On the final day of spring (meteorologists count the turning of the seasons on the first day of the solstice or equinox month), the formerly dry and warm weather turned into constant rain and temperatures no higher than 15°C.

While most other people were looking depressed or sad about the rainy weather, I was elated, cherishing the opportunity to splash my bare feet in puddles:

According to statistics, spring was too sunny, too dry and too warm. In the state where I live, it was record-setting on all these accounts since the first time of weather data being recorded, about 120 years ago...

May 30, 2011 - The usual pre- and after-work barefooting...
...and a little shock coming home.

The day and thus the new working week started the usual way, with me leaving the house barefoot, as usual, taking public transport to the city, there buying some drink and snack stuff for the office day, then taking the bus towards the office building.

Bare feet at the tram stop, before work

The office day was shod, today in closed-toed shoes, since I had to attend a meeting with one of the company bosses. After work, it was back to the usual spare-time footwear - none at all...

Bare feet at the bus stop, after work

Taking the bus back to the city center, I went barefoot to a pharmacy and a supermarket, unhassled in both cases, receiving "The Look"® only occasionally. I took the tram back home, and while sitting inside, a whole festival procession of bright red trucks zoomed past, blue lights flashing, sirens honking... the fire birgade was en route in the tram's direction.

I thought "Okay...", watching them burn their diesel the fast way, not worried as yet. On getting close to my stop, I saw those red trucks standing in the distance, right in the direction where I had to walk to get to my apartment house, and that was when I thought "Uh-oh...". And that thought was confirmed, as I padded nearer on my bare feet, carrying two cotton bags full of food...
Smoke billowed from the entrance area of the house, making me feel a little uncomfortable.

Coming home after work, standing barefoot across the road,
watching the fire brigade pack up their gear after putting
out a fire in my apartment house...

Since quite a few tenants were standing on their balconies, however, watching the firemen working, one might guess that it was only a minor incident. I got confirmation of that notion, asking one of the firemen, what had happened: a washing machine in the laundry room had caught fire. Well, at least no injuries, no other casualties... just some machinery lost, leaving me as well as the other tenants with the question where to do the laundry in the near future...

I guess I'm in for a barefoot visit to a laundromat by the end of this week.

May 29, 2011 - A barefoot visit to the cinematic past and the Sunday barefoot hour of power

My barefoot visit to the cinematic past took place on Friday, May 27, when I had pre-booked a ticket in a small mvie theater to watch a true classic: Fritz Lang's Metropolis in the 2010 restored version, with full-orchestrated music, using the original notation by Gottfried Huppertz - the same version as was released at the Berlinale film festival 2010 in Berlin.

It was a very enjoyable barefoot experience, since the stairs leading up to the smaller of the two theaters were laid out in plushy red carpet - the same sort and color as used in the larger main theater (200 seats):

While the carpets in the so-called "filmstudio", the smaller theater (100 seats), were less glorious in color, they were equally plushy:

(Both pictures borrowed from the filmforum web site)

But the foot-friendliness of the surface was secondary, as my first priority was to have the oppportunity (and take it, too) to watch one of the classic masterpieces of movie history... With this visit to the movies, I have come full circle, watching one of the milestones of historic moviemaking on the big screen and one of the lastest milestones of 3D technology on the big screen as well (James Cameron's Avatar).

Such a weekend would be incomplete without taking the typical Sunday stroll in my usual park nearby, gathering energy and positive vibes before the working week.

This weekend, I had decided to tune down the bling factor of my feet, giving them a more natural look by removing the nail polish - the nail on my left big toe had turned a little yellowish underneath the layer of polish, but I got a good part of that off by scrubbing it with soap and water, using a former small handwashing brush.

At the park entrance, looking forward to feeling sand, soil and grass underfoot...

On entering the park, I could see that the heap of sand, mixed with small pebbles, had disappeared, and some of the paths had received a new layer of sand, giving my soles a nice beach-like feeling. From there on, it was the usual enjoyable feeling of the various textures:

The aforementioned sand...

...grass, obviously...

...and soil, dry and a little crumbly.

One happy barefooter.

Inside a natural dome.

That dome, pictured above, is made of epiphytes growing on a little copse of trees, forming a large cap over these trees and shielding off the inside of that copse. From late spring on, when the leaves have grown back, this place is my favourite spot to do my skyclad breathing exercise, feeling old leaves and soft soil beneath my bare feet. And so I did this Sunday, too, taking off my clothes and drawing freash power from Mother Earth, while exhaling the stress and negative thoughts gathered over the week before - which wasn't that much, since the week went on mostly nice and easy at work as well as in my spare time.

