It's time to share some big news

So! The time has come!
Remember I said that when the time will come I'll share some news?

So here it comes:

Rob and I are getting married this summer :-)

Just wanted to share, since now all the ppl that are supposed to hear it from us already did...

It's a big headache, we're planning also a celebration in Israel, on top of the one here in Germany, so we have a lot to organize...

Hope it all goes well with no troubles!

***
My dad visited us last weekend - which was very short but also very nice. He met Rob's parents and it was a nice dinner. I'm lucky to have such a dad and such people around me :-)

Other than that it's all normal, we're going to Dresden this weekend for a short visit - which makes me very happy! I miss my friends from there a lot. Although I did see Paula last Easter here in Munich, which was great. Now I have about 4 more friends to visit there and catch up with.

After that we'll go to Amberg and have an appointment in the city hall to set up some details about are wedding (we're getting married there).

And that's it I guess...

Have a great week you all!

Empty house

Last night I got back to Dresden after almost two weeks in Israel.
It was a really nice visit this time, got to see almost everyone I wanted to see, didn't force myself to eat anything (so didn't get to eat most of the things I don't have here) but I still got the stomach flew for 24 hours... It happened in the only day I actually ate more than I should have. I guess I'm not used to that anymore.
I saw my family a lot (which was really the best part of it) and saw all my friends at least once. Was at Tali's wedding, which was the most special wedding I've ever been to (in the middle of the mountains with great view to the valley and hills) and even though it was the hottest day ever- we managed to dance and have fun (it was an afternoon wedding).
Now she's in Nepal with her new husband, they were supposed to go on a trek but he doesn't feel so good (problems with his back) so they're kinda stuck. I'm waiting for another e-mail from her telling us what they did in the end...

I got back to Dresden last night, to an empty house- empty of people and empty of things. Rob took all of our things to Munich this weekend, and is only coming back from there today. It's so weird to be in such an empty place... Luckily- we're going to Spain tomorrow for a holiday (meeting Charles and Ana finally!!! YEY!!!), and when we'll be back we'll have exactly 5 days here and then- we're moving to Munich.

So... I guess I'll have a lot more to tell after Spain,
Have a good week everyone!

Beautiful Dresden

Last weekend Rob's older brother and his girlfriend were here. It was really fun!!! They came here on Thursday evening, we had dinner at home together and then we went to the old city to wonder around a bit. The next day we spent the whole day around town- and we got to see a lot of what this beautiful city has to offer. The next morning they had an event far away so they had to get up early and drive.

Here are pictures from that weekend-

one photo is worth a 1000 words...

(click pictures to see them in a normal size)

This is the Zwinger
Was build by Augustus the Strong
and today houses several art collections.
This is its Crown Gate.

The Frauenkirche
(the Women's Church)
Was rebuild in the last 10 years,
after it was almost totally ruined
in the bombings of February 1945.
It's pretty impressive (and huge!)



Blaues Wunder
(the Blue Wonder)
Said to be the first bridge in the world
to be build without any constructions in the water itself.
We crossed it from the side you see in the picture,
and took a cable car up on the hills.


Here it is again with some more view.

and again.

(these pictures were taken
from a really nice restaurant
on top of the hill
that has the nicest view in Dresden)


Here is the view to the other side-
The Elbe river and it's amazing valley.



On this side of Dresden
there is some of the nicest and
most expensive houses in town.
Even Putin himself used to own a house there
while living in Dresden
when it was still DDR (GDR).


Last picture- from Neustadt
the cool side of town.
We went to have dinner there,
and this is just a nice picture of the sunset.

Hope you enjoyed!!!
I'll sure miss this city...

