Holiday in Hamburg, part 1

Hello everyone! Hope you’re all fine. We’ve just got back from our five-day trip in Hamburg. Hamburg, a major port city in northern Germany, is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. It’s crossed by hundreds of canals, and also contains large areas of parkland. Near its core, Inner Alster lake is dotted with boats and surrounded by cafes.

Here’s the view from our room.

We walked along the Alster lake.

Here are the main train station and the theatre.

Here’s me in front of the town hall. The city’s central Jungfernstieg boulevard connects the Neustadt (new town) with the Altstadt (old town), home to landmarks like 18th-century St. Michael’s Church.

We went to see the International Maritime Museum. There’s a huge collection of model ships, art, uniforms & photographs in Hamburg’s oldest preserved warehouse.

Sunset from our room.

Last but not the least, our hamburger in Hamburg.

So, what made you smile this week?

For: TToT – 8/18/17 , Weekly Smile 85 #weeklysmile, #ThreeThingsThursday – What made me smile this week…, Nurt Thurs – Lessons from Cameras, Skywatch Friday – 17 August 2017 Edition

#Bathwater

Weekly Smile 84 #weeklysmile

On this day and age, I’d say thanks
To big and small things I received
Giving me light when it is dark

Being able to climb the mountain
See what’s wise and what isn’t wise
On this day and age, I’d say thanks

To have my family and health
To be able to travel, too
To big and small things I received

The sun shines, birds sing, flowers bloom
Thanking God for all His blessing
Giving me light when it is dark*

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

* Cascade, a form created by Udit Bhatia, is all about receptiveness, but in a smooth cascading way like a waterfall. The poem does not have any rhyme scheme; therefore, the layout is simple. Say the first verse has three lines. Line one of verse one becomes the last line of verse two. To follow in suit, the second line of verse one becomes the last line of verse three. The third line of verse one now becomes the last line of verse four, the last stanza of the poem. See the structure example below:

a/b/c, d/e/A, f/g/B, h/i/C

(5) Words: | AGE | SEE | DARK | WISE | CLIMB |

So, what made you smile this week?

For: Weekly Smile 84 #weeklysmile, Weekly Writing Prompt #101

Also for: Nurt Thurs – Return to Childhood, #ThreeThingsThursday – What made me smile this week…, TToT – 8/11/17

Our Austrian Trip

Hello everyone! Just got back from our Austrian holiday and we had a smashing time. We drove to Mittersill, which is around 3 hours away from Munich, passing by St. Johann, Kitzbuhel and other lovely towns and villages.

We reached the castle where we stayed for 4 nights. Here’s the view from our balcony.

Here’s my back while I enjoyed the view. What a life!

Some of the food we’ve had. Delicious!

We walked during the day. On the first day we walked to Mittersill town.

“These boots were made for walking.”

On the second day, we drove to Salzburger Land and walked up the mountains. That was hard work! But worth it!

The horses were so cute!

We reached Hinter See and stayed there to have our picnic.

“The hills are alive with the sound of music!”

So, what made you smile this week?

For: TToT – 8/04/17 , Weekly Smile 83 #weeklysmile, #ThreeThingsThursday – What made me smile this week…, Nurt Thurs – Oh the Lessons!, Skywatch Friday – 3 August 2017 Edition , ALL SEASONS – AUGUST (6) FUN, Faux Summer of Love Street Signs at de Young Museum (Sundays In My City), Jo’s Monday walk : Hovingham

#Bathwater

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

For: Nurt Thurs – At the End of the Day

How I met my best friend

I was six, she was five, “you’re it!”
Played all day, messed around
Been best friends we have to admit
Both happy to have found
When we’re not on the same country
Separated by sea
We are so thrill
Best friends still
When we meet we are full of glee
Have other friends throughout my life
They came and then we part
We get on but sometimes strife
We are friends in our heart
We don’t have to see each other
We are there for one another
Support each one
And have some fun
Lots of adventure and banter
My friends who pass the test of time
Friends who are here in my lifetime
We love dancing

(c) ladyleemanila 2017

For: Joelle’s tales: First Thursday of the month #TMAT120 #writing #prompt for June , Nurt Thurs – Your One Belief

The peace of wild things by Wendell Berry

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

 

For: Nurt Thurs – Our Challenge

THURSDAY’S SPECIAL: TRACES OF THE PAST Y3-05

Four years ago, I went on a tour with my friend in college. I flew to her place and together we joined the tour. Güngor was our tourist guide and he was a very good guide. We started in Antalya, travelled to Cappadocia, then other parts of Turkey and back to Antalya after a week. The rest of the group stayed there for another week for their sea/beach holiday. The holiday was a success!

smiley rock

rock castle

fairy chimneys

the love valley

the charm of Cappadocia

three boys

yabbadabadoo…

Other “traces of the past/heritage”:

For: THURSDAY’S SPECIAL: TRACES OF THE PAST Y3-05, Heritage – Photo Challenge, Nurt Thurs – State of Mind, Skywatch Friday – 18 May 2017 Edition , framed… , #MySundayPhoto – Hyde Park, ALL SEASONS – LIGHT and AIRY (May 21), Getting Older Does NOT Suck (Sundays In My City), Jo’s Monday walk : Sitio das Fontes