It has come this far and my most important skill - or: Dresden Part I

Disclaimer: Be prepared for a picture overload!

Our bus to Dresden left on Friday just around noon and let me tell you, we were so excited that we almost kinda forgot our coffee at home!!! We were already at the first bus stop, waiting for our city-bus to take us to the central bus station, when we realized that we left our thermos mugs on the kitchen counter.
No trip is being taken without coffee, so Nick ran as fast as he could and saved our lives. Right after he had left, I realized that the city-bus was scheduled to come within the next 5 minutes. Trust me, I was so relieved when I saw Nick coming back and could be sure that I didn't have to go to Dresden by myself! :o)

We got on the first bus, made it to the second, and off we went!

Since having your mouth open makes everyone look awesome,
always try to talk as much as you can while taking a picture.

We caught the best seat on the bus.

Taking selfless is a serious matter.

Yay for caffeine to go!

Being my normal OCD self, I had already cleaned (and re-cleaned) the apartment in the morning and was exhausted and starving by the time we got on the bus.

Luckily, I had also prepared things to eat on the bus. Nick was really thrilled to see that it has already come this far with me and I am now one of "those" people who bring hard boiled eggs on a bus ride (in addition to sandwiches, bananas, mandarins, granola bars, gummy candy, chewy candy…).

Nothing wrong with being a little healthy.

Even the bus driver had snacks for us!

Most of the ride looked like this. 

We made it to the hotel just in time before the sun went down.

Our room was AMAZING. Who am I kidding, the entire hotel was terrific. You know you are in the right place when you are greeted with chocolate...

… and fresh fruit!

This was the view from our window! 

When staying at a hotel, it is important to check if there is shampoo and things in the bathroom!

I really hate having conditioner that doesn't come out of the little squeeze bottle. There have been plenty of times when I had random battles with uncooperative conditioner in the shower - and I may or may not have scars to prove it. 

This kind, however, was terrific and I'm happy to report that I had no issues washing my hair! 

I'm sure you noticed that I took these very special vacation pictures with an actual camera and not with my phone.

This is what it looked like when you walked in. 

I probably took 45 pictures just of the room. However, I'll spare you the whole slideshow. 

I was thinking about just laying in bed for the two days,
because this was my view.

Since 3pm is a little early for dinner, we walked around and went to a wine tasting.

On our walk, we saw this statue of an ugly, fat little angel (boy ?).

You gotta take a picture of that.

Or two.

No pictures of the wine tasting. I was busy.

It was a lot of fun, though! We were the only two people there and the guy there was very generous with the servings he gave us.

(Note to self: eat more sandwiches before you taste 10 different wines.)

Right after this impromptu drinking fest, we went out for dinner. One of the things I miss having in restaurants here are salad bars! Oh, Ruby Tuesday's and all you other all-you-can-eat salad places, I will be back soon - so be prepared!

Thankfully, we found a place that in fact did have a salad bar! You could only go once (rude!), which meant that I had to pull my salad-piling skill out of my sleeve.

This is probably one of my greatest talents and I am thinking about putting it on my resume. Give me any salad bar, I will put enough on the smallest plate to feed an entire family and their neighbors.

I am still telling myself that the people at the table text to us were staring in awe and not to be rude…

The baked potato with salmon and "Kräuterquark" (quark with herbs) was so good and made me feel a lot better after the hard work of tasting all those wines.

I don't want to forget to mention the bar we went to right after.
The waiter we had was one of the funniest and nicest waiters we've had here in Germany so far. He even brought a big pile of peanuts for us to snack on (because the humungous dinner wasn't enough).

Needless to say, we had to fill out a customer satisfaction report.

Please ignore the two glasses of wine in front of me.

The next bar was an Australian (?) bar. I'm not sure. I was really tired.
However, their snacks were great and they had a guy singing and playing the keyboard and he totally made our night.

This is probably my favorite picture of that day.

More tomorrow.

Happy Monday!

The Unthinkable, We Had a Deal, and 1000 Pictures to Follow

Hi everyone!

Nick and I did the unthinkable. We went on a vacation. On Friday, we took a bus to Dresden and spent two days there.  Two. Full. Days!

