Live like a local.
Part 1 -Here we come! Berlin, Germany Aug 23 – Aug 28th, 2020 I’m conscience-stricken by my lack of historic knowledge when it comes to the chronicle of events surrounding the Berlin wall. Yes, I can safely say I knew the wall separated the communists from the western world and that the wall came down in 1989, but that would conclude what I thought about. I conveniently packaged anything to do with “the wall” going up with WWII and Nazi Germany, when in fact, that is not the complete story. The wall has to do with the DDR, not the Nazi regime. Then to think I was starting my family and completely unaware of the impact and narrative of the re-unification of East and West Germany, makes me a wee-embarrassed. The resolve of human beings is amazing, and it gives me great hope in times of current political turbulence. Germany has handled Covid so well, that we could travel, and the best bonus was that we were able to visit our nephew and his wife, Keith and Erica, In Berlin. From there our niece and her husband, Sarah and Michele, in Hannover, before they all move back to the US. There is nothing better than sharing a city with people who love it intimately. As with any great tour, it is a whirlwind because there is ample to see and limited time to absorb it all. Berlin, with Keith and Erica, was our first stop. It came complete with beautiful ancient buildings that survived the destruction of WWII and/or were rebuilt, but mostly, we spent time learning about recent history. It’s crazy to think I went into East Berlin when I was 20 and didn’t recognize the impact of what was around me. History can only monopolize your interest if you’re captivated by the events unfolding, and I can honestly say, I was too self-absorbed and naïve to comprehend what was happening around me. I found it confusing thinking of Berlin as two cities when one was encapsulated by another. I was constantly asking, “Is this the West? Is this the East?” Berlin has done a remarkable job weaving the past seamlessly into one another, and it’s now a lively, thriving, successful city. Another thing to point out is that many of these museums and points of interest are all accessible without a fee. The importance of allowing everyone to have access to learn, so history doesn’t repeat itself, hasn’t gone unnoticed, if only the US could adopt similar views regarding history. The Parliamentary Reichstag Building (meeting place of the Federal Arm of the Gov’t) was spectacular, but you must register in advance. (Bonus: go 1.5 hours before sunset so you get to see the sunset over the city!!) Fascinating history along with a remarkable view! I can’t say enough about this, but I’m realizing I can’t say enough about Berlin, so I will stop … and show you pictures of Berlin… The Berlin Wall Memorial, commemorates the division of Berlin by the Berlin Wall and the deaths that occurred there. Going through the museum you can feel the years of tensions growing, and one can only imagine what if must have felt like when Schabowski mistakenly improvised the immediate opening of the wall. I never realized that Chancellor Merkel came from, what was once East Berlin! She is a remarkable woman and a quick response to COVID! It helped having her background, as a Chemist, and then married to a quantum Chemist, she understood what could happen and shut it down as fast as she could. The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery in Berlin. It consists of a series of murals painted directly on a 1,316 m long remnant of the Berlin Wall. It has status as a heritage protected landmark. Many of the paintings you recognize but after seeing how East and West Berliners lived for years during the cold war, you come to appreciate these expressions more.
Mauer Park, The name translates to "Wall Park", referring to its status as a former part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip. It now seems to be a lively park with part of the wall dedicated to allowing graffiti artists express themselves. Here is a photo of a budding young artist. I took his photo and his father was quite upset, but of course, as he is rattling off in aggressive German I couldn’t understand, I didn’t realize he was worried about the content of the photo I had taken. He thought I took a picture of his son’s face. After playing charades and I showed him my photo, he was immediately calm and almost happy to see I’d be sharing the nature of their art. The Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe...These slabs are organized in rows, 54 of them going north–south, and 87 heading east–west at right angles but set slightly askew, very disorienting. The ground was rolling and not flat, adding another feeling that takes your breath away. As recently as July 2001, “the slogan The Holocaust never happened appeared in newspaper advertisements and on billboards, under the slogan and a picture of a serene mountain lake and snow-capped mountain, a smaller type said: "There are still many people who make this claim. In 20 years there could be even more. “ It is impossible to not think about the false narratives we are currently hearing in the USA because we have stopped demanding factual statements from people in powerful positions. It’s dangerous and scary and I hope there is an end to this free-fall. Topography of terror is on the site of buildings, which during the Nazi regime from 1933 to 1945, was the SS Reich Main Security Office, the headquarters of the Security Police, Secret Service, Death Squads and Secret Police aka the Gestapo. The