Old European Charm...

I almost forgot how much I like European cities. Until we visited Madrid last week... 

A gorgeous city! 

Everything about this trip was perfect: the hotel, the weather, the food, the amount of tourists in the city...except for the fact that Olaf had to work (for him it was a business trip) and we saw him in the evenings only. Despite of that Jakob and I had a wonderful time. Surprisingly!

First on our agenda: Palacio Real and Catedral de la Almudena. Though the king didn't show up...

I don't know how many miles we walked through Madrid in five days, but somehow we always ended up at Plaza Mayor

 and the the unique marketplace San Miguel, Jakob's favorite spot. 

We tried all kinds of pastries and sweets there each day. The fishes presented there were quite a view...

Of course, we went to the famous Del Prado Museum. But I was much more impressed with the much smaller Museum Thyssen-Bornemisza ( one of my favorite Dali paintings is there and wonderful Rodin sculptures). 

Our absolute favorite was the museum of modern art Reina Sofia!

For Jakob the absolute highlight of the trip was a tour at the Bernabeu stadium, home of Real Madrid.

I bet he still could smell the sweat of his idol Christiano Ronaldo, ha, ha. I learned a lot(!) about football...

For a great view we didn't need to leave our hotel, we had the best view from the roof top bar.

But we always did.
Nothing compares with walking through the small cobbler streets and stopping at the tapas bars.

Did I mention the Spanish wine...!

"I am a New Yorker!"

Today is September 11.
New York, I love you.

This summer

What?! My last post was in April?? Somehow I missed to write during the summer... No big trips, no big adventures. Though still some small ones...

Let's start with my parents visit. They stayed for almost three weeks and we all survived (ha,ha). We even had really good times together! Especially in NYC! 

We took the ferry to Ellis Island. Oh, this amazing skyline... 

We had jazz brunch at Blue Note and walked through SoHo. 

We even visited Cloisters (the first time for us!). 

There always is something to discover in NYC. 

My parents also made it to Princeton this time. 

Of course, we enjoyed a lot of good food together. My dads favorite are (as usual): 

Olafs barbecue and the boardwalk restaurant at our lake. 

And then they were gone. But we should see them soon...

For our son the highlight of this sumer (and year!) was the Fifa world cup. I think I didn't watch as much soccer in my 46 years together as I watched in those four weeks. And with the German team playing in the final game (and winning the world cup!) we had to host soccer party at our house. With traditional German food. 

What an event!

What else?

Jakob went with the scouts to Rhode Island for one week. We picked him up there and took the opportunity to see Providence and Newport during the Jazz weekend. 

In August our good friends moved to LA. Strange to be the one left behind... Usually it's us who are moving...(Though now we finally have a reason to go to LA soon!)

As every year we flew to Germany to visit our family and friends. 

That was this summer! But it's not over yet, though Jakob is back to school. There still may be one trip more ! We will see...

Looking for the Easter Bunny in California

This year we went for egg hunting to North California. 

We walked the steep streets of San Francisco and enjoyed the gorgeous views: 

over the water, the mountains 

and of the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Of course, we took the ferry to Alcatraz, too. It was on Jakob's wish list, though he visited it before: when he was 6 years old! 

Where else do the foodies and wine lovers go?? To The wine country! 

We toured through Sonoma and Napa Valley and made stops at some good wineries. 

Jakob enjoyed the hotel pool most, as usual.

I almost forgot (after seven years) how beautiful California is. I think the better word is "breath taking"... 

I could imagine myself enjoying this view there every day. And all the good food and wine which comes with it, too...

One year older...

 

March is the birthday month. At least for Olaf and me. 47 and 46!! I can't believe it! 

What is the best way to celebrate a birthday: to spend the day in NYC!
Even the sun came out, so we could enjoy our coffee in Central Park. 

Our birthday gift (besides a new bed) : a jazz session at the Coca-Cola Dizzy Club, dinner included. The music was great and the view just spectacular!

We had our small celebration with a cake at home, of course.

And some fury guests...

Ps. A friend send me birthday wishes and this:

He truly nailed it!!! Thanks Chris!