Wasserburg am Inn

On one of the last Saturdays we went to a lovely little town called Wasserburg am Inn (= Wasserburg on the river Inn). It is known for it's x-mas market so we went to check it out.

The town itself is a typical German little town, with nice houses and a river.
We parked next to the old train station, just in the entrance of the town, and walked in. I was sitting in the car for so long, not moving, that I really almost froze when we went out.
But after a walk through the really small but nice x-mas market, I warmed up a bit.

After looking around and seeing what's up, we stopped for lunch. We saw a fish stand, and had the most amazing fish sandwich I've ever eaten. I had a lightly fried trout in a baguette, with horse radish and cream spread and one lettuce leaf. Rob ate a Saibling tartar (it's a mouse from a kind of fish that is quite common here, in English it has two names that I don't really know: Fingerling & Samlet) and he also had the smoked salmon. The guy that sold it to us told us that he breeds the fish on his own, and also cooks them and everything. I wish I could eat at his stand every day. Yes. It was that good.

After that we were thirsty and went to the next stand that sells mulled wine and hot apple cider. We chose the cider. We got it in the most cute cup I've ever seen. It was a typicall blue glazed ceramic cup, but it looked like a little shoe! It looks like this one, but in blue with x-mas and snow painting on it: http://www.hood.de/img/thumbs/1828/18283360.jpg
I liked it so much, that I insisted on asking the lady if we could take it with us, in exchange of not getting the diposite back. I knew she's probably going to want a bit more for the cup, since it is such a nice one, and so she asked for an extra Euro and that's how I got the cuttest cup that ever entred my house.

That day ended in a really nice cafe, in the old city hall. We had the German Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) and then we went back home.

I really recomend a stroll in this x-mas market if you're in the area :-)

So here are a few pictures from there:

and a closer look:

Computer says noooo

My computer screen went crazy... The light wont go on, and although I see the shadows of what's on it, it's totally dark. I'm writing now from Rob's computer, hoping I'd get mine fixed quickly, knowing that here in Germany everything takes a long time and costs a lot of money.

Since this isn't my computer I'll be short and just say that x-mas was really nice, the wedding in Austria was nice and very long (was a whole festival) and that Goni and Amir were here in the last few days for a visit with their really cute daughter, which was a lot of fun although we didn't do much with them (every day someone else was sick...). One thing that is worth mentioning is new year's eve- we had it in our apartment- I made a spanish dinner with Tapas and Tortilla and we watched the fireworks from here- which was so great!!! Sixth floor rules!!! It looked as if the city is jumping! We could see fireworks from all of our wondows (and we have quite a few of them) and it was a real show.

Today I'm not feeling at my best, and I hope that by tomorrow I'll feel better coz I need to go back to work!

Oh, and I got myself new ski boots and new skis! yey! Haven't tried them yet, so I'm waiting for next weekend- we want to go skiing if the weather allows it.

Will update soon!

Shopping-mania

You wouldn't imagine how many ppl are everyday in the center of Munich. Since I work there- I see it every day. It started about a month ago, as December and the holidays started to show around the corner. Slowly slowly the main streets got fuller and fuller with ppl. Then they opened the X-Mass market, which as it is- takes a lot of space, in which I used to walk to go to work. So there's less walking space, and also a lot more ppl. After emerging out from underground (after taking the metro), I spend twice the time to go to work than just less than a month ago when I started. It's like swimming in oil! You have to really push your way, and move a lot in order to find your way in the crowd.

I promise that at some point I'll take some pictures of what's going on there in the middle of the week in a normal afternoon. You will not believe it. Really.

One more thing you notice when living in Munich, is the amount of money that ppl spend. Everybody's walking around with tons of bags from all shops. It's been like that for weeks already- and the 2 most busy weeks of the year are still to come! It's incredible!

Luckily I'm done with my presents shopping - got something for everyone! Now I just have to wrap it all nicely and that's it. Maybe make some nice cards. But I'm definitely not putting as much effort in them as I did last year. It's way too much work, and takes way too long (and I don't really have much time right now) and in the end ppl don't fully appreciate it. So only something symbolic this year.

Ok, kinda have to get ready for work now.

Till next time!

A dark fairy tale

The next pictures were taken in the little forest

on the hill close to where Rob's parents live.
We took a walk there on x-mas eve,
in the early afternoon.
Because of the frost on the trees
(it's not snow!)
everything looked as if it froze while growing,
as if time stopped,
and it gave the feeling of being in a dark fairy tale.
If you look really close-
you might see the white witch...
(you can click the pictures to make them larger)

The next picture was taken on a frozen lake,
we wanted to ice skate
but there were no more skates for rent in the shop.


In this one you can see me standing on my skies,
waiting for Rob to take my picture,
not noticing he already did...
Look at the nice view,
and what beautiful days we had.



