Life never chooses the path we had laid out for it. It always finds detours, shortcuts or stop-signs. This chosen path is often so far off from what we’d anticipated, that it initially makes it hard for us to believe that this sudden twist may actually be good for us. The past six months have shown that our world, may this be seen from the perspective of our own lives or the earth as a whole, is vulnerable. Susceptible to nature’s forces, which can bring physical, psychological, economical or personal destruction upon us. We found ourselves in a situation that we’ve never been in before – a situation that showed us we’re small figures in a big game – a game that we ourselves created, which laid ground for a rapid escalation. We experienced an exceptional circumstance that put life as we knew it to a halt. Yet, it turned to be a unique opportunity to reconnect to ourselves and our loved ones, reflect upon our own behavior and mindest, change old habits, grow through educating ourselves and slow down the race we are all competing in.
While the COVID-19 pandemic affected the world as whole, it hit all of us differently. When I graduated from university end of February, I felt as though the world was at my feet. I had big plans for this year, my energy levels were at its peak and I was ready to take on my life as a young adult. While the lockdown period enabled my family and I to finally spend more time together and me to perfect my cooking skills, it also threw me into a hole that seemed to have no ground. I had nothing to hang onto, my life was one big ambiguity. I felt so uninspired that throughout all these months, I didn’t even sit down to write a blog post.
Luckily, things often change as rapidly as they came into our lives. This too shall pass. Things got better, I found a way to shape my future. Now, I am more excited than ever to live my life to the fullest and tonight is the first time in months I am returning to my sweet escape – this blog.
Tonight, I want to share the memories from one of the most beautiful days I’ve had in a long time. Not only were the views breathtaking, I felt carefree and totally at peace of this time in my life, which was the true beauty of this day.
Seebensee is natural high mountain lake at 1657 meters altitude south of Ehrwald in the Mieminger Mountains. Together with two good friends, we biked up the route that I only know from skiing in the winter, and I still can’t believe how different everything looked! After going around the turquoise Seebensee, we reached a point where we couldn’t bike any further and it was time to tighten up our hiking shoes. From Seebensee, it took us around an hour to hike up to Drachensee, where we enjoyed cool drinks with a breathtaking view.
As clouds started to cover the sun more and more, we decided it was time to make our way down as we definitely still wanted to take a dip into the crystal water of Seebensee.
There’s nothing that cleanses the soul more than swimming in this crystal blue water. Undeniably, this place is an absolute paradise. But sitting by the lake, letting the sun dry my skin and hair, besides people that genuinely make me happy made me realize one thing – paradise truly isn’t just a place, it’s the feeling you get when you are in the right place, physically and mentally, together with people that pull the magic, not the madness, out of you. For this feeling and this day, I will forever be thankful.
With love,
Joana
Joana Serein 