Venezia, o sole mio!

Hallo  Ihr Lieben,

Venice is one of my favorite cities in Europe! I love the atmosphere in the city, there are no cars, everybody is relaxed and businessmen have their first "Spritz" (Aperol + prosecco) at 10 am. Spritz was invented in Venice by the way. You get  it everywhere for 2 Euros, even at a Pizza take away. 
My best friend Julia lived in Venice for a while (she studies art history) so I only had to catch a plane for 25 Euros (Thank you, Ryanair) and was able to spend some fantastic sunny days in the lagoon city.

If you will ever be in Italy or Europe I highly recommend a visit of the beautiful city at the Adria. People are very friendly, you will find delicious food and beautiful architecture. 

That's why I want to share some of my impressions with you.

The historic centre of Venice. Only 270000 people live in Venezia, I guess that's nothing for American standards. The city has more than 100 islands. You travel mostly by boat so I had to overcome my fear of deep water. I tried to trust the gondoliers but most of them did not look very trustworthy. But hey, I am still alive. 

Pizza! Sure, you have to eat pizza and pasta in Italy! I had a pizza with walnuts and arugula. It was delicious. 

That's me at the Canale Grande. A view from my friend's balcony. Not bad. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie lived on the other side of the Canale during the shooting of "The tourist". My friend Julia saw them. She also met Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Lucy Liu. And lots more famous people I don't remember at the moment. You can see many VIP's during the Biennale which is the Venice film festival.

Water taxi stand. You just wait there for the next boat to come. Pretty cool. There are hundreds of them.

View from the boat.I love this city. It has so many amazing cafes and restaurants. I highly recommend to search for a place to eat far away from the touristy spots like Piazza San Marco etc. The food is much cheaper and better there. 

Isn't this the most beautiful terrace ever? I would like to own this. I want to! Really! I love this. And I am speechless. Still.

Me and my friends at the Pizzeria. This was one of the two times I had a tan (the other time was last year in Colorado). It was over 30 degrees Celsius the whole time so I don't know why one of my friends wears long sleeves in the pictures. It did not cool down at night. 

There are hundreds of little streets like this in town. I would have been completely lost without my friends. 

Julia, Nora and me. Julia had a really bad sunburn. We spent the day at the beach and we are all not used to lots of sun. 

Julia's balcony and the house she lived in. So beautiful. The pictures don't do it any justice. It is so much prettier in reality but okay. Open fire is not allowed in Venezia by the way. I guess that makes lot of sense. Fire department and ambulance come with a boat. I was happy that nothing happened to us. They also have funeral boats  there. That was very interesting. They bring the casket on a boat to the church and later they ship it to the cemetery island San Michele.

One of the hundreds of canals. As you can imagine you have to walk over many bridges in Venezia. I don't know how old people manage to live there. It is definitely not the greatest city to be in a wheelchair.

Another fantastic view from Julia's balcony. This view is really priceless. And the weather! Hach! I really hope that I will be able to visit Venezia again. As soon as possible. 

A gondola manufacturer. "Squero di San Trovaso". There are only a handful of them in Venezia and this is the most famous one. You can go and visit it. 

Bar hopping in Venezia. I have to admit that we started drinking in the morning (a Spritz for breakfast) and stopped late at night but I have never been really drunk. Really.

Julia at the beach. Yes, Venezia has a beach. It's pretty awesome. It is called "Lido".

View from San Michele. The cemetery of Venice is one that island and I love the fact that they have their own island for their cemetery. It is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen. If you are in Venice you should hop on a boat and go over there, it is worth it. You can find the graves of famous people like Igor Stravinsky and Ezra Pound there! My "favorite" grave is the one of Joseph Brodsky because it has a mailbox on it. And writers leave their pens there for inspiration. Pretty cool.

One of the older parts of the cemetery. Isn't it beautiful? 

Me drinking a Spritz. It was already afternoon. 

One last view at the Canal Grande. I hope you liked my little journey through bella Venezia!
Have a wonderful Monday!