And here is one picture of the x-mas tree,
with most of the presents around it.

A post from the 29th of December

(Most of this post was written in a nice cabin up in the Austrian mountains, in a restaurant of a ski resort).

First I'll start with telling you how I got here. Just a bit more than a week ago Rob & I left Dresden and went to his parents. His dad actually came all the way to our place to pick us up, which was great! (Have I told you that already? I don't remember...). We spent a nice weekend at his parents, met some of his friends and spent time with his family. Then Monday night came really quickly! It was x-mas eve, my first real one. I helped to decorate the tree and asked Rob's mom when did this tradition start. She told me that the whole thing started with just a green twig they used to put in the house at this time of year, to represent growth and new beginnings. They used to hang apples on it to wish for always having food on the table. Only about 150 years ago they started to put a real big tree at home, instead of the twig, and continued to decorate it with apples which eventually changed and nowadays look like the x-mas nice decoration balls you all know.
After decorating the tree we had a nice afternoon with tea and cookies (including the ones I made, who got some compliments) and then Rob's mom prepared a game for us all- she asked us trivia questions about x-mas (I obviously didn't know most of the answers) and whoever said a wrong answer had to chose a note with a chore on it. Some of the chores were just something nice to say or to do- like what I got: to tell about a nice encounter that I had this year. I told them about my language exchange partner.
After that we had a nice dinner, with a Raclette, on it you can grill your own food- which makes it very social and fun. After food was the presents opening. Rob totally bombarded me with presents, he got me: a jumping bread toaster, a cool key chain and a really nice designed notebook (both I was checking out in the stores when we were there together), money to buy in Zara, a book by Mark Twain called "The awful German Language" (it's a great book, who knew Mark Twain learned German???) and to top it all: my own laminating machine!
I also got a hot water bottle with the swiss flag on it from Rob's sister, and really really nice earing, a booklet with all German bad words from his little brother, and we both got from his older brother- his clothes dryer - which is already in our apartment - coz we were suppose to have temporarily until he finds a new place - now we get to keep it! His parents gave me a few nice little things, amongst them a good thermos, a nice calender, and a voucher to buy in a really good clothes store. It was a really nice evening with his family.

On Wednesday we drove to Austria to Rob's grandma's. I haven't been there since I started writing this blog, so I'll just tell you that she lives in the south part of Austria, in a beautiful area, just like Austria is suppose to look like. His mom grew up there, between the white mountains and blue sky. we skied for 5 days of the week we were there, in the beginning I was obviously very rusty and terrified, after not skiing for more than 9 months, but gradually I got over it and at some points it was pure fun. At the day before last on snowboarder crashed in to me, and totally flattened me on the slope, I have a huge ugly black bruise on the back of my shin to prove it, but I didn't break anything and as you can see I'm still alive. The only thing it really did is make me paranoid of the ppl coming from on top of the mountain, at the next and last day of skiing. Mostly the sky was blue and the views were amazing, and in general the more I skied the more I liked it and got better... Most of the days I got a half day ticket, and after I was all tired of skiing, while the rest of the guys were still fit, I sat down in a nice restaurant like this one, had a hot chocolate or just a cup of tea and relaxed...

So you can see that I had a really nice vacation, shame that it's all gonna be over soon,
in two days I'm going back to Dresden (alone coz Rob has something to do in Munich on Monday), on Sunday I'm working and on Monday - back to the routine... Must admit that I'm not too keen on going back to school, but... It's gonna be alright, I'm sure.

Have to go now, we're meeting some friends in town for a drink, will put some pictures here in my next post.

look!

It's gonna be my first real x-mas with a family, and I prepared it all!
look at the presents I got for Rob's family:
aren't they wrapped so nice???

I also made nice cards, all by myself, I might put some pics of them here later some time...

Hangzhou

Warning: This post is kinda long

Yesterday I puled myself to Hangzhou, even though deep inside I knew I should stay in bed for at least another day or two. I took the subway to the new train station in Shanghai - they build it in the past year or two, it didn't exist last time I lived here. I see it from the outside all the time - it's just amazing- it's supposed to look like a big Chinese umbrella and it actually does... you can see for yourself in this picture:

Shanghai South Railway Station a view from the outside

I change metros there every day on the way to uni and back, but I never got to go to the actual station. This place looks totally like an airport rather than a train station in east Asia. It was absolutely easy to find my way around (I think it would be easy for ppl who don't know any Chinese at all too), and it's definitely efficient which is a very surprising thing when talking about China... I arrived there in the morning (after getting a wake up call from Rob at 8:14AM - wake up shmake up- there's nothing sweeter than waking up from a phone call from you tipsy loving boyfriend...) so that drove me to leave on a normal time- being in the station at 11:10AM. I asked for a ticket to Hangzhou - and the teller told me the train leaves in 40 minutes. I was really relieved to hear that there's seats, and that I don't have to wait for long. I bought the the cheapest there was (I guess that's what was left) it cost 25RMB (= about 2.5€） and headed to the entrance to the gates. There I found an x-ray machine (they have one in all the train stations- even the ones you think are so not worth the security coz they look like a dump) went through that and looked for my gate. The nice lady in the entrance told me to go to waiting room number 7 - so I headed there and was very impressed with the inside design of the place too...

