The best Good-Bye Dinner and Southbound

Congratulations to Kate and Will! I am so excited for you and your little family. Yay for your boy to finally arrive and make thousands of crazy baby stalkers like me really happy.

Whenever we go to visit my parents, Nick and I are convinced, Mama has a plan to feed us all the food to make us never want to leave this place of milk and honey.
On Saturday, it was the first time that it was just us and my parents. This meant that we spent lunch, coffee, and dinner (and dessert) together.

Since we were going to leave their house on Sunday, the hours of scrumptiousness also included a good-bye dinner. We had a barbecue with the most delicious curry chicken I have ever had.

There it is! Next to the Bratwurst! :o)

My family takes dessert really serious, as everyone should. So we went out for ice cream within 5 minutes of finishing dinner. It is important to not have too long of a break between meals. You might starve.

I know, I need to get better taking pictures before having finished most of the food already. No self control. Absolutely no self control...

We were so full after this that we mentioned only wanting to have coffee the next morning. However, the head of the family did not approve to even discuss skipping breakfast. Under the greatest threats, we were forced to have fresh baked bread and homemade jam on the terrace in the sun the next morning. Life is hard!

Quark and Marmelade.
If you haven't had this, eat it right now, and don't wait another second.
If you don't have quark, use greek yoghurt.

Then, we finally got on the road to Munich!

I tried to take a picture to show you the warp speed we were going, but I had to hold on to not fly all the way to the back of the car. So this was actually not even top speed. 

Needless to say that someone had a lot of fun driving!

And yes, Lucy was allowed to come with.  ... When we arrived, she was angry that there was only one big bed in the room and she had to sleep on the floor - again. 

"wtf guys!? Rude!"

For dinner, Nick and I decided to walk around to find food. We just never learn. There is something about our restaurant detection skills that is just not working right. 

We walked for 5 miles in the heat. Luckily, I was wearing brand new leather sandals - and everyone knows that you should always do that if you are going to walk for 2 hrs in 100 degree weather. 

Finally, we found a little place that didn't just sell coffee. 

Again, I almost forgot to take a picture.
This was after I had already eaten all the chicken.

Yes, you see that correctly that there are three different kinds of tomatoes on there. They probably talked to this restaurant. How else would they have known that I really like tomatoes on my salad?! 

Finally, on our way back to the hotel, we saw where all the other tourists went. I swear, they probably designed this after Epcot. It looked just like it!

I will share more pictures in a little while. Now it's time to have some ice cream :o)

What did you do this weekend?

Have you ever been to southern Germany?

Ice cream question: strawberry, chocolate, lemon, or vanilla? chocolate and lemon! (best combination ever!)

Great moments of surprise and shock.

I am just dropping in to send you a few pictures and let you know that we are still alive and well.

On Friday morning, Nick and I got ready to leave the house right after we woke up. I know what you are thinking - yes! I did clean the entire place. I had started late at night and finished in the morning with mopping and all! I am still feeling incredibly responsible and all grown up.

We are always at least twice as excited to go on road trips. Not only do we get to do something awesome, but we also have the opportunity to spend a few hours together in the car!
Over the past few weeks, there was not much time we had for just the two of us. So, being in the car for hours at a time and talk the entire way is the absolute best!

And then we got the best surprise ever!!!
This time, we were so lucky with our rental car that we are still in absolute awe. They gave us a brand new Audi A6! It is Nick's dream car and I am so happy for him that they gave it to him to drive across Germany for a few days.

We are the first people to ever drive it and the car is so incredibly nice (and fast) that it has been nothing but spectacular to spend hours upon hours on the road.
I think Lucy loves it, too. She has been extra good on the drive and it is obvious that she wants us to buy a car just like this one, so that she can always travel this comfortably :o)

I heard you, Lucy. I heard you!

When we got to my parents' place, Mama and Papa welcomed us with the best cake.

I only took one picture, but there were
three (!) different cakes that Mama had made. 