Family visit

Last week, as I told here before, my mom and sis were here for a visit. They arrived on Friday night and left a week later on Friday afternoon. How can I sum it up? It was great, it was tiring, it was fun and it was really full of sight seeing. We were in Berlin for the first 3 days, and we saw a whole lot of it, we met Rob's parents and sister there too, we had a really cool apartment in a hostel called Alcatraz that we all shared (Rob and I and my mom and sis), we had great weather there (blue sky all the time) and basically it was really nice.
Then we drove back to Dresden, and spent 3 days here, saw almost everything there is to see (didn't have great weather but was still nice). I would put pictures but I don't have all of them yet.
On the day that they arrived I did a Toefl test which was one of the most exhausting experiences of my life, I'll get the results in about 3 weeks and we'll see how it went...
Last Friday I drove my sister and mom to the airport (I drove alone to Berlin and back!!!), and after I dropped them off, I met some friends in Berlin and also stayed to watch one of them give his Radio show in Hebrew. It was cool to sit in the studio and see them talk...
Today I had a Hebrew lesson again (the last two weeks were winter break) and it was nice, got some more things to do for them, and hopefully it'll become something regular- and this way I can make some more money every month.
After work I went to meet Cecilia, my Mexican friend, she came back from there a week ago. It was fun seeing her after a long time (almost 3 months).
Now I'm in bed, feel a bit yucky, hope I'll feel better tomorrow, coz I have to go to school after missing more than a week. I feel bad about missing so much, but to be honest, I didn't feel bad about it even for a second for the past week so... why start feeling bad about it now? maybe coz I'm a bit worried that I feel so far away from it now. Hopefully I'll go right in to it again...
This coming weekend my friend Yifat is coming for a visit, almost spontaneously (she told me she might come a few weeks ago, but only decided to really do it today) and it's gonna be a lot of fun!
Tali- my sweet friend- is getting married, she waited all week to tell me that in person on skype and not via e-mail. I told her that I have a phone (!!!) and that she could have called. She said she didn't know... LOL typical Tali! Anyway - it's very exciting and I wish her and her boyfriend (or shall I call him her husband to be?) a big Mazal Tov!!!
Oh and by the way, my cute amazing cell phone from China died totally last week, and now I have a simple Nokia that is ok but is about 10 generations of cell phones back in time... Troubles of the rich...
Have a good week everyone!!!

My window view

Remember this picture? from just a few weeks ago?

This is how it looks now:




I think we can start calling it winter.

Trüber November

It means- gloomy November. It is gloomy. And dark. Sometimes, for a second, you get to see the little pieces of sky that are left up there... Most of the time you see white sky. Yes! it's white! not even gray- just one big foggy cloud. It rains most of the time, but we also had snow already on Saturday night. It melted after 2 hours, but since then precipitation was mainly rain mixed with hail mixed with snow that melted on the way down from the huge big cloud that we call "The sky".
That's it for the weather.
Now to more interesting things:
Yesterday I had my second Hebrew lesson- went really good. My boss (if I can call her that) said that I'm a real "Mashki'anit" which basically means in Hebrew- that I put a lot of effort into things. Well I just don't like to do half of a job. Or even 90% of a job. Especially when I'm the one standing in the spot light in the end- teaching the lesson- coz if I don't really invest in it before- I'm the one who's gonna be standing there and not knowing what to do.
While I was teaching the last group of the three, I noticed police cars outside, and noise. My boss opened the door and we saw a group of about 30 ppl, gathering in front of the place. Apparently
it was a group of German ppl who are Israel supporters and were there to mention the Kristallnacht. They played some Klezmer music, and had a small ceremony. They moved from one Jewish institute to another, the whole Sunday morning, even though it was close to freezing degrees outside and raining. They had speakers- and everyone around could hear them. It made me feel so good here. It was heart warming to see ppl in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, where the NPD (National Democratic Party in Germany, AKA the new Nazis) has most of their votes from, doing something like that.

And to a different subject: my mom and my sister booked a flight to come here!!! It's in ages from now (3 months) but I'm so excited!!! Yey!!! They're gonna be here for a whole week!

Other then that - my new class in German school is much better, my teachers are genuine and nice, and simply good teachers. Even though I must admit that there are times when I still feel like breaking something / someone just because I really have a hard time learning German... Especially when I have to write an essay. We're suppose to practice writing a short essay of about 120 words. Every teacher gives us a new topic every week- which means that we have to write 2 of them per week. Well... don't have to write- it's an option- but if we want to pass the final German exams- the ones that will determine if we get into uni in Germany- we should. Anyway, you're probably asking yourselves: what the hell is her problem? she's been writing and yapping here on this blog for so long now! what's her problem to write 120 words as an essay??? What's the problem you ask? The problem is that for a person like me, who most of the time has lots to say about just about almost anything, it's really hard to write when I don't have the vocabulary, or worse- the grammar to write in a foreign language. It feels like I have so much going on in my brain, and I always have so much to say about the topics they give us- but all these thoughts and ideas go through a very dense small holed net- and all my thoughts are being screened away. My head usually threatens to explode and at some point I bang on the desk, breathing in and out slowly to make the anger go away. I've been driving Rob crazy with questions like: "How do I say this?" or "What's better to say- this or that?" he can't do anything while I write my essays coz I totally suck him into my nutty little frustrated world.
*Sigh*
Hope it'll get better... At least I'm kinda enjoying my classes :-)

That's it for now, if I'll have anything to say- don't worry, you know me- I will!

