Summer and Water

These are a few snaps I took on a Sunday a few weeks ago. We spent the whole day with friends who were in town from Germany to go from one beach to the next.
It was the best!

>> check out the amazing photos from my friend Trixi. She took some great photos on her trip to Lanzarote. So magical

Exxopolis - Architects of Air

Last Sunday we walked through the Botanic gardens towards the Sydney opera house to have a look at the Exxopolis, which we had in town for the Sydney Festival and was built up right in front of the stairs of the opera.

The Exxopolis is a big inflatable dome which is inspired by nature, geometry and is more a world of colour and light as soon as you enter it. We got told that all pieces of this construct were glued together by hand which seemed incredible while we spent some time within the different areas, tunnels and rooms of it. I was pretty blown away by the different colour schemes and the intensity of the colours themselves within the dome. Every room, tunnel or corner seems to shine in a new way.

I was trying my luck this day and took my new camera with me to take a few shots and I am pleased with the result as I was a little worried that it could have been too dark to take film shots within the dome.

Green city

I walk to work almost every day. It is a beautiful 40 minutes walk through the botanic garden and the inner city itself. A few weeks back I had four photos left on a roll of film which I wanted to get developed on that day and decided to take them on my walk to work in the morning. Later after I picked up the film and looked at prints I noticed how green and tropical those four photos look. I also realized that I started taking for granted the beauty of things I see and pass every day on this walk. Those photos brought back my consciousness and since then I already discovered many other great corners on my walk in this wonderful city.

Being home

Time oh time...you are never standing still and you certainly are flying by when you are having fun.
The last 3 weeks we spent back home were so great. We traveled to Munich, Berlin and Hamburg and also spent some time in the small village I grew up in.

I celebrated my birthday on the first evening being back and it was so great to see my parents living room filling up with all those lovely people I haven't seen in 1,5 years. Over tea and cookies we exchanged so many stories and laughs and we even met the kids of our friends who we haven't had the chance to meet yet. Life is changing, life is good.

We celebrated New Years Eve with dear friends and a beautiful cooked meal in Munich. The weather was so amazing and I seem to always forget and than remember that I am very fond of those last few quiet days of the year. I can't really explain it but there just seems to be something special in the air. We welcomed the new year with a long walk and visit to the great Brandhorst museum ....

After a few days in Munich we flew up to Berlin. It seemed colder and darker up there but nevertheless we had a good time. This city has just always so much to give and show. We drank lots of good coffee and ate great food, browsed along the fancy shops in Mitte, discovered new streets in Neukölln & Kreuzberg and finally met the wonderful Sandra & her husband and were lucky to also spend lots of time with Trixi.

And of course there was Hamburg which was the next stop on the list. I love this place so much, it always reminds me of the great years I had when I lived there. I spent a whole week there which gave me a lot of time to catch up with friends, properly hang out with them and meet old and new places.

A few photos which I took with my phone while I was there.

Hope you all had a good start into the new year!

Maria

2013

In the last few years (2010 & 2012) I was looking back to the months which have passed and went through posts and photos, which is one of my favourite things to do in the end of the year.  Again, I wanted to look back with a few lines to each month and take you on a little time journey with me. 

January


We had a such a quiet and peaceful start into the new year earlier this year by going to the ocean for a swim and just be at home and read all day. I also made terrariums with friends (which photos later got published in the Weekender magazine), went and saw an amazing Anish Kapoor exhibition and went for a long weekend back to Tasmania. I love this little island and there is always so much to do. We went for lots of bush walks, icy cold swims and had the best cherries of our lives. 

February


I meet Laura Jones through a mutual friend and felt very lucky to be invited to her beautiful studio in Alexandria on Sunday morning in February. I took a few photos just before her exhibition started a few weeks later and she was in the middle of getting everything ready. It was such a lovely afternoon, she was telling lots of stories over tea and some pieces of chocolate. I feel in love with her beautiful floral paintings and could have spend ours in her studio studying each of her artworks.  
Laura's studio visit post

March



Melbourne is always such a great city to visit for a weekend. I booked a trip in March to see a friend and also had some time to stop by Elizabeth's (Primoeza) wonderful new home. She is such a beautiful person (in- and outside) and we had a lovely few hours drinking tea and just chatting along. It made me wish to live closer to Melbourne in order to being able to have such catch ups more often. Her new home/studio is so stunning and tastefully arranged. I was thinking about it a lot after I had left. She is such an inspiring person with a ton of great style. 

