Baltic Sea region Part 1

It took us more than 2 hours, but it was totally worth it for the weather has been very cooperative, although the online forecast told us that it’d be raining all week long.

Upon arrival, GPS told us to cross a bridge that was not there. We called and were told that the street shown on the map had been closed for a while now and since then every tourist has been standing in front of an imaginary bridge when they first arrived. If you happened to be a bus driver and forget to take the reception hotline with you, or arrive after 6Pm, the chances are you would be sitting in your car and pull out your hair one by one. Not sure why the closure of the bridge was never official, but if I had been there years ago and convinced of its existence, I would probably call a doctor to see if I suffer from schizophrenia.

The apartment is lovely – directly at the port and we wake up with seagull every morning. There is only less than 2 meters from our back door to the water, and since the sky has been mostly clearly blue, the water looks heavenly. A few colorful boats are anchored or moored at the port. It is the low season, which means that we are the only ones in the building. Whenever we step out of the door, there is a sense of peace fills up this place, with the exception of gophers – the blind creatures mark their territories even at our door steps; the tourists say “aw”, gardeners scream. This is a circa 25 M² studio, with two closets: one for storage, one serves as kitchen. Behind the closet doors we found a sink, a small refrigerator, a hot plate and a few nails on which two pots and a frying pan are hanged. I suppose all that cooking is not good for the wooden closet, but it’d also be a big mess to have grease on the wall and the ceiling. Cooking in a closet, who would have guessed?

In the past few days we visited the island Usedom, Swinemünde and Stettin in Poland. Usedom has small towns that really give you cute small town feelings – cobble stone streets, old tiny houses, white sand beach, and we found a small shop that sells home-made wool products; the shop keeper even spin the yard herself! But over the weekend almost everything is closed (Saturdays some of them close at 11 am or 1pm), but in Swinemünde, PL everything is open, no matter what day of the week. When you keep going south, until Stettin, you will see amazingly beautiful beaches, but sadly there are more and more house / mall are being erected right in front of the coast, which is not good at all for the environment. The city centers are basically one or two huge blocks of mall, next to 4 or 5 star hotels while across the street is a 10 storage building in which there are more than 1000 people live. The east side of the place is the most illustrative examples of extremes, either you stay in the 5-star hotel or you live across the street with the apartment number like sz-4589. Also driving in Poland is quite adventurous: the streets are not well marked, people drive backwards, and there is no absolute guarantee that you wouldn’t drive into a street trolley, which shares the same car lane as you do. But the food is more than nice, and my favorite is 8-layer banana cake – yes, I counted, there are 8 layers.

The fall has just arrived and the foliage is unspeakable beautiful. Between towns forests are magically colorful. Sometimes I wish I could just be a part time druid and understand the spirit of plants. There is a middle-age interactive project (http://www.ukranenland.de) in the town of Torgelow. The museum is long term project started about 15 years ago; there were houses of smiths’, hunters’, tailors’ hand built, they keep animals and crops, and there are always people who could play middle-age music and make sword using the techniques applied more than 700 years ago. It is a seasonal museum for in the winter it’s really too cold for there is no electricity. There are people who work there for free out of pure interest and since we are at the end of the season (they close this Sunday and we were there Tuesday), all of the workers there took time and guided us through the buildings and ships one by one. I had never learned so much about Germanic, Nordic and Slavic folks. This is the place where I shot bow and arrow (real Robin Hood style) for the first time, and this is probably the only place you would get the chance to do anything alike. If I can finish my school work early (on time) somehow next summer, it’d be totally thinkable to spend 3months there to work for free. It is in the middle of a forest, with a blue creek, pretty sheep and lovely people. So right, in the summer time, they even organize school projects; children could help building up a castle or learn how to work with animals and make peace with nature.

Never leave out the Zoo in the middle of nature land, although it has been a while since the last time I was in a Tierpark. The one in Ueckermünde is another moment of sweetness: Instead of having visitors randomly throwing food to the animals, there are “Futter-Automaten” stand at almost every corner. It costs one euro to take out a box of animal food, and on the machine it says “If the vending machines are empty, our animals are full”. Sheep, goats, horses and donkeys stay close to the machines, so every time someone throws in an euro, they all run up and waiting for their snack. I couldn’t stop going back to the vending machine, for there were very few people around and all these cute bunnies and horses totally melt my heart. Too bad that we did not get to pat the lions, but I guess deer food wouldn’t be really enough for any big cat. Ueckermünde Tierpark is the only place I found so far which provides such vending machines, I hope that there will be more zoos that do the same -- one of the best ways to support the place and make sure what we give to the animals are not soaked in bacon fat and deep fried.

