on steaming mugs of glühwein (one of the best i’d tried so far!) until finally the kurenti came out. i froze my fingers off making a video of the whole thing, and with the move to berlin, never got around to publish it… so here it is now:

quite something, isn’t it? i don’t think carnival will ever be the same without these big guys and their cowbell cacophony!

and of course, we stopped at the famous trojane krofi house that everyone had told us about, and bought a bunch of them for the road!

i don’t think they were the best we’ve had in slovenia, but there were certainly up there in the top 5, and well worth the short detour on the highway! :)