Oh, wham bam, oh Amsterdam (Yeah yeah yeah)

Hallo meine Lieben,

Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world. I love the atmosphere of the city, the architecture, all the bikes, the Dutch language....When David came to visit me in Germany last year we weren't sure where to go. I wanted to show him my home state, Saarland. But I also wanted to show him a more exciting place. We narrowed it down to London, Rome and Amsterdam and I let David decide. I don't know why but he picked Amsterdam and so we reserved a room in a really cool hotel in the middle of Amsterdam. The Renaissance Hotel Amsterdam in Kattengat. 
Before we went to Amsterdam we stayed 3 days at the North Sea in Cadzand Bad, visited Bruges and other beautiful places and then headed to Amsterdam to spend another 3 wonderful days there. We parked the car outside of Amsterdam because we did not want to take the car with us. So we took the train to Amsterdam Centraal. It was so much cheaper than finding a parking lot in Amsterdam. 
We walked to our hotel which was only 3 minutes away from the Central station and then started to explore the city.
I want to share some of our pictures with you. 

This is one of the smallest houses in Amsterdam. It is not the smallest house though. In the past the property taxes were set on the width of a building and so people built houses like this one. I would love to be able to visit one of them, I am sure it's amazing inside. 

A gracht (canal). I just can't get enough of them. I already pointed out that I love all cities that have canals such as Venezia, Bruges and Amsterdam. David and I would love to own a boat house as our vacation home. Totally awesome. There is a boat house museum but we haven't been there. 

We tried to find some great restaurants in town and searched in the not so touristy areas. This Pizzeria was really good, I think we were the only customers though. I was very suprised that David ordered a tea with his pasta. 

More canals. I am not sure how many canal pictures we took but too many to show you all of them. We just did not get enough.

David in the Torture Museum. We saw some really cool torture instruments. The museum was pretty small though. I have been to a torture museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Germany and there was much more to see. We did not regret going, it was very interesting but I expected more for the entry fee.

This is the most famous sex shop in Amsterdam, Absolute Danny. It is located in the Red Light District and we got yelled at 2 seconds after we took this picture. It was not allowed but David could not resist. The sales person who was dressed in varnish and leather got pretty mad.

A dog in front of a boat house. So perfect. I would love to sit in front of my boat house, looking at the canal with a dog next to me.

We also visited the Van Gogh museum. I think it is pretty difficult for Americans to pronounce "Van Gogh" in the correct way. European languages can be mean.

We had an amazing time at the museum and stayed a couple of hours. 

Dinner at a great restaurant in China Town. We paid 12 Euros for two cans of Heineken though. Not really a bargain but the food was great.

Gracht. People always park their cars next to the canal. I am pretty sure something terrible would happen if I'd try to park my car there at night.

Red Light District. Very interesting place to look at people. I felt a little sorry for the poor ladies in the windows. Most of them looked not very interested and just typed something on their phones. I am sure it gets pretty boring to spend your time sitting in a window getting yelled at from drunken tourists.

Flowers market. I liked that market a lot, you can find all kinds of flowers there. But it is also a very touristy place.

I love the architecture in Amsterdam and can't get enough. The houses are all so beautiful and unique.

David and I had to take a boat trip on the canals. We chose the perfect time because it was getting dark when we started. Very romantic. Schatz, thank you for the wonderful 3 days in Amsterdam. I had such a wonderful time with you! You are my everything! I love you!

A parking garage for bikes. Located next to the train station. I love that Amsterdam is so bike-friendly. You can go everywhere by bike and you always find a place to park your bike. Plus the bikes always have the priority in traffic. Love it.

Our hotel room. The bed was so comfortable!

David and I had a fantastic time in Amsterdam and I hope we will be able to visit the city again as soon as possible. It has so much to offer and three days just wasn't enough time to see everything we wanted.

What's your favorite city? Have you been to Amsterdam? What's your favorite place there?

Have a lovely Saturday!

Book club! More crime! And surprise: a good German book title.

Hallo meine Lieben,


it's Friday again which means it's time to link up with Heather from Blonde...Undercover Blonde. I want to talk about another crime novel because they are awesome and I can't get enough of them. You guys have to tell me if you get sick of all the crime and murder, okay? I love it. By the way, after I finished school I wanted to become a police officer and work for the homicide division but they told me that my eyes were too bad and that I need surgery first. That eye exam was very embarrassing because I wasn't able to see anything. Everything was just blurry. So sad.


