theinbetweenismine

just a girl living the expat life

24 hours with my bff

filed under: friends, girl time, home, travel

As I mentioned, at the beginning of my Germany trip, I spent 24 hours near Munich visiting my best friend from back home. She moved to Munich a couple of years ago and I had yet to see where she now lives with her husband M at Lake Starnberg.

I first flew into Frankfurt and then on to Munich where she picked me up at the airport. I hadn’t seen her in over a year and I was so glad to finally hug her again. Instant chatter ensued. I mean, we talk on the phone regularly, but there is always so much left to say!

We first drove to Starnberg and she and M showed me around. We ended up getting drinks and cake at Orange Beach, a beach bar and restaurant right on Lake Starnberg. We were super-lucky because the sun came out when we arrived.

We seriously had the best time just catching up and enjoying the views!

Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Ira’s home and even though she had previously sent me a video tour of the house, it was so nice to finally see it with my own eyes. The whole house is set up in “split levels”, which I love, and the guest room (where I was staying) is on the ‘third’ floor with a beautiful view of the lake and the Alps in the distance.

We took a walk through town and down to the lake and Ira showed me where she does all her daily routines (where she shops for groceries, where she runs, where the pharmacy and doctor is, etc.). You might think that this is ‘boring stuff’, but for me, to know and see where my best friend lives her daily life now, brings me a lot closer to her.

For dinner, we went to their favorite Italian place in Starnberg, ‘Al gallo nero’, where I indulged in delicious tomato soup (my favorite!) and authentic spaghetti carbonara. Yum.

Strangely enough, up until then, my jetlag had held off and I first noticed that I was starting to get tired when we got back to their house around 10 p.m. We chatted for a little while longer and then got ready for bed around 11 p.m.

The next morning, I was up early. For weeks, Ira and I had tossed around that weird idea that we should go running together when I visit. Of course, both Ira and I also didn’t really think that this was going to happen this time what was with the little time we had and my (very possible) jetlag.

We agreed that we would just play it by ear and that we would go for a short run on Saturday morning, if I felt up for it.

I know, some of you are probably shaking their heads wondering if we have gone mad or something, but for Ira and me, it was a heartfelt wish to be able to run together, to be able to do something ordinary together (pretending we could do that every fine goddamn day!).

So, when Ira texted me from downstairs at 6:30 a.m. (“Are you up?”), I enthusiastically responded (‘YES! Do you want to run?’), so we got dressed and headed for the lake shortly after 7 a.m.

It was a beautiful morning! We ran 5 miles along the lakeshore  and to be honest, it was the best hour out of the roughly 24 hours we got to spend together. We chatted away, we passed Schloss Possenhofen (you must know that Ira and I are huge fans of the ‘Sissi’-movie-trilogy, the movies about the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, and the castle used to be Sissi’s childhood home) and enjoyed the amazing morning view of the lake and the Alps, and we couldn’t shut up about the fact how special this moment was for both of us!

M picked us up at Steg 1 in Pöcking later and after a quick shower,  we had an amazing German breakfast with fresh rolls, bread, croissants and pretzels, eggs, deli meats, cheese, and jam. It was just the best. I think Ira was a little irritated (jokingly) how much I praised the breakfast, but let me tell you, you appreciate things way more when you can’t have them for a while. Just sayin’.

At 9:30 a.m., my Mom called to confirm my flight number and arrival time with me again… because she couldn’t find my flight online. Weird.

Well, turns out, I booked my flight home to Cologne for May, 4th… which was Thursday. Ahem.

I have no idea how that happened and I guess, I could have freaked out about it, but instead I laughed it off (my family, too) and Ira was all smiles anyway because it meant I was going to be around for a few extra hours. Win-win!

I looked into options of rebooking my flight (the train wasn’t an option on such short notice) and then spent a couple more hours hanging out in Iras backyard. We really made the best of the time we had together and it almost felt longer than just 24 hours. The best part was that it felt so comfortable and easy to be around Ira (which is something that I do miss here, as I don’t have any local super-close friends), but it shouldn’t come as a surprise as we’ve known each other for most of our lives. Old friends are the best friends.

At 2:30 pm, I boarded the plane to fly back home and was greeted by this beautiful city view of Cologne and then my Dad, Greta and Tom who picked me up at the airport. Home is where the Dom is.