After 5 hours of walking on the beach and arrow shooting in the middle age museum, we needed some spa time. We found in our apartment pamphlet that on Tuesday nights we could book a 4-hour spa for about 10 euros each: a bus would drive us to the spa and take us home at 21:30. Around 17:30, we took the shuttle to the spa, which is in a 3-star hotel und as we walked up to the reception and asked about the deal, the manager told us that the spa area was not ready, one of the saunas was broken and the cleaning ladies would take about 2 hours more to clean the place.
We took a walk. What else could you do? In the middle of nowhere without a car. We called the chauffeur and asked if he could come half an hour later – if we only had 90 minutes to get in and out of a “wellness resort”, it’d be slightly tight.

Luckily enough, our shuttle driver was incredibly nice.

Finally, after walking on the beach with frozen nose and fingers as the only choice, the spa was ready when we got to the reception for the second time. The manager told us that we’d be the only ones tonight. O…K… why not.

The truth is: both Saunas are broken, soap is nowhere to be found, I don’t know when the last time they cleaned the pool, but it was milky and full of dirt, one of the relax rooms is below freezing point, and the only half-functioning places are solarium and infra-red cabinet: but we had to pay extra (1 euro for 10 minutes)! On top of which, there were hair on the solarium bed and the ceiling was dropping water. We ended up spending most of the time changing coins at the bar counter upstairs and stay in the infra-red cabinet, so that our body temperature would stay normal: had to pull through that 90 minutes somehow, I truly wished that there had been a coffee vending machine somewhere. Luckily we brought our own towels, the manager did not even bother to ask; she cashed up and went away.

Oh well, so much for the spa.

GPS is our best friend, for we decide our next destination almost as spontaneously and randomly as if we threw darts on a map hanging on a wall. At the very east side of the country is the best place for smoked fish; for after their family business building, there is only blank in our GPS screen. It looks like they had been in the business for generations and they are always proud of their location. On the maps, their house is right next to the blue ocean and on screen, they mark the end of the land and the beginning of unknown. Speaking of unknown, as we drove through the island of Usedom and tried to come back through the only bridge on the south side, there was a jam right in front of the bridge. Most of the people were locals, and most of them got out of the car and lit a smoke as the line got longer and longer. Well, it was only less than 10 minutes later, someone, someone completely random in his car coming from other direction (he was at the beginning of the jam and made a U-turn), yelled out “The bridge is broken!”. Right after that, most of the people decided to make a U-turn too and on their way heading for the bridge in north, which is more than 80 kilometer away.

So, some random guy yelled out the bridge was broken, and most of the people listened. We took a left turn towards along the coast, headed for the port where summer ferries are, parked the car next to the ships and took a walk – the fact is: we did not know what caused the jam and how long it’d last. How strange just listen to some random guy’s yell and decided to drive across the island again hoping the other bridge is open? People always doubt how effective propagandas are, but look, there are locals who make U-Turns and make that extra 80 kilometers because of a random statement floating out of a car window!

About 20 minutes later, we drove back to the bridge entrance, everything was alright again. Maybe the worker who was supposed to open the bridge was just 15 minutes late; or the computer screwed up for a quarter, but whatever it was, it took less than half an hour. People don’t have patience, people want fast results, and people would believe whatever it is out there without verifying the source, but this is nothing new.

We still have another few days here. Tomorrow in our Hafen big boats will be towed out of the water, starting 9am. Bis morgen, seagulls and wild ducks; loud crows and blind gophers.

Since the WiFi connection is irregular here, if I can’t load the pictures for this blog tonight, will try again very soon.

Little Emma in Slumberland - In the Land of Obscure Dreams

Little Emma in Slumberland - In the Land of Obscure Dreams

A class is at the movie theater to watch a film, in which two families live together. Both have two kids and their mothers. One of the mothers looks very two dimensional, like cut out of a cardboard and she has been very insecure all the time, then something minor happens and she jumps off the balcony / window and disappears. The children are sad, esp. hers.

I am somehow part of the film and part of the audience. I end up looking for the mother and I find her in the middle of a park, very confused. But she gives me two bags, both are regular plastic grocery bags but one is sealed like a cylinder like zip top. Both are filled with water and I brought them to the families and they realize that their mother is alive (from a bag of water!?) and soon after, she returns home.

The movie ends. We all go out and have a drink with the director or some important person producing the film. A girl and I were a bit late heading for the bar so we could see the rest of them are having fun at the top of the hill (where the bar is) and when we finally climbed up there, the crowd has been gone, there was an old scary woman with candles and the bar becomes a very creep and dodgy house. The old woman was expecting men apparently and she does smell like nasty danger. I say “good bye”, unlock the door frantically and storm out of the house, as I run down the hill, I was so paranoid about her chasing me but no one is behind me. (I get chased all the time in my dreams)I safely arrive at the main street.
Tons of people gathered at the main streets, I thought it was a demonstration but it turns out to be a parade. One of the major things in parade is a golden, gigantic, ancient fire department vehicle shaped like a boat. It is as big as a building. There are other old fashioned things at the parade, like old crafts, books and all.

