Thoughts on... Being grateful

I need to get some thoughts out of my head, this is really personal.

Usually when I think life is getting better from day to day, all of a sudden things are getting worse. Things hit me very hard during the last couple of months because when I just got over some bad news there were new ones, even worse, coming in. And then, sometimes, just when you need some support, you realize that there are people that only make you feel worse when they're supposed to make you feel better. So I suffered in silence and somehow made it through.

I'm still miserable sometimes, and I know I have the right to have bad days, just like everybody else. I still think that life is unfair sometimes. But I'm also grateful. My family, the greatest family anyone could imagine, hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to health and accidents. Whatever illness you can imagine, be sure someone around me has had it. Car crashes, too. But they're all strong people and they all survived. I'm sure that we won't always be that lucky but for now I just have to be grateful. Sometimes I moan about little things (I'm only human) but then I realize that I am the luckiest person because 1. I have a family who I love and who loves me just as much 2. we do get second chances (or third, or...).

These are just some thoughts I'm having right now and I don't want to make anyone feel bad. If anything, I want to encourage you to share your feelings (sometimes it's easier to talk to a stranger than to people you know) and to think about the things that you are greatful for.

Jenny, xoxo

Short visit on my favourite island

At the end of June I finally got the chance to go back to Ireland for a couple of days. I travelled around a little, went to the sea, to Dingle, to Killarney with its National Park and to Cork of course. I got the chance to meet some friends and my beloved Irish family. It's so nice to still be in touch with them and they made me feel at home in an instant when I got there. Unfortunately I only had six days but they were good anyway and I enjoyed the little break especially as things got a lot harder around here but that's a different story.

If you wonder why I love this little country so much, here are some reasons:

That was... September

September was great! I've got to spend some time at home with my family and I also got to spend some time away. I didn't have to work too much and I had some time to concentrate on the stuff I really like to do. Unfortunately there were some not so nice things, too, but they are not going to spoil my positive post here...

So here's what September was like:

• I had cheese from Amsterdam

• I dyed my hair. It was supposed to be red...
  

• I got to see some people I love

•  I got to know Amsterdam. And fell in love.

• I did some shopping and enjoyed it although I usually don't like it that much

What has September been like for you?

Jenny, xoxo

That was Amsterdam

I'm finally on a break from work and trying to make the most out of my free time now I went to visit my family first (always love to get home for a couple of days!). I got to see my cousin who had spent half a year abroad (on Gran Canaria for an internship, I'm so jealous...) and I also got to see some friends I don't see that often.

me, my brother and my cousin. <3

When I got back to Cologne I only had one day before I headed to Amsterdam with Caro, Eva and a girl who works with Eva. I have been to the Netherlands and love it a lot there, I even started studying Dutch recently, but I had never been to Amsterdam. What can I say, I just loved it. I really like the Dutch, they are friendly, helpful people, whenever they noticed that we are German they started talking in German to us, even when I tried my best to talk to them in Dutch, haha, obviously I have to work harder on that ;-) Everyone was willing to help us, people are smiling a lot and this may seem superficial but a lot of people there are really pretty (and tall!).

I'll never get sick of Amsterdam's architecture

Neither will you, I hope ;-)

A small piece of summer on a cold Amsterdam weekend

Don't think that something's wrong with your eyes or with my camera, those houses are really crooked. And these aren't even the worst ones ;-)

Because we didn't have a lot of time we needed to get to know the most important stuff around there pretty quickly so we took a free guided tour through the streets of Amsterdam. There are lots of museums and indoor things as well but you can spend hours just walking around, looking at the pretty houses, bridges, canals... I loved it. Our tour guide was a young dutch-canadian girl who really enjoys her job and as she also offers a night-time tour through Amsterdam's famous red light district we took another tour just a couple of hours later. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about Amsterdam's history in general but also about the history of prostitution and how everything works there. How the Dutch handle those things is great. They are just a relaxed type of people when it comes to a lot of things, it's mainly: do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. With legalizing prostitution and semi-legalizing soft drugs they are able to control things better and make Amsterdam a really safe place for everyone, families, older people, tourists... I really like it that way as I tend to think that every grown up should be able to decide what they'd like to do in their free time. Visit a prostitute? Go ahead! Have a joint in a coffee shop? Feel free to do it! I can imagine that growing your children in a place like that must be pretty amazing because it takes a lot of the mystery out of those things and that's what the people there say as well, there are very little teenage pregnancies and stuff. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what you think about those things, Amsterdam is a great place anyway and if you get the chance, you should definately go there. I will go again for sure!

I love that you're always so close to the water

See that house that is a brighter red than the others? This is an actual house, one of the smallest in the city

Believe me, I do!

 One thing that is really crazy in Amsterdam is the traffic. Cologne is bigger than Amsterdam and there are thousands of cars driving around here although driving in the city is just horrible. In Amsterdam with all the narrow streets and bridges driving is impossible so most of the people there are going everywhere by bike. If you think that this is the safest way to get anywhere, well, I don't think so. They have a terrible speed, nobody is wearing a helmet, no one ever uses their brakes. They are carrying everything on their bikes, their shopping, small pieces of furniture and their children. To me it looks really dangerous but everyone seems to know how to do it. As I use my bike very often I thought I was good at it but this is pure craziness. Anyway, the city is very "fiets"-friendly and there are lots of streets only for bikes. It's kind of cool but you seriously have to practise.

The triple X stands for Amsterdam and this sign says it all. The Amsterdamers are crazy about their bikes

I could go on for hours telling you how much I enjoyed our little trip but I'll leave it to that. If you have ever been to Amsterdam and want to talk to me about it, feel free to leave a comment, I'd be thankful for more tips for my next trip there and I'll share mine with you if you'd like to go there for the first time.

Jenny, xoxo

PS: Just to make sure everyone gets it: I don't think prostitution is a good thing. I'm just saying that it has always been there and always will and by making it legal you make sure that the girls are in a safe place and can make their own choices.

I also don't think drugs are a good thing. But neither are cigarettes and alcohol and yet they are legal in most countries. By tolerating soft drugs to be sold in places with a license you can keep people from buying filthy, even more unhealthy stuff out in the streets.