It is always Mama's mission to feed us as much as she possibly can while we are there. The amounts of delicious food she prepares is incredible! She even went out and bought me a pack of Flutschfinger! (for all non-experts: there are eight (!) Flutschfinger in one box) Greatest surprise EVER! There is no way to be a better host. I'm serious.

Papa and Nick spent some man-time fixing the pump for the water fountain. They were quite proud after it was done and the fountain was doing its fountain things - rightfully so, because neither of them fell in! We were all happy about that.

YAY for fixing the fountain guys!

Then, I went to the hair dresser. 

I had no big plans of getting anything different from what I usually get... and then I heard myself say "Just do whatever you think is good" - since when is that a good idea?! Sometimes my brain just does its own thing. 

The next thing I knew was that my hair was darker and missing 12 inches.

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Trust me when I say I was in complete shock. I could not believe what had happened! 

So I did the next logical thing. I panicked and texted Nick, because clearly, texting your husband will fix your hair. 

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Normally, there are few things worse than a surprise at the hair dresser, but I have to say, I am used to it by now and kind of like it. Especially that it's easier to wash and dry in the morning. 

We will see how it is for my run in the morning, when I am wearing my usual ponytail and headband. I will keep you posted. 

So here is another really awesome late night selfie
with my short new hair. 

How was your weekend? Did you go anywhere fun?

Did you run this weekend? How did it go?

Have you ever had a shock moment at the hair dresser?

Why I Renamed the Post and Weekend Road Trip

I am telling you, once I get off work today, I will be PR'ing on my way home.
Tomorrow is a big big day and there is still so much to take care of!

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Nick, Lucy, and I are heading to my parents' house in the morning! But the fun won't end there - we will continue our road trip and go to Munich for a night. I know. I can't even handle it.

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It's been forever since I have been in southern Germany - at least 20 years. So basically since I was born. It will be spectacular.

Do you ever get so excited in the morning to get up and clean the house and pack up to go somewhere?

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I am hoping it will happen to me tomorrow morning.

There are very few things that annoy me (no matter what Nick says), but among them is a dirty house before I leave to go somewhere. Few things are worse to me than coming home to a yucky place with dog hair all over and dirty laundry waiting for me.

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I am sure I am not the only one out there (here?) who wants to hang on to the fun-and-happy-road-trip-feeling as long as possible. So I can't have a rude awakening by being slapped in the face by my own messiness.

Speaking of annoying things, another one is when I am driving and there is someone rushing to pull out  of a side street right in front of me - to then slow down. What is wrong with you?! If you ever do that to me, we can not be friends anymore.

STOP IT.

And then, there are people who feel the need to tell us that Lucy is fat. Oh no. You can not say that. She is a Rottweiler mix, that is her built. You troll.
Aside from that, no one cares about your uneducated opinion. Why are you talking about this?!
(And no matter what you say, there is no way you are actually criticizing her. We both know she can't open the fridge.)

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Originally, I had entitled this post "5 things that annoy me", but then I could only think of 3. This could either mean I am an incredibly easy going person, or the paper I am writing for school has effectively started to dissolve parts of my brains. There is only one right option you can chose here.

This is probably the most random post ever. So I will finish it with a random note. I came across this information as I was browsing mindlessly doing research online.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a housewife from the 50s names Judy Zipper.

I am hoping this knowledge will mean as much to you as it does to me.

Happy Thursday!

What annoys you? Could you bring it up to 5 things?

Have you ever been to Munich?

Do you have a designated cleaning day? Or do you just mop along as it is needed? I wish I had a designated day. Mostly, I use the weekends for straighten things around the house, but I'd rather do it earlier in the week.

Awesome Morning and My Favorite Neighbor

Good morning!

Don't panic, nothing happened! I am up and blogging this early at 1pm, because I had a super exciting morning appointment!

As you might know, Nick and I are night owls and our sleeping schedule looks accordingly. The trick to avoid any jet lag is to just never adjust to the different time zone. I am sure this tip will come in handy for you some day.

Anyhow, I braved the early morning sun and went to the gym to meet with a trainer. I may or may not have been so excited that I skipped the entire way there.

Have you ever seen a fashion statement as awesome as this?!
 - The colors matched, though. 

