Monday Memories: "Who am I?"

 

One of the greatest blessings in life is family, and I am lucky enough to have two. I like to call them the bloody and the non-bloody families, because that's what they are: the one I am genetically related to and the one my parents built for me. 

In a way, I was born into both of them. I have my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins galore who all live far away. I also have an incredible, close-knit group of "aunts" and "uncles" right here in Berlin, friends of my parents who have known me from birth and whose kids, in turn, are like nieces and nephews to me. We all love hanging out together at our lakeside mini-cabins and we try to meet en masse as regularly as we can! Here is our annual Christmas Goose-Eating Event (held at a restaurant this year so no one spends four days cooking and no one cleans up!) We love Engelbecken in Berlin--they have the best Wiener Schnitzel around!

Zelda entertains the gang

Kiki, whose artistic talent graces many napkins at restaurants all over Berlin

Papa makes a point

 Sleepy Cousins

The restaurant empties around us

The evenings tend to get long, and the kids get antsy while the wine is still flowing freely on the adult side of the table. So this time, I took some decisive action in providing entertainment.

Multi-generational Who am I ?!

And it turned out amazing. So. Much. Fun!

Everyone, young and old, gets to write out a name for their neighbor. The not-yet-learned-to-write faction gets a little help.

We ended up with quite an eclectic cast of characters. 

Johnny Depp

Wagner

Moses

Dumbledore

David Cameron

Mika Häkkinen

Then, you go around the table and each person asks yes-or-no questions until they hit a no. Then it's the next person's turn. You go around till everybody has guessed who they are. Unsurprisingly, the kids did way better than the adults!

Richard Wagner was a tough one...

The five-year-old wins first place!

It was a wonderful evening and I'm missing the crew a lot right now! There's just nothing like spening a cold winter evening cozy inside, with a whole big bunch of family. 

Zelda holds Kiki and we all say goodbye

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. These photos were taken as a group effort (ie. a camera was lying on the table and most everyone fiddled around with it for a while. Thanks, Team!)

PPS. Past Monday Memories: A Day in Lausanne

Lovey Dovey Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

My parents on a beach in Brazil. Married almost 25 years and celebrated Valentines Day in none of them.

I have to out myself: not the most important holiday in my calendar. Probably most of that is cultural, February 14th is a lot less hyped here in Europe, and though heart shaped chocolate boxes and long stemmed roses do start popping up in stores, that's about the extent of it for most people.

My first Valentines Day with Karl, we both forgot.  I went into an exam on Feb. 16th, wrote the date at the top and thought "Oops! Looks like we forgot something. Oh well."

The next year, Karl surprised me in the morning with this:

Valentine's Day 2014..an unexpected surprise :)

And I have to say it meant so much to me, coming out of the blue like that. In some ways, not making a big deal of it takes all the pressure off and makes each unexpected gesture so much more meaningful!

"Ich liebe dich!"

This year, Karl has to work all day from very early to very late. He got up this morning and I rolled over and fell back asleep. But when I finally did get up (at 11:00, after a deliciously long lie-in) I found this surprise on our kitchen table!  My opposite-of-a-sweet-tooth, won't-eat-dessert-if-you-beg-him baby made chocolate cupcakes and frosted them all by himself, just for me!

Now I'm of two minds. We don't do fancy dinner reservations and we don't exchange gifts, and I've always been very happy as a non-valentiner. But now this thoughtful man of mine is going rogue and off-script, and I have to say, I kind of like it! There's something about walking into your kitchen and finding this sweet heart-shaped deliciousness that just makes my non-romantic heart leap. Maybe I'm a Valentine's Day gal after all?
 

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. Favorite Five Romantic Movies!

Five Favorites: Romantic Movies

Here's the deal: I love movies. Not so much the cars-exploding-someone-gets-gruesomely-killed-every-five-seconds kind, but the rest of them. My favorite movie last year was Boyhood, and if you haven't found time to see it yet--understandable for a movie with a running time of almost three hours--you MUST see it! Sorry, I hate gratuitous CAPS too, but I feel strongly about this one (see above, re: love movies).
 
