Cleaning my head

I am playing music and trying to resist the urge to play really loud. I am just in the mood for really loud noisy music at the moment. No special reason, I just am. Tomorrow it may be smooth jazz or something else, but today it is music with... Ah, I shouldn't even try and explain music, I am lousy at it.  I'll post a video from Youtube instead... Evanescence is on my turntable, or at least on my hard drive right now...

Have a good week and weekend - no idea how much I will update the next coming days as the nice weather is supposed to continue and I have so much else going on as well.

Remember to enjoy the summer - time passes so quickly.

(By the way - cleaning my head, direct translation of a Swedish expression: "Rensa huvudet". Clearing would work too, but I felt more like cleaning, and organising, not clearing...)

Not so bad - warm trains

Ha! It's not so bad! The train home is one of the new trains, the same type that us normally used for S11 to the airport - and it has air condition. Great!
Although I must admit that I prefer natural temperatures, and cooling systems, AC:s make me slightly uncomfortable, the artificial air is so dry.

Cold?

It's steaming hot outside, going to be over 30 degrees today, C that is, which means lower 90-ies for those who don't do Celsius. I get onto the train, and sit down at an empty seat, by a window. While I am opening the window a woman sits down opposite me, also be window that can be opened. I sit down, and it takes a minute, and the woman stands up, and closes the window. I stare at her and many thoughts wander through my head. She looks back at me, mentions the draught. And I say "I just opened that window". (Although of course the conversation is in German). She does actually apologise - it's not like there is a lack of seats and there are seats where there is no window, plus she sat down just when I was opening the window - there is no air condition on these kind of trains. And then she moves to another seat.

It's strange, when it's the middle of the winter I meet people on the train that opens the windows and now, when air really makes sense, there are people that wants the windows closed? This time I won though. In the winter I was the one moving (that time I came first too).

If someone had a health problem and there aren't other alternatives I am OK getting boiled in a train, of course, but this situation was just silly.

Oh well...

Getting home this evening will be the bigger challenge, by then the trains will be seriously warmed up...

Closed for holiday

Not really but at least it's way to warm to be inside and blogg, I'm out enjoying the beauty!
Notice the time by the way: 20:57 and still really nice! (Although I am from Gothenburg so of course I still carry an extra sweater or a scarf with me)

Blond Swedes

The whole discussion about Swedes always being blond. I have mentioned it before; Not all are. Swedish kids are often blond, grewn-ups not so much, or they fake it. MANY fake it, or helps nature at least, with highlights. Nothing wrong with that, but it is a fact. On the other hand we often have these fine Scandinavian hairs so our hairs bleach very easily in the sun, hence there are far more blond Swedes during the summer than during the winter. I am a brunette but in the summer my hear goes lighter too. Not blond, but a lighter shade - at least if I don't add colour to it (which I often do, as blond sort of doesn't match the rest of me).

Anyhow, on my side of the family there aren't really any blonds. At least not the ones I used to know. There are those who were more blond once upon a time but most have gotten darker, and some of us were always dark haired. Oh well.

Now that I have gotten to know other members of the family, I have seen that there are some blonds as well. REALLY blond, that is. Wednesday we were talking about visiting a country far away, namely Australia, and I mentioned that I wanted to go there within the next coming years, as I have a relative who lives there at the moment,and I haven't been to Australia - yet. What is better than to visit when relatives are there?

Anyhow, I made a joke about it, saying something about this woman being my relative "despite not being blond".

And then the very dear friend who was with me said:
"Yes, I wanted to ask you about that, why AREN'T you blond?"

Hmmm.... Who knows? Because it doesn't run in my part of the family, possibly?

The tone it which it was said was very sweet though, so I couldn't get annoyed. Fact is I often use it as an ice breaker - plus it is easier to get it out of the way, because sooner or later the questions always come.

Although I know redhaired Italians, I know Turks with green eyes, I know chubby Chinese, I know super talkative people from Finland, I know Germans that are very good at standing in line, I know Irish who doesn't drink. Stereotypes are not always true...

Midsummer

Today it is Midsummer in Sweden - one of the most important - no, THE most important holiday in Sweden. I didn't celebrate it last year either. To me the yearly goose dinner with the family is more important, for that I travel up to Sweden. But midsummer normally means cold weather anyhow - high expectations and often not getting as much out of it as everybody expected. Plus I want to meet as many as possible when I travel to Sweden and Midsummer everybody is out of town anyhow.

And I didn't move away from Sweden to keep doing all the typical Swedish things. It is fun to keep some traditions or at least take the nice parts of them and incorporate them into new traditions, but I don't see why I should keep doing it "as it was always done". Now I pick up what I really enjoy - like the "Fika". And the buffet for Christmas - but in new ways. And yes, I will also eat herring and fresh potatoes in the summer, like a real Swede. And queue when needed...

I was stopped by a colleague yesterday saying "But what are you doing here". I stared at her and didn't understand what she meant at first. And then she said "You should be in Sweden now. It is midsummer tomorrow".