x-ray machines even in the crappiest train stations

As soon as I set down on the seat- I noticed that my train was "boarding". I followed the herd and found myself going down an escalator to the platform. I found my seat on cart number 13, and set down. It wasn't the cheapest ticket for nothing: my seat was one out of three crowded seats (out of five in a row divided in the middle making a 2 seats row and a 3 seats row with an aisle in between). My seat was just next to this kid and his grandpa, and here in China I must admit- I haven't figured out a way to tell who cares about those seat numbers on the ticket and who doesn't - it appears to be 50-50 in the population... In the end instead of sitting on my aisle seat- I found myself sitting between a Chinese guy (later on he left and came a young woman) and the grandpa with the 4-5 year old (spoiled like all of these one-kid-per-family-kids) on his lap. The kid I must say seamed kinda smart but as I said- very spoiled. across from us set a middle aged couple that was just as noisy as all the Chinese ppl, and a young guy that while sitting down on his seat was finishing his noodle-meal-in-a-box (it's very popular here as travel food or something to eat at work). The whole time I was being squeezed by the kid / grandpa that were moving around as if it's a new national sport. The kid saw one of the food carts ladies walking through - and told his grandpa that he wanted to eat lunch now (it was almost noon and the Chinese ppl can not go through a day without eating their lunch at noon and their dinner at 18:00. Really - they just can not). He looked at all the nice boxes the lady had and picked them all up looking at them to see if they're nice. He picked a blue box and said he wants that one, but the lady told him that this one is spicy and he should better pick something else. He looked a bit confused for a second, saying that he wants the blue one coz it's just the most beautiful one... but his grandpa and the nosy lady across from us agreed that he should take the orange one. The nosy lady butted in and told him: "it's beautiful, but it's also spicy!". The kid was convinced and there was peace for all. Until he decided he doesn't wanna have more than a few noodles and the chase after him began in the whole train....
After 2 hours and 10 minutes of being a playground for one little kid and one old grandpa, we finally arrived at Hangzhou. By the way- I totally managed to fall asleep on the train- even if it was only between squeezing and only for 20 minutes). To start telling you about the differences between the old east Hangzhou train station (there's a new one in town) and the Shanghai South Railway Station - it's like telling the difference between an airplane and a horse carriage. The smells, the colors (well the lack of colors in this case), the lady who was laying on the platform- not moving when the security guys touched her frightfully... Third world compared with state of the art. Got out of there as quickly as possible and took a taxi to the youth hostel to meet Omri, whom I know from the China forum online. The youth hostel is located in the center of town, right next to the lake, which is a great location. I really liked the streets next to it, and this lake, as touristy as it is- has something special about it - especially under thick mist. I checked in the hostel, got a lower bed in a 4 bed dorm room, put my things in the locker and headed to meet some more ppl.

The entrance to Mingtown Youth Hostel, Hangzhou

We met Diego and Adriana, he's an Israeli who was born in Argentina, she's Colombian. We had lunch and then headed to the place where it's all gonna happen: Adriana's place (lives with a few more lovely girls- just like her) to cook the x-mas dinner. After a lot of ppl in a small kitchen (well, bigger than mine) and a few hours - we had some dishes set on the table- and we dug in... The evening was one of the most pleasant, fun, warm and welcoming I've ever been to. I even got a nice bracelet from one of the girls- as a x-mas present (thank you Cecilia) - this little gesture of giving presents to the ppl you love- I think I'll have to write about it one day too (we don't have a holiday like that in Israel, well at least we just like giving presents for fun...). Even though I still didn't feel totally healthy - I didn't wanna leave. In the end we left at around 02:00 and I was asleep by 03:30 (it takes a while to get ready for bed when you're doing it in the dark to not wake up any of the other 3 ppl you have in your room).

In the morning I met Omri and Diego for breakfast in one of the endless Starbucks coffees in China. This one is just by the lake, and it was really nice walking there on the bank while rain drops were falling on my head (had to say that line from the song...).

A golden ox merging from the lake
West Lake (Xihu), Hangzhou

As it was raining a bit and I wasn't feeling very well - I decided that I'll go back to Hangzhou soon, and of course take Rob with me... I took my backpack from the hostel, and went home...

(still not feeling great- laying in bed since I got here...)

