Capestalgic

I get capestalgic at times. It comes all of a sudden and strong and then fades away again. Distance is already playing tricks with me. The whole thing starts to feel absurd and so much has happened since I got back that I wonder how well I've colored my memories already into something else than what it actually was.

I get surprised and I tell myself: you lived there for three years! How many times have I said that, hundreds maybe, hundreds of times I've repeated it already: I lived in Cape Town for three years. But only now I'm somehow amazed by the fact, only now it's really getting me. I'm stunned. I lived in Cape Town. I truly did. For three full years. Hah hah amazing! Hands up if you have lived in Cape Town! Isn't it fantastic?!

I'm dreming of a re-visit, but currently it seems I'm so busy with other plans and other places that Cape Town will have to wait. Still, I want to call it 'my city'. Because that's how I feel. Cape Town's my city.

Gosh it's beautiful.

Today's pics from a disposable camera. It's the beach-side of the life. Go to Muizies for me, will you, if you're in Cape Town now. Or wait until the next sunny day, that's fine too.

The rain smells nice

Plans are doing good and will get me really busy from October onwards. So happy about the way things are turning out. Peace, love, sparkles, flowers, unicorns, hearts and blueberrypies all around! Bliss.

Also really surprised it's only mid-August. Somehow these last few weeks have streched like bubblegum and I thought my action planning had taken way more longer. But this is of course a positive thing, too. Gives me space to design some more pieces to this puzzle called life.

Yes, I'm having a very positive take on things around me right now. I believe happiness is also a choice.

The rain smells nice.
***

Suunnitelmille kuuluu hyvää ja ne saavat minut tosi kiireiseksi lokakuusta eteenpäin. Älyttömän iloinen siitä miten kaikki lutviutuu. Rauhaa, rakkautta, kipinöitä, kukkasia, yksisarvisia, sydämiä ja mustikkapiirakoita ympäriinsä! Bliss.

Olen myös hämmästynyt, että on vasta elokuun puoliväli. Jotenkin nämä viimeviikot ovat venyneet kuin purukumi, ja olin kuvitellut suunnitteluvaiheeni kestäneen paljon pidempään. Mutta tämähän on myös positiivinen juttu! Antaa minulle tilaa suunnitella lisäpalasia tähän palapeliin, josta muodostuu elämä.

Kyllä, olen juuri nyt liikkeellä erittäin positiivisella otteella. Uskon, että onnellisuus on myös tahtotila.

Sade tuoksuu hyvälle.

Olisipa enemmän, olisipa vähemmän

Itä-Afrikan hätä ahdistaa. Toivottavasti apu menisi sitä tarvitseville. Olisipa joku tie ulos sarven alueen kierteestä, olisipa vähemmän vihaa ja enemmän ruokaa, vähemmän väkivaltaa ja enemmän mahdollisuusia.

Milloin minulla on ollut viimeksi tajuton nälkä?

Vihreää ja violettia

Me viedään Mr. Muru lastenkonserttiin; sen mielestä parasta on taputtaminen.

Näen sateenkaaren pään, mutten aarretta ja juon kaakaon, joka ei ole kuumaa eikä kylmää. Chocolat tiède, ei ihan edes sitä, se on ehtinyt jäähtyä kun tilaus vihdoin tuodaan. Mr. Muru jo kiemurtelee tuolissaan silloin, sillä on varmaan nälkä ja jano, ehkä vähän kulttuurikasvatuksen jälkivillitystäkin.

Chocolat tiède vie mieleni Sveitsiin ja burgerinpaisto-kesiin, siihen kuinka ihan tilaamalla tilataan juomalämmintä kaakaota. Se on pikkutarkkaa valmistaa ja sitä pitää vahtia enemmän kuin Mr. Murua, ettei juoma vain humahda liian kuumaksi -tai vaihtoehtoisesti jää liian kylmäksi. Olikohan tilaajat ylihuolehtivia vanhempia tai niiden yliherkiksi luultuja lapsia, en muista, mietin eikö niillä ollut aikaa odottaa edes kaakaon jäähtymistä sateisena kesäpäivänä keskellä ihastuttavia Alppeja?

Aamulla minulla on kynsieni alla vihreää ja violettia muovailuvahaa.

Small circles

Small circles now, somewhere between the lake and the wild raspberries. I'm formulating an action plan.