Stadt Fest

Today we went to the Stadt Fest (=City Festival) in Dresden. Ten minutes walk from home and we were in the Theatre Platz- where it all started. It is a mid-evil festival, and that means that there are a lot of stands with nice things to buy, or just nice food to eat. I had a beer that's made with honey (honey-beer) and I loved it! It tastes a bit sweeter than normal beer, and it has a bit different texture (less sparkly). We also had some nice potatoes and some good mid-evil bread- a big chunk of heavy fresh bread with yogurt and herbs on it. For desert I had a waffle with cherries. Yum!!! There were ppl dressed in mid-evil clothes, and some stages all around with live shows and music. It was great!!! Seeing the old town filled with ppl like that - it made the whole place look as if it's again the center of town, and not just a touristic place that reminds us there were once kings and lords who lived there. We got there at around 18:00 and left at 23:00, and I enjoid every moment. One of my German class mates, from Norway, joined us too- was fun seeing her before I leave (not sure if she's gonna be here when I'm back).
Here are some pictures:

The Elbe- Stands of food everywhere

A typical beer stand

I just love hot air balloons!
When the weather is nice
you can see so many of them in the sky

The ferris wheel isn't always there


Look how many ppl!!!


Anywhere in Dresden where there are tourists
you can see these little cute things:
It's a little tourist cab,
That is driven usually by young ppl-
and it's a tricycle-
so it's good for the environment too!


Anybody cares for some potatoes with yogurt and garlic?

Some fun for the kids:
this man is walking in the wheel
to make the "Marry go round" turn

***

Tomorrow we're going to Berlin, and on Monday I have my flight to Israel.
Have a good weekend!!!

Last day of German course

Today was my last day of my German course. I'm sad it's over- especially coz I had a great teacher, who was not just a good teacher, but also a really nice and fun person. We went all out this week together, all of the class mates and boy and girlfriends, and the teacher (and her boyfriend) to a beer garden, and it was a really nice evening. I hope to stay in touch with her.
This weekend there's gonna be a Stadt Fest here - that's a city festival, and it's suppose to be all about the middle ages. We're gonna go tomorrow, and on Saturday we're goin to Berlin to spend the weekend there with one of Rob's best friends. I really like him (met him once 2 years ago) and I guess it's gonna be a really nice weekend... On Monday I have my flight back to Israel in the afternoon, Rob's leaving Berlin in the morning (the only good ride he could find) so I'll have a few hours to decide what to do (still haven't decided if it's gonna be worth it to wonder around when I should be at the airport at about 14:00).
I bought myself another book to learn German from, coz I'm planning on taking the A2 level when I'm back here, and what I did now was only half of the A1 level (coz that's what they offer as summer courses). I'll have to do the other half alone and I hope it works out fine. Rob got me a German grammar book- in English- and it's a nice coherent book- so I hope that will come in handy.
Still didn't find a job here, had an interview- but even though the woman was very excited by my CV she never called back, and I sure hope I'll have somehow to make money when I come back here.
Still don't have a flight ticket back to here. Will just have to take care of that in Israel.
Hope I get to write again before I'm back in Israel, if not- expect a long one next time.

First day of school and pics

Today was my first day in school!!! I started learning German- and I had a great day!!! We are 5 in the class (3 might still join us- but they didn't show up today) and the teacher is really nice and young. I already made friends with a Mexican girl, who's here with her husband who's doing a Phd here and their 2 year old daughter. It takes me about 45 min door to door in the morning, and i have to change from the bus to the tram once, but it's easy changes, and in general it's really nice- especially when the weather is so nice outside... I keep comparing it to Shanghai- where I had to get up at 06:30 to be at school at 08:00... Here I only leave the house at 08:10, and start at 09:00...