Okay, the book. I want to talk about another crime novel by Helene Tursten. I recently started to read her Inspector Huss series and already showed you another book from her which is called The Torso.
The book I want to show you today is called "Detective Inspector Huss". The original Swedish title is "Den krossade tanghästen". Unfortunately I have no idea what that means. Google translate says it means "The crushed touched the horse" but maybe one of you can speak Swedish and tell me what it really means. Most of the German titles are really stupid and I never understand why Germany can't manage it to give its books, movies, shows better names but I have to admit that Germany did a better job this time. I think it is pretty boring to name a book after the protagonist so I don't really like the English title. The German title is "Der Novembermörder" and I think that sounds much more exciting. But that's just my taste.


And yeah, i do realize that I started the series by reading the third book but that's just because I found it at a flea market after I have seen the movie about another book from Helene Tursten. So now I try to read them in the right order.


This is the book:

And this is the German edition. 

I think the German cover looks more like a crime novel, the English edition looks like a historical book. But it has the same content and you should not judge a book by its cover. But hey, I have to admit that I always look closer at books when I like the cover. I can't help myself. I am sure I have missed some really good books that way....but I mean, when I read about a book on the internet (and I do search for new interesting books all the time) then I don't care how they look.
Have you ever realized that German and English book pages are completely different? I mean, they have different material (i know they are both made of paper, but different types), they have different thickness etc. 


I should really start to talk a little bit about the content....


A cold, icy rain is falling on the city of Göteborg as frazzled commuters head home in the dark. A man falls through the night and lands on the pavement. Did he slip from his balcony? Jump? Or was he pushed?
It turns out that the man is the famous financier Richard von Knecht. It also turned out that he fell in front of his own wife and son. Detective Inspector Huss is confronted with the high society friends and the impenetrable family of the victim. Even more dramatic events happen....four additional deaths, two bombs, a stakeout gone wrong and so on. Can Detective Huss reveal the truth? 


The book is very exciting and thrilling...so much is going on and sometimes it's a little hard to keep track. And I have to say that this book definitely has a weakness in my opinion. As I said, I have read book number 3 before I started the first book. And I can definitely see that there is not much character development in the first book which is a little disappointing for me. I love the characters in the third book, you learn so much about them and it is easy to relate to them because you know so much about their personal life. Her two teenage daughters and her husband (a chef) play an important role in the other book and you can read a lot about the tension between her personal life and her job. In the first book you don't have such a close connection to the main character. I am glad that  I have read the third book first! I have all the knowledge about her private life and how she became a detective and a judo expert....And it's not only the main character. I have learned so much about her co-workers (the Finnish detective Rauhala, her boss Andersson and so on) which makes it a lot easier to relate to the them. I miss that in the first book, you don't get such a deep insight in the characters. There are many issues in Huss' private and job life, but they don't really get addressed so much. I am very thankful that there is such a huge development in "The Torso". 





What are you currently reading?
Have a wonderful Friday!

America vs. Germany Part VI. Weird eating habits.

Hallo meine Lieben,


I hope you are all having a wonderful and sunny day! I know, the weather in Germany is not very nice at the moment but I am sure it will be better soon! Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer? Hopefully soon! Ach, Rudi Carell! Herrlich. 

Okay. Food is important. I love to eat and to cook. I am a terrible baker but I think my cooking is fine. I can't find all the things I like and used to eat in Germany here but I think I found a good way to deal with it. I am glad that I found my Maggi Würze here in America. It hurts a bit that I have to pay 4 Dollars for a 100ml bottle but okay. I love it, I need it, I use it for everything (by the way, I can get a 1000 ml bottle for 3 Euros in Germany. Man.).

I miss German Bretzeln though. One time I bought an American pretzel (why do you spell it wrong, America?) and there was sugar on it. I want salt! Or sunflower seeds! But not sugar. 

I found some fantastic vegan Würstchen though! Good job, America! That makes it a lot easier to grill out! By the way, David says that the German Bratwurst in America never tastes like German Bratwurst. 

As you can imagine there are many differences between German and American food. I could talk about this for hours but I just want to mention a few that really stand out to me. Please write me if you have any other suggestions. 

★ Chips for lunch

When I first came to America I thought that's just a thing that David does. He sometimes eats chips for lunch. For example he has a hot dog on his plate and next to it a handful of chips. As a side. For me chips is not a side. In Germany you get vegetables or rice or salad or whatever as a side but I have never seen chips on a plate. I don't know why you would do that. Because it's easy? I mean, you just have to grab a bag and but the chips on your plate, no cooking etc. And no, it's not just David. Everybody eats it. I have seen other people do it, I have even seen it on TV. Walter White eats chips for lunch. 
It's so weird for me. Really. I mean, for me chips is something you eat in the evening in front of the TV when you watch a movie. Or at parties. 
I know that people eat fish and chips in England but as far as I know these "chips" are fries or something similar to that. And it's hot, not cold plain chips.
So yeah, it is really weird for me to see people eat chips for lunch together with their other food. And I am not sure if I will ever get used to it. For me it's an evening snack. 

