There... and back again

After weeks of looking forward to my holiday, I can't believe how quickly it flew by!!! :( Sure, it's good to be home again... but I wouldn't mind adding another couple of weeks (or months... or YEARS ;) to happy, careless, sunny days in a foreign country!!

I left J at home and together with a friend took the train (or actually: three trains and a bus) to Sauerland, Germany...

... where we woke up to wonderful views...

... hiked through beautiful mountains and fields...

... past beautiful streams...

... and rested beneath green branches.

In other words: we had a lovely, lovely time!! And I can't believe it's over already. I'm glad I took about a gazillion photographs...

... so I can still relive my holiday as much as I'd like ;)

Day 2: Record Store Day

Yesterday was Record Store Day, and of course J had to be there to get his hands on a limited edition LP that would be only available in selected stores for a very short period of time.

So on our first full day in Yorkshire we walked downhill...

... took a train...

... got off in Leeds...

... and got in line for the record store. The line started at the entrance of the shopping centre...

... and went on and on and on...

... all the way into the record shop!! 

And after A LOT of waiting J got his record...

... and I got a triple chocolate piece of HEAVEN.

Tomorrow: beautiful skies and lots of rain!

There and Back Again

Hey there, Blogland!! I'M BACK!!!!! ;) I hope you've all had as much fun as I've had these past few weeks. (You've certainly been busy: almost 400 new blogposts to catch up with in my Bloglovin' stream!! YIKES!!!)

After a week in Paris I spent last week with J and two friends in Wallonia, in a cabin in the woods.



I cannot begin to tell you how welcome the peace and quiet of that cabin was for me!! There's nothing better than sitting on a porch watching squirrels and deer running though your garden - well, not for me anyway ;)



We even had a watchtower to keep an eye on all the wildlife!



When we weren't on our porch spotting deer, we ventured out Into The Wild to hike...







... visit little, old towns...







... and drink hot chocolate :)



I can't believe how quickly it all flew by! I'm so glad I took about a gazillion pictures to remember this trip by (of which about 99% consists of us acting completely mental and for that reason will not be shown in public ;)



And the best part? I have another two whole weeks of vacation-time ahead of me!!! :) Bring on the chillin'! :)

The upside of winter

We rarely have a good pack of proper snow here in my little part of the world, so when we woke up this morning finding the already rare layer of snow had doubled in the course of the night, an expedition to The Wild was quickly planned!



It was still early so we had the pleasure of planting our footprints in the fresh, untouched snow.



The streets were empty...



... and so was the Wild!



There were only snowy pathways...



... and the footprints of deer :)



And despite public transportation is seriously disordered, traffic is a disaster and it's oh-so-cold...



... winter at least looks good :)

Coldness!!

Yes, my friends... Winter has arrived! :)



Despite my three pairs of socks, snowboots, knitted beanie, thick scarf and mittens, I was STILL freezing as I ventured into The Wild this morning! And there wasn't even real snow yet :)



So coldness? YES! But oh how pretty it was as well :)



I even found some beautiful colours!



And a deer found me :)



(For a moment I kind of wished I had a telephoto lens so you could actually SEE the deer... Then I remembered I love Where's Waldo - so it's all good :)

Autumn fail

Considering the fact autumn so far has been a complete letdown compared to last year, with the past few weeks being grey and rainy and dull, I decided to start my Sunday with a little trip into The Wild.



The good news: no rain! :)



The bad news: a LOT of mud...



... and most of the beautiful leafs already on the ground or well on their way... :(



Luckily for me there was still a bit of sunshine...



... some wildlife...



... and a few pretty colours left!

Out and About: a boat trip

This weekend, we took a boat trip :)



Considering the fact I know absolutely nothing about boats I spent most of my time staring out over the water…



… photographing boaty-stuff…





… and hanging out with my 2,5 year old niece, who takes little bites of little sandwiches…



… topped with little portions of hagelslag…



… and has little feet!



It was a very Dutch weekend, strolling through the narrow streets of Volendam where World Cup Fever is very present…















… waking up to views like this…



… and sailing back over the IJmeer past the Paard van Marken.



Not a bad weekend. Not bad at all :)