 

26: Lifelong friends

filed under: friends, girl time, NaBloPoMo, real life

This picture (above) was taken during the weekend that I spent in San Francisco with my dear childhood friend S last year. We came across the intersection while walking around the Mission District and I stopped to take the picture and to pause and cherish for the moment how lucky I am indeed that I was granted this special time with her.

I never got around to writing about it last year, didn’t have the words in me to describe what this time with her meant to me. This weekend, I was reminded that she spent Thanksgiving with us last year and how I missed having her here this year and all the feelings came flooding back.

Not many people can say that they’re still friends with someone they have literally known for most of their lives. S and I met in kindergarten when we were 4 years old. We attended the same elementary and secondary school, graduated high school together. We maintained only loose contact after that for a few years, but she was never far from my heart.

When she called me a few weeks before her trip and told me that she was going to be in San Francisco for four weeks (for a language class), I was very exited! When she told me that she was hoping to spend the weekends with me, I was ecstatic!

Not only was she the first person (besides family!) to come and visit me here in California since I moved here, she’s also one of my favorite people and I couldn’t believe she would be here to hang out with me.

She got here in late November and I first got to see her on that Sunday when I ran my first official 10k race in Berkeley. We had arranged that she would meet at the finish line, and can I just tell you really quick how absolutely strange it was to see her there — so completely out of context in my adopted home country and not in our home town or a restaurant in Cologne? It was surreal and absolutely amazing at the same time. We had lunch afterwards and walked along the marina, marveling at the Golden Gate Bridge and the City from afar, which felt so strange, but also bizarrely normal.  

We spent the next few weekends together. She came out to Sacramento for ThanksFriendsgiving, then we drove up to Tahoe for an overnight trip and practically talked the whole time straight. There was so much to say, so much to talk about. It felt like we would never run out of things to say to each other.

The next weekend, she came out to Sacramento again. On Friday, I took her to the Fremont Diner in Sonoma and we went Wine Tasting in Napa Valley. On Saturday, we drove back to San Francisco, walked around the Mission District, watched a movie in a tiny old theater and went to dinner. Just as if we would do that every other weekend. On Sunday, we biked the Golden Gate Bridge (in the rain), had dinner in North Beach, and it was one of the most memorable experiences and the most perfect day. 

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You see, her visit opened my eyes to a few things…

+ how much I really miss my close friends from home and how hard it is to make new friends like that,

+ how effortless and comfortable these old friendships are,

+ how you can always pick up where you left off, regardless for how long you might not have talked,

+ how openly and freely you can talk to someone who has known you for so long, who has been through so many stages of life with you,

+ how such deep conversations just don’t happen over email or brief Whatsapp exchanges, and

+ how I have no doubt that she’s one of those lifelong friends.

It’s really hard to put into words what that time with her meant to me. My heart was so FULL. It hadn’t felt this full in a long time. I forgot what it’s like to have a best friend around, to talk until the wee hours of morning, to talk some more in your PJ’s over tea at breakfast and then go out and do stuff together, making more memories. These have been things I definitely took for granted before I moved overseas and I wish we had the opportunity to get together more often. 

At the very least, thank goodness for Skype and FaceTime, I guess?!

Do you have any friends that go back to your childhood?
Do you get girl time like that on the regular? If so, never ever give that up.

Girl time: Kayaking in Napa

filed under: friends, fun!, girl time

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago,  I was planning another “girls’ day getaway” with my friend Susi, which we’re trying to make an annual  thing) and that happened to be last Sunday. We both had been overdue for some uninterrupted girl time. There is something so energizing and soul-refreshing about spending a day with a girlfriend! One of the (many!) things we talked about last weekend: how in the world is it possible that we’ve been friends for 12 years? That’s crazy-pants.

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Sunday morning, we met up at 10 a.m. the Fremont Diner in Sonoma for Brunch. I first heard about this place when I  met up at there with Stevie three years ago. Since then, I’ve been kind of on a mission to take everyone to this awesome brunch spot in wine country. I took my family there last summer, my friend S in December, and now Susi. She hadn’t been there either, so we obviously had to go.

