8/19/13

Father

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Two years ago I posted old pictures from my grandfather. Interestingly I got a lot of feedback about that post. Pictures from everyday life of GDR citizens seem to be scarce and especially people outside Germany can't really imagine how it was to live in East Germany. Well, I only lived in the GDR for not quite 6 years, so I don't really remember much other than my childhood consisted of mostly playing outside, having no TV, getting good candy and chocolate from relatives visiting from West Germany and having a wonderful time at grandfather's little self-built house. (Our house was old, run down and ice cold in winter.)

 My father (rare colour picture above) didn't live to see the united Germany. He died in January 1987 at the age of 32. I kind of think that he was tired of not being able to do what he yearned to do in life (mainly see the world and get on as an engineer) and didn't care much about his health. He had diabetes (the type young people get) and medication wasn't good in the GDR. So, one day his heart stopped.
 I was only 3 and a half years old. I'm left with lots of pictures of him, though, and like to share some. Rudi 1

 Rudi (my dad's name) in front of our house as a boy. It is the same house I was raised in and my mom and "new" father live in to this day. The door has since been taken out and a new one has been modeled to look exactly the same. (Our street is under monumental protection for looking like a Thuringian village should look like.)

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 I love this picture. There is a church in the background which represents home for me to this day.

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 Rudi doing military service for the National Army of the GDR. Every young man had to join and those who planed to study at university for at least 3 years. Compared to the others he seems a mere boy in uniform.

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What I can gather from the photographs in my possession is, that Rudi loved to be with his friends and there always was something going on. Maybe a little Roleplay game as spy? (Picture from the early 1970s.)

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 Or organizing a little box fight with friend on the field just outside our village?

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 Seems like he won.

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 He loved cars and a kind of machinery all his life. He went on to become an engineer.

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 He went on to university in Karl-Marx-Stadt (it was renamed after the Unification to Chemnitz in Saxony). Picture from his dorm room in the Mid-70s.

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 There are a lot of pictures that show him cooking with friends.

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 And also doing the Thuringian's favorite past time: BBQing.

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 In winter he was an avid skier and even won a silver medal in slalom for the GDR.

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His other great passion was photography (hello there, genes!). Here a picture of him taking a picture at the famous Japanese restaurant in Suhl. It is said to have been the only Japanese restaurant in the GDR, which is not quite true. But it is true, that this restaurant by Mr. Rolf Anschütz was so popular, you had to book 1 year in advance. Meals were taken the "Japanese way"(as it was thought of to be by Mr. Anschütz): One took a bath - together with everyone else - put one a yukata and then joined the banquet with lots of exotic food. I had the honour of meeting Mr. Anschütz in 2000. He became an advisor to a school report I wrote. I also got an internship at his Japan-style hotel at that time and he encouraged me to study Japanese language and culture at university. He has since passed away (in 2008) and a German movie about his life has been released last year. (Sushi in Suhl.) My mom jokes that my passion for Japan must stem from this visit to this restaurant as she was there with my father and was pregnant with me, but didn't know it yet at that time. (She always laughs about it, because she felt so sick afterwards...) (Picture from 1982.)

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My father and me. (1983)

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 Despite all the shortcomings of those times, me and my parents were a happy little family. (Picture from 1983, taken in front of my Grandfather's house.)

8/17/13

Thuringian Forest Stroll

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 It's a mysterious place. Lush and green, it beckons to my heart.

When I was little, my Opa Walter took me for little walks along this little river.
In my teens my family joined the Thuringian Forest Hiking club and we roamed the whole Thuringian (and Saxon and Hessian) forest every second weekend. (Most tours were around 15 to 20 kms.) I saw a lot during that time and am really thinking about joining a hiking club again.

The green heart of Germany (Thuringia) has so many shades of green to offer.
Visit my home state some time and see for yourself!

Foxy Greetings.

8/15/13

Deep in the forest...

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I kind of fell off the face of the earth. The wheel of future is once again spinning...but it looks like I'll keep my current job a while longer.

While these are wonderful news for my financial situation, I was kept busy learning lots of new stuff as I had to change departments to raise my chances of staying.

My creative side, unfortunately, suffered a lot lately. I had to cancel my summer vacation because of all that turmoil at work. (I was going to the baltic seaside again. Alas, it didn't happen.) Now my vacation will be in September (in one month's time) and I'll go back to Amsterdam! Yeah. It was so great and I liked it so much.

Meanwhile, as Flickr gave everyone the great gift of 1TB space (tons of pics to upload!), I'll intend to post more pictures in regular intervals. So please keep dropping by to see a little bit of the world with my eyes.

 Foxy Greetings!

5/31/13

Happy belated Amsterdam!

Well, there came an went April in a hurry and tomorrow there'll be June. May was a very sad affair in Germany - cold and wet. These days you could say "wet, wetter, Germany!" and I start to yearn for other parts of the world.

So let's revisit Amsterdam! I went there on a long weekend in March and fell in love with this city on first sight. It is exactly what I envision a city to be: Tiny houses, lots of water right in the middle of the city (hello there Venice of the North!), all kinds of architecture (Art Nouveaux!), modern-these-are-the-places-to-be, museums everywhere (sadly, Rijksmuseum was still closed) and nice people all around.

