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berlinale
going to the uber prestigious berlinale (berlin international film festival) has been one of those unattainable dreams of mine since about 2007. i mean, why would i ever be in germany in february? welp, when it’s only seven hours away by bus and alex has the week off for spring break, it seemed like the stars were aligning to make it happen. booking our visit over a month in advance had several advantages: the bus tickets were super cheap, a great hostel near potsdamer platz (festival headquarters) was quite vacant, and i had something to occupy my always-planning mind during long, cold january. berlinale is a generally pass-less festival, with…
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berlin valentine
berlin for berlinale and valentines’ week was a hell of a time. i was a little unsure about returning so soon after my all-too-short weekend getaway last summer somehow rubbed me a little bit in the wrong direction, but the city’s back on my good list now and it seems that valentines’ week was the perfect time to realize that it was just a rough patch we were going through. as i was being smothered by winter monotony here in south bohemia, five days in the hauptstadt was just the thing to refresh my spirits. although i was looking forward to seeing the city in it’s snowy winter glory, the…
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february noms
it must be winter because food is largely on the mind again. and guys, i’ve been creating some gooooood stuff lately. my week of good cooking has been capped off by a sunday excursion to tesco to exchange my twenty-five stickers for a $46 grundig blender. THIS THING IS A BEAST! it’s got this gigantic 1.5 liter glass jug and the base is the size of kilimanjaro. i have been wavering back and forth on this purchase for literally months, as it is really hard to justify buying stuff during my time living abroad– plus, i’ve already lived here over a year without it and got by okay. but…. eh,…
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normal
maybe because it’s the middle of winter and there’s not much to do besides the usual, but recently, i wake up out of bed, get ready, and go about my normal routine giving absolutely no thought to the fact that i live in the czech republic. even to overhear czech spoken on the streets sparks no wave lengths out of the ordinary in this brain of mine. this slavic language that’s all around me doesn’t even sound that strange anymore. or, i’ll be walking down a beautiful cobbled street on my way to a lesson and pay it absolutely no mind that i live in a foreign country. instead i’ll…
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football & tea time
hands down, the best part of winter is drinking mugs upon mugs of tea. bonus points if you’re drinking tea and it’s snowing. last weekend we had a proper british tea time (hosted by our new english friend) with a bakewell tart (did not know what that was until a couple days ago) and yorkshire tea– apparently the best brand. hey, as long as it’s a good black tea with milk, i’m happy. i’m hoping tea time will become a regular fixture through the rest of winter and spring! (picture via) i’ve been a tea aficionado since college, where the other girls in my house would giggle at me for loading a…
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czech eats + winter lately
south bohemia, a region of central europe that used to be part of germany but now remains in south-east czech republic has a very rich history and traditions. and of course, food is a large part of people keeping their traditions and culture alive. after over a year in the czech republic, i’m not a huge fan of traditional czech meals like goulash, bread dumplings, and pork everything… in fact i’ve vowed to eat very little to no pork in 2014 ‘cause, well, i’m just bloody tired of it! and i’d rather eat other things. but there are many other south bohemian food items i have taken an interest in….…
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Living Without Stuff
i came over to europe with only those things that would fit comfortably in my (large) backpack. well, fit comfortably isn’t exactly correct because it was totally over-stuffed and weighed more than even alex’s bag and huuuurt if i wore it for over an hour. ouch. (below, me and said backpack in gimmelwald, switzerland, 2008) but i am now settled in a place: České Budějovice for the time being. it’s nice to live somewhere. to have plants (my small “herb garden”) and make baked goods. to have people over for tea or dinner. this is living as usual and it’s nice. since i’ve stopped moving around in january of this year…
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Kayaking in Sweden
i’ve kayaked once, in seattle’s lake union with my friend julie. the water there was blue, the paddling was hard– after a few minutes we both sort of just stopped because it was getting in the way of talking! but in a lake you feel very protected. after hearing kayaking stories from alex’s boss, marketa, i was determined to kayak in the stockholm archipelago! which is good…. because on a tiny island, there really isn’t a lot more to do! there’s as much walking and sunset watching as you can handle, but i really wanted to do something a bit adventurous and memorable. i asked at the cute little surf…
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Europe-versary
one year ago today, we arrived in glasgow, scotland at about 5:40am local time. we came in from hot and sunny toronto and were practically freezing in the 13 C temperatures. even though it was the last day of august, it really felt like autumn has arrived. it marked the next chapter of our lives! so we’re calling today, “victory in europe day”. our V-E day. and thinking a lot about our time in scotland. as much as i like to live in one place here in CB, i am really looking forward to the day we get back on the road– no lease, no taxes or social security payments.…
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Travel on the Mind + More Sweden (Stockholm & Uppsala)
funny how trips work. day of return from trip: BOY I’M SO GLAD TO BE HOME! NOW I CAN DO ALL MY “HOME” THINGS AND BE COMFY AND COOK MEALS! I’VE MISSED YOU, BED! day after return: oh, it’s kinda nice to sit and read and have a cup of tea, isn’t it. but hm, i wonder what is the best way to get to south-eastern germany from here. two days after return: OH LIFE IS SO DULL, the weather’s such crap, when is the next trip?! okay, the last one might have been slightly exaggerated (only slightly though) but there’s no doubt that already the gears up there are…
