The enchanted Realm of Cumbria

I left the United States on Dec 7. It felt a bit sad to return to Europe and London's Heathrow Airport. This is where I flew out a little more than a year ago, still believing that I was going to spend a season sailing around the southern Pacific Ocean. Plans sure change sometimes! And I have been severely homesick every now and then, but the last few months have been so great, there really hasn't been much room for any of that. I totally enjoyed my time in Japan and in Kyoto in particular where I lived most of the time. Going back to the States was also great, and especially NY was just awesome. It is with somewhat mixed feelings I return to Europe.

Before moving on to my dark, freezing, beloved Scandinavia, I spent a few days at Izzy's house in Cumbria, near the Scottish border. This is the Lake District, for good reasons famous for its beautiful scenery.



Izzy with Bowie, her adorable border collie



These border collies are such fantastic little creatures! Intelligent, active, agile and social. They followed me on a short walk outside the farm. When I stopped, they immediately stopped too. At the instant they heard me start walking again, so did they. And asking them to stop or stand back a little, while I opened a gate was no problem, even though I had never met them before and had no idea what commands they were trained to respond to.



Border collie jumping through fence. Don't try this at home.



Border collie nose



Cumbrian roses still in bloom as winter temperatures plunge into the freezing range.



Pine tree with beautiful roots on the shore of Derwent Water, just outside the town of Keswick.



More of the breathtaking Derwent Water scenery.



Still early in the afternoon, but the sun is soon setting



Tolkien never visited New Zealand, where later the Lord of the Rings movies where shot. Maybe he rather drew some inspiration from the Lake District?






















Remember, all pics are clickable for a larger version!