a_vets_life

07/02/2023

Rwanda
Land of 1000 hills

09/11/2022

Joy

17/09/2022

When you have to remove multiple skin tumors and want to keep the anaesthesia as short as possible. That's the moment, when 3 veterinarians are performing surgery at the same time. Get well soon you gentle giant.❤️

(Yes I had a headtorch, because the surgerylights were focused on the other vet. It's all about adapting)

22/06/2022

My current home and working place for the next 2 years.

Welcome to in Kigali/Rwanda.

(Tier)Klinik unter Palmen 🌴😉

Still looking for my own home though. It is a very nice house but also still a clinic and no one wants to live at their working place.

15/04/2022

Exploring Petra

While the Indiana Jones theme runs up and down in my head.

15/06/2020

In case you were wondering what I am doing: here is the answer. I am taking an internet break and gonna be working as a Sheppard in the Swiss Alps for the summer.

Back to the roots!

18/05/2020

Freedom and inner peace!
True freedom starts here. With you!

How long and often did I worry about EVERYTHING?
Overthinking was my best talent and my nickname was 'worry warrior' (no joke).
But universe taught me again and again (and again and again...) that there is no reason to be worried.
That everything happens for a reason.

A few months ago I would have shaken my head and laughed out loud by thinking that I will write these sentences right now.
But it is true!
Every incident that happened to me, every step I took and every choice ( consciously or unconsciously) I made brought me closer to this conclusion!

There are no coincidences!
The universe gives you not always what you want, but always what you need (If you are ready for it and see the signs and take your chance!)
And acknowledging this gives you pure freedom and inner peace.




🇨🇦

15/05/2020

Who loves donkeys as much as I do?❤️🙋🏻‍♀️ Those cute long eared animals have a hard life in a lot of countries. As their reliability is famous, they are still mostly used as working animals all around the globe. Most of the patients I treated during my time in Morocco were indeed donkeys, mules and horses. The variety of diagnoses was high. From bruises because of bad fitting gear, to colics and wounds caused by a traffic accident. All of them needed help. And all of them got it for free.

@ Morocco

12/05/2020

Before I switched to small animal medicine I worked as a farm vet, first in Bavaria and then in my hometown in austria. When others had to go to their offices, I could stay outside and drive in the most beautiful area from barn to barn, where I treated mostly cows. I was exposed to every kind of weather, as I was out summer to winter. And mostly, I didn't mind - except for those -40 degree celsius days where the water froze and turned the streets into slippery carpets - and loved the work I did. These two calves, for example, decided to have their birthday on Christmas. What a beautiful gift. Being a midwife is one of the most exhausting and exiting parts of this job. But is also very often a sad part. Because vets are normally just get called to difficult births, were there are already problems involved. Luckily those two guys recovered super quick after their challenging birth...and I left to treat my next patients.

07/05/2020

Kissing a chameleon instead of a frog. Who wants a prince anyways?
💋💚🦎

How is your mood today?

01/05/2020

Sassy Bonnie!

The temper of this little lass brought her into Koh Mak Animal Care Center several times. Even if she was the smallest of her pack, she always refused to stay behind at feeding time and fought to get a spot in the frontline. So that's how I met this little lady when I treated her biting wounds several times😂. If you look closely, you can see a fresh one on her right abdomen in the video. Also, when the time came to spay her, she ripped out her intradermal stitches within two days after we brought her back (one of the few dogs which are actual able to do so...) Never make a mistake twice: We restitched her, put her into the biggest cone we had and kept her into the clinic until all her wounds were healed up COMPLETELY. ( Maybe also because I felt quite attached to this little warrior 😅❤️). She is also one of the stars in my little video of last December, where I explained what I am doing and why (in german). Even after we released her back to her pack, I looked for her whenever I had the chance.
And every single time I called for her she s came back to have a look if I was also doing good 😍. Thanks to her caring feeder, she grew up quite well and reached a good weight. And I am sure that the team of Mak Animal Care Center
still keeps an eye on her and is ready with stitching material whenever she gets in fighting mood again😅

30/04/2020

I miss 'my' streetdogs.
I miss the work I used to do...
..miss treating my lovely patients, which are normally also became my pets with the time.
Earning their trust is the best feeling in the world and quite addictive.

I know that a lot of charity clinics are suffering at the moment from the worldwide lockdown and travel restrictions. Either because they are missing the helping hands of volunteers or the donations they would get from visitors and tourists.

Also a lot of people stopped feeding street dogs because of the lockdown.
So once again the situation for them is getting worse.

It is hard to sit here, in Europe, not able to do anything at the moment.

16/04/2020

First step of the journey
Listen

Part 2

What does it mean to face your problems? For me it was just a look behind the curtain. One I have made up myself. Partly to protect myself. Partly because I was a lazy human being. Never looking for fights. Always trying not to cause any troubles. Even if that meant that I gave up myself just to please somebody else.
I was so close to believe all the stories and lies I told myself everyday.