museum is both indoor and outdoor and is free to all. I didn’t take photos, but as with all of these installations, there was a ton to learn. The German term, ghost stations, was coined to describe certain stations on Berlin's U-Bahn and S-Bahn metro networks that were closed during the period of Berlin's division during the Cold War because they were part of the transit line located on the other side of the Berlin Wall. You can see an old photo of armed guards in these stations that the train slowed down through but didn’t stop. Keith works at the embassy and as one can imagine, no number of shenanigans convinced the Marines to allow me to bring in a camera. Basically, many places were off limits, but we did see how amazing the placement of the embassy’s building truly was given the view from the outside the roof garden. An interesting story that escaped my attention, in late 2019, Berlin gets an unwanted Reagan Statue. Reagan has already been recognized in the city and Berlin didn’t want, yet another Reagan statue, but still the US ambassador, Richard Grenell insisted on leaving his mark, and again, the city of Berlin refused to allow the placement IN their city. The only place left for the statue was in the US Embassy own rooftop garden. Not quite the audience Grenell imagined. Trump selected Richard Grenell as acting director of National Intelligence, but not surprisingly, he didn’t last long. I wanted to show you the remarkable round conference room opening out to this rooftop garden, but as I stated before, I was without a camera, or mostly permission to share a photo. I was given permission to share a photo Keith had taken from the rooftop (notice how close it is to the Brandenburg Gate!!) Impressive. Another interesting fact regarding this embassy is that the consulate isn’t part of this building. Most US embassies, in other cities, have both their state offices and the consulate work in the same building, this one does not. Who’s up for a bike ride? We always are! And off we go. We ride through the city out through green spaces and even tried our luck at off roading. Let’s just say we weren’t up to the challenge. Who knew there was a hill in Berlin? In the Grunewald forest is the Teufelsberg (Devils Mountain) which is a hill made out of debris from WWII (400,000 bombed houses) on top an old Nazi military training school that they couldn’t seem to destroy. During the Cold War they made an intelligence-gathering secure listening post which was used by NSA that pretty much looks like 2 ginormous soccer balls perched on top of this man-made hill. In pre-covid times, you can go tour it. We had much more fun riding next to the tall security fences that were clearly designed to keep people out! And we continued to ride towards the palaces of Potsdam. Here comes the prisoner exchange on the Glienicke Bridge! Well sort of. Our “prisoners" are pretty magnificent, so we ended up keeping both of them. Clearly, we wouldn’t have made good negotiators. Regardless, I know our exchange was not as dramatic as during the cold war exchanging an American Pilot with a convicted Soviet spy, but imagining it going down, was something to think about! Finally we reached Potsdam. It’s easy to sum it up and say if you were wealthy, in the day, your life was set! The Royal Gardens and Palaces were crazy beautiful. It’s remarkable to realize that basically one family had all that wealth. You’ll need to see for yourself these beauties but do notice the Shell Grotto in The New Palace. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was pretty grand to have the Palace all to ourselves! The only silver lining with Covid. We rode back through a small rain shower and grabbed a great bite to eat before taking the train back with our bikes! Overall, I think it was about 25 miles and a great way to see Potsdam! Then I’ve posted a few photos of us drinking beer, duh it’s Germany!! and using this really fun app called Uptapped. Download it, and play with us, It works in the USA too! As we wrap up our time in Berlin, the boys pretend to work while Erica and I visit the National Gallery. I’d say I’m usually not a museum girl, but what fun we had slowly taking in all the stories about the paintings! My favorite was Adolph Menzel’s “Frederick the Great’s address to his generals before the battle of Leuthen”. It is the painting with unfinished people, and this was the fascinating reason that was given for it being incomplete. “…Menzel did not finish the work, The reason is that in this work Menzel gives an intense physical sense of Frederick's generals--bear-like men, stocky, strong--standing against the cold, pulling coats and pelisses over their shoulders, listening intently to Frederick (whom Menzel did not finish; he is a blank figure). Fried argues that Menzel had sought to show the hardiness of these generals, who stand about Frederick in a semi-circle, as he wanted to highlight their physical battle against the cold and the enemy. But his efforts went in a direction he did not anticipate. He likely chose not to finish the work because the contrast between these fleshy men and the slender Frederick would not have given the impression of Frederick's centrality in this historical event…”.
And we can’t forget the statue of the girl representing most of the people in the USA and U.K. wearing a mask to protect their chin. We used an audio guide and spent most of the day in the museum. I was taken away, only hunger could bring me back. Grabbed a train that night, and onto Hanover for Part II Germany!
