Yes, You Were Right

Dear Esteemed Female Family Members Who Did So Much for Our Wedding*,

You were right. I enjoy gardening and sometimes new furniture makes me giggle with glee. Proof in pictures below!

The super pretty balcony boxes. 

The pretty potted plants. We also have tomatoes and strawberries, but they weren't feeling the camera.

Our new, all grown up dining room chairs that the Mr. put together all alone while I was in London. 

Bless him!

XO

*you know who you are ;)

The New Zealand Highlight

The longer we are back in Germany, the clearer it becomes to me that the number one highlight from our trip was Milford Sound. The Mr. and I took an overnight cruise on the Sound. I'm allowing Wikipedia to detail out what Milford Sound is; I'll stick with the pictures.

On the way there we passed some of the remaining snow and ice from the winter before. Remember it was fall, summer was just ending, so you can imagine how much snow is there each winter.

If you look carefully in the bottom right, you'll see the Mr's green jacket, giving you a sense of the size dimensions.

The boat we spent the night on. It was my first night on a boat and I was spoiled rotten.

When we started our trip it was raining hard and very cloudy. We were disappointed at first until an employee of the boat pointed out the hundred waterfalls, which are only visible when its raining. It is rare that visitors get to see so many waterfalls - it was raining just the right amount without being too misty.

A few hours later, ignoring the hard rain that had just stopped and the choppy water, we joined a few Aussies for some kayaking. I ended up rather sea sick but the Mr. held through until the very end.

The Mr. at the very end. Very, very wet and very, very happy.

As the day continued and the rain stayed away, the clouds began to clear and we could see more and more of the Milford Sound's walls.

Following dinner and as the sun sank, the wonder of the night colors began. We were rather lucky that in the sea was calm enough to enjoy the dancing colors.

When night had fallen, we were joined by a little seal who played with the rubber stairs of the boat. Even the boat employees were entranced. And then we headed to bed.

The following morning the weather was even nicer to us as the clouds hung around the Milford's mountains. The tops of the lower mountains started to pop out of the clouds, creating some even nicer views.

After lunch a true rarity occurred, the clouds parted enough so that even the top of a higher mountain and little tick of sun were visible. 

And then, right at the very end, and only for a collection of seconds, the tops of the largest mountains suddenly revealed themselves as group, the clouds thinned themselves out, and the sun peaked through, right as we were posing for that last picture.

xo

London's calling

And we totally answered.

In summary, London = great food, great night-life, great clothes, great public transport. Saturday we walked and walked and walked and walked seeing just about everything on four very tired feet. Sunday we took one of those fabulous double-decker buses for tourists and rode around learning about all the things that we had seen the day before.

Where the decisions are made, some good, some bad but all of them surrounded by absolute beauty. Houses of Parliament.

Some decisions have pissed off some people, particularly those around the war. Since England is a democracy, they have actually permitted a permanent protest to take place across the houses of parliament. I found that really incredible; the Mr. was less impressed.

Another wonderful aspect of London – real multi-cultural culture. This is a picture towards Brick Lane where the great, great, great Indian restaurants were located as well as a Mosque, a church-based school, and a Japanese video store.

We’ll be moving in soon; the Queen was looking for entertaining, fabulous roommates. We were just willing to sacrifice for Buckingham Palace.

A very typical English dinner: a plate of fish and chips and another plate of curry.

Although the city is huge and has far too many people in it, it also has some beautiful inner-city parks.

All in all we had an excellent time together in the great city that is London.

More photos on Snapfish.



xo

Ice Hockey!

Recently a few of my colleagues and the Mr. enjoyed a night of ice hockey* during the world championships, which for whatever reason were being held in Germany. We got to watch the Swiss play Canada. We were rooting for Canada, and the Mr. was super prepared with the appropriate mittens and attitude:

I got to sit next to one of the best watch-a-live-game-with fans ever, the delightful P-lady who made the game far more exciting than it really was.

Unfortunately the Swiss had far more to celebrate than the Canadians, and they did it in Super Size.

In the end, the night totally got a thumbs-up

As always, if you'd like a pic taken down, just pop me a line.



xo
*before we get into the hockey vs. ice hockey conversation: Its on ice. Therefore it is ice hockey. And this is my blog anyway.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

My wish for you, for me, for us.



xo

Sense of Humor Required

Before the Mr. and I really understood that the Kiwis have a very limited sense of distance or time estimation, we took an “easy, short” hike on the Rob Roy track about "thirty minutes" outside of Wanaka. From the literature available in Wanaka and the information posted for the hike itself, the hike was billed as a 2-2.5 hour hike for beginners with stunning views of the Rob Roy Glacier. One small part of that information was correct: the stunning views of the Rob Roy Glacier.

The drive out to the track was beautiful, passing through and by deer, sheep, and cow farms, and took at least one hour to drive, including a few excellent opportunities to ford the road.

Natural wonder

Deer Farms*

Cow farms and ford in the road

The track was beautiful and most of it was well formed, including the sections that you needed your hands and feet and a really good sense of humor. It started with a swinging bridge

and followed through with startling beauty.

Tree roots as the track

River that ran beside the track

Glacier and waterfall from afar

Glacier and waterfall from not so afar

We didn’t make it to the end – who knows how long the Kiwi “2-2.5 hours” would have ended up. But in the end, like everything else, the effort was worth it and we ended the trip with a smile and an extra, natural surprise.

We're-almost-there kiss

Rainbow wishing us farewell

We were both sore for a few days and that was our last hike.

xo

*Did you know that over 50% of the venison that is served in Germany is raised in New Zealand? Yummy.

Steinbach Clan : One Year

The Steinbach Clan is officially one year old today. Time flies and a lot has happened in this past year, some excellent, some not so excellent. We've learned a lot about being married and we've been lucky enough to share in a few other weddings since our own. We are definately looking forward to many more years together.

Thanks again to everyone - and there were many, many people - who helped make our two special days so very special. Your support and help in all the big and small ways haven't been and won't be forgotten.

xo