family

29: Recipe | Spritzgebäck (German Spritz Cookies)

November 29, 2020 filed under: baking, family, food, holidays, NaBloPoMo, nostalgia

I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2020

This post has been years in the making. Spritzgebäck is the traditional holiday cookie in my family. Everybody gets involved. My Mom prepares the dough, my Dad and the kids (first my sister and I, then my cousin, now my niece and nephew) make the cookies. My Dad used to have a manual meat mincer and cookie inset that he used for years and years, but they upgraded to an electric food grinder attachment for a stand mixer a couple of years ago (which makes it much easier). Everybody in the family brings a cookie tin that gets filled to the top with spritz cookies and in recent years, when I couldn’t go home for the holidays, my Mom always sent me some in her Christmas package. It’s always the most coveted item.

We decided that this year, with the pandemic and unreliable postal service times and outrageous postage prices, we wouldn’t send any packages for Christmas. So, finally, after talking about it for years, I invested in a meat grinder attachment and cookie inset to make my own. I guess it was about time.

The trick for these cookies is to chill the dough overnight, then prepare the cookies the next day by pressing it through the meat grinder into thin strips which bake into extra crispy, hard cookies. My niece and nephew can demonstrate it much better than I could because they’re experts now.

If you are “team soft cookie”, I still recommend you give these a try. Maybe they’ll change your mind. Although, you will have to invest in the equipment first… but it’s worth it, IMHO. Jon is also a fan. The cookies are crisp, but not too sweet. Just perfect with a cup of coffee or tea. Great for dunking, too. Our family traditionally makes them ‘plain’, but you can also dip on end into melted chocolate if you’re into that.

If you try them, let me know if you enjoy them. Meanwhile, I’ll sit here with my nostalgia, nibbling on a cookie.

Ingredients

500 g unbleached wheat flour
250 g sugar
250 g butter (unsalted) — softened
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 pouch vanilla sugar

Beat the soft butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and eggs and keep beating. Add the rest of the ingredients and form into a ball. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in the fridge overnight.

Bring dough to room temperature before proceeding. Add dough to your meat grinder and press through the cookie attachment and line the cookies up on a cookie sheet (you can line them up tightly as they won’t expand much, but you still might have to bake in a few batches). Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool down on a cooling rack.

Spritzgebäck (German Spritz Cookies)

5 from 1 vote

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Servings 18 (1 serving = 5 cookies)

Calories 200 kcal

Ingredients

500 g wheat flour
250 g sugar
250 g butter (unsalted)
1 egg
1 pinch salt
1 pouch vanilla sugar

Instructions

Beat the soft butter until fluffy.
Add the sugar and eggs and keep beating.
Add the rest of the ingredients and form into a ball. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in the fridge overnight.
Bring dough to room temperature before proceeding.
Add dough to your meat grinder and press through the cookie attachment and line them up on your cookie sheet.
Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Let cool down on a cooling rack.

6: My parents’ Oktoberfest-themed birthday bash

November 6, 2019 filed under: birthday, family, Germany, home, NaBloPoMo

I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2019

My family

Contrary to popular belief, Germans do not run around in Dirndls and Lederhosen on a daily basis, not even in Bavaria. So this is not a picture of how we usually dress. However, as it has become popular in other countries, September and October are the months of Oktoberfest-themed parties everywhere.

So my parents got with the program and organized their birthday party Oktoberfest-style. I mean, the food alone is reason enough, but my parents also asked guests to dress up in Bavarian-style clothing.

I personally don’t own a Dirndl, but I got lucky as my sister had bought a new one and said that I would probably fit into her old one. (True. It’s nice to be able to share a closet with your sister.) I was also surprised to see how many of the guest also follow suit and showed up in Dirndls and Lederhosen.

The party was on October 3, which is a public holiday in Germany, so we started the celebrations at 11 in the morning. As you do.

We were super-lucky with the weather, as it rained most days when we were in Germany. My parents had set up a pop-up canopy tent in the backyard, hoping we could make use of the extra space and luckily, it was mostly dry and sunny on the day of the party.

My parents didn’t want any gifts, as they’re planning to come visit us here in California again next year with my sister, BIL, and the kids. But nevertheless, my sister and I organized a little “presentation” that included a few games and gifts pertaining to the US-trip that they’re planning for next summer. (Honestly, I cannot wait to have them back here in California.)

