Books | I’m buying and buying new ones and don’t even know when I’ll have the time to read them all. Or when I’ll be in the (right) mood for any of them. The novel I’m reading currently is dragging a bit and I’m tempted to either abandon it or skim through the second half. I’ve got quite a few interesting non-fiction books on my shelf, but as so often: I just can’t make up my mind, which to start with. There are also quite a few novels and the same dilemma. I might need to go back to reading the first few pages of a few and then decide. What a boring first world problem, I know.
Photography | It was still below 0 °C here all morning and I thought I might find some interesting winter / frozen over / anything nature or locations to snap photos of. I drove a few minutes to the next town, because I feel like I’ve seen enough of my own. And to be honest, I wanted to avoid running into people I know and having to explain why I was out with the camera. Yes, I’m feeling fine, but still suffer from lack of self-esteem in some regards. Anyway, I took some photos and dabbled around editing them, but didn’t got anything I considered worth sharing. Then I remembered I had already been shooting in RAW format last year on my vacation, so went back to two of those photos. I’m quite happy how they turned out.
Ameland Dunes – not editedAmeland Dunes – editedAmeland Beach – not editedAmeland Beach – edited
Magnificent and wide. And wild and stormy and foggy and still able to calm my soul.
I slept in, read some news and social media on my phone. Meditated. Had a coffee. Went to the beach around 11 and braced the cold and wind to walk up and down the shore for a while. Went back “home”. Had breakfast. Edited the morning photos. Read some more (newspaper, a bit on the phone, self-help). Went back to the beach in the dusk and braced to cold once more. Got home. Took a long hot shower. Edited some more photos. Had supper. Posted this. Will read some more. Go to bed early-ish to get another restful night of sleep, before I head back home to Germany tomorrow. Coming here to recharge was a good idea, I think….
Lyrics: “Haven’t Been Doing So Well” ~ Frank Turner, 2021
Live Music | I went to a gig yesterday and it was wonderful. I admit in recent years I’ve been a bit of a snob re: German pop / rock music. Possibly because the stuff on mainstream radio feels so generic. Sound and especially lyrics wise. Bland and interchangeable. Nothing that hooked me in any way. But I also admit that I never really made the effort to look into other, less mainstream German artists / bands. It’s the same with English artists though. I sometimes feel bad that my musical taste is quite limited and that I don’t check out new bands or new to me old bands. Or that I don’t listen to the variety of music, I think a lot of my music pals (which I found through Frank Turner) listen to. And then I start feeling like a fraud for being so single minded in my musical preferences and so ignorant of other bands / artists. Ugh! It doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. It’s not a contest. But that’s just me. Imposter syndrome and all.
Anyway, I found this German artist Thees Uhlmann through Frank as well, when he was one of the supports at Lost Evenings in September. He blew my mind then and I was so glad that I was able to get a ticket to the additional afternoon show in Cologne yesterday. As expected, it felt amazing to sing those songs, which I’ve grown to love in these past few weeks, with a room full of people. It was lovely to see that Thees felt thrilled to be there on stage doing the thing he loves. And to be appreciated as audience as well. He’s quite similar to Frank in that regard, I thought. Loved it.
Especially when he played my two favourite songs. “Avicii”, about the Swedish DJ, who took his own life a few years ago. Just like in Berlin in September, Thees talked about mental health and asked people who were struggling to reach out to friends and to talk about it and to seek out therapy, because there is no shame in it. And that meant so much to me. Obviously. The other song (“Ein Satellit sendet leise”) has these wonderful lyrics about the monsters under our beds and how they sometimes still are alive and kicking. Which is something I know so well myself. Again… obviously. That was the final song of that gig and my heart was so full after. Live music does make every day better.
This clip is neither of those songs, but a very old song from his former band Tomte. I had to record a bit of that one to send to Bro2.
Street Photography | So yes, yesterday basically was a good day. I had spent the morning in Cologne as well, spoiling myself with a breakfast in a cafe, a trip to the bookstore (didn’t buy anything) and thought I’d just stroll around with my camera. Which I did, though I was quickly overwhelmed by the people at the Christmas markets and opted for side streets back to the venue of the gig. Had coffee and cake and strolled around some more and took some photos, but the mood of those are rather bland. Depressing. Winter in the big city. I don’t know. When I came back home from the gig I felt soooooo tired, because I had been on my feet for so long by then. Maybe not the best idea to get 14.000 steps in before a gig. When will I ever learn?
Colourful house in Cologne, December 2022
Books | I’m glad I didn’t buy any new books, because there are still enough on my to-read shelf. I started the latest Jasmin Guillory romance novel “Drunk on Love”, because I did enjoy most of hers, I’ve read so far. But I just couldn’t get into this one. And it was my 2nd attempt. For a moment I considered just skimming the second half of the story to see how it ends (though I think I could guess how), but then decided against it. It would have felt like even more waste of my time. Maybe I should stick to non-fiction for a while.
