Categories
in germany just life traveling

the new year’s get-together

organising a new year’s get-together for friends was on the new 101 list, and 2016 was the year it got done! new years are usually a bit of a dread for us… by the time the end of the year rolls around, we’re still recovering from the xmas family extravaganza, and craving peace and quiet. so this year, we poked a few friends spread around europe and decided to find a quiet place where we could all stay for a few days. we found a cozy airbnb in a tiny town in south germany which seemed perfect for our needs (somewhere central in europe, quiet, near cheap airports, dogs allowed)… so we put on our winter jackets, loaded the suitcases with board games, and off we went!

turns out, we lucked out big time! lienzingen is a charming little place, the kind that you imagine from brothers grimm’s fairy tales. it’s full of half-timbered houses hundreds of years old, carefully restored with love and german precision. we stayed in one of them, and boy, was it pretty!

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the weather was chilly but mostly dry, with soft rime on trees and even a bit of snow on the last days. together we chatted, cooked, played games, explored a unesco monastery, cuddled dogs, munched on warm laugenwecken, stoked the fireplace and discovered the local maultaschen.

it was the perfect start to the new year: low-key, unrushed and in great company. here’s hoping it’ll become a new tradition! :)

Categories
in germany just life video

onto the new year

2011 was good year, for the most part. it was the year we took a good look at our health and decided to change things. we ate different, we moved more. we also moved to a new country in april, starting a new adventure. we’ve seen old friends and made new ones. and we’ve tried lots of new things.

but the year ended in a more sour note, with both this never-ending crisis and sickness affecting our families in a cruel way. as for 2012, i only wish to have the strength to make this a good year, no matter what life throws at us.

i was thinking about this yesterday, while watching the pyrotechnic pitched battle taking place in front of the brandenburg tor. we were a bit far to see the actual city fireworks, but the display that surrounded us was equally dramatic and much more nerve-wracking. here’s what it looked like, straight from the boy’s phone (starts a bit before midnight):

new year in berlin from ana campos on Vimeo.


happy new year!

Categories
in china

chinese new year madness

…explained in video. observe:

isn’t it surreal? the whole city just explodes in fireworks, everywhere you look! :D

so, happy new year of the ox!

Categories
in china

新年快乐! happy new year!

before it all gets too crazy (china is about to turn into a “warzone”, with all the firecrackers), i just want to quickly say that a lot has been going on, through ups and downs, busy productivity sprints and mellow lazy days – hence the lack of regular posting as of lately.

today is a special day though: it’s the last day of the year of the pig. china is entering the year of the rat, with noisy fireworks celebrations. it’s their way to send out the old year and invite the new one in.

happy new year!

i like new years, whether chinese or not, so here’s wishing you all a healthy & wealthy year of the rat!

ps – i need to go outside. all this new year fireworks is making me itchy! :)