I nearly got lost in them.

Maybe you can fool yourself. But that doesn't count much in the wild. Responsibility is taken, not given.
So I took the responsibility for my own life lifted the curtain and asked myself questions I normally would avoid.
Simply because I couldn't deal with the s**t that came out of it (...and let me tell you: it was pain, loads of pain, anger and embarassment...but also some little whispered clear answers)
After all this digging and crying and fighting, one thing appeared very clear to me:

Nobody judges me as hard as I do!

And with that in mind, first, I learned to be ok with myself.

And that meant learning to accept myself for who I am.

Tough s**t!!

Starting step by step to hear my little inner voice again.
This little voice, which was drowned so much over the previous couple of years that I was afraid I had lost it.
It was still soft and confused. Still didn't know where it should lead me. But at least it told me that this very first step was in the right direction.

Chilcotin Holidays

**t

09/04/2020

"She never felt ready. But she was brave and the universe response to brave"

Stunning Vietnam💚

05/04/2020

Dreaming back in time: Laos

04/04/2020

Bagan in the twilight💙💜

27/03/2020

The famous train street in Hanoi was unfortunately shut down when we arrived due of safety reasons, which nobody really understood. Maybe because there were no trains going anyways. However, this little fella didn't mind at all and played happily with his owner on the tracks aswell as playing the perfect model for me. What would you say?

26/03/2020

The north of vietnam is still a hidden treasure for travellers. Very rural but definitely worth exploring. 💚

24/03/2020

My plan was actually to visit Bali again right now. But like many other plans of many many other people its just not gonna go to happen. So at least let me reminisce about my last amazing Bali trip. So thankful about the memories, which can nobody take from me.

10/03/2020

This proud little girl was wearing a typical northern vietnamese dress. In this mountainous area the people are still living a very rural life, working hard on the fields with often nothing more than their bare hands or with plows carried by oxes. The women are mostly dressed in colourful dresses whilst you can see them working on the fields. I felt like travelling back in time driving through this surreal scenery and seeing this impressive women working so hard for their living.

@ Dồng Văn, Hà Giang, Vietnam

02/03/2020

Sometimes I wanna share. Sometimes I wanna write stories, captions, tell everybody about my life. But there are also moments, where I am scared. Scared about judging, scared about embarrassing myself.
Scared about questions I can't answer.
Questions like: ”What are you up to?” ”What are your next plans?” ”When are you coming back?”
The first time since I started travelling I have no idea. Just going from one day to the other. Did I lose my path? Taking myself first after my body forced me to stop working abroad. Do I feel bad because of that? Of course! Do I wanna change it right now: Also a question I can't answer. But it's also something, I don't have in my hands anyways. I am honest with you:
My european mind is working constantly on a plan how to move on. What should be the next step? How should I manage? But every single time I am coming to the same solution: Time! I need more time! After all! Time for figuring out. Because after all, travelling can also be the perfect distraction of your real life. Working in charity-clinics, where you literally give yourself for free for helping others.
Oh.... What I nice way NOT to think about your own life, your purpose and your goals... So I really need time with me! Asking myself more uncomfortable questions, which I hopefully can answer after a while. Maybe I'll find out that my goals are exactly that: travelling and giving. But it's a sacrificing journey and better be really sure about that... Breathe and reflect once again. Because there is nothing as important as self-improvement. I know that for some people that sounds very selfish and luxurious. I am totally aware of that. But it's at least one decision I made for myself already: my life , my rules!

**tanyways

01/03/2020

at sunrise!
One hot air balloon after the other rised into the sky, painting all together this beautiful picture. A scenery, which keeps you speechless. Just one of the many many stunning moments in Myanmar. A hidden diamond in South East Asia! I fell absolutely in love with this country and its people.

23/02/2020

Luang Prabang presented itself as a magical place to me. The mix of Asian and French culture there were very harmonic side by side, bringing the best out of each other. The wonderful French cuisine topped with an Asian touch. Beautiful colonial style houses with buddhist decoration and banana trees in front. Sitting in a French café watching the small boats pass by on the Mekong. And temples...so many temples, at every corner, one beside each other, sharing the streets with handcraft shops. Naga and Buddha were watching every step I took as well as those the other visitors of this unique city. And I felt fairly safe under their protection.

19/02/2020

Temples and dogs... Asia at it's best.

18/02/2020

Laos ❤️

17/02/2020

A lot of friends and followers asked me the last couple of days why it got so quiet here, worried if everything is alright. The truth is, some distractions appeared. Good and bad ones. I had to step back and take a break. Overlook my situation and try to find out not only what I really want, but also what is possible for me. I couldn't go back to my work to the charity clinic in Koh Mak. Even if it nearly broke my heart. So I changed my settings and my goals, trying not to lose myself. But then I found out that I am already in a state in my mind where this is not gonna likely to happen that easily any more. I don't have to do several things to define myself anymore. And that fulfills me with an inner peace I thought I can never reach. I am not the travelling vet, nor the lost one or the bending one, neither I feel very anxious anymore what the future holds for me. I am just me. Lydia...sure a wanderer at the moment. But I am not searching any more. I am exploring.
So I found this place in Laos a few days ago. And it was the most beautiful place I ever visited. So unreal, so insane that it felt like in a fairytale. And I am not joking when I say that if a unicorn would have shown up behind a corner I wouldn't have been surprised at all.🦄

09/02/2020

Painter at the temple...and father of 6 sons!

