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links and ideas

truly happy

MARTIN: But does it make you happy, truly happy?

DOUGLAS: Oh well come on, no one’s truly happy.

ARTHUR: I’m truly happy!

MARTIN: Oh God.

DOUGLAS: No, Arthur, you are cheery. No one’s interested in the secret of true cheeriness.

ARTHUR: But that’s not true. I’m fairly often just completely happy. Like, for instance, when you get into a bath quickly and it’s just the right temperature, and you go “ooooh”. I mean really no one gets any happier than that.

MARTIN: What a depressing thought.

ARTHUR: No, no, it’s not though, because those sort of things happen all the time, whereas you’re hardly ever, you know, blissfully happy with the love of your life in the moonlight, and when you are, you’re too busy worrying about it being over soon, whereas the bath moments, there’s loads of those! Oh, like when you realise your knuckles are ready for cracking.

listening to cabin pressure makes me (truly) happy! :D

Categories
in germany just life

2 years in berlin


we moved to berlin on april’s first, two years ago. some days, i find it hard to believe we’ve been living here for two years already – yet others, it feels like we’ve been here for a lifetime longer… and still, we barely know berlin at all.

we’re sticking around for a while longer because frankly, it feels comfortable and safe here. things work. for all their bluntness, the germans are strictly predictable and law-abiding, and although it comes at a price, it’s also a reassuring feeling.

besides, there’s so much left to see… so, prost! and here’s to another year of adventures in germany :)

Categories
foooood in spain traveling

churros

there’s plenty of stuff to write about barcelona, but before we get to that, let’s just take a moment to appreciate the delicious simplicity of churros with chocolate:

holy lactose-sugar-gluten combo, batman! but there is something so irresistible about fried dough dipped in hot chocolate… :D guilty pleasure indeed!

Categories
in spain traveling

flying on a hot air balloon

so after years dreaming and trying and failing, it finally happened in barcelona: we flew on a hot air balloon! one day, i was randomly browsing gidsy for interesting and local things to do there, and then i saw it: balloon rides! i quickly sent an email to the company, who confirmed that indeed, they flew every weekend and that, weather allowing, that weekend would be no exception. so we booked our tickets right away and, drawing from previous experiences, braced ourselves for disappointment…

as the day dawned, we were quite pessimistic since that saturday turned out to be the only rainy day in our 2-week stint in barcelona, but we needn’t have worried… turns out the ballooning.es team was not afraid of the cloudy skies, and promptly scouted an alternative location to take off. :)

when we got there, things were unloaded, and some of us helped inflate the balloon…

… while ooooh’ing and aaaah’ing at the sheer size of it!

when that was done, we just hopped on the basket and off we went!

i was actually kind of surprised at how smooth it was… not at all like flying on a plane! no bumps or turbulence – or sweaty palms grabbing onto paulo’s hands for dear life.. the balloon just lifted itself gently off the ground and slowly hovered the towns and villages… it was so serene and peaceful!

we even went above the clouds briefly, and saw the pyrenees covered in snow in the distance, but the wind was too fierce up there (not to mention, so cold!), and we had to quickly sink again.

an hour or so after taking off, we landed on a nearby field, and helped pack everything up again.

we received our flight baptism certificate, and returned to barcelona simultaneously exhausted and giddy from all the excitement, with a huge smile on our faces! :D

definitely thumbs up, we couldn’t have asked for a better first flight experience! :)

Categories
just life

orthopedic intermission, 2

….aaand 1.5 years after the first orthopedic intermission, my back decided to remind me once again that it is here, and it has a saying on things. all it took was one mishandled box which i set on the floor without bending my knees, and we’re back to square one.

so this has been a week of laying down and standing up (never sitting), restlessness, impatience and pain with every move. which sucks, but it also makes me appreciate a few things, like the fact that i have a job that can wait a few days, and that can be done while lying down in bed. also, caring friends, and above all, the best boyfriend in the world.

this too shall pass.