The whole day was a lot of fun, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Brothers

Sisters

Friends

We were about 35 people and the whole day was full of good food, conversation, love and laughter. We had a blast and Jon and I were so happy we could be part of it.

How to pull off a birthday surprise

October 21, 2019 filed under: birthday, family, Germany, travel

Remember when I said that I was keeping a secret?

You probably didn’t notice that it was quiet around here for the last couple of weeks. I had prepared a couple of posts to automatically post during my absence (I am not always that prepared, mind you), so you couldn’t know that Jon and I were actually spending time in a different time zone.

On October 1, J and I got on a plane to Germany to surprise my parents for their 70th birthdays. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought that it was a possibility. I had just been in Germany in May. My parents’ birthdays are 2,5 weeks apart and there was no way I could get time off long enough to be there for both their birthdays. But when my Mom called at the end of August, saying that they had changed their minds about not having a party and were planning one for October 3rd (her actual birthday and a German public holiday), the wheels in my head started turning.

70 is a milestone birthday. My parents are not getting any younger (although I’d like to think of them as perpetually young-ish). I remembered that I was in Germany for their 60th birthdays. How could I miss this big event in my parents’ life and not go? So, I decided that we would go. Just like that.

Well, not really ‘just like that’. I talked with Jon (he was instantly on board!), I talked with my supervisor at work (to request time off), I checked flight prices, and then we just went ahead and booked tickets.

When I told my sister that we were planning on coming, she was beyond thrilled, as she hadn’t really thought that this would be a possibility either. My parents, of course, had no clue that we had booked tickets. In fact, nobody knew anything besides my sister. We were so paranoid that someone would slip up and ruin the surprise.
Believe me, it was hard enough to keep the secret for about 4 weeks myself, as I talk to my parents a few times every week. I made sure to complain plenty about the fact how much we hated that we weren’t going to be there for the party, that we would miss out on the amazing food, and how much it sucked sometimes to live so far away. At the same time, I hoped that I wasn’t coming off too strong and making them suspicious.

Finally, the day of our departure was here and as far as we could tell, the secret was still safe. We arrived in Germany on October 2, my sister had arranged for someone to pick us up from the airport and take us to her house, and then we surprised my parents in the evening before the party.

We had first thought about just “showing up” at the party the next day, but a) I didn’t want to give my parents a heart attack on the day of their party and b) we didn’t want to take away the focus from their birthday celebrations, as it was their day, not ours. (I mean, plenty of people still were surprised to see us, but at least my parents weren’t completely emotionally overwhelmed and could focus on their other guests instead of just us.)

My sister drove us and the kids over to my parents’ house in the evening, but dropped us off at the street corner so that she could see them alone first (pretending that she was bringing over some last minute things for the party). We had taken a picture with the kids in her backyard earlier in the afternoon, which she was going to show them. Since J hadn’t been in Germany with me for a while, they’d hopefully notice instantly that the picture was very current.

Meanwhile, we and the kids had walked up to the front door of my parents’ house and were waiting for them to realize what was going on.

Of course, I wish I could have actually seen my parents’ faces when they caught on to what was happening. My sister tried to capture the moment while trying not to seem suspicious when she started filming them. Haha.

Finally, the door opened and they came outside. My Mom was crying and I could tell that even my Dad, even though he doesn’t get emotional quickly, was moved to see us. I’d like to think: the surprise was a definite success and it felt amazing that we had been able to pull this off!

When I asked my parents if they had suspected something… anything… they said no. Of course, they had hoped and wished that we could be there with them for their birthdays, but both of them didn’t think that it was a possibility because of my limited amount of vacation time (comparatively speaking), the fact that I had just visited for three weeks in the spring, and the fact that flying in from California is not a simple train ride into town.

I am just so, so glad we went. I cannot explain how much it means to me to know that we were able to spend this time with them. I’ll tell you all about the actual birthday party (Octoberfest-themed!) and the rest of our stay (we stayed for 11 days) in another post, but just wanted to let you in on my little secret.

Recap | My nephew’s first communion

July 15, 2019 filed under: family, home, recap

Just a heads up, this post will be photo-heavy.

Just like I did two years ago for my niece’s communion, I planned my visit back home this year, so that I could attend my nephew’s first communion. It’s one of these once-in-a-lifetime events for which I had to try and be there. I miss out on too many events as it is.

We had an amazing day that started at 9 a.m. and went late into the night. Germans know how to party, is all I am saying. If there is something big to celebrate, we make it an all-day event.