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It's only a little jump from Munich. I flew KLM (not the plane pictured)and can recommend their service anytime. I didn't even pay much.
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The little house was integrated in this hotel. And right after leaving Amsterdam Central Station you are greeted with this view. DSC00954
Unfortunately weather was really, really cold on those last days in march. Everyone was packed and my fingers felt like ice after holding my camera too long. DSC00969
Old rooms can be found anywhere: This one is in Oude Kerk (Old church) and was a room where weddings were made official: By signing a contract the city provided - not the church! One of the first regions in the world to do so. DSC00999
I actually got lucky on my second day and the sun showed its face. It was still way too cold, though. By the way, I used the I Amsterdam Card for three days: A lot of museums for free, shops and restaurants (like wagamama) give 10 to 20 percent off and free public transport! I recommend buying before leaving for the trip via the Internet as it can be cheaper that way. On my second day I visited 7 museums!
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An old chamber in a house with a church on the attic. DSC01030
Old glazed tiles in the same house. DSC01056
Another era.
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A house full of cheese. DSC01087
Oranje soccer fans in front of the Central Station. DSC01103
Amsterdamers and their morning sports. DSC01112
At Rembrandt's.
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Another typical sight in Amsterdam. DSC01163
Normally this would have been the prime of tulip blossoming, but it was too cold for those beautys as well.
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The growth of Amsterdam as depicted at Willet Hoythuisen Grachtenhuis museum. DSC01179
There was a very interesting display of life in the city over the centuries. DSC01187
Another very typicall view throughout the city. The I Amsterdam Card also provides on free ride, which I did and can absolutely recommend! (Especially when the weather is so cold.) DSC01206
At the houseboat musem you can get an impression how it would be to live on one. Actually nothing I'd like to do. (Reminds me to much of the earthquakes I experienced in Japan.) DSC01225
Starbucks inside the Central Station. Nice atmosphere. DSC01238
Who's watching?
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I guess everyone takes this picture. DSC01257
I love this 19th century architecture.
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Interesting store concept. DSC01260
A lot of Art Nouveaux throughout the city.

Well, as I am currently living through a lot of changes at work (two new fields to learn stuff for!) and my main holiday in June was cancelled because of that (boo!) I need to reschedule my vacation to September and I'm actually thinking of going to Amsterdam for some more exploring. Three days weren't nearly enough time.

Meanwhile I hope to write more often again, especially as I visited Vienna at the end of April. Also a very impressive city with lots to see and take pictures of.

On other non-related news: Why don't you visit me on Instagram?

Foxy Greetings!

4/10/13

And all of a sudden it's April!

Wow, that was fast, wasn't it?! March came and went in a hurry. There were tons of work to do as many colleagues went on vacation. At the end of March it was my turn and I went away for a long weekend to AMSTERDAM! It was love on first sight! This city is exactly everything a city should be for me: cute, little houses with a certain grandeur, lots of water in the city, every corner brings new surprises to take pictures of, nice and helpful inhabitants, lots of museums to visit and lots of fun to take part in (and no, I don't mean coffeshops).

I'll show loads of pics soon!

Foxy Greetings!

3/2/13

Foxy March to you!

Thank God it's march.

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That's what I've been doing: Origami at work thanks to this absolutely clever idea. Origami Post its. Love it!

February was a hard month: dark, not much fun and a very devastating message*. In these times it can be kind of hard to find the lucky moments that make every day special.

I hope that march will finally bring spring and light. And happiness to us all.

Foxy Greetings.

 *Don't be alarmed. Everyone of my family (me included) is healthy which is the most precious thing. It's just a financial crisis that opened up once again and I'll need to hold my money together. Again. Just when I thought I could finally travel a bit more and search for a real appartement. Well, I booked Amsterdam and Vienna and will definitely go there. Other than that, nothing happened.

2/22/13

Five pictures friday

Today is about what I love this week. Well, this week started with me being sick at home (which wasn’t a good start at all), but luckily I had the best cuddle-you-back-to-health comando on my side.

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My Bo-dhi is the best heating blanket. And his stare is.... bo-dhi-licious.

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The cat (currently called „Das Katertier“) is watching all this cuteness rather skeptically.

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I’ve wanted one of Pole Star’s jewels for so long now. Mostly I added her necklaces with natural semi-precious stones to my favorites on Etsy and soon enough they’d been sold and I was sorry to have missed the opportunity. Not this time! On Monday I finally got my necklace: a quartz stone with inclusions (turbulence quartz) – so pretty and such a big stone, too.

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Meanwhile everyone is waiting for spring. (Psst, we down here in Southern Bavaria still have tons of snow. ) And my mom bought lots of tulips for me – thanks mom!

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I just love my huge Bree bag (solely for business and traveling) and all the stuff that fits inside. For traveling back to Bavaria on Monday I packed: Carmex lipbalm, Mary Quant lipstick in Tokyo Toffee (a natural red)(only available in Japan), MAC Studio Careblend Powder, handwarmers (bought), self-crocheted beret, newly crocheted handwarmers (to finish of loose ends during train passage), iPod touch, kindle, Moleskine Weekly planer; more crochet hooks, medicine (in pink self-sewn pouch – by hand!), new crochet project in blue bag, my Japanese crochet hooks and – very important when being sick – Japanese heating pads (will stay warm for 8 hours).

So, weekend is upon us! I'll knit and crochet away (after doing some much needed cleaning in the apartment.). What are your plans? 
Thank you for visiting and have a great one! 

Foxy Greetings.  

2/7/13

Frage - Foto - Freitag - Five pictures friday

I've wanted to participate for quite some time now: Frage-Foto-Freitag is hosted by the German Lifestyle and Food-blogger Steffi every friday. She asks 5 questions (or sometimes less) and all who want to participate answer with pictures!
So let's start.

 Today: What makes you happy?

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 Knitting. It's very relaxing. And in the end you've got something warm for the cold wind in winter.

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 Pictures with lots of colors. I desperately need to draw again.

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 Light. When taking pictures I always try to capture the light. Besides, in winter one can't really get enough light.

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 Love. There is no way around it. Family, friends, pets - I love them all.

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Japan. And traveling. But mostly traveling in Japan.

 That sums it up.

 Foxy Greetings.