Unfortunately, they don’t take reservation and as expected, the waiting list for a table was long, but they have a nice outdoors waiting area (and you can get coffee or something else to drink while you wait) so it’s really not a bad spot to hang out on a weekend morning.

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I had buttermilk pancakes and Susi had the Farmer’s toast, and we had French Press coffee with a side of good girl talk, before we headed over to Napa.

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Since we had a little time to kill before the “historical kayak tour” that we had booked with a Groupon, we decided to take a stroll through downtown Napa. I had never been to the riverfront area (I don’t know if I just missed it before or if it’s kinda new?), but it’s the historic Napa mill building that has been restored and filled with shops, restaurant, and a hotel.

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At 1:00 p.m. we drove over to the meeting area for our kayak tour. I have to preface this with saying that I had never been kayaking before (I live in California. I KNOW! Just don’t ask.), but it was so much fun. We got a quick introduction from our tour guide Justin and then we were “let go” on the river with our kayaks.

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I was a little wary at first (of course, I can swim, but I am a little afraid of oceans and rivers, and I worried that I’d drop my phone – which I obviously had to take along – in the water), but actually I got the hang of paddling pretty quickly and it was really not a problem at all. We were a group of 12 people and as we were floating down the river, Justin gave us some historical Napa facts along the way. It was quite interesting and we even saw (and heard, they’re quite loud) a bunch of swallows that were nesting under the bridges.

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We hung out on the water for about 2 hours. Definitely something I want to do again!

Susi and I chatted a little bit more and by 4 p.m., we both made our ways back home in opposite directions.

Heart = full.

Girlfriend time at the spa

filed under: friends, girl time

A few weeks ago, my friend Susi texted me with a Travelzoo Deal for a day at a spa, including a 60-minute relaxation massage and a glass of champagne, that we couldn’t pass up. Since a girls’ getaway was long overdue, we jumped on the deal and made reservations for the 24th of April, which was Friday.

Susi and I met up early at the Willow Stream Spa at the Fairmont Mission Inn in Sonoma, CA. It’s about half-way between our respective homes and seemed like the perfect place for a getaway. I know, the destination alone might evoke envy in some of you (and I can’t blame you), but the Spa itself could have been anywhere and it would have been fantastic by itself. But going to a spa in Wine Country sounds extra fancy, doesn’t it?

We both left early and arrived at the Spa at 8:30 a.m. to get an early start and take advantage of the day. Our morning began with an hour of water yoga. I had never done water yoga before and it was a pleasant experience, especially the relaxation at the end (where we were floating on two of these pool noodles with underwater music soothing our ears).  I might or might not have asked Susi to come get me three hours later! Ha.

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Next up, champagne in the hot tub. The epiphany of a spa day, right? It felt indulgent and marvelous (and definitely well deserved) and some good conversations were had.

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Our 60-minute relaxation massage was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and, OMG, it was the most glorious thing. I can’t even remember if (or when) I had a massage in the past and I kept saying that this is definitely something I could get hooked on.

Diane, my masseuse, was wonderful. She knew where to apply the pressure and could tell from my tight spots that I work a desk job (yes!) and use the mouse a lot (also correct). Amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the massage and I felt completely relaxed afterward.

We had lunch poolside and just enjoyed the beautiful and relaxed atmosphere.

In the afternoon, we explored the Bath House and used the Bath Ritual. The Willow Stream Spa sits atop an ancient mineral spring and all the pools are all filled with the mineral waters. The Bathing Ritual features an exfoliating shower, two mineral water soaking pools, an herbal steam room, a dry sauna, and cool down showers.

The facilities are supposed to be a gadget-free zone and we (mostly) appreciated and stuck to that rule, but obviously I had to make an exception to snap some quick pictures for my scrapbook blog. You’re welcome.

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The Spa was wonderful and luxurious and it took me a little while to not feel completely ‘out of place’ since I had never been to a spa before. But, by the end of the day, we were basically ‘spa-pros’ and Susi and I decided that we absolutely have to do this again. The day went by way too quickly (as good times do!) and we finished up this amazing day with some coffee in the hotel lobby.

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I had a wonderful time unplugging from the daily grind in some lovely company (what could be better than catching up with your girlfriend?) and highly recommend it to everyone.

