Down South

A 3,5 hours train ride away from Hamburg is a village where it is more likely that you know the people you meet on the street than not knowing them, where people speak with a lovely accent and say "Ade" for "bye", where Sunday mornings just seem so quiet because everything is shut and you feel it is a day where everything is allowed to take more time. This is where I grew up...

I really do love and prefer living in a bigger city and I enjoy all the advantages of it but it is just good to come home, see family and friends and dive just for a weekend into old habits, like reading the local paper.

On Saturday my sister, mum and I went to the closest city and we passed the so called Autumn market on the main square where people sell all sorts of things, like very traditionally kitchen stuff, self-made ceramics or wreaths. There is also this stall where you can buy those apron dresses usually old people wear and you can actually only get them on this and the Spring Market which just take place for two weeks every year. I have such memories with such aprons. They are mostly blue-ish checked or with a flowery pattern and my grandmother is getting them there too and is always pretty excited when the time for the markets comes closer. These aprons have pretty big pockets and it seems my grandmother can store everything in them. When I was a kid it was sometimes amazing to see what she had in them, a real handkerchief for tears or the running nose, bonbons for special treats, pens or a piece of paper...it seemed like she had always the right thing in her pockets...

It makes me smile to think of this and I look forward to driving down for Christmas.

Ade Maria : )