First quarter

First of all my apologies (to the handful readers I still have) for my absence .. I guess this is not really contributing to more or remaining readers, but blogging is also functioning as some sort of diary for me, so that in 20 years I can read back my own words ..

Anyhow .. a little recap of the past 4 weeks (omg, has it been so long?):

Week 12 -

• As you might remember, I have been working quite some over-hours. Consequently I got warned by several departments and got more or less forbidden to work more than 10 hours (actually 11 since breaks are deducted) since I am not insured any more IF something happens and the German work council is pretty strict on this.

• Mid-week I went back home to my parent’s by car (can you believe, I got 3 tickets within a month? Hamburg is a pricey city for drivers!) and left it there, although I’m considering driving it back the next time, since it’s oh-so-convenient. The drive up was pretty tiring, since I left around 6pm after work and got immediately stuck in traffic.

• The next day, my sis and I went to Rotterdam (NL) to have AYCE-sushi, shop (very successful: two dresses & two pairs of shoes) and have the first bridesmaids and grooms men meeting. My cousin is going to marry in May and we met to go through the planning and details. Also, I met my niece Kirsten.

My new grey suede peep toe half-boots <3

Meet 5-week old Kirsten Kaylee!

• In the weekend, I had drinks with friends, relaxed a little (actually I was a little bored with too much spare time) and helped out in my parent’s restaurant.

Week 13 –

• On Monday, I went to the outlet with the intention of buying a Prada bag with my first salary, but got disappointed, because there was nothing pretty .. Afterwards we went to Maastricht to visit my grandma and family.

1st row: spinach fettuccine with shrimps and roquette, salad from baked goat cheese, roquette, pine nuts, beef carpaccio with roquette and parmesan; 2nd row: red wine, vanilla cranberry muffins, seafood/weed soup

• Then I flew back to Hamburg. In week 13, I had dinner at (M)eatery at the Side Hotel that serves meat, obviously, but mostly all kinds of different steaks. I had the and it was very smooth and gooood! Also the toilet there was very futuristic and stylish:

I love the fact that is is sooo pink!

• I also went late-night shopping and furniture-hunting. I still haven’t found the perfect sofa .. and I’m expecting visitors very soon.

Week 14 –

• Closing week – do I need to say more? I didn’t do anything after work in that week, although I went home earlier than before (mostly due to the warnings before).

• I did more in the weekend though .. shopping on Saturday (just bought a pair of pants), wanting to go out in the evening (spent more than 30m finding a parking spot on the Reeperbahn and then waited almost an hour in front of a club - Moondoo, so don't go there if you're not willing to wait for at least an hour). I was annoyed afterwards and we only had drinks at East, which has a very relaxed atmosphere.

• On Sunday, I was a little bored and went to the airport with my baby (my DLSR camera) and expected to take amazing pictures, but was quite disappointed, so don’t go there! I went the other way in the direction of Langenhorn and found a little spot where you can see planes land, which was more amazing. When I left there were like 7 people with professional cameras. I think they were anticipating a big special plane, but after two hours I had enough of it (you have to wait a lot and I don’t like waiting). In the evening I went to the Dom – no, it’s not a church, but a fun fair, which takes place 3x a year. We strolled around a bit, I took a quick ride in the rollercoaster, caught a doll in the grabbing machine and had some Schmalzkuchen (another first!).

My 1st attempt of air plane snapshots

Week 15 – this week:

• On Tuesday, I had a little make up training by Benefit and tried out smoky eyes and blush (I have pretty small eyes and never use blush), but it was quite interesting! I look different and more healthy (since I'm rather pale), but more something for going out ..

Bad quality pic by webcam .. can you tell the difference?

• On Wednesday, I FINALLY managed to go to squash (company sports) and played more than two hours straight. I could let out my aggressions and it felt great doing some sports again. Two days later muscle ache struck .. weird that it comes with delay ..

• Before the weekend started I headed to HH-Neustadt to get a – wait for it – spray tan. If you know Friends: it’s exactly like the box that Ross went in BUT Mississippi-lessly. ;-) There are three different strength-levels of which I picked one, since I was too scared to come out like an African-Asian mix. I can tell that I am more tanned, but people I have seen this weekend didn’t notice it, which is good, I find. In the evening .. more night, I went to Golden Cut Club with the intention of partying and dancing. However, I was too tired and we just ended up having a drink at the club. The location itself was very nice – first it was directly next to the central station, mixed audience, 3 bars, good music, etc. I really have to check out this place again, when I am more fit!