★ No coffee after a meal.

I know, I know. People drink coffee in America too. That's not what I mean.
But when I go out for lunch or dinner in Germany I order a coffee when I am done eating. It's a ritual. I need that after a meal. Every restaurant has a menu with different coffee specialties. You don't see that in America very often. To be honest you rarely even see a "Getränkekarte", a card that lists all the different drinks the restaurant offers. Like different wines, beers, coffee etc. 
And I have never seen people order a coffee after a meal. That's weird because for me drinking a coffee is a perfect way to end a meal. Okay, when I go to my favorite Pizzeria in Germany I drink a coffee first and then get some free alcohol when I want to pay. That's nice. I never get free alcohol in America. It's a little mean if you ask me. 
My grandfather always said that "Alkohol ist gut für die Verdauung", Alcohol is good for your digestion. 
For me it's a very nice and cozy thing to drink a coffee after a meal in a restaurant. But it's just not possible to do that in America because a) they don't offer it and b) they bring you the check as soon as you finished eating.
I have said that before, going out for dinner is an experience for me....nothing you do in a rush. I want to sit in a restaurant for hours and talk. With a nice hot cup of coffee. 

★ leftovers

I have to say that this bothers me a lot because I just can't understand it.
One time I went to a restaurants with David and his parents. It was a buffet. As far as I know you can stand up and go to the buffet as often as you want. There are no limitations. That means you can go, get something, eat it and then decide if you are still hungry and then go again. Sounds easy. 
But I have to say that I was a little shocked! The place was not very crowded and there was so much food and I am sure that it was enough for everybody. But the other customers went to the buffet and came back having their plates (yes, plates. Not just one plate) full of stuff. I felt like I was in the middle of a war, food was short and you have to grab whatever you can. That's what my grandmother told me about World War II. You can't be picky, get as much food as you can carry, you never know when you will be able to get food again.
But we're not at war and hey, it's America. There's lots of food so you can be sure that you don't have to starve in a restaurant. 
I really don't know why people do that. All the tables were full of plates. Don't get me wrong, people can eat as much as they want! Really. Take as much as you can eat! But the problem is that people don't eat all their food! You see so many leftovers on the plates and I really wonder why people got all that food in the first place. I understand that people just don't like some of the food but you could try it first and then decide if you want more. 
David calls my plate "the European plate". I always try not to leave any leftovers.


★ real cheese

It's so funny for me to see that every American food that contains cheese says "With real cheese". It is a running gag in our house that we always make fun of the "reeeeeeaaaaaal cheeeeeese". It's really weird for me that every package says that it contains real cheese and not fake cheese. Shouldn't that be normal? 
Okay, in my opinion American cheese is NEVER real cheese but that's another story. 

★ baking = opening a package

I have never seen so many baking mixtures before. Really. It's overwhelming when you go to a grocery store and see hundreds of different packages. I never use them but I have seen that you get a package for every kind of cake, muffin, cupcake you want. 
And I feel like everybody uses these mixtures. I rarely see homemade cakes. I admit that I have seen homemade pies at Thanksgiving but what about a Schwarzwälderkirschtorte? Seems like people always buy cakes but rarely make them on their own.
And I know that Americans LOVE  their frosting. I just can't understand why.

★ no bakeries

I know, I have said that before....I miss my German bakeries! Bread, Laugenbretzeln and my Dinkelapfeltasche (spelt-apple-turnover). Every German village has a bakery, no matter how small it is. Only 700 people live in my home town. There is no supermarket, no nothing. But we have a bakery! People need a bakery. I want to go to a bakery on Sunday morning (yes, a lot of bakeries are open on Sunday mornings even when all other stores are closed) and get my warm crunchy Brötchen and eat it with yummy marmalade. 

★ no fat

Nothing contains fat in America. At least the packages say so. One time we went to the supermarket and I looked at yogurts (David likes yogurt, he eats it with his lunch by the way, not as a dessert or snack). Every single yogurt said "no fat". There was NO normal yogurt. I mean, you get non-fat yogurt in Germany too but that's the exception, not the standard. In America you don't even have a choice. Everything is non-fat and non-taste. Let's be honest, Fett ist ein Geschmacksträger, fat is a flavor-carrier. The fact that the food is fat-free might look healthy. But isn't it a little weird that all the yogurts contain lots of sugar instead? But it seems like people fall for it.

