Author: fitfor15in15

Holiday on the rocks

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Two things have really stuck in my mind from our recent holiday in the Canary Islands, and they both involve the volcanic rock found everywhere.

From Corralejo, on Fuerteventura, we walked to the big beaches, or grande playas, near the extensive sand dunes on the north east of the island, and as we came around the coastline past the great holiday houses and beach bars …

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They even built some houses with the volcanic rock. Normally it was a garden feature but some houses used them for walls and not just pavers

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I went to uni in Toowoomba. Nice to know it’s a mere 18,000+ kilometres away

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A chilled place to hang out with a drink, looking at Lobos Island

… and hit the sand, Leo pointed out some circular formations, obviously built by man, using volcanic rock.

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What could this round mound be?

From a distance, I could only see two, so I thought they were places to barbecue (check me out, the classic Aussie, thinking of a barbie) and smartypants Leo, who’s been here before, laughed at my stupidity.

Do you know?

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What could …

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… they be for?

They’re for people to lie in, normally naked!, to protect themselves from the wind. And boy what a wind. It’s a windsurf/kitesurf mecca, which makes for tough conditions on the beach if you want to bare it all.

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Kites all over the beach. The ones with a human attached at the bottom, going through water …

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… like this guy

Of course, people wearing swimmers also used them, but I have to say (from the cheeky peeks I was taking as we walked past them, and there were dozens of the formations, some in better states than others) that the majority were filled with rudie nudies. I’d want to to save my bits from being whipped by the sandy wind too!

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Three wise monkeys

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I stayed fully clothed!

I’ll tell you all about the second weird man-made rock formation thing that I’ve never seen before tomorrow.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

p.s all the good quality photos were taken by Leo. Thanks Leo!

December 19-January 2: Canary Islands

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Sunrise in Corralejo

Buenos Dias señoras y señores. Feliz año nuevo!

Ok, all that came from Google Translate but my wishes are hearty and authentic, even if my methods are somewhat dubious!

We had a wonderful holiday in the Canary Islands, where I faked a Spanish accent while ordering dinner and found two new Latin lovers. Leo isn’t concerned.

Our base was in Corallejo at the north of Fuerteventura and we travelled all over the countryside, leaving the island only once for a day-trip to Lanzarote to visit the impressive and Mars-like Timanfaya National Park.

Lonely Planet map of the Canary Islands. West Africa is less than 150km to the east

Lonely Planet map of the Canary Islands. The north west coast of Africa is about 150km to the east

Three days in a hire car were enough to see a fair whack of the island, especially the impressive bottom western tip, and one day we rode 44km on an unpaved, rutted coastal path on bicycles. We’d hired the bikes for two days but couldn’t face another day in the saddle.

My favourite moment was watching brave kids in El Cotillo jump in and out of the rough surf.

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Love this shot – captures the moment perfectly. I had heart palpitations watching them dive in and out, doing flips and being crazy

We ate and drank like kings and queens, lazed in the sun, were impressed by the kitesurfers, windsurfers and stand-up paddleboarders and I caught a cold at 2pm on New Year’s Eve. Woo me.

So here are some “wrap of the day” photos from the trip:

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Day 1

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Day 2

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Day 3

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Day 4

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Day 5

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Day 6

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Day 7

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Day 8

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Day 9

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Day 10

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Day 11

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Day 12

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Day 13

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Day 14

At first I was worried I wouldn’t like the arid landscape, but even though it was sparse with barely a tree around, the old volcanic mounds were beautiful and changed dramatically with the moving sun. We’ll definitely be going back. I might need to re-learn all that Spanish I forgot when I moved to Switzerland!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

December 11-18: Another adventure and Season’s Greetings

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Sunrise 18 December 2015

The days of having hours to prepare and plan for holidays have gone, so I’m frantically trying to stuff too much into a suitcase for our holiday to Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands, which starts … in a few hours! This trip we have the luxury (or hindrance, I’m still not sure) of having check-in luggage, so the temptation is to just pack it all.

I finished work yesterday in a mad rush, and now it’s all about getting the house and my suitcase ready. Leo had saved all his holidays for the end of this year, thinking we would be going to Australia for a month, but I went and did a crazy thing like getting a job :), and such a long break was no longer viable. But luckily my work said it was quiet over Christmas, so we could still take some time off, which is great as Leo needs it. Going to Australia for two weeks would be crazy and cost prohibitive (especially with the pending house move February 1) so we found a cheap package holiday to a place where the days will be warm. It’s been unseasonable warm here though too.

