On the border between Denmark and Germany, near Flensburg, nestled in between fields of apple trees, grass, fluffy white sheep, horses and tall majestic trees lies a small, bright, light, and beautiful modern rustic apartment. It was renovated recently, but the history of the apartment can still be read in the wooden beams of the building’s ceilings and the imperfectly slanted outer walls. The straw roof was replaced with red tiles and the walls inside were cleaned and painted white. With the renovation, the apartment was given new life, and with this new life- new inhabitants – new life to live within.

Inside the walls of this apartment my husband and I spent the last year living our lives. This house became our home and by moving here we switched out the constant buzzing and excitement of the city in Frankfurt for the calm of the northern German countryside. Jan and I loved taking long walks along the alleys of oaks and between the fields of grazing horses in the area surrounding our apartment, walking along the coastline listening to the soft waves meeting the shore. We also loved staying in and cozying up inside the four walls of our apartment. Snuggling the cats, cuddling with each other, watching movies, inviting friends over and cooking food – Although “cooking” often just meant tossing together a quick salad or heating up a frozen pizza 😉 

Over the years I have realized how important it is to me to live in places of light. Figuratively in the sense that I want to seek lightness in my life emotionally, mentally and spiritually, but also very literally. One of my favorite things about this apartment is the way that the light would sparkle through the western facing window in the afternoon and evening, casting bursts of sunlight onto the walls and beams of the apartment. The afternoons and evenings were always a warm golden tone of home, and it always felt magical.

I am in love with those kinds of moments. The ones that feel so ordinary, yet so special all at the same time. I think a lot of that “special” feeling comes from who the moment is shared with, and they are the kinds of moments that help make a house feel like a home.

I recently stumbled across a quote that goes

“So much of who we are is where we’ve been”

I didn’t live in Flensburg for a long time – a little over a year – but it has become a part of who I am. A part of my story. Flensburg is a beautiful coastal city with a rich history shaped by both the Danish and German people and governments. It was the perfect mix of my husband’s German roots and my Danish roots, and I loved this unique mix of German-Danish connection, and how it in some ways seemed to bring our two worlds together.

My business also developed while in Flensburg. Although I started my photography business in Frankfurt, at my desk on the top floor of our apartment in Flensburg, it expanded and I developed vision and clarity. I took and completed a business course for entrepreneurs and learned about marketing, and finances and editing and blogging. I connected with clients and had late nights of planning and editing and writing. Many late nights. Many long days. Many experiences that felt like failures and many which felt like accomplishments!

Moving from Frankfurt, I knew our stay in Flensburg would be temporary. Still, as temporary as it might have been, it left its mark. Within the four walls of our light and bright modern rustic apartment, I developed and I changed, and another stepping stone in my life was added.