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4 special places to try! We arrived in Whitstable, after being locked down for 4 months. We realized as things slowly start up, and as the new normal emerges, things will be different. Often awkward. i.e. servers leaning over with a tray handing things to you to keep their distance. You order a bottle of wine and they hand it to you, to pour your own. Where once you felt like you were the Queen of England being served, now you’re no more special than a toddler that can pour his own cool aid. Avoiding the servers and other patrons is now more of a dance where both parties are wearing wide imaginary tutus, just trying not to touch the other person’s tulle. Apologies are not needed, we all understand the reasons for this new cold, formal stance. It’s like overnight, everyone got a case of cooties. It’s not the only change. You can no longer “wing it” and hope to find a great dinner place to eat. Just think about that. 50% of the places are still closed, possibly permanently. The remaining 50% that are open, quite a few are not what we would want (cigarette smoke everywhere, food choices not speaking to us etc) so that leaves us with few restaurants with which to choose. Restaurants can seat 25% of the available seating, limiting the ability to seat you even more. Reservations are no longer recommended; reservations are a must. Spontaneity is a thing of the past. A friend recommended a local restaurant called Samphire. I didn’t realize Samphire is a type of seagrass that people can eat. It was compared to asparagus. We bought some from a farm stand but didn’t know we were supposed to soak off all the salt, needless to say, it was SO salty I am not a good judge if it is something I'd recommend eating willingly. For dinner, I ordered Skate fish. I’ve never heard of Skate and other than saying it was a simple, fresh, white fish the oddest thing about it was the strips it naturally came in. You’d softly curl off the meat from the delicate bones (Both sides had meat), but they weren’t the kind of bones that would become troublesome, it was just, well it was good, try it. David had fish pie topped with your traditional mashed potatoes. I think he was brought to a warm fuzzy place. For me to highly rate a restaurant, I need the food and the service to equally be impressive. We really enjoyed our waitress… She had energy that would bring people out of themselves and the restaurant was full of life. Regulars were there with almost an heir of a reunion. It was a casual beachy vibe, a bit pricier than expected, but we had a wonderful night. In the morning we stumbled upon a true treasure. It’s called Tea & Time. We were the first customers of the day and a cheerful woman greeted us. We were vocalizing, to one another, what we wanted to eat, searching for it on the menu, realizing we haven’t become true brits because we didn’t want the English breakfast. She overheard our conversation and jumped in enthusiastically, “just tell me what you want, and how you want it, and I’ll make it” We couldn’t believe, or wouldn’t believe we were hearing this correctly but she was so insistent we told her what we had a hunkering for, and out came the most delicious breakfast sandwich. Actually. It was better than we were describing because the bread was so fresh and tasty, the eggs were clearly farm fresh and perfectly cooked, and it was all deliciously messy. We then topped it off with 2 coffees and we couldn’t have been happier. The entire restaurant has a vibe that you want to somehow bottle and take home. It’s homey, in a good way. It’s casual, in a good way. It’s large enough that during covid you can keep your distance (And yes she took names /#’s for track n trace). As we were leaving we were chatting it up with the amazingly friendly woman that took our order. Come to find out, for the last 22 years, she is the owner of this wonderful establishment. If looking for a home feel where you want to eat a delicious meal and curl up with a book, your stay would be incomplete if you didn’t visit for a nibble before leaving Whitstable. Our second morning we found Farm & Harper, a more traditional restaurant of sorts. We had to catch a train and so we were on a tight time schedule. We showed up at the restaurant with our eyes bugged out at the closed sign, but thankfully the waiter popped his head outside, recognizing our non-caffeinated state, and offered to make us coffee’s for take away and suggested we return in 15 mins. We were grateful and enjoyed our coffee as we walked up and down the charming town streets. We found the café small and intimate, recognizing proper social distancing and taking our name/number for track n trace protocols. I would describe this restaurant as a Gastro Café in every sense of the definition… the menu wasn’t large, but it didn’t need to be because it covered a range of unique flavors and we were WOWED by the explosion of taste. Very upscale in its concoction and I’d recommend this for anyone that might consider themselves a foodie. Price was well within acceptable. Food couldn’t be fresher, i.e. egg yolks were dark yellow and rich, avocado was perfectly ripe, and the beans were homemade with bold flavor, etc. Ship Centurion was recommended to us by a couple we met on our bike ride. It's a truly authentic village pub. Roland's parents had bought it some 30 years ago and he took it over when they passed. I hadn't had anything to eat and that fact was creeping up on me. We walk in, ask for Roland, and he smiled and asked what we wanted to drink. The place was "full" by covid standards with locals laughing and telling stories. I ask for a food menu and he says they were only serving drinks. He must have read my mind because he quickly came back with, "I'm sure we can come up with something". Out came the best Ploughman's lunch ever, and of course, a beer with which to wash it down. My husband and I enjoy similar venues, in terms of quality and fresh ingredients, but he prefers more of a kick and I prefer more subtle flavors, so finding a restaurant that nails both our expectations, is really a wonderful, unexpected thing. Whitstable had this covered. We weren’t so fortunate in Dover.