★ everything German is Bavarian

That's another weird thing for me to see. It seems like Americans love everything from Bavaria. Yeah, Bavaria is a great state! I love it. But not every German food comes from Bavaria. I mean, in Germany you don't buy "bayrisches Sauerkraut", you just buy Sauerkraut because it's a German thing and not a Bavarian thing. But I guess it sells better in America when it says that it's from Bavaria. It's a good advertising strategy.....but for Germans in America it's weird to see that all German food is Bavarian food. 

Do you like German food? What's your favorite food from your country?
Have a wonderful day!

PS: You can find more here:


America vs. Germany Part I
America vs. Germany Part II
Mein Baby gehoert zu mir, ist das klar?
Shoes from hell.
America vs. Germany Part III
America vs. Germany Part IV.1
America vs. Germany Part IV.2
America vs. Germany Part V

Cute Overload! Crazy cat lady edition.

Hallo meine Lieben,

I feel like sharing some fabulous cat pictures with you. I think it's time to celebrate the awesomeness of my cats. They always do funny and stupid things, make me smile and feel better. I guess anybody with a pets knows how I feel about them. 
So this is a warning! Don't read this if you can't stand all the cuteness. If you are a crazy cat lady (or maybe a crazy cat mister) too: Go ahead and enjoy. 

Lumpi and Tiger. They are almost 5 years old and brothers. They love to sleep a lot, especially in baskets or purses. 

Lumpi eats anything green. That's the reason why this was the only plant I ever owned (and the fact that I kill all plants). 

My Dad's cat Jerry (yes, his brother's name is Tom). She is 9 years old and loves to eat and sleep. I guess you can see that.

She also loves to hide. The problem is that she is too big to hide behind flowers. The couch works though. 

Okay, Lumpi loves anything green and anything made of paper. Give him paper and he is happy. (And you have to clean up the whole house later)

Aww. I love them. I'm fine with being a crazy cat lady. I talk to them and cuddle with them. But yes, I sometimes leave the house and talk to real people. I swear. I even have friends. 

That's love! These cats are really nice, I mean, they never scratch me and they always want to cuddle and are very patient. They even love the bunnies. 

Come on, you have to  love this....even when you are not a crazy cat lady.

They eat cardboxes. Well, they don't eat them but they make a puzzle out of them. Really fun to watch. A lot to clean afterwards. 

Tiger doesn't like this anymore. Findus the bunny sleeps in it now. 

Tiger wearing my hair band. He looks fabulous. 

As I said, he loves sleeping. A lot. 

Close up. 

Okay, I am sure the readers who are not into cats already stopped reading. In case you are still there: Please check out the blog Cat vs. human. Always makes me smile.

Have a wonderful day and show your pet some love!

Ten on Tuesday! A package full of books and angry Germans.

Hallo meine Lieben,


It's Tuesday and that means that I am linking up with fabulous Lin from Linny's Vault who is celebrating her 3rd blog birthday by hosting some wonderful giveaways! You should definitely go and check it out, she is wonderful and funny and her blog is fantastic!


1. My number one is my wonderful husband and best friend David! He loves me even though I don't want to live in a bubble made of the leftovers of the earth when the universe ends. Thank you, Schatz! You rock! I love you!

2. My friend Vanisha from Vanisha's life...in Australia surprised me this morning with a wonderful thank you card! Vanisha, thank you so much! You absolutely made my day! You are such a sweetheart and I am so happy that we are blog friends! 
Go and check out the blog of this wonderful, smart, fantastic woman!


3. I have met so many wonderful people since I started this little blog! Thank you so much for your support, our friendship means the world to me! You always make me smile when you leave a comment or send me an email! I love to come over and visit your blogs! One of my daily highlights! You know who you are! Thanks to all of you!


4. One of these lovely people is the wonderful Miss Sugar Shack! She is a German girl (like me), has an American husband (like me) and lives in the beautiful Netherlands! You should definitely go and check out her fabulous posts and pictures!

5. I recently discovered a great series of crime novels, written by the Icelandic writer Yrsa Sigurdardóttir. I also told my Dad how much I enjoyed her book "Geisterfjord". It was full of tension and really scary. And yesterday I found a package from my Dad in the mail: he sent me two new books from her! I totally freaked out because I did not expect that at all! Thank you, Papa! You are wonderful!