The plan is to read some books (unfortunately I won’t hit my target of 52 books in one year … by a long shot), do some day walks, eat some seafood and generally unwind. I’m looking forward to being surprised by the island, as I haven’t had much time to research what there is to see and do. We might try to do a few day trips to other islands. It will be too cold to swim, but the swimmers are in, just in case! Wishful thinking perhaps? 😉

Ok, enough writing. Here are some photos from the past week.

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Another lovely clear day

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Icy cobweb outside our house

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The Christmas market in Bern

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A nice sunset on our way to pick up my cousin Anna from the train station

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Anna had been at COP21 in Paris and stayed with us for three nights. She’s such a good egg

I don’t know if I’ll write while we’re on holidays, but as a fan of never saying never, we’ll see what unfolds.

Here’s to a sensational festive season, however you choose to celebrate, and a healthy and happy 2016!

And of course, as always, wishing you a wonderful day.

December 8-10: We have a new place to live!

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One from the vault – where we currently live, with our little house on the left

As sad as we will be to move away from our beloved little Stöckli, from February 1 next year we’ll be right in the “thick of the action” in the village of Wohlen.

We’ve found a very large apartment in the town centre, which means no more forest on the doorstep, but also no more walking with a safety vest at night in the dark on the way home from work.

Our new place is large – 5.5 rooms, compared to the 2.5 rooms we currently live in – and while it has a definite 80s feel it has SPACE. It lacks the Stöckli ginger-bread house charm, but it does have convenience – a two minute walk to the bus, two minutes to the shop and three minutes to our favourite place to eat, Restaurant Kreuz. And there’s a pot-belly stove in the loungeroom! And we can still see the Alps from the bedroom window! And Leo now has a painting room. And and and …

Our good friends and neighbours Liliane and Rene will live just a 15 minute walk away, so we’ll still see each other often, which makes us very happy.

Half of me can’t wait to move in and make it ours, and the other half wants to hang on here as long as possible. The time will come soon enough when I’ll be firmly in the “move now” camp. Since finding out yesterday that the place will be ours, it’s almost all I can think about. We’ll have enough space to allocate one room as a chillout zone, for want of a better phrase. We’ll hang the hammock, have a nice rug maybe, the stereo with tunes and enough space to leave the yoga mat always on the floor. 2016 could be the year of reading and yoga. Oh wait, that’s what 2015 was supposed to be! 🙂

My minimalistic tendencies will be put to the test with all that space, but I think it’s still going to be a wonderful place to live and thrive. Just like it has been here for the past four years. I’ve been in Switzerland for four years. Can’t believe it. My arrival anniversary was December 5, and I totally forgot to celebrate!

Wishing you a wonderful day.

December 1-7: Sliding out of the year

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In German, when people wish you a Happy New Year, they wish you a good slip or slide into the new year. Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr. I’m wishing you all a good slide out of  2015.

It’s been a great year. We’ve done a lot of travelling, I’m enjoying my job and fingers crossed we’ve found somewhere to move to next year (more on that soon hopefully!). We’ve seen some great tv shows, I’ve read some (but not enough) entertaining books, we’ve done some lovely walks and I managed to spend a lot of time by the pool in summer. Nothing to complain about at all.

As we wind down for 2015, have you thought about what might be in store for you in 2016? I have no idea what to do with the blog. I really should have thought about the name a bit harder, but fitfor15in15 had a good ring to it. Fitfor16in16 could be an option, but who am I kidding? I have fallen off the fitness wagon with a lard-arsed thump!

Maybe I need a new focus for 2016 … hmmm …

Until then, I’ll try to write more often – for a proper send off to a wonderful year where I’ve made some lovely internet friends, and read wonderful words from people around the world. If I had all day, I’d read blogs, I know it. Years ago I couldn’t see the point of a blog, and maybe it is a bit of self indulgent waffle sometimes (I’m looking squarely IN THE MIRROR when I write that), but I’ve had so much fun. Just wish I’d had much more motivation! Short attention span, me.

Here are some pics from the first week of the last month of fitfor15in15.

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A clear sunrise made Leo and I head for the Wohlensee lake one morning

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One side of the bridge looked quite dull …

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But on the other side of the bridge, the view was breathtaking!