First thing in the morning, we headed over to the local church for the church service. When Greta had her first communion two years ago, multiple congregations had to share one pastor and the service was held in one of the bigger churches in the city. It was crowded and we couldn’t really see or follow what was going on at the altar.

Luckily for Tom’s communion, the service was held at a much smaller, neighborhood-church which meant that less first communion goers and less people overall were in attendance, which in turn made for a much more pleasant ceremony.

After the service, our family (and friends) gathered in front of the church for some pictures and then we headed over to my sister’s place for a reception.

My aunt, my uncle, and cousin.

My aunt and cousin.

My cousin and his girlfriend.

My aunt and uncle.

My Mom and I.

My cousin, my sister, and my cousin’s girlfriend.

Lunch was catered from our favorite Italian restaurant in town, Alla Scala.

… but my sister made the beef bouillon herself. Including bone marrow dumplings and custard royale (I had to google that and hope it’s the right translation). She used my great-aunt’s recipe and so it felt like she was there somehow.

Lunch seamlessly morphed into afternoon “Kaffee und Kuchen” (coffee and cake). The cakes were homemade by different people and one was more delicious than the next. I almost tried them all.

We were super-lucky with the weather, as it had been raining a lot during my visit, but the day of the communion was dry and the sun came out a few times! All the kids were able to play in the backyard for most of the day and as you can see from the pictures, we had to squint quite a bit.

Father and son.

Just as for Greta’s communion, the dinner buffet was prepared mostly by my parents: a variety of pickled antipasti, salads, pickled salmon, turkey and pork, bread and herb butter. Delicious!

My sister’s beautiful family.

#proudaunt

My parents and my nephew.

Tom and his two godfathers.

Germans know how to party and we preferably use any occasion to make a whole day out of it. The celebration went late into the night.

Haha. Not sure what’s going on here.

Sisters. ♥

It was a wonderful day and I am so grateful that I was able to be there and spend precious time with most of my extended family.

My trip home

June 17, 2019 filed under: Expat stories, family, food, Germany, reminiscence, travel

I can’t believe it’s been ~~four~~ almost five weeks since I returned from my long-anticipated visit back home with my family. Time just won’t slow down and it’s been hard to get back into my blogging game (as you can tell).

I had an absolutely wonderful time and soaked up every minute. I can also say that I was able to almost check everything of my Germany Bucket List.

Like,

… spending time with my niece and nephew (and the rest of the family)

You know what was really, really nice about this trip? That I really enjoyed being at home at my parents’ house and that I was part of everyone’s daily routine. Since my sister and BIL were working and the kids were in school, we didn’t do a whole lot of “adventuring” or “vacation stuff”, but it was nice to pretend that I was always part of their daily routines for a while.

I took my niece to her riding lesson and we had a movie night at my sister’s house and various afternoons and dinners where we just hung out together.

… spending time with my best friend

I didn’t get to spend as much time with my friend as I had hoped to. Shortly after I arrived, she left for an almost two-week stay at a pain clinic (for chronic headaches) where a spot had just opened up. Of course, she had to take it. I wish I could have spent more time with her and build her up a bit more, but I am glad we got to see each other at all. Every hour is precious.

… attending one of my best friends’ wedding

I was stoked that I was able to attend one of my best friend’s wedding during my visit. We met many moons ago on the Internet, but have become really close over the years and to be able to be there for her (and her new husband) on their wedding day was such a treat (for me and for her!). (Separate recap to come.)

… my nephew’s first communion.

Last time I visited for my niece’s first communion, so of course I had to make sure that I am there for my nephew’s as well. So glad I could make this happen. (Separate recap to come.)

… eating all the food

My Mom went above and beyond to fulfill all my food cravings. Every day, I made a new request for lunch or dinner and she made it all.

Mettbrötchen (rolls with freshly minced meat, salt, pepper and onions – OMG!) – pork roast with crackling with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes – Schnibbelskuchen (baked potato wedges with eggs on whole grain bread with sugar beet syrup)

potato pancakes – green bean soup with sausages – herring in cream sauce with potatoes and bacon bits

meatballs with kohlrabi and potatoes – waffles with strawberries and ice cream – bratwurst with red cabbage and potatoes

Not pictured: goulash and dumplings, pizza, and ALL THE FRESH BREAD + ROLLS all day, every day.

… walking with my Mom

My Mom has been getting into a regular morning walk routine since I last visited and I did not only join her for one, but many walks (I think five!). It was so great to get out and walk with her, which also gave us the opportunity to talk and just spend time together. I ended up only running once, but the walks were far more important to me this time.