No need to worry, the gym is only a few meters from our house - hence, me wearing my gym clothes already - except for the shoes.

The trainer was absolutely awesome! I am not just saying that because she complimented my form (maybe I am), she also made sure to show me how to not kill myself with the machines and this is the most important part of my training.
She created a training plan for me that I will be working on for the next two months and I can't wait to start!

One of the really cool things about the walk to the gym is that I have no choice but to pass by my favorite neighbor: Mr FruitStore.

This is the same store where I bought those delicious strawberries the other day.

I can never tell you how much water melon I eat per day. Just this much: I am their best water melon customer. 

cherries!

One of the first things I did when we moved here was memorizing their business hours. There were several occasions already when this knowledge came as a life saver.

Now it's time to do some work. 

Have a happy Wednesday! 

What's your favorite fruit?

Do you have a training plan? What do you focus on?

How often do you do strength training?

Reading Yoda and Keeping an Eye on Things

When watching TV these days, one cannot avoid the coverage of Kate and Will's first baby. It's all over the place! - And I love it! 

terrible picture of our TV

the birthplace of the future (future, future) king/queen of England

Yes, I can imagine that being 9months pregnant and having an army of photographers sitting outside of your house, waiting for you to be in labor, and hoping to snap a picture of your water breaking, is anything but pleasant. 

However, I just can't help but be really excited for my favorite royal couple to become parents! If Nick and I ever move to London, I have big plans for Kate and me to become best friends, have afternoon teas together, and, seriously, Lucy is just meant to play with their dog Lupo (see what I mean?!) and dig holes around Buckingham Palace. She just needs to learn how to sit like a lady and how not to look like a pig.

I see potential.

While I am keeping my eyes on the news regarding my future bff from England, I am still reading what this guy had to say.

And as I am looking at the cover of this book, I can't help myself but find a remarkable resemblance between these two.

Something to think about.

Better back to work I get. 

Are you following the baby news from England?

Have you ever watched Star Wars? I hadn't until about a year ago. Yes, I was ashamed when I told Nick. 

What's for dinner?

Minor Victories

We survived the Monday! Isn't this always a wonderful feeling?!
I really don't mind mondays that much, because I love what I do and after the weekend, I am excited to get back to work.

However, sometimes, this happens.

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I have been working on a paper. For months now. It's a new field for me. A huge field. One, that I can't just dive in and know where I should turn. Its difficult and frustrating.

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So I am constantly floating between being motivated and optimistic to finish soon - and wanting to hide under a blanket with 2lbs of Haribo, because my brain is in complete knots and just wants to sleep.

There are days when I sit at my desk and work on an idea for 10hrs. If you come home after a day like this, and you have 3 sentences written, it's not hard to feel crushed.
Not having anything to "show for", not being able to sum up the epistemological concepts you have struggled with for hours, days, or weeks in a few sentences (because they are too complex, or because you are still in process of grasping them yourself), or at least being able to give a simple answer to "What did you do all day?" can be difficult.

Don't get me wrong, I am socially awkward and often don't know how to talk to people. So this is not anything that is stopping me from having conversations or meeting new people. That is just because of my weirdness.

I just think it would be nice to come home and have something to look back on, a "product", like a knitted sweater or something. (No, I can't knit.)

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Nick and I had conversation about this a few years ago and he told me to focus on minor victories.

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever gotten. I was never really good at "seeing the empty or full glass", or "looking on the bright side" - but I can find minor victories! Since then, I have been thinking about this at the end of each day.
Today, my victory is that I found a USB cable in the copy room and with this cable, I can connect my laptop to the printer of the department - and print!

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So if I can't tell you anything related to my paper, or sum up my research question in a few words, I can still tell you that I am from now on saving about 30mins worth of walking to the library and printing things there. If that discovery not a victory, I don't know what is.

What was your victory today? 

Do you knit?

What is your favorite day of the week? Tuesday!

Billy Wilder and the quest for ice cream

It's a slow Sunday here in Berlin. A very slow Sunday.

