Beginning in Berlin

Wilkommen! We have arrived at our first stop in Germany – Berlin. 

 This is a new kind of trip for us, and not just because we finally made it to Europe. We are here with no agenda, no work, no auditions… just exploring and experiencing. (This is our honeymoon after all!)  

Some of our favourite things we did:

  • Schloss Charlottenburg – with the softest lawn and spring flowers (and then the seriously full-on decorated interior)
  • City Centre walking tour – the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial etc. Such a humbling feeling to physically stand in locations with so much history. 
  • Local food – Currywurst, lots of bakeries and Cakes, Ka De We food hall (so much chocolate!) Also local strawberry and asparagus shopping at market stalls.
  • Walking/taking a boat along the river Spree – so nice to take a break along the water and watch the locals enjoying their ‘beach’.
  • Museum Island to stare at a lot of mind-blowingly old stuff (including Egyptian artefacts) at the Neues Museum
  • The architecture and sheer age of some of the buildings (and also what it has taken to rebuild what was lost)… Particularly amazing to us Australians. 

       

The biggest thing we came away with was a huge admiration for how far Berlin has come since the wars … Some of the ‘before and after’ pictures over the past century are truly incredible.    

  Traveling helps to open your mind; seeing how people live and understanding their history makes us more open, compassionate, and tolerant. 


We are so grateful to be on this adventure! Bis später! 

Week 4 in Ubud – Graduation

“Today, I am fortunate to have woken up. I have a precious human life, and I am not going to waste it.” – The Dalai Lama

  

Four weeks of Yoga have flown by. We had our graduation ceremony, which was blessed by a Balinese priest, and received our certificates surrounded by flowers and incense and incredible people… But we gained so much more than any qualification.

 We are so glad we chose to come to Ubud to study… Bali has an energy that cannot be explained. And as for our experience studying yoga? With the teachers and healers, the lectures and events, the food, the new family of friends… It was even more than we hoped for. It can’t be written in words.   

This is just the beginning. We have a lot to think about, and soon we will be flying across the world (Germany, we are coming!)
But for now, we are just so grateful. 
Terimah Kasih, Bali. 
   

 

Yoga in Ubud – Week 3

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein 

    
We wanted to get outside into nature again on our day off at the end of week three. We spend a lot of our time in the beautiful Lotus Studio at Yoga Barn, practicing and learning… But it was nice to break out from the bubble and walk in the sun (and rain!). 

We went for a self-led rice field hike. We began by walking straight up Jalan Kajeng (near Ubud Palace) past all the little shops and home compounds… until we were following the water channels into jungle and rice fields! 

        
We like moving at our own pace, taking photos and exploring on side trails. There were lots of interesting butterflies, bugs, and birds. The rice fields and water flowing through the land is a fascinating setting.    

  Eventually we climbed up a bank and walked back to Ubud along the route that passes Sari Organic (a well-known organic farm and cafe). We stopped there for lunch and it was so yummy and so beautiful!

   

It did rain a bit (and the ground was muddy) but the skies looked beautiful and weather was cooler. For us, it was a perfect day off.

One of our favourite things we did during the week at The Yoga Barn was attend a 90 minute Sound Healing. We had never experienced anything like this before… And it was amazing!     

We were in an acoustic room, lying on the ground, whilst two people created a soundscape on around 70 instruments – from gongs to didgeridoos. They moved around the room as they played, so it sounded incredible. The vibrations of the instruments resonate with vibrations in the body, creating healing and deep relaxation. If you are ever in Ubud we really recommend giving it a try!

Still so much to experience… It is hard to believe we have reached our last week of training.  Next post, we will be graduating.