The meandering cobbled streets and statues of Maastricht always manage to charm the socks off of me. This city manages to be beautiful all year round. Restaurants that line the Vrijthof Square (first photo below) which houses the famous St Servaas Basilica fill the square with tables and chairs so that tourists can get the most of the summer sun. In winter this is replaced by a christmas market complete with ferris wheel, carousel and ice skating rink.
The weather has been particularly kind to me during my first week in the Netherlands, so what better way to spend a sunny long weekend than to attend the famous Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf. The festival has been held annually since 1970, and a quick browse through the list of performers over the past 42 years tells me why it is so popular. Journey, Fleetwood Mac, Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Chemical Brothers, Jeff Beck, Foo Fighters, Joe Cocker… the big draw card for me this year was The Cure, possibly my favourite band of all time. I can’t begin to explain how amazing it was to see them live. I won’t lie… I shed a few (happy) tears. But more them when I get my B&W film developed :)
So my fingers have been itching to post some photos, and since it takes quite a while for my black and white film to get developed over here (1 week!) I’ve been searching my archives looking for some photos that I can post in the meantime. Here are some photos I took at a beautiful guest farm in the Western Cape, Kersefontein. In fact, this is the place where Jess and Luke (of Nook Eatery) got engaged, so it is an extra special place. The last two pictures are actually borrowed from a post my sister did which gives a wonderful description of the farm and the engagement :). You can read the full post here.
the main farm house
it might not be so obvious here, but this pig was huge!
earl the cat
a few pictures of the many wonderfully decorated rooms
A picture of Amsterdam
Bare trees under glass
Framed in the gray and white afternoon light
– Counting Crows
So things are going to be a bit quiet from my end for a while. Part of doing my doctorate entails me having to travel to Amsterdam for a few months every year (yes… I know… the student life is a tough one). I actually just arrived in Amsterdam today (!) and will be here for the next 6 weeks working up a storm. But in between I will definitely take some time out for snapping some pictures, some which may appear on the blog whilst I am still here, development permitting. In the meantime I thought I’d share a few photos I took a couple of years ago when I was over in Amsterdam.
the cutest long haired jack russell… ever. Barring Eddie from Frasier of course.
coastal town about 1.5 hours from Port Elizabeth, South Africa
I love a lazy long weekend at the beach, especially when there is wintery weather involved. There is definitely something about the way the blues and greys of the sea and sky seem to blend into each other. And not to mention ample opportunity for roaring fires and boardgames!
Rumer Godden was right… gardens are for joy. My sister, brother-in-law and I visited the gardens at Babylonstoren near Paarl last Sunday. The garden has over 300 varieties of edible plants that are biologically grown and used daily in the restaurant (which I still need to visit… ). There are multiple vegetable areas, berries, bees, indigenous plants, ducks, chickens and a prickly pear maze. I wish I had taken more film with me because I ran dry an hour after arriving there! But I suppose that just gives me a good excuse to go back. If, like us, you decide to go there last minute and can’t get a booking at the restaurant, the conservatory on the opposite side of the garden serves fresh “create-you-own” sandwiches, cakes and home-made fruit ice lollies.
Round two of my art deco walk photos, and this time the focus is all on the buildings. What strikes me about the art deco architecture is the eclectic use of motifs, ornaments and geometric shapes (the fire station below is a case in point). But most of all… the colour!
R ound
On Saturday I went places I never thought I would go… Benoni and Springs, two towns lying to the east of Johannesburg. It just so happens that they are a treasure trove of art deco buildings. So I packed myself and my two pentax cameras into my car (stupidly forgetting sunscreen which I have paid for dearly the last few days) and joined a group of fellow photo taking enthusiasts on a photo walk of these towns. I ended up taking 4 rolls of film of photos, and I could go back there multiple times and take 5, nay, 10 times that number! When we parked at the starting point in Springs – the “Palm Springs” shopping centre (I’m not making this up) – it didn’t seem like there was much going on in terms of art deco architecture, but two blocks in “that direction” (according to some locals) it was like being in another time. I won’t sugar coat it, the level of poverty and crime in the centre of Springs is high, but this just adds to the surreality of the experience. One of the highlights of Springs for me was the people who are incredibly friendly. So for my first post on my art deco walk adventure I am sharing some of the photos that I was able to take of some of the amazing Springs and Benoni locals.
this young girl was having her hair braided; they told me it would take 3 hours!
