Change is in the Air

Hello strangers! Blogging has certainly taken a back seat this year, but that's not to say that life hasn't been interesting. In fact, these first few months of 2016 have been incredibly busy and exciting. As I mentioned in my last post, change is very definitely in the air and I'm really looking forward to sharing these changes with you - they're almost ready so watch this space! You'll soon understand where all my blogging time has been going recently!

In the mean time, it seems like the only time I get to blog these days is when I'm in another country! I've just finished off a work trip in Singapore and I must say, it's great to be home! I don't think I've had a chilled weekend at home since we got back from holidays in January - it seems like every weekend we've had exciting, fun things to do (work travel, weddings, the Grape Escape, road trips and showing foreigners around Cape Town). It's all been a lot of fun but after almost 3 months of non-stop busyness, the introvert in me is crying out for a few days where I don't have to see anyone (bar those closest to me), make polite conversation or plan anything. Once I've done that I'm sure I'll start to feel slightly more normal again!

With all this travelling I've been doing, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite things about travelling:

• Sunrise or sunset from the air.
• The "stars" in the Emirates overnight flights.
• Being exposed to new people and new cultures.
• And getting exposed to new ways of looking at the world and seeing how people from other countries solve problems differently.
• Getting to see (and photograph) fun new things.

Here is a sneak peak of some of the pictures from my Singapore trip - keep an eye out for the full range of them coming soon.

Sunset from the air.

Singapore trip - Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

Singapore trip - Bright bridges at night.

Happy (Belated) Leap Day!

I started writing this post on Feb 29th but as you can see, I didn't get around to finishing it. However, I thought I'd finish it off and share it anyway, as it's been a while since my last post!

February 29th - not a date that you bump into in the course of a regular year. However, this year is special, so happy (belated) Leap Day everyone - and happy birthday to all you February 29th babies!

This year is gearing up to be a fun year with lots of celebrations, planning and new beginnings and as such, I think it's extra appropriate that 2016 is a Leap Year. It's the type of year that comes around once in a while. The type of year where you look at the special times the lie in wait for you - time with family and time with friends, planning and celebrating and enjoying life together and you wish you could set your life on pause, just for a few moments, to savour everything that has happened and look forward to things that have yet to pass.

Earlier in February we went to the wedding of our friend's Chez and Heiko. It was such a privilege to be there with them and celebrate with them as they start out life together as newly-weds. It was such a special, joy filled weekend and made even more amazing by the fact that even though this particular bunch of friends is scattered around South Africa, we were all able to be there to celebrate together. We spent the weekend at a place called Platbos, these wonderfully cosy cabins on the edge of a dam. A weekend surrounded by friends who all just click and celebrating the wedding of two of our group was enough to make my heart feel all warm and fuzzy! Thanks guys, for a wonderful time - can't wait for the next one!

Our log cabins at Platbos

Our log cabins at Platbos

Frosty and I before the wedding.

Zel, me and Izzy before Chez and Heiko's Wedding

Special friends!

Night time photos at Platbos 

Another night time shot

Playing with light and night time photography - I set things up and pressed the button while Frosty shone the
torch like a pro to give us some of these shots!

Enjoying the water at Bainskloof Pass.

More special friends!

And more special friends!

I've got a few exciting things happening over the course of the next few weeks and months. Some of the exciting things are obvious, such as wedding planning! Other things are currently a bit more secret and I'm really looking forward to sharing these with you, however right now they're still a work in progress. I'm hoping that the first thing is going to be ready in a few weeks and once it's ready, you'll be among the first to know, so watch this space! It will definitely explain why I've been a bit quieter than usual on my blog, but that's all I'm saying for now!

A Hike and Some Flowers

A while ago Frosty and I had an awesome weekend hiking up Table Mountain and then we took a family drive to try and find some flowers in Darling with his brother and brother's girlfriend (it was overcast and there weren't many flowers out), but we did manage to find a stunning orchid farm and spent the morning walking around. And we had the cutest puppy join us for our day out - here are some pics.

View half way up Table Mountain

Pretty scenes at the top of Table Mountain.

The Conebush Protea (I think).

Frosty at the to of the mountain

Karoo Prinia

Karoo Prinia in black and white

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Orchids from Duckitt Nurseries.

Having some fun at Duckitt Nurseries.

Having some fun at Duckitt Nurseries.

Happiness is... running through long grass so fast that your ears stream out behind you :)

Germany in Pictures

Wow, I think it's been almost a whole month since my last post. Not for want of trying, I have a few posts in draft that I've been trying to finish, as well as trying to get through a bunch of photo's that I've taken and want to edit a bit (to add a bit of polish) before posting!

Anyway, here is a second round of the rest of my Germany photos, now that I've finally found an evening and finished editing them! To round the rest of my trip up in a nutshell - I had a busy week with our client, first giving some training and then testing the software in preparation for using the it in the "real world". After finishing up on Friday, I caught a train to visit my friend in Regensburg. My 5 hour train ride turned into a 7 hour ride due to delays along the way (where is that German precision when you need it?!) but eventually I got there and it was lovely to be in a smaller, student town.

Even though it was early Saturday morning when I got to Regensburg, there were still a lot of people out, walking along the cobblestone streets all kitted out in the lederhosen and dirndls! Some of the highlights of my weekend were walking around the city and playing tourist, going up to the tops of churches to get views of the city and going to the dult (like a mini Oktoberfest) where I got to meet a bunch of Kim's work colleagues, who were a melting pot of languages and cultures and all very friendly.

I spent my last day and a bit in Munich. By this time, the weather had turned bad and I spent the day walking the mizzly streets, trying to find my way to Marienplatz. I'm happy to say that I was in time to see the Glockenspiel play from a crowded doorway where people were trying to get out of the rain.

I have got so many good memories tucked away, but I think, for this post, I'm going to let my pictures do the rest of the talking for my second post on Germany.