Its was a Monday morning In Ireland, school run was done and I had just been served my morning coffee by the friendly South African coffee shop owner when I overhead what I thought sounded like a German conversation.
Adjusting my eyes and fine tuning my ears I finally spotted a group of young ladies chatting away in a language that appeared familiar. Even though I don't understand the lingo I smiled at the recognizable sound produced by the long blond tresses owner when she spoke to another blond hair girl seating next to a red hair and freckles youthful face. I wondered if the latter had family Irish roots while I considered the possibility that they were exchange students or maybe language assistants in one of the numerous schools in the area.
Unaware, I think my facial expression was probably showing a grin when I ended up day dreaming about my numerous trips to the land of Goethe. I have lost count but I have probably travelled to Germany more than two hundred times in the last twenty years. Mainly for professional purpose but not only. While I have not been to Berlin, I know Cologne, Aachen and Munich pretty well. Most of those cities and surrounding suburbs would have welcomed me for anything from an ambitious day trip to a week long stay. A week long stay would give me a chance to settle and offer me the opportunity to practice my favourite early morning ritual: Running.
Travelling and running have always been an intertwined lifestyle habit. I have ran in many countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal ,UK and France obviously but also less travelled spots such as Dubai, Moscow, Kiev, Tallin or even Sarajevo in Bosnia to name a few. That's said, there has always been something special about running at dawn in one of the German Landers.
Shoelaces usually tied by 6.00 am and equipped with a head torch or a reflective high viz vest I would brave fog and light drizzle in the winter or enjoy the rising sun in the summer.
While in some countries I would have wandered in the streets or parks on my own meeting only a few early risers, I was often reminded that the first light of the day triggerered a hive of activity in Germany. Getting up before dawn, people seemed to gear up to local train stations, kids were heading hastily to creches, teenagers cooly waited at bus stops not without having purchased a giant pretzel for breakfast or one of those massive yummy sandwiches.
When running I could observe how calm, unfussy and delectably comforting grown ups and youngsters entered the day in what seemed to be a well choreographed routine. I don't how to describe it but it appears to me that only in Germany I had that tangible feeling about life slowly lighting up, life bringing an almost palpable feeling of confidence, landing a soft but convincing sense of purpose. An altogether incontrovertible proof that existence was not about shiny living but more about a characteristic state of being. Time and time again I have always found the experience to be almost mystical if not complete, a mood trigger that was pleasantly upbeat.
I believe there is definitely something deliciously reassuring about German mornings and I wondered that day, all the while my hot cup was sip begging, if one of the three girls in the Café had been asking the other two what was the day about to bring.
Sources:
People & running stuff
Photo Credit:
Germa Pics
Produced for beBee only
Written Material Copyright 2017 - Pascal Derrien -
Comments
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #36
thanks Paul it s funny how the same song can be heard or listened too differently providing the context, many thanks for the kind words too :-)
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #35
wow that's more an comment that's a standalone poem Ken Boddie I will keep running and cycling as long as my body will let me do it :-) (just back from a run actually :-0)
Ken Boddie
6 years ago #34
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
6 years ago #33
Now teach me that. How do you write while running.
Lada 🏡 Prkic
6 years ago #32
Simplicity is said to be the best. I agree.
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #31
#28 cheers many thanks about the nice words just my humble and practical take on life :-)
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #30
Cheers Randall Burns thank you for dropping by the photo is a hit indeed :-)
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #29
it is indeed Andrew and I don't know if it has been reworked or not but I dont think so :-)
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #28
cheers Lada \ud83c\udfe1 Prkic simple message from a simple guy on simple things :-) I also write most of the articles while running :-)
Lada 🏡 Prkic
6 years ago #27
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #26
Randall Burns
6 years ago #25
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
6 years ago #24
🐝 Fatima G. Williams
6 years ago #23
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #22
cheers Salma Rodriguez you will always know more German than me anyway I have not quite mastered the basics of the language there :-) thanks for reading and commenting
Salma Rodriguez
6 years ago #21
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #20
I think you would love it , nice and vast country with so much to offer am I correct in thinking that Hoffman is of German origin ? :-) Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman, beBee Brand Ambassador
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #19
thank you Gert Scholtz I think I ran in your country too it was Cape Town and I gave it a miss in JoBurg, now you are mentioning it that's actually very true :-) Happy to have provided your two all time favourites :-)
Gert Scholtz
6 years ago #18
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #17
thanks Savvy Raj glad it has a practical purpose :-) Enjoy the day
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #16
Cheers Proma \ud83d\udc1d Nautiyal Its good to see that I am not the only one who spotted this as far as running is concerned its part of my medicine but that's a different story :-)
Proma Nautiyal
6 years ago #15
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #14
thanks Phil Friedman indeed and providing the history between our two countries (France in that instance) one would think we would sit at opposite ends but I remember clearly having exchange students coming to our secondary schools and among a few other nationalities we surprised ourselves ( once we got rid of our unconscious bias) thinking how close we were to the gals and boys of our age across the border :-)
Phil Friedman
6 years ago #13
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #12
Merci Laurent Boscherini le monde appartient a ceux qui se levent tot :-) :-)
Laurent Boscherini
6 years ago #11
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #10
thanks Ian Weinberg :-) enjoy the coffee mine is brewing as we speak :-)
Ian Weinberg
6 years ago #9
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #8
cheers Debasish Majumder much obliged as always :-)
Debasish Majumder
6 years ago #7
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #6
hmm maybe Pinocchio was German after all :-) Lisa Vanderburg but I think we should ''purposely'' keep it as a secret for the time being :-)
Lisa Vanderburg
6 years ago #5
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #4
thanks for dropping by Ali and I am glad you concur with my observations :-)
Ali Anani
6 years ago #3
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #2
Thanks Yogesh Sukal add cycling and my world is complete :-)
Pascal Derrien
6 years ago #1
Merci Don :-)