Monday Meander - May 22, 2023

It's a holiday Monday! 

Capping off a long weekend with sunshine. And not just any old long weekend but the summer kickoff weekend. I wrote in my Thursday, or Thereabouts post last week, that I was hoping that this great first long weekend of summer was much brighter and gentler than 2022's version and kicks off a season of  warm days and starry nights along with enough rain to keep it all beautiful. Well we got the much needed rain on Saturday, all 52mm (2.05 inches) and we got warm sun on Sunday and today. So we're off to a great start. 

It's been quiet here at the homestead. No family gatherings or other social events, which feels a bit odd, like there's something out of place. I'll try to fix that next year! Saturday's rain left me ample time to meander through photos of past Victoria Day weekends.  How and where have I let loose the bonds of winter on this revered weekend in the past?

A few times we were cruising.  

 Dover, England

Amsterdam

Venice

And guided by Schwartz, our intrepid we found places to raise a pint in every port!

But most often we are here at home where blossoms and blooms, firewood and feasts, with feathered and furry friends along with little ones decorate the days. 

Even this year, we made it fun in our own way. There was a trip into town - for more bits and bobs for the bathroom reno and new training shoes for me. What we came home with was a bag of elbows, hubs, and shut-offs, no shoes, and a new laptop computer! Turns out the computer store was beside the sports store. Who knew? And there was this sale... Need I say more? 

There was a bbq - burgers, local asparagus, and red wine, a sumptuous Baco Noir I'd been saving for just this time.

It's time to swing into summer. Let's do this!

  ©2023 April Hoeller

Monday Moanings - July 23, 2018

And, I'm back!

After three weeks touring Iceland, Norway and the UK, my love and I have returned home. The luggage has been unpacked and stowed away, the laundry is done, and 5K+ camera images have been uploaded to the server ready for editing. I have learned that re-entry to my ordinary world and life is a thing best done gently. So, though the plane landed me back home six days ago, I have taken my time to return to regularly scheduled programming.

Reykjavik Iceland - Solfar (Sun Voyager)

It was an amazing adventure, but over the last few days, a sense of despair has been growing. Tourism is ruining too many places. It is indeed a fine and wonderful thing that so many can travel so far, so fast. But the impact of this on too many of the beautiful places on this earth is humongous. What may be an economic boost for a community can quickly morph into an infrastructure nightmare. It's worrisome to me that my penchant for travel might contribute to the ruin of the very sites I desire to experience.

Take Geiranger Fjord for instance.

The village has a population of 250, but between May and September 800,000 to 1 million tourists arrive, most by cruise ship. Narrow roads clogged with tour buses, dock area a mass of humanity all jostling for souvenirs and in line to use the toilets.

One of my biggest thrills of the trip was kayaking in Geiranger Fjord. I loved every minute of it then, but now some of that joy has been diminished.

I suppose the good news is that the Norwegian government is taking steps to preserve this UNESCO site and other fjords. Cruise ship restrictions are coming. That will improve the health of the fjord itself, but will it stop the masses of people?

Westminster Abbey in London served up my greatest disappointment.

I carry a memory of its majesty and profound peace from a visit twenty-two years ago. But last Monday afternoon, I was confronted by a mob scene. Had I not purchased tickets beforehand, we'd have been in line in the blazing sun for close to two hours. Once inside, (no photos allowed!), the only option was to move along with the crowd. Gone was any sense of sacred space, any room for awe, its heartbeat drowned out by the noise of too many people. I'm glad that twenty-two years ago, my daughter and I took the time to do brass rubbings in the Abbey.

This was taken in the cloisters, away from the crowds.

I'm not going to stop traveling, but I now think that I will be far more careful in my planning, mindful of the impact of my presence in faraway places. I am but a sojourner in this world. And it is still a privilege to see what I can, when I can, as long as I can.

Molde, Norway

©2018 April Hoeller