I've done exactly one useful thing today. And no, the useful thing wasn't downloading the 6th book of Vampire Diaries (The Return: Shadow Souls) as an ebook. I honestly hate all VD books, they're just so badly written, but for some reason I have to keep reading them. I'm almost halfway through Shadow Souls even though my eyes hurt from staring at the screen for such a long time. I do prefer real books to ebooks.

Enamus rahvast käib pea iga päev kalal ja saagid on tõeliselt vägevad, sellised, mille kohta kalamehejutte ei pea isegi välja mõtlema vaid need tõesti on tõesed (a la 141 ahvenat paari tunni jooksul ja kalade jaoks kaasa võetud ämber on täis ja seega on kalu täis terve paadi põhi). Suitsukala ja praekala ja igasugune muu kala, ma olen varsti ise ka üks kala.

Erki Nool on peast täiesti halliks läinud. Ja näeb suurepärane välja.

I should really pull myself together. Off to dealing with floor issues tomorrow morning, bright and early.

Hiiumaa 26.-28. juuli 2010

Sedakorda oli Hiiumaa külastus üsna lühike ja stiilis ühe-turismiobjekti-juurest-teise-juurde. Tuleb tunnistada, et ühes neist kohtadest polnud ma tõesti varem käinud, nii et kokku see 800 km autosõitu läks ikka asja ette :p

Alustades siis üsna algusest - peale neljatunnist autosõitu risti läbi Eesti, tunnist ootamist Rohukülas ja pooleteisetunnist ülesõitu nägime lõpuks maad - Hiiumaad!

Üks esimesi peatusi - Kassari kabel.

Ja Kassari üliroheline surnuaed.

Edasi Aino Kallase majamuuseum, kus ma varem käinud ei olnud. Pärast poolt tiiru ümber lukus maja kargas põõsast välja üks mees ja küsis, kas me tahame muuseumituppa sisse ka saada, me siis tahtsime.

Kassari ja kadakad - üsna lahutamatud.

Sääre Tirp - ots eriti ei paista, aga ta on seal.

Kes märkab sarnasust eelmise pildiga?

Seejärel saime ühe sahmaka vihma kaela, loomulikult keset Sääre Tirpi, ja otsustasime mõnda kuivemasse kohta sõita.

Järgmisel hommikul oli esimene peatus Reigi kiriku juures.

Siis Luidja rannas, kus ma otsustasin päikest välja võluma hakata.

Mu võlurivõimed on täitsa olemas - järgnes päikeseline päev Ristna rannas. Ma jään endiselt endale kindlaks, see on parim paik siin maamunal. Seekord tõin ma sealt kotitäie kive kaasa, mul on nendega omad plaanid.

Paap Kõlari surfiparadiis on kolinud veest taevasse.

Ristna tuletorni latern :)

Ungru kivi, kuhu krahv Ungern-Sternberg olevat oma valemajaka süüdanud, et laevu karile jooksutada.

Kärdla kirik. Pärast paariminutilist kiriku ees seismist jalutas kohale üks mees ja küsis, kas ma tahame kirikusse sisse ka vaadata, me siis tahtsime. Ma armastan Hiiumaad.

Tahkuna poolsaare mustikametsad.

Jupike Malvaste kalmistu puukabeli katusest ja tornist.

Mõned asjad ikkagi muutuvad - kahe aastaga on Tahkuna majakavahi roheline kastekann hingusele läinud.

Vaieldamatult mu lemmiktuletorn.

 Tagasi mandrile uue uhke praamiga Muhumaa. Nagu välismaal kohe :p

Rohuküla võttis meid vastu nullilähedase nähtavusega.

