A week has gone by and I have been very busy but I have also been processing the huge amount of information I am receiving. My dear friend Brandy of Deliciously Alive teaches (and preaches) that writing thoughts down is very helpful so I tried. I didn’t realize how much information you can download from your brain when you put it on paper (electronic paper works better for me). As soon as it is written somewhere the thinking process stops, the work that your brain does to avoid to forget and process and process some more is done, also you free storage space to absorb new information how cool is that?!
So here I was, writing down few notes every day and finally today sharing them with you, and who knows, maybe some of you will enjoy reading this, if not, you can skip this post and wait for recipes, sadly I am not settled yet so my kitchen is not up for big cooking right now.
Living life like a Berliner
It doesn’t matter that there are zero degrees (32°F) or less outside, there are people walking everywhere and Mitte is filled with people (Mitte is downtown to me but Berliners will kill me if they hear me).
The janitor talks to me in German saying that it is like taking with a little kid… It is more like talking to a baby, sure he will smile back at you but has no idea what you are saying :p
We walked downtown and they were setting up a concert, is there something going on just all the time?? Yes, there is!
Shops shops and more shops. I will never get tired of window shopping in here. My favorite of course are homeware shops, I stumbled upon iittala a Finnish store and now I have a never-ending wish list ;) Look at this small fireplace! I plan to reproduce their felt ball coasters and trivet.
The public transportation and streets made to walk. And eating like a bear because I really need the extra calories :)
The melting pot of people and the huge number of languages you can hear around.
Falling apart in the sofa at night because a warm little house feels so cozy when it is cold outside.
The fact that I am surviving the cold. But winter has yet to start so I will have to get back to you on this statement.
You can tell the dogs are German, and I don’t mean German Shepherds. They are incredibly well behaved. They walk beside their owner with no leash, they even stop at road crossing and wait for a signal from the owner. Also they can enter all the shops and many shops have bowls with water and food for our 4 legged furry friends.
The walking, walking and more walking :D I feels so good.
It seems to me that the Germans live well with their climate and do all they can to take advantage of it and make it enjoyable. It seems to me that there is no such need in warm places and therefore there is not much to do other than enjoy the weather… One example of the good life in Berlin is the way they light up the buildings at night (from 4pm that is :P), they become stunning!
What I think is Max’s favorite side of Germany, and probably most could agree, is: beer is delicious, and comes in 1/2 liter bottles that cost around 89 Euro cent. Plus, Germans know how to do they wurstels!!
What makes me sad: the sun is really low in the sky, the days are really short. See how long is my shadow, this picture was taken at noon!
What thrills me: they are setting up Christmas lights. Soon it will be absolutely amazing to walk around Mitte!
My camera got lost in the big migration USA-Germany so the snapshots here are low quality. I am looking for a decent replacement but I wasn’t planning on spending that extra money right now :(
What is your favorite German thing? What do you think I should experience?
I love Germany too.I love love love Gluwine (spelling ?) the hot mulled wine served at christmas time and of course christmas is magical in germany the most christmasy place. The chocolate is great too. I love the whipped ice-cream dipped in hot melted chocolate YUMMM. I love the dunkel wiesen beer its great. I used to love to get the pommes from the little street stands with mayo and ketchup in my opinion i always thought they are the best fries in the world. I loved all the salads in the restaurants tomato salad or a cucumber salad were my favorite loved how they did them. I loved how clean germany was and that recycling was so important and that the public transport is so reliable, very german. The country side of Germany is very beautiful, The Hartz mountains, The black Forest, Bavaria, the mosel and Rhine valley the list is endless. I lived in north west germany, state Lippe and it is very historical with mostly rural areas and forests. I am glad you seem so happy there a world away from boring ocala.
Glühwein! I will try it soon, they are already setting up the big Christmas markets, they will have it there. I am so excited! We should definitely rent a car (maybe in spring/summer) and go get lost in the country side, given how green and well kept the city is, I can only image how stunning the country will be.