TGIF

Hope everyone has fun plans for the weekend. I'm working at the cafe tomorrow and may be going to Leipzig for a quick visit with Kat (she's getting baptized on Sunday). My mom has excellent weekend plans. Make that three week plans. She's officially vacationing in Sylt, a German island in the North Sea, off the west coast of Denmark.


Yes, I am jealous.

Summer Solstice

Today was the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. It reminds me of the winter solstice parties we used to have at The Textile Museum when I worked there. Yep, it was the politically-correct holiday party and those TMers really know how to throw a good one. Rachel, who has worked at the TM for more than seven years, can vouch for me. Right, Rachel? :)

And I Miss You. Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.

As I'm hearing about fun summer times in DC (like Ajay sleeping in his Woodley Park-parked car after a night on the town :)) and reading washingtonpost.com -- and as some of the "newness" of Hamburg wears off -- I'm beginning to miss Washington a bit more.

Like my Dupont Circle neighborhood.

And the Dunkin' Donuts across the street from my apartment. :)
But most of all, friends. You guys.

Like all you lovely ladies in this photo, taken early February. A mere four months later, Abigail now has a beautiful baby girl, Kim is pregnant with a boy, Krystal quit her job and may be moving, Rudd is still working furiously, and Noeleen is planning a wedding.

Since February, Bettina's company got bought out and she's still working hard and partying it up. Melissa was accepted to tons of awesome grad schools and is preparing to attend the University of Chicago in the fall.

Heather and Brad moved from the suburbs into the city, and are planning yet another move to Boston.

Lana and David got married and are now on their honeymoon.

Sonita is taking a break from work and traveling around Europe as I type. Hamburg is on her itinerary starting July 6.

And my awesome sister Nina is packing for a work-related trip to Ghana, after which she's swinging by for a visit (can't wait). In the background, Ajay is enjoying a martini...which he seems to be a doing a lot of these days. :) Just kidding, Ajay.

And so many others who are doing cool things -- Jaime and Jamie have new jobs; Johanna is about to do the Avon Walk; Anand: are you still working on your book?; Mona is planning a wedding in Cairo, Jenny and Sean one in VA/DC; Mariah keeps me laughing with her blog; and all you cool peeps who I miss hanging out with, playing tennis with, dancing, Wonderland, grabbing a drink, coffee, etc., etc., etc.

I miss you guys! While I wish I could share more closely in your life adventures, I love hearing about them from across the ocean. So, don't forget to keep me posted. :) Talk to you soon and hope to see you.

Things that Make You Go Hmmmm

Don't really know what to write at the moment, so I'm posting some "Bushisms" I found on Slate.com.

Read 'em and weep, people.

"There's a lot of blowhards in the political process, you know, a lot of hot-air artists, people who have got something fancy to say."—Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

"My relationship with this good man is where I've been focused, and that's where my concentration is. And I don't regret any other aspect of it. And so I—we filled a lot of space together."—on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

"Forms of government matter, in my opinion. It matters how—the nature of the government in which people live."—Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

"Information is moving—you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."—Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007

For more reasons we can't wait for 2009, click here.

G8 Great?

So over here the news outlets are proclaiming the G8 a (mild) success, with hostess Chancellor Angela Merkel being hailed by German newspaper Die Zeit as a "superstar." What are they saying in DC about the summit, specifically Bush's hesitance on defending the environment, his rumble with Russia, and the stomach ache?

Herzlichen Glueckwuensch

Yesterday was mom's birthday and we enjoyed a sunny, blue-skied day celebrating. A late breakfast with fresh broetchen started the day.

We then went to a charming cafe in Blankenese, a town known for its beautiful views of the Elbe River and homes tucked into the hillside.


My mom and Ursula (pictured below) used to visit this cafe with their mothers when they were growing up; this history added to the nostalgic atmosphere of the quaint place.

With my mom's close friends, we inhaled the breathtaking views and delighted in the company.


Happy Birthday, Mom!

Shake and Bake

Today was my first morning working at Das Kleine Cafe (see prior entry) and my first cake did not result in disaster (which for me, means it was a success :)). I made a Russian Zupfkuchen. After forming the crust from the chocolate dough, the remaining dough is zupfed (zupfen = to pluck) into small pieces and placed on top of the quark-based filling. Quark is a milk-based product not usually found in America. I would describe it as a mixture between yogurt, cream cheese, and ricotta cheese -- it tastes more like plain yogurt, but has the thicker consistency of cream cheese/ricotta.

Some pictures of a Zupfkuchen I found online:

Mmmmmm. :) Saturday I go back for more cake baking and coffee making.

Summer Lovin'

Summer days driftin' away, but oh oh the summer nights. And here in Hamburg, the days are extra long and the evenings a pleasure. The sun rises at 4:55 am and sets at 9:45 pm -- allowing for about 17 hours of daylight and 6 hours of star gazing. (In comparison, DC's sun is rising roughly an hour later, at 5:44 am, and setting an hour and 15 minutes earlier, at 8:30 pm.)

The extra hours of daylight means I can play on the unlit tennis courts until 9:30 pm and then drive home without having to put the lights on (a little awkward, but cool). It also means I can't get to bed before midnight.

KJJ

Katja and her boyfriend Joel stopped in for a visit to Hamburg from Leipzig and Denver, respectively. Here's a picture of us after the "meet our dad" lunch. Of course, everyone loves Joel.
He's so niiice. Seriously, a great guy and together he and Kat make a wonderful couple. Even dad said so! :)

Run, Lola, Run

I participated in my first German race this weekend...a nice little 4K. Not a 5K, but a 4K, and let me just say it's a perfect little distance. Two and a half miles, a quick jog around Hafen City. I ran with my friend Leo and his co-workers, as part of a 10-member team.

Leo and I pre-race, with the thumbs up:


Afterwards the guy I'm dating (wait, did I fail to mention I I'm dating someone? :)...more on that later) met up with us and we went out for dinner in the Schanze (the hip, trendy part of town) for an organic salad with chicken and tofu sausage (I know, sausage made with tofu should be a crime in Germany, but it was actually pretty good.).