by Krista | Oct 25, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
Good morning! It’s a beautifully sunny day in Queensland, Australia as I sip my coffee and write to you dear folks.
Slowly but surely I’m getting settled in here, and I’m so happy, my heart and body at rest.
How I love going to bed at night with the sound of wind in the gum trees lulling me to sleep.
Then waking to the contented clucking of my chickens as they scavenge for tasty bugs in the new piles of weeds pulled from my garden.
I’ve been learning all sorts of new things on the farm where I’m living, and am feeling very homesteader-ish.
I’ve drenched and inoculated my beautiful red goats – William, L’Abri, Felix and Sophie, gathered eggs and learned how to sort them for eating and hatching, and balanced precariously on a bright orange stool as I used special pliers to put together a fence for the goat yard. I even successfully spotted and avoided my first snake – a 5 foot fellow slithering through the grass that my Aussie friends informed me “wasn’t that big.” 🙂
I love it here.
Love looking out over flower-filled fields as I wash dishes, learning how to cook with goat and kangaroo and blue pumpkins, and sitting out on the back porch watching Mockingbirds and Rosellas flit from branch to branch.
I even love hanging my clothes out on the line to dry in the fresh air, stepping carefully around swathes of wildflowers and saying hello to the horses moseying past.
It’s so good to be home. 🙂
What are your favorite things about where you live?
by Krista | Oct 12, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
When Margo at The Travel Belles asked us to share about our favorite museum for this month’s Across the Cafe Table, I was stymied! I love museums, from the quirky to the sublime, but I wracked my brain to think of my absolute favorite.
I thought of the Museum of Bread Culture in Ulm, Germany – a place that sounded as dull as can be at first glance, but turned out to be a 5-story trip through history chock full of interesting displays and fascinating tidbits of how bread was used to win wars, control entire populations, and bring life to those on the brink of death.
I considered the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, a fantastic place filled with the most beautiful vistas of animals in their natural habitats, and the Museum Willet-Holthuysen in Amsterdam. How I love this wonderful old canal house with its charming gardens and cozy old kitchen.
But at last I settled on the Dutch Resistance Museum in the Netherlands.
Amsterdam has a wealth of museums, including the famous Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, but this one is my favorite.
It is the sort of place you want to linger in, reading story after story of the heroic and selfless actions of Dutch civilians during the Nazi Occupation of World War II.
I read incredulously of the ingenuity of the Resistance workers as they devised brilliant ways of smuggling ration cards, food, and forged papers to those in need. I cried as I read the heart-rending stories of those who suffered terribly or lost their lives in their efforts to rescue Jews and others hunted by the Nazis.
The museum has an extensive and fascinating collection of items from WWII, including original clothing, documents, and furniture that give the stories even greater impact. I loved reading snippets from old letters and diaries and learning about the man who cooked the books of the Dutch government in order to finance the Resistance movement right under the noses of the Gestapo. I was transfixed by hundreds of photos and hearing the voices of survivors telling their stories.
Mostly I was inspired and challenged to look at my time in history and find ways to protect and care for those in need.
For more information on the Dutch Resistance Museum click here.
Note: call ahead for exact ticket cost since changes are not always reflected on website.
For more information about beloved museums around the world, click here.
What is your favorite museum?
by Krista | Oct 5, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
There are moments in travel that give me such pangs of happiness and contentment that it almost hurts.
This morning was one of those times.
A treasured snippet of tranquility found in a sun-dappled Italian country garden where I lingered long over breakfast with a dear friend.
I met Maddalena online one day when she found my blog and sent me an email telling her story. Our friendship has grown ever since, fostered by a shared love for a travel and a shared YIPES as we attempt to forge paths for ourselves in this topsy-turvy world.
I was so excited to finally meet her in person this month, and a long, companionable breakfast in the unseasonably warm sunshine was the best way to get all caught up.
We talked of grand adventures and hilarious mishaps as we munched on crispy toast slathered with butter and lingonberry jam.
We discussed books, history, and the best way to grow tomatoes and cabbages as we nibbled sugar-topped pastries and sipped cup after cup of strong Italian coffee.
We spoke of family histories and personal heartaches, cheering each other on as we shared fears and hopes for the years to come.
Then we left our comfy perch in the garden and went for a stroll around the property, delighting in the ground carpeted in tiny purple cyclamen, the sun turning the grape vines a rich gold, and the cozy nest of brown crunchy leaves the pet turtles had made for hibernation.
Although I love exploring the enchanting alleyways of Italian cities, craning my neck to look up at medieval towers, there is something infinitely more precious about a morning in the country and a heart-to-heart talk with a good friend.
What is your favorite way to get caught up with a friend you haven’t seen in a while?
by Krista | Sep 20, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
I’ve had some sort of wretched flu the last five days, but today I plucked up my strength, bundled warmly in jeans, sweater and scarf, and went for a walk on a very grey but oh so beautiful Amsterdam day.
I’m so glad I did.
Although I’m camera-less these days – a rather crazy story I’ll have to tell you about later 🙂 – I have my trusty phone with me, and managed to capture a few shots of Amsterdam in the Jacob van Lennepkade area.
I was so pleased when I turned them black and white instead of color. Don’t some of them look like stills from an old WW2 movie, or something out of an old history book? This is my familiar neighborhood, but removing all color made it brand new again. 🙂
What’s the first thing you like to do when you start feeling better?
by Krista | Sep 14, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
Hello dear ones! How I’ve missed you this past week, wishing you were with me to experience beautiful Tuscany in September.
I have so many stories to share with you, pictures of delicious food and gorgeous places, and I promise to get to that as soon as I can. 🙂
I am back in Amsterdam now, holding down the fort for my brother and sis-in-law while they celebrate their wedding with five more days in Italy. Although I loved every bit of my time in Tuscany, I am equally loving this downtime in chilly Amsterdam. It’s so wonderful sleeping in, getting caught up on work and emails, and sipping lots of soup and hot tea as the wind blusters and blows.
I’ve spent the last two days editing photos of my summer travels and will start sharing them with you in the days to come. Until then, I’ll leave you with a little collage of jolly times with my family in Tuscany.
Big hugs to you, my friends. I can’t wait to get all caught up with you. 🙂
xo
by Krista | Aug 31, 2011 | Compatriot Wednesday
I’ve been in the Black Forest of Germany for a few days now, and oh, how I love it!
I’m staying with dear friends in the mountain village of Bühlertal, about thirty minutes from Baden-Baden.
Tomorrow I will show you this beautiful village with its charming gardens, fruit trees, and bright red roofs, but today I will share a few photos of the gorgeous countryside around here.
On a drive home from Baden-Baden, my friends pulled off the road to a rest stop to show me this stunning view. I love the brilliant green meadow across the way and the wisps of mist just beginning to creep in as evening falls.
Isn’t this a lovely rest stop? I’d be delighted to pull off mid-trip for a stroll and picnic lunch here. The log cabin makes me smile. It would be so welcoming on a long road trip along winding mountain roads.
If I lived here I’d simply have to stop and pick armfuls of these wildflowers and brightly colored leaves to bring home with me. And I’d definitely be tempted to ditch the car for a bit and go for a ramble down that little path to see where it leads.
What is your ideal rest stop?