In case you weren't sure where Dresden is.
Just a couple of hours south of Berlin.
Source.

Two days can be extremely valuable and therefore, should not be called a "weekend trip", but an actual vacation. The time was in fact so valuable to us, that we made a deal not to take any laptops with us. That has never happened. 

It was just the two of us, for no "purpose" other than going on a vacation.
That also never happens.

I can't even put into words how amazing it was.

Source.

Needless to say, I was quite sad when it was time to pack and go home.

This is where we are now. Home.
Despite the sadness about the vacation being over, I am happy to be back on my computer and to be able to blog. I will start looking through the pictures to share them with you soon.
So be prepared and stay tuned for some (about 1000) pictures and a detailed recap of our trip.

I hope you had a great weekend as well?!

The Ugly Truth or: I Blame DST

So here is the thing.

On any given day, during reasonable (daylight) hours, I will assure you that I don't feel any different than 10, or 15 years ago. I still do the same things. I mean, the going-to-school-part hasn't changed since I was six, but basically, I don't feel like I have grown older over the past decade. If you look at my nutritional choices or ability to understand tax documents, you would think that I am far away from adulthood.

However, this past weekend, I was proven that I have been living a lie. Not just once, but twice, I felt that I have gained in years dramatically. There is a slight chance my body is even older than I think.

The first shock came to me on Friday, when I was looking for my slippers. When I finally spotted them under the bed and tried to reach for them (mind you, I am not very artistic in my physical movements), I somehow tipped/ fell over the bed or my own feet. I'm not sure. Everything happened so quickly.
It wasn't a fall from far up (I'm only 5'5"), but trust me, my body felt as if I had fallen from a roof top, or at least a table. So I may or may not have laid there for a minute before I finally managed to get up.

Source

Needless to say, I may have to put this on my Christmas list.

However, the worst was still to come.

Nick and I went out on a terrific date on Saturday. It was wonderful. We had wine and great food, walked around one of Berlin's neighborhoods, and just had the best time. We had left at 3pm and after a walk through the Tiergarten, it had already turned dark outside, so we looked for a place to eat.

Daylight savings time is really effective when it comes to tricking you into thinking it is already much later and time to eat and/ or sleep. In fact, it is so effective that we were ready for dinner before 6pm (a normal dinner time for us is maybe 9 or 10pm).

I am blaming DST and it's wicked ways of giving our night such an early start for causing me to drink 3 times as much wine as I normally have. (The tequila shot at the end of the night may have been my own fault, though.)

So Sunday, I woke up feeling like this:

I had grand plans to get cleaning done, finish some of my readings, catch up on emails, blog... you know, just do all the things!

Instead, Nick and I had Döner/ Lamachun for breakfast and then stayed on the couch for the entire day, watching a whole season of Modern Family and two movies. 

The ugly truth is not that I had an insane amount to drink and was hungover. - The ugly truth is that I had 3 glasses of light wine and one shot over a stretch of 6 hrs and felt like death as a result of it. 

Yea. 

So today, I am off to do all the things I couldn't do yesterday. 

On the bright side, we had the best time and it was absolutely worth it. Plus, we now know for the next time that Döner is not only the greatest dinner, but also the best hangover food. 

... and if that doesn't work, I've read here that asparagus can do wonders as well!

Happy Monday!

Major Picture Dump and Chewing on Foil (again)

I went through my phone and found a lot of pictures from the past month or so, which I had intended to share with you, but never did. Yes, I'm that reliable.

However, I think today is the perfect day for a random picture post.

• Did you know that I am terrified of flying?! (We are talking the not being able to sleep weeks prior to the flight, having a panic attack every time there is a bump during the flight, and sweating uncontrollably for the entire duration of the trip. Good times.) Of course, in our situation, this is particularly inconvenient as we will be flying across the ocean for the rest of our lives to visit family and friends. So I am trying to appreciate those little moments when I manage to get it together and look out the window. 

          This was one of those moments and I have to admit that this had something beautiful about it.