Sunday Confessions! Food edition. And a beautiful bunny.

I am linking up with fantastic Alyx from Every day is a new adventure!

1.We cook two different meals almost every single day because David and I eat completely different things. He hates my broccoli, he says it tastes terrible but the smell is the worst. I stopped eating meat when I was 12 and I will never ever eat it again. I eat vegetables every day.  With rice. Or pasta. Or potatoes. Sometimes with tofu. That might sound boring but I love it. I really do. I am glad that David started to like at least some vegetables but we will never have the same taste in food. He loves onions for example. I love all other vegetables but I get sick when I accidentally eat an onion. 
2. Sometimes I eat the same thing every day. For weeks. I remember that once I ate fruit salad for every meal, every day. The after a couple of weeks I have enough and start to eat something else. At the moment I am addicted to Hummus and would like to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

3. I wish there would be a vegan alternative for "Danny Sahne Pudding". It really is the only thing I miss. I don't miss meat or scrambled eggs. I don't miss it at all. But I would really like to eat this pudding again. There are so many vegan alternatives on the market now. I love it. You even get vegan fish. I have never tried that but a couple of days ago I saw vegan scampi in an online store and I would be interested to try that. When I became vegetarian there weren't many alternatives. My first tofu Schnitzel tasted awful. I remember that I came back from school, opened the door and smelled something really terrible. My Mom wanted to make me happy and found some tofu Schnitzel for me. I am sure it was horrible for her to cook it because of the smell but she did it. She was so wonderful. We both tried it and it tasted like rubber. But there is such a great selection now, I am always surprised on how much you can find these days. I don't need meat replacement every day but it is nice to have it sometimes, especially when you have a barbecue.

4. I believe in the saying "Sieben Bier, ein Schmier" which means "Seven beer are one slice of bread". I always try to eat when I drink but when you don't have something to eat then a beer makes you full too.  Maybe seven beer is a bit too much. When I drink seven beer I fall asleep. After one beer I get really talkative. After three beers I get tired. 

5. I hate the smell of barbecue sauce. I just can't stand it. I don't know how people can actually like that. David likes it by  the way (it seems like he loves to eat all the stuff I hate and I hate all the stuff he likes. Good combination. :)). I don't know what's it made of but it smells like rotten bones covered with burned sugar and wood. 
6. A couple of years ago I ate a whole Habanero pepper. I wanted to be brave. I like spicy food a lot and so I thought it wouldn't be that bad. But hey, it was terrible. I wanted to call an ambulance because first I wasn't able to feel my hands anymore, then my nose, I was blue and red around my eyes and it was just absolutely painful. I ate a whole baguette to lessen the pain. Water does not help at all against it.

What's your favorite food?
Here's a picture of Findus on his favorite blanket. He is a very relaxed bunny. And he likes to eat. As you can see. He only gets fresh food and he runs around a lot so I don't know why he is so chubby...But my vet says he is absolutely fine. I am sure it is just his bone structure. :) And the picture is not very flattering. Haha. He is a beautiful bunny!

Have a lovely Sunday!!

America vs. Germany Part V. Air conditioning! + soccer and a cute animal.

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend! As you all know I am a huge Fußball fan and the Euro 2012 is going on. I hope my Germans will win. Usually I sit in front of the TV or a huge screen somewhere outside with lots of people, I have my face painted with the German colors, have a beer and scream at the screen because I am so excited. This year I can't be excited. Because the UEFA (damn you, Union of European Football Associations) decided that Ukraine is one of the two hosts of this years cup. Besides other reasons that I don't want to address here on my blog Ukraine decided to "clean" the streets from stray dogs in order to make the city attractive for all the visitors. "Cleaning the streets" means that they killed, poisoned, shot the dogs, they burned them alive or beat them to death, run them over by cars. They even used a mobile cremation truck to kill as many dogs as possible. You can read about it here. Ukraine made many decisions that I can't support but this treatment of animals makes me sad, devastated and angry. I can't understand how the UEFA could make such a decision. They ruined the Euro for me...but even worse they took the lives of thousands of innocent animals that did not have the chance to survive. It is a sad time in the history of soccer. And I wish that more politicians would speak up against the saddening behavior of Ukrainian government and the UEFA. I can't support this decision and I wish that the fans would have decided not to buy the tickets for the games that take place in the Ukraine. But unfortunately lots of people just turn a blind eye on it. 