This morning we woke early (for us) and took a train to Canterbury. Easy, cheap train costing about $10. Covid times make traveling strange. It’s not crowded, and 95% of people are wearing masks, covering any everyday smirks or smiles, leaving no room for random connection. Again, due to COVID you can’t happen upon cool things like you once could. If you haven’t done your homework, you will miss out because everything requires a reservation. Even if it is free, you must have a ticket to enter. Fortunately, I have done my homework. After exiting the Canterbury train station we found ourselves walking on top of the city wall. It’s amazing because it is clear and easy to imagine the walls, the barrier between the wild countryside and the civilized city and the way they might have been. Once inside the city it’s impossible to miss the quaint inns and storefronts bending at funny angles with all the embellishments of colorful flowers in full bloom hanging out of their window boxes. But it’s the Cathedral that brings people. It is the story of how King Henry II believed a rumor that his arch bishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, was building an army to go against him. It is that misinformation that struck a cord with me. We can see what impact this rumor had and how it lead to the murder of Thomas Becket. Interesting story and for those that are curious, read more about this. Pope Alexander III declared Thomas Becket a Saint. The many miracles that were attributed to him, makes the Canterbury Cathedral one of the greatest Pilgrimage sites in Europe. Retracing the steps on the stairs that are permanently shaped from men that crawled on their knees decades before me, gave me pause. These men came from so far. Believing so deeply, hoping so profoundly, and sharing similar dreams as people today. It’s painfully clear how little we learn from one another. All of these stories repeat themselves. Different dates, different people and yet similar motivations. Then onto a city bus we go. A mere $6 takes us down 7+ miles away into a coastal town called Whitstable. It is a delightful, quaint seaside resort town. The saltwater breeze mixed with the screams from the seagulls make it easy to act like you don’t have a care in the world. This was a welcome feeling after months of being locked up. We are staying at the fisherman’s huts right on the beach. I highly recommend this. The location can’t be beat and the feeling of being part of the scene without needing to be part of the scene was what I celebrated the most. If you’re interested in our restaurant choices, I have them in a different blog tagged under restaurants ... We woke to a perfectly sunny clear day. We rented bikes (David’s ribs had healed enough to ride on a smooth bike path) and rode east along the coast. The path hugged the water’s edge and you’d ride through fields, old ruins, then towns of notable size, then back to peaceful ocean views. Mostly you got the feeling that the only thing keeping the towns afloat were retirees and tourism. Covid has hit them hard. Then again, who hasn’t been hit hard? After an 18 mile bike ride, we hopped on the train (yes, with our bikes) and railed back to Whitstable ($8.50). It was interesting to see more of the inner route that we would have missed if we had biked home. Clearly, lots of agriculture, but while the countryside whizzed by, we couldn’t make out what kind of crops. We found our way back to the hut, showered and pulled two chairs outside to enjoy our view. We canceled our dinner reservations because we were enjoying the feeling of relaxing in front of our hut, taking in the ocean view and listening to the hustle and bustle of the Oyster joint nearby, too much. Who wants to be rushed? Maybe a good bottle of wine encouraged the laziness? Goodbye to our charming little hut, and onto a train to Dover. Dover is a dump. There is nothing redeeming about the town itself. However, there is an awesome Castle. It was worth coming just to wander around. Dover Castle is a medieval castle founded in the 11th century and has always carried significance because of its location – consider it the welcoming committee into England. It first started as a Motte and Bailey castle and then Henry II built the keep and fortified it. It was attacked during Henry II’s son, John’s, rein. It continued to grow and change over time. Again, there is speculation that the growth was part because of the pilgrimage route to see Thomas Becket’s burial place in Canterbury. All of that is interesting on its own, but then recent history comes into play. It is here that the coordination of Dunkirk happens. The evacuation of 338,226 allied soldiers during WWII from the Beaches of Northern France. Naval vessels and hundreds of Civilian boats were used during this rescue. It was drama historians love to retell. We were told of an annual reenactment the 2nd bank holiday in May – 3 day weekend. He said it was spectacular and tickets are needed. If you get a chance, go visit. You may have heard of the song, the white cliffs of Dover? Below the castle, are gorgeous white cliffs of Dover! There was a simple hike out, up and over the cliffs and through to the light house. A docent pointed out a trail from the beaches steeply up the white cliffs. He said that it was a smugglers route (in the day) to avoid taxes. When you see the intensity of the meager trail, you wonder if it was worth the cheating, and what exactly they carried up those cliffs? The Castle is part of the English Heritage Membership and the White Cliffs, and light house are part of the National Trust (Well worth both memberships!) If you have the time, the short hike is also worth doing. You see, you can enjoy the entire day without ever needing to go into Dover proper. Easily back on the train and for $18 we were back in London in no time.
I have no intention on taking any responsibility as to why I was such a wanker. I am blaming it entirely on my children (that are not here to defend themselves). You see, they sent me a very cool puzzle. Part of this puzzle includes a difficult water section that has slowed my progress to a crawl. So obviously I was working on the puzzle, when I looked down and saw that I was going to be late volunteering, I immediately popped up and ran out of the house. It was too far to run there, but I could jump on a rental city bike and pedal my heart out. Cack! I was such a blimey twat forgetting the whole directional thing here!!
