When circumstances give you more time than you can handle and you'd normally be crafting but can't b/c your crafting corner is in your other home, and you could be learning but don't really feel like it, you might as well blow off the dust from things that you always wanted to archive.
Like a trip to your sister for a Christmas/New Year's family gathering. And on an cold December morning, long before Greta's anger taught me to travel better, I'd be sitting on a plane heading north. A quick shower by the de-icing crew...
... and off we go! Turns out that while the days before Christmas must be a nightmare for travel, Christmas day itself will present with almost empty airports, airplanes, trains and else. Note to self: counter-cyclical is the way to go whenever possible.
The colours of the sunrise would follow me all the way, changing their appearance...
... but since we were up in the sky just a bit too early, we'd soon dive back under the blanket of grey without ever seeing the actual sun. Hello Wuppertal, it's been a while!
Since most of the week passed with just hanging around and doing the usual family stuff, we decided to go on a field trip to Münster for a day. A city I knew was out there, somewhere in the north, and frankly, a city I always felt connected to, but never thought I would visit - at least not in such a spontaneous way.
And what a lovely, spontaneous city it seems to be! A museum entrance which might look like a pool of blood in front of some rich guy's house?
Cherries atop the cake column?
A peeing pug?
The old city center is easily accessible by a short walk from the central station, and a nice combination of vibrant life surrounded by historic buildings, which look as pretty as possible despite being largely destroyed by Allied air raids.
No sightseeing was planned, but we still did catch a glimpse of the historical city hall, where the Thirty Years' War officially came to an end.
Some more facades...
... and down the marketplace we go towards the gothic church of st. Lambert.
The interior surprised me with its brightness and beautiful windows...
... but there was another surprise waiting around the corner: Münster's cathedral of st. Paul, a seemingly gigantic building that resides atop the city and is home to yet another bright, calm interior. And despite all the treasures it hides, it is probably most known for being the workplace of bishop von Galen, proof that there should always be a way of speaking up against what's wrong.
A short walk towards the former residence of the duke-bishop, now serving as the main University building...
... and back home we go past the lake with a name that might sound like someone is trying to joke with you: Aa.
And in case anyone forgets to notice that Münster is a bicycle city, the huge parking station (including a huge underground garage) next to the main train station makes sure you become aware of how useful a steel horse can be.
A couple more days were spent with the usual family stuff, because what's better than just staying home when the weather is nasty, until you forget what day it is because it doesn't really matter.
And even though you consider fireworks a waste of money, an unnecessary way of polluting air and a stupid way to scare animals, you take the chance to observe the New Year's celebrations from the front row seat rooftop window.
However, you cannot un-notice how disciplined things can be in a civilized European country: instead of senseless, annoying explosions that start way before Christmas (I'm looking at you, Slovenia!) there was hardly a bang before 6 pm on December 31st, and the "real" fireworks only began to go off with half an hour to go until the New Year. After the midnight celebrations, a couple of firings were heard throughout the first hours of the year, but before 4 am it all became quiet again, as if the nocturnal light show never happened.
However, as the new year marched in, it was time to say goodbye already. The fact that holidays were super familiar and cozy didn't make it easier, but there was a chance of sunshine once I'd rise above the grim skies.
And what a sunshine it was! A whole wave of golden sunlight after weeks of grey, almost too bright at moments, but then again, so beautiful and soothing.
A gold that would soon turn into ruby...
... before it would fade into the dark...
... until somewhere in heaven, day meets night.
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