🧱🏘 Civilisation!

⛪️🔔🏖 Last but not least, I'll show you human civilization. There are three churches and the island bell, which you can hear ringing in the video. There are numerous restaurants and a few souvenir shops. There are two grocery stores and a 24-hour store with vending machines in the town hall building. Beach chairs are available on the beach, which you must reserve.

✨️😁🌊 You can also see my soft face on my first day on the island (for comparison, see my rough face after 10 days in the previous post).

🪶📃🕰 Life and history of Baltrum

📖🫅🗺 Baltrum is the smallest of the East Frisian Islands in the North Sea. It was first mentioned in 1398, when Widzel tom Brok gave the island – then called "Balteringe" – to Duke Albert of Bavaria and later received it back as a fief. The name "Baldatringe" appeared even earlier, in the 11th century. Ancient writers may have known of it even in the 1st century AD.

🎣🦭🛶 In the past, the sea often threatened the island’s small population. Around 1700, most people lived from fishing and hunting. Villages were sometimes abandoned because of shifting sand or storm damage, such as the great storm of 1825. From 1870, sea walls and dikes were built to protect the land.

🫧🌊🔔 Baltrum became a seaside resort in 1876. The Old Island Church from 1826 is one of its landmarks, with the famous "Island Bell" from a Dutch shipwreck. As visitor numbers grew, the Large Island Church was built in 1930, and the Catholic St. Nicholas Church followed in 1957.

🌳🌹🌿 A small highlight is the Rose Garden between the two main villages, cared for by volunteers and known as Germany’s smallest spa park. There are beautiful figures and the path is made of shells.

🐴🚴‍♀️🛴 Baltrum has no cars or motorcycles. People travel by horse-drawn carriage, bicycle, e-bike, or e-scooter, giving the island its calm and relaxed atmosphere.

💫🦥🐾 My plush son Vincent misses Baltrum at least as much as I do!

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Hi, I'm Vincent van Sloth! 🌼 I'm the main employee here! You don't see me as much as my dad @megagroundsloth, but that's because I usually do all the work. It starts early in the morning when I watch him trying to wake up. Then I have to watch him eat breakfast, and I generally have to work really hard because everything has to be monitored.

In challenging moments, it's important that I'm ready to act immediately. I may not be fast, but I'm very handy. I would like to tell you more about what I do, but it's difficult with my small paws.🐾

Somehow the smartphone only responds if I dip my fluffy paws in jam before typing. Of course, no one thought of that! Being the clever guy I am, I found the solution myself!

Can you manage that much work and still look cute? Then apply to be a sloth assistant today! You get paid in extra naps and tasty treats, but in essence, it's all just for the love of the job.🩷

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

🌎 The Endless Blue 🌍

I sometimes feel like there’s something missing in my life that would give me a deeper sense of definition, but it’s not about not knowing who I am. I have a strong sense of my identity, my core values and beliefs, but there’s still a part of me that feels incomplete, like I haven’t fully figured out my place in the world. My confusion is more about my existence, my purpose, and how I fit into the bigger picture, not about who I am as a person.

When I express this, I want to feel understood. I want others to engage with my feelings without jumping to conclusions or offering unsolicited advice. It’s frustrating when people try to simplify my emotions or impose their own ideals on me, especially when I’m not seeking to be fixed but simply to be heard. I desire genuine connection where my feelings are respected, where someone is willing to sit with my uncertainty and explore it with me, rather than rushing to tell me how I should feel or what I should do.

I often feel like people tend to moralize feelings or offer solutions before truly understanding what’s going on. I don’t want my emotions to be dismissed or minimized. I just want someone to truly listen and try to understand me without trying to change how I feel.

In general, it feels like there’s a lack of true engagement with people’s emotions these days, and I wish I could find someone who is willing to connect on a deeper level, without simplifying or judging what I’m going through.