Okay, are you still there? 
It's time for another part of my America vs. Germany series. Today I want to talk about a very important topic for me. And yes, I am aware of the fact that this topic might irrelevant for others. So first of all I have to tell you a little bit about myself:
I make a hot water bottle before I go to bed from September to April. I wear warm socks in bed. I wear a scarf most days of the year. I have a warm blanket on that couch that I use every night, even in summer. I rarely wear short stuff because I get too cold. In winter I sometimes wear two scarves, gloves, a really warm coat, a hat (I look stupid but I don't care), I even have a little pocket heater. I have a heated blanket. When the temperatures are under 20C I get cold. And yes, I have heard the argument that this is  just because I don't eat meat but that's crap. So yeah, I am an icicle. I don't like it but I live with it.
But I have to say that America doesn't make it easy for people like me. I don't know if I am the only person in America who feels like that. 
For example: It was February the first time I went to America. February. Cold. I wore my winter coat, boots, scarves, gloves. I went to my gate at Frankfurt airport and what did I see? People with flip flops! And shirts! And shorts. I was very irritated but that was nothing compared to what I saw at Charlotte airport. More flip flops, more shorts and more short sleeves. I felt like an outsider. David only wore a hoodie but no coat by the way. So yeah, that was my first experience....Americans don't get cold. It must be something in their genes. I don't know. So I am different. I can live with that.

The first time I went to an American movie theater was quite a shock to me. It is freezing cold in there! At least for me. It seems like I am the only one who feels like that because I always see people with shorts and flip flops in the movie theaters. Even girls which is very surprising for me because most of my Europeans friends are like me and get cold very easily. Last week we went to the movie theater and it was hot outside. I mean, really hot. Like 30 degrees Celsius or 90 degrees Fahrenheit. I wore ballerinas but I took warm socks with me, a hoodie and a scarf, And I needed all of it. First I wanted to be brave and see how long I can last with my short sleeves. After 10 minutes I started to wear my hoodie....a little later the socks. And then I used my scarf as a blanket. I am weird, I know. Please tell me that I am not the only person who feels like that and brings warm clothes to the movie theater. 

So America, I know that you like air-conditioning. But don't you think it's a bit too much sometimes?

Last year I went to a restaurant with David, her sister and her boyfriend. It was the first time I met David's sister and I wanted to make a good impression. It was May and it was very hot outside. I wore sandals, a top and jeans. I had a coat with me but I left it in the car because it was so hot. We decided to go to a restaurant....I can't tell you how much I suffered in there. Everybody else seemed to be fine. Although David's sister said later that it was a little chilly inside. "A little chilly" was definitely an understatement. I was freezing cold! Freezing! I started to shiver like crazy but as I said, I wanted to make a good impression so I did not go back to the car to get my coat. I was brave. And almost froze to death.

Every American has air-conditioning in the house. I haven't been to a house without air-conditioning. In Germany we have air-conditioning in public offices etc. That's okay. It is definitely not as cold as in American buildings. But most people don't have air-conditioning in their houses. At least I don't and all my friends don't. I would be interested to know if some of my German readers  here have air-conditioning in their house? Anyway, the house we live in here in America has air-conditioning and David loves it! I always call our bedroom "The ice hell" because sometimes it is so cold in their that I have to sleep in winter clothes in summer. Okay, I admit...it is not as bad as it was anymore. When I visited the first time I was shocked because of all the cold. I think we found a compromise now and we can both live with it. I think German houses are different, that's why we don't have air-conditioning. The houses are build in a different way. I mean, I never had air conditioning in my house but it was always very comfortable in summer. At least for me. Maybe Americans would feel different about it. I don't know. 

