Love That Saves Our Lives

November 10, 2017November 10, 2017 Marina Mexploring4 Comments

In the previous post I started to write about the movie “Julie and Julia” and was swept away by the inspiration to share the story that has influenced my life in a profound way. But there is one more theme in the movie that is worth writing about. The theme of the work that saved their lives.

Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep, falls in love with France and exclaims: “I feel I AM French!” And, oh, I exclaim it together with her. I too love France, and France in the movie is so pretty and lovable. Julia discovers her taste for the French food, and she plunges with enthusiasm into cooking courses, though she has never been fond of cooking before. With this newfound passion she keeps herself busy in the landscape where it is easy to become a boring expat wife with no meaningful occupation. On her way her interest for this work gives her new meaning, new friends, and later it gives her a professional call and even fame. As Julie Powell says it: “She saved herself by cooking”.

Julie Powell is also saved by the love for cooking. And blogging about it. It fills her grey days with colors and tastes, with meaning and enthusiasm. And that saves her also. Giving her a chance to be a writer as she had always dreamt of, giving her new opportunities.

Stories that Save Our Lives

November 8, 2017November 8, 2017 Marina Mexploring15 Comments

Do you have a story or a hero that has changed your life? Can you say that some of them have saved you? I think, I have, and I am lucky to have it.

Two days ago I watched the movie “Julie and Julia”. It is a history of two lives, both real: one is of Julia Child, an American lady who lived in France, fell in love with cooking there and wrote a book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. The second one is of Julie Powell who seems unhappy about her work and moving to Queens, so she starts a project of cooking all the recipes in Child’s book during a year while blogging about it. Her story becomes a book too, and a movie, as we see. According to Julie, Julia Child had saved herself from falling into bored expat wife in Paris by discovering her passion, and she saved Julie. While Julie’s husband says: “No, you have saved yourself”.

The Art of Wondering

November 4, 2017November 4, 2017 Marina Mexploring4 Comments

Two years ago we went to see an apartment for sale and ended up on the roof terrace with a terrific sunset view. Thank you, Facebook, for reminding about it with this picture. The apartment block used to be an office building before. It had some 14 floors, boring flats, and a roof terrace. We asked for the terrace keys and unexpectedly caught an amazing nature show, in all colors of the dawn.

Today I want to share my thoughts about the ability to find and create small adventures and look at the world with wonder.

Oslove. What I love and What I don’t.

November 3, 2017 Marina Mexploring12 Comments

Last Sunday we took a walk to Frognerparken and looked inside of the City Museum (Bymuseet) which is located there. Right now there is an exhibition about the history of Oslo called “Oslove” (which is a popular hashtag here on Instagram). It was interesting to see the development of old town of Kristiania (which was here before Oslo) into the modern capital.

I especially liked the wall with photographs of people who came to Oslo from different places in the world in the past century. Some of the photos had handles and if you pull it will open a little window where you can read about a person and see more photos or things. My first window was about a Ukrainian man who came to Oslo a hundred years ago and started a cigarette production. He was a Jew born in Kiev, and left Ukraine not out of fun, as I understood. As I was reading, I hoped that one day I also will be able to leave my mark on this city. I also left Ukraine not out of fun, but looking for a better life, like that man. In the end, he was able to build it with his own hands. I am still in the process of building and doubting.

The Village Charm of Oslo

October 31, 2017 Marina Mexploring12 Comments

I don’t know any other capital that is so caring about its village-like streets and views as Oslo. Where I come from, the village is associated with something retarded and uncool, and so everyone strives toward bigger cities, their coolness, their lights. Cities are modern, interesting, promising. The village is old-fashioned, boring and has little opportunity. I have been in many cities of Europe, and many of them have something in common, just as they are unique. But nowhere have I met so much country-like charm in the middle of the capital like in Oslo.

