1. Do you wear glasses, contacts, or are you one of those perfect eyed people?

Oh, I am definitely not perfect eyed – I wish. I wear contacts. I also have glasses but they are several years old and I don’t wear them much anymore as my eyes have gotten a little worse since I got them. I am considering getting a new pair though, as I’d love to wear glasses again more regularly.

2. What is the next item you are going to purchase?

I actually did quite a bit of shopping last week so I think I am done shopping for myself for now. It’s probably going to be Christmas presents for my family and best friend.

3. Have you ever watched Judge Judy or any other real court show?

No, I live in Germany and we don’t get that show here. I have no idea if Judge Judy is like daytime television here (which is when we get those “real” court shows), but I try my best to avoid it.

4. How do you feel about fake nails?

They’re not my thing. I actually managed to stop biting my nails in August and have been really happy with my natural nails since then. But on others, I don’t mind them. I just prefer for nails to look as natural as possible, even when they’re fake. Another thing I don’t like about fake nails is how they seem to completely ruin your natural nails.

5. What is your favorite sport to watch?

Soccer, hands down. I’m not a huge soccer fan, and I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV, but soccer beats football and baseball any day. I love how fast-paced it is, let’s face it, football on TV is a bit boring. But then, I am German, so it’s probably not that surprising.

6. If you could create your own Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, what would it be and what would it be named?

Oh, I am actually pretty happy with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I might improve it with some caramel swirls, though. I’d call it, Heavenly Caramel Cookie Dough.

7. Do you have any scars?

No big ones. I have a tiny one on my left hand from when my neighbors’ cat scratched me when I was 13. I also have a few small scars on the inside of my arm from giving blood.

8. Does your pet’s name fit them? Is there a more appropriate name?

Boring answer but I don’t have one.

9. What is your favorite television show theme song?

Oh, I think that would have to be the theme song from True Blood, ‘Bad Things’ by Jace Everett. It’s been my ringtone for the past two years. In a close second, the theme song from Gilmore Girls.

10. What was your favorite activity on the playground?

The swings. I don’t think I was ever brave enough to swing across the spindle, though.

Since March or April, I have been riding my bike to work every day. Just last week, I started walking again. It takes longer but when it’s as cold as it has been lately, I prefer walking. I enjoy having this time to myself, to listen to music and spend another 20 minutes lost in thoughts. Another upside is, it’s so much easier to just stop and take a quick picture.

Today’s sunrise was absolutely beautiful. I have often passed by these fields thinking I wish I had the time to stop and take a picture or I wish I had my camera with me. Today, I took the time to take a few pictures. The pictures were just taken on my iPhone 4S but luckily its camera is pretty good.

City girl or not – I am willing to admit that I am not likely to have an amazing view like this in the middle of Munich. Gorgeous, isn’t it?

P.S. Be sure to sign up for my Christmas card exchange if you’d like to receive a card from me this year.

Even though I haven’t blogged much this year, I still love it and appreciate the fantastic people I have met through blogging. This year, I decided that I’d do my own Christmas card exchange. I’d love to show my appreciation for all of you by sending you a Christmas card.

If you are a reader of my blog and would like a Christmas card from me this year, please fill out the form below.

P.S. You don’t have to send me one in return, but I do love getting mail as well. ;)

P.P.S. As you may or may not know, I blog under my middle name for privacy reasons, but I will be using my first name for sending out Christmas cards. Tell me if you don’t know it yet.

[Form has been removed.]

Source: kidspacestuff.com via Elaine on Pinterest

It’s just another Thursday here, but I know that for all of you living in the US it’s Thanksgiving. I once got to spend Thanksgiving with a friend’s family in Texas, and I still salivate when I think about all the delicious food.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I went on the last day of the festival, planning to spend a couple of hours there, not having any idea what exactly was expecting me. Well, I was blown away. I enjoyed my visit so much, and instantly regretted not having gone earlier so I could have visited twice. There were so many performances and I was only able to see a couple of them.

I also thought it was such a shame I had to go by myself. I had asked a couple of friends to come up from Munich for it, but they didn’t, and in my opinion, they really missed out. If I get a chance to go again to the one in two years (i.e. if I still live here), I definitely will. I think I would even make the trip from Munich for this, it was that fun!

It takes place in a fairly small town but hundreds of people participate in the festival and many thousands come to visit, many of them in historical costumes. It is really a unique experience.