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Looking from the bridge on the Wohlensee up to Wohlen bei Bern. If all goes to plan, we will live 100m past the church by March 1 next year

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Dinner at Liliane and Rene’s

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The sunrise this morning over Bern city

It’s not my last blog for the year, but I want to get in early and say thank you. Thank you for making me push myself in the first half of the year to do what I set out to do, and thanks for sticking by me in the second half when I totally failed to keep going. It’s only a semi-failure, because (and this is going to sound sooo cheesy) I’ve gained so much more than a few lost kilos.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

No!vember 10-30: Lust for life, lust to write

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No!vember came and went faster than I could put fingers to keyboard. I haven’t lost my lust for life, just my lust to write!

And exercise? Well you can pretty much forget about all that, just like me. I can’t even say I’ve been walking 40 minutes a day, because lately I’ve been getting a lift to work with a neighbour in the mornings and with Leo on the way home. Slack! But, happily, I haven’t had to walk too much in the cold.

Snow arrived when I was in Bonndorf, Germany, with the female Usual Suspects plus a few extras. Every year for about 15 years, this group of women has been going to the Black Forest for a long weekend of wellness and spa treatments. This year, I was lucky to be invited. And I’ve been sworn to secrecy – what happens in Bonndorf, stays in Bonndorf! I’m embarrassed to say I was the youngest of the group, and always the first one in bed. Ha! I think speaking German, and listening to Bern-Deutsch being spoken, for four days may have knocked the wind out of me a bit. But it was wonderful, and I can’t wait to go back next year, if they’ll have me. Must lift my game.

On the 30th, we went to see a unit for rent in the centre of Wohlen bei Bern (one minute to the bus and shop!) and we hope we receive a contract soon. Fingers crossed. If we get it, I’ll tell you all about it.

Here are some photos from the past 20 days. *shaking head in disbelief at how slack I’ve been with the blog.*

Wishing you a wonderful day.

November 9: Sweet and short

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A few minutes later, I had a nice surprise

When running for the bus this morning, a woman in a very fancy car stopped and asked if I wanted a ride to the bus stop in Wohlen. I was cutting it fine to make it on time, so it was such a nice surprise to be offered a lift. It’s only happened once before, and that wasn’t that long ago (from a different woman).

Maybe if I time it right, I can blag a lift to the bus every morning? 🙂

It was a day of laziness, because Leo was at his office in the city this afternoon, so I managed a lift home as well!

If this Indian summer continues as planned this week, perhaps I should dust off the Töffli? Hard to believe it’s November and temperatures are still in the high teens (Celsius).

Are you having an Indian summer too (if you live in the northern hemisphere)? Or has spring well and truly sprung for southerners?

Wishing you a wonderful day.

November 6-8: Weekend wrap

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When the solar panels heat up, she sways her hips, with her arms going in the opposite direction. She moved this weekend. Woo hoo! Warm sun!

It was a very social and outdoorsy kind of weekend. Unseasonally warm weather has lulled us into a false sense of hope that we’re heading into summer rather than winter. What glorious temperatures we’ve had for three days!

Friday morning, I went to work at the dojo and now have a lot on my plate with some additional things to do. Not sure how this is going to pan out as I can’t do everything needed to be done just on Fridays, so will have to work at home at nights, after work!! Hmmm … not so sure this is going to work out well. By the end of the year, a decision will have to be made!

Friday afternoon, Iva and I went to visit our friend Kanjana who had a baby boy, Alessio, one month ago. He’s gorgeous, Kanjana is enjoying being a mum, and we had fun ‘falling asleep’ with Alessio on the couch.

 

Saturday morning was spent in the garden, pruning and tidying, and then BAM! These little fellows (below) came out of nowhere! I think they might be Soay Sheep? We have no idea where they’ve come from, but they have ear tags, so they’re a known quantity. They’ve never been to our place before and they’re welcome to come back anytime. Very timid, happy to move along together, not worried about us standing around gawping at their sheepy fur and goaty heads. An hour after they left, three came back into the garden, closer to our house. Such a nice surprise.

It was a glorious day but we had to leave the garden and blue skies to jump in the car to drive two hours to near Zürich for a combined birthday party for Leo’s sister and nephew. A quick stop at the shops, where I saw (but didn’t try) these cute bread figures, called Grittibänz mit Branchli (has something to do with 6 December and St. Nicholas. Gritten means spread legs, which is also a saying for old people, and Bänz is a short version of Benedict, who also has a relationship to St Nicholas. Mit Branchli just means its with this certain brand of chocolate called Branchli, a special addition for what is normally a plain figure with sultana face features. They’re baked from around the start of November until the end of December). Then the frivolity with the family began. Arrived home about midnight.

