My time back home

I am finally getting around to do a little recap of my Germany visit. My trip home was short and sweet. I mainly went to be there for my niece’s first communion and I am not that mad that it was a pretty short trip overall. Ideally, I go home for a visit when my sister and the kids are on school break to maximize our time together, but unfortunately, the communion didn’t overlap with a school break.

My sister had to work and the kids had school, so we had to steal away all possible hours during the week to spend as much time together as possible. As you recall, I had a bucket list for my trip and I was able to check pretty much everything off my list…

 … spending time with my niece and nephew

I tried to spend as much time with them as possible in the short time I was there and it was wonderful. I always miss my two munchkins and they just grow up so fast. Someone — anyone! —  slow down time.


… spending 24 hours near Munich with my best friend

I already told you about that here. I am so glad I got to visit her and see her new home. We had the best time.

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… my niece’s first communion.

I blogged about that day earlier last week. I don’t get to be home for a lot of family celebrations. I have missed many birthdays, a few Christmases and other joyful occasions, but I am extra thankful that I was able to be there for the communion.

… sleeping in my childhood room

I love coming home to my parents’ house and sleeping in my childhood bedroom. It’s almost a little bit of time travel right there. Love the view from my second-floor window.


… going  for a run with my cousin

Yes! We only went out together once, but it was awesome to run with my cousin Basti. He’s pretty fit and it was great to have someone “push” me along for our 15 km run.


… working out with my Dad

I also got to go to the gym with my Dad. I took him to my gym here when he and my Mom visited last fall and I wanted to go work out with him at his gym when I went back home. I wish I could work out with my Dad more often. He’s the reason why I love sports.

… having  a sleepover at my sister’s house

I only stayed over at my sister’s house once. As I mentioned, my sister had to work during the time I was home and so I stayed over at her place on the weekend after we had a nice BBQ with sausages, steaks, baked potatoes, salads, bread and herbed butter.


We got super lucky with the weather, so we could sit outside in my sister’s backyard.


It was nice to be at her house and just hang out. After the kids went to bed, we even had a bit of time to talk and catch up, which was super nice as we sometimes go a couple of weeks without talking on the phone (but we do text!)
The next morning, I loved waking up being woken up by the kids and then all have breakfast together — as if we do that every Saturday. I mean, at least it felt like that… even if in reality, it’s such a rare event.

… having brunch with a friend in Köln and shopping with my Mom and sister

I got to see my friend Ilka in Köln for breakfast and we had some uninterrupted girl time to catch up on each others’ lives. I wish we could do that more often.
I also got to go shopping with my Mom and sister that day.


… spending Mother’s Day with my Mom (and rest of the family!) hanging out in my hometown


We walked around at the park downtown, took some pictures and then went out for ice-cream. It was such a fun afternoon!


In the evening, we had dinner at my parents’ house. My Mom made white asparagus (see below!), which I had requested for my last dinner at home. May is ‘asparagus season’ in Germany and you’ll see it everywhere!  I am not really sure why white asparagus is not so popular over here, because it’s delicious!


… eating all the food

I already told you about all the delicious food we had for my niece’s communion, but besides that my Mom also tried everything to satisfy my cravings for (mostly) German food.


White asparagus with ham and potatoes — coffee and strawberry tartlets — Mettbrötchen


German BBQ — Italian Antipasti — Sauerkraut and pork belly


Belgian fries — ribs, mashed potatoes, and cucumber salad — Apricot tart with whipped cream

Not pictured:  Heringsstipp (pickled herring in cream sauce), gelato from my favorite Italian ice-cream shop and ALL THE FRESH BREAD + ROLLS.

So yeah, in case you can’t tell, I had a horrible time…. hahaha! [\sarcasm off]

  1. It sounds like such a nice visit!

  2. This looks like it was a wonderful trip! I’m glad you got to spend so much time with family and friends! And all of that food looks amazing!

    1. Thank you… it was such a good time.

  3. Oh, man… Reading your post really makes me miss my summers in Germany so much <3 I love spargel! I haven't had white asparagus in ages… you're right–it's definitely rare to find it here, though I lucked out when I went to the supermarket a few weeks ago. So delicious.

    Looks like a wonderful trip and an eventful one as well! Glad you were able to see family and some old friends!

    1. You need to go back :)

  4. You have the best adventures, San. What’s German barbecue like? You ran 15K more than I did over that time span.

    1. Thank you – it was a great time. German BBQs are great, because we usually have all kinds of different meats (sausages, steaks, chicken, skewers, etc.), boiled potatoes, a bunch of different salads, bread with compound butter… we like to go all out :)

  5. Looks like you had an awesome time :-)

  6. So much happiness in all these photos!! Hooray!

    xox

  7. I’m so glad that you had a great trip. The food looks amazing!

    1. Thank you, it was wonderful!

  8. We live overseas (our home country is the USA) and just last month we went back for our first visit in three years–and our bucket list was pretty similar to yours! Maximize family time (along with juggling all sorts of work and school schedules!) and eat lots of the good food we don’t get to eat on a regular basis!

    1. It’s what makes these visits extra-special :)

  9. Sounds like a terrible time ;) Hahahah, so awesome!! I love that you got to spend so much time with so many different people, that’s one of the hardest things to do when you are visiting!

    1. True. It’s never a ‘real’ vacation going home what with having so many things to do and people to meet, but it’s always fun :)

  10. You fit a lot of things into your short trip home! I’m glad you were able to do all the things on your bucket list. It sounds like it was an awesome getaway. Your niece and nephew are so beautiful – they could be child models!!

    I always love having homecooked food when I am home! There’s just nothing like a meal prepared by my mom!!

    1. I told my sister what you said about my niece and nephew… haha :) She loved it (she wanted to know where she can sign them up ;)) LOL

  11. Maximize family time and eating all the good stuff – best way to spend your vaca in Germany!

  12. This sounds like the perfect short trip to Germany. I’m so glad you got copious family time and lots of homecooked meals by your mom! Yay!

  13. That sounds like SO much fun and such a wonderful trip! So glad you were able to go and spend time with them. And OMG THE FOOD I WANT SOME. If you ever want to visit the east coast (specifically DC) please feel free to come and make me German food. :D I’ll then take you to all our coffee shops.

    By the way, that photo of your niece and nephew holding the cat and the look on its face is still so epic.

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