How do you feel about air conditioning? Are you always cold? Or do you wear flip flops in February?

Remember this post? My cats are from another planet and came to take over the world! And I recently discovered that at least one of my bunnies joined them!

Go, Tiffie! He may look harmless but he is quite a super bunny! You can't stop him!

Have a wonderful Saturday! I really hope Germany will win even when I can't enjoy it. And I also hope that the team will set an example and speak out against animal abuse!

Book club! And a bottle post!

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

my fabulous friend Miki from Miki's Scrapbook surprised me with a lovely little package! She is such a sweetheart and she absolutely made my day! Thank you so much, Miki! I am so happy that we are friends! It's just sad that you live so far away, we should totally meet up someday! She did not send me a normal letter.....she sent me the coolest mail I ever got: A bottle post!!! How cool is that?

I am sure that our mail man was a little confused about this unusual package. I totally freaked out when I saw it, started to smile and looked like an idiot. I took a picture and sent it to David because I had to share the awesomeness with somebody. Then I wrote Miki a mail and told her how wonderful she is. After that I started to wonder how she got all the stuff in there. It was a mystery. I opened the bottle but there was  no way that all the stuff could fit through that little hole. I had no idea how to get the stuff out of there so I went to the kitchen and got a knife. So I started to cut the bottom of the bottle open and tried not to but myself in the leg. I succeeded but I still had no idea where she opened the bottle. (After a long inspection I found out that she cut the bottle into two halves and then put the address sticker etc. over it. Very tricky!). So the bottle looked like this:

And I was able to look what was in the bottle. I have to say that I spent the first 15 minutes just looking at the bottle because I was so delighted about it. But yeah, I also wanted to see what Miki sent me. 
I did not expect this:

Miki! So many things! Thank you so much! I am still smiling when I look at it!!

She sent me some beautiful blue candles, tea, cards (how cute is that skunk?), an owl sticker (I love owls!! But I never say the word right and so David always laughs at me), a peace-heart-sticker, some of the great matchbox stickers she recently ordered and two absolutely cute cat buttons (is that the right word for it? That's the word we use in Germany so I am not sure)...I immediately put the buttons on my scarf (yeah, I wear a scarf in summer. I am always cold. Always.).

They are so cute!!! I love cats! I love buttons! I will wear them every day!
Isn't Miki awesome? Thank you so much, Miki. I am really speechless, you absolutely made my day! And I really hope that you will like my little package! :)

Awesome package....awesome book. Very smart transition! 

I am currently reading "The torso" by Helene Tursten.

Helene Tursten is a Swedish writer and she writes crime novels. I guess you are not surprised that I am writing about another crime novel. A Scandinavian one. But hey, these are my favorite books and I want to share them with you.
Funny fact: Helene Tursten was a dentist first but had to give up the job because of arthritis (okay, maybe that fact is not so funny) and became a famous writer.
Her protagonist is Detective Irene Huss who lives in Göteborg, Sweden with her husband (a chef) and twin daughters and works for the Swedish police. 

The title of the book is "The torso"....the original Swedish title is "Tatuerad torso" which means "tattooed torso". The Germans had to do their own thing again and named the book "Die Tätowierung". That just means "The tattoo". I really don't understand why they all have to use different titles. Yes, there is a torso. And the torso has a tattoo on it. So it would have been easy to use the same title "The tattooed torso" in every language. But maybe I expect too much.

Anyway. The book.

I think you can already guess from the title what they find. Right, a torso. No hands, no legs, no head. The torso washes up on a beach in near Göteborg. The police doesn't know anything about it, it is so mutilated that the gender is only established by DNA testing. A similar case which is several years old (a prostitute) remains unsolved in Copenhagen, Denmark. Detective Huss is dispatched to Denmark to work with the police there. They discover a third corpse. The daughter of Irene's former neighbor who went to Denmark to become a famous model but worked for an escort agency. The fourth victim, the son of the woman heading the Copenhagen crime squad is also known to Detective Huss. She fears that the killer is tracking her, killing people with whom she is connected. She even suggests that the killer could be a colleague from the police....