Haapsalu oli aga tänavate asemele jõed muretsenud ;)

Eile õnnestus meil valida täpselt õige Eesti ots, kus olla. Ilma mõttes. Kui Lõuna-Eestis oli 30 kraadi ja rohkemgi, siis Tallinnas ja ka Haapsalus oli nii umbes 17 ja pool. Ja kohati nagu natuke sadas ja oli selline sügise tunne. Haapsalus promenaadil jalutamisest ei tulnud erinevatel põhjustel suurt midagi välja, niisiis istusime Kuursaalis ja Müüriääre kohvikus. Nüüd istun kodus tamme all, pimedaks hakkab vaikselt minema, aga sooja on 28 kraadi, kõht on suvekõrvitsaid täis ja elu on ilus.

Üldiselt olen ma sel nädalal jõudnud kaks korda Tartusse, korra Tallinnasse ja Haapsallu ja Kassinurme ja Peipsi äärde ja homme hommikul pool kaheksa stardime Rohuküla poole, mis tähendab kolme ja poole tunnist sõitu.

Põhimõtteliselt on mul kavas postitada ka oma Itaalia reisi pildipäevik, aga millal see teoks saab, ei oska ma küll lubada.

I love this song.

The rumours are true...

Take That: the original line-up have written and recorded a new album for release later this year.

Following months of speculation Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams confirmed today that they have been recording a new studio album as a five piece, which they will release in November of this year. It is the first time they've recorded a full album together since the release of their number one album 'Nobody Else', back in 1995.

'Getting the five of us to be in a room together, although always a dream, never actually seemed like becoming a reality. Now the reality of the five of us making a record together feels like a dream. It's been an absolute delight spending time with Rob again. But I'm still a better footballer' - Mark Owen.

'I get embarrassingly excited when the five of us are in a room. It feels like coming home' - Robbie Williams.

'Flippin' brilliant, absolutely brilliant. I'm over the moon that Robbie's back with us, however long it lasts. I just want to enjoy our time with him. Life is beautifully strange sometimes' - Jason Orange.

The reunion of reunions took place in New York last September, following Take That's record-breaking 'The Circus Live' tour. Shortly afterwards all five of the original Take That secretly wrote and recorded the six songs which would set the foundation for the forthcoming album.

Since then the band have been hard at work finishing their new, as yet untitled, record, which will be released through Polydor Records in November. The album has been produced by Stuart Price.

From unofficial inside sources they should be touring next summer with Rob because they want to end things how they started.

Top [insertanumberhere] of the 80s in random order

Depeche Mode "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981)

Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band which formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. DM have had forty-eight songs in the UK Singles Chart and #1 albums in the UK, US and throughout Europe. According to EMI, DM have sold over 100 million albums and singles worldwide, making them the most successful electronic band in music history. "Just Can't Get Enough" was their third UK single and the first DM song to get a music video. (Source: Wikipedia)

Who wouldn't know them anyway? It's just amazing that this song is that old...

It's been a crap Friday in the worst sense.

Switzerland June 24-July 5 2010

Here it is at last, I've been home since Monday but had to do a zillion things (mainly sunbathing, reading a book, swimming and deciding which colour to paint my bathroom) and so I haven't had time to upload anything.

Switzerland was hot. That's probably the first thing that I'll remember in 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc years' time. Heat or no heat, the following things also happened, in more or less this order :).

I was there for my best friend's wedding and then, well, sort of stayed on for another ten days. But who's counting, anyway?

Quite a romantic sunset, appropriate for a wedding :)

On the first truly hot day (we didn't know that it would become worse) we visited Regensberg and its castle. We also climbed the tower and lurked behind the church door to see the bride's dress as it is one of the most popular places to get married in Switzerland. Regensberg was an übercute little village with cobbled streets and...

...loads of flowers everywhere.

Of course, if you looked carefully enough, you could also find a hen guarding a mailbox.

Not to mention the coolest tree ever ;)

Anyone for a jacuzzi? With a view!

On Sunday morning we headed for a short boat ride on lake Greifensee. At least some of us were all dolled up for the occasion, sunglasses, a smug face and everything.