It is a sweet thought but I refer to what I just say: I didn't leave Sweden so I could continue to do everything the Swedish way - although it is kind of funny to say that here in Germany, because so many Germans are trying to do things "the Swedish way", there are many with some sort of "Sweden fetishism" here, people who dream about moving to Sweden, people spending holiday every year in Sweden, people studying Swedish - among them my colleague. I don't really know why Germans are so keen on Sweden, but they are. Not all, but a lot of them are. I guess it has to do with two things: The nature (and how EMPTY it is in some areas, at least empty when it comes to people) and the fact that our queen is German Brazilian (or German, if you ask the Germans) and that is the closest to having their own royal family that they get) and the King of Sweden met his wife since 34 years in Munich (München) in Germany, during the Olympics 1972...

Anyhow: Yes, Sweden is my home country, it is beautiful - but personally I am done with living in Sweden. I will still visit, and you can't take Sweden out of a Swede, not completely, even if trying. And I will always be proud of my home country. But no, I am not going to try and live as if I was still in Sweden - that was not the purpose of my move.

But I will still do goose dinners.

Trevlig midsommar!

To the Swedes out there - and the rest of you as well - "TREVLIG MIDSOMMAR!" - have a great midsummer.

Go easy on the Aquavit, but go crazy with the herring, the fresh potatoes, the chives and later the strawberries with cream. And enjoy, I hear that there is SUN in Sweden this year - unusual for Midsummer's eve. 

And to the tourists in Sweden: I hope you have some Swedes that you can visit, otherwise you may have a very lonely and quite boring weekend, I'm afraid - Sweden is closed for the most important celebration of the year...

Coffee culture

Sweden has a very strong coffee culture. The same way the Irish or the English gather for a pint in the local pub, we meet up for a coffee. Except it doesn't have to be coffee, it may just as well be tea. Or even a softdrink - even if the coffee was the original drink, as far as I know. And with the coffee comes a cinnamon roll. Or a little bisquit. Or a piece of cake. Except it doesn't have to be sweet, it can just as well be a sandwich. 

Confusing? Sure. 

We have a good word for it, "Fika". The sign here says "Welcome inside for a "fika"." - Välkommen in på en Fika. The picture is from Landvetter Airport, in June - I took it on the way home to Germany and I realised that Fika is something that I miss. You can't really translate Fika. Many have tried, the German insist that they have a similar word in "Kaffekuchen" (Coffee and cake) but it is not the same as we have in Sweden, the Swedish word covers more, it is kind of a break-chat-something-in-your-stomach-kind of thing. As I said, difficult to explain. But Fika is an excellent word.

There are some interesting stories about Fika, though. A woman that I know well and care a lot about is originally from Finland. She came to Sweden as a 17-year-old, without knowing any Swedish at all. When she first arrived she started to work in an all Finnish environment and there it wasn't really a big issue that she didn't speak Swedish, and also, little by little, she did start to learn - don't ask me how. I know cartoons were involved, but that is all I know. Anyhow, this little woman soon decided to change workspace - for many reasons, one being that learining Swedish would be easier with Swedes around her, so she changed jobs. Swedish went better and better, but every day the old ladies asked if the young Finnish girl wanted "fika". She said no, every time. She tried to look up the word in a dictionary, but without any success. And she kept saying no, wondering what on earth the old ladies - surely not more than 40 but back then 40 was VERY old compared with 20, nowadays it doesn't have to be, now it is more down to the persons. Anyhow, the young finnish girl was curious and wanted to know more about this magical "Fika", but didn't dare to ask. So one day she gathered enough courage, and she snuck behind the old ladies to see what they were up to... What kind of procedure were behind this magical "Fika". It took some time before she understood that the whole coffee process, that was what instituted Fika...

Anyhow, Sweden is one of the countries in the world that drinks the most coffee - amd we have high quality standards too, it used to be that some of the best coffee in the world was exported to Sweden of all places. Norway drinks the most coffee, at least according to the statistics I found, but Norwegian coffee isn't as strong in taste. You can find a lot of information about coffee at the website of "International Coffee Organisation" - but nothing about the word Fika. 

"Fika" is a people movement in Sweden. Fika is important to a Swede, but Fika can't be translated - it has to be experienced.

About voices and world championship

I wrote a blogpost about World Cup/World Championship in Football yesterday, and about how the guys that were on the train when I left work wouldn't be able to sing at all during the game as they were using up their voices already on the train.

And then I added something about Vuvuzelas and how they sound like the horns used at hockey games - and how there isn't anything new in that.

And then I pressed send and my message was gone. Into thin air. I blame the new iPhone operating system but if you got my mailblog, can you send it back? (Nothing in the Sent folder though)...

Weird.

Oh well, we won that game. 'nuf said.

(I of course cheer for my adopted home country. If Sweden and Germany would play each other (we don't this time, Sweden didn't even qualify) I would be Swedish though. Otherwise I am German. At least when it comes to sports).

Alcohol in Sweden

I keep hearing from Germans, well, not just from Germans, but from everybody, how expensive Sweden is. I think they all went to Switzerland. Or possibly Norway.

Most people are worried about the alcohol in particular, other - often Germans that go over to stay in the wild - a cabin in the forest - for two weeks, they often bring all their food from Germany. Sweden was expensive. True. 20 years ago when the Swedish crown (Swedish "Krona", our currencty) was strong and before Sweden joined EU, but some things have happened since. Some things arestill expensive though, others certainly not!

