The year that was...2011!

It's nice to go back in time and reminisce how the year passed by...and the first thing that comes to my mind is that it whizzed by....whoooosshhhh!!

Though the year began with uncertainties about where we would be living, work and all other important things that affect our lives, by God's grace, things settled down favorably and S and I, both happily settled in our respective jobs. God has been kind to us, just that it takes time to understand and acknowledge his blessings. Human, that I am! :)

We did a lot of traveling this year too and visited some gorgeous countries - birthday in London, wedding anniversary in Berlin (Germany), a reasonably long trip back home for a big milestone - brother's wedding, weekend getaways to Bruges, Ghent, the French Ardennes, and a lovely year-end holiday in gorgeous Slovenia ( this country needs a lot of marketing for its gorgeousness, which calls for a new dedicated post altogether). I must say, we are super blessed to visit and experience the beauty of gorgeous places, nature and the lovely people and culture everywhere...we are indeed thankful.

I was so excited about my brother's wedding throughout the year that when it actually did happen, it was all over in the blink of an eye and we were back home too! :) I am so excited and happy that he is a married man now. The highlight of this year, for sure! After several years, we managed to see my SIL and her family and the adorable kids - and it was an awesome reunion of laughter, love and good memories for S and I, short and sweet! :)

We have found a lovely friendship in C and P, and they bring a lot of happiness and love into our lives and we are very grateful to have met them! They are such a lovely couple, bless them...In fact, last year, C was here spending time with many others, and it was good fun! Good times...

Wishing you and I, a very beautiful beginning in the new year - of new memories, new friendships, abundance of love and happiness, excellent health and may all our dreams come true! Looking forward to some wonderful new beginnings in 2012! Godspeed! 

For the blog, I am going to start 2012 afresh - with a new template! :)

My historical trip to Berlin!

Keeping with our tradition of celebrating every anniversary in a new city, we decided to celebrate in Berlin this time! On our to-do list for a long time, we thought it was high time we planned this trip...with this, we have almost covered all of Europe! Whoop!

We stayed in this lovely apartment (http://www.all-berlin-apartments.com/en/berlin-apartments/ref_1519/)...and we made our own breakfast and the odd dinners too...felt right at home, fighting over who would wash the dishes ;)...it was on the 4th floor with no elevator, so we got some free exercise too after the long walks around the city everyday! But we always prefer an apartment or a B&B to a hotel, it is economical, homely and very convenient! If you are planning a holiday in Berlin, I would highly recommend staying here...

It was unbearably hot, as much as it would be at "home" aka India...though I expected it to be sunny and kind of summery, it was scathingly hot! I have to put this down here, we found this amazing bubble tea promoted by a company called BoBoq ( http://boboq.de)...the "bubbles" are tapioca pearls and I could not stop dreaming about the drink all day! S would very thoughtfully plan our day to include a visit to Boboq and left to me, I could have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Try it, its amazing! It was the highlight of my holiday, indeed! :D
I love watching people and when you travel, it is so much more fun - you see a wide variety of people, clothes, behavior, trends, smiles, food, life, culture....the list goes on! Here's my personal observations in Berlin!

• Every single person in Berlin has a tattoo - the most popular places being the nape of the neck, ankles, chest and shoulders! If there was someone who didn't have one, it must have been a tourist or "outsider"! S felt at home coz he has one too! I want to remain untouched...
  

• Women are very tall and well built, no petite women there....mostly!
• People are pretty friendly and try to be helpful, even if they could not speak English, sometimes!
• I don't understand a word of German except for the usual "Guten Tag" or "Danke", but I felt as if I understood the language. Weird, right?

• The city is very very clean and people are very disciplined. S and I were pleasantly surprised to see that every single person makes it a point to buy tickets on the metro. There is no check or a checkpoint to stop people from simply taking a free ride. Pretty impressive ethical conduct!
  
• Brimming with history, there are so many historical monuments and things to do...we were spoilt for choice! The "story of berlin" was very informative and very very interesting...would have been great if the commentary was in English too!

• We managed to go see the "Berlin Wall" and I got a mini-history lesson from S! What? I learnt Social Studies in Hindi...so am kinda weak in History and Geography and add topography to that, while we are on that topic! ;)

• In the midst of a super-hot day, as we roamed around the city, we found this lovely fountain and I literally jumped into it with all fervor....like someone ravaged in a desert who found the oasis...
• Of course, we did a little bit of shopping...found some interesting stuff in a market filled with lovely artsy pictures, knick-knacks and other pretty things for your home! I did bring something back for our home, will post pictures later on a different post, maybe?
  

S ( I know, he is the BEST!) got me a DSLR for my birthday and I am like a little kid with the best new toy, full of glee...I can't stop clicking! :) Will be posting lots of pictures on the photoblog!