I recognize that the search for meaning and purpose is a process, one that is ongoing and perhaps even endless, and I am open to the uncertainties that come with it. I am someone who doesn’t shy away from life's bigger questions but is willing to sit with them, allowing for ambiguity and imperfection in the process.

I certainly won't settle for a substitution if I know exactly what I want, at least in this respect.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

🌎💔 The current world situation is weighing on Vincent’s little plush head. He is just a little stuffed animal and can't do anything.

✨️ Even if Vincent is just a little plush, he still matters! Maybe he can bring comfort to someone, even if it's just by being there. The world can be overwhelming, but small kindnesses, like a soft plush to hug, can make a difference. Maybe his role is just to be a reminder that love and care still exist.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

🪰 The harder you push, the more stubborn the door—yet it opens when you least expect. ✨️

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Little Vincent doesn't even try to think about becoming independent ❤️🤭

A man in his fourth decade who cherishes his stuffed animal and carries it playfully in his heart may embody a deeper form of maturity (one rooted in self-care and appreciation) than someone who seeks importance in the lives of others out of self-interest, creating dependencies to secure personal advantages. This latter behavior reflects an infantile craving for the metaphorical milk of gratitude, masked as maturity.

🍼🎖

This contrast highlights the tension between external expectations and internal realities. It does not suggest that all who care for others do so selfishly, nor that every adult who finds joy in a stuffed animal embodies a higher wisdom. Rather, it exposes the superficiality of rigid stereotypes and quick judgments, inviting a more nuanced reflection on what it truly means to grow.

🌱🍂

Another example: What age were you thinking of when I spoke of the fourth decade? In fact, the first decade begins at birth. The probability that you thought of me as 10 years older is very high because few people think in such a nuanced and attentive way.

🤓🔢🤯

Furthermore, does maturity have something to do with the active effort to look behind the facade?

⁉️ 🧱 👥

True maturity involves a conscious effort to see beyond surface-level appearances, judgments, and assumptions. It requires recognizing the difference between what’s projected outwardly and what’s actually going on beneath the surface. This deeper awareness allows for empathy, understanding, and the ability to navigate the world with wisdom. It’s not just about understanding yourself, but also seeing others for who they really are, not just as they present themselves to the world.

🦚🪶🐦‍⬛

The first impulse can be important, but the decision to question it and learn more is the key to a deeper understanding.

🪸🦪🤿

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Vincent, it’s important to rest. The world can wait!

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

My pillow whispers sweet nothings 😌💭

Have a nice Sunday and feel cuddled by Vincent! ♥️😊

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Vincent spent a year and a half in a tight suitcase. If your son is a stuffed animal, you can do that. For me, looking at him was painful because Vincent was a gift from a woman I loved dearly. The magic of our bond breathed life into it. He became a real baby sloth. I have many fond memories of Vincent. He guarded the fruit basket and mistook kiwis for his eggs. He stuck his round head out of my backpack on hikes. He sat with us watching TV and always had a more or less clever comment ready. He slept in bed with us and lost filling quite quickly from being cuddled so much. Vincent van Sloth, a real sloth with personality. I miss the passion in my life, somehow all the magic has gone. I always had this vibe, the trust in the universe, I could feel the beauty of the world in my body and mind. And I always wanted to convey this feeling to others, or at least share some of it. I'm used to being alone. That's not it. I feel exhausted from the experiences of the past two years. All this insane German bureaucracy on the way to my professional goal. Half a year ago I temporarily stopped my Instagram activities because I needed my energy. I'm feeling better now because I was able to win an important stage. But there is a lot of work to be done in the next few months. The magic will come back on its own one day, and maybe my posts will get some of that as well. I brought Vincent out again because my grudges have faded and suffering has dissolved into heartwarming memories. And now I want him back with me, my little Vincent.

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.

Vincent! 😆

🤗 For a more nuanced discussion, please feel free to use the comments section, private messages or the anonymous contact form on my website.