First of all - and I have written about it before - here for example, when I wrote about Gothenburg, or here, where I wrote about buying wines in Germany, or do a search in the blogg - you can't compare the prices at an Aldi or Lidl with the prices at a small shop in the middle of a tourist trap area or at a petrol station - it is bound to be more expensive in the tourist area. Compare fair: Compare petrol station prices with petrol station prices, low cost chain with a low cost chain. In Sweden the food shops are normally slightly outside the city centers, this is where the Swedes buy their food. And this is what you have to use in your comparacy.

And then people say: Yes, but the alcohol is more expensive. Which is true in one sense. If you want to buy something with a high alcohol content it is going to be more expensive, because in Sweden drinks are taxed based on the alcohol, so yes, vodka, gin, tequila, aquavit etc is generally more expensive in Sweden than in Germany - but it is still not as expensive as in many other countries.

Getting a nice bottle of whisky (single malt) is generally better abroad, at least in Germany. Same goes if you want a whole bottle when  you are bar hopping, that's bound to be more expensive.And you don't get special offers on alcohol, as it's a monopoly and they aren't suppose to promote irresponsible drinking. So far it's correct.

Bur alcohol when you are out? Wine at Systembolaget? For good wines I pay less in Sweden. For champagne? Absolutely! (Unless I can buy it at the airport, in the duty-free shop. But even the tax free in Sweden is less expensive than in Germany - although the laws prevents them from selling to people inside EU, it's only possible to buy alcohol inside the airport (bottles of alcohol that is) if you are travelling to outside of EU.

Cheap wines (and by that I mean low quality) are cheaper in Germany too, but who wants cheap wines? 7 Eur and up I'd say, and you get good wines, above 10 even better. But then the selection and the prices are normally the same at the Swedish Systembolaget - and for fancier wines the difference is bigger, the fancier wines are almost always better priced in Sweden, not to mention easier to find. Champagne is one example - almost ALWAYS better priced in Sweden. German sect, which is excellent in many cases, you can find at a very reasonable price, and the same goes for other German good wines, but imports will cost more.

So stop worrying about Sweden being "Oh so expensive". It isn't. And also it depends what you compare it to. And believe me, I have travelled many places and have checked out many places. Sweden is doing pretty well in the competition, I promise.

But unlike in Germany the soft drinks will be less expensive than beer. So if you are that worried about the cost for alcohol, just don't drink it. Stick with water... :-)

Hello sun!

Hello Sun and Blue Sky, and  welcome back, we have missed you and hope you stay a bit longer this time. 

After all it is midsummer in Sweden the coming weekend so you need to stay down in Germany like you traditionally do for midsummer, right?

You are welcome to stay as long as you like, you know that my favourite temperature is +28 and up, right?

And don't worry abot my tomatoe plants, I'll take care of watering them.

Easy Virtue - charming little thing

Watched Easy Virtue today - at the "Vorpremiere". The films that are going to be shown in German at the arty (i.e the cinemas/movie theatres that show less commercial films) cinemas are shown one day before the official premiere, but then in the original language. This week "Easy Virtue - Ein Unmoralische Ehefrau" (OR, as it is called in pure English, "Easy Virtue" comes to the cinemas in Germany. So yesterday I went to the "Vorpremier" - the "before premiere" showing. We saw it at "Atelier" (Savoy) here in Düsseldorf.

It's really a quite entertaining little film, especially if you have had a lot of connections with or are English. I enjoyed it, it is based on a story by Noël Coward - actually it is a remake of an earlier film, this time with actors like Kristin Scott Thomas - BEAUTIFUL woman - Colin Firth, and, perhaps a bit surprisingly, Jessica Biel.

Very enjoyable, very enjoyable indeed. Too bad you will not be able to see it in English in Düsseldorf, at least not as far as I know, but you will be restricted to German... I really can't believe that describing English aristocraty using German language could work...

OK, I am a sentimental fool

I admit it. I am a sentimental fool. I didn't watch the wedding between the Swedish crown princess Viktoria and her husband, Daniel Westling, not live, not then, but I saw some of it the day after, on Sunday - the highlights from the Swedish TV, broadcasted over internet. And I admit it. I am sentimental, and I did tear up a bit. It really was beautiful and regardless what you think about monarchy it is beautiful to see two people who really love each other getting married.
It's silly, I am very liberal, and I certainly don't think you have to be married for a relationship to be really serious, as serious as any marriage, and I don't believe in getting married just because everybody else says so. I certainly don't believe in getting married just because you are going to have children - although if you are going to live together it is certainly easier to be married when you have children, from a legal perspective. But you can cover most things through legal agreements, so it is not a must. I also think that children have the right to both their parents, but I don't believe it is as important that the parents are actually legally married, and I also think it is most important that the children see their parents happy than the parents being together "for the sake of" the children - that only leads to one thing, children taking the blame for mum and dad not being happy - and children are world champions in taking the blame for things they shouldn't take responsibility for.

When it comes to things they ARE responsible for though, like eating all the ice cream, children very rarely take responsibility...