Good Things to Do This Autumn

October 27, 2017 Marina Mexploring2 Comments

“There is no bad weather, only bad clothes”, goes the popular Norwegian saying. That is right – and it is also wrong. I would say, that there is a weather that makes you feel down. While the sunshine makes the body to produce another happy hormone serotonin, the darkness leads to production of melatonin, a hormone that makes us tired and passive, which is necessary at night so we can fall asleep. In autumn there is less light which makes us feel down, sleepy and passive. That’s why it is important to meet the season prepared, with good knowledge of yourself and some strategies.

During those few days I was in Barcelona it was so easy to wake up and feel enthusiasm. Even though it was hard to fall asleep because of the unruly thoughts about the political situation, it was enough to see sun rays through the window and feel the rush of energy. When I was landing in Norway, my eyes were so in love with the colors of autumn, and I joyfully breathed in the cool crispy air. Few rainy days later and I was afraid of S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) creeping on me as it used to do in the past years. Luckily, I had made a list of activities that I was looking forward to this autumn. My list of joy. I feel moved to share its ideas here – maybe, you can borrow some for making your autumn better and brighter. I want to keep myself off the beaten path and leave out the things like warm teas under fluffy blankets. These tips seem to be well known, and I am sure, that we all do them in autumn 🙂

Late Summer Blooms

October 24, 2017October 24, 2017 Marina Mexploring4 Comments

Autumn has taken over our streets. With more leaves under my feet and more golden color on the trees, I discover a new rapture for the beauty of nature. However on this blog the autumn is still on hold, and fall images wait patiently. I still want to admire the flowers of late summer, I don’t want to hurry to golden leaves and autumn fruit. Maybe, on this blog everything will come a month or too later, than in nature, and that will be my way to prolong the pleasure and beauty of the past season 🙂

So today I want to share some photos I made in August. I want to give place to late summer blooms even if their season has passed. But there will be enough time for admiring autumn, so why not go back in time and recollect that fading beauty? It feels like it is still touching my fingertips as it is passing away. A reminder of life cycle. A reminder that the only constant in life is change.

The Dark Side of Hygge

October 18, 2017 Marina Mexploring103 Comments

I have wanted to write under this title for months already. Today I have walked into the bookstore, opened randomly that famous book about hygge (by Meik Wiking) and there it was: my title! Though the idea was different. But still. Thank you, Meik! Now, since the title is out there (apparently a bit before I coined it myself), I can continue the discussion.

Meik writes that spending time in a hyggeligt way with family and close friends can have its dark, less pleasant side: the newcomers find it difficult to get into a circle. The Danes seem to be so preoccupied with their own circles which makes them not so open and inclusive folks. “But once you’ve gotten in, you are in”, he says.

Photowalk: Streets of Grunerløkka

October 16, 2017February 16, 2018 Marina Mexploring10 Comments

As the autumn darkness is crawling in, I want to look back to brighter days and be thankful for all the colors in my life. I happen – and am happy – to live in maybe the brightest neighborhood of Oslo. There are neighborhoods with richer architecture and posher buildings, where streets are full of beautiful blond people. There are neighborhoods closer to the lakes, the nature and the forest with the festival of autumn colors happening right now. But I would claim that no neighborhood is so full of colorful houses and lively crowds as Grunerløkka, the hipster hood.

Let me prove my point with these photos taken in August, when the air was already chilly, but when the sun was still shining and sending our spirits high. May the light and colors brighten up your autumn mood!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Photowalks: Lively Grunerløkka

October 7, 2017February 16, 2018 Marina Mexploring2 Comments

With all the events of the past weeks I have neglected my photowalks in Oslo. But I still feel the need to share its beautiful corners and lovely streets. So today I want to present my favorite neighborhood – Grunerløkka. It became hipster recently after having undergone the gentrification. It used to be a cheap and shabby area with weird population, then it became popular among artists and students for its cheapness, and now – as it usually happens – it is a neighborhood with many restaurants, cafes, bars and small shops. Which are mostly quirky, vintage and small businesses, but the big chains have appeared here too in the past couple of years squeezing the small owners out of the area. Grunerløkka, or shortly Løkka, is full of life and attracts people from other parts of the city for eating out or hanging in its bars.

Me Exploring

exploring the world, my place, art de vivre and myself