We also cooked lots of new dishes from new cookbooks in March. I love to try out new things and we discovered a few new favourites. 

Elizabeth's home post 

April


In April we travelled to the US to spend some time in LA, San Francisco and drove between those two cities along the Big Sur and stopped here and there for a night, like in Ojai. In the last few months after our trip, my thoughts kept on going back to our time there and small moments from our trip popped up in my head and reminded me of what a great few weeks we had there and how much I enjoyed California. 
I would really like to go back as there is so much more to explore and a lot more to do and see. I would have never thought it, but I really fell in love with LA. This city is so diverse, there are so many amazing places, neighbourhoods, architecture, little shops, restaurants, things to do, like hiking in the city. We also had such great food, met wonderful people, saw great art, just drove around with the windows down ......and felt in a way that we would think back  and remember it being a great time.  

This is video from the song Balmorhea // Pyrakantha was shot in LA during twilight and it just stunning and reflects the vibe of the city I got there as well. I really want to go back!    

The Huntington Gardens in Pasadena was one of those magical places we discovered there. 

May


In May we spend a weekend in the Blue Mountains with friends. We rented a little beautiful house, packed great food, board games and had a great time away from the city. We went for hikes (got lost once) and enjoyed the beautiful nature, which is only a 1,5h drive away from Sydney. 

June


We had a lot of rain and work in June and spent most of our time at home, wrapped up in warm clothes, relaxing on the weekends and going out for Autumn walks to catch up with friends for quick coffees. 

July


July on the other hand was golden and full of blue skies and sun. It was such a wonderful Winter this year and I enjoyed it so much to go for cool Winter walks, make fresh vegetable juices in the morning, eat lots of fresh food to keep healthy. The sun and light in Winter is really special in Sydney and on late afternoons I love to walk through our apartment to catch the shades here and there. 

August


We went for more walks and explored new neighbourhoods in our city, always accompanied by a good coffee. I also celebrated being 3 years in Sydney   

September 


September was such a great month as my sister came all the way from Germany to visit us. We went for our first swim in the season in our favourite rock pool at the beach, cooked so much good food with her, showed her all around the city, chatted and just had such a good time with her. I wish we would live closer to each other! 

October


Well, and then there was New Zealand in October. I don't know why it has taken us so long to spend some time there as this place is so close to Australia. It is so beautiful that it's almost hard to describe in words. We went for lots of hikes and spent most of our day outside exploring, adoring the landscape, the colours of the scenery, breathed the fresh air - even though we only had 10 days we saw so much and could clear our minds very well.   

November 


We went to Perth in November to spend some time with Will's family which was wonderful. November was one of these month which we just wanted to have over as soon as quickly. I guess not every month is great and leaves you back with the best memories. But those sometimes make you more wise, re-focused and prioritize on the important things in life. 

December


In the beginning of December you notice the great vibe of Summer and how people are getting ready for their break. I love this feeling. It might be hard for a European to get into the Christmas spirit with 30C and warmer every day but I certainly can feel that this month is special. I started to go for swims before and after work again in my local pool . 
Had lots and lots of catch ups with friends, prepared Christmas lunches and enjoyed the vegetables and fruits of the season. 
Mid month I slowly started packing my bag for our trip back home to Germany. I am so happy to be at home and seeing all my friends and family. I celebrated my 31st birthday on Sunday and felt the love of all my family and friends who came by (until the jetlag kicked in) to share stories, tea & christmas cookies with us. 

And what's next...I look forward to going to Munich for New Years eve and having a great night with dear friends over a cooked meal, after that we will spend time in Berlin in Hamburg before we fly back to Sydney mid January. 

I wanted to say thank you for coming by here, for leaving lovely and encouraging comments or for just stopping in to say hello....THANK YOU! 

To a wonderful 2014. May it be exciting and full of adventures but may there also be enough time to focus on the important things in life and to find enough rest & energy for yourself.

I look forward to the new year, take care!

Maria 

PS. If you haven't seen it yet, I created a little Schorlemaedchen Facebook page