I think all three of us are half asleep and at least Nick and I trying to get as much rest as we can before the busy week begins - Lucy is just as lazy as usual.

To answer your most urgent question: no.
The beautiful blue shopping trolley of ours never ended up being attached to the bike. It was just pulled while walking. Safety first.
I am still in awe about how people manage to attach their trolleys to the regular shopping carts.

I stalked followed a lady around the store, just to see how she did it. It was just perfectly attached to the front of her shopping cart while mine kept falling off, or was dragging on the ground while the little plastic wheels were screeching on the tiles of the store. As for now, I am just hoping that one day, we will be an equal part of the "shopping trolley family" and not be stared at.

Speaking of getting stared at.
Lucy has gotten so wonderful with other dogs. Really. She is playful and nice and just great.
Unless, she has a wild moment.
This morning, there was an old lady with a small poodle-looking dog that had his arm in a plaster cast. Poor thing. Out of no place, Lucy started making a scene. She was loud and obnoxious. With mohawk and all.

The old lady just shook her head at me in silence. She didn't even say anything. Just shamed me with silence.
Isn't that the worst? Ugh, I still feel bad.
It totally worked, old lady. It totally worked.

One of the best parts about yesterday was our trip to the bakery.
The ladies that work there are all so incredibly nice that I just want to hug them. And the food they have there ... well I could just eat just there all day, every day, and be happy.
We ended up buying a number of rolls, bread, a huge pastry, and two coffees. Not only do they give you free cookies with your coffee, but they also gave me a huge shopping bag to keep!

So much better than a plastic bag!

We were pretty late when we got there, so at 11.30am, most of their things were already sold out. Luckily though, they had just pulled my favorite rolls out of the oven and I bought an indefinite number of those. 

I know, the picture doesn't do them justice. They are so delicious with a light crunch on the outside and totally soft and moist on the inside. With tons of grains, pieces of carrots, nuts, and all things good for you. 

This is the bread I always get. 

Also whole grain and freshly baked. In triangle shape. :)

After all the groceries were done, Nick and I hopped on the train and just got off at a random stop to walk around.
It is so nice to feel absolutely safe everywhere we go! Something that we definitely don't take for granted coming from Baltimore. Not to mention that it is nice and warm, as opposed to hot and humid!

Nick then started craving Mexican or Spanish food and we ended up going to a tapas restaurant.
Don't judge, but I had never had tapas before in my life and didn't even know what it is.

Now, I know! And I like it!

They gave us free bread and aioli spread as an appetizer and then we got a mixed platter. 

I almost forgot to take pictures!

The service industry in Germany works a lot different than in the U.S. I don't know whether it is because we don't tip, or because of our mentality. It is just different. 

Last night, however, the lady that was our waitress was so wonderful! She was really helpful picking out the food, incredibly attentive, and just overall really friendly. 

We will definitely go back to this place. Because of the service, and because the food was amazing!

We did it!

Afterwards, we wanted to stroll around and have ice cream.

Sounds easy and fun. 

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But trust me, our path seemed to be cursed. Without going into too much detail, we ended up walking 5 miles, then took the train across the city, and walked another 2 miles. It was terrible. There is no joking about ice cream cravings. 

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They are serious business.

We even followed stalked people with ice cream in their hands, but we lost their trace and couldn't figure out where they got it.

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Sadly, I went to bed without dessert. 

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Since our feet hurt and we were tired and frustrated from the long walk, we decided to go into the next bar that we will pass, and have a wine or beer before going home. 

That is how we ended up at Billy Wilder's (http://www.billywilders.de). Their website says that it's the nicest bar at Potsdamer Platz, but I am sure it is also the most expensive one. 

I normally don't drink at all, but last night, a wine just sounded too good to pass up. 

So today, we are just not even trying to find anything, or explore and walk around. 

And I promise, as soon as we do something else, aside from sleeping or eating mountains of delicious food on the weekends, I will let you know :) 

Happy rest day!

What did your weekend look like so far?

Are you following Kate and Will's baby news? Absolutely! I can't wait!

Have you ever stalked people that had food you really wanted? Most definitely.