A different kind of goodbye

I went with Rob to the airport last night. Being there really made me regret not going- but I blame the airport flame - that feeling you get when you're there- like no matter how great your life can be somewhere- you just wanna go somewhere else... Standing in line with all the people taking his flight- and not taking it myself... hmmm... Of course I've noticed something else I've been feeling while being there- it was as if we don't know how to say goodbye just for a few days... We're so accustomed of saying goodbye for a long period of time - that we couldn't stop being sad and kissing each other as if the next time we meet is in a year... Then I realized he's only going for 10 days (well 11 but who's counting?) and this is ridiculous! I smiled at him and let him go...
Being alone in this flat is kinda weird- before- in Israel- I had my own place and when Rob was there it was always full of light and warmth. Then when he left- it felt empty again- but it was still my place and after a little while I got used to being alone there and enjoyed it. It was all decorated to my taste, with lots of pictures I took on the walls, my little things everywhere. Most of the furniture was mine - and when Rob was gone- I could still feel natural there. But here- this flat is not just mine- it's actually ours. We didn't put any pictures on the walls (I guessed it's not worth it for 6 months - maybe I was wrong- but we're almost in the middle of that period already- so what's the point) and all of the furniture is the flat owners'. It's weird waking up here - without him reminding me what I'm actually doing here...

***

I skipped school today- thought I don't feel like going there so early in the morning after getting home late last night. Tomorrow I guess I'll go- and the next day- what will probably be good for me- to keep busy. I also got an invitation for a Candle Lighting tomorrow night at the place of a couple I met here- he's from Israel, she's Belgium and Jewish and they met when she studied in Israel. I hope it'll be good there- coz I have no idea who else is coming, but as I wrote here before- especially when you're alone in this city you should force yourself to go to places even if you're not sure you'll know anyone there...

It's rainning.... grrr...

Oof it's been raining for the last few days and it doesn't look like it's ever gonna stop... grrr... and BRRRRR... every time I go outside with pants that accidentally touch the ground I get home wet to my knees- coz there's puddles everywhere. It's like there's no sewage here- and the water keeps piling up in huge quantities- just for me to get wet... I understand now why Chinese ppl always wear pants that are narrow in the end- not touching the ground. It's really hard to find a Chinese person wearing bell bottoms or anything that is even remotely close to that. Now I know why!

***

My dad was here last weekend- it was so much fun! I really enjoyed his stay here... We went to the Tennis Masters Cup Final together- with Rob. It was between Roger Federer and James Blake. Federer won- and it looked like he didn't even try hard- he was just standing there most of the time letting nature do what it's supposed to do- WIN... Blake is a new comer to this contest (it's a tournament between the 8 best players in the world and 8 best couples in the world) and I think he gave a good performance regarding his short past in these kind of contests. Well anyway- it was really nice to spend time like this with my dad- especially coz I know how much he likes watching Tennis.

***

School... hmmm... I really like the classes... I think that a student like me should get more classes everyday- rather than have to work at home. When I get home- all I can think of is doing nothing special. At least once a week I do something after school with my Spanish friend Lia- and then when I get home I really don't feel like studying. Big problemo! Next week I have another exam- and this time the teacher said it's gonna be all in Chinese characters... OOF! Not ready for that at all... I hope I'll sit on my ass and study some more this week. The rain outside should do the job but it just does the opposite- makes me wanna stay under the blanket!

***

Bought the second season of "Veronica Mars"... I know I know- I'm not a teenage girl- but I just love this TV show... it's so unreal but so clever and never ever boring... so of course I saw the whole season in 3 days (22 chapters) - couldn't resist!!!

***

Rob's going home for x-mas. I've decided to not join him. He's going for about 10 days- and I know he's going on a family marathon. I love his family- They were all so nice to me, but most don't speak enough English to communicate with me for more than 5 minutes and I figured that it wouldn't be so much fun... Plus- I don't feel comfortable getting in to the family x-mas eve- being Jewish I've never been to one- and I don't think that coming from China for 10 days - having nowhere to go to after that evening - is the good time to start. I guess that when we'll live there and coming for the holidays will be just coming from a few hours away by train- it will feel different. I'll have more freedom then- not like in this case- where I know that I'll be dependant on Rob and what he's doing- like I was in every visit in Germany in the last 18 months. To make things short- I'm gonna stay in Shanghai ALONE!!! for about 10 days... But I made him come back here on the 31st- so I wont be alone on new years eve (not that I care about the evening it self- just here- I don't feel like being alone when everyone is coupling up and going out to parties... I guess that in Israel I really wouldn't have minded...)

***

Can read here again in China- cross your fingers it'll last... Have been reading Dorian's blog so fast- afraid that any moment the connection will fall LOL I'm getting Paranoid...