When I was a kid we went to the movies almost every weekend (sometimes even back-to-back if Mom was out of town and Papa was presiding) but unfortunately that intensity of movie fandom isn't compatible with a student's budget.  Yes, I know, Netflix and iTunes and so on but its just not the same when its not the big screen!

Still, today, in honor of Valentines Day (which I'm not big into, to be honest, but more on that tomorrow) I have collected my five favorite love-centered movies of all time! 







1. Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet (1968). This film is  beautifully shot, and actually won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Zeffirelli's trademark crowd scenes contrast with the simple, intimate moments in the play which allows the incomparable langauge and dialogues to take center stage. Employing actors close to the actual age of the characters was an unusual choice at the time, and I must say Olivia Hussey's naive but passionate Juliet is my all-time favorite on stage and screen. A perfect Valentine Date classic!
 

2.When Harry Met Sally (1989).  The deli scene is hilarious to the millionth power. As someone whose orders at restaurants can tend towards the picky (understatement of the year) and whose relationship processed in fits and starts while circling eachother warily,  I find a lot to relate to in this timeless comedy.
 

3. Barefoot in the Park (1967).  Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.  Need I say more?! This is a must for anyone who has ever lived in a high-floor walkup or moved in a partner only to discover some unanticipated clash points. Some movies just don't seem to age!

4.Notting Hill (1999). I know, I know, it's sappy (well, this whole list is über saccharine) but this is one of my absolute favorite romcoms. Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant make an adorable pair and the roommate Spike makes for great comic relief!

5. Some Like it Hot (1959). I can't believe it took me all the way to full-on-adulthood to watch this movie! And I can't believe I barely kept control of my bladder when I finally did! This crazy, convoluted masterpiece actually takes place right after the St. Valentine's Day massacre, not a romantic association to be sure, but doesn't that make it all the more appropriate for this special occasion?! I tend to think so...





 



Karl has to work from dawn till dusk tomorrow so we'll be celebrating Sunday night and I still can't decide what film will be on the program...what are your favorites? Would love to get tips and discover some new classics!

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. More Five Favorites here, here, and here. 
PPS. Five Favorites inaugural post here.

Costume Party!

The whole gang gets dressed up!

Every now and then, when the winter is long and the days get gloomy, you just gotta throw a dang party! And voila: just a few home-mixed cocktails, a whole lot of laughs, and a completely wrecked apartment later, you feel So. Much. Better!

We decided to celebrate in costume because, though the prep can be extensive, the result are often fantastically amusing. Opening the door when the buzzer goes becomes half the fun...especially when your friends start getting creative!  This is a shot of the living-room contingent (isn't it funny how every party seamlessly splits into 'Team Living Room' and 'Team Kitchen'--or is that just us?!) I loved my roommate Sophie's ladybug approach, but I have to say the astronaut, nun, television and tiger were also incredibly cool. 

What are your go-to costumes? All time favorites? 

4:00 AM

And (a question for the ages) clean up in the wee hours directly after the guests depart or leave it all for the next day?  I'd love to hear your takes!



Look up at the Sky!



-Zanna

Monday Memories: Lake Fun

The sleeping loft of our Laube (=hut)

Today I'm dreaming of summertime! The weather is drab and grey and I looked in the mirror this morning to see an exhausted vampire girly staring back. Seriously, I can't stand how white I get this time of year, I look transparent or ill or both! So this Monday I'm looking back on a beautiful July day last summer.

 Lunchtime

My parents have a small hut (German: Laube) at the Wannsee, one of the many spectacular lakes in southern Berlin. It's tiny, open-roofed, slightly nordic-looking, and adorable.  The primary use is to laze around near the lake on hot summer afternoons and sleep over when the city gets too grimy and hot to bear. 

Kiki horsing around in our hammock (yup, we have hammocks, and they're awesome!)

The best part is, all of our friends have huts nearby, so every summer evening becomes a big ol' party. The kids are all "cousins" and are communally and constantly covered in Popsicle gunk. Its a great big family and I miss them when I'm not home almost as much as I miss summertime!  

