Lerwick and a little bit about everything

December 01, 2013


While writing this post, with candles and Christmas music in the background, our Shetland summer seems so far away, so surreal, that I have to remind myself, that I actually really was there...

For the time we were in Shetland we stayed in Lerwick, the honest, unpolished, lovable capital of the Shetland Islands. It can, at the beginning, seem edgy and gruff and with a grey sky, drizzling rain and all those grey houses, it's not, ahm, jovial, at first sight.  There's too much wind to grow (m)any trees or make it easy for flowers to bloom. It's a city between two Seas, both powerful, feisty giants. That is what it's made of, and that is what shapes it, I think. But only at first sight. It's a place that will never leave your heart, if it entered it once.

Also because of the people. Despite of being a small island, a place very remote and with a rough climate, the people are welcoming, open-minded, communicative and just so lovable... you can stroll through the streets, you will be greeted like a local, invited to tea or driven when there's no bus coming or there just is no bus, or you can sit beside someone who is playing the violin alone in the harbour and just listen... Sometimes we were so astonished about the friendliness and helpfulness of the people there, that we noticed how unused we are of that. Of this friendliness that is not attached to any conditions... the sceptic big-city-self.

I tried to take something of all this with me, to keep it in my heart and let it not be washed away by Berlin's full underground, it's roaring cars, running people, loud buzzing. To sometimes pause for a moment and remember.



















9 comments:

  1. Great photos as usual and beautiful cat :)

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  2. I love the color of the photos!

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  3. What wonderful memories to take away from your visit. And wonderful photos too.

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  4. All beautiful pictures, but I especially love the last one, the tiny, fragile curve of the boat contrasted against the solidity of the building. The blue of the water looks like silk.

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  5. beautiful atmosphere, relieved from tension and crowd. great photos!

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  6. Awww! ♥ Honestly, I love every bit of this post! What an incredibly fascinating place!

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  7. what a beautiful place to live.

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  8. i´d love to see a b/w of the cat. these pics are so beautiful.

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  9. The blues in that last shot are amazing!

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