… going for a run with my cousin (and maybe my sister?)

Unfortunately that didn’t happen and I blame two things: a) bad weather (it rained a lot while I was there!) and b) timing (my cousin and my sister had to work, so there wasn’t as much opportunity), but I still got out for a run around my hometown!

… working out with my Dad

Unfortunately, that also didn’t happen, because my Dad had issues with his shoulder and couldn’t go to the gym with me (and subsequently had surgery scheduled two weeks after I left).

… having some quality time with my sister

I got to spend two nights at my sister’s house and I wish I could do that more often. It’s just so nice to hang out, sleep in the same bed and then have breakfast together the next morning (including fancy out-of-the-shower-towel-turbans, ha!) – 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.

… seeing an old friend from high school

Timing was difficult because she had to work and my weekends were already filled up with family stuff, but I did get to see my high school friend for a few hours one evening during the week and I am so glad we both were able to make the time to reconnect.

… spending a day with a dear friend in Köln

I did get to meet up with one of my longest, dearest friends in Cologne again and we got to spend some time in our favorite city. (Separate recap to come.)

… seeing a few other dear (family) friends (BONUS!)

I was able to squeeze in a couple more friends (I got to have coffee with an old pen friend that I hadn’t seen in 20 years and I also was able to reconnect with a dear friend, who lives in Hamburg now) and we saw two family friends for a few hours and I am so glad we were able to make it happen.

… shopping for items to bring back to my US home.

Of course, I did shop for some stuff to bring back home (I believe, every expat does!) and even though my must-get list has gotten shorter, there is definitely a few things I always bring back. Wanna know what these things are? I might write a separate post about it, if you’re interested. (Or you can hop on Instagram and Facebook to see the “Germany hauls” some people post, although I am not bringing half of that stuff that other people are bringing back. Just sayin’.)

My time back home was packed full of awesome people, awesome food and I returned to the US with a really full heart.

My Germany bucket list

April 22, 2019 filed under: about me, family, friends, Germany, travel

Once again, I’ll be traveling home soon and I have a bucket list of things to do when I am there. Everyone does have such a list, right?

Since I haven’t been home in two years (gasp!), my list is long, but again doesn’t include much out of the ordinary, unless you count being able to attend a wedding AND a communion during ONE visit out of the ordinary (which I guess it is).

However, visiting home usually includes mostly just simple things that most people take for granted and that I miss out on by living so far away from family and friends. So, I soak them up whenever I can.

This time around I am looking forward to…

… spending time with my niece and nephew (and the rest of the family)

Always. I miss my two munchkins and wish we could be together more often.

… spending time with my best friend

I told you about my best friend who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2008. She’s been through so much through those 11 years and I just wish she’d get some relief already.

After her last treatment over a year ago, she developed trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic pain condition of the trigeminal nerve of the face, and even though her tumor has been in remission, she’s has been dealing with this severe nerve pain since then. She just can’t catch a break, it seems, but I hope that I can cheer her up some.

… attending one of my best friends’ wedding

I am so stoked that I’ll be able to attend one of my best friend’s wedding during my visit. I’ve missed so many weddings and events by living so far away, so it’s really a strike of luck that this worked out.

… my nephew’s first communion.

Last time I visited for my niece’s first communion, so of course I had to make sure that I am there for my nephew’s as well. So glad I could make this happen.

… eating all the food

I always have a list of things that I want to eat when I go home, mostly because these things are a) not available in the US or b) homemade by Mama. Some include “Mettbrötchen” (rolls with freshly minced meat, salt, pepper and onions – OMG!), my Mom’s potato pancakes, all the fresh bread + deli meats (there is a much larger variety than here!) , and white asparagus (it’s asparagus season in Germany!).

… walking with my Mom

My Mom has been getting into a regular morning walk routine since I last visited and I am looking forward to joining her on one (or many) of her walks!

… going for a run with my cousin (and maybe my sister?)

I haven’t brought it up with them yet, but I hope they realize that I’ll be expecting them to run with me while I am there.

… working out with my Dad

As you know, my Dad is a retired P.E. teacher, but he still keeps active by playing tennis, golfing, and going to the gym a few times per week. One of my favorite things to do when I visit is join him for a workout. I’d do that all the time if we lived closer.