Then I am looking for the important guy from the film ( I don’t know why), his name is like Gandhi or something. So I ask the man in front of an Indian restaurant and he says that he might come by on Sunday. I continue to walk down the street and get on the train. The Gandhi guy is on the same train! So we sit down at a table and speak. I ask him about an Email that we all get as a class, about Grandma and Visa (huh?), then I ask him if he needs any writers for his movies and if there is a small side job. He says that he is doing a war film right now and I could get paid for 400 euros if I walk around the block in different costumes 190 times, sometimes I would drop my keys, or be “the guy around the block”.


I am going to stop eating sweet stuff before bed, and look up what did Freud say about seeing a golden old fire truck.

Organic Life

October is full of excitement, or enticement if you will. I seem to have been sleeping for a very long time; then a sudden urge of isolating myself in a cellophane woke me up.

It has been a while now, we make our own herbal butter (Kräuterbutter), dips, cakes, bread, ice cream, bread spread ... a lot of things a couple of years ago that we would usually get from the supermarkets, come in with plastic wraps; we are at the point where we grow our parsley, basil, rosemary and other kind of plants. Homemade things taste better, maybe because they are from our hands, made with love (awwww...) and you know exactly what is in your food. I never gave it much of a thought, until a few days ago, my lip balm ran out.

Because of my erroneous genetic code, there has been very few kinds of lip balm or skin care I could use. I usually had 4 chap-sticks stocked up in the fridge, for simply I am absolutely compelled to use them more often than most of people, and I can not sleep without them (I kid you not). There are two brands I have found so far compatible to my lips -- one not sold in Germany, one is only sold in Drugstores in specific part of town (which I do not live close to). Leave out the fact that every ounce of them costs more than silver, but what to do when you wake up in the middle of the night and found out there isn't any friendly drop left in that white tube?

So I went and bought the raw ingredients the next day instead. I am going to make an entire pound of that stuff!

As we stood in front of a small stove and melting pure bee wax in a funky glass over water, I realized how dependant we are -- it is not about money, not about being able to stock up a thousand small tubes of lip balms in the refrigerator (that actually produce more plastic trash that the pleasure of using the product itself); it the fact that most of us have become so comfortable having everything in a "to go" form if we swing out our credit cards; we are losing the knowledge and the pleasure of making organic things from our hands forever but instead, in order to have a completely clean conscious, we put our bets in so-called organic food store, spend 5 euros an once for some cream including tongue-twisting chemical names. Independence is not solely financial.

I know, from a typical student side here, I am also in -- eating instant noodle and cakes (oh, about the cake, blame the cook!) in front of a computer screen. But I just wanted to say that there is a lot more joy in making one's own small things than one might think. The bright side is, I am getting used to having this new life style -- part of the society, and yet independent from anything in "ready to go" as much as possible, like in a cellophane, in which I get to decide (most of the time) what goes into my mouth, what goes on my lips and my skin.

Give it a shot. It might surprise you.

PS: My new lip balm ist Lavender / Ylang Ylang --- me happy!

Peace you say?

Peace you say. The word appears on children's menu, encouraging "give peas a chance"; the word Mercutio hears from a lover boy; the word is like polar bear, I know what it is, I haven't touched it myself.

As if I have been hibernating for more than 500 days. I don't remember the last time I woke up before noon. I forgot what morning looks like; it is part of being a student in summer break; someone told me nicely. A dear friend of mine told me to shut off the news during healing. I tried to do it in the past couple of days; it doesn't work very well. I love the feeling of having my espresso in my sleep wear while reading the news. This is more than a habitual thing, it is that over heated coffee spoon that you have to hold to stir your java; it might irritate the finger tip, but without that extra heat, stirring coffee would have become something else. If I can't take the news right now, would it be easier to me after months' blank and then take it all in one go? Sooner or later we all have to return to the reality and face human cruelty.

Red post-it notes are on the wall, to remind me of joy. Wouldn't it be nice if I could think about more of the good sides of things constantly, I suppose it takes more practice than I thought. It is very true that most of the news broadcast are bad; we can always blame the media for abusing people's fear, tickle their bank accounts for more shocking the news is, the more it sells. Why are we more alert and in a way attractive to destructive news, I don't know; but the fact of watching the reports on the distinctions of animals and plants, oil spills, senseless violence and tolerance shows that either homo homo sapiens have adapted to the new environment with a stronger stomach for gruesomeness or we have become numb; but could one just throw out the laptop and TV and pretend everything is fine? Is it too late, for we always knew?

I guess there is no all-purpose formula to heal from any kind of psychological disturbance, but I am paying my gratitude every day and waiting for the idea of balancing my world shall come soon.

