Wonderland

Your first foot is out of the door already. The rest of you is still in between. There you’ll hear it. Muted. Soft. And chill. A wave of silence that makes your ears really listening again after a long time. It’s gently squeaking, chirping. It’s a bit like in a foam bath with its tiny bubbles bursting right next to your ear. Actually there’s nothing to hear. No microphone in the world is able to catch it. But there it is. Blip. And blop. A sounding sensation reaches the tiny hairs inside your ear. And you’re hearing. Clearly. Vividly. Curiously.

There’s this gentle squeak. When the rubber of your sole touches the soft ground. If you could push foam, that would be the sound that it would make. Subtle and innocent. New and for the very first time. A premiere without applause. Without jitters either. Just sensation. All things are said and done. Ready. You are here. And your next foot follows into this quiet new world.

It’s cold. But not that cold either. You can see the breath in front of you. The vapor is mixing with its surroundings. Wobbling gases. Entropy. But you are still here. Full and consistent. As a whole.

Your eyes are squinting. Dazed by all that unfamiliar light. It’s bright. It’s all white. Unescapable. What’s next? Sitting here and wait? Or dare the big jump? Remembering that little cat sitting inside the door, neither in, nor outside. Do brains make a noise while they are processing? I can hear them tick.

The cat’s outside. Hooray! All covered. Up until its breast all sunken into the mysterious white fluff. Jumping through the snow like a crazy toy. Full of energy. Full of surprise. Full of enthusiasm. The adrenaline of joy heating it from inside.

The other door is mine. It’s open. The first step is already done. The silence, the bursting bubbles, the light, the air. So much to cover. The world flips inwards. The sensation arrives with a delay. Take your time. Switch off the light, close your eyes for a moment. Can’t shut your ears, what a pity. Hold your breath. The cosmos settles. Like the vast silence of a lake.

Eyes open. The hand at the handle. The second foot up in the air. And there it is. Squeak. Squeak. Squeak. One foot after the other. Making your way. Leaving behind a way of joyful marks. A line of feet. A line of thought. Watch your breath. Does it catch up? Enjoy the hurry. Bathing in excitement. Trembling.

What a day! What a life! Take it in. Leave everything behind. Nobody knows what’s coming. But that very moment is yours. There’s no plan. No procedure. Most importantly there’s no right or wrong. It’s all just marks in the snow. Who cares?

The cat does. And I do, too.

1/55556 s, f/1.78, ISO 100, 24 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

The years come and go. Seasons come and go. The weather is coming and going. You could argue that there’s nothing special about it. Yet there are these days that make you wonder if it’s really all that trivial and mundane.

1/16129 s, f/1.78, ISO 80, 48 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

Last week was one of these weeks during the winter season that make you stand in awe and full of admiration. It came silently and without any warning over night. And in the morning all of sudden the world has completely changed from a familiar scene of streets, cars, houses and trees into the most picturesque winter wonderland you can imagine, a world of ice and snow combined with a lovely and warming sunshine.

1/7874 s, f/1.78, ISO 64, 48 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

All of the world seemed to be covered with roughly 30 cm of fluffy white snow. I live in an area where we have winters and some snow every year, but 30 cm in just 24 hours is quite rare and pretty exceptional. It’s exciting and wonderful to experience if you do not have to leave the house but challenging and frustrating if there are daily chores to be done.

1/3125 s, f/2.8, ISO 20, 100 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

A couple of days later when I looked at all the images of that morning I couldn’t help to write down the words you can find at the beginning of this post. I wanted to express what I felt and the same time felt that need to capture not only the pretty outside of what was going on, but also the inside of what was going on inside of me.

1/5155 s, f/2.8, ISO 20, 100 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

So the images you see here are only one part of story. And as beautiful as they are, they are also very short lived and ephemeral. Out in this world wonderlands are not forever, they are rare exceptions to otherwise pretty mundane tasks and surroundings. Beautiful exceptions, though.

1/638 s, f/2.8, ISO 40, 100 mm, iPhone 17 Pro Max

Nonetheless images like these work beautifully within an isolated sphere like the internet or a blog post like this one. There are closed boundaries, sharp focus and immediate attention. There are no surroundings, no distractions. Yet, I do not completely want to forget all the backstories that have led to these images. Probably that’s what you are all here for and that’s why this blog originally came to be. So these are the notes that I wanted to enclose alongside these images, to anchor them a little bit more in the real world and to provide some context. And hopefully some meaning, too.