• In the weekend, Uli from Schwerin came to visit me and we had a good, funny and chillaxed weekend. We strolled around at Sternschanze, which is a going-out are for mostly students or younger people and had delicious fish and some drinks before heading to a house warming party of a new acquaintance. The party was very interesting, because I knew none of the people. Most of them were prospective lawyers, since they were doing their legal internships in Hamburg. So also a lot of newbies like me. On Sunday, we had brunch with some friends of Uli at Cafe May (about one block away from my apartment), which was really good and cheap - definitely worth it's price. Afterwards we headed towards Planten un Blomen for a walk, since the weather was so sunny and nice. When Uli left, I headed for dinner with an old friend to meet his fiancée.

Planten und Blomen w/ Uli

Oh and I baked again, but somehow my attempt to make carrot cupcakes failed .. they look more like carrot cookie cupcakes, but they taste quite good ..

Martha Stewart's Carrot Cupcakes

You see that this blog is becoming more towards an insider tourist blog with tips for exploring Hamburg ;-) Have a good 4-day-week (sorry for the people in NL who have to work on Good Friday) & enjoy the Easter holidays!  

First impressions

I don’t think I’m such a good blogger, since I blog very randomly and with big breaks in between .. I wish I had more time for this, but work has been pretty overwhelming in the past two weeks and in the last closing week, I haven’t been home before 11pm (!). I don’t even have time to follow up on my favorite series (Brothers and Sisters, Grey’s Anatomy, etc.) or read magazines .. but enough of my whining!

This week was still busy at work, but I didn’t stay that long, so I could do some grocery shopping on Thursday (luckily a lot of supermarkets open until 10-11pm), which makes it more convenient for me. When I came home, I saw dirt in my bathtub and when I wanted to flush the toilet, water came out of my bathtub! When the guy above me started to shower, it got even worse .. Luckily I could reach the janitor around 8pm, who sent out a plumber that came around 10.30pm. He de-installed my toilet and tried to break the blockage, which was very messy, since the sewage came out into my bathroom. After an hour of trying, he decided to check out the basement and discovered there was a major pipe burst in the main pipe, which caused the blockage in my bathroom (my apartment is the lowest point in the house and under my bathroom, the pipes go straight to the canalization through the basement). All the sewage and other sh*t came out and fled into a room in the basement .. it was really nasty and couldn’t be solved right away, which meant that I was not allowed to use water or let water go through the drain until it was repaired. I really thought like: why is this happening to me??? Anyway, they fixed everything the next day and when I got home from work, I cleaned for two hours and my bathroom is as good as new .. Still I feel like the tip of the iceberg is not reached yet and there is something worse to come .. I hope it won’t, but somehow I’m expecting another shock .. 

On another note, I finally got internet and telephone connection, which enables me to blog (now), facebook (too much), order food online (I had sushi on Tuesday), shop online (I ordered contact lenses), watch series (every 2nd day), catch up news (daily), etc. However, I brought a very old and sucky telephone with cord from home, which connection turns out to be really bad, since it comes with a lot of background noise .. everybody who called me, gave up after a few minutes. So I immediately ordered a new wireless phone, which is supposed to arrive next week, so that I can call properly ..

This weekend was rather relaxed, since all my furniture is set up and most of the things are completed. On Saturday I shortly went to the city and fell in love with a wallet .. I didn’t buy it yet .. but it’s on top of my list <3 

My new desire ..

Furthermore, I did grocery shopping at the Chinese supermarket and bought a microwave. In the evening, I immediately utilized that and made Japanese curry with rice from the microwave (unfortunately, I don’t have a rice cooker, but the microwave things is not that bad).

Today, I finally managed to take out my baby (my DLSR camera) and took some pictures of my apartment and Hamburg today. Here are some snapshots:

First impression .. (more to come)

My little kitchen - the place I spend most time in with my first baked goodies - black forest cupcakes!

The cupcakes turned out fabulous - I made two different kinds .. the classic one with whipped cream and a cherry on top and another one, which I saw on Martha Stewart - a layered version with pastry cream and preserved cherries and drizzled with rich chocolate ganache. :) In my kitchen, I am especially pleased with my coffee/liquor shelf .. it's just a €10-Ikea-shelf, but needs 10 big holes in the wall, 10 big screws, 10 big anchors and a lot of patience .. but it turned out perfectly with the great help of a friend! I had too little space in my cupboards, therefore I thought a shelf near my coffee machine would be nice .. so on the left-hand side I put all my coffee cups (Latte Macchiato, Cappuccino and Espresso), while on the other side I placed all my alcohol bottles, which looks really good, I find.

Here come some pictures of the my new home city:

Jungfernstieg

Sunday afternoon at the Alster

I plan to go home again on Wednesday, but since it’s busy at work, I still don’t know if it’s realizable .. cross your fingers for me .. macarons are waiting for me at home ..

