Living in Deutschland

It's been a year since we moved here, time flew fast that hubby and I are already thinking of extending few more years just so we can stretch our overseas assignment. When I first got here, I thought everything will be difficult because of language barrier, good thing I attended the spouses' orientation and learned some important details on how to live with the German community. 

Now here's some of the things I like about living here:

* Travel - perfect place to start exploring Europe. Easy access to other countries which I love!

* Wine - wines are everywhere! For a while there we were addicted to drinking wine every night ha! One of my favorite is Eiswein, sweet and delicious!

* Christmas market - it is one of the must-try experience while living here not to mention the food sold on the streets! 

* Bread - love how their bread is always fresh, my favorite is butter croissant and nutella croissant from Wasgau :)

* Clean neighborhood  - there's a lot of older people living in my village but despite of their ages they still manage to keep their surroundings clean - all the time. You can actually tell a house with Americans living in it and a house with Germans :) 

* Orderliness - Germans like their quiet time. No mowing the yard between 1pm - 3 pm as it is their 'siesta'. I like how they are big on recycling too. If your trash bag doesn't contain what it's supposed to have, they won't pick it up. 

* Pastries / Chocolates - cakes are not too sweet which I like. Chocolates (Kinder, Goufrais just to name a few)  are sinfully good! :)

* Autobahn - who doesn't love driving fast without speed limit? I see cars flying all the time when driving on this road. Hubby can only wish he has his Shelby here ha!


Then we go to dislikes:

* Shopping hours - most of the stores open at 10am and closes at 6 or 7pm Monday to Saturday and everything is close on Sunday, the same goes for grocery stores.

* WC (Water Closet) - had to pay €.70 just to go to the restroom when traveling

* Water - a glass of water is more expensive than a glass of beer. Too bad I don't like beer that much.

* Parking space / roads - the space of two-way roads here is only a one-way road in the US. Parking can be difficult a lot of times because of how small the spaces are and it doesn't help either when they park on a small street side by side. This is the downside of having a big vehicle compared to their small ones. 

* Everything is closed on Sunday - the only place we can go is on base at the BX either watching a movie or walking around, otherwise it's good to just stay at home. You can get a fine if you mow or if you have a party and it's noisy they can call the cops on you. Pretty much Sunday is rest day. 


So far these are what I'm currently experiencing, I'm sure there are still things I didn't cover but I actually don't mind staying for few years. To be honest, I like it here! :)




Until next time. Cheers! 

Caldereta / Thai Curry

Hubby had Goulash when we went to Prague and it reminded me of Caldereta. I haven't cooked it in a while and last week I decided to make some. Didn't have complete ingredients so I just made what I had. 

This is my version. I browned the beef chunks in olive oil, added minced garlic, chopped onions, a can of diced tomatoes, bay leaves, chili flakes (optional) and seasoned with salt and pepper then cooked until vegetables are soft. Poured just enough water to cook the meat until it boiled, covered the pot and simmered it down to low heat while I stirred it occasionally for an hour or so. When the meat was fork tender, I added chunks of carrots, sliced bell peppers, sliced black olives and green peas with spoonfuls of peanut butter and Speculoos spread. Yes, you read it right, S-p-e-c-u-l-o-o-s! Adjusted the seasonings, cooked for about 15 more minutes and caldereta was ready! 

Spicy caldereta with Speculoos spread :)

Hubby came home with an empty container, must've liked it that much ha! I actually like this dish after the flavor marries overnight. 

Another hubby's favorite is Thai curry, made it the next day for his lunch. I always keep chicken fillets in the freezer for easy and quick recipes. 

For this dish, I sauteed red curry paste in heated oil until aromatic, added sliced onions, bird's eye chilis (optional, we like spicy food), sliced chicken then poured a can of coconut milk, some water and waited for it to boil. Added carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, fish sauce,  and sugar while I adjusted the taste. Cooked it until vegetables are soft then off it went to hubby's lunch box and some for me.

Thai red curry

It has been a good week, looking forward to another one coming.

Until next time. Cheers!

Prague, Czech Republic

We went on a 3d/2n trip to Prague last weekend with friends. Took us about 8 hours to get there including gas stop, restroom break , lunch and another stop to get our vignette before entering the border.

Prague is beautiful, romantic and touristy. It was packed with people that it was hard to walk around without being bumped into especially in the alleys. Our friends with kids had mixed feelings about the place but hubby and I wouldn't mind going back! :)

I booked our hotel a week before our trip at Wellness Hotel Step through hotels.com. I thought everything was good until a couple of days before we leave, I got an email from them saying that the hotel I booked can't accommodate us on the dates we've chosen due to overbooking so they will gladly transfer us to a hotel of our choice. The representative asked us if we wanted to stay at Green Yacht Hotel & Restaurant but I declined. I chose Hilton instead :) The original price I paid for the first hotel was $114.72, free breakfast, free parking. And since we got 'screwed', I got a nicer hotel. Average night at Hilton was almost $500 for a King Executive Room plus parking fee of $39/day. The rest of our friends stayed at the other hotel. Because of all these inconveniences, hotels.com not only paid the BIG difference but gave us credit back of $78 for the parking fee, $100 voucher for our next booking and $50 for the breakfast we didn't have. So nice of them to do that, lucky we got 'screwed up' ha! But seriously, thank you hotels.com for everything! 'Til our next trip.

View of the city from the castle

Old Town Square

Prague Castle

Changing of guards 

Infant Jesus of Prague

Lennon Wall

Padlocks at the bridge

Charles Bridge

Love lock bridge in Mala Strana

Jewish Quarter

Jewish Synagogue

Rent this car and drive around the city!

Popular spot for wedding photos in front of Astronomical clock

Walking view from our hotel to the square

  

Out trip won't be complete without checking out some food.

Gelato ice cream sold on streets. I had a delicious scoop of nougat!

Veproknedlozelo (pork, dumplings and cabbage) - traditional Czech food, it was alright.

Spiraling potato chips on a stick. I was curious about this so I told hubby to get some, turned out it was just potato chips but on a stick and the only difference was, it was freshly made.

Trdelnik - cylindrical pastry dusted in cinnamon and sugar. Favorite snack while strolling the city.

Hubby and I had a night out at Buddha Bar Prague and ordered these food  (takoyaki, ebi furai, tori no karage & yakitori)- the best Ebi Furai I've ever tasted so far! It was so good I had to order another one! :)

After a long trip, we ended up hanging out and enjoyed a few drinks at one of the most exclusive club in Prague - Cloud 9 Sky Bar & Lounge located in Hilton.

French breakfast on our last day at Oliva Verde Ristorante in front of the Astronomical clock. I ate almost everything except for the fries and cheese, sausage was very good!











Although the trip was tiring, hubby and I had a good time. We were able to go to a bar and unwind for the first time since we became a couple. 






Until next time. Cheers!