All’s well that ends well. I am now a local and I was not late! Puzzle is still not completed. It has been awhile since I’ve sat down with my own thoughts. I hate to use the word “busy” because that might be misconstrued to mean “doing something of importance” when really, I would not go as far as saying that. I would have labeled myself as a person that never acquired enough sleep. Now, I’m a person that sleeps until I naturally wake (No alarm or pressing schedule) and I lazily read a bit, have a relaxing latte by my bedside (thank you David), and then I begin my day. I have focused on trying to get back into shape. I want to “feel” stronger and more “capable” in hopes that someday soon we will be free to travel again, and I will be joyfully able to do whatever I want to do. OK, within reasonable limitations. Lifestyle changes resulting in good health are unbelievably time consuming and, without immediate results, quite discouraging. So, I have given myself permission to take a day off. Today, I am focusing on a different struggle. I think everyone realizes that two countries where people speak the same language can be quite different. Here in the UK, partly because I find myself only catching a portion of most sentences due to strong dialect differences and the more comfortable people are the faster they speak and the fewer words I catch, my brain is on overdrive. I must appear daft since I cannot hide my delayed processing and then the sudden realization of what they are saying. My reaction resembles an Ahh Ha moment, and it must be hard for them to stifle their snicker. So, let us get back to differences! Do I start with the “real” ones or the “really dumb” ones? Silly question. Of course, I think the dumbest one first! It is not called “to go” it’s called “take away”. I thought that simple difference was not worth mentioning except that every time I slip and say the words “to go” someone corrects me in a form of a question, “did you mean, take away?” Is it really THAT confusing? I resent answering, feeling like I am giving credence to the question. Pizza. Pizza is an easy COVID take away meal. It was delivered and we opened the box and they “forgot” to slice it. No big deal, I am sure they were extremely busy. It was not until we ordered from a different pizza joint, and it was delivered, and again, it was not sliced that we realized… they are NEVER going to slice our Pizza. This is not something they do to Pizza. I have no insight on this. I do have an opinion though; one I am keeping to myself. I cannot place judgement on these differences. OK that is not true, I can place judgement on the inability to slice Pizza! But my other observations are just that. It is like walking a loop you have done 100 times before. You tend to walk in the same direction out of habit. You do it because you always do it that way and it feels right. I usually choose clockwise, but the other day I decided to turn it around. It was mind-blowing how I literally saw things differently. Sights I had missed. Maybe it was that I always turn my head a certain direction so obviously I miss the view on the other side? Or maybe I was complacent since I have done the walk 100 times? The mere directional change was enough to give me a fresh perspective. I strongly urge you to try it to see what you have been missing. Of course, I have tried with no success, to use this positive spin regarding my hygiene. I refuse to take responsibility, entirely, for my inability to do laundry well. Between the craziness of hard water: its foil on cleaning, and the spin cycle being so aggressively vigorous, my baggy white clothes now fit barbie and take on a grey hue. My only solution to the current situation is to buy all future clothing two sizes larger than required and preferably in dark colors. The fact that my laundry machine is squeezed into my already too small of kitchen, and my drying racks are strewn throughout the hallways, seem to have little impact on my laundry results. Can I stress again, the challenge I have with hard water? Hard water seems to be the bane of my existence. TMI warning: hard water mixed with shampoo forms a salt which leaves a residue on the surface of your hair and scalp. This film blocks conditioners from absorbing, leaving your hair dry, full of tangles and prone to breakage. So now I have shared a mental image you will not be able to shake. I wear skin tight clothing (no fault of my own) that seem to be dingy grey and my hair, no matter how much time I spend on it, has a general course frizz that isn’t a look I ever imagined sporting. This leads me into the next difference: packaging. It is all how you look at it. I am sure you all know the refrigerator space is at a premium with smaller fridges in the UK. This is an easy equation: less is more. Buy only what you are planning to eat within 48 hours. But it is the packaging of the foods that impresses me most.
