Europe Photos: Amsterdam, Frankfurt & Hamburg; Autumn 2010

Here it is, the very last installment

I like Frankfurt- it reminds me of Sydney.

Bondi Beach

Yes, we left him there- Asleep at the bar. But he was creepy.

and then I remembered I don't like Jaeger bombs...

Just a fashion shoot going down on the streets of Amsterdam

The last photo.

So that's all of them. Finally.

-m xx

Europe Photos: Auschwitz; Autumn 2010

Du hast gelernt, was Freiheit heisst, und dass vergiss nie mehr.

-Anon.

These shots were all taken on my compact camera. It's surprisingly fantastic in tricky light situations- with my SLR I have to completely ignore the exposure reading and go with instinct in situations like this.

On the day, it was absolutely freezing. Krakow was definitely one of the coldest places I visited. There was this icy, vicious wind. We paid a visit to the sleeping quarters at the camp and it was ridiculous. I honestly felt like my legs were going to drop off- it was that cold. And I was there in Autumn. I can't even comprhend what it would be like in winter- with nothing but a few pieces of wood and sheer determination keeping you alive.

-m xx

"God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference"

-Reinhold Niebuhr

Crappy Valentine's Day!

I'm a bit of a rare breed. For reasons aside from any of the obvious neuroses you may have already picked up on that is (have we met?). I hate VDay. But I'm not single, and can only remember one year since I turned 13 that I was (technically) on the day. Plenty of people dread Valentines day. Most, because it reminds them that they haven't got that special someone, and maybe they should be feeling alone right now. This, despite the fact that it probably doesn't even bother them on the other 364 days of the year, when they're basking in singledom.

Others, particularly men, resent VDay due to all of the pressure that is unfairly placed upon them. It turns love into a competition- whose boyfriend will send the most embarrassingly large bunch of red roses to their work/school/home? Who will induce the most jealousy on the 15th when they're exchanging tales of the romantic surprise dates they embarked on the day before?

And then, there are people who hate Valentine's Day because it's lost all original meaning, having been reduced to a commercially-driven, Hallmark run excuse to increase the prices of flowers.

As for me? It's all of the above and more, I suppose. Like marriage, I find love because-the-calendar-says-so is not romantic in the slightest. I mean, sure, give me flowers and take me on a surprise date- any other day of the year. I'm all for declarations of love for me emblazened accross the sky by an undoubtedly well-paid but probably very dizzy pilot, so long as it's any day EXCEPT the 14th of February. In fact, it's probably best to leave any impulsive, crazy expressions of love on the backburner for that whole week. Just don't do it. Honestly, if someone I was romantically involved with gave me a gift on Valentine's Day I would actually be annoyed, simpyl because they should know me better than that. And don't even get me started on VDay marriage proposals!

To put it simply, I just don't celebrate it. In fact, last year I tried to organise a "Valentine's Day sucks" Ladies dinner, but apart from 2 or 3 single friends who clicked that cursed "maybe" button on the facebook event, the response wasn't great. I was actually shocked. I assumed anyone who's not completely pathetic realises that VDay is a joke. Maybe it's more a case that they don't care, and would rather enjoy the day without questioning whether it's worth a mention on the calendar or not. I know I seem like a total cynic, and I'm sure someone out there is supressing a giggle as I assure you I'm not. I just don't believe in believing in something (marriage, VDay, Christmas, etc.) simply because I'm supposed to.

(I'm just a rebel without a cause, baby.)

-m xx