Sitting not so Pretty in Hong Kong's Airport

Well what does one do when they are stuck in transit for 12 hours? Yep they hop on a computer and write a blog entry. What does one write about while sitting waiting for 7 more hours to pass? Well I don't know... I guess I could give you all an update regarding my trip to Rome and Germany. I was hoping to write about it when I got home and had some photos down loaded but oh well I'll just have to post a bit of a gallery later.

This trip to Germany was great, good chance to get a feel for what it will be like living with Axel, which will become more apparent after the 6 month stint in April. As expected he is easy to live with, quite relaxed, flexible and extremely attentive and helpful. I don't know what I was like to live with, at times a pain in the bum I suspect but he assures me that I was fine. I'm sure the snoring wasn't a hit with him but hopefully the home cooked meals made up for that. Anyhow I am so excited to have him back in Australia in three weeks even though it's just for 6 weeks this time, I have to wait until October before he moves here permanently.

Well what can I say about Rome...? First of all you cannot turn a corner without there being something amazing and monumental there in front of you. While 2 and a half days is not really enough we did manage to get to see most of the main attractions. Spanish steps, Colosseum, St Peter's, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, St Angelo's Castle, Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel and a few other small churches and museums with significant artworks. We also got a bit of a look at the Roman forum, all the ancient ruins. It's so amazing to think that you are walking on the same ground where others so important in history also walked. Very inspiring actually. I must say getting a good feed and at a reasonable price was tricky and there were some annoying moments. Not being able to speak any Italian also makes it quite tricky. It's not like Germany in that sense, you really do need some knowledge of the local tongue to get what you want. Anyhow overall it was a great cultural and artistic experience!

Anyhow I hope everyone is doing well and are enjoying either the hot or very cold weather, depending on where you are in the world. I'm not looking forward to returning to a 30 degrees C day in Melbourne, but then at least there is air conditioning at mum's.

Hope to write again soon and post some more holiday pics! Stay tuned

Our Engagement Dinner in Xanten, Germany

While I was still in Australia Axel, being the ´events manager´that he is, organised a family dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate and officially announce our engagement. Here are some photos of the evening.

Axel´s parents, grandmothers and brothers, with their girlfriends attended the dinner at the restaurant Dalmatien. It was a lovely evening and the food was great. Axel got up and officially announced why we were there and that we planned on getting married in April 2010. We were then congratulated by members of his family and everyone officially welcomed me into the Remy family which was very touching and yes I almost cried I was that overwhelmed with happiness.

It was a little embarrassing. Axel and I had to go to a doctor´s appointment and also get Axel´s hair cut before the dinner. It took much longer than we thought so we actually didn´t have time to go home and get ready thus why we looked like this... Axel in tracksuit pants and I in a t-shirt and jeans. Not the best look for your engagement dinner especially when everyone else is dressed up! Oh well...

In April 2010 I will be able to officially call baby Lena my niece. I already love her so much!

New Year´s Eve with a 180° view of Berlin

Yes I am doing things a bit backwards here, posting NYE photos with the intention to put some other Christmas photos on later. Sorry about that guys. Anyhow as mentioned before NYE in Berlin was really all about the fireworks. We were lucky enough to have our friend Nadine invite us to join her and Erni to view the fireworks from her work place´s roof top. It was amazing! Beautiful 180+ degrees of Berlin. I must say it didn´t take long for the sky to be filled with firework smoke which was a shame because it spoilt the view we had.
Here are some photos from the night...

Axel and I after the NYE count down.

Friends Nadine, Erni and Simone.

Handmade Christmas Presents

Just thought I´d post a few photos of the Chrissy presents I made for Axel´s niece and mum. Both presents were appreciated and many thanks were given. It was amazing and a great relief for me to see the cardigan and beanie I made Lena fit so perfectly. It´s tricky making clothes for a baby that is growing so fast, you have no idea how much they will grow over the 5 months you are away.

Anyway I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and a great start to the new year, I know mine has gone off with a ´bang´! I can´t believe how many fireworks were lit in Berlin. Everywhere on the streets people were throwing those little bangy fireworks (I don´t know what they are called fireworks are illegal in Australia) and then the other rocket ones. The appartment above our friends caught on fire from fireworks sparks. The firebrigade and police had to come but by the time they did our friends had broken into the appartment and put out the fire which we later found out was just a flaming plastic chair on the balcony.

As you can see it looked quite bad.