 

Today, the sun was still shining, with temperatures around 17 degrees, so we walked one of our favourite walks to Aarberg. We did this walk in reverse in March, when we met the lovely dog Luna. This time we walked from home and caught the bus back. Glorious! My hip gave out on the walk from the bus to our house – couldn’t bend it properly so had to walk with a peg leg to get up the hill. Not good. But the views were.

 

Wishing you a wonderful day.

November 5: Highlights aplenty

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A short post tonight. Snapped the photo below this morning, before going down the path by the stream to the bus. No fog again!

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Layer, upon layer, upon layer

A nice way to start the day. Then it all came ‘crashing down’ so to speak. I’d forgotten the joys of work computers’ crashing, losing what you’d been focusing on in the process. Summoned all my strength not to swear! Then it got better again. Spent lunchtime lapping up some unexpected sunshine with my former German teacher Claudia – amazing how fast an hour goes when we had the luxury of no limits before – and the afternoon was so busy it whizzed by. Now I’ve got that end of week feeling, and look forward to going into the dojo tomorrow for the first time in weeks.

Cleaning up my corkboard from yesterday was quite fun. It looks better but perhaps a bit too neat. There are holes to fill, so maybe I’ll rough it up a bit with some new additions. One thing that didn’t make the cut is a postcard from Berlin. Who would like a German postcard with a Swiss stamp? Let me know and I’ll send an attempted witty ditty.

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A bit too neat, but better than having everything hang off it. Can you see anything you like or recognise?

I didn’t meditate or exercise this morning at home, but I did attempt to meditate on the bus. If that advertising poster clanging on a glass pane hadn’t distracted me the whole ride, it would have been a lovely experience. 😉

Speaking of a lovely experience … Cruise update! My sister and mum have gone through the Suez Canal, which Judy said is a definite highlight.

What will be your highlight today or tomorrow?

Wishing you a wonderful day.

November 4: Trying to find a writing rhythm again

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At last – a morning without fog! View from our bedroom window

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It wasn’t actually a dark morning at all, but while running for the bus I snapped this quickly. Love it!

It’s been so long since I’ve written on a daily basis, but it would be nice to go out with a bang for the final few months of fitfor15in15. Not sure what I’ll do with the site next year. Maybe register a new domain name and bring all the content across? And make it something not date specific (beginner’s mistake and lesson learned!).

Have you ever tried The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron? I followed the book many years ago and enjoyed the process, but nothing amazing came of it apart from some naval gazing. Oh ok, maybe one or two rip-snorter lines were written, but all those pages were binned before moving to Switzerland.

Cameron’s idea is to write every day. Every morning. Whatever you feel like. I have fond memories of the large yellow writer’s notepad I used, and storing them all in folders arranged by months. It’s also designed to spark creativity in other areas of your life too. I seem to remember being well dressed during this time! 😉

It would be nice to get back into a daily writing rhythm, along with a return to a daily meditation and exercise rhythm (that shouldn’t be too hard, it’s only 15 minutes, right?!). The start of the year was great for this, but once the habit was broken …. well …

A while ago, I mentioned breaking the day down into 15 minute blocks, and this could be one way to get the flow happening again. If it’s only for 15 minutes it’s not daunting. If I could get up an hour earlier I’d be well on the way to achieving four things before the day had even started! Must work on that. Note to self … start tomorrow morning.

Where I write is a lovely area and sitting at my desk in winter is especially enjoyable – I can put my feet on the radiator under the desk. Luxury! And there’s a window which faces the forest. Must do something with the corkboard hanging above the desk, though. The weight of all the additions caused a collapse, and it now looks less than inspiring.

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Time to sort out, thin out and rearrange!

I might just do that now … but before I go, here are some snaps of where I work …

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The leaf blowers are out in full force in the city. The building on the right is part of Bern University

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A sweet little garden, with my office, the white building, behind

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It’s nice working in this office (an old house) on the first floor. The building on the right is a book store

So, the wheels are in motion to write every day again. I might have done about 15 minutes worth of writing tonight, but gosh it’s disjointed. The only way is up!

Wishing you a wonderful day.