Wow. I mean, that book is awesome! Yes, you need steady nerves. But you won't regret reading it. I saw a Helene Tursten movie a couple of weeks ago and it drew my interest to the books. "The torso" is the first Tursten book I read and I definitely want to get all her other books. I am addicted now. I need to read all Tursten and Sigurðardóttir (see post here books I can get. I love crime novels and I can't get enough. 

I am linking of with Heather from Blonde...Undercover Blonde!




Have a lovely Friday!

America vs. Germany Part IV.2 - more randoms.

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

first of all I want to thank you guys for all the lovely comments on yesterday's post! It really means a lot to me that you enjoy reading my posts and take the time to leave me a comment. You are so wonderful and I am happy that I met you! Since I started blogging I have met so many fabulous people, I love reading your blogs and your comments, you are all so wonderful and it means so much to me that I can share my thoughts with you! You rock!

Every day is an adventure for me, there are so many differences between my two countries, some are weird, some are funny but it is always very exciting for me to discover all these things that make my life so special.  

You can find number 1-5 here.

So here are some more random facts about America and Germany. I know that many things in America are different from state to state so I can only talk about my experiences.

                                        An American in Europe. He does not look excited!

6. the flag and pride.

Okay, I can see a big difference between the two countries here. Lots of people have the American flag in front of their house, you see the American flag on postcards, paper plates, stickers on cars, clothes...everywhere! People are completely excited to be American and they show it. I like that! I mean, it is cool that they get so excited about it, I like excited people. Americans love their country but they also love other countries and want you to tell them more about the place you come from. 
In Germany you barely see the German flag. Sure, you see them in front of government buildings but that's pretty much it. People don't have the German flag in front of their house. It's completely different to America. I mean, Americans can say that they are proud to be American. But honestly, I don't think that Germans can say it like that. It's our history. When you say that you are proud to be German then people think you are a Nazi. That is kind of sad. Yes, we have that history. But it is not like that anymore. Germany is a nice country and I like to be a German. Would I say that I am proud to be German? Probably not. Because it sounds weird. I think the only time you see German flags everywhere is during the World Cup or the Euro Cup. People go crazy, paint their faces in black-red-gold (yes, me too), have flags, wear the shirt of our team and we all watch the games together in front of a huge screen. It is called "public viewing". I love it. People are proud to be German during that time because of the Fußball. We don't show it the rest of the time. 
The same applies to the national anthem. You don't sing the German national anthem without a Fußball match. I hear the American anthem all the time. 

7.movie titles

I have talked about this before but sometimes it bothers me how stupid German movie titles are. I feel a bit ashamed when Germans translate the original title to something completely stupid. I mean, there is no need to do this. You can just keep the original title like other countries do. But I guess Germany can't because they have to show that they can dub every single American or English show or movie. Personally I can't watch most of my favorite shows in German. It just sounds weird. One of my most favorite shows is "Friends". I have watched all seasons several times. But the German version is so NOT funny. I don't know who translated the show but these people had the talent to ruin most of the jokes. And the voices just sound weird. I prefer to watch the original version of the shows and movies. 

No, I won't watch "Meet the parents" tonight, I will watch "Meine Braut, ihr Vater und ich" (My bride, her father and me) because the title sounds so intelligent.


8.bread

America, you are a great country but I have to say that your "bread" stinks! Sorry, but it is true. I am used to have really nice dark bread, with a yummy crispy crust and lots of grains it in.  That's what I am talking about:

I am not really satisfied with your soft weirdness you want to sell me as a bread. For me it's toast because I have to toast it first to get something crunchy. Plus: No grains. It tastes like paper. It really does. 
I am sure I would be able to find a good bakery somewhere, maybe even a German bakery. But unfortunately not here in town. I am thinking about baking my own bread. I miss my German Brot, I really do. 

