Trip to Galle

Galle is a city on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka. Windy beaches and bending palm trees surround a fortress built by the Portuguese during the colonial period in the 16th century, the centerpiece of the city. The nearly three-kilometer-long city wall is preserved and encloses the historic city center with a dozen bastions. The walls even withstood the tsunami of 2004 and saved the buildings on this exposed peninsula from destruction. The rest of the city is adorned with houses in Dutch style, peculiar shops, white-washed villas, and historic museums. Since 1988, Galle has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city stands out from the typical Sri Lanka. Although I was a little disappointed at first, looking back, I perceive many things quite differently and if we had more time, the city would have certainly left a lasting impression.

We only had 2 hours and there were four of us. You don't spend too much time in the shops or even visit the church inside.

But I still tried to see the beauty in the city.

Of course, I let myself get talked into buying spices and bought a small bag of cardamom for 1,200 rps. That's about 3 euros.🤦🏻‍♀️

But well, the population is poor and a few more euros don't make me poorer, on the contrary, I can improve my karma and do good at the same time.

It was only in the evening, thanks to Thamiya's tip, that I found out that you should buy spices in the food city stores with the red logo.

From Garam Masala 😋to Coriander, Curry, Cumin, Chili of course, and Fennel seeds, I stocked up.

No wonder the Portuguese did not ignore Sri Lanka in their search for the legendary spice islands of the Orient. Vasco da Gama already brought rumors of the best cinnamon supplies from his first trip to India back home.

As we wander through the streets, older women and men keep coming up to us to sell something. Handmade items. They seem to be very poor and it's hard to get rid of them. There are only two options, either you buy something or you give them money.

So we walk through the streets, let a seller convince us to drink freshly squeezed juice, and don't notice how time passes. Afterwards, I find out that you shouldn't drink pineapple juice during the Panchakarma treatment. Petra even buys a whole pineapple 🍍at the vegetable market for about 1.50€. But she later gives it away to Susanne, who will leave today.

Otherwise, we all behave very well and even give up sweets and coffee.🤪

It's time and our driver, who had to wait for us for so long, brings us back safely.

It's time for dinner again and often we all sit at a large table that can accommodate 10 people.

There are Horst and Petra from Friedrichshafen, Hilde from Mannheim, who used to run several clothing stores, is now retired and travels around, Susanne from Hamburg, who runs a jewelry workshop with gemstones here and designs her own collections, Karen from London, who used to prepare fashion fairs and will visit Sri Lanka again in December with her husband, Claudia and Ralf from the north, who want to go on a world tour afterwards, Tina and Elina from Hamburg, two young girls who already pay a lot of attention to sustainability for their age, and Daniela from Neukölln, who works as a psychotherapist and is a wonderful person.

They all have a story to tell, but what unites us all here at Roman Lake is that we have the same views on many things. For example, when it comes to mindfulness, responsibility towards the environment, the preservation of our own health, respect for animals, and much more.

We speak English and German, mostly all mixed up. It's quite funny at times.

But around 8 p.m., one by one, we usually start getting tired.

Tomorrow, it's time to get up at 5:45 a.m. after all. We're not on vacation, after all.🤣