***

I promised pictures from last week, so I'll give it one more try:

Angles on the Brühlsche Terasse
that is on the Elbe river
in Dresden

View from the Brühlsche Terasse
to the Elbe, Dresden


Kunsthof Passage,
Neustadt, Dresden


on the Elbe in Kurort Rathen,
in Swiss Saxony
about half an hour train ride from Dresden


Middle aged bridge
on the Bastei


View from on top of the Bastei to the Elbe

***

That's it for now, I'll try to take more pictures of this beautiful city in these nice days...

Got it!

Yesterday I got my students visa!!! 2 stickers on 2 whole pages in my passport (great, now I need a new one...) I'm legal here!!! (not that I wasn't before but it's nice to say...).
I also got a SIM card, and now I have my own phone number... Nice to be normal.

***

On Wednesday Rob's sister came here for a visit with an American friend of hers. They're travelling around Germany together, both before going to uni. We travelled around Dresden with them the same afternoon they came (the weather was so nice) and the next day, Rob stayed home and studied while us three went to the Bastei- old ruins of a fort, from the middle ages, in Swiss Saxony- half an hour train ride from here. It was a beautiful day, and except for choosing the wrong shoes (why do I always do that???) and hurting my feet badly on the way down hill, it was really nice. The pictures wouldn't upload now for some reason- so I'll put them here some other time- promise...

***

I'm starting my German course on Monday- hope it'll be good... Hope I will be good...

***

Today was really warm, and now all of a sudden it started getting really windy, and rainy, and the worst thing is the thunders and lightnings... scary...

A great weekend and a productive day

Last weekend we had really good weather (was amazing- on Saturday and on Sunday there was lots of sun- and the next day it was all gone). On Saturday we went for a bicycle ride, and after 2.5 hours came back home- 1 normal person and 1 dead person (guess who was the dead one). I'll spare you the details- but lets put it this way- it was hard to sit down for a day after that... LOL... I got so tired from the ride... we probably rode about 10 km - and for me that's a lot!!! we went from home to the Grosser Garten- which is the big park, and then a bit on to find the school I'm going to this summer. It wasn't as close as we though it'll be- and on the way there I already had to stop and take a real break... Stupid me- I didn't take any water with me, and we had no money to buy water as well... When we finally got home I crashed in the entrance, and wasn't able to move... But I slept great that night!
The next day we went for a jog in the Grosser Garten, and then for ice-cream and a walk to the Elbe- which is the river that flows right through Dresden. Walking there from home was about 20-25 min- which on a good weather day is really nice. With the bicycle it's prob really fast- just I still have to get used to the roads here, and to finding my way- so I wont hesitate taking the bike to places.
Yesterday, Monday, we got most of the things done: I got a bank account, I registered to the language course in October, registered at the city of Dresden (in Germany you have to register where you live, as soon as you moved there), ordered a SIM card online, and now all I have to do is get a health insurance, and go apply for the resident permit.
Tonight we're going to the Arctic Monkeys concert! (the tickets that Rob bought me for my birthday) will tell you all about it afterwords!

Back in Dresden

Just a quick post to let you guys know that I'm back in Dresden. Got here last night, and must say that it didn't feel like going away to Germany, but rather coming back. Back in my own apartment, with Rob!
Have lots to do, like open a bank account, get my own phone number, and register to a million things like for German studies, and for the students visa itself. Have to get used to not understanding ppl again though... Will try to learn as much as I can even before I start my first German course in 2 and a half week...
That's it for now- more updates- when I'll have some...

Facing the wall

In the last 4 days I've been a slave to the new apartment. We put all the lights up (Rob was the main driller, and I was the one who told him how straight things are), and I wanted to paint some walls too. As I told you guys before- Rob's mom gave me some colors and paint, and I was intending to use them- coz they seemed really nice colors. I wanted to paint one wall in the living room in something that looked like a shade of terracotta, so I started mixing the powder with the white paint. But oh my god- it turned out to be pink. At the end- the shade of pink wasn't too bad, and Rob himself said that it's actually nice. So we painted the wall in a shade of pink that we call "antique pink" in Hebrew. The day after that I took some leaves from outside - and made a pattern on the wall with them (Pictures soon), so it actually looks alright now. Needless to say that the moment I realized the wall was going to be pink- I panicked a bit- just like I can panic. The next day I painted the bedroom, only two stripes of two walls, parallel to each other. It looks cool. We went everywhere to look for a cheap but not ugly kitchen, and we found one place that offered what we want. We're still gonna try to get one for cheaper on ebay, and if we don't get it for the price we want- we'll buy the new one.