9. holidays and vacation time

David always says that we Germans are lazy because we have so many vacation days and holidays. Today is a holiday in Germany by the way. No work. At least in my state. So yeah, we do have many holidays in Germany and we have at least 30 vacation days every year.. That does not mean we are lazy but I guess our whole life is not just work. Wouldn't it be nice to have some more vacation time? Do you really like to work that much and have only 15 vacation days a year? Yeah, I thought so. So that's a big plus in Germany. It is a question of "live to work" or "work to live". Sure, lots of people like to work and love their jobs but there is more in life than just work. I prefer to have some more free time for traveling, doing things with my family, read books or just relax. I really do. And I am sure every American would be happy about some more holidays and vacation days. 

10. shops are always open. 

I think Germany is moving in that direction. I remember that a couple of years ago stores closed at 4pm on a Saturday. Or even earlier. It depends on the size of the store. Now you can say that most stores close at 8 pm and they are always closed on Sundays. There are some exceptions to that. For example some stores are open the Sunday before Christmas. But that's usually only a couple of hours in the afternoon. Some stores are even open until 10 pm in some bigger cities. So yeah, that's different to America because all the major grocery stores are open 24 hours a day. And that is almost every day. That's okay but I really have to say that I don't need that. I never had the desire to go shopping on a Sunday. Never. And I don't need a new outfit at 10 pm. I really don't. Sure, it is nice that when you bake a cake on a Sunday afternoon and you are out of flour you can just go to the store and get some. But when does that really happen? I never needed that. When I wanted to bake a cake I got the ingredients on a Saturday. Or I went to my neighbor to borrow some flour. Sure, some people work every day and maybe they only have time to go shopping on a Sunday. Okay, I guess for those people it's kind of nice that the stores are open all the time. But how many people really need that? I don't know. Personally I like to have a relaxed Sunday without any shopping. Sunday is my day to read books, catch up with some shows, watch a movie, go hiking etc. But I don't need a new outfit that day. Or do my grocery shopping. Maybe it is just because I grew up with closed stores. But I can survive like that. I really can.

11. handshakes

Okay, I need your help for this one. I feel like in Germany people do a lot more handshakes. Especially in business situations. Or let's say: when you go to a doctor do you shake his/her hand? I shook a couple of hands here in America and I always felt like people look at me in a strange way. Is that just my imagination or are handshakes not a very common thing in America?

Okay, that's it for today. :) But there are still some differences left for more posts. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday!
Lumpi is asleep but he wants me to say hi to everybody!

Katrin

America vs. Germany Part IV.1 - some random stuff. And a cute chicken.

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

as most of you know I am a German native who is currently living in the United States of America and I guess you can imagine that there are some major differences between those two countries. I have talked about ice cubes in my drinks, driving in America and going to a restaurant. And today I want to discuss some smaller differences between my two countries.

First of all: It really is a big adventure to live in a completely strange country. I mean, everybody reads and sees things about America on the news, in books etc. And you think you know a lot about the other country. But some things are quite shocking to you when you actually live in that country. Even when you heard about it before. So there are many things I am still getting used to. There are things I like better in America and also things I like better in Germany. 
Personally I like to read about all the differences between countries so I hope you will enjoy reading this.

1. bank notes.

It was so weird for me when I came to America for the first time. In Germany I changed some Euros into Dollars because I thought I would need it. In Germany you don't use your credit card when you go to the bakery to get a bread for 2 Euros. You pay cash. So I thought it would be better to change some money. I have seen the American bank notes before but when I actually had them in my hands it was quite a shock. They all look the same! The have the same size, almost the same color...only the number on it is different. So when I actually go somewhere and pay cash (I really feel weird when I pay 2,56 Dollars with my credit card) then I get really confused and people have to be patient with me. I have to take all  the notes out of my wallet and look at them to find the one I need. It is even more confusing with the coins because I am not used to them yet. I have to look at every single one to see what it is. And the writing is so small that it takes forever to read it. So I am sure I look like a complete idiot at the check out. It is so much easier to pay with Euros. Sure I am used to them but honestly, it was much easier to get used to Euros than to Dollars. We changed our currency back in 2002 from Deutsche Mark to Euro. And it was no problem. I did not feel like an idiot (sure everybody had to get used to it but still). So yeah, most time I just pay with my credit card to avoid that people make fun of the weird European girl who can't handle her money.