Eggs. Eggs in the UK do not need to be refrigerated. You can imagine how easy it is to spot an American searching for eggs in a grocery store: you conclude they do not sell eggs, or you are reduced to ask a clerk. Either option makes you the butt of their dinner party jokes. In the UK, eggs are not washed before they hit the shelves. When eggs are washed, it makes it easier for bacteria such as salmonella to seep in, which is why cool refrigerator temperatures are necessary for US eggs. Yogurt. I have found amazingly delicious yogurt that comes in a jar with a twist lid and labels that “peel” off. After I have an empty jar, it goes into the dishwasher, and viola. I have an empty container for which I store dried goods or leftovers. 100% reusable. Grocery bags. The US is starting to charge customers that need bags to carry out their groceries. In the UK, it is commonplace to use a trolley. It looks very much what I would have called an old lady large bag on wheels. I also, shamefully, admit I would never have thought to use one in the states. However, I have changed my mind. It helps that all ages use one: fashionable young people of both genders to the anticipated frumpy old lady. The large wheels carry the heaviness with ease and the needless use of bags must considerably reduce waste. If you saw me now, you would regard it as an extra appendage. There is no doubt, I will be bringing my trolley home when I return to the U.S. I mentioned in a previous blog post about the 220 V. plugs and the inability to dry one’s hair IN the bathroom due to the lack of plugs. This might be something to which I will never acclimate. However, I have come to love the high voltage. Why? Because it charges your devices in lightening speed. It is crazy fast. I will have a low cellphone battery. I will plug in and tend to the laundry or empty the dishwasher. I return in 30+ mins to practically a fully charged battery. How awesome is that? AND speaking of charging devices… Before COVID shut down life as we all know it, I was in a department store that had this wall of charging lockers. I had to really take a double take. They look like small lockers, inside are cables that you match to your charging needs, then shut the locker and remove the key and continue shopping. These charging lockers are free of charge and is a convenience for the customer. Let us hope all stores in the US adopt this practice, it was wonderful to retrieve a fully charged phone. Fire doors. In the US – do not quote me – but I think we are required to have fire doors if they are external doors or leading into a garage. Here in the UK, all doors are heavy and of substance acting as fire doors. As you learn more about the city of London, there is frequent reference to the Great Fire of London. It had such a devastating effect upon the city, to this day, city codes reflect anything to help slow the spread of fire. (maybe they should reconsider the use of 220 volts?) What does this really mean to you or me? It means that every door needs a door stop. They are heavy and they will shut. I am not in the habit of keeping my internal doors shut, so when you come visit, you will remember my mention of why we have door stoppers at every door. In fear of boring you anymore than I already have, suffice it to say that there are many differences that are quite refreshing to experience. Just when you think you are too old to learn a new trick, you are made aware that there are many ways to skin a cat. Remember, I highly recommend you search out ways you can view your world differently, try approaching everything counterclockwise, it might just surprise you.
Like you, I am my own judge, jury and executioner. Nobody is a worse critic than you. Everyone has the list of things we tell ourselves we’d do if only we had more time, but we’re either not honest with ourselves or we’ve beaten ourselves down so much we don’t know how or believe we can begin. What motivates us? “They” say a self-desire to look out for new things, face challenges and analyze one’s own capability and desire to gain knowledge. Then today I walked by Queen Victoria’s statue in front of Kensington Palace being reminded that she resented her youth because she was never able to run free, or merely walk down a staircase without being coddled. Her position prohibited her from so many simple joys in her life. I am no queen and, yet, I mine as well be. I recognize I'm not living my privileged life. There are so many things I want to do, places I want to go, people I want to share it with and what is stopping me? As we are all learning, there are many things out of our control, but some things are in our control. For me, to do and go, I need to be active and healthy enough. So today, I’m going to start my groundhog’s day tutorial until I have it right. On my walk this morning, I loved seeing people alone, in pairs and in forbidden multiples enjoying the park. (Our relocation has come with many challenges, but fortunately, the beauty of where we live is a huge boon!) Activity means something different for everyone. Some run, stroll, jump rope, bike, hike, lift weights, climb, swim, even dance. The goal of walking to the mailbox or running an ultra-marathon is equally lofty depending on the situation. We need to stop comparing ourselves and start bolstering one another to live the life we have. The ability involved, the length, and its intensity is different for each of us. I am not going to tell you what “my goal or my plan” is, because it’s not about the THING as much as it is about the discipline and permission you give yourself to do “IT”. Do it slowly, do it without judgement, just do it. Maybe, just maybe, that is when our quarantine will be lifted and we will be a population who is a bit more self-reflective and kinder to one another? Stay tuned for Part 2 – It won’t be until after quarantine and we all have a new normal. Maybe it was coincidence but as I was processing these thoughts my Spotify played False Confidence. Check out the song and the amazing choreography in the video....
False Confidence by Noah Kahan And I wonder why I tear myself down To be built back up again Oh I hope somehow, I'll wake up young again All that's left of myself Holes in my false confidence And now I lay myself down And hope I wake up young again Hope I wake up young again Don't let those demons in again (mhm hmm) I fill the void up with polished doubt, fake sentiment Surrender yourself
We had it all planned out. I would dye just the tips of David’s grey hair red. Then in 4-6 weeks when he goes to get a proper haircut, any remnants of this brilliant idea would be cut off. Then he would do the same to me. All hair in love and war, it’s all hair and square. Until it goes wrong. This story does not have a hairytale ending. I’m desperate, I video chat with our kids so they can help me with the hair necessities. They were laughing so hard they were ZERO help. Clearly, David needed a shoulder to dye on. This took way too much time because once we decided that he needed to wash out this bad idea, it was too late. His hairs were thirsty for color. We must have been caught in a conundrum – In England, RED must really be Metallic Orange because there is no question, Bozo the clown was not pictured on the box. It’s no big deal. We’ll just cut it off! Ummmmm but with what? I have no scissors, heck, we don’t even have a proper bed to sleep in. My hands are dyed, I must order scissors from online. The kicker, they don’t arrive for 4 days. Four long days, Four working days that he must endure video chats. Four days in which I hope he doesn’t hair a grudge. I couldn’t make heads or cattails of it.