***

Sometimes I feel a bit mute here. When I walk in the streets alone, I feel as if I can't say anything- coz I don't speak the language. You're probably wondering what's the big deal- coz I've lived in China for a year of my life, and I should have felt the same there, but it's not the case. In China it was obvious to the Chinese that I'm a foreigner. It made things so much easier. It sounds funny that being different on the outside makes things easier- but it's true. This way no one tried to approach me in Chinese, and the fact that I spoke Chinese to them at some point made them appreciate it coz it's so obvious I'm not from there. They would try harder to make me understand (most of the time, obviously there were the annoying ppl that didn't make any effort) from the first moment they saw me. Here it's different. I look like someone that can speak German, just like anyone else here. I've been approached twice already, in the first time I asked the person in German- if he speaks English, he said yes, and that was that, but in the second time, it was when Rob was just next to me, and a girl approached me to ask a question. I had a confused look on my face, and pointed at Rob coz he was just there next to me- luckily she was an intelligent girl and she turned to him and asked him the question, understanding that I don't understand... So this whole situation makes me feel mute. And if you know me just a bit you know that mute just ain't my thing. I depend on language, language is my thing, my strength, the thing that gives me confidence, makes me better than others sometimes. I'm a person of words, words are my best friends, comparing meanings in different languages is my small hobby- and being mute takes all this away. Without being able to express myself I'm not me, I'm not the same person anymore, I can't show ppl exactly who I am. And yes, it gives me motivation to learn the language, but it also makes me feel as if I'm facing a wall. From all sides- there's a wall- a transparent wall I need to break as soon as I can.


***

Tomorrow we're going to Rob's parents' again, and on Monday we're renting a big car to take the rest of the big stuff back here. We're gonna pack it up in the evening and head back here on Tuesday morning. My back already really hurts, gone back to the terrible pain I had last time I came back from China, and this morning I started doing a little bit of Yoga again, and it helped a bit -so I guess I'll do that every morning from now on. In the bag I gave my dad was my Yoga book- and now I kinda wish it was here... But in 2 and a half weeks I'll be in Israel again and I'll try to get in shape again, at least for the sake of my back.
I miss Israel, I've said that here before, but now as time comes to leave here soon, I start understanding that I'll miss Rob very soon after I get there. Haven't decided when I'll come back here yet- but I'm definitely gonna check the flights as soon as I get there, if not coz I'm gonna miss him, then coz of the prices...

Hope to write here soon, peace to you all, and a late happy Independence day to Israel!

New apartment in Dresden

We were at Rob's parents for the weekend, un-assembling his furniture so we can take it next weekend with a big car, and packing boxes to take with us today. We actually took most of what we wanted to take, except for the big stuff. The weather is so nice here now (knock on wood!!!), and over the weekend we took a few drives out in the country side. I wish we had more time to actually go there and have a walk or just take a bicycle and wonder around. The highlight drive was with Rob's dad old Mercedes - a 1964 Mercedes - SO COOL!!! After that nice break- we kept going with the packing, which I obviously didn't really like- especially coz of all the dusty things we took out of Rob's closet- that made me itch and scratch all day.
So today we drove up to Dresden with a full car (there isn't room for another penny in that car now- and it's not a small one), and went to see another apartment, it was nice- but the kitchen and the bathroom were with no windows, and coz we already saw something nicer we decided to go for the other one. So we went to the office of the company who owns the apartment we want (it used to be owned by the government - in east Germany, but they sold these kind of old communist buildings to outer companies- who renovated them and they're renting it out to ppl) and we signed the contract for our apartment. I'm so happy about it!!! It's on the second floor, all full of light, and has a really nice bathroom. The kitchen, as I mentioned before, we'll have to buy, but we already started looking for things both in stores and on ebay. We got loads of stuff from Rob's mom who took our move as a project for her, and I can't wait until I paint some walls in it with the beautiful colors she gave me, and put everything as we like. I also can't wait to come back here after Israel- and bring here all the nice stuff I have to put in the apartment- so I'll feel at home...
So that's it for now,
Oh- and tomorrow, or as soon as I have time again- I'll obey The Big Guy's meme...