Anyhow, what I wanted to say:
Even though I am a liberal Swede and even though marriage isn't a must (but very beautiful) I got really really sentimental watching the crown princess of Sweden getting married to the man of her dreams.

It is always amazing to watch people who shine the way Daniel Westling, the crown princess and the close family shone at the royal wedding day in Sweden the 19:th on June.

Did you know that the king of Sweden and his German Brazilian wife, the queen, also got married on the 19:th of June?

Summer is on a break

Summer is currently on a break, but it is estimated to return later this week. I hope that is true, as it's freezing outside!  Going to Germany now, at least Düsseldorf, just ONE sweater isn't enought...

DEAR summer, please come back, cold climate doesn't suit me one bit!

OH, sorry, good thing this wasn't in Sweden

I guess you kind of know it was a nice evening when the party continues into the early hours of the morning, right? Except this party was a little bit too good. Someone who drank a White Russian forgot the glas on the terrace. I thought I had managed to get all the glasses inside, but obviously I was wrong, one was forgotten, next to a flower pot. 

I am SO sorry, I know one shouldn't serve alcohol to those who are underaged (20 in Sweden, except in a restaurang, where it is 18 - good thing this wasn't in Sweden...) or to those who can't handle it. These little fellas obviously couldn't. Yes, there are ants. DRUNKEN ants. And a few that even drowned...  Oh, at least they died happily and didn't have to face the hangover the day after, right?

Perhaps they were out looking for their friend?

Working party trick - even though it wasn't even planned as one

This party trick wasn't even supposed to be a party trick, but my it worked well. Champagne. Real champagne, yes, indeed. Dear friends just got engaged, and since I like champagne, happened to have some, and don't like to drink champagne on my own (at least not big bottles as I can't do a whole bottle and I'd end up pouring some of it out) I took the chance to open a bottle when the friends came over. And after that I don't think the football was mentioned even once.

AND everybody seemed happy.

The fact that someone brought their dog worked really well too, as a distraction. I don't even want to have dogs at home normally, but what  can you do when someone is standing outside the door asking if it is OK? I can't really turn them down, can I? I can't really say that "no, sorry, you have to leave". It was not even for very long, and even if pets aren't allowed in this house I am sure no one will say anything about it, or could say anything about it for such a short time (except myself, but that is another story). Besides the dog was quite cute, and he was as I said doing a great job to serve as a distraction. 

As did the champagne... Yes, it was dry. Yes, it was good. Yes, the bottle is empty. VERY much empty. Laurent-Perrier dry L-P. I'll try this one again, it was yummy. Pretty light in the taste, and very fresh.

(One person asked if I had strawberries. She wanted to put it in the champagne. Luckily I didn't, you don't put strawberries in Champagne, for that you get a good sekt or Cava. There are excellent sekts and cavas - sekt is the German word for quality sparkling wine, and they can be really good too - but when it comes to my real champagnes I am a bit snobby. I know.)

By the way: I HAD planned to toast for my friends ever since I found out that they were engaged - but it just HAPPENED to work as a football distraction as well.

Oh no! What just happened?

What just happened? Germany lost? In a world cup game? TODAY of all  days? That is not good, that is not good AT ALL. I am having a little thing (don't know why my iPhone insist on trying to write thong, it's a THING I am having) at home today, friends coming over. Not for roiboos tea but for cocktails. ;-) Looking forward to it, very much actually. Except it's not sunny as I had planned for but cloudy (it's not too late though, it can still change, and it's a lot less cold than earlier too, it's about 20 degrees C so at least room temperature. Think positively).

Clouds I can survive but the fact that Germany lost may impact us: Everybody but one is German and the non German is living with a German...  And then there is me... Hmmm... How to solve this? Oh, at least Germany weren't kicked out, we are still playing, so perhaps they can get over it. Or I have to come up with some really good party trick to make/keep them happy...
(Mailblogged)

Super bonus at supermarket

 I almost always do my shopping in a Turkish shop not so far from where I live. They have the best vegetables (good quality, great taste, good prices -obviously impacted by the quick turnover, they have very little waste in the fruit- and vegetable area, I'd imagine.), and they have what I need otherwise too, at least most of the time: A delicacy, good meat (lamb and beef), and most important, I can get proper yoghurt there, something that isn't possible in German shops, it's always way sweet, with fruits/jam etc. It's really only to get toilet paper, washing-up liquid, detergents etc. that I go to the big German supermarket.

And then there is a smaller chain that also isn't so far from where I live. I go there for some things that I can't find in "my" shop - pork for example. And certain lactose free products. And coffee. Thursday I went there for another reason too; I was late to the Turkish shop do I didn't get all my shopping done, I just rushed inside and grabbed the most urgent - don't have time for it today - and things were missed - and I needed some sausage as well.

Picked up my shopping. After I paid I am asked if I want this - what  you see on the picture. I first say now but since it is free (bonus - the SUPER BONUS - for shopping there and spending money there - I can't resist it. I like bonuses.)

Yes. It IS football collector cards. No idea what to do with them but it's nice to get little pictures of men and to be able to read important fact about them, like their age. Or their weight... Seriously, feels a bit iffy, it's like a dating agency except I will not get to actually meet them...