I can't wait for those long, lazy days when it's legitimate to wear a bathing suit and a sarong from morning till night, when ice cream becomes a primary food stuff and the ubiquitous sand mixes with random smears of sunscreen to create something disgusting between my toes.  Can't wait.

Here's to sunny memories getting us through these short, cold days. 

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. More Monday Memories here, here and here. 
PPS. Inaugural Post here!

View of the Lake

Five Favorites: Parlour Games

"Set": one of my favorite games!

Yesterday, we spontaneously invited a couple friends over for dinner and ended up having a long and lovely evening with one of my all-time-favorite games: Set!  Playing together has such an invigorating effect on an evening...suddenly there is anticipatory tension in the air, regularly released by raucous laughter. The competitive juices start flowing and it's past midnight in the blink of an eye! I loved playing lots of board and car games with my family as a kid, and I'm so happy to continuing the tradition!

Here are my top five:

1. Set. Easy to set up, easy to learn, and easy to play with any number of players for any length of time.  This is the most versatile and fun game I've encountered in a long time. Its also great brain-training and far more aesthetically pleasing than most games I know (I'm looking at you, Candyland).

2. Apples to Apples. This is great for word-nerds like me! The only disadvantage is that all players must be native or almost-native speakers, which limits its use in our circle. This has always been one of my family's favorites, though. My sister Zelda even snuck our set away when she moved to Rotterdam, depriving us of one of our favorite games during the holiday season. I'm going to have to visit her soon to steal it back!

3. Monopoly. An oldie but goldie. I am incredibly bad at this game despite extensive strategizing. I can, however, hold on to cash for more than five minutes and balance a checkbook. Zelda almost always pulls off a win on the board but maxes out her account every month. Interesting, no?

4. Taboo. I love this because of the hilarious associations people have with random words. The best soliloquy yet has been an attempt by my dear friend Andrew to explain "Body Odor" by invoking Abe Lincoln (?!). Needless to say, nobody guessed it, but that might have been because we were all on the floor in stitches.

5. Charades. This is probably the game we play most often. It's super simple and best of all free! Just divide into two teams, grab a pen and paper, and start thinking of clues (the harder the better!). Things can get a bit racy if it's an all-adult game but lets be honest, that just adds to the fun. Hardest so far have been: 'infinity', 'Meryl Streep', and 'civil rights'.

What are some of your favorite games? I'd love some more recommendations!

Look up at the Sky!

-Zanna

PS. Karl loooooves Settlers of Catan, but I think its way to complicated!

PPS. More five favorites here and here and here.

Monday Memories: A Day à deux in Lausanne

Morning walk with Karl to a hilltop in Lausanne

Last year, for various career-y and professional reasons, I was living in Paris while Karl was in Lausanne. This went on for about six months or so before we both elegantly bowed out of this unsatisfactory arrangement. Lessons learned: long distance sucks, skype does not suffice....but absence does make the heart grow fonder.  I remember those weekends together so much more vividly than the weeks apart.  We tried to spend every second weekend together and to alternate visits, so we got to explore both places pretty thoroughly (and yes, we got lucky that both are incredibly romantic, fascinating, and breathtakingly beautiful cities). Those weekends together, far away from family and friends, in a foreign country together, were so...well, for lack of a better word: intense. Not necessarily physically, more just a unique moment of being removed from the constant distractions of real life and focusing competently on one person for 48 uninterrupted hours. Just being me, being him, being us away from absolutely everything else. We talked a lot and we were silent a lot. In some ways we discovered who we really are as a couple. Maybe the fact that neither of us had cell phone service was a factor. I don't know exactly what cocktail of circumstances came together, but I remember discovering new places while re-discovering my beloved partner; I remember long, timeless days that went by in a blur; I remember great happiness, and more than that: great peace.  

Here are three snapshots of a day we spent in Lausanne, which is a wonderful city: quaint, lively, and perfectly situated on the shores of the lovely lake Geneva. Also, exorbitantly expensive, but lets focus on the positive.

Ending the day with a visit to the Olympic Museum and Headquarters

Look up at the Sky!

--Zanna

PS. More Monday Memories here, here, and here.

PPS. Who is Karl?