***
Pieniä ympyröitä nyt, jossakin järven ja vattupuskien välillä. Laadin jatkosuunnitelmia.

Syksy on alkanut, se alkoi noin viikko sitten. Tiedän sen siitä, että järven vesi alkaa olla sietämättömän kylmää, se kylmeni oikeastaan yhdessä yössä. Epäilen uimakauteni tulevan loppuunsa ja ilmaisen sen äidille. Se kysyy, montako kertaa kävin uimassa, siis saunasta. No kerran.

'Ahaa, no siellähän pitääkin käydä kaksi kertaa. Se on se toinen kerta, joka tuntuu sitten ihanalta.'

Äiti on oikeassa, niinkuin äidit usein ovat. Jatkan uimista. Aina kahdesti. Lisäksi teen saunan ylälauteella halasanan, aura-asanan. Kiipeän ensin seinää ja sitten kattoa pitkin jaloillani kunnes taivun alas asanaan. Olen tehnyt tätä niin kauan kuin muistan, ihan lapsesta saakka, ennenkuin osasin edes asanaksi mieltää.

Ends are also beginnings

After Linz I still had a stop-over in Vienna. It was rainy, I was tired. Got soaked in the rain, found a place to eat and managed to get dry meanwhile, got soaked again and found a little café for a cup of tea. It was cosy in there so stayed reading a book and writing down few thoughts, some people watching too. But then it got so heavily smokey inside (yes they still smoke in cafés, bars and restaurants in Austria) that I got grossed out and left (and got soaked again, sure). I got to my backpackers, had a boiling hot shower, jumped back to my clothes and curled up to my bed reading and even though I red until my book was finished, all the others in that dorm were still out somewhere. So I slept. The next morning I was out, off the airport.

My summer travels were over.

All the good things have to come to an end for other good things to began.

Thank you. Was great. Appriciated.

The world is amazing and so are the people

Towards the end of my stay in Linz, the annual street art festival Pflasterspektakel took place for the 25th time. I was very lucky to be around as the city got filled up with performances, people and great vibes!

And there was yet another Morocco-connection too!  We met these guys from Argentina one day on a roof top terrasse in Chefchaouen and got already impressed by few hand-stands and some other fooling around. Then we saw the show in Linz and they were so good it almost made me cry! She is so sweet and amazing with her expressions and he's such a cute little monkey! What a talent they got and what a training to make everything seem so smooth and easy. I'm in love with the performance by Compañía Mano a Mano -Q and Martín, you were truly the best of Pflasterspektakel!

Headquarters

Even though Linz was the headquarters of my stay in Austria, these are pretty much the only images I got from there. It is not because Linz woudn't be worth photographing, quite the opposite actually, but because I just felt more like doing and watching than shooting and documenting.

Also, my life was super convinient there. My host knew all the best places to have a tea, hang out, have lunch. We took a busride and spent some time by a pond, swimming and sun bathing. I had an amazing shiatsu-treatment. And mornings started with green smoothies!

We were also invited to have dinner at the most fascinating household in Linz because the elderly couple also had been to Morocco (for various times) so we had some curry, admired the house and the funky deco, watched some pictures from our common love called Morocco and changed experiences. I kept saying wow. Wow. Wowowowow. They even got a sauna and an oven to burn ceramics and a garden and wooden floors and crazy pretty bathroom with mosaic walls!

Super grannies and flying pancakes

Out of the city again! Electric bikes, super grannies and berry picking! And damn it, you never get away from the sweet things -I was so super spoiled again, being a guest in a guesthouse. I mean the deal was somewhat different to the other guests:  I wasn't in the role of a usual customer but a friend staying over and so there was always some apple pie chilling in the store room, apricot dumplings rolling to you in the kitchen, biscuits staring at you by the coffee machine, ice-coffee looking pretty on the table, pancakes flying in the air and chocolate lurking you from the darkness when you're on your way to upstairs. Help!

P.S. Super grannies are never sick, they skip in the stairs like little bokkies and they play ball-games when they're not busy making honey or preparing some home-made juice.

Day-trippin'

Oh my I felt so spoiled! Not only got I visit all the fantastic places within Austria, I even got to see a glimpse of the Czech Republic! Oh joy, oh excitement! It was a day-trip across the border and the old town we visited was really sympathetic. Need to go back to the country to see moremoremore!