Who?
Mr Rhine
Where?
Europe, in this case: Andernach-Bonn, a 40 km distance
What?
"You are amazing. Beautiful, humbling, moving. Erotic, sweet, overwhelming.. And all other words there are to describe alive. Thank you for two incredible years."
How did he react?
He went with the flow...
How did I feel?
His soul has been around forever. He has seen it all. World wars, river pirates, heart break. Suicide, storms, summer stillness, winter ice. This guy cannot be shocked, he just flows on and on and on. Therefore sitting down by his side and handing him your burden helps, always. He is a good listener. Sometimes he waves at you through seagulls spreading their wings, sometimes he reminds you to be graceful by sending some swans that glide their way on his surface. He has your answer. Tears? Look, there is an awful lot of water these will dissolve in. Worries? Just listen to the wind and remember they will blow away when you're ready. Loneliness? Watch the bugs and birds, the fish and the rabbits and of course the waving seniors from their cruise ships and let life enter and comfort you. And if he remains silent maybe you don't need an answer but a retreat in one of Germany's most beautiful landscapes. No problem, he offers that, too.
Mr Rhine
Where?
Europe, in this case: Andernach-Bonn, a 40 km distance
What?
"You are amazing. Beautiful, humbling, moving. Erotic, sweet, overwhelming.. And all other words there are to describe alive. Thank you for two incredible years."
How did he react?
He went with the flow...
How did I feel?
His soul has been around forever. He has seen it all. World wars, river pirates, heart break. Suicide, storms, summer stillness, winter ice. This guy cannot be shocked, he just flows on and on and on. Therefore sitting down by his side and handing him your burden helps, always. He is a good listener. Sometimes he waves at you through seagulls spreading their wings, sometimes he reminds you to be graceful by sending some swans that glide their way on his surface. He has your answer. Tears? Look, there is an awful lot of water these will dissolve in. Worries? Just listen to the wind and remember they will blow away when you're ready. Loneliness? Watch the bugs and birds, the fish and the rabbits and of course the waving seniors from their cruise ships and let life enter and comfort you. And if he remains silent maybe you don't need an answer but a retreat in one of Germany's most beautiful landscapes. No problem, he offers that, too.
My goodbye week has begun. Seven more days in Rhineland, then I am off. I am slowly starting to realize what I'll miss, how much there is. I have been commuting between Andernach and Bonn for a while and I am happy there are parts of my life here that I have lived to the fullest, one of them being the incredible nature. Along the Rhine there is a great bike hike trail, I have been cycling to school a lot. Time spent out there is worth it, always, every second. It clears my head. It brings great inspiration, I am active and in the most lively surrounding that gives creative input and calms down at the same time. Perfect frame for coming up with ideas and plans, separating the profound sensations from the mind garbage, tidying up my inside all by breathing and taking in the stunning visuals. And pedaling, of course. Along the way there are countless pieces of eye candy: Medieval castles on hills, colorful flowers and autumn leaves, blue creeks, yellow fields, alleys, benches that are occupied by old couples or teenage dates, vineyards and cliffs, and every now and then a biker couple wearing matching clothes and bags, riding matching bikes and drinking from matching water bottles.
I am going to miss them.
I am going to miss them.
Everything which is honest is beautiful. This I believe to be true. Whenever I get to the bottom of things like a fight's hidden feelings, a real feature of someone's face that's been covered by make-up, even a scream or a shout or a stamp where its expression is authentic I sigh and sense relief. Revealing life liberates.