04/02/2020

Myanmar you stole my 💓!

02/02/2020

Fly high

29/01/2020

Sunrise in Mandalay

28/01/2020

27/01/2020

16/01/2020

Exploring Cambodia on bike!
Both: good for the environment and your wallet.
Additional: workout for your body and full flexibility during your ride. Just stop and stare at these stunning temples as long as you want to. Best choice ever❤️

06/01/2020

'Don‘t rush! See the whole, not just the pretty places': My way to travel.

One week in Battambang. A small city in the west of cambodia. A place where most of the tourists dont stay longer than a day or two before they move on to the next destination on the list.

I always travelled in a different way than most tourists. For me, the sightseeing is not important. I dont wanna collect places like stamps. For me it is more important to dig into the place, to feel the vibe, to get to know the people and the culture there. To connect and to give something back.

To travel sustainably means more than try to avoid plastic or short term flights. As a tourist and traveller you can chose which sectors you wanna promote, which footprint you wanna leave. Are you an ant in a queue waiting for the best picture for your Instagram account or do you travel to explore the world, with all its nuances? The good, the bad and the ugly?
Are you even ready to see everything in first place? Because looking away from the things you don't wanna see is so much more comfortable. I decided to see all of it. Not to look away, when something irritates me and to give as much back as I can.

One week in Battambang and I am afraid it's still not enough...

31/12/2019

2019
Last day of the year.
And finally, after I travelled almost every continent in the world, visited around 40 countries I arrived in CAMBODIA. The ONE country which has ALWAYS been on my list! Even before I started travelling. Even before I knew where it is located. And even before I actually knew that it was really the country Cambodia I wanted to go. The old ruins and jungles I saw in books, documentaries and movies catched my heart when I still was a child and had never seen the ocean before.

And here I am. On the last day of this travelyear,
after I took a real long travelloop,
I finally made it.

For me, this fact stands also very much for my life. Looking back I never took the shortest way to go were I wanna go. Sometimes I got lost. Sometimes there was a dead end and I had to turn back. But finally I am on my path again. Facing the future I actually really wanna live. I am NOT hiding any more. Hiding behind more comfort, behind more security in my life, hiding from expectations of others...and from my own fears. 2019 ends today and I am finally here. Nobody said it would be easy but it will be worth it.

The temples in the distance are reaching up high into the sky. Their majestic look is impressive and makes me speechless even from a far distance. The indistinct templemusic is always playing in the background.
The last day of this year will be about reflections, gratitude and settling. And from tomorrow on I will explore this new country for me.
Happy new year to all of you! To bring you one step closer to the person you wanna be.

#2019

27/12/2019

21/12/2019

Passion!
Why do I live the way I live? Why do I do what I do? Travel around... work for free... Helping animals in need. It is just because I love what I do. There is no other way to exist for me right now. And if you love what you do...if you are passionate about it, you are always good in it.
I am maybe not the best veterinarian in the world. Not even close. Gosh... I hate the puzzles internal medicine gives you sometimes like hell and there are millions of better surgeons on the planet. But you know what? It's not important here. Not for my patients. Because for them, I am often the only help they get. Sometimes I am the only person who hugs a dog with mange in the middle of the street. Or the only one, who cleans a nasty maggotwound of a patient every single day till it finally heals up.
It's who I am. It's what I love. This is my life and my passion. And I am f*cking good in it!!
Thanks to all those wonderful organizations and people who do the same. Who chose not to look away!
You are great! Keep on going! 💪

21/12/2019

Maaike Vrancken became one of my closest friends during my time in the Canadian wilderness. The braveness she showed was unbelievable inspiring. Her transformation during this time was just stunning to watch but also very empowering!

Please watch the video, made by wonderful Kristin Noack, (also one of my soul sisters on the ranch) and be impressed by maaikes fearless expedition.

If you also feel like an explorer, if you feel a little lost at the moment and wanna focus on the important things again. And if you wanna face the pure wilderness of the Canadian mountains, you are very welcome to join our community.

No matter how small you start, start something that matters! Brendon Burchard

Chilcotin Holidays
Trails to Empowerment Community

Watch Maaike transforming her life by stepping out of her comfort zone, facing new challenges and learning new skills on countless wilderness adventures duri...

20/12/2019

Kelsey Skinner ist an awesome vet and one of the kindest people I know. Love to work with her as she is way more organised than me 😬😅. Just join her during morningrounds and have an insight in our daily work at Koh Mak!❤️