(mailblogged)

Genuine Brazilian - or so I am told

Yesterday, Wednesday, I got a surprise Brazilian visit. It's a friend whom I got to know in Sweden, when he was living there (in Gothenburg/Göteborg). Haven't seen him for quite some time, but now he happened to be in Cologne/Köln for a day, so yesterday evening he texted me and asked if I had plans. I did, sort of, but friends coming up - of course I will try to either change plans or include an extra person in the plans I already made.

A little coordination was required, but at 19:00 we met up at the Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof. After having dropped of the suitcase at home we walked into town, took some nice pictures - this city is SO beautiful a sunny day by the river - and talked about this and that. In the middle of the conversation I got the question to whether there is a Brazilian restaurant here in Düsseldorf. I didn't have to think long... There is Tucan's in Medienhafen that serves the Brazilian BBQ, i.e. grilled food in fantastic amounts. Splendid! It is a chain, but that doesn't matter - food is excellent. I also know that there are a few others.

Tucan's was too far away this time thought, we were close to Altstadt. Had to think for about 20 minutes and then I had it... Close to Heinrich Heine Allee, the U-bahn (underground) and tramstop in Altstadt, there is a little Suca bar, Suco do Brasil. I have been there a couple of times before, but only tried their drinks - which, by the way, are fabulous - so I didn't know anything about the food. But it was well worth a try! My friend lives in Berlin and he claimed it is difficult to find the genuine Brasilian food there, and since he had some cravings for Brasilian food we went and tried. First we didn't spot what he was looking for, but that was just because we looked at the wrong page, but later on we found it.

After having tried the Palmitos assados com molho de Vinaigrette, the Empanadas, the Quibe and some other things I asked if it was genuine, or if it tasted "Germanified" like food here sometimes does, but it was confirmed to me - by my friend - that it tasted excellent (that much I could say myself) and that it really tasted brasilian. I chose to believe that - although I must say that my friend has been out of Brazil for several years so it could just be that he was either polite or was longing so much, or possibly has been in Germany for so long that he has gotten used to the "Germanification" of food.

OH! And the papaya/lime juice? SO refreshing!!! Try it!

We had football in the background, complete with vuvuzelas and all, so it really felt brasilian too...

(By the way: The best way to get genuine food in many places is to ask for the original stuff. When I go to a Thai place for example, I ask for "Thai-Thai, not German-Thai" and then I normally get the right thing, the spicy, genuine food.)

WHY doesn't he understand?

OK, so I pop my head through  Mr Boss' door  to give him a quick update on something I am working on. He stares at me blankly. I repeat what I just said. He stares again. That's when I realise I just said it in Swedish.

Help me, I am turning into Dolph Lundgren*.
I mix languages in a mad way at the moment. 

(I tried both German and English with Swedish friends when I was in Sweden).

 *Dolph Lundgren, Swedish actor who played in Rocky (number unknown) and who had "forgotten" Swedish when he came back to visit Sweden after having been away for a short while.. Same thing happened to Anita Ekberg... People in Sweden made fun of them (but I can actually understand it).

Design

Don't think I have to mention that I changed design on the blog, right? Found a nice template that I use, even though I changed it slightly. Really like it, it has a nice summer feeling to it. Hope it is OK for the readers too...

Running

Have to really get back into exercising again. The run this morning was soooo long. It wasn't, really, but it FELT like it, that's for sure.My legs were tired, like heavy trees. But still it is very very nice to start the morning with a short run, and I have been lazy for way to long. Got my bicycle and I walk a lot but it isn't really enough, I need to make sure it becomes a morning routine, because after work I never have time to do it, at least not in the summer.
But don't ask if I want to run with you - running is something I want to do alone, and I also never run with music. Seriously, running with music is awful, I want to hear the sounds of the street, I want to listen to my own thoughts, and I want to hear the traffic - although that is for another reason, I just think it is safer to hear what happens around you. I can listen to the iPod at the gym but it doesn't work out in nature...

So anyhow, regarding running. I don't mind if you ask me now and then because if you do, there is a higher possibility that I don't do what I otherwise always end up doing: Cheat. Exercising doesn't exactly come natural to me... (Even though it may look like it...)

Can't blame them for not trying

The canteen at work is... I don't know, interesting at times is probably the word that best describes it. Most of the time the food is very basic: A lot of pork - it is Germany after all - a lot of fried things, tomatoes and cucumber in the salad bar, and a lot of it too, sauces that may not be quite as healthy as one would wish. Lots of sausages. Frikadellen - big sort of meatballs - schnitzel of different kind, fish which has been fried until it isn't always possible to taste that it is fish. A typical canteen, in other words.

I really only have one, no two complaints. The fist one is that I can't get tap water, but that is a  German syndrome, the Germans are simply worried about tap water for some reason. I don't know how many times I have had the discussion about tap water when I have been to restaurants etc in Germany, or even in people's homes - they insist on wanting to give me sparkling water, something I am not so keen on - and besides the tap water is excellent here so bottled water doesn't make sense to me.

The second one is that when we have "schnitzeltag" - schnitzel day - in the canteen the fries are included in what you pay, and even if it wasn't there is no normal potatoes to be had, you only have the choice of pasta (which you would have to pay extra for) or the fries. On exception we get rice or boiled potatoes but it is very very rare on Schnitzel tag.