6. David recently told me that Germans always sound angry. I am thinking about this the whole time. I don't know if it's just me or all Germans. i need to do some research. I have never heard about this stereotype before. And do I really sound that angry? I can't believe it!

This is Oliver Kahn by the way. The former goalkeeper of the German national team. He was always angry. 


7. I found my perfect recipe for salad dressing. Horseradish mustard mixed with oil, rice drink, soy sauce and different spices. I love it and eat it every day. I used vanilla rice drink. I know that most people would not combine vanilla with horseradish and mustard but it doesn't have a really strong vanilla taste plus I like weird combinations.


8. It can be frustrating when people ask me why I don't eat fish. A fish is an animal, okay? And by the way, you can't be vegetarian/vegan and eat fish. That does not make any sense. People who eat like that are pescetarians. And no, I don't have any deficiency symptoms. :)

9. I am the world's worst poker player because you can always see if I have good or bad cards. I love to play it anyway and I am sure my opponents are happy about it too. 


10. I am also the world's worst mini golf player. I never won a single game but I always try to look professional. And I hurt the people who play with me. When I was a kid a hit my Mom's eyebrow with the bat so that we had to go to the hospital. 

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Mini Me. A childhood full of love, Lyoner and chocolate.

Hallo meine Lieben,

the fact that yesterday was Father's Day made me think a lot about my childhood. I had a wonderful childhood. I lived with my parents and grandparents in a small town and my best friends Julia and Susi (still my best friends by the way) lived next door. 
I spent a lot of time outdoors, played with my pets, hurt myself, watched cool shows like Inspector Gadget and Doctor Snuggles, played Lego and Playmobil with my friends, I also played soccer in a boy's team, entertained my grandma during her dialysis, painted a lot...and so on. 
I am very thankful and lucky that I had such a wonderful childhood. Thank you!
I thought it might be nice to share some of my childhood memories with you.

Me on my super cool train. I especially loved the fact that I was able to honk all the time. I am sure it wasn't annoying at all. This is in our backyard by the way. My two best friends lived next doors so we spent every afternoon together. I also spent a lot of time with our other next-door neighbors Christel and Karli, they are wonderful people and are still like grandparents to me. 

 You won't see anything like that again. Me eating meat. This is Lyoner, a very famous dish from Saarland. I stopped eating meat when I was 12. Everybody told me that it's only a phase and that I will start to eat meat again but I guess I proved them wrong. You never know what will happen in your life but one thing is for sure: no meat for me. I never looked back, never regretted this decision. It wasn't always easy because some people act like idiots and make fun of you. But I have always been proud of my decision so I just ignored all the stupid talk.

My Mom and me at the train station. I remember that we always packed a basket with food and went for a trip. I can't say it enough, I am so thankful that my parents gave me such a wonderful childhood full of love. And I can't tell you how much I miss my parents. I mean, I know that my Mom is always there for me and I talk to my Dad almost every day....but we have a very strong relationship so I still can't completely realize that my Mom is "gone". And I know that my Dad still suffers a lot so it is hard that I am not there for him. 

This is my neighbor's son Michael. He is like a big brother to me. He is still there for me and helps me and my Dad whenever he can. He and his wife have four cats and he is an awesome impersonator. My dress is pretty cool by  the way.

Me at my Grandma's. I have to say that I like my childhood pictures much better than all the pictures of me from the last couple of years. As you can see I really was a happy child. Good old times.

Me and my Grandma Anneliese. She was such a wonderful person. She is my Mom's mother by the way and she died when I was 9 which was devastating for me because I spent so much time with her as a child and we were very close. I played "Mühle" (a boardgame. I think it is called "Merels" in English) with her every evening, I lost every single game but my Grandma gave me cookies so I was fine. 

I love this picture! As you can see it was taken at Easter Sunday and I searched for my Easter presents. I look so focused...I can tell you: searching for Easter presents is a very serious business. 

I have to laugh every time I see the picture.

This is our neighbor's other son, Detlev. I adored him as a kid. And now I can spend time with his kids, it is so awesome. And you can see that I was a big chocolate fan! :)

I was pretty good at making funny faces on pictures. I guess I was a little bit of a clown as a kid. 

I can't believe that I ate that whole thing. Eating was a very important thing in my family. We always had dinner together. My Mom cooked for the whole family and after dinner my grandparents stayed with us, we watched some tv together, played games etc. It was wonderful.

I hope you guys enjoyed the little journey to my childhood. It was definitely lots of fun for me. :) Have a wonderful Monday!