A look at the park, before leaving
(note the copper beech, not as gloriously red as usual, after weeks of draught)...

After spending almost an hour and a half, I went out of the park the usual way and took the bus home, thus finishing the nice barefoot and skyclad outdoor part of that Sunday.

May 26, 2011 - Long time no barefoot report...

It has been more than a month, since I have had something to write about any barefoot events. Not that I ceased walking barefoot – quite on the contrary. I have been constantly barefoot in my free time as well as wiggling my bare toes under my desk at work, baring my feet by slipping out of my office flip-flops. Fully barefoot work days are still Saturdays, since there are no bigwigs around:

Taking a break on a Saturday shift

A nice sunrise on an early Monday morning

Bare feet before work

The spring weather has been unusually dry and sunny, with little rain and often summerly temperatures. Perfect barefooting conditions, even though grass has turned yellow and brown, feeling like hay in a lot of places. I never thought, that I could yearn for rain, missing the sensation of wet ground and grass underfoot and playing with my toes in puddles and mud.

With these sunny conditions, I was looking forward for a long holiday weekend over Easter, but was cut short by a violent head cold, complete with fever, clogged-up sinuses and skull-splitting headaches. So, I spent the long weekend at home in bed, gobbling up ibuprofene pills, while the sun was shining brightly, almost mockingly. On the Easter Saturday, an empty fridge made me get out of bed and do some necessary grocery and pharmacy shopping – barefoot, of course. That short trip to town left me tired and spent. After that long weekend, sweating out the fever and inflammation, I was fit enough to get back to work. Perfect timing, isn't it? Once again, a malevolent flu virus hit me just as perfect summerly weather invited me to spend barefoot and skyclad time outdoors – just like last year in summer, when I was incapacitated by a summer flu during my vacation.

Another ailment developed around the same time, this time one connected with walking: snapping hip syndrome in my right leg. Even though I feel slight pain during the movement of standing up or sitting down, walking barefoot minimizes the pain, with a little help of the occasional applying of diclofenac-based ointment and a helping of ibuprofene, if necessary. So far, this has sufficed in keeping me up on my bare feet. It seems that this is a belated effect of a traffic accident I had almost twenty years ago, when I got run over by a car on a ped crossing while having a green light. Even though I only sustained a bruise at the hip and my right thigh, where the car hit me, and a small cut on my brow, when my head hit the roof after rolling up the hood stuntman-style, the unseen damage might have been greater than I thought.

One peculiar thing during these weeks of perfectly sunny and and warm spring weather was the absence of other barefooters. It seems, that people are afraid to bare their soles fully to the sensations of different ground textures, while sandals and flip-flops are still in fashion to show lots of bare toes. Apparently, peer pressure on part of younger people and the belief in social norms on part of the others still prevent people from enjoying a simple and natural pleasure. Furthermore, my barefoot appearance, amplified as usual by wearing anklets, toe rings and multicolored toe nails, still elicits giggling and snide comments from teenage fashion victims. While more and more magazine and newspaper reports tell about a rising popularity of walking barefoot, the majority of the sheeple out there, still has not received that message. Nevertheless, I will move on on my bare feet, regardless of scorn and hostility.

One giggling teenage fasion victim on the tram, after taking candid photos of my feet and sharing them with others by means of her smartphone – and me getting even by capturing her expression of stifling giggles. Since she did not ask my permission to take pictures of me, neither did I.

April 17, 2011 - Mother Nature dons Her green dress of spring...

It was not as bright and warm as the Sunday and Monday last week, but still mild enough to get outdoors and enjoy some barefoot time in my favourite park during my usual hour of power on Sunday afternoon.

On entering the park, I could see that also the municipal park administration had acknowledged that it is indeed spring and had turned on the fountain in the duck pond. This did not only add a picture postcard impression, but also served to stir up the water, which turned a little muddy and murky, green-brown from the soil (mixed with waterfowl poo) disturbed on the bottom of the pond.

But one thing was clear, on the way to the park as well as while entering it, that being the change in colors, since Mother Nature indeed had chosen to wear fresh green colors, dressing in new leaves on most of the trees - only the oaks being the exception, as always, showing new leaves sometimes as late as mid-May. And in some spots, She was donning a red dress, instead of green, where the copper beeches were now clad in new leaves as well.

My favourite spritual focal point, the trio of trees forming the threefold Goddess, were also clad in new green now, and looking at the leaves I was able to identify them as alders. Strange, though, that I felt female qualities in them, since the alder is associated in Celtic mythology with Bran the Blessed, God of Prophecy, Arts, War and Writing. In other writings, he was also known as Bendigeid Vran (Marion Zimmer Bradley featured him as an arch-druid in her novel The Forest House, one of the prequels to her well-known The Mists of Avalon).

