We were out walking along the promenade in the city of Eckernfoerde yesterday in the great light on the Baltic Sea. Eckernfoerde is an artsy kind of town, a fishing village with good seafood restaurants and a generous dash of new age shops. It's my favorite town so far because of its newness and vibrancy. There's a sense of youthfulness and activity. The Baltic Sea is a beautiful blue when the sun is shining, and in the photo you can see another polished stone sculpture.We had the one-day sesshin today and totally enjoyed everyone's earnest attention. I saw some old friends from last year and met a few new faces. I have no photos yet, but we've a workshop tomorrow so I'll try to borrow a camera and get a few shots of people engaged in drawing or writing at Wind & Wolken Sangha.
Here is my mandatory shadow shot which we've taken in every city and every year since I started shadow shots. Harold is on the right trying to create a Viking helmet although it
looks more like a bear's head. Well, you get another look at the polished sculpture.
As things go, I threw out my back getting on the train from Amsterdam to Groningen with my heavy suitcase, and yesterday
Friederike took me to her chiropractor who was good enough to see me after hours. What a guy! He was a big, open faced man who had studied with an American and he had to pass his exams in English so we had an easy time of communications. He had me back together in no time and ordered me to keep up the chiropractic visits when I returned home to the US. He sent me on a 20 minute walk before getting in the car and driving home. So, here I am on that walk with Friederike finding me along a quiet road before we hopped in the car.
I am continually amazed at Friederike and Harald's commitment to practice and their
enjoyment in it. They did so much to make today's sesshin a reality, it's inspiring. I'll aim for one or two brief entries here as next week may be sparse. We'll be on the road again early Monday.