If i am right saying that everything which is honest is beautiful then nature must be personified beauty. For what could be more honest than nature? It is always real, it never pretends. Finding it's own rules and updating them continually. Meanwhile sounding, feeling, tasting, smelling so rich and sublime, so aesthetic while figuring out and following these rules! Whorls, straight lines, circles, curls just look at the visual part of it, at all that imperfection, that never ending process of creating, growing, changing directions, starting over, and finally dying which in itself is perfection. Yes, the river and his country say "change" at every inch you look at yet it's heaviness and the broad channel tell a story of stability, too. He has his habits and his traits, they return year after year: The past thaw flood. The springtime duck babies, swimming in rank and file. The moist smell of sweet water in the summer heat. The berries in late summer, the apples and countless walnut trees in the fall. (Speaking of which: It is harvest season now, the yield is crazy. Go for a walk if you happen to live here, and take some bags with you. Find a stick and start your treasure hunt under the first walnut tree you spot! You won’t regret it). All the way through the year there are the hills, rising right and left of the water, like beautiful ladies' breasts, perfectly shaped in their uniqueness. They wear different clothes from season to season, a snowy white dress, then a light green fine rip vest, a full on green cover and finally the fall color explosion evening robe. Meanwhile the Rhine gently touches the bosom, caressing it every day of the year. What a lover!
He is innovative. Honest in his expression. Pragmatic, literally down to earth. Still aesthetic. Seductive. Sexy. With all his material presents he endows his admirers. The Rhine is so much more than the wise and empathetic listener I see in him most of the time. In fact, he is the perfect man. How could I ever leave him? Honestly, I don't think I can. Before I moved here I didn't know a landscape like this existed in Germany. Now that I have lived in the heart of it I will keep coming back for it. I have fallen for this Rhine guy and I'll never let him go. But being the wise man he is I know if he heard me say all this he would tell me I shouldn't worry, that he'll always be there if I need him. He would ask me to hug him one last time and then let go. Because change is what it all comes down to, who teaches us if not nature. Change is the Rhine's message day by day, year by year. In all his steadiness. Thank you, Rhine. Living with you has been a wonderful gift, each and every day. You are a great teacher and plain beauty. I am so grateful to have met you.
If i am right saying that everything which is honest is beautiful then nature must be personified beauty. For what could be more honest than nature? It is always real, it never pretends. Finding it's own rules and updating them continually. Meanwhile sounding, feeling, tasting, smelling so rich and sublime, so aesthetic while figuring out and following these rules! Whorls, straight lines, circles, curls just look at the visual part of it, at all that imperfection, that never ending process of creating, growing, changing directions, starting over, and finally dying which in itself is perfection. Yes, the river and his country say "change" at every inch you look at yet it's heaviness and the broad channel tell a story of stability, too. He has his habits and his traits, they return year after year: The past thaw flood. The springtime duck babies, swimming in rank and file. The moist smell of sweet water in the summer heat. The berries in late summer, the apples and countless walnut trees in the fall. (Speaking of which: It is harvest season now, the yield is crazy. Go for a walk if you happen to live here, and take some bags with you. Find a stick and start your treasure hunt under the first walnut tree you spot! You won’t regret it). All the way through the year there are the hills, rising right and left of the water, like beautiful ladies' breasts, perfectly shaped in their uniqueness. They wear different clothes from season to season, a snowy white dress, then a light green fine rip vest, a full on green cover and finally the fall color explosion evening robe. Meanwhile the Rhine gently touches the bosom, caressing it every day of the year. What a lover!
He is innovative. Honest in his expression. Pragmatic, literally down to earth. Still aesthetic. Seductive. Sexy. With all his material presents he endows his admirers. The Rhine is so much more than the wise and empathetic listener I see in him most of the time. In fact, he is the perfect man. How could I ever leave him? Honestly, I don't think I can. Before I moved here I didn't know a landscape like this existed in Germany. Now that I have lived in the heart of it I will keep coming back for it. I have fallen for this Rhine guy and I'll never let him go. But being the wise man he is I know if he heard me say all this he would tell me I shouldn't worry, that he'll always be there if I need him. He would ask me to hug him one last time and then let go. Because change is what it all comes down to, who teaches us if not nature. Change is the Rhine's message day by day, year by year. In all his steadiness. Thank you, Rhine. Living with you has been a wonderful gift, each and every day. You are a great teacher and plain beauty. I am so grateful to have met you.