Back to Order after Chaos

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If you’re after an action-packed blog entry then may I suggest you move on now. There’ll be nothing on offer other than of the mundane variety – no news to report other than I’m in another hemisphere. The weather seems to have chased me down from south to north – it’s cold and wet. And Duesseldorf is as I left it two years ago – a big construction site.

Flight went as well as any long distance flight can be expected to. Although it was nice not to have drama of checking in a bicycle and all the accompanying palava. And super nice to have had a lift to the airport – thanks to those involved that made it happen especially on such a cold and wet evening.

Not sure if it’s a symptom of getting older. Things just don’t seem to make an impression on me quite like they used to. Is it because there’s access to everything at the stroke of a button that the element of surprise is lost? Irony though doesn’t seem to be lost on me. In Abu Dhabi airport, an outsized illuminated sign gave insight into how much energy could be saved if every person on earth turned off one light. It was a large number and I couldn’t help thinking that the message got a bit lost in this extremely well lit, cavernous space until I visited the ladies near the departure lounge. I could see where Abu Dhabi airport was putting its energies into saving energy - the bathroom was a dark, windowless space.

Apart from the greyness of northwest Germany (did I mention it’s in the high twenties in the east of the country?) the flowers continue on doing what they normally do. There’s lots of beautiful colour everywhere. And the birds. It’s wonderful to hear their different sounds from the usual myna birds, sparrows and pigeons that I’m accustomed to.

As I finish writing this on Sunday morning, the sun is shining. Yay for small miracles. But at 10am it is still only 10 degrees outside. Did I mention it’s cold over here? At least it’s not wet. Although that is the forecast for this evening and the coming days. Ugh. Still, am planning to escape Duesseldorf on Thursday and take the bus down to Banja Luka - rail, hail or shine.

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Comments

[Vic]

Proud of your resolve
Well done, did I tell you it was Cold here in Melbourne too?

[Charlie]

The Giro
I've been thinking of you and your good luck with weather while I watched snippets of the giro d'italia. Most of the time they seem to be riding through snow, sleet, or, at the very least, rain. Mmmm. It's twenty degrees today in Melbourne. There is another irony for you. Loving the blog!