But even this mythological association with a male figure will not keep me from seeing this particular formation of trees as a symbol of our Great Mother. Seeing all this new life now fully sprung from its buds, my spirits were lifted up already, while sitting on a bench and gazing into the park, which was occasionally hit by the sun peeking from the clouds:

The positive energy was of course amplified by taking my barefoot stroll over natural surfaces, occasionally stopping and gazing at the various blossoms in the grass, as well as playing with a dandelion...

On the whole, this barefoot hour of power in the park did just what it was intended to do - providing me with positive energy for the working week to come - even though that will be a short one due to Easter being close, with a long weekend ahead. Weather forecasts are looking on the bright side of things, with temperatures hitting and perhaps even surpassing the 25°C (77F) mark, which is the traditional meteorological marker of a summer day. Since I am working the late shift this week, I have to leave the house around mid-day, then being able to enjoy sunny and warm conditions, perfect for barefooting. And in the office, the bigwigs are likely to leave at around 5 pm, enabling me to spend more than half of the office day fully barefoot, until leaving at 10 pm.

An plans for the Easter weekend include a barefoot visit to the opening of the medieval market season at the "Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum" in Gelsenkirchen, a city being part of the Ruhr Megalopolis... of course, I will report about this with pictures, too. It will be a nice occasion to purchase some more foot jewelry as well as meeting acquaintances from the last years' markets - some of them barefoot, too.

April 10, 2011 - A few barefoot hours of power in the park...

Temperatures around and over 20°C/70F, blue sky, no clouds, bright sunshine...
Such a day just has to be spent outdoors. I packed something to drink, suntan lotion, my MP3 player and something to read (Julia Butterfly Hill's The Legacy of Luna). In order to document the pleasure of barefooting in the grass, I decided to take a different approach and not just take still photographs but to capture my feet and a bit of the surroundings in motion:

Of course, I also took some still photographs, capturing the mood of a warm spring day, with new leaves and blossoms sprouting everywhere:

The bright colors of spring blossoms were not only visible up in the trees, but also at my bare feet...

And in such a weather, it would have been a waste of time if I had not spent some time skyclad in the park, too. Therefore, I took the opportunity to soak up some sun and positive energy with it for an hour in the nude.

After more than three hours, I left the park, feeling very refreshed and energized.
According to weather forecasts, Monday will be even warmer... perhaps I will have the chance to spend some more barefoot and skyclad time in the park after work. With new shift times, my office day ends at 3 pm (but starts at 6 am... that means getting up very early!).

April 9, 2011 - A typical barefoot Saturday...

As much as there is a certain routine in the way I spend the usual weekdays from Monday to Friday, there is a routine to the weekend days, too. One of those routines on a Saturday is my trip into town to do some shopping and on sunny and mild days to find a place in my usual street café and order my usual set of beverages while wiggling bare toes under the table:

To get to the café, I took my usual tram line, got off at the inner city underground stop and then walked to the escalators taking me upstairs - and as I was on my way, I spotted a trio of teenage girls in regular outfits - but wearing only two pairs of the typically fashionable sneakers... one of them was in fact barefoot.
They were a few meters ahead of me, and on seeing me and my bare feet, the barefoot girl's eyes went wide with surprise. They were on the same way, walking on the ped zone, choosing the sunlit spots - just as I did. This time, "The Look"® was on someone else's bare feet, before hitting me and mine, since my feet were of course adourned with anklets, toe rings and the usual nail polish, whereas the girl was showing plain and natural bare feet to the world at large.

At one point, as they were window-shopping and chuckling each time they came past a shoe store, the slowed down and so I passed them, now again taking the regular position of having "The Look"® on me alone. Towards the end of the ped zone, I turned towards the café and the girls went on into the mall. And that was the Saturday encounter with another barefooter. And it was the only other barefooter, too, since still people are too much in love with their shoes, despite perfect barefooting weather conditions. It might be different on Sunday, when the weather is forecast to be as bright as on Saturday and even a little warmer - a good chance to spot a few pairs of bare feet on the lawn in the park... and perhaps it will be not just girls or women baring their soles to the Earth for fun and play and later donning foot coffins again.
I'm still waiting for a nice encounter with a full-time barefooter with nicely-seasoned leathery soles, perhaps wearing anklets and toe-rings, too, to have a nice chat with.

April 8, 2011 - looking back on a barefoot week...

With spring and mild temperatures prevailing, each day of the week has been a barefoot one, fully barefoot at least before and after work and partly barefoot at work by slipping out of my flip-flops under the desk and when spending time outdoors during breaks, enjoying the sun.

