All posts tagged: random

On Our Guard

Published by Sula H.

To be on our guard has been the order of our day, lately. Why? Because we knew that one of these days, the harvesters would stop by on the field next to our home. And if you aren’t on your guard, that means dust, dust, dust … all over the place. And since we didn’t want to have to fight the dust war, my mom kept reminding us: Watch out for the harvesters, and make sure to close all the windows on time! And today, her apprehension became reality when a faint sound reached our ears and stirred us up from our routine immediately. As soon as we became aware, we chased up and down the house in search of any open window that might turn on us and prevent us from keeping it somewhat free of all that dust which inevitably surrounds any machine trying to harvest a field!

Facing North

Published by Sula H.

The sea has called us. And of course, we answered. After a road trip which took twice as long as it should, and which included an unplanned sight-seeing tour through the center of Hamburg (which we did to get away from the traffic jam on the Autobahn, but which caused us to get stuck in the city traffic just the same), we finally managed to arrive at our destination – a tiny port town at the Baltic Sea, not far from Denmark. And oh how excited I was to catch the first glimpse of the ocean right after sunset.

The Difference Between a Chinese and a German Sunbath

Published by Sula H.

Have you ever wondered what’s the difference between a German and a Chinese sunbath? I haven’t. But I got to find out nonetheless. These last couple of days as I was sitting out in the sun trying to work on assignments. I got to find out that enjoying a sunbath in China, it takes a whole day to get somewhat of a slight tan (usually; and I’d be the exception to sit out in the sun anyways, since most Chinese would avoid the sun as hell in order to maintain a light color of skin). In Germany, however, I’d be fried red as a lobster within the first two hours of sitting in the sun. So, note to self: stay out of the sun if you don’t like lobster fashion!

Italian Ice Cream the German Way

Published by Sula H.

In case you haven’t heard of it yet, there’s something to Italian ice cream in Germany. Whether the old Romans know how to make a lot of things or not, one thing’s for sure: they definitely do know how to make good ice cream. The yummy way, that is. The delicious looking way. The extravagant way. So, before my cow-milking Canadian squirrel friend is heading out soon, I needed to take him out for the experience. And boy, did we indulge ourselves in the occasion. So much so, that – in spite of the deliciousness – we were struggling to finish the ice cream spectacular.

A Friendship to Last

Published by Sula H.

I was glad to meet an old friend again today. And I was even happier to realize that I still enjoy hanging out and being around her. Tonight, she wasn’t actually the only one I got to hang out with. In fact, there was a whole bunch of old acquaintances who’d invited us to join their picnic at a nearby like. And well, where friends, food and water are involved – how could we resist?

A Day of German Culture with an Air of Internationality

Published by Sula H.

After realizing how sore we were from hiking, our day took on  a rather traditionally German life. That is to say, a soon to become family member of mine rather insisted on us trying the famous Swabian “Maultaschen” dish (which literally means “muzzle pockets,” but more commonly referred to as Swabian pockets). If you talk to any Swabian (which that particular soon to become member of the family isn’t), they will insist that Swabian pockets are one of the best dishes the Swabian cuisine has to offer. I’m not sure whether all non-Swabians would agree, but in any case, we did have Maultaschen, and afterwards we moved on to Karlsruhe, where the Karlsruhe Palace was still awaiting our visit, together with some Dutch and American friends. Welcome to the world! Or at least: welcome to Karlsruhe!

Of Oversized Canadian Squirrels

Published by Sula H.

I made a discovery today. A new species of some sort. A strange looking creature, reminding me an awful lot of an over-sized squirrel of the Canadian kind, which was trying to escape from our balcony this afternoon. I didn’t even know that oversized Canadian squirrels like to eat unripe German plums, but eh – you never stop learning, right?

Meeting Grace

Published by Sula H.

Today was a somewhat special day for me. I got to make lots of new friends. And those new friends helped me make even more friends. What happened? First, there was Hardy and a couple of guys who are friends with my sister. And soon after we had been introduced to each other, and after Hardy realized that we were quite eloquent English speakers (well, for my Canadian friend who’s been traveling with me that shouldn’t surprise very much), he had an idea. A spontaneous, wonderful, brilliant idea: “Would you like to meet Grace?” Grace is from New Zealand, traveling the world, and after he met her last week, he had learned that while staying with friends in Germany, she had broken her arm the other day. Now Hardy wanted to visit her, to cheer her up a little, and since our English is quite proficient, he asked us if we would join. So, the five of us scrambled into a car to meet Grace, who didn’t really know anyone of us, but who in …

Moving On

Published by Sula H.

School is over, and we have moved on. To Stuttgart, where we spent a fun day together with family and friends. First stop today was the TV Tower in Stuttgart – a very windy affair. Next, we visited the sepuchral chapel on Württemberg mountain. And finally, we ended our day in downtown Stuttgart.