Surprisingly, I was dead tired by the time I got home and felt like I had run a marathon or something. I went to bed at 9 p.m., slept like a rock through the night and woke up sore the next morning. Comfortably sore, I might add. I guess my body had (passively) done more over the course of the previous day than I thought.

If you ever get the chance (especially if you find a good deal online – spas are not cheap, especially in this country, or so it seems), I urge you to enjoy a spa day some time, if you haven’t done so before (please tell me that I am not the only one who has never indulged in that kind of way!?). Either way, it was totally worth it and just a great experience all around and the only question I have left is ‘When can I do this again?’ 

A new URL 2 IRL friend

filed under: California, friends, girl time

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Last week, I was able to turn another URL friendship into an IRL friendship. My friend Jenny, who I’ve met through this blog last summer, happened to be in San Francisco last week and was kind enough to let me know about it, so I could take a day off work and go to the city to have some fun.

I picked Jenny up at the hostel that she was staying at and within minutes, it felt completely natural to be around her. I love when transition from online to offline relationships are so incredibly easy.

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Washington Square

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Coit Tower

We decided to start our day of exploring the city with a hike up to Coit Tower for a nice view (unfortunately, the tower is under renovation right now and we couldn’t go inside, but the view was worth it anyway).

Golden Gate Bridge

From there, we made our way down to Fisherman’s Wharf and over to Ghiradelli Square and the Acquatic Park Pier, because the views from there of both of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city are amazing!

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California Poppies

From there, we contemplated taking the bus to the Marina, because I thought that Jenny should most definitely see the Palace of Fine Arts and the beautiful neighborhood, but a quick look at Google Maps and we decided ‘nah, we can walk that!‘. So, we walked up the hill to Fort Mason and down into the Marina district and to the Palace of Fine Arts.

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Palace of Fine Arts

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Marina

After hanging out there for a while, we briefly thought about taking the bus back to the piers, but then decided again that it was quicker to walk it. So, back to Pier 39 we walked. I mean, you can’t come to San Francisco and not see the sea lions at Pier 39… tourist stuff or not. (And thank you big container ship for coming into the picture right then and there. You looked pretty!)

Pier 39

So yeah, we did a lot  of walking that day. 9 miles (15 km) plus some. If it hadn’t been for our sore feet, I am convinced we wouldn’t even have noticed, because we just walked and talked for about 6 hours straight. It was fantastic!

SF walking

We did finally give in though and decided to catch the Cable Car back to Powell Street and look for a restaurant to have some dinner and wrap up our girl date.  It was definitely a great day and my sore calves and a bit of a sunburn were quite worth the fun! I hope we can do this soon again!!

Cable Car

Cable Car

Glimpses of my weekend

filed under: food, girl time, weekend

How was your weekend, peeps? Did you do anything fun?

The weather was gorgeous here in Northern California this weekend. Friday was even almost a little too hot for my taste. Skipping spring, is this what we do now?  Saturday and Sunday made up for it though – temperatures were in the high 80’s, but there was a light breeze. Perfect! J’s Mom was here and we were able to take adventure of the nice weather and were out and about a lot.

On Saturday morning, I had girls’ brunch planned with Gina, Suki and Donna. We met up at “Bacon & Butter” (OMG – best name for a breakfast place ever, right?) in Midtown. I hadn’t been there before and I am so glad that Gina suggested it. I had some of the best strawberry & rhubarb pancakes I’ve ever had. They came with a bit of a hefty price tag, but portion-size was more then generous and I took some of this home for the next day.

pancakes @ Bacon and Butter

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Yesterday morning I finally made it to the big Farmers’ Market again. I hadn’t been there in a while and since I missed the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturday because of the brunch, I am so glad I went yesterday.

Farmers Market

I am not sure if I mentioned it, but the European bakery that I’ve been getting my bread from? CLOSED. For good. I had honestly been freaking out a little bit, because HELLO?
I need my bread. Luckily, I found this multi-grain bread at the Farmers Market and I really hope it’ll deliver what it promises from the way it looks (I haven’t tried it yet). We also got artichokes, corn, potatoes and fresh strawberries. Can’t wait for my granola this morning.

