Easter (or Ostern) is a big deal in Germany. There are Easter specials and corresponding displays in every store, just about everything closes over the holiday weekend, residential windows show off Easter decorations (like branches hung with decorated eggs), church bells ring, and there’s tons of chocolate!
As a slightly healthier alternative to all the Easter chocolate (which is fantastic… but sometimes a bit too much), I made a couple batches of bliss balls – although I’m calling them Glückseligkeit Bällchen in keeping with current surroundings and because I love the word Bällchen 🙂
Most celestial movements pass me by. I generally don’t remark on whether Venus or Mars are visible. I’ve never stayed up late to watch a meteor shower. I couldn’t tell you when there might be a comet passing by.
But I do notice a full moon.
I’m not drawn to full moons for astronomical, tidal, or astrological purposes, I simply like that they help me remember; I often recall where I’ve been for past full moons and who I’ve been with.
Many, many full moons ago I was in South Africa with my brother. He took phenomenal photos (like the one on the right) of the full moon while we were staying at Camp Figtree Lodge. Every full moon since then has helped me remember that incredible trip and made me think about our adventures together.
Fewer full moons ago, my husband and I vacationed in Maui with good friends. On the night of a full moon we walked back to our condo after dinner and my husband snapped a couple photos of the sky. Sadly, none of those pictures turned out, but seeing the moon at it’s fullest still brings back memories of that trip -and reminds me that I’m lucky to have such friends.
Full moon in Neuss, Germany
And then there was the full moon of the Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. I participated in a meditation to mark the full moon at Sat Nam (the forerunner to Bound Lotus Meditation & Yoga Centre) before going to a friends’ to watch the last part of the hockey game. When I see a full moon now, I remember the foreboding sense that something was coming and the shock of seeing the first plumes of smoke coming from downtown. It makes me think of the bad behaviour that can be spawned from angry drunks and remember that sometimes bad things happen to good cities.
Thankfully, not all full moon meditations have been followed by such dramatic events! I’ve participated in many such meditations at Bound Lotus, including a few with my dog Sofie, and the full moon brings back those grounding experiences and makes me miss the welcoming community at the studio.
I also like thinking that no matter where people I love are (Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, London, Berlin, Beijing, or anywhere else), they may also be looking up at the full moon – seeing the same thing I am.
Rather sappily, it reminds me of that song from that mouse movie. (A quick search reveals that the song is Somewhere Out There from An American Tail.)
Somewhere out there, beneath the pale moonlight,
Someone’s thinking of me and loving me tonight.
When the full moon comes out later tonight, I’ll be in Paris with my husband and our dog. Despite all the glittering lights, I’m sure I’ll find a few moments to look up at the sky – to think of full moons past, to remember the amazing people I’ve shared them with, and to dream of those to come.
It’s made up of three interconnected levels of steel mesh, interspersed with giant inflated spheres and suspended under the glass roof of the Ständehaus building. Saraceno was inspired by spiderwebs and spent years studying how different species create different patterns.
in orbitis huge and strange and amazing from all perspectives – particularly from within.
Visitors can don coveralls and climb into the structure; becoming part of the exhibit, altering the tension on the steel wires, and interacting with each other and those watching.
While waiting to get into the coveralls, I was impatient. During the very short safety briefing, I started to get a bit anxious. And then walking up the scaffolding (which felt less than rock solid), the butterflies started. As I trepidatiously put a first foot on the mesh, my heart was pounding. Looking down and seeing the polished stone floor five floors below, I began to think this was a bad idea.
I quickly dropped my bum onto the mesh out a self-preserving instinct that increased physical contact would mean increased safety. The path of least resistance led to a steep down-slope and before I knew it I was sliding down the mesh as though it was snow and I was on a toboggan.
That slide brought on a childlike sense of elation and my nervousness evaporated. While part of my brain still screamed “Stop!” when I moved from overlapping layers of mesh to a single stratum, I got quite comfortable being suspended.
I climbed the ‘walls,’ attempted a couple yoga poses, flopped onto the pillows, ‘swam’ on my belly, marveled at the huge blown-up spheres, clambered along the wires, reveled in the novelty of walking on air… all while I grinned madly.