"The Look"® has been my accomplice on every day of the week, too, but occurring only occasionally, since people seem to accept that spring is a season for being barefoot - even though the foot jewelry and nail polish on mine is less than common. The sighting of another barefooter now and then also helps in making my pedal nudity seem more normal.

On Monday, for instance, I spotted another after-work barefooter, when I was in the mall after work... he was wearing an overall, stained with plaster and paint - obviously he's in the decoration or construction business - had the cuffs of his pants rolled up and silver toe rings were glistening on both his feet. On passing by, we looked at each other's feet, wordlessly acknowledging our common taste in foot jewelry - his toe nails weren't painted though...
I was not in the mall for shopping, but went through there to get to the underground tram stop at the main station after enjoying the late afternoon sun shining onto my face and bare feet while sitting in front of a café, enjoying an ice cream coffee - a nice way to spend the after-office hours.

As usual, I also enjoyed the refreshing and relaxing feeling of being barefoot before work, too, gathering a little strength before entering the office:

On Friday, I spotted another true barefooter, also dressing the part in knee-long camouflage pants, a grey t-shirt, long blond dreads, riding his recumbent bicycle in his bare feet, his dog jogging next to him, bare-pawed as well.
Since I was sitting in the tram, homeward bound, I could not greet him. A pity, too, since he was one of the former inhabitants of the alternative commune I too lived in for over three years.

With weather forecasts still telling me about mild and mostly sunny spring weather, this coming weekend will be at least as enjoyable as the last one and perhaps I will spot some more barefooters...

April 3, 2011 - the barefoot Sunday hour of power...

After the summer day on Saturday, Sunday was again more typical of spring with high temperatures around 15°C/60F and an overcast sky. Even though rain was forecast, I did not want to miss my Sunday hour of gathering positive energy. On the way to the park, it was dry, but as soon as I entered the park, slight rain began to fall. And with this kind of weather, the park was just as deserted as it was crowded the warm and sunny day before. Only a few people were on the paths, walking their dogs - and they carried umbrellas. I enjoyed the sight of more trees and bushes were wearing new leaves and more blossoms were sprouting in the grass. I welcomed the rain, since it would mean more growth and more green.

The grass and soil felt nicely cool and refreshing underfoot. I enjoyed the the energizing feeling, even though the skies were grey instead of blue. After walking over the lawn to the end of the park, I sat down on a bench which had not been wet and was shielded from the rain by first new leaves on the bushes overhead. After sitting there for a few minutes and gazing into the park, I stood up and walked slowly over the lawn. I also enjoyed a little puddlefooting, too.

On reaching the margin of the park, I decided to stray from the paths and explore the underbrush, where the soil was rich and last fall's leaves covered the ground. In one spot, at the backside of some evergreen bushes, I found a place similar to a natural forest and the spicy smell of wet soil and fallen autumn leaves filled my nose. Mother Earth's bare skin felt nicely soft and rich beneath my bare soles.

Since this place was hidden from the views of people in the park, and even passers-by on the paths could not spot me there, I decided to use this spot for my energy-gathering breathing meditation and enhance it by taking off my clothes and exercising it not only barefoot, but fully nude.

Even though it was not as warm as on Saturday, I felt nicely energized after drawing positive energy from the Earth below and feeling cool air and occasional raindrops on my body. Certainly, this spot will be my usual place for skyclad meditation on my usual Sunday visits to the park from now on. With this energy, I can face a new week of work - and forecasts tell me of sunny days returning next week. So, next week will be mostly barefoot, too, with flip-flops as my office shoes.

April 2, 2011 - a barefoot summer day at the beginning of spring...

Indeed, this Saturday was the first official summer day of 2011 in the Ruhr megalopolis, with temperatures rising as high as 25°C (77F) - in some places even above that mark - and the sun shining from a brightly blue sky.

Certainly, such a day just has to be spent outdoors and barefoot, too.
So, I went barefoot into town to take a stroll along the ped zone shopping street and to celebrate an early summer day by sitting down in my usual Italian ice cream parlor/café place - in the outdoor seating area, right in the sun, of course. As the waiter came up to my table, I had decided, that the right choice to properly enjoy this summerly weather would be something cold, fresh and delightful... I ordered an ice cream cup with mixed fruit ice cream, fresh fruit, whipped cream and it came even with a cherry on top:

Although the weather was perfect for barefooting, I was once again the only barefoot person in that café, and the people passing by were wearing summer outfits, but never without footwear. Pity the poor souls (and soles) for missing a treat by keeping their feet from breathing freely and feeling the sun's warmth. Even sandals or flip-flops are too constricting in such glorious weather, I think. At some point, a young couple - college students, by the looks of their outfit - sat down at the table next to mine and the young woman decided to enjoy the summer sun by slipping off her chucks, rolling the cuffs of her jeans up to the knee, and propping her feet up on the chair opposite of hers... wearing dark green socks. A slight breeze was blowing, fortunately away from me, so that I wasn't hit by any smell which would have been likely, since those canvas and rubber sneakers are true heat and sweat traps. While she was baring her shins, but not her feet, I wiggled my bare toes under the table, enjoying my fruit ice cream cup.
As they got ready to leave, I wondered if she might take a cue from my barefoot state and pull off her socks to bare her feet, too... but, alas, she rolled down the cuffs of her pants and slipped her socked feet back into her sneakers, and off they went as shod as when they arrived. Another poor sole missing a barefoot treat...

After finishing my ice cream and having soaked up some sun in that café, it was time for the usual Saturday trip to the supermarket - and it was there where I saw that I was not the only person enjoying being barefoot. One of a trio of young men (college student age) was indeed barefoot without having shoes in sight. All three wore similar outfits: camouflage pants, loose-fit t-shirts and had long hair, the barefoot guy wearing his in a ponytail. The other two were wearing sneakers. Judging from the tenderfoot appearance of the guy's bare feet, I reckoned that he wasn't a habitual barefooter, and that he might have started his day with sneakers on and later on took them off and stuffed them in the backpack he was wearing. At least then and there I wasn't alone in being barefoot.

Another peculiar sighting happened on my way home by tram, when I spotted a teenage girl on the opposite side of the road, waiting for the tram going the other way. She had her dog on a leash and stood barefoot on her flip-flops... she did not wear them, but had slipped out of them and was standing on them rather than having her bare soles touch the paved sidewalk. It was enough to make me raise an eyebrow at that sight. Perhaps she was afraid of touching the dirty ground - but then, standing on foam-rubber sponges, soaked with her own feet's sweat did not seem very hygienic to me, either. In fact, the sidewalk might have been the better option to stand on and the trashbin the best place to put the flip-flops in.

The young man at the supermarket remained the only other true urban barefooter I spotted.

With this fine weather, I just had to spend some time in my usual park, too. So, I changed my outfit slightly, taking off my cut-off pants and put on my sarong and walked down from my apartment to the park, carrying my shoulder bag with something to drink in it, a book to read in (Sabine Kuegler's Call of the Jungle, the sequel to Jungle Child) and some suntan lotion, since I did not only want to walk barefoot there, but find a spot to shed my clothes and open the outdoor naturist season, too.

On my way to the park, I saw evidence of Mother Nature prevailing over civilization: dandelions pushing through cracks in the sidewalk... a little botanic anarchy, so to speak.

On arriving in the park, some trees were showing new leaves, others beginning to sprout and on the grass, more daisies, pilewort and now also dark-blue speedwell (veronica filiformis) were showing their bright faces.

I saw quite a couple of people reclining on benches, some on blankets on the grass and others were playing on the grass, tossing balls, frisbees and other toys at each other. Among one mixed group of young people, again, college student age, the women were barefoot on the grass, while the men wore sneakers - seemingly finding it uncool to bare their feet. Judging from the gait of one woman, who wore neo-hippie clothes, she was a habitual barefooter, too, and it was nice to watch them frolic and play, while I was sitting on a bench, reading in my book, listening to some chillout music.

While sitting there, I had a funny encounter with a young boy, about two years of age, and his young father. The boy walked past me, then stared at my bare feet, pointed at his shoes, then at my feet and said "I got shoes... you don't". I grinned at him and replied "Oh, I have shoes... they're at home". His father then grinned, too, and told his son: "When it's warm, it is nice to walk without shoes" - and he is absolutely right, too.

At about 5 pm, the people who had played on the grass were getting ready to depart, and the barefoot women (who had come to the park by bicycle) all put on shoes before mounting their bikes and leaving. So, they were only part-time barefooters. With less people around, I stood up from the bench, found me a nice place on the grass, took my clothes off and sat down on the grass, giving again the impression of a reclining Buddha and gathered some positive energy by soaking up sunlight and feeling the mild breeze around my body. I already had gathered power from the Earth through my bare soles. The only element missing was water, but since it is only April, the lakes in our area still have water temperatures below 10°C/50F, which is too cold for skinnydipping as yet. If we have more than a week of sunny and warm weather as on this Saturday, I might try it at my favourite lake... as of now, I refrain from it. However, bathing in sunlight and warm air is already possible and very pleasant, for sure.