California poppies

Apple Strudel

Other good things this weekend:

finding out that my niece (4) is recovering well from her tonsil surgery ♥ a trip to IKEA ♥ sleeping in ♥ Apple Strudel a la mode ♥ Skype-date with two dear friends ♥ fresh sheets ♥ homemade popsicles ♥ reading ♥ a little bit of shopping ♥ a walk ♥ Friends re-runs ♥ maxi skirts ♥ seeing my patio garden grow ♥ California poppies ♥

Girl time

filed under: girl time, weekend

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I went to see my friend Susi in the Bay Area this weekend. I spent the day with her and her little family. It was warm enough to hang out in the backyard for a while. Her two kids were playing and we chatted away. Both Susi and I have lived in the US for a quite a while now and even though we talk German to each other – of course – it definitely sounds more like Denglisch. It’s kind of funny because we regularly crack up about the sentences and word combinations that come out of our mouths. Sometimes it’s just easier to use an English word, because there is no (or at least no easy) translation for it, so why bother describing it in German when we can just say it in English, right? Right.

I also got a lot of necessary errands out of my way: our car needed an oil change, I went to the gym (twice!), I did our weekly grocery shopping, we cleaned the apartment and I got our taxes done on Sunday. Hooray!  While I love productive weekends, I really do!, and the girl time was definitely needed, I’m always a little disappointed when Sunday night comes around and I haven’t been able to  do more of the things I really wanted to do (like work on my blog, read my book, and craft some cards). Oh well, the next weekend is almost around the corner again.

 

Other good things this last weekend:

sending out birthday mail ♥ fresh bread ♥ phone calls with family  ♥ lots of coffee ♥ a new mug (from Susi!) ♥ Real Time with Bill Maher ♥ pizza ♥ comedy night ♥  the new Rolling Stone ♥ a little bit of blog reading ♥

Wine, food and good company

filed under: girl time, good times, photography, weekend

I usually do a lot of drafting/brain-storming on my lunch break or sometimes in between meetings and work processes. I jot down ideas, draft a post and then finish it up later. If you don’t hear from me for longer than a few days that usually means one of three things, a)  I had a very boring week and nothing to say, b) I had a a very busy week and nothing noteworthy happened or c) I had a very busy week and something noteworthy did happen, but I had not one free minute to sit down and write about it. I admire people who find the time to write every day (just for the sake of writing) or who schedule posts way in advance, as I am definitely not capable of that. Some days I just can’t open the computer when I get home, let alone string together sentences that make sense and are remotely interesting to anyone but me. But that’s ok and this shouldn’t remotely resemble an apology or anything like that. Just a little bit of an explanation, I suppose, as I had a fantastic weekend a week ago and didn’t get to share it last week. That’s why I am going to do that now, if you don’t mind.

Saturday (4/14), I spent in Sonoma Valley, more precisely Dry Creek Valley, with my friend Susi and her family tasting wine, delicious food and soaking up some sun. I also had some ground-breaking revelations regarding wine! You must know that I am not really a wine drinker. I know nothing about wine and honestly, most wines all taste the same to me (and mostly not very good), which is really embarrassing to admit, as my dad is real wine connoisseur and he would throw his hands up in horror, if I would ever admit this to him so bluntly.

So, in order to blend in and sound somewhat like a grown-up, when someone asks what kind of wine I like, I answer “oh, I like cabs” (because, who doesn’t like Cabernet Sauvignons, right?) Well, turns out, I don’t. At least, they’re not my favorites (as I find them to be too acidic – which most dry wines are).
I tried a Syrah (Shiraz) at Quivira Vineyards (where we attended a wine release party) and even though this is a dry wine (very strong taste at first) I definitely could appreciate the fruity aftertaste. I also learned that not all wines of the same type taste the same, so I see a lot of sampling in the future to maybe find a wine I can completely fall in love with. Recommendations are very welcome.

The weather was beautiful and we had a lovely time.

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Quivira

Quivira

Susi and San

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Sunday I had brunch with some lovely ladies. (Have I mentioned how much I love weekend brunches? No?) Katherine, Gina, Suki and I met at Bab’s Delta Diner in Suisun City (pronounced “suh SOON” /səˈsuːn/). It’s a really cool location close to the Suisun City Marina, right next to the water. I’m not sure what the water body right there in Suisun is called, but it’s part of the Sacramento-San Joaquin (inverted) River Delta, one of only a few inverted river deltas worldwide (sorry, the geography geek is coming through!).