If you ever wondered, this is what Germany looks like from above. This would be it.
(right around Berlin, at least)

And then this happened...

... and I panicked that we may have lost one of the turbines...
Thankfully, we hadn't.
(I never said my phobia was reasonable.)

• Then, there was the night when Lucy wanted to eat her bone outside... 

"I don't know vat I vant!!!"

          ... and then didn't want to eat her bone on the balcony ... and then wanted to eat her bone on the      

          balcony... 

• Only in Germany, you will find books and gummy candy for sale from the same vending machine. Genius! 

My favorite things right next to each other!
I'm in heaven!

• Since Lucy is not allowed in the bed (or bedroom) and I'm terrified at night when I'm by myself, I have to go bug her in her spot when Nick is out of town. 

Go away.
This is my spot. 

          Clearly, she is as big of this.

• When Mama came to visit me, we spent the last minutes together at one of the greatest cafés in town. 

          You have an amazing view over the entire city and it's unbelievable that we got a window seat 

          with this view! 

          All the way in the back, you see the "Alex" (tall, pointy tower) and a little bit left of it the 

          government building (it's the dark grey bump above the roofs that lines up with the gap between 

          the "k" and boxy sign of the "Deutsche Bank"). You see it?

          Sorry that I forgot to zoom in. Unfortunately, I was distracted, because as we were sitting at this 

          super fancy café - I realized I had stepped in dog crap. 

          No, you do not want to know how I got rid of it. The story ended much less pretty that you 

          would hope. 

• To distract you, here is a picture of the Radio Tower in the sun:

• Now, Nick has been home for just over a week and, of course, we are back to eating our favorite meal together. 

One of the best nights: We went to the laundromat and
had dinner while waiting for our clothes to be dry. 

           Unfortunately, not only walking is a struggle, but eating, too. Shortly after taking this picture,       

           there was tomato sauce all over my scarf and jeans, salad on the ground, and aluminum foil in 

           my mouth. (Don't ever do that!!! Biting on tin foil is one of the most uncomfortable feelings 

           ever!) Mind you, all the laundry was JUST done.

          Life is a struggle. Don't tell me otherwise.

• If you are looking for me over the next 4 - 87 months, I will be here, working on papers - and probably thinking about my life choices. 

Happy Wednesday!

Have you ever bitten on aluminum foil? 

Flipping Out in Public

Do you know those moments when you see something funny and it makes you laugh all day, maybe even for weeks (months, ...) just thinking about it?

Well, I am pretending you all know what I'm talking about to feel less crazy. 

This morning, I was walking home from the gym, when I saw a tiny, old, boxy car with a big middle aged man in there. Coming closer, I could see, not hear, that this guy just had a complete meltdown. Not the sobbing kind, but the Matthew-Perry-in-"The Whole Nine Yards"-kind. 

Source

This is actually one of my favorites scenes in the movie, so seeing this in public and actually happening in real life, was about the funniest thing that has happened in quite a while. 

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if other people were staring at him or me for laughing uncontrollably walking down the street. Thankfully, it wasn't very far for me to get home. 

In other news: It's getting cold in Berlin!

Stay warm everyone!

MVM or The Greatest Purchase and What is Happening to Us?

I haven't told you about the most important part of my Saturday morning, yet, because I thought I'd let you in today, in my "Minor Victory Monday" post:

I am now the proud owner of the greatest winter wonder coat! It's been quite the quest, but it is finally over and it ended with a happily ever after - trust me, this jacket will last at least nine years. (I had my previous one for eight.)

This is a picture I meant to post in this post, but now that I looked for it, I realized that I must have forgotten to put it on there.

Anyways, it is me in the coat I ended up buying. Well, it is the same model, but one size smaller. I like to have a bit more room in winter jackets. Otherwise, when wearing a thick sweatshirt underneath, I feel like I'm being suffocated by my clothing. We don't like that. 

Now, in order for us to be friends, you need to tell me that this is the most wonderful coat you have ever seen. Thank you!

