Nimavenl - Nicole's Random Ramblings

When I arrived in Auckland (New Zealand) as a fresh-faced and innocent 18-year old over a decade ago, I was determined to do everything my way, which means I checked into a backpacker hostel. There was a woman at the desk who welcomed me to the hostel and to the country. I don't remember her exact words, however as people do, we talked briefly. About New Zealand, about my flight, about the facilities at the hostel, about the weather... Yes, I'm very happy to be here...   My flight was fine, thanks...   Yes, I've been here before...   No, I don't need a map, I know the city... What I do remember is that she mentioned that Auckland weather was like four seasons in one day. Seeing I'd lived in Auckland before (and was raised by a Kiwi!), I readily agreed and thought she'd come up with a very clever way to describe Auckland's weather. The words sounded familiar too... What I found out later was that the woman at the hostel didn't come up with those words on...

Ice on a Table | Nimavenl Today is the second day of November which makes yesterday the first day of November. Yesterday was also the first time this autumn that it hailed. When it starts hailing it means it's cold enough outside to get my coat, gloves, beanie and scarf out. It means summer is gone, autumn is ON and winter really is on its way. Do I make a bad Game of Thrones joke now and add that yesterday's hail definitely shows that Winter is Coming ? Maybe not... Winter in The Netherlands is nowhere near as cold as in other parts of the world, however we do often get snow and ice. Not enough of it that we're snowed in or forced to stay home -- or able to hold the Elfstedentocht , most years -- however definitely enough to turn roads into slippery slides. Hail | Nimavenl Biking isn't always smart in winter, which means I get to look forward to the warmth of public transport and crunching through the snow on foot, enjoying the winter weather with my came...