Aren't they cute? Different colors, different sizes, different architecture on it. 

2. trains.

I don't have a car here in America. I never thought that it would be such a problem but you can't get anywhere without a car! No chance! Okay, I lived in a very small town in Germany (700 people live there) and the public transportation wasn't that great there but at least there was public transportation! The town I live in now is much bigger but: No bus! Not one single bus! No train! Not even bike lanes. Not even a sidewalk on the busiest road in town. So I take the bike to go to grocery stores. And yes, I am the only one who does that. People honk all the time. I am scared. There are so many cars and I have to drive on their road to get to the grocery store. It is more than terrifying! It is hell. Is there a bicycle stand in front of the grocery store? No. So I have to hide my bike behind some flowers and hope that it will still be out there when I come back. But I guess nobody will steal it because people don't really have a use for it. They have their cars. In Germany I took the train to go to work. I had time to read and drink a coffee and I did not have to worry about traffic jams and finding a place to park. I think the whole time here in America I have seen 2 trains. It is weird. Sure there is the subway in New York etc. But I don't live in a huge city like that. So: No public transportation.

                                                            German train station.

3. beer.

I guess you knew that I have to talk about this topic. There is no doubt that German beer is better than American beer. German beer is probably the best in the world. It is a huge part of our culture.  But I really don't want to get into detail. The thing I want to talk about is the drinking age. In Germany you can buy beer when you are 16, you have to be 18 to buy stuff like vodka, rum etc. In America you have to be 21 to even get a beer in a bar. That is really weird for me and I don't know what to think about it. Is it good? Or not? I mean, you can drive when you are 16 but you have to wait 5 years to be able to buy a beer. I have to admit that I sometimes feel like an alcoholic here in America. I don't drink much, a beer or two at the weekend. Or we share a bottle of wine. When I go to a party I have a couple of drinks. For me that's normal. you won't find a German party without alcohol. Most people drink responsibly. But here I am the only person in my American family who even drinks alcohol. Except of David...I am a bad influence, I really am. But there is no wine at family parties. How is that in other families?

4. friendliness.

Yes, Americans are much friendlier than Germans. At least on the outside. Germans can be grumpy, I admit it. When you go to a party as a stranger it might be difficult to start a discussion with a group of Germans. That's not because we are completely unfriendly. We are shy. We need some time to get used to the situation. We need to figure out what to say first. We are reserved. But we DO like you. Trust me. So just start a conversation with us and you will see that most of us are really nice. Americans are always friendly. In every store people smile at you, when you go to the post office the person behind you starts a conversation with you. In Germany people complain why they have to wait so long. I know. That's annoying. But we don't mean it. We don't hate everybody else who waits at the post office. Really. That's just how we are. Americans smile a lot. Germans not so much. We only smile when we mean it. I like it that Americans are always friendly. I also have to admit that sometimes it's a bit too much. It hurts to have to smile back all the time. Haha. But I do my best. Just don't hate me when I am not in the mood to smile. I can still be friendly. Even when I don't smile at you. Sometimes it is so exhausting. But Americans never get exhausted of that. How is that?

5. recycling.

Well, that's really weird for me in America. In Germany I have my "Gelber Sack" (yellow sack) where I put my plastic cups, cans, aluminium foil etc. in. I have a "Biotonne" for things like plants, grass, leftover food. I have a container for white glass, a container for brown glass, a container for green glass, a container for paper, one for clothes and shoes, there is a place you can bring your old batteries, a place where you can bring oil, paint etc. And there is a trash can for everything else. 
Here in America I have a ton. Period. That's weird. I don't like that. At least we found one place in town where you can bring some of the stuff and sort it. Like paper and glass. But what's with my Gelbe Sack-trash? I am desperate! Help me! I feel bad just to put it in the normal trash? I want to rinse my yogurt cup and put it in a sack! I grew up with that and I feel really really really bad when I can't do that! 