Have a great week ahead! Last shot of this post .. beautiful Hamburg!

Hamburg Binnenalster

First apartment

Can you believe it took me 28 years to have my very own apartment? But it FINALLY happened and I’m sooo thrilled. Last week was moving week and it was a really rough week, since nothing ran smoothly, but why should it? I had a busy weekend at home, spending it with running from furniture store to furniture store, packing and throwing away a lot of things – I had no idea I had so much stuff .. so many clothes and papers (I used to write a lot of letters when I was younger) – I also threw away a lot of old diaries and even found money in them!

Only part of my boxes and stuff ..

Nevertheless, I could enjoy some good sushi, seafood, Chinese restaurant food and had breakfast with the girls.

On Monday the moving people came after lunch time, quickly packed my whole life into a transporter and drove off to Hamburg. Except for forgetting the clothing boxes to hang my dresses and other hanging clothes into them, everything was fine – so far. I left 1.5 hours afterwards, since the transporter can’t drive that fast on the highway. I arrived after 3h45min and got only flashed once :P I was a little too quick .. 

My first orchid on the way to Hamburg (see red circle)

Anyway, I arrived around 8.30pm and started cleaning the bathroom closets and kitchen cabinets, whilst waiting for the moving people to arrive. I had to call them to hear that they will be arriving at 10pm, which means they needed 7.5 hours for 430km!!! When they arrived, they said that they couldn’t assemble all my furniture and would do it on Wednesday morning. They quickly set up my bed and left. I was understanding and agreed to it (actually, I had no other choice). Afterwards I cleaned up a little, since they didn’t put all the boxes into the right room (despite the labels) and left stains from their shoes in the kitchen. I got carried away a little and went to bed around 2.30am, although having to get up for work at 7am. I slept very badly and worked really late since I missed two days of work. The next morning, I woke up around 6am, since I had so much on my mind – the moving people and the handyman were supposed to come around 7am. Around 8am, I was desperately trying to reach the moving people and after a while I only got a SMS back that their car broke down on the highway and they couldn’t make it until March (!), which was more than one week later by that time. I was so mad and upset!!! Luckily the handyman fixed everything and I could at least cross one thing of my list. I made some arrangements and on a very short notice, two handymen came out to assemble all my furniture and put up my lights. I thought they would manage it within 2 hours, but they almost took 4 hours and I was impressed – also with the very congenial price. Afterwards I was so glad that everything was standing and shining were it should be. 

The two very helpful handymen

On Saturday morning, I also woke up early because I was expecting my first own washing machine. The people came early, but of course, something was wrong – the stupid cables were too short and they couldn’t finish their job. So I had to run off to the DIY store and buy the extra equipment. Just as I paid for it, the electronics company called out of the blue and said that they got the extra stuff and wanted to come by and fix it. I didn’t expect it, said I’d already bought the equipment and asked them if they could come anyway, since I didn’t see myself connecting the washing machine cables. They came in the evening and fixed it within no time for a small compensation. Still not everything was perfect, since my water outlet is leaking slightly, but the caretaker should be able to fix it. 

My first washing machine!!

Sunday was a relaxed day, fixing some minor things, having phô and making my first home-cooked meal. The only things left are my curtains for the living area and kitchen, as well as buying a sleeping sofa and some things for the kitchen (e.g. microwave, spatulas, etc.). Then I can post pictures! ;-)

This week was a tough week for me at work as well, since my boss is away and I had to deal with some issues. I stayed at work until 10pm yesterday and I was really, really exhausted. Today was the first time so far I left work before 4.30pm (and I honestly felt a little guilty), but I headed straight to Berlin to see my bestie J., where I’m posting this blog now. I already feel better since its so much fun with her around. We haven’t really planned anything yet, just hanging out and relaxing ..  hope you all had a better week and will have an even better weekend!

First time going home again

I am sitting at the lounge of Hamburg airport right now, drinking a cappuccino and eating cake, while waiting for my flight back to Düsseldorf. This is actually the first time that I sit down at rest. 

Just a quick shot of my current location ;-)

I haven’t been blogging for a while, since I’ve been over-occupied with work and my new apartment. In between working late the last 10 days, I have painted my apartment last weekend. It took only half day (while a great part was spent on covering the floor, the doors, etc.). It was exhausting and my whole body ached the next day, but I had two nice helpers J The next day I went back and “corrected” some things, since I’m very precise and detected every little spot that was not painted well enough for my taste. Finally, to round of the renovation weekend, I mopped the floor on my knees, since I had no stick. The only time this week I had time to visit my apartment was yesterday after 8pm. I planned on cleaning, but just ended up dropping some things off and had dinner with some new friends.

