Les Bleus, the French equipe mastered the semifinals and may win the trophy of the soccer world cup tomorrow, one day after their national holiday. I am celebrating with some more bleu-blanc-rouge. These lovely colours are polyglott. They spell not only France but also sailing in the great blue or just enjoying summer at the Waterkant.
The trendy neighbourhood at Cape Town's Table Bay and Bo Kaap, the adjoining Malay quarter, offer a backdrop of candy coloured houses along cobbled lanes.
I didn't discover the end of the world, yet. I only came to Tierra del Fuego , the Land of Fire, which is indeed a sort of Finis Terrae. The Argentinians call it Fin del Mundo . There, I had the privilege to talk with the American lady scientist Natalie Prosser Goodall, who discovered and assembled the most intriguing collection of Arctic sea mammals further to be read about in my travel book Woanders / Somewhere else (for details see www.edithwerner.com ). Some 40 years ago Natalie came to this wild country on a short stint as a student, met a local sheep farmer and stayed. In the town Ushuia the last forepost of civilisation, I met a lady artist who is a descendant of the first inhabitants, the. Yaghan . They were living on their boats and the fires they entertained on their swimming homes inspired the name Tierra del Fuego. For one year I shared with you, dear reader, the endless variety of womens' adornements I discovered on my travels. Thank you for having...
Normally I am not a fan of Northern climes. Much too cold for my liking, but what can you do if you have a Norwegian lady friend and she happens to get married in her home country in early spring. Put on as much wool as you can was her advice. I checked my collection of cuddly sweaters and packed a huge suitcase. In went woollens from Norway proper, from Lithuania where I had been freezing to death on a business trip until I got hold of a wonderful woollen jacket with felt lining and from Ireland where the seller had assured me that an old grandma had been knitting my sweater for a whole month. In went two pairs of slipper socks another dear Norwegian friend had knitted for me. I was ready for the ice age. At least, I didn’t have to put on my reindeer fur from Hardanger Fjord. It can get nearly as cold in Northern Germany at the Baltic Sea. Then I am visiting my daughter in Kiel where she is working I can feel that I am close to Scandinav...
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