Brunch @ Babs Delta Diner

Despite a lengthy wait and a crabby hostess, who first wrote down our number incorrectly (4 instead of 41), then acted like it was our fault (“we called for ‘4’ multiple times”), went ahead and blamed another employee for the mistake, and finally practically stared us out the door when we didn’t get up fast enough after paying our bill, the place, our waiter, company and food were really awesome! I want to do this again, ladies!

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Now, tell me about your weekend before last or even the last weekend! Did you have fun?

NKOTBSB – I did it again!

filed under: fun!, girl time, love, music, my so-called life, yes!

Warning:  this post is going to be photo-heavy.

Besides spending the 4th of July weekend with my friend Susi, I also did something completely for myself…  it involved about an hour of driving, dinner for one at a local diner and finding my way to the HP Pavillion to see …

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I hadn’t originally planned to go and see them. It was a totally spontaneous decision, but I am sooooo glad I went. Seriously, you can make fun of me all you want, but this was one of the. best. concerts. I’ve ever been to. I obviously was there to see NKOTB and wasn’t particularly excited to the see the Backstreet Boys (I don’t dislike them, but I’ve never been a fan either), but I have to say – seeing those two groups of boys grown up men perform together was absolutely amazing!

I dare say, some things most certainly get better with age!

I was lucky enough to see them once before during their comeback tour in 2008. As you might recall, J went with me that time and lo and behold, even J thought that their show was absolutely fantastic. I can only say, they were able to step it up a notch.

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I had an absolute blast. I was singing and dancing and reminiscing and got a whole slue of goosebumps throughout the evening!

If you get the chance (and there are many more tour dates left!), do yourself a favor and go see them. You won’t regret it. I promise.

Germany recap: more time with family and friends and my trip to Cologne

filed under: family, friends, Germany, girl time, good times, my so-called life, travel

You know what the best feeling of Week 1 of my visit back home being over was? I had still two whole weeks ahead of me.
Seriously, this is the first time a visit at home truly felt like a vacation and not just a short swing-by, in which I would try to squeeze as many people into my schedule as possible.

Of course, I still didn’t get everything done that I wanted to get done (I never do!), but at least, I didn’t stress myself out about it and actually gave myself some real time off. Which, was the best decision ever.

So, Week 2.

I spent a lovely Monday morning with my great-aunt Ina. After my Granddad died so suddenly in February, I really wanted to make it a point to spend some quality time with my great-aunt. She’s 88 years old and I have no idea how much longer she’ll be around (although I am hoping that it’ll be for a very long time!)

On Tuesday, my friend Ira came over in the morning. We had tea and some time to catch up.
The afternoon was spent with my sister and the kids and we prepared “Reibekuchen” for dinner. Mmmh. It was one of the many dishes that I had requested from my Mom.

"Reibekuchen"

Wednesday, I spent the whole day in Köln (Cologne.) I took the train in the morning, bought some hot chocolate at Starbucks and then went on a little stroll along the Rhein (Rhine). It was a beautiful morning and I just loved walking around, soaking up every little bit of Köln that I could get.
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Deutzer Brücke

Köln Rheinpromenade

Köln Rheinpromenade

Köln Alter Markt

Köln Altstadt

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Just looking at those pictures makes me somewhat nostalgic again.

I did a little shopping on the main shopping street and then took the tram out to where my uncle lives. I spent a lovely afternoon with him and my aunt, we had coffee and cake (do you recognize a theme here? Seriously, I haven’t had that much coffee and cake in a looong time, heh.)
At 7:30 p.m., my uncle took me to the train station where I met up with my friend Ilka. We went to “4 cani” for dinner and talked and talked and talked. As always, time went by way too fast, but I am happy about every meeting with friends that I could squeeze in.

On Thursday, I spent the morning with my sister and the kids and after lunch, she took me to the train station because I was going to Essen to see my friend Sanni.
She picked me up at the train station and we went back to her place where we had – have a guess! – coffee and (more) cake! :) It was a very lovely afternoon, even though time also went by too quickly.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you all about our trip to the Zoo and the rest of the weekend!