And now the canteen has started to be a bit innovative. This week is South Africa week - they have been doing theme weeks for a while, now and then.

Today's selection for me (there are normally three dishes that are new for the day) was salad with ostrich, and gooseberry vinaigrette. Really good actually, especially for being canteen food.

The "Potato and Vanilla soup" that was served the other day I'll forever give a miss, though...

Asian languages

Although come to think of it I want to learn some Asian language(s) and I want to speak Italian an French.
Hmmm... How many boyfriends would I actually need??? Oh well, I guess language might not be the ideal parameter to use to determine who is right for me after all, I guess... ;-)

Or I could say that since I have no issues with English and Swedish (although a German who heard my English that also the English assume is from Northern England actually called it for a Swedish accent yesterday - but I think that says more about his level of English than anything else ;-) ) an English speaking or a Swedish speaking person is out of the question but I can stay open for everybody else?

(Yes, of course I am just joking. I am just in the mood for that after another discussion yesterday.)

I know, you can't

OK, I know, I know. You don't just "get" a boyfriend, it's not something you can just decide on and go and pick up. And especially not for such a silly reason! :-D

And besides I am way too happy with life to even be searching. I have enough experience to know what I certainly will not give up again. And I enjoy where I am right now - life is good with great great friends around me!
Actually you could say that I HAVE found what I searched: A hometown (adopted Düsseldorf), great people, and a lot of fun. And many interesting challenges. I HAVE all of that. Hurray!

Practice language

Someone said to me, talking about languages, that I should get a German boyfriend. Perhaps he was right. There are certainly parts of the German language that I don't practice at work or with the authorities... Perhaps I
SHOULD give in and get a German boyfriend? ;-)

The aquarium - the smelly one.

Unlike Germany, most countries in Europe or at least EU takes the smoking ban seriously. In Germany or at least in NRW, Nordrhein Westphalia, the state I live in, more or less everything is an exception - and that goes especially for Düsseldorf. France managed to ban smoking, Italy did too, Ireland did, ad so forth. Germany may be good at many other things, but not smoke bans.

But in Sweden it IS possible to allow smoking inside public places, but the rules on how are pretty clear. It's not allowed to bring food inside (no one should gave to go in and clean it out - glasses and plates etc - there has to be separate ventilation and so on. Due to that very few establishments actually allow smoking inside - but I guess as an airport you have to, you can't have people running back and forward through the security check to go for a cigarette outside - too cumbersome especially with long lines. And people who are worried about flying and are smokers will probably want to have a cigarette to calm down, I would think. So at Landvetter airport they have installed this... An aquarium! It looks and feels like it, the smokers head inside, stand there and suck, looking gravely, on their cigarettes, being in a hurry to get it over and done with, it seems.

I can't help but noticing that also those who just landed go into the aquarium. Had I been them I would have waited until I was on the outside... It's not like baggage claim will take that long. Gothenburg may be the second biggest city in Sweden but it is still only the size of Düsseldorf, approximately, and the number of flights are FAR lower (Sweden has 9 million inhabitants all in all, and it is by far the people in Scandinavia with the biggest population, so second biggest can't be that big - it's only when walking the streets of Gothenburg it feels really densly populated, and that is only because people don't step to the side when they see someone they want to talk to, they stop in the middle of the street.) than the number of flights landing in Düsseldorf.  Düsseldorf has three terminals, Gothenburg (Landvetter) one...

Well, I am happy I am not a smoker, I don't have to worry about the next nicotine kick and I certainly don't have to go into the aquarium only to be stared on.

Gone mad

I have gone mad. Met up with friends yesterday evening, friends in Gothenburg (in town over the weekend) and had a great time. Good to see people I hadn't seen in ages, and then I went back to where I'm staying in Gothenburg this time, and fell asleep on the comfy couch as I should. Then I woke up at 4:50. Then at 6. And then at 7. And then I went for a run.

For A RUN!!!

And then I came back and at 8:10 I fell back to sleep and now, 9:10 I feel ready to take on the world.

The mad part is the run, the rest is business as usual. This running thing is becoming addictive (even though I only do short runs).

The trip to Småland, Sweden

Yesterday, Friday I left Düsseldorf early in the morning, to take the plane and fly up to Gothenburg, Sweden. From there I drove east, to Småland, Astrid Lindgren country. It was a grey and rainy day, suiting my mood, in a way. I travelled to Sweden today goodbye to a woman who has meant so much to me - my godmother. Although I hadn't seen her in a long time she has often been in my thoughts. My godmother was an extraordinary woman, ill for many years but worse the last two, she always had time for others and cared for others.

The trip to Sweden was not an easy one, but one I had to to, for myself, for closure, and one I wanted to do, to be there for the family. I'm so happy I could make it.