The historical part of town makes for a perfect backdrop, it gives the festival this sense of authenticity – knowing that many of the buildings, and the castle are very old and have really seen the time we as visitors are transported back to at this festival.

I ate some Rahmbrot, cream bread, a specialty of this town that has been ‘exported’ to Christmas markets and festivals all over Germany. For good reason – it was absolutely delicious. In fact, it was so good I had two.

I got to see two performances that are very typical of the festival, and I am so glad I decided to see both. One was a reenactment of medieval games in the historical stables, which was very entertaining, and the other was a classic – the hobbyhorse riders – a performance by children in historical costumes in the courtyard of the castle. Very sweet.

I really loved how so many visitors were dressed in historical costumes – some really elaborate, some very simple. It almost made me wish I had a historical costume to wear. I think most people who live around here do.

It was such a fun day. My expectations hadn’t been that high, but I really loved it. If you’d like, you can watch a video of the festival from 2009 here. I think it does a really good job at conveying the atmosphere.

Have you ever been to a historical festival? Are there any where you live?

In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Julia and we went to the Oktoberfest. The weather was fantastic, and the Wiesn was super crowded. It was the first day which is always crowded and with the beautiful weather, it was just madness.

But we also had a great time. I am not a fan of all the drunk people but I love the atmosphere. There are rides everywhere, women in dirndl, men in lederhosen, and lots of different food stalls. Of course there are the beer tents too, but if you want to get in on the first day, you need to be there at 8am to get in line. Considering that I don’t even drink beer, it has never been worth it for me.

We walked around a bit, went on one ride (my favorite), I ate an ochsensemmel, Julia bought a gingerbread heart for her boyfriend, and ate a chocolate banana. After about 1 1/2 hours we had had enough and we decided to go back home. It was getting really cloudy and we didn’t want to get wet. It was a short visit to the Wiesn, but absolutely worth it. I am going to be back in town in a couple of weeks, and I hope to go again one more time.

I think next year, I will try to take a day or two off during the Wiesn, though, so I can go during the week. Weekends are just a little too crazy for me.

Because she had asked me if we have frozen yogurt in Munich, I found out that, in fact, we do. Some googling turned up a place that just opened in May. It was opened by a college graduate who discovered frozen yogurt while studying abroad in the States and decided that Munich needs a frozen yogurt place (yes, yes it does).

Of course we had to go there to try it. It was absolutely fantastic and I will definitely be going back regularly. In fact, I went back the very next day with another friend of mine, who loved it too. I am so glad I found this place. Delicious frozen yogurt and great interior as well. Totally a new favorite.

Afterward, we took a walk through the English Garden, which is a gorgeous park in town, and went to the Eisbach (ice creek) to watch the surfers there for a while. Fun fact: Jason Mraz’s ‘Make It Mine’ music video was filmed here and at other Munich locations. Definitely one of my favorite places in Munich that I was happy to show my friend.

So much fun and one of those days that reminded me how many friends I have made through blogging.

Well, let’s face it, there isn’t any.

That is one of the things hardest to get used to since moving to a small town: the lack of anonymity. I grew up in a big city and being among large crowds of people is what I am used to. I like being anonymous, knowing that people are not watching me, or if they are, I am not likely to see them again. I like being able to do what I want without being judged by someone I see regularly.

B-town is so different in that regard. It’s a tiny town with a population of under 5,000, where people say hello to each other on the streets. The town is very small, not just in terms of space, but also in terms of everyone knowing everyone. I am pretty sure there is no such thing as six degrees of separation in this town, just one degree of separation. Well, maybe two now that I live here. Everyone knows everyone else.

That is something new to me. I never lived in a town small enough for everyone to know everyone else. And I am not sure I like it. The irony is that people who grow up in a small town have a hard time handling the anonymity of life in a big city, because it makes them feel isolated and lonely. For me it is the opposite.

When I first moved here, and went to the local grocery store, they asked if I was new in town and where I lived and worked. I answered their questions truthfully because I thought it would be rude not to, but it made me uncomfortable. I am sure it was completely natural to them and they meant no harm, but to me it felt intrusive, like it was none of their business. One thought that comforted me was that if I was not anonymous there, neither were they.

It would not have occurred to me to say that I was uncomfortable with their questions – knowing that their curiosity is normal for life in a small town and entirely innocent. But I have noticed that even though I answer people’s questions, feeling obligated to, I never ask them back, because I feel like that would be nosy and well, none of my business. I wonder if they interpret that as a lack of interest on my part. They probably do.