The plan for today is to have Japanese lunch first after landing (I’ve been craving sashimi for weeks!), then go furniture shopping, and packing my stuff. I guess I will be busy with packing all weekend. Apart from that, I might have to work in the restaurant, meet up with some close friends and spend some quality time with my family. On Monday, the moving company will come and I have to leave at around the same time with my car to open the door in Hamburg for them. It’s a pretty long ride for one person (423km to be exact). Nevertheless, I am excited that things are going according to my plan.  For the rest of the week, a handyman will come and fix some things, on Saturday my washing machine will arrive and from then on I will just need some smaller furniture and accessories – I can’t wait to design my apartment according to my own style.

Working the past days have been very busy due to the January closing and I got back at the B very late every day.. the latest I left work was 9.45pm, I belive. But I think its well-worth it and part of the learning process. I had a little chat with my boss yesterday before I left for my “long weekend” and everything seems to be just fine (so far). I’m glad about the short feedback and feel motivated to start having my own responsibilities. We also took pictures last week for a colleague who is leaving the company and I was actually just sitting at my desk working and then they asked me to join them. So I have a group picture with my closest colleagues, which I can now hang above my bed .. ;-) I also got a single shot taken, which I will share with you.

Friday morning at work

No further news so far .. It is pretty cold up here and it has been snowing for a whole day last week, so I’m happy to be able to bring my UGGs and ear warmers and all the warm stuff back to Hamburg next week. And I will show you a first glimpse of my apartment .. my previous tenant had one single purple wall in the room and it was badly painted, it made the room look smaller and I wanted that wall white. So I (or more my friend) painted it white – I took care of the corners and the sockets .. I believe it took three layers to let the color disappear.  So here the before shot:

No purple wall for me (sorry, Sarah)!

Anyway, it’s almost time for boarding and I need to do some Ikea research as well, so this is it for now. Have a nice weekend!

First busy week ahead

Last week was pretty low-key, since my boss was on holidays and she didn’t leave me with many tasks to do. I had some introductory meetings with colleagues from other areas and departments to get to know them better, their work field and also to understand the business better. I went to have a look at a crystal lamp, which I’m now bidding on online, since the store price is much higher than what I saw on eBay. It’s really nice and would fit perfectly into my new apartment. However, since I’ve seen it gone away for half price online, I also only want to pay a little bit more than that. 

On Friday evening I went out to an Asian party to celebrate the Chinese New Year and I was quite disappointed. The location was small, the crowd more non-Asian and the atmosphere was missing. But after some drinks, I went dancing and it got more entertaining. In the end I was back at the B at 5.30am in the morning, in bed by 6 and got up at 8.30am to go to Schwerin to visit a friend. Besides the very nasty weather – it was non-stop raining and very windy, it was very nice and relaxing. We went sightseeing despite the bad weather conditions, got a private tour of the Schwerin cathedral for an hour (very interesting!) and made a quick stop at the castle. The city center is very cute and the city itself is partly rebuild after Hamburg, which made it more special. 

Schwerin Caste

Schwerin market square (reminded me of Tallinn town hall square)

Furthermore, Schwerin is surrounded picturesque lakes, of which my friend literally lives at. Unfortunately, I could not enjoy the view due to the constant rain, but I’ll be back in the summer for sure. :) It’s just an hour away from Hamburg and the ideal weekend trip to the beach! We didn’t (or more couldn’t) do that much (outside), just had a typical Mecklenburg-Vorpommern meal (for me very German), but it was delicious! I have never ordered non-Chinese duck before, but since it was a specialty of the province, I had to. I also never had “Klöße” before – some kind of German dumplings made of potatoes, but I really finished the whole plate (except for the decoration and the duck skin). Yum! 

Crispy Mecklenburg farmer's duck filled with with dried fruit, apple red cabbage and home-made potato Klöße

We spent the rest of the Saturday evening at home having cake, chai tea latte with chocolate, watching DVD and chatting until 2pm at night (despite the lack of sleep the night before). On Sunday, we had a long late breakfast, went for a very short walk along the beach (a must – even though it was still raining) and made pasta with salmon, before I had to leave again. It was the perfect girl’s weekend!

DVD "Atonement" with wine and chocolates

A must-picture at the beach (with my friend's apartment in the background)

The whole day today I was sooo tired, although I should have been relaxed, but maybe I was just too long outside in the weekend in the nasty weather. But this week is going to be very busy. My boss is back and it’s our monthly closing. Today I already spent 11hours at work and it’s just the beginning. Therefore, this is it for now. I intended to blog more often, but I’m so tired after work that I don’t feel like blogging at all. I think I just have to get used to work life. I hope the pictures make up for it though. ;-)

Have a fabulous week!