Christmas has come and gone, and I am tucked up in bed, with a nasty seasonal cough (unusually for me). whilst it was nice to do the usual resevoir walk and very special to visit Mount Grace and Saltburn, I felt disconnected at Christmas. Perhaps that is what happens after two significant losses in the year.
 |
| The dog loved the wild sea, there was a huge queue for fish and chips and people were surfing, so an interesting first visit to this northern seaside town. |
However, perhaps it is also because unintentionally I had so many treats before Christmas as I caught up with friends and family in Croatia and made new friends volunteering with Englishausen near Munich. I have never been to so many Christmas markets before, and whilst I do not think of them as my kind of thing, and sadly I am aware that they can attract the wrong kind of attention, they were great fun or it was great fun seeing everyone enjoying themselves so much and enjoying the differences and similarities between the markets, culminating in the one in Salzburg. I have amassed a small collection of Gluhvein mugs which will hopefully help me remember this time when I am even more in my dotage. I also still have not managed to see the whole of Sound of Music, but I know a lot more about where it was filmed and of course, Mozart has been revisited. The house where he was born said he was an internationalist because as a young man he could move around and work everywhere in Europe. Interesting observation, in these really difficult times.
 |
| Salzburg |
 |
| Zagreb |
 |
| Munich's main Christmas market. |
