mcharlottesmith

The Wednesday evening training session isn’t in the gym, but outdoors in a lovely park near my house.

I biked there, because I can, and as I was a bit early I did a few loop-di-loops around the park pathways. As it drew closer to the appointed time, I parked my bike near the usual spot and as I was tying up the chain I witnessed something that made me chuckle.

A guy, of the silver haired grandfather like variety was walking his 3 dogs, 2 of the German shepherd variety and one labrador.

Near the spot where we trained the labrador decided that listening was for others and started bounding off in a wide circle around the guy, who was trying to put a leash on the dog. Labrador was making a game of it, coming closer and sitting still until the dude came close enough, then the dog would bound off again in waves of intense energy. The dog owner uttered a well known Dutch expletive with such conviction thar he it could materialise birthday cake, if birthday cake was wrinkly and full of frowns.

I stifled my giggle to hide it from the others and enjoyed my workout.

Be kind. Stay safe.

1 September is spring day in South Africa, and in my mind I will always think of wearing civvies to school and wishing it was warmer..

The name at least was appropriate, as I had to spring into action. Seemingly the whole world and their dog was looking for me! That is what it felt like when I read my messages after coming back from my mini break.

As it was, I already had a couple of site visits planned, as well as a few meetings and that was only during day time. In the evening is the continuation of my sewing course and I also wanted to make time to see Marinus

But how do you eat an elephant? Bit by bit.

I find that sometimes the best way to handle a lot of things is to focus on the task at hand and not to get distracted with what is to come, other than some useful preparation.

The day was a great success, everything went according to plan and I even had the chance to have a home cooked dinner with Marinus before changing gear again and using a different category of brain at my sewing class.

Be kind. Stay safe.

On my last morning in Switzerland the sun came out to show us what we missed on the previous 3 days.

What a glorious morning for a coffee and a croissant and a stroll through they old town. The sky is bluer than blue and makes the perfect frame for the churches and ancient buildings in the city. I stopped by the old ost office and even the inside of the post office building is magnificent.

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After an incredible lunch under the blue sky, I packed my bag, now heavy with a stash of Swiss chocolate to go with all the incredible memories and made my way to the train, my ticket back to Amsterdam.

This time there was no mix up, and on my change over in Cologne I had a few minutes to step out and enjoy the blue skies and the view of the Gothic cathedral.

Be kind. Stay safe.

Some days we make plans. And when it rains we make new plans.

The original plan was to visit a hillside in the mountains, and there was also a talk of the longest tramline in Switzerland (possibly in more places) and visiting a monastery, but then it rained.

Instead we went to get a coffee at a local church that also functions as a cafe and community hall, all in one. I tried the Linsen Torte, the oldest known cake recipe.

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We visited a nearby village and had a look at the beautiful old church with its famous organ and pretty interior. A short walk through the village took us to the outskirts, where I noticed a castle on the hilltop, and the picture completed with Swiss cows in the front, with bells on and everything!

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Afterwards we set out to visit the Goetheaneum, an interesting building in Dornach, the epicenter of the Movement. They were preparing for an afternoon concert, and I have to say the weather was perfect for it. However we had more plans.

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After grabbing a quick snack (basically a bretzel filled with butter, we headed up the mountain in a bus along the twisty road to meet our hosts for the rest of the day, the parents of my friend.

The plan was to meet them for a coffee at a lovely restaurant, and enjoy the view of the surrounding hillside (Since I am from a flat country after all) but as it turns out the view looked the same as the day I visited the Christ statue in Brazil. i.e. White fog.

We made up for the lack of view from the mountains by driving down a twisty road through some scenic fields. I even got to see some more cows!

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The rest of the day was spent having a social evening. We had a special evening with Simone’s parents enjoying raclette. Basically it is a festival of melted cheese and all sorts of add ons, like potatoes, gherkins and bacon.

Later on we took a tram back to the city followed by a short walk to walk of the cheese and sleep like a rock.

Be kind. Stay safe.

It’s not every day I get to visit 3 countries in one day, and by foot no less. However, this was such a day.

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The weather was a bit rainy but we braved it, strengthened with a cup of good coffee, an umbrella and an adventurous spirit.

On the bank of the Rhine there is a lovely pathway that leads all the way to the neighbouring village in France. From there we crossed the three countries bridge into Germany!

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Afterwards we took the tram back to Basel for a hearty lunch of pasta. Perhaps it is because they are bordering on Italy, or perhaps they just love Italian food, but there seems to be many Italian restaurants. I didn’t try all of them, of course, but the food at the one we visited was great.

Filled up and warmed up, we did some souvenir shopping (OK, chocolate shopping) before walking around the old town to see old university buildings squashed in between old houses with dates from 13 something and older.

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Be kind. Stay safe

I didn’t know much about Basel, other than the fact that it’s in Switzerland and Simone lives there.

It would seem there is a lot to see and do about Basel! We started with a walk through the old city gate into the old town. The buildings and streets are satisfyingly beautiful with gorgeous buildings and interesting shops.

