Back to reality now, its taken a few days, jet lag still lingering. The places we visited in Austria and Sweden are some of my memorable travel places. Sweden is the most amazing child friendly place, every where is considered, even free travel on a bus if you have a pram!....I found it hard to get a serviced apartment as I know, after several tries, a normal hotel room just doesn't work well for us...I found an excellent lady who rented us her friends apartment.............we were very lucky! New places, food, experiences and peoples always help me to make sense of where I am in my life and really I feel that Japan is no longer the right place for us.....and for a young kid to grow and learn. Life as a Japanese person (in Japan especially) is really tough (in terms of quality of life - esp for those with kids)....I love Japan, but now thoughts of the next place, Sweden would be nice, but its a bit far from home!
Food in Austria like nothing I have seen, the size of the schnitzel was far too big for one person.....but excellent to try and learn about....and almost 100% hit rate in Sweden, the most delicious food I have eaten out in a long time!
The city of Vienna was so impressive. As an art student I laboured over art history books talking about the kinds of sculptures and architecture you see everywhere in Vienna (and Europe). I always felt a disconnect because you cannot see those things in Oz. It started to make sense and I felt the enthusisam for knowing about those things as I walked past them, very rich with stories and history.....
The hills of Austria, truly beautiful, calm, dark nights and quiet days, lakes and mountains and room to think and breathe and grow.....there are few places like this in Japan.....I learned this and how important space is in my life........
....so I can just sit and think and not worry about the Mooch being hit by a car, stalked by a scary old man with a camera or just generally hassled.......and me for that matter!....
Space!.....Stockholm, I loved every moment!...and the cafe's, the Swede's sure know how to sit and have a coffee and a snack, FIKA, my new favourite word! Sweden made me feel so relaxed and calm......and we didnt do anything
really exciting, just merged with the local peoples and went to the parks and sat in the sun and picked wild raspberries and looked at slugs and snails and ran on the grass and looked for deer, and watched how people interact. I did make it to the Modern Musem and I did have a very long list of places I wanted to go, but realistically with a 2.5 yr old there are only so many museums you can visit....and it was much nicer being in the sunshine......just wandering the beautiful streets.....and being in Sweden.
....and looking at doorways and door knobs..all so beautiful.....and thoughtful.....and now back in Tokyo. It's very, very hot and humid, lots of rain, typhoon coming, earthquake the other night and this morning.....all getting a bit much! My sister and bro in law come soon for a holiday, I hope the weather turns the corner so we can have a bit of cool and maybe look at the leaves soon to change to red and brown and yellow.....
Hello.....my family has now returned safe and sound back to Melb...and so did the 20+ kg extra in shopping!.....it was the most fun, fun, time together, shopping and looking and eating and drinking and enjoying and talking and laughing and shopping and some more shopping...did I mention they went shopping?...well, it was so great!...and if you are going to shop, you might as well do it in Tokyo.....I already know how much I will miss the food and clothes and just amazing variety of shops when we finally return to Oz.....talking to my family only confirmed it....but what you get in stuff here you have in space at home and I think I can forgo the stuff in favour of the space.....
...from now on, each time I pass a vending machine that has coke 500ml + 150ml for 100yen (or so) I will think of my bro in law....he was so impressed.....
....we went to an awesome Ai Wei Wei show at the lovely Mori gallery. I loved that show....it hit the spot for me with the general, growing curiosity about China, its people and cultures and how these things will affect the world when it finally takes the lead..in everything.....it made many of my intangible or unclarified thoughts about China, tangible and more clear...and many of his works are made by super craftspeoples, wordworkers..... just such beautiful objects to look at...I took Mooey also, one exhibit you can put your head inside, like a large wooden box....but he bumped his boofer on the way out, no damage to either, just a large echo in the gallery, ooops factor x 100...the attendant almost had a heart attack....we moved on quickly, sorry Mr Ai.....
...we took some time in kitchen town and got some knives, very nice knives, real cooking knives, ones for either left or right hands, ones that last a lifetime and made by real humans....kitchen town is one of Tokyo's finest shopping districts and so unique to Tokyo.....later, we ate some kind of fighting chicken for lunch...
...too many peoples and shops made everyone crave for space so we spent one day in nature....no, this photo is not from my holiday in Austria, although it could be mistaken, it is in fact about an hour or so out of Tokyo....amazing, beautiful.....
lovely and relaxing. I had the best time with my family, I miss them already.....a typhoon is coming through today...very heavy rain, blustery winds...I feel just like that....and my loved one also left for a trip.....so for the meantime, just me, the mooch and the pooch.....and a big bag of violet crumbles.....
