fall activities

So another week has flown by without a single blog post, which has resulted in way too many Facebook updates. Gotta share the experiences somehow, right? Otherwise it would be just me experiencing things, where would the fun in that be, huh? No, but seriously, it's not just the fact that I'm as much of a slave to the social media as everybody else, but when you're used to living with somebody who's always there to share your most mundane experiences, it gets really frustrating when you come across fun stuff but then have nobody around to share it with and laugh at it together... Thus, Facebook spam. Forgive me.

Anyway, this week I've kept myself pretty busy, not just with school but exploring Kyoto a bit further! So I wanted to post some pictures, since the places I went to were nothing short of amazing. I've probably mentioned before that I live right next to the Imperial Palace and frequently go on morning jogs around the park/garden that surrounds it. Well, from Thursday last week until Tuesday this week, the palace itself was open to the public.

Welcome! (This isn't the main entrance, really. If it was, the view would be blocked by masses of people.)

Apparently, as a foreigner, you also have the possibility to book yourself a private tour around the palace grounds, but there's no such option for the Japanese, so these public openings are arranged a couple times per year. And the lazy motherfuckers that we are, who just can't be arsed to book a private tour, we joined the masses of Japanese people on Tuesday, which also happened to be Culture Day here. What that means is, if you're not a uni student, you get a day off! And if you're a uni student, fuck you, you go to classes. Luckily I only have classes until 12 on Tuesdays, so there was still plenty of time to explore the palace grounds!

Here you can get a glimpse of what it was actually like: packed with tourists. Luckily they had many blocked areas, such as the entire garden, so that I was able to get a few good shots!

On Wednesday - another short school day - I finally climbed Higashiyama, aka Daimonyama! It was definitely not a walk in the park. I mean, I thought I was in fairly good shape, but I was out of breath after the first 5 minutes! And it gets really hard on your knees, especially on the way down. But I made it, although I have to admit that that was about as long a hike as I was comfortable doing, for now anyways. I was seriously a lot more exhausted than I usually am after my average run. Then there were these elderly Japanese men who were just leisurely jogging up the mountain and back down again... Madness. However, I strongly recommend everybody to climb a mountain, at your own pace - it's good exercise, and the views you get are just breathtaking.

"I'm on the edge, the edge, the edge, the edge..."

I can almost imagine I'm at the bottom of an ocean.

To add up to the challenge: These were the "stairs" we were using.

What do you do when you have a view like this in front of you? Well, why not check Facebook!

Descending from the heavens.

So that was an experience I wouldn't mind having again. Luckily we're surrounded by mountains here, so all you have to do is pick one, put some sneakers on and get going.

Back in town - the scenery down here isn't too bad, either!

After such a busy week, though, I'm pretty content with just spending a lazy weekend at home, doing some chores and homework, go for a walk, maybe, and for the rest of the time... THIS:

Finally gave in to the compelling urge to buy one of these extremely detailed coloring books. In my adult years, I've actually had a couple of children's ones (including a Star Wars one, of course), but I've been wanting to buy one of these adults' ones as well ever since they became a thing. The other day, when I was coloring a small picture on a handout in class, I realized that I do not only want this, I need this! So I went ahead and bought it, although they're not cheap. Whereas you can get a children's coloring book for a couple of euros, one of these can cost you more than 10 euros. But it's so worth it, though! The most relaxing time you've ever had.