The little village the family is from is tiny, about 1500 inhabitants. Growing up in or in the close proximity of a big city that is unreal, the feeling that if you don't watch out while driving through it, you may miss it - unreal, but Fascinating, especially coming there as a visitor. It's a village where everybody knows everybody, and this is also where my paternal grandparents came from, and hence my father, although he left when he was 17. Still, when we were children and came to visit we often met people who knew who we were and who could sometimes introduce themselves as relatives in one way or the other. In this village my godmother and her family, who were also relatives, the closest ones I had on my fathers side, after my grandmother passed away - my grandfather had died many many years before I was born, dad even grew up without him. In this village, in the forest of Småland, my wonderful godmother lived.

Coming to my godmother always meant peace, there was a certain calmness about their place, a serenity. I remember lying in bed at night, listening to the clock, an old bigger one, in the kitchen ticking in a soothing way, like a heart beat. That kept me calm.

I remember little details. My second cousin, her daughter, doing handstands in the garden while my godmother brought home made lemonade, I remember her making sandwiches for my brother, sandwiches made with her wonderful home made dark bread which was so good. I remember her preparing dinner, moose steak, with the meat from her husbands hunting trip, and - and excellent tip by the way - using some of the water from the potatoes for the sauce, which made it so much more tasty.

I also remember how she came to our rescue a really hot summer when we were dressed in raincoats and painting a house with dad - a fun job but we were getting overheated, just cause dad didn't want to deliver us back to my mums all covered in paint. My godmother stopped by with coffee and lemonade and made dad understand that it was probably better with some white paint on the little kids than heatstroke... Oh, how I loved her for that!

The memories are many, and coming down to Småland yesterday was good for me. The church service was beautiful although very very sad, and it was great being able to meet up with the family.

I also had a chance to drive around and see spots i hadn't seen in a long time, and contemplate how important your roots despite everything actually are for you, and revive some old memories, sometimes buried far beneath - and also take some photos.

It's been good. And this time of year is probably the very best time in Sweden, a country I will always be a part of, despite the fact that I can't see myself ever living there again.

The picture is by the way from just outside where my grandmother lives towards the end, the flowers are still the same, but the trees are much bigger...

(Mailblogged originally)

Vila i frid

Idag gör jag en svår resa, men en resa jag är glad att jag gör.
Idag säger jag hejdå till min gudmor, följer henne på den sista resan hennes kropp gör. Hennes själ är redan någon annanstans.
Det är tungt och svårt och ändå är jag glad att jag får vara där och säga hejdå, vara där och följa henne. Tack för alla år du gav, tack för allt.

Ratinger strasse

Ratinger Strasse a warm Wednesday in the summer. I have said it before, I say it again. It is here it happens. Ratinger Strasse, Altstadt, Düsseldorf a Wednesday evening.

The Düsseldorfers go to Ratinger Strasse, the others (the tourists) are often stuck on Bolker Strasse - but Ratinger is the place to be. Got to love it!

(mailblogged originally, page breaks etc now fixed)

Southern cooking at Busy Bee

Busy Bee is a wonderful little restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. It's small, more of a diner actually. The food is so called southern food, something I had heard so much about: Hearty food, they say. I heard about some of it - the grits, the fried chicken, the pork chops, the fried green tomatoes, the meat loaf, the desserts, so I was looking forward to trying it - the authentic southern cooking. Funny enough I quickly discovered the similarities with the food I actually grew up on. The Southern food basically equals Swedish so called "Husmanskost", the food that was common until, I'd say, the 80-ies in Sweden. This is highly confusing I must say! It does all make sense though, traditionally the people in the south were hard working and needed the energy you get from this kind of food - and in Sweden there was a time when 90% of the people lived on the country side, of what nature had to offer, i e they were farmers, worked in the forrest and so forth. With a short summer season hard work was required to make sure you had food on the table - we needed our energy just in the same way. And yes, the Swedes came an masse to US, surely some of the traces can be found in cooking.

A woman I know from Florida actually confirmed, she went up north with her husband and found the same thing:
Northern Europe classic food and Southern food has a lot in common.

And yes, we say Hey too, expect spelt differently (Hej).

By the way, grits: It's made of grinded corn, like corn flower only not quite so finely grinded. More like our "mannagryn" in Sweden, tastes a bit like it too - Mannagrynsgröt.

Open doors

I love open doors and very much prefer that in the office. That's one of the things I love about my new office, actually, people are not the typical Germans and have their doors closed (MUCH more common here than any other country where I have been for work  - and that is also what many others confirm).

But I would really appreciate if people closed their doors when having a phone conference, especially when they are loud. And using a speaker phone. Really.

Headache.

I am now starting to go and close their doors. They can open them again when they are done in the call.

(Don't get me wrong, I love having colleagues around me. Just not in my ear.)

A compliment

You know what, it feels pretty darn good coming up the stairs in the new office and be greeted by a spontaneous "Wow".
I didn't understand why at first - but it was just a positive "wow" from someone really liking my dress. And it is not even something special. It's a plain green dress, not short or anything, but somewhere between below the knee and the ankle (that would be the calf...). And yet. Good. We are not very good at giving compliments otherwise, are we? But we should be, it makes everybody grow if done the right way, and this certainly was.

This is going to be a good day :-)

By the way - I am German

Well,  not for real, but Germany is in the world championships are Sweden aren't so from the 13:th when Germany plays the first game I am indeed pretending to be German. Just so that you know...

