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It’s Not Me, It’s You: The Remnants of my Berlin Dream
i love berlin. everyone who knows me knows this. everyone who knows me and doesn’t know this, should. i first visited in 2006 on a whirlwind month backpacking central europe where it was by far my favorite stop on the trip, made even more fun by the fact that i knew some locals living there at the time (uw german department professors and affiliates) and they really pulled out all the stops to show me a good time. dinner parties, city tours, an evening at a crusty prenzlauer berg bar trying different flavors of berliner weisse– i loved it all. my friends there convinced me to take german language classes…
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A Surprise Berlin
when i returned from sweden, i had no intention of planning any more international trips this summer. but SURPRISE! i ended up planning an impromptu berlin weekend: summer’s last gasp. and it was a fabulous weekend to be in my lieblingsstadt: gorgeous weather and plenty going on. i’d only been in berlin for the summer once (2008) for a few days and fell in love with the buzz and energy i never quite fully felt when living there in the fall and winter months. winter in berlin can honestly feel like the darkest coldest place you can imagine that can make you want to hole-up in your flat drinking A&P…
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berlin; arrived in prague!
i cannot believe there is less than a week until the american thanksgiving holidays! whoa! just spent approximately the last two weeks in my favorite city, berlin. i spent lots of time showing alex around some interesting historical sites like east side gallery, topographie of terror, and the bernauer strasse wall memorial. eating at my favorite restaurants was a thing to do by itself: thai huong snack: home of the 4 euro huge portion asian noodles with veg and pillowy delicious tofu! also delores california burritos: the restaurant that changed my mind about burritos. other things we did in berlin: ate lots of currywurst, got the flu (me), recovered from the flu, was…
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Week 31 & 32 of 2024 (Year in Review) – On Holiday in Germany with a Two Year Old
August is nearly finished and we’ve recently returned from a two-week trip to Germany and Denmark: through Berlin for a few nights, up to the North Sea coast (North Frisia) at the German-Denmark border for over a week, and then a couple cushion days in Brandenburg to break up the long way back from our overland (train) journey. Although some friends are calling this trip “ambitious” or “courageous” because of traveling mainly without a car with our toddler and dog, we ended up choosing this destination in the end because I’ve been wanting to go to the German coast for ages. not to mention my love of Germany and getting…
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Week 21 & 22 of 2024 (Year In Review)
I sometimes feel like laughing inside that I chose this year, this “last year of my maternity leave” year to do this blogging experiment. I suppose it’s because sometimes I feel like maternity leave feels a little bit floating and aimless a lot of the time, which means it always feels weird to write about, but I know, truly know that these are days I will look back on super nostalgically. As we get ready to celebrate our little Mouse who turns two in less than a week and I busy myself with gathering the presents (I am far too excited) and cake recipes together, I am definitely already feeling…
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Week 16, 17 & 18 of 2024 (In Review) – Summer Trip Plans!
The last few weeks of April were odd ones for me as I was ill (the one-two punch of a flu followed by a cold) there was snow and just getting over the jarni unava (spring fatigue) I surely had at the beginning of the month. With the coming of May, it’s certainly all good now but the photo (above) perfectly illustrates the frustration and just overall meh feeling. Just trying to throw on purposely the weirdest winter coat I own to run out and do errands because who cares. You know the “idgaf” vibes. Between all of the illnesses I unknowingly went to Costa Coffee (in our town) for…
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Week 11 & 12 of 2024 (In Review): Vienna
Happy Easter, friends! Last week was a continuation of all the good things from Week 10 as we took a little trip for a change of scenery to Vienna. We haven’t travelled anywhere since October and coming off of how magical Rome was last March, we wanted to have at least a little holiday on my last maternity leave year over spring break. Not having travelled since the little one was 16 months old and is now 21 months old was a great excuse in itself to do so. We want to raise a flexible and adaptable child who can sleep and be at other places without raising much of…
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8 Peculiar Czech Cultural Habits (& Book Giveaway!)
Lately (between baby books of which there are many), I’ve been reading Culture Smart!‘s guide to Czech customs as they approached me to test out their new Czech Republic guide. I have to admit I was initially skeptical about a guide to Czech culture written by a foreigner – I was worried that it may be written by an expat who’s lived in Prague for a couple years and suddenly fancies themselves an expert on the topic but I was entirely relieved to see that the author was Kevan Vogler of one of the OG Czech expat blogs, Beyond Prague. An actual sigh of relief – if there’s anyone who’s…
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My Winter Joys, Goals, & Other Things
How’s that for a title after that last post? Thank you for your nice words and reaching out; I’m feeling a bit better these days. The photo taken above was at our annual half-term cafe day at the mid-point of the school year, this time taking place on a bench in my favorite square. I like this photo because even though I wasn’t doing well, I wasn’t going to not participate in this annual tradition – you’d have to drag me away. It seems somehow hopeful. Typically I really like January (and this one has been lovely!), and even though it hasn’t been easy, I can’t but help still feeling…
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October, Lately
This October – different from all other Octobers. The last of the warm early autumn weather has faded away and it definitely feels like fall now. I caught a bit of a nostalgia wave this week, as I am wont to do in the autumn. Eleven years ago I was visiting one of my best friends in Berlin for two weeks, having the time of my life. Ten years ago was another one of the best Octobers on record with epic festivals, parties, being one of maybe twenty-five people to see one of my favorite bands play Sunset Tavern in Ballard, Seattle. Eight years ago, living the Scottish life as…