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Our next stop was the red City Hall, followed by the stop at the cathedral. It mind bending to think that people have been living and going about life for hundreds of years.

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Some excavations near the cathedral shows that there was a city wall from celtic times.

Afterwards we crossed the Rhine by ferry boat. It doesn’t have an engine, as it moves by the power of the river. If you have a tall tale to tell in Basel, you can “tell it to the ferryman.”

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After a lovely lunch and charming coffee, we made our way to the next stop: an art museum, the Fondation Beyeler. We were treated to a lovely exhibition of the work of Edward Hopper, in addition to the incredible permanent collection including some beautiful Monet works.

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After filling up on some art we headed home for a little rest before we treated ourselves to a lovely Vietnamese meal, a little holiday tradition we have developed.

Be kind. Stay safe.

As a kid I always wanted to travel to Switzerland (perhaps Heidi had an influence on this). Later I also dreamt about traveling by train across Europe. Seeing different countries.

I have been lucky enough to see a town in Switzerland as part of a Contiki tour in 2008, and I have had a few train trips, longer and shorter, in the past, but this time I have been fortunate enough to combine the two to make a long weekend trip to Switzerland!

I have lovely friend, Simone, who lives there and invited me to visit her.

So in the evening I boarded the train, and so my adventure begins!

The journey is quite simple: From Amsterdam to Basel with a change over in Frankfurt, Germany.

Fun fact: the train stops at 2 stations in Frankfurt.

And only after realising there’s only 4 tracks and I need to board at track 18, it dawned on me that I got off at the wrong station.

I hastened to the information desk and as the nice person was confirming that I am in fact on the wrong station, I heard the train pull away.

The efficient young man at the information kiosk helped me find an alternative connection that meets up with the train I need to be on, and I managed to find my way.

My train was somewhat delayed, but so was the one I needed to catch, so it was a bit of a tense situation. Luckily Simone is something of a public transport expert and she checked various apps to see if I would make the connection and find alternatives in case I don’t. Luckily she warned me that there are also 2 stations in Basel, so this time I knew that I should stay on the train until the right one.

It was a nail-biting experience, but I made it and it was a treat seeing my friend again!

Be kind. Stay safe.

So the good thing about group exercise classes, is that once I have booked I would go, without listening to the entire monologue trying to convince me to stay at home.

This week storm Francis landed in the Netherlands and throughout the night there was enough wind and rain to be sure it was a real storm and not a fake one.

The day continued with a number of showers the rain coming down hard and fast at times. I even texted the gym guys to find out if they will let us know if my outdoor bootcamp class is cancelled or moved indoors, and they reassured be that it is still going ahead, still in the park.

I won’t lie, I had my doubts but nevertheless, when the time came, I put on my workout gear, added a rain jacket, and cycled to the meeting point in the park.

I saw on the schedule it was a new trainer, and it was in fact get first day, but she was resourceful in finding us a spot u up train under the bridge, and suggesting alternative exercises where the rain waylaid our plans. During the session there were moments of sunshine and others where the heavens opened and the water came down in bucketfuls.

Afterwards I was happy that I had the opportunity to train, even if I felt a bit apprehensive about it beforehand.

Be kind. Stay safe.

The day finally arrived – today I start with my lingerie making course.

I love getting my creative side going and even more so when I can learn something new and work with pretty things on top of that.

When I signed up for the course I received a list of supplies to get, and the name of a shop to get it at. It has really strange hours and it’s only open on certain days, so going there was a bit of an orchestration, but it was so worth it.

Stepping inside the shop felt like a kid walking into a candy store. Fabric, lace, elastic in all the colours and patterns I can possibly imagine. I was simply amazed by all the options and there was an entire section of shop I didn’t even go into!

The course itself is all about constructing and fitting your own custom lingerie and although it is likely that the first effort might not be the best yet, for me it is all about learning the skills and techniques to later apply and perfect.

I am already planning my next project or 2, maybe 3…

Be kind. Stay safe.

Every so often I challenge myself to try and get through the week without buying groceries, except perhaps fresh fruit and milk. This gives me a change to use up those ingredients that I’ve been meaning to use but never get around to, or to finish off the last bits of this or that.

Did you ever notice that restriction breeds creativity? Especially in food. Whenever someone tries a new diet, whether it is low carb, low GI, Vegan or whatever they suddenly want to try all kinds of recipes.

So I made something that worked out so well, I nearly polished it off in one sitting (it was enough for 2!)

In Peru I learnt that they pre-flavour the rice. In a saucepan they fry finely chopped onion and garlic in enough oil before adding the rice until its coated with flavour infused oil. Then you add the water and cooked until soft. It’s super tasty. I like to add some chicken or veggie stock power to the water, but that’s my own creation.

When it was all cooked, I added some canned peas and carrots and let it warm up, and I ate it with a bit of plain yogurt for the protein and the sauce. It was at same time hearty and fresh and probably the start of a whole lot of new dishes. Watch this space.

Be kind. Stay safe.