… having a heart-to-heart with my sister

One of the things I miss most is being able to just hang out with my sister and talk about everything. Of course, we talk on the phone and we always know what is going on in each other’s lives, but it’s not the same as talking in person and sometimes life is busy and we don’t get to talk and share stuff as much I’d like to.

… seeing an old friend from high school

I won’t have much time to see a lot of people during my visit because of family commitments, but I’ve been Whatsapp-ing with one of my old high school friends recently and I hope I can see her for coffee or something.

… having brunch with a friend in Köln

I will probably meet up with one of my longest, dearest friends in Cologne again and get to spend some time in my favorite city. Win-win.

… shopping for items to bring back to my US home.

The list of things I shop for and bring back to the US when I visit Germany has become shorter over the years, but there are a still a few things that I always have to get on my visits. That’s normal, right?

This is only a partial list of what I want to do and I know there will be things that I won’t be able to fit in; again. But hey, I am always, always grateful for the time that I do get to spend back home.

How far away is home for you?

My time back home

June 19, 2017 filed under: family, Germany, home, travel

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.

… 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]

My niece’s first communion

June 12, 2017 filed under: family, home

My niece’s first communion was the main reason I was traveling home last month. I am her godmother and wanted to be part of the ceremony.

I arrived home on Saturday afternoon and the communion was on Sunday. We had a small breakfast at my parents’ house before we got ready for the church service at 11 a.m.

I honestly can’t say too much about the ceremony, the church was packed and we were seated somewhere in the back and couldn’t see anything that was going on at the altar, but I assume it was a nice ceremony, ha. I heard some laughs and the pastor tried to make the service suitable for children.

If I dare say so (and I am sure you’re going to think I am biased), but my niece was the most beautiful girl that day. She wore a non-traditional white Dirndl-style communion dress with a light green apron. And just look at her hair! My sister really knows how to do perfect up-dos.

We headed back to my sister’s house after the ceremony and everybody got some champagne or mimosas. The weather was pleasant enough and we were able to be out in the backyard during the day.

One of the take aways for the day: there was WAY too much food. But who am I to complain? It was all delicious and I was on ‘vacation’, so I was not counting calories (not that I really do that on a normal day).

The lunch buffet was partially catered by our favorite local Italian restaurant. We had tomato soup, fish, pork marsala, grilled vegetables, rosemary potatoes and scalloped potatoes and as dessert, tiramisu, my dad’s homemade ice-cream with strawberries and whipped cream.

Every German celebration includes ‘Kaffee & Kuchen’ in the afternoon and there were 7 cakes and pies to choose from. I tried 5 of them, please go ahead and judge me now.

The dinner buffet was prepared mostly by my parents: a variety of pickled antipasti, salads, pickled salmon, turkey and pork, bread and herb butter. Delicious!

It was a wonderful day and I was so grateful to spend precious time with most of my extended family.

Germany bucket list

May 5, 2017 filed under: family, Germany, home, travel

Every time I travel back home, I have a bucket list of things to do when I am there. This is totally normal, right? Everybody makes lists like this. Since this is my hometown I am visiting, my list includes nothing much out of ordinary, nostalgic things (these are by no means tourist-y suggestions, sorry!)… just things I miss out on by living so far away from family and friends and that I am soaking up whenever I am there.

This time around I am looking forward to…

… spending time with my niece and nephew

Duh. I miss my two munchkins and wish we could be together more often.

… spending 24 hours near Munich with my best friend

I intentionally planned a stopover in Munich on my way home because otherwise I wouldn’t have had the chance to see my bff during my visit this time. She’d just been cleared after another tumor check-up, and I am super-excited to hug her and that I will finally have the opportunity to see where she lives now, since I haven’t been able to visit her ever since she moved to Bavaria.

… my niece’s first communion.

It will be an opportunity to spend a whole day with family and family friends, good food and conversation.

… eating all the food

I always have a list of things that I want to eat when I go home, mostly because these things are a) not available in the US or b) homemade by Mama. Some include “Mettbrötchen” (rolls with freshly minced meat, salt, pepper and onions – OMG!), my Mom’s potato pancakes, all the fresh bread + deli meats (there is a much larger variety than here!) , white asparagus (it’s asparagus season in Germany!) and fresh Sauerkraut.

… sleeping in my childhood room

I love coming home to my parents’ house and sleeping in my childhood bed. It’s almost a little bit of time travel right there.

… going to the downtown market with my Mom on Saturday morning

Not sure why but that is something that I always enjoy during my visits home.

