The First ‘Half’ of my Year.

We are currently in September! And so as we are three months away from the end of the year, I thought I would share a little rundown of the first ‘half’ of that year with you! Maybe that’s something interesting or fun for you.  🤗 

One thing I can admit about this year, is that I have managed to travel a lot more than any year before that and I am sharing all that with you below. So… let’s go!

So the year started with January, as it always does for us, finding me walking again (just fyi, I had a very bad accident and broke my ankle in three parts which lead me to being in the hospital for weeks. After 3 operations, I began physio and eventually got up and walked again). January was the month I kept limping slightly from place to place wearing warm boots and trying to get back in my every day life. It was also a month full of new items being added on my desk, a new bedroom set up and much much more.

In January, through an acquaintance, I explored the city of Cologne (Germany) a bit more. That acquaintance was a tour guide at some point and loved anything that had to do something with history of any country and culture. Just in one day, he showed me some smaller cathedrals I had never ever been to and introduced me to one of the best pubs I have ever, probably, been here in Cologne. Papa Joe’s, just in case you ever find yourself visiting the city here, has two locations, one bigger than the other, with a unique style and jazz music.

It was quite fun getting back out there in the world after many months of being locked in and re-learning to walk just in my bedroom. Therefore, as it would seem logical, I took every opportunity I had and just ventured out in the world. As a matter of fact, sometime at the end of January, I booked myself a seat to watch Moulin Rouge, the Broadway show, which had arrived three months earlier in Cologne. I’ve returned to watch the show many times since then, alone or with company and every time, it’s a special one!

February. The next month of the year followed and I must admit that it was one of the best months. To be honest, only a couple of good things happened after this month as most of the time, my mind remained occupied by many other serious things.

Anyhow, February found me returning back to work, as I had already done in January. It was a relatively cold month which required pullovers, boots, warm pants and the use of gloves, scarves and hats when outside. It did have some sunny days here and there. Fun Fact: In some countries of Europe, we celebrate Carneval, Cologne being of those cities that is named the ”capital” of that celebration. Of course we had to get dressed at work! I was a cat! Easy costume to put together, right? It was also the month I got to see the skeleton of a whale!

March is supposed to be, according to how you divide the year, the first month of ”spring”. No, it was not like that every day here. Spring arrived in April, along with Easter. March, on the other hand, surprised us with snow one beautiful morning and nature was just frozen. Driving was also not easy, especially if you haven’t had the chance to drive through a snowstorm in the dark before. And that is how it was in my case.

I believe it was sometime during this month that I visited the theater again to see Moulin Rouge. And as it happens, March was the month I decided to give love another go and began being more open to people, getting to know somebody and going on dates. Not to mention that the limping of the previous months was finally gone!

April arrived some 30 days later and it finally caught me falling in love with someone. That love bloomed, even though the first few weeks were spent with us being apart in different countries, but along with that love, nature began blooming and the first green leaves were showing somewhere in the middle of the month. April was also the first month I decided to put my previously broken ankle to the test and went for the first swim of the year 2023 at the local pool close by. It did not go as bad! And I enjoyed being back in the water!

The love I mentioned before, unfortunately for me, lives at the moment in the neighboring city of Düsseldorf. While visiting via train, I began falling in love with the old town of that city. It’s far more modern in all, comparing to Cologne which is full of history and bigger overall. But at night… It’s magical! If you have the right company, it is anyway.

At the end of the month, I realized that a long weekend was just coming up and as a spontaneous thing, we decided to just book a small room (it was not small at all!) in a castle of some sorts not that far away from the region I currently live in. If you ever decide to come to Germany, then I strongly suggest you visit the region of the Eifel in the west. It’s not far from the borders with the Netherlands and the nature there is just amazing. Perfect location if you are into hiking, exploring, parks with animals and small towns scattered about.

May was upon me in no time and the weather was finally beginning to turn warm. One might say hot even for the standards of the country.

It was finally about time that I used the garden table and during one of those days sitting outside, I discovered, somewhere hidden among plants, a small bird’s nest. Google said that the eggs, blueish they were, belonged to a blackbird. We got loads of those visiting out garden and the feeders I keep on refilling, so it is no surprise that one is here. I hope that this upcoming spring, some bird will use it again.

The weather conditions offered lots of opportunities for festivals, especially Medieval themed festivals in small parks, castles and the like. Burg Satzvey, the one in the picture below was one I had in my list for a very, very, very, very, very long time. It is still is, as it will be hosting many more festivals for autumn, Halloween, Christmas, etc. The day I first visited it, though, was the day I finally scratched one thing off my bucket list. And that was to hold an owl!! I am in love!

June was never one of my favourite months, even though it is finally and officially summer where I am from, and even here in Germany. This past June, we had only extremely hot days that made us suffer, high humidity and a lot of work that needed to be done before the end of the school year.

The Tolkien Days here in Germany, however, were worth visiting and included a lot of replicas! And another owl to hold!

Finally school ended and I was free from all the work. It was the month of celebration (birthdays) and adventures that will always be special!

July started by celebrating my mother’s birthday, with two of the best cakes I have ever tasted. It was also the month I spent a lot of time with George and the month we visited the southern part of west Germany at the region of the famous Schwarzwald (Black Forest in the common English language). The place we stayed and the placed we saw there were places I had already been some two years before during Covid times, but somewhere here and there, we discovered new spots. Some highlights, at least for me, included Mummelsee, Hohenzollern Castle and an old Abbey.

At the end of July, George and my good self boarded a flight to Greece and I finally had the chance to show the love of my life my most favourite place, Aegina. I also came to the conclusion that hanging colorful umbrellas is you can see in many towns and cities in Greece. Why is that?

What is one thing you like doing during your summer vacation? Other than swimming and eating ice cream, I dedicate a lot of my summer vacation reading books. As a matter of fact, I read a lot and quite fast. Along with music, books are one of the best companion during the day and the night and there have been numerous times when I caught myself being up late in the night reading a book and not being able to just put it down, turn off the light and sleep. Just because, I want to know what happens next.

August was the month I fell in love with a cat, it broke my heart having to say goodbye to Cheddar. I hope I will see him again next year and maybe, one day, if I can, I would like to have a Cheddar of my own at home.

Somewhere between the last days of our stay in Aegina, we visited a neighboring island with waters of clear blue, the small Caribbean beach, as I like to call it when I recommend it to friends. And somewhere in the north, we discovered, and I thank Google maps for that, one of the most beautiful monasteries!!!

Well, and here we are. September arrived and some weeks before the first of September, George and I flew back to Germany to resume our daily routines, jobs and the like. Sometime during the end of August and beginning of September, I found myself engaged to George and I have never been happiest!!

Now, with the end of September nearing slowly, we are all into planning the future, weddings, moving ins and the like. I wonder what the rest of this year will bring. Stay tuned!