All posts filed under: Books

Had a conversation with God at a primo reading spot in Piha

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One of the great things about Piha is the abundance of time I get for myself out here. The kids usually leave the house at eight o’clock and don’t return until four in the afternoon. That gives me eight hours of quality alone-time that I can spend in great alone-time-ways: When the waves are good I head down to the beach for a surf, when they’re not I go bush walking and when the weather gets really bad (like this week) I snuggle up with my hot water bottle under a blanket and immerse myself into a great book. Not that I don’t like the people of Piha or the girls – every single one of them is lovely but don’t you also appreciate that bit of alone-time every now and then? Since a couple of magic books have “found me” some years ago I am a firm believer that the right book comes to you at the right time. And if you’re not ready the book will patiently wait on your shelf up to that moment where …

Pictures from my perfect paradise island

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Good news! I have found exactly what I wanted: a long, perfectly white beach on a quiet island that is not yet as popular as its bigger island brothers around. There are no cars or roads here, electricity is only available four hours per day, internet almost never and phone reception is rather a coincidence than permanent. The bungalow I rented for five Euros per day is basic but sufficient, stands under a palm tree a couple of meters from the beach and comes with a slack line in its front yard. I can hear the waves while I fall asleep, see them from my bed first thing in the morning and jump into the warm turquoise water instead of the morning shower. There’s a pile of books waiting to be read on my table, I have found a couple of slack line and dinner friends and at my favourite café in the little village they already know that I will order a fresh coconut for breakfast. I can blend alone time with company, explore the …

Book recommendation: Do you want to be normal or happy?

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On my 29th birthday I hiked up our local mountain with my Mum and during our well deserved lunch at one of the huts she pulled out this book as a present. What a good match – already the title made me smile. I read it during the 2012 New Zealand road trip and recommended it to Maggie who took it with her to Australia. When visiting her in Maroubra this year the book found its way back to me exactly one year later. Reading it again in Thailand wasn’t as mind-blowing as the first time but a good way to re-assess my happiness, to look back and see what a long way I’ve come during the year that has passed and get the bigger picture again. So if you’re still looking for a last-minute Christmas present – I can absolutely recommend this one (apart from the paragraphs where he advertises his multiple side-products such as CDs).

Beaches, Books and Blisters at Bondi

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When I go traveling to places I have been to before my travel style somehow reminds me of a dog who’s coming home: I need to go to all my favorite places and check they’re still there. So when in Sydney I felt like I had to visit some places that meant so much to me when I was there in 2011. Back then, I had spent a considerable amount of time in Coogee – the Beach between Maroubra and world-famous Bondi. Since I stayed at Maggie’s in Maroubra Beach I thought it would be a good idea to do the cliff-top walk that stretches all along the coast from Maroubra to Bondi, passing through Coogee. It actually was a good idea, doing it bare feet not so much. Two days earlier, during my last surf in Piha, one of my board’s fins had cut my left foot and the wound still hurt so much in my sneakers that I had to take them off half way during the walk. That wound immediately hurt less …

A spooky and sleepless night at the house

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I thought I have had enough sleep on the plane and felt pretty fresh when I got here on Monday but having done this trip a couple of times already I should have known better: The jet-lag always strikes back. It just hits you out of the blue and if you don’t get to a bed or couch fast enough you literally fall asleep at the table (True story!). Yesterday it kicked in rather late and I fell asleep at around 7 pm, resulting in waking up at midnight – wide awake. Multiple techniques didn’t work out – no way to get back to sleep again. At the same time a major storm came over Auckland and it was pissing down in a way I had never experienced in Austria. A sleepless and spooky night all alone at the end of the world – that’s a pretty perfect breeding ground for self-doubt and lots of worrying: Did I make the right decision? What am I doing here? Why the hell did I put myself into …