… going for a run with my cousin

My cousin is a sports buff like me and we’ve talked about that he would like to support my ongoing half marathon training while I am in Germany by joining me for a run, maybe even two. Yes!

… working out with my Dad

When my parents were here for a visit last fall, I took my Dad to my gym for a workout. Now, I am looking forward to working out with him at his gym.

… having a sleepover at my sister’s house

One of the things I miss most is being able to just hang out with my sister at her house. I hope we can at least squeeze in one sleepover while I am there (unfortunately, she will be working while I am there.)

… having brunch with a friend in Köln

I won’t have much time to see a lot of people during my short visit this time, but I am glad that one of my dear friends will make time to see me for brunch during the week and that I get to spend some time in my favorite city

… shopping for items to bring back to my US home.

I always have a shopping lists of things to buy and bring back to the US after a visit. It’s usually a mix of candy, licorice, chocolate, tea, and selected personal hygiene items. Some of these I can’t find in the US and/or they’re outrageously expensive (in comparison).

As always, there are things I’d like to do that I won’t be able to fit in this time, like spending time with a few other people that are dear to me and – as always – more time with family, but that’s ok. I am trying to be more than grateful for the time that I will have back home.

How far away is home for you?

Do you make lists like that every time you visit?

Vacation Recap – the last few days

December 27, 2016 filed under: California, family, USA

The last few days of my parents’ visit flew by fast. On Thursday (10/13), we had a late breakfast and my Dad decided to try out another golf course in the afternoon. My Mom and I decided to drive to Davis. We walked around, checked out some shops and I invited my Mom to a frappuccino. We got a few things at the local Co-Op and stopped for some groceries on the way home. We all met back at home for dinner.

It rained pretty much all day on Friday (10/14) and my Mom and Dad went to the Outlets for some last minute shopping and also stopped in Downtown Vacaville for some coffee. (Can you believe that I’ve never been to Downtown Vacaville? Especially appalling if you know that they have a German Bakery there.)

On Saturday (10/15), the rain had stopped and my Dad went golfing one more time, while my Mom and I went shopping. We went to Kohl’s, Nordstroms, and checked out a couple of yarn stores in the area (that I hadn’t been to). We also went to the German Butcher and got some Bratwurst for dinner. I made my Mom cook bratwurst and red cabbage with potatoes. It was nice to just do some ‘everyday stuff’ with my Mom.

When we came home, we had some coffee and leftover apple pie.

Before dinner, we decided to walk around the neighborhood to check out all the Halloween decorations. Some people really go all out with the decorations. Unfortunately, it started raining again when we were out and we were lucky that I had grabbed the umbrella before we left, or else we would have been completely soaked.

It kept raining through Sunday (10/16) and we kept joking that California was trying to get my parents used to “German weather patterns” again as their vacation was coming to a close. You know, to make their departure a little easier – haha.

My Dad didn’t want to go anywhere, but my Mom and I decided to brave the weather and go for a walk in Downtown Sacramento. J Street has some nice restaurants and shops and I invited my Mom for some “Kaffee und Kuchen” at Rick’s Dessert Diner.

For dinner, we had one thing left to check off on our list: Sushi at “Bento Box”. My parents both really like sushi now – who would have thought?

We had Teriyaki Chicken and ordered a bunch of different specialty rolls: King Kong, Paradise, Americano und Dre. All of them were really, really good, but I think our favorite was the deep-fried Americano Roll with shrimp.

When we got home, my Mom and I got a few more rounds of knitting in before going to bed.

On Monday (10/17), it was time to say goodbye again. I couldn’t believe how fast the time with my parents had flown by again.

We wanted to enjoy one last ‘American breakfast’ and I took my parents to “The Fox and Goose”, an English Pub in Downtown Sacramento. It’s a really nice, homey, slow-paced pub with really great breakfast. I think both my parents liked it a lot.

I also had decided to drive them back to the airport in San Francisco.

Originally, my Dad had suggested that they could drive the rental car back to San Francisco and drop it off at the airport, so that I wouldn’t have to make the 3-4 hour round-trip, but I couldn’t really say goodbye to them at home and let them go to San Francisco by themselves. I wanted to see them off at the airport and also enjoy every last minute with them, so we dropped off the rental car in Sacramento and I drove them to SFO.
I am going to be honest, it was hard to let them leave. Saying goodbye never gets easier and I really didn’t want to let them go, but I am really so thankful for the wonderful and special time that we had when they were here.

Until next time…