Whenever I am back home in Munich, I enjoy being one of hundreds of people on the street, I love how people are not intrusive and stick to their own business. I like being left in my thoughts, not having to talk to strangers. I like being anonymous, one of many, a forgettable face in the crowd. I like that not everyone is going to remember what I did yesterday or what I bought for dinner the other day. And goodness, I like that no one at the grocery store comments* on the amount of empty diet coke bottles I return.

I consider myself a friendly person and I believe in the good in people, but I am usually pretty uncomfortable with strangers striking up conversations with me. It makes me uncomfortable not knowing their motives, even though often enough they are probably entirely innocent.

Maybe that is something I can learn from the people in my small town: learn not to be so mistrustful of strangers, show more interest in others, and embrace the social aspect of living in a small town. And then, when I move back to a bigger city, take that with me. Because like with most things, the truth is probably somewhere in-between.

Does it make you uncomfortable when strangers ask you personal questions? Do you prefer the anonymity of a big city or do you find it perfectly normal for your neighbors to know everything about you and vice versa?

* Yes, that really happened. It made me uncomfortable to return bottles there, knowing I am being judged for how much diet coke I drink and probably for what I eat too. Now that I have cut down on how much diet coke I drink, I feel okay about it, though.

At the same time, the sun was setting in the west and gave the entire town this beautiful, golden glow. It was still raining so the sun reflected in the wet streets. It was so beautiful.

Last night was definitely one of the times that I was happy for living out in the country because you don’t often get so see nature as beautiful as this when there are buildings upon buildings blocking your view.

This was the first time in my life that I saw a rainbow, complete from one end to the other. I was honestly giddy with excitement.

As the sun set, the sky turned this lovely shade of dusty pink. The rainbow didn’t vanish until it got dark. It was so amazing.

And as the sun set into the horizon, the clouds were looking more and more dramatic, like the sky was on fire.

It was such a magical evening, one of the most beautiful sunsets I witnessed. And one of the moments that I absolutely loved living in small town Bavaria.

The proceeds from the flea market are used for various things in the community, such as new books for the library, etc. I personally think because this way, the entire community can profit from the sale of things that would otherwise just collect dust in the basements of this town.

I am not usually a person to shop at flea markets, but whenever I am in town I try to go, especially for the book market because it is a great opportunity to snag up new reading material. And awesome old books (which I bought at this same flea market a few years ago) which I have no plans of reading but just like looking at. It’s a really nice way of supporting the community and even though I don’t live here anymore, I did for several years and do think it’s a pretty great place. Being that I was in town this weekend, I just couldn’t miss it. I spent a few hours there on Saturday with my best friend and made some great finds.

A set of matching wooden tray and coasters. I love their vintage look and think they will fit into my living room perfectly. I actually did not realize this was a set till I got home, I just thought they matched well. Score!

A vase and three pitchers. I am not planning to use these as pitchers (though I am planning on using the vase) but I think they will make for really nice decoration in my living room. Love their old-fashioned charm. I paid a total of €8 for the set of tray & coasters, the vase, and three pitchers.

Facsimiles of four 1884 calendars & an envelope by Kate Greenaway. I think these will look awesome framed. €2.

Like the calendar, a facsimile of a children’s book from the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books. €2. They had an entire collection of these for sale and it makes me wish I had known about it earlier. The book market is held on both Friday and Saturday and one of the volunteers there told me the nicest pieces were already gone on Friday. I am very happy with the two pieces I got and hope the others also found loving homes rather than having been bought by people who are planning to sell these at a profit (because they are likely worth more than what they were sold for).

Ten new books for me to read. €12.

One of the books is a really nice reproduction of the original edition of Poor Richard’s Almanack by Benjamin Franklin. His autobiography was one of the topics I had to cover for my final exams of my degree so this was a sentimental purchase because it reminded me of my last year of university. I really enjoy reading his words of wisdom – and humor, though.

I also bought a stepper. I figured it might be a neat way of working out while watching TV in the evening. This stepper looks like it was barely used, just a little dusty. It’s in great condition, it even still has a working battery. I don’t have much workout equipment but this is fairly small and can easily be stowed away in a corner of my living room. It only cost me €3 so if I don’t end up using it for long, it’s not that big a loss.

I am pretty happy with my finds, I made some really great bargains. Now I just have to wait for my parents to take everything to my apartment in a few weeks as there is no way I can take everything with me on the train.

Do you like shopping at flea markets? What has been your favorite find?