420

Working-life is interesting. In the mornings I go downhill and in the evenings uphill. We start and end at the same time everyday. Maybe such strict routine will be good for a change.
If I manage to hit people on a nearly-empty snowhill, how am I supposed to cycle through Amsterdam?

417

Knitting, working and travelling. These days when the mornings are cold, misty and calm, I long to travel to empty lands again. Just two more weeks.
Not so long ago, a "schooltrip" to empty parts of the Netherlands, organizing, cleaning and sleeping in prisonbeds. The building used to be an office, so the heater would turn off at 6, it made it feel a bit more like camping. Indoor wintercamping. 

413

Never under-estimate the tiniest of things.
I'd like to have a coat with a hundred pockets, all filled with little treasures. I'd roam the streets all day and sell my treasures to hurried strangers. This song is fitting: click.

410

I'm not certain of many things, but one thing I know: if I ever (in the faraway future, please) get kids or a family, I will sew us all matching awkward outfits at least once and probably make it into a holidaycard, or let them wear something like this on my birthdays.

Until I have the motherly power to do this, I like to secretly, subtly match the people in my life. Or I match my clothes to my work or to my surroundings. It's the little things in life! ha.

more matchingness here.

409

A picture of working outside and a picture of working inside. By now the flowers have completely lost all life and colour and so has the field outside. The sky is grey. It's getting colder and I'm getting grumpy. Hiding with blankets, tea, books and temporary records. China can regulate the weather. What if we just make 12 zones in this world and there is a different climate in every zone every month. Then we let the people who want to have all the climates, live on the upper part of the world in whatever zone they want and then we can make the underside of the world into a nomadic place where everyone will move to another zone every month, so that they can keep in their favourite climate. Kind of like how some people celebrate newyears a lot of times because they fly from time-zone to time-zone.
I would avoid the grey climate and maybe visit it once every other year for a small week of depression after too much nice weather.

405

THIS MESSAGE IS ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE IN THE NEWYORKCITY AREA.

Hi! Do you see these two lovely lads? They are called Daniel and Marius and they are both German, but that doesnt keep them from wearing cool shoelaces and socks with hearts on them.
They are about to visit New York City to photograph the smallest skyscrapers. Great plan. The only problem is that they still need a place to sleep from the 19th of august till the 23rd (and possibly also middle of september).
Are you a nice person willing to host two nice boys for a night or two? Or do you know anyone who would? Please let me know.
I also added the picture of the flowers to show that I'm sure they'd be willing to thank you for your kindness with anything a poor student who spent all their money on a ticket to new york, has to offer.

(I'm just worried they're going to end up under a bridge and then get stabbed by big american dudes with cheeseburgers with knives in them..)

404

The thing about Germans is that they really like wurst and beer. It seems like an awful stereotype, but I have to tell you that it is 100% true. And they consume so much of it and in so many varieties, that I think they are sometimes a bit ashamed of it themselves as well and then try to hide it, so they call things "liver cheese", which is just wurst. Or they call something "wurstsalat" which is not a salad at all, just wurst. And then they throw parties with cute names like "kinderfest", which is just about drinking beer.. There are uncountable different beers and wurstthings in Germany. And every single  person seems to like it. Even the vegetarians I met, wouldn't stop talking about the amazing vegetarian sausages. It's just in the German blood I think.

So this is is why we started our day in Munich with a typical "Weißwurst Frühstuck". Basically it is two white sausages that you unpeel from their white skin (which ends up as a little pile of used condoms on the side of your plate. Not very appealing when you're already busy trying to get over the fact that you're eating a white sausage in the morning), a lot of sweet mustard (this is very good!), a fresh brezel, and.. a white beer! It's the most ridiculous thing on earth, but it was a great start of our Munich day, and I was proud all day that I managed to eat at least one of the sausages!
We ended the day with beer as well in a real beergarten. In between there were museum visitis, drinking coffee, seeing naked men in the park, looking at books and eating sugarnuts on the market, and a little moment of cooling down and relaxing by the riverside (in the middle of the city!). And there were many people in lederhosen. Crazy Germans.

401

What I enjoyed the most on summerholidays with my parents as a kid, was simply driving from one place to another. Long carrides of sleeping, reading, listening to music or simply staring out the window at the passing landscape.

This summer (and most resent summers), I've been having those same kind of rides, but instead of my family's car, I've let myself get transported and lulled into sleep by trains and busses and trams. Traveling back and forth between homes. Not completely by choice though.. I tend to forget stuff all the time and then I have to get back again. But I try to not be too annoyed by myself and just enjoy that I've finished two and a half books in two days.
Plus, it is a good practice in a way. In a bit more than a week, I'll make a 9(!)-hour traindrive to the south of Germany for a holiday filled with cheese, wurst, beer, mountains, lakes, sheep, germans, biking - and hiking-adventures and peace love and happiness. (ha!) I'm super excited.


ps. I also got a tumblr. I dont know why. Because I'm a modern girl!

400

The best thing about Amsterdam is that every cafe has its own housecat. You know how some people always play with their phones while they wait for somebody to finish their peeing, or wait for them to show up or to stop calling with their mum or something.. Well I dont have a smartphone, but I do have a big love for cats, and so in those situations in Amsterdam cafes, I can never really be bored.
The best thing about my room is that I can see a very big part of the sky and that this part of the sky fills itself with balloons on summer nights. They get me very excited.
The best thing about this weather is that you can wear woolen socks and sweaters, but also floaty pants and cheap shoes and no need for a coat.
The best thing about today is that in 2 days I'll have holidays and they will be filled with all the best things in life, I think.