Spending so many hours at different stores over the past three months, I have also spent plenty of hours checking the mirror and seeing other people do the same thing. It's ridiculous how self conscious one can get. Especially when buying clothing. If you are a little bit like me, there are days when you leave the store thinking "I have the weirdest body shape in the entire world", "at home, I look am much slimmer", "tonight, I will skip dinner", "from now on, I will only buy shoes and purses"(Jeans shopping, I am looking at you) ... 

I'm no stranger to beating myself up over how I look and it's stupid. I know it's stupid - and if you do the same thing, I hope you know it's stupid, too. 

As chance would have it, this article and video made it's way around the internet these days. 

Please watch and read it - and think about it for a second. 

Source

What are we doing to ourselves? Who ever decided that beauty is not good enough anymore? No wonder there are people like me who spend way too much time of their lives comparing and beating themselves up - and we need to stop it. As long as you are healthy and content, nothing else matters. 

I am well aware that people "know" that this is going on - that faces, bodies are enhanced before being printed on posters or in magazines. None of this is news. However, I think we need to remind ourselves every once in a while and maybe be aware to what extend this is happening - and, if we are judging and comparing, we can remind ourselves that there is a great chance we are comparing ourselves to something that is not real in any shape or form, something that was created with a computer program. 

... and if the pants at the store don't fit you, then they are not your pants. They were made for someone else, someone, who has a different shape, because that's what we are. We are all different and we are supposed to be like that - and it should be this easy. 

Have you had a good day so far?

Do you love shopping or hate it? It depends on what I'm shopping for. Groceries are less fun than other things...

Exploded Apples and Adventure Sunday

Hello hello!

It's been two terrific days here in Berlin, let me tell you that.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day cleaning the apartment, doing groceries, and then cooking dinner. We had two friends over last night and I had planned a meal that would fit this cold fall weather. So I made a hearty vegetable/cheese soup with plain croutons, baguette with herb butter, "Maasdamer" cheese, or salmon.

All went well until I put the dessert in the oven. Not only did the circuit blow and turn off the entire stove, it also did not cook as it should have. I had the great idea to stuff apples and bake them. It's a traditional thing to eat here (no worries, I didn't make up a recipe) and I am telling you, if you pour vanilla sauce over it, it will be one of the greatest things you could ever eat.
Unfortunately though, the dessert exploded. I'm not even exaggerating. The apples completely blew up.  I have made this dessert so many times, but I have never seen anything like it. It was embarrassing to say the least.

Source

So we had apple "sauce" instead, because that's all that was left. It tasted fine, but I feel like I should not touch the oven or stove for quite a while. Nothing good comes out of it if I do that.

Nick, I hope you are prepared for days and weeks of sandwiches, candy, and ice cream.

Today, I went to the gym and tried to get a good workout in before we headed out for the day. Do you guys work on your abs a lot? I feel like I have been working so much on those darn muscles, but nothing is happening. I still look like a blob. Is that normal? Am I doing it wrong? (Of course, all the candy I eat can't have anything to do with this. That's impossible.)

Anyhow, we went on a wonderful trip today.

We took the train to go to one of the big flea markets here in Berlin. The one we went to is close to where the Wall used to be. The place is called "Mauerpark" and you can read about it here.

You can get terrific food at the market. Tons of different fresh cooked meals are offered there and the smells are incredible. However, I decided to get a bag of different fresh licorice. So good!

We weren't the only people who decided to go there, so at some point, Nick and I had done enough walking cramped between hundreds of people and decided to explore the surrounding area. Berlin has many, many street performers. You see them on almost every corner and of course, there were also numerous people singing and playing instruments right where we were today. One of them, we really liked and bought his CD right then and there. We haven't listened to it yet, but I think it was a great purchase. The guy's music was wonderful.

Afterwards, we went to Alexanderplatz, grabbed some coffee, and proceeded to the movie theater at Potsdamer Platz to watch "Gravity" in 3D. Have you seen it? I don't want to take anything away, so I am just going to tell you that it was interesting and different from anything I've ever seen. That's all.

Source

It is days like this that I love the most. When we get to spend time together and explore our surroundings. Walking around the city on a nice fall day, enjoying each other's company, seeing interesting things - it doesn't get better than that.

... and swings make it even better!