Oh, there are lots more differences I want to talk about. So please make sure to come back to read the next part of my little series.


My song of the day is "Schwarz zu blau" by Peter Fox. A pretty cool groovy German song about Berlin. 

Oh and I have the feeling that people like cute animal pictures. :) So here's a little adorable chicken for you!

You can also read about the strange fact that German movies never use the original American title here  (Mein Baby gehoert zu mir, ist das klar?) and some funny facts about Germans here. (You know you're German when...)

Have a lovely Wednesday!!

Ten on Tuesday. Wake up songs. Books. Mixtapes. Cute pet pictures.

Hallo Ihr Lieben,

I am linking up with the fabulous Lin from Linny's vault!

I don't like to get up in the morning. I really really really dislike it. Sometimes I had to get up at 4:30 because I had to leave the house at 5:30  to catch the train at 6 to be at work at 7. That was nice. So you can imagine that I needed lots of coffee to stay awake. (The problem was that I never went to bed before midnight). I also needed some good wake-up-music that prevented me from falling back asleep. So today I want to share some of these songs with you. 
And because I don't want this post to be too boring I split it 50/50 into wake up songs and another random things about me. Sounds interesting? Maybe not. You'll see.

1. The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger

The perfect song to wake up in the morning. At least in my opinion. It is also used as the "goal hymn" for several Fußball clubs. And Fußball is always good. 

2. Surfer Blood - Swin

I have seen Surfer Blood last year when they opened for ...And you will know us by the trail of dead and they were incredibly good. The singer seemed to be a little awkward but I guess that was only my opinion. Haha. I guess he was just nervous because those guys are pretty young.

3.  Kaiser Chiefs - I predict a riot

I love to listen to that song in my car. Really loud. And then I ruin it because I have to sing. But I am awake then. 

4. Maximo Park - Apply some pressure

Oh, I think this is my favorite wake up song! I just love it!

5. Goldfinger -Superman

That's the only song I really like from that band but I heard it in my friend's car and immediately liked it. And makes me smile in the morning and that's why I always have the cd in my car. Does anybody still have tapes by the way?

6. That brings me to mix tapes. :) I love mix tapes! And I mean "tapes". Sure, it is not the easiest way to share music  but I am pretty oldschool and I love it. I mean, you sit in front of your tape deck for 90 minutes and record some great music for people. I always swapped mix tapes with all my pen pals when I was a teenager and I still have all of them. I am scared of the day they will stop working. I have themed mix tapes, mix tapes from different bands, different countries, the covers are all designed with love....it is just so awesome. The world needs more mixtapes. 

7. And that brings me to a really good book: Love is a mixtape by Rob Sheffield.

I have read it a couple of years ago and I really feel like I want to read it again now. It is a heart-warming books about love, loss and music. Rob Sheffield tells us the story of his life using the listings of fifteen of his favorite mix tapes. It begins with the day he first met the girl of his dreams and ends when he has to watch her die. This book shows what power music can have for two people, that it builds a strong bond between two persons that not even death can destroy. I really recommend this book! Even when you are not a music lover.

8. I have some of my favorite albums as vinyl. Not that I listen to them every day but I really like the fact that I have a record player and lots of albums that I can play with it. It is such a completely different experience, I can't really describe it but it's awesome.

9. My lovely Miss Sugar Shack (you can find her fabulous blog here) requested some more pics of my pets. So  here you are:

Tiffie looking pretty cool. He eats my homemade cookies here by the way. And yeah, Tiffie sounds like a bunny-girl....The first couple of weeks I though he is a girl but then he turned out being male.

Tiger in one of his favorite sleeping places: a cardbox.

10. I hate it when water runs down my back. I just can't say why but the first seconds when I am under the shower are always terrible for me. It just doesn't feel right. 


I hope you are all having a fabulous Tuesday! Thank you so much for reading my blog, you are all more than wonderful!!