Northern Beaches

A few more beach impressions.
I am trying to bring my camera out for walks here in Hamburg but the light is rare here in Winter so it will take longer to get a roll of film full. We are still waiting to get our container from Sydney until then my digital camera is locked away and all I can show you are some more impressions from Australia. I hope you don't mind. I am also working on my yearly review....hopefully it will be ready soon :) Just a few more days to go.

>< Mieke and Renilde made the wonderful ABC book which I can't wait to receive in the mail. Have a look here.

Winter at the beach

Thank you so much for all your kind words about our move to Hamburg. The first two weeks went by and we have been slowly adjusting to the colder weather and few hours of daylight every day. We have been lucky and our first apartment application went through and we got the keys for our new place yesterday. Now all we need is our container which is on its way from Sydney.

I am so glad for all the photos I took while being in Sydney in the last years. It happened in the last weeks that we sat on the couch and flicked through them, remembering days, moments, chats, friends.....I came across these photos I took in 2013 at the Northern Beaches and I realized I never shared them even though I really like the mood and colours of those shots.

The other day I went for my first swim here after work. It was -4C and I took the train two stops further of our current home. I have never been to this bath but it was one of those old beautiful bathes with old tiles and high ceilings. When I asked where the pool for the laps is they pointed outside. Yes, the pool was outside. I wasn't sure if I can do it as I thought this is quiet an extreme contrast to the pool I was used to go to in Sydney. Well, I saw two elder people outside, swimming their laps, so I got changed and after slowly counting till 3 (maybe 5) I entered the water (which was of course heated) and started swimming my laps.

So here I was, swimming in this heated pool, my head cold and the rest of my body warm, the water was 'sending' clouds of steam into the cold and dark night air and every now and then the subway drove by. It was very different to the pool in Sydney but in its own way it was also very nice.

Leaving Sydney

And then our last week in Sydney arrived.

Even though we have made the decision to move to Germany a few months ago I feel now that we have actually left, we can slowly process the change and realize that it is not just a holiday we are here in Germany for but actually to set up our life again.

I am so grateful for the amazing time I had in my last 4.5 years living in Australia, most of all for the people I met, friends I made and places I have been to. It was a big move back in 2010 but I am so glad I did it and was able to collect all those different experiences and go on many adventures in the last years.

It was a hot Sydney Summer day last Friday, our last day. I got woken up from the noise of the birds outside our friends apartment. Those exotic birds whose songs became so familiar to me over the last years. The Summer light and smells coming through the window and realizing that this will be the last time for a while until I'll feel, hear and see this again. Our bags were all packed up and we had farewelled all our friends over the previous days. So we woke up early and walked through the Botanic Gardens to the Andrew Boy Charlton pool for a final swim. It was a 35C day and it was already quite warm...the Summer sun was standing high and hit the surface of the pool which was glowing in its inviting blue. I put on my goggles and cap and dived into the cool and salty water. Swimming my laps, like the many mornings before work in the last years or late afternoons after work. I put my head under the water, the blue of the tiles seemed so strong due to the midday light and with every move I could see the shades of my hands at the bottom of the tiles of the pool. It was a really nice moment which I wanted to remember as I said goodbye with every lap I swam and seemed to be getting ready to leave after finishing the ritual which I'd gotten so fond of over the years.

We left the pool, our towels around our hips still seeming to be people who are living in that great city but secretly saying goodbye. We went for a last coffee and breakfast to our favorite cafe (Room 10) before we took a taxi and left our street and neighbourhood behind. After an almost 30h trip we arrived in Hamburg, welcomed by dear friends and relieved to finally be here.

The last view days have been all about settling in, catching up with friends, getting used to the different season and trying to find an apartment. It is very exciting to be back and we look forward to everything which is about to come over the next few months. I still have a few photos from Australia which I would love to share with you over the next weeks....

I hope you are all well.
Maria

PS I took the photo earlier this year when we flew back to Sydney from Hobart, Tasmania :)

A studio visit - Pippin Drysdale

A few months ago I showed you some photos of Western Australian artist Pippin Drysdale. When we were back in Perth some weeks ago to see Will's family we had another chance for s sneak peak into Pippin's studio, where she works on the most amazing ceramic pots.

We are packing up our apartment this weekend and the weather is helping us with not feeling too bad being inside all day. It is pouring down this morning. I am secretly hoping that we will be able to going for a swim later on in the afternoon.

Hope you are all having a great weekend,
Maria

Royal Botanic Gardens - Sydney

A few weeks back my friend Rosa and I went for a walk through the Royal Botanic Gardens here in Sydney. It was a warm Winters day and you could smell that Spring was just around the corner. We only live 10 minutes away from the gardnes but I know I will miss having this beautiful oasis close by (a lot).

A walk in the Royal National Park [part II]

A few weeks back I showed you some photos of a Sunday walk through the Royal National Park. Such a beautiful park, I could imagine to one day camping there and stay for a whole week to explore the bush and swim in the water there. But for now I will have these photos to treasure the good time I had there. Just a few more weeks until our move. It is slowly getting warmer here in Sydney and you can smell that Summer is just around the corner. We already went for several ocean and bay swims and I have a whole lot of more photos to share with you but I am wondering if I should wait until we are in Germany when the weather gets colder and darker and those photos could be little glimpse of warmth and light for myself, too. I will see. I love how my friends Mel's hair matches to the colour of the Banksia, how wide the bush is, all its colours and different grasses, it is one of the things I will miss!

> I came across this tumblr by David Boyson and really enjoy his photography and adventures!

Weekend Food Shopping

Hello everyone and thank you so much for your lovely comments here and also on Instagram regarding our move back to Germany.

I am so behind with showing photos. These are some I took earlier this year in May when we got our fruit and vegetables at the Local Harvest Collective .

Hope you are all having a nice weekend.

Maria :)

See you later Sydney!

In a few weeks time will we pack up our apartment here in Sydney, say goodbye to dear family & friends and move to the other side of the world! Again. It has been 4,5 amazing years here in Sydney and I am not sure if I have completely processed yet that this is all happening. While writing this my hair is still drying from my early swim, the sun is shining and there is no cloud at the sky. When you followed this blog in the last years you might have seen how special this place is and how fond we are of it. I really do think that Sydney is one of the best places to live. When we tell people about our decision to move we get very often asked why/really/are you sure?

It really is not easy when you call two places home and when those two places are 16,000km away from each other it is particularly hard to keep in touch and be part of people's life you really care about. We realize that we will always be in the situation to leave people & things we love behind us but at the same time we feel very privileged to call Australia and Germany our home. How lucky are we!? But you know, nothing is forever & it is important to be flexible and be open for new ideas and plans and that is what we are trying to do. We are excited to being back in Europe again and look forward to being closer to family and friends we have only seen a few times since I moved here, to more traveling and me speaking a bit more German. :)

A walk in the the Royal National Park

The other Sunday Will, Mel and I drove an hour south to go for a bush walk in the Royal National Park. I have been there years ago and have such fond memories of the park, so I looked forward to going back and enjoying the bush and the water at the end of our walk. 

>> I really like these photos on the Smith Journal blog and love the project itself even more 

>< Wonderfully tailored clothes by Johanna van Daalen