Trust me, we had a bigger boat (read: ship) and fewer flowers on than this random guy.

The idea was to take a photo of the snow-capped mountains in the distance as it's not every day that I can have a swim and look at some snow all at once. Due to the fog (or whatever you call it, it was there all the time and effectively prevented me from taking any clear pics) the mountains could be seen in this photo only after some serious mojo I had to do. It was actually daytime and bright sunshine...

On Monday morning we started our hike in Winterthur. In case you had forgotten which country you were in, here are some flags to remind you.

Our twin backpacks having a lunch break :)

 If you're a true Swiss then this is what you are to eat - a sausage and a bun that is covered with flour so thick  that you'll look like a miller after having finished eating it. Or at least I did.

Just ... pretty :)

The River Töss. I loved the river because it was just so rivery :p No mud but clear water and white stones. And dead cold.

Somewhat closer to the river, or rather, in the river.

Walking on we came upon some chickens on the riverside. Shaded chickens to be more exact :)

That's what a bank looks like, at least that's what it looks like in Kollbrunn.

On Tuesday we headed for the mountains but stopped in Hergiswil on our way to go to see the glass factory there.

Päkapikkude töökoda alias men working at the factory.

That's glass, ready to be cut with scissors. That was really cool in the hottest sense.

Lunchbreak in the beautiful village of Sarnen and then...

...off we drove along the Brünig Pass. Honestly, that view was ten or eleven times more beautiful in real life.

Where we have the sky, the Swiss have the mountains. This is Meiringen, which is famous for the Reichenbach Falls that was the setting for the death of Sherlock Holmes.

Bear alert!!!

Mountains on our way up.

Some more mountains on our way up, still nice and green and covered with meadows and forests.

Still the Alps, but now covered in snow. A glacier and some glacier milk.

Susten Pass, straight from summer to winter without changing the clothes.

 Starting to descend, still in winter (at least visually, I think the temperature was close to 20 degrees).

And now back to 30 degrees in half an hour.

Just some general observations - if you have a flag, you should put it on display on your balcony. If you have two flags, you should put both of them on display. And people sure did have a lot of flags, with or without the football world cup.

In case you don't own a flag, but have a baby, you should (no, not put the baby on display) tell all your neighbours and all other people who happen to pass by (doesn't matter if they live in Estonia, Isle of Skye or Timbuktu) that you had a baby, in this case a baby boy called Leonardo on January 28, 2010.

I absolutely love their roomy green balconies! And the house also looks especially great :)

A view over Fällanden with a glimpse of lake Greifensee in the top right hand corner.

Sand sculptures in a shopping mall.

A major fangirl moment. Squeee!. Ok, I would have squeed loads more around 1997-2000 or so, give or take a few years. Now I've actually visited two of the three places which have played a major role in my obsessions over the years - Manchester and Götzis. The third one? Make a wild guess ;) I'll give you a hint - it's not in Europe and it has everything to do with my most long-lasting obsession :)

Yeees, I HAD TO post this one. Mösle stadium, sadly no decathletes...

A bit more of Austria - a view over Feldkirch Old Town from Schattenburg Museum.

 The Old Town itself, extremely pretty even though it was a teeny tiny bit too hot to actually look around.

Guess who found another river! It's the river Ill flowing through Feldkirch, by the colour of it, very cold and straight from a glacier.

I made my traditional bridges tour :)

This is Liechtenstein. Or something like half of it. The mountains in the background aren't Liechtenstein any more, at least I think so.

Vaduz Castle where the Prince of Liechtenstein lives. It's very conveniently situated quite high up on a hilltop so that the Prince can literally keep an eye on most of his subjects.

Knock, knock, anybody home?

Lake Walensee.

Not far from Fällanden walking towards Maur. I think this picture more or less sums it all up - blue sky, white fluffy clouds, fields, villages, peace and a lot of nature. A holiday :))))