My parting words: Don’t dye this at home! But really, dye not? If we’ve learned anything, life is too short not to have some fun! Anytime, Anyplace, Any hair! Shout out to David! “Just one look at you and I know it’s going to be a Lovely Day!” How could I not love this adventure? When I see B/W photos I see a period frozen in time: Officers and Civilians, Affluence and Impoverishment, Tradition and Culture. What was and how it must have been? Who walked where? What conversations were being had by whom? Everywhere I’m surrounded by chronicles explaining the history and its rumors. My imagination runs wild until reality abruptly reminds me of the here and NOW. Where laughing or talking violates no rules, and yet it’s eerily quiet. We pass strangers in the street providing the wide berth we've all become accustom. We share nothing and yet, together, we are all experiencing what will soon be history. Full circle, it’s once again a time of black ‘n white. But it doesn't have to take away the color in our lives. I can choose the exact same scenes and pay attention to the colors along the way! There is usually a silver lining in every cloud... Every day David and I ride a bike along a relatively deserted 6+ mile trail passing many famous landmarks then happily we’re reminded that someday friends and family will, once again, come to visit. This route has become something of an ordinary journey for us and yet I’m elevating it to a “must do” when you come to London. It is unmistakably full of stunning sights. Try to imagine that soon we'll be able to stop for a picnic or grab a beer from a local pub! Let me virtually take you on our ride. Each individual place is worth spending more time exploring but we’ll show you our commute and you can decide what interests you so you can delve in deeper when you visit. Remember, it has two lives: Black n White of the past and vibrant Color of the present, there is plenty of beauty in each. We’ll start with The London Wall built by the Romans, ride through the city to St. Paul’s Cathedral where its dome remains the highest in the world (thank goodness, whenever I’m lost I just ride towards it to find our temporary housing). Then we meander onto a protected bike trail almost the entire way to Notting Hill, where we live. First, steer along the river Thames where you can’t help spot The Tower Bridge, The London Bridge, and the Westminster Bridge overlooking the remake of Shakespeare’s Globe. The landscape is dominated by the modern London Eye and the Shard. We continue cycling through with Big Ben towering over us, and Westminster Abbey: the traditional place for coronations and burial sites for British Monarchs. Continue onto the entrance to Buckingham Palace, where even during COVID the Queen’s guards are visible. Next we come upon Wellington Arch: proclaiming Wellesley’s defeat of Napoleon. From here it’s pretty much a straight shot through the luscious grounds of Hyde Park where you can see where past meets present because there are so many leisure activities woven throughout the statues. You can choose to go for a walk, take a bike ride, jump on a horse, swim, take your chance with a pedal or row boat, even hope for enough solar power to go on the UK’s first solar powered boat. As you continue, you won’t miss the grand Royal Albert Hall, it was originally built to promote understanding and appreciation of the arts and sciences but he died before it materialized. What a heritage! Finish up the ride through the beautiful Kensington gardens / palace and then onto our modest flat. I’m pretty sure our place won’t go down in history so you won’t see any B/W photos! If any of this ride is of interest to you, I’d love to share some, or all, of it with you when you come. As wonderful as it’s been seeing it without the crowds, I will welcome the hustle and bustle of tourism once again. London is doing a concerted effort to make safe biking a possibility! There are two types of contagions, but only one we seem to be focused on right now: a disease spread by close contact. I’m not going to write about that. We’re living it, no need to read about it too. I ask you to consider the other. The one we have a more profound ability to control: The spread of a behavior pattern, attitude, or emotion from person to person or group to group through suggestion, propaganda, rumor, or imitation. A harmful, corrupting influence. We’ve all been keeping our social distance and I am no different. I am in the middle of a move where our new flat is 6 miles from our temporary one and we often need to go between. (If you don’t know, all of our furniture, kitchen supplies, general possessions are in transit from the US to the UK and we do not know when we’ll actually get them so we can move in) I have been needing to go to the new flat because I accept delivery of sorts. I try to walk or bike one way and take the tube the other. Usually I take the Tube late AM when often I am the sole rider. But last night I needed to take it home in the early evening. I’ve gotten in the habit of keeping power bars with me because it’s often long hours between meals and I’m stuck in a flat with no way to prepare or buy food. So, I’m on a more crowded tube car then I’ve been accustom lately. There are only 8 of us in the entire car, all positioned with the correct distance so we wouldn’t breathe on one another let alone share a smile. Eyes down and keeping our hands in our pockets seems the best way to guarantee we don’t touch a handrail or pole someone else may have contaminated. Then the doors open, people look up then quickly down, and everyone noticeably shifts uncomfortably in their space. This man’s face was weathered and his exhaustion could be felt as he entered and sat minding his own business. It was clear he was aware of everyone's disgust and judgement. He was directly on the opposite end of the car from where I was leaning. Everyone now has their eyes down, but I can’t keep my eyes off him! His holey shoes, ratty clothing and filthy hands were unquestioningly heart wrenching. He catches my eyes burning a hole in his psyche, and I immediately fidget. I feel the protein bar in my hand. I pull it out and gesture to him that he’s welcome to it. All without saying a word we moved towards one another shrinking our required 2 meter distancing. We meet in the middle of the car and I hand over the bar. Simultaneously, everyone starts to move. Some are digging in pockets of their too tight of pants trying to retrieve a coin, others searching in their purses or their pockets for that something. They all, there wasn’t a person that didn’t, find something to give that man: money, food and genuine compassion. It was all done in silence and it sent chills down my spine. It was the most shockingly beautiful scene I could have witnessed. He was overwhelmingly moved, but not more than I was.