I could not anticipate my fearlessness before stepping onto the mesh, but there it was. Brave, adventurous, blithely embracing the amazingness of the moment.
On my first walk through our new neighbourhood I noticed black stickers with chalk writing on a number of doors. I paid closer attention on subsequent walks and started noticing actual chalk on doorways as well.
Algebra on door frames? A complicated census system? A formula for garbage pick-up?
Given that Lent had just begun and I hadn’t noticed anything like this before, I theorized that the markings had something to do with Easter. A bit of research revealed that I was right about their religious nature, but wrong about the occasion.
The chalk markings are a traditional Catholic house blessing in Germany done around Epiphany (6 January) every year. The digits represent the year to come (2014 in the picture at top left) and the letters stand for either the Latin blessing Christus mansionem benedicat (Christ bless this house) or names of the three wise men (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar). The mathematical operators have folkloric meaning as well: the multiplication sign or asterisk (*) is for the Star of Bethlehem and the plus symbols (+++) represent the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
While the majority of doorways in our neighbourhood are unmarked, there are sizable number that have been chalked and some even have long lists from previous years. It’s clear that Neuss is more Catholic (or at least more into chalk and blessings!) than Berlin as there’s a whole set of traditions around Epiphany that we didn’t see any trace of in Germany’s more secular capital.
Learning about local traditions like this is one of the reasons that my husband and I wanted to live in different regions of Germany. Exploring a different country from a less-tourist perspective was a motivating factor for starting this adventure and it’s fantastic when those explorations lead to a little more understanding of local customs.
And with Easter just around the corner, who knows what other new-to-us traditions will pop up!
Spring weather is unpredictable everywhere. Thursday was all bright sunshine and warmth. Yesterday I got caught in a hailstorm on my way back from yoga and then the sun set on nearly cloudless skies. Today is cloudy with a cold wind. And who knows what Spring has in store tomorrow!
We ‘sprung’ at the chance to enjoy the fantastic weather and spent Thursday afternoon in Düsseldorf. It’s easy to like a city when the weather’s good – it helps that there were lots of ice cream parlours and a plethora of breweries, too!
We walked along the Rhineuferpromenade (river-side pedestrian/bike path) from Altstadt (the old town) with its narrow cobbled streets and many shops to Mediahafen (a former harbour that’s now filled with restaurants, shops, and modern architecture). Sofie stalked pigeons, we shed layers of clothing, and very much enjoyed meandering along the Rhine.
We stopped at two different breweries and sampled their variants of Altbier (old beer) – a dark brew served in 200mL glasses so it’s always cold! And ended up having ice cream for lunch 🙂
Lots of locals (and some tourists, as well) were out enjoying the sun, ice cream, and beer, which made for excellent people watching. Düsseldorf is known for being fashionable and there were many stylish dressers who did not disappoint. The overall dapper-ness was, however, kept in check by the disproportionate number of leather vests and badly highlighted hair!
The proximity of so many cities with different conventions, style, architecture, and cuisine (and beer!) gives us some incredible opportunities for short trips. Since arriving in Neuss, we’ve sipped Kölsch (the local beer) in Köln; walked Europe’s largest outdoor market in Liège, Belgium; bought ‘cheap’ gas in Luxembourg; driven through the East Cantons, Belgium’s German region; and celebrated the first official day of Spring in Düsseldorf.
We plan on ‘springing’ on travel opportunities as much as possible. Given that there’s a train station about five minutes away that connects us to many other interesting cities in Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, we’ve got no excuse!
Cooking is one of the things I miss most while travelling. Although we had a stovetop, fridge, and sink in the camper, space was very cramped and the ventilation system wasn’t great. Our most successful camper meals were pretty much bread, cheese, and paté.
I’m very much enjoying cooking in a real kitchen and have been making some old favourites. Relatively easy and very comforting meals like ravioli with mushrooms and sage, chili with baking powder biscuits, gnocchi with lemon and arugula, and this delicious ham & cheese loaf.