babysitting whilst mom braids hair
cutest little girl with her barbie doll
these two were walking around the streets with their toy guns; they told me they were having lots of fun
they loved posing for me
street vendor selling peri peri kebabs and sausage
so cool
custodio from mozambique who speaks german, portugese, spanish and french (apparently custodio would be “custard” in english… I think he was pulling my leg)
custodio’s friend (I never learnt his name)
the minute this guy saw the cameras he wanted us to take his photo
at first these guys were camera shy but eventually they warmed up to it
A visit to Hamburg would not be complete without a visit to the famous Fischmarkt (fish market). Be forewarned: get there early. 5am early! Everything is over by 9:30am. We got there around 6:30am, so we were already a bit late. The reason I say this is because the fish sells out fast, and you do not want to leave without having tasted a Fischbrötchen (fish sandwich) or two… or three. Alternatively, you can make sure you are one of the first ones there if you go to the night-long party that takes place in the old fish market building. And the Hamburgers know how to party.
One of the highlights of the market is definitely the guys selling the fish, or as we liked to call them “the fish nazis”. These guys can shout. And they shout a lot. You can also get fresh fruit and vegetables, pasta, cheese and chocolate here. The thing that really intrigued me was how the different sellers pre-packaged what they were selling into 10 euro “lucky packets”. It seemed you could do a whole week’s shopping here for under 50 euro.
fish stalls
hamburg harbour
10 euro fruit basket
old fish market
nothing beats ending a long night with a currywurst or sugar waffle
(hamburg in colour)
Hamburg is my favourite German city. This might be surprising to most people. Don’t get me wrong, Berlin is awesome. But what can I say… I have a weakness for cities with water (Cape Town!). There are streams, rivers and canals, and more than 2300 bridges inside the city limits (take that Amsterdam and Venice).
I visited Hamburg with two friends at the height of the build up to Weihnachten (christmas). I’m not over exaggerating when I say that there were at least 30 Weihnachtsmärkte spread out throughout the city centre, including one in the “red light district” appropriately… um… themed (santa strip show anyone?). The ultimate challenge would definitely be to visit each and every Weihnachtsmärkt and have some gluhwein. Also, if you pay 1 euro extra you can take the mug that they serve the gluhwein in away with you which can range from a regular shaped mug with a picture alluding to christmas (think christmas three or santa clause) to a mug shaped like a boot. I’m willing to bet that somewhere there is a person with the ultimate gluhwein mug collection ever… I’d pay to see that.
canal in the city centre
shop window
painting at the kunsthalle hamburg
Weihnachtsmärkte
warming up with gluhwein and breakfast
Heads up: cliché alert! Paris is the most beautiful city that I’ve visited… so far (I add this disclaimer because there are a ton of places I still need to visit, so I feel like the rest of them deserve a bit of a fighting chance). I’ve been there twice in as many years and it will never get old. Kind of like macaroni and cheese. The food, the sights, the galleries… the food. Definitely a place worth visiting with someone special, although going it solo can be fun as well.
On a side note, I can highly recommend Perfectly Paris for accommodation if you are travelling there. They rent out authentic Parisian apartments (yes, I know, how can any apartment in Paris be anything other than authentically Parisian, but take a browse through their photos and you’ll totally get what I mean) that really make you feel like you are a local. I stayed on rue de Saussure which is just around the corner from the most amazing street, Rue de Lévis Marché, that caters for every food lover’s needs! There were produce stands, a poissonnerie, an artisanal boulangerie, a cheese shop, a place that sells fresh-ground coffee, a wine store and a florist. I can highly recommend eating brioche for breakfast everyday (not only because it is the most awesome thing ever but it is cheap!) and slow roasted petit poulet bought from a side street cart with crusty bread and pure salted butter. It is, for lack of a better phrase, food porn.
place de la concorde
christmas lights and window displays (fully automated. the kids’ faces were the best part for me) at galeries lafayette
carousel at the bottom of sacre coeur (note the noddy doll in the little girl’s pram. so cute)
parisian skyline from the steps of sacre coeur
japanese school group in front of the champs de elysee
macaroon window display at ladurée
florist on rue de lévis marché
the flea markets are a treasure trove of good finds, like this original wassily chair with matching desk
eiffel tower (as if that wasn’t obvious)
streets of montmarte
musée du louvre
filmisawesomesauce 