(the worst thing about this scanner is that it gives this awful stripe.. and the worst thing about me is that I'm too lazy and impatient to scan them all in again on another scanner..)

396

I wish I was a fisherman, tumblin' on the seas
far away from dry land, and it's bitter memories
casatin' out my sweet line, with abandonment and love
no ceiling bearin' down on me, save the starry sky above

This song kept playing in my head, as I walked by the water with a fisherman by my side.
The version of Pan I Am is my favourite and reminds me of a night years ago, where they played a show in the smallest venue, for a handful of people, so impressive and so full of energy that it is still on my list of best shows ever in the world. 2008 was not the worst year of my life. Memories of this music go hand in hand with Vrederick's photos for some reason. And it turns out, he is not just a cool photographer, but also a very cool person in general.

1. Schepen onder de kust voor anker, Willem van de Velde (II), ca. 1660
2. Een schip in volle zee bij vliegende storm, bekend als 'De windstoot', Willem van de Velde (II), ca. 1680

395

One of those dead birds was found on the birthday of the hero of roadkill photography (and more), Jack Adams. Definitely one of the coolest people I've never met.

Also I dont think you have to go vegan. Personally I would never do it because I quite like cheese and pancakes. But I am wondering a bit about the thoughts behind this protest grafitti. Would it be like: "look at how happy those cows would look if they were just hanging around in the grass. Lets not eat them!" Or maybe like: "Do you think this plastic, square cow looks tasty? This is how all cows look, because they are so modified. So you should go vegan." Or maybe somebody was just a bit high (it is amsterdam after all) and sat on the cows and then fell off because they lost their balance, but then they got very pissed off at the cow for no reason at all, and then wrote "go vegan". And I hear you think that that wouldnt make sense, because if you are pissed off at the cow, you want it killed. But it is more that if we would all go vegan, there would be a lot less cows probably. Eitherway. For whatever the reason may be, I'm glad they did it, because it makes me smile.

394

Just one hour biking away from Amsterdam we found ourselves in proper flat Dutch countryside. We spent two days in a tent, making dinner on a small fire, smoking by the side of the lake as we watched the red ball of sun slowly fall in the water (so cheesy, you almost wouldnt believe it could be real). Biking to the touristic cute towns, ending up between the 60+ mass tourists, laughing at the sea, drinking beers in a bar with music and a book of lists, and spending all our 50cent coins in the shower in order to stay a bit warm.
A birthday celebration of sorts. Mostly a perfect escape from busy city life. I just got all my tickets for summerplans sorted. Two short German holidays, one with mountains and one with music.

392

Two nice German thingies.
Age is something that doesnt matter, unless you are a cheese.
Always remember that.

(Maybe Luis Buñuel said that once, but you can never really rely on websites with so-called "inspirational quotes". But do we really care who said it when it is truly inspirational? Or when it is something that everyone could've thought of? No! Besides, the Luis guy is dead anyways, so he doesnt give a damn if we properly credit him or not. Ha. The rights on this quote are probably long gone, so we can just all pretend I made it up! A Dutch girl who doesnt like getting old, but quite likes cheese? Seems quite logical.)

388

German artschool-boys: living out of the box.

387

I am officially back in Eindhoven now.

Hamburg had a downstairsneighbour to wave at.
Here in Eindhoven I look out on an empty field. This morning a little boy was suddenly standing there on his own, in the middle of the emptyness. I waved at him. He, too, was waving. Not at me, though. He waved a stick at invisible monsters. I think he slayed pretty much all of them.

385

The day of leaving Hamburg is getting closer and closer. Instead of counting weeks, I have to count days now. And although I try not to think about it too much, my head is silently checking off all the last time..'s, even though it is only a temporary goodbye. 

I am not too sad. I am enjoying my time here and appreciate all the wonders and the people who surround me here and whom I've come to love - as cliché as it may sound. But I know I will come back here someday, and now I am very much looking forward to seeing my friends back home again more often. Hamburg won't run away. One of the most charming things of this city is that she doesn't demand much of you, she just lets you be around and mostly that is already great. So I don't have to do lots of exciting, big things and instead just kind of spazier myself through these last days. 

And I really do think Hamburg and I have become good friends and, the way it goes with good friends, you don't have to see them everyday and if you must, you can just disappear for a while and then when you decide to return, they will be waiting for you with open arms as if nothing ever happened. 

384

"Ik ren als een paard naar het licht van het noorden. Hij noemt me Lilith en rent als een ruiter. Mijn tenen voelde ik al een tijd niet meer, maar de snijdende kou van die dag maakte het vuur en de koffie die ons te wachten stonden, des te beter."

A girl dipped her icecream in her hot chocolate while her parents played the games she wasn't interested in.

"Art." They put a large white stone on the table and the father looked annoyed. It looked like a head, but not like his.

Walking all the way backwards, just to not lose sight of the clouds, which kept changing.

There is a game we would play, you hold somebody by their hand and they close their eyes, then you make sure they will have an interesting view and let them open their eyes for a split second. Taking a picture with your eyes.

I do this for myself when I want to remember moments forever. They are more powerful than any real image could ever be.

When the sky shows the world her most beautiful colours, it feels a bit like nature is playing this game with us. Just a split second. Before you know it, it's dark again. But I can still recall the most beautiful skies in my mind.

The song of this post is Le petit Chevalier - Nico

Je suis le petit chevalier,
avec le ciel dessus mes yeux,
je ne peux pas me effrayer.

Je suis le petit chevalier,
avec la terre dessous mes pieds
J'irai te visiter
J'irai te visiter

(I am the little knight, with the sky above my eyes, I cannot be frightened,
I am the little knight, with the earth under my feet, I will come to visit you, I will come to visit you)