Peace you say?

Butter

Dr. Soliot sits at his desk filling out applications and reports for a new psychology magazine. It has been a while since his name put in print and such nostalgia is more than an itch on the skin. Today he gets a new pair. New is good, the first consultation is always full of juicy conflicts, tears and fists, sexual cheats, financial disputes, and whatever a reality show could provide. This is live reality show with potential of seeing their stories and my name in print.

The secretary says that the patients have arrived. Dr. Soliot opens the door and a very young couple step in.

DR.SOLIOT: Good morning. Please take your seats.

The man and the woman sit down next to another on the couch across the desk.

DR.SOLIOT: So, what bring you to the couple mediation?

The man take out a voucher and say: “We got this voucher a few months ago as a present from our insurance company for our fifth anniversary. It is almost expired, so we think that we might as well use it...”

WOMAN: AND we heard that the doctors provide good service here.

There is a mirror on the side wall on Dr. Soliot’s left side. Sometimes he likes to ask his patients to talk to the mirror and say that they are loved. Today, as he turns aside and sees himself, like a double cheese burger on a fast-food ad; with a discount. Is it what I am? A piece of discount, oh, free voucher? Of course not, he looks back on the couple, every patient has potential.

“So tell me about your relationship. Do you argue?”

“Of course we do. Sometimes.”

“About what?”

“Butter. Well, sometimes we can’t agree on bathroom towels but mostly about butter.” the man says and the woman nods.

“Would you like to explain it.”

MAN: I like my butter square. Like them supposed to be. I put them in a butter container and I take the portions out with a butter knife. But whenever she comes along, takes tortilla chips or whatever she has in hand, and she dips into the butter and of course afterwards, the butter gets all scratched up! We even tried to get two separate butter boxes, but she always gets into it!

WOMAN: I use knife too! Sometimes. But what is the big deal? It is butter, you can always get new ones, perfectly rectangle ones. Wait, what’s wrong with scratchy ones? It is not like it turn into something else after being scratched. And you! You slice your sausages into equally numbered pieces with bread! It is food, not math...

DR.SOLIOT: Excuse me... I don’t know if I understand it all correctly. You are fighting about butter (the couple nod), and why does it bother you when your husband cuts his sausages to fit in his bread?

WOMAN: It doesn’t really ... oh yeah, but there was one time that we got into a fight and he ended up having to make vanilla pudding for me at 3am!

DR.SOLIOT: A fight! Do tell!

WOMAN: Well, we were downstairs taking pictures of squirrels in the garden and as I just finished adjusting the focus, he tickled me so the photo was blur. As a punishment, he had to make vanilla pudding...

MAN: Oh right ... that was a pretty red squirrel with white tail.

DR.SOLIOT: Were you angry at your husband for such mischief then?

WOMAN: Yep. But the vanilla pudding was really good though.

DR.SOLIOT: Why at 3am?

WOMAN: It was weekend, we stayed up late.

Dr. Soliot’s looks at the watch and opens the draw. “Have you heard of Toloft? This is a new kind of medication that would take edge off people and balance all the chemicals in the brain. It can be partially paid by your insurance company, but the trail does is free.” He laughs with a frown: “hahaha, just like street drug dealers, the first one is always free. hahaha”

No one else laughs. The man says: “That is funny. I have never heard of it.”

WOMAN: Do you mean the medication or the saying about street drug dealers?

MAN: The medication. Maybe it will really take some edges off you.

WOMAN: You are the edgy one, with your square butter and all.

Then she turns to the doctor: “The goal is to re-shape. We saw this rectangle thing at the super market last week that would shape play dough in different ways.”

MAN: Right... you can even shape them round.

Dr. Soliot feels a rush of blood to the head. It is 10 minutes before the session ends but he stands up and shake their hands. “If you think it is necessary, the appointments for the follow-up sessions can be made through my secretary.”

The couple stand up and the man is looking for his weekly calendar. “Have you seen it?”

WOMAN: Ooops. I left on the counter.

MAN: Arrrrggghhh.

WOMAN: Hey you wanted me to write down this address.

MAN: I was cooking!

WOMAN to DR.SOLIOT: We had spinach lasagna last night, it was heavenly...

MAN: Of course it was good. I made it. We should really do it again, this time with Bechamel sauce.

WOMAN: Oh that is a good idea. Can we go grocery shopping right now, speaking of food...

DR.SOLIOT: I DO have other patients to see. The secretary will help you with appointments and all. Have a good day.

Dr. Soliot closes the door and takes out his to-do list:

• Call the phone provider and ask how long would it take to change a number
• Ask Mr. Wose if the option of sharing an office still available
• Send resume and applications to St. Christopher. Hopsital, maybe they need someone in the psychology department
• Google my Psych. Dr. High’s new office number