First days in dresden

We got here 2 days ago, and rented out a small apartment, to have a place to stay. This place is a one room apartment- that is so full of stuff it's a bit disturbing. It looks like the woman renting it out - still lives there some times, it's her personal place, and when ppl come to stay there- she just goes to her boyfriends house... She's Russian and it totally looks like a Russian grandma's house. Lots of little stuff everywhere, you can hardly see the walls. But the place is rather comfortable, it's close to uni and all so it was useful. The first day, Wednesday- we saw 2 apartments: one was in the center of town, where all the pubs are, in a really old building, with lots of character. But- this place was not renovated since the 1930's probably, and that's how it looked like. The bath was in the kitchen, right across from the sink... Very weird. The second apartment was a bit far away for us, but not terrible, and it was lovely. It had a full kitchen in it (in Germany the apartments are usually totally empty- and you need to buy the whole kitchen including the cupboards and everything), and big nice rooms. The building was a really nice European building, but the price of the apartment was a bit too high. We were both really tired that day, I was a bit overwhelmed with coming here after China, it's very weird to move- and not to where you know. It's all new to me here, and it's a bit confusing for me. I'm still dealing with the language barrier, and with the unfamiliarity of the city. All that adds up to the fact I was almost 7 months in China, and that I haven't been to Israel for that whole time. I miss Israel, especially my family and friends, and even though I'm happy I came here- I know myself well enough to know that it's gonna take time until I get used to this. The problem was to explain to Rob exactly how I felt. He understands me on the one hand, but on the other- I think he just really wants me to feel good here, and get along, and I felt as if he's pushing me to do things I'm not ready to do yet. Thursday was a bit better, I came here (I'm at Rob's uni now) and read a bit online, walked here alone a bit, and started getting used to the language around me. Still I need time, and as always- there will be a certain point where I'll be more independent, and try to do things on my own. We saw another apartment yesterday, was in a nice building, and nicely renovated- but it was very small, and the kitchen- was just tiny. It was also on the 4th floor- in the attic, which was a lot of stairs to climb- but had a special something about it- coz it was under the roof. But we said we'll keep on looking and that's what we did today. We saw 4 more places this morning- 3 of them in the same area- and they look the same, just different buildings, they were perfect. Big, a lot of light, renovated, and there's 2 of them on the 2nd floor. We're probably gonna end up taking one of them, just that we have 2 more to see today, and 2 more on Monday- so we still have some choices. Now, for the time being, we're a bit more relaxed about it- coz we know we already saw something that will easily suit us.

***

I found out that I accidentally put my papers from learning German in summer in the bag I gave my dad. So that means I'll have to learn that again online- but that might actually be a good thing, coz I don't really remember most of it- and it'll be a good occupation for me until I go back to Israel. It's so nice that the sky is blue most of the time, and even if there are clouds- you still feel that the air is clean, and the streets are clean, and the ppl are normal! LOL China is so different than here.
For the first day or two, and maybe even now a little bit- I felt a bit misplaced, as if someone took me as a little doll and picked me up and put me in a different country again, not my own. It's a weird feeling, that makes me very unfocused - it makes it hard to understand where I am and hard to learn the streets and how to get from one place to another. I'm still a bit shocked by the move, and I'm still very jet-lagged. Every morning I wake up early- as if it's the middle of the day, but when the afternoon comes- I feel so tired, and the fact that there's a lot of light (until almost 21:00!!!) makes me even more confused. Usually I love it that the sun goes down so late, but now it's making me feel like the day is so long, and I just feel more tired.

***

We're gonna go back to Rob's parents' place tonight, for the weekend coz we don't have anywhere to stay in Dresden in anyway, and we have no plans here for this time. We're gonna come back here early on Monday morning to see the other 2 apartments, and then we will be able to decide for sure- which one we wanna take. We already took a lot of our stuff here in the car, and we'll leave most of it with one of Rob's friends here- and this way next time we can bring even more stuff to put in our new apartment as we move.