Microsoft are still spamming me, I'm afraid

OK, still receiving spam from Microsoft, as I did last year. Still same newsletter, still impossible to get rid of. Migraine just thinking about it. I wish I had someone to escalate through as I do for many other things that impacts work but in this case it is a home user mail they won't stop sending despite me unsubscribing every month, and they keep sending it to my office address where I certainly don't want it. Pretty annoying! And time consuming.

Strawberries

Swedes say that the Swedish strawberries are the best (we are actually a bit snobby when it comes to that). I'd say the somewhat local strawberries are the best regardless of where you are. Here it's the German ones. The sweetest, juiciest things, bought at the Turkish fruit shop close to where I live. Fantastic, that's what they are.

All I can say is: Don't buy fruit and vegetables at the German supermarket when you have fantastic shops run my Turks, or little local stands at the market, at least follow that advice if you want good quality fruit and veggies. There is nothing wrong with the supermarkets, but the fruits and vegetables are so much more tasty when bought from the local shops.

The last journey

Friday I travel, it's going to be one difficult trip, but a trip I am very happy that I am able to do. I wish I would have been going to where I am going a long time ago, but for other reasons. I am going to see my relatives in the south east part of Sweden, which is something I should have done a long time ago. I didn't. I am very much looking forward to seeing the dear ones, but this time one very important person is missing, and yet it is for her I travel. My dear godmother passed away recently, and I am going up to Sweden to say goodbye, she has done her last journey, and I am going up for the funeral. I am glad that she doesn't have to suffer anymore, but it is sad that she is gone, very sad. I am also very much thinking about her husband and the others closest to her - my godmother passing away created a hole in the universe, I think, a hole that can never be filled, at least not completely.

I also feel guilty for not having been good at keeping in touch lately, it's been a way to long time since I last saw her and her husband, yet they were people that meant so much to me. They lived in another part of Sweden so we never saw them that often after my paternal grandmother and an uncle on my grandfather's side passed away, but my godmother was never the less always immensely important to me.

Whenever we went and saw them she was always very thoughtful and caring, and seeing her meant peace, feeling safe, feeling loved, and also having a lot of fun, the family was and is - because it is the whole family, not just my godmother - a family good at giving love even when it wasn't explicitly expressed, and making people feel at east, and welcomed.With my godmother and her husband everybody could feel special. Few people do as much for other people as they did, they were always there and they always cared.

 She will be and is greatly missed, and not just by me, but by many.

I have so many memories to share, so many stories to tell, but I will not do it now, not here.

Don't let me get away with it

Hey there German friends: Unless it is really loud and I am very tired, you have to STOP letting me get away with it. When I answer you in English, continue in German. I am just lazy, you know that... I speak German with a lot of people, it's just that my friends here in Germany speak such good English!

If you are NOT German I prefer continuing in English though, it is more efficient to speak German with the Germans.


But yes, if I am tired, let me continue speaking in English, and don't correct me in German because that only means I will stop using the language. I hear my errors myself, or I will ask.

So... Don't let me get away with being lazy.

But remember, German is not my second language, so if I look totally confused or if the group is big, have patience with me...

The lost ant

Found a tiny little black ant on a walkabout outside my bedroom door this morning. Poor thing, it must have been quite a party if he was that lost, the kitchen is in the other direction....

Summer is here for real, it is lovely and warm, yesterday it was BBQ premiere and on Sunday there is a picnic planned. Life is pretty good!

And no, I haven't forgotten the blog, I just haven't felt like blogging, there is so much else going on :-)

Stay tuned

There are plenty of more travel posts coming up, as I visited several exciting cities on my latest trip "far away", and I have started to write them, but this time I had decided NOT to blog during the trip but to write down little notes in my little notebook rather than to use a computer (the computer didn't go on holiday, it stayed home and relaxed). It takes a little while to get it out "on paper" but have patience. It will happen.

To come: Some Atlanta (GREAT city, much due to great people that I visited there, but also due to fantastic historical momuments, such as the Martin Luther King JR birth home, and the MLK centre), Washington DC and the monuments (I got soaked -but I saw them!), Philadelphia (met with friends here too, and through that made some new experiences and saw some new areas, including an absolutely excellent beer shop with beers from all over the world, including one Swedish, which I found using the search function on the computer they have available), and then some more New York City. I love that place!

So as I said, don't give up on me.

Grand Central Station

For some reason I very often end up at Grand Central Station when I am in New York. I love train station and this is a pearl. Don't come here if you are taking the train somewhere far, then you need to go to the far mire uninteresting Penn station, but if you just want a good train station experience, this is the place for you.

There are still trains leaving from Grand Central, but they are (mainly?) local trains going upstate New York, towards Yonkers, towards the stadium and other places nearby. You also have an airport shuttle bus towards JFK, John F Kennedy airport here. But if you want people viewing, if you want food (The Oyster Bar is here!), if you want to see beauty, this is the place to come.

Grand Central Station also has a magnificent market, Grand Central Market, which is adjacent to the station, here you find amazing food from all over the world - Italian pesto, Spanish ham, French cheese, and the excellent American too, made at small farms, nothing like what you find in the supermarket, dark belgian chocolade - and fantastic fresh fish caught locally.

Grand Central is just a very very interesting place!