Kindness is contagious! Along with many other nasty things! I WILL hold-on to what is admirable in this world. I am no different and yet very different than David. How American’s entertain themselves. It upsets me that he can’t watch TV or Theatre with content involving social awkwardness, or infidelity. That wipes out a good 50% of the shows. Then again, I have a hard time watching, without pitifully wet, swollen eyes, stories about loss and hardships. My brain can’t turn off the story and how hard life is for people that I automatically extend it to outside of the story and then I’m a mess ... Hardships include even the war movies that David loves to watch. So basically, that leaves about 20%, of what is out there, to view as entertainment. Oh wait, now let’s get picky - and of that 20%, the story needs to be clever, and a story told in a new way, oh and it can’t be too violent or be too predictable – yup, now we’ve wiped out another 12%. Leaving us 8%, of the total shows out there, suitable for David and me to watch. I think we’ve watched a good number of them and we are frustrated trying to find more. Please help and send ideas. Now we’re reading. David rereads what he’s read before. He knows he liked it, why try a new book? I try reading something that’s heartfelt and start crying and have to stop because of the blurr of the pages. That leads me to tell you about our new toy. We knew it was just a matter of time before all the coffee shops would close. That day was Friday. We had the premonition on Thursday and bought a full on espresso machine. David is interested in learning to make latte art, while I just wanted to easily pull a good cuppa espresso. Not so fast. I’ve read the manual. I’ve watched many a talented barista. I’ve been glued to the many YouTube video’s out there, and still my espresso shot is a tad bitter. Adjust the grind, do it again. Now it’s a too sour. Adjust the grind. I fill the basket more. Again it’s not right. Again, this validates the differences between David and me. David is so excited by this toy that we now seem to have endless mornings by which to practice. I, on the other hand, just want a tasty cup of coffee to start my day. I foresee, we will get to be quite good at making espresso drinks. There is nothing else to do. Well, David will get really good and I’ll benefit from his ability to persevere through the banality of pulling a shot of espresso. A thought to leave you with. You know when you see a characteristic in someone, for example, being beyond frugal: getting a spatula and wiping out the mayo jar etc.…. you justify it by saying they survived the depression era. Or when someone is a naive slacker who lacks ambition and might have disregard for promptness is wrongly generalized as a “Millennial”. Well, I’m here to introduce you to our newest generation = Generation T.P. “Transitory Pestilence” TODAY, all of us, WE THE PEOPLE, who have felt trapped inside, socially isolated – I mean socially distancing ourselves for the greater good, we will adopt new behaviors. What will all of us end up learning? Will we pick up hobbies we can do independently? Will we learn how to volunteer using our skills on-line? Will we build storage closets filled with Toilet Paper that the next generation will never understand? Or when this is all over, will we seek to have richer, deeper, more meaningful relationships? Will we see that we are more the same then we are different? This is how these odd behaviors and therefore stereotypes develop. A group of people experience something so unusual, so profound, often so uprooting, that one’s behaviors are forever changed. What I find most interesting, is that we are experiencing this together as a global community. It has no connection with cultural differences: color of skin, languages spoken, religion, economic or educational advantages, etc. I know some are trying to twist it into an Us vs. Them type thing, but this is an universal experience and we should be feeling solidarity not segregation. What will we each choose to do with our time in confinement? How can we become part of the solution instead of part of the problem? With billions of people, we need the diversity of thoughts and ideas to make a movement happen, and regardless what we do, the momentum is there. I’m trying to find a way to sand down my rough edges so I can roll with the flow. Maybe I should buy more TP? or learn to pull a drinkable espresso? Until then, I think I’ll sign up as a local Red Cross Reserve Volunteer. I’ve always had the desire to appreciate the people in my life, now I think I’ve learned to appreciate all people. Let’s unite and make our world a better place! Oh, and a huge shout out to those involved with the medical world. Those on the front line as well as those in the supply chains. Thank you, we do appreciate you.
Really looking forward to being able to eventually travel and write about that!! Until then, be safe! |
Don't take life so seriously.I'm Jody. I love to travel. I love to take pictures. I love to meet people and find interesting places. I also love to write about and post pix of what I've found. But, I've been told that I write like I talk - in streams of consciousness. So, if proper grammar and well composed sentences are a must for you - my posts will make you crazy. If you want to follow my journey as I learn about really cool places and offer some great tips about living abroad, read on! Archives
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