Opera

Last night we went to the Opera again. It was a rehearsal so we didn't have to pay for the tickets which was great. This is our 3rd visit to the Opera not counting the Ballet we also went to see a few months ago.

I invited a girl friend to join us since we had 1 spare ticket, she asked me what people wear to the Opera in Hamburg and I said evening dress, because for the last 3 I went to, including the Ballet everyone dressed up, ok maybe not everyone but most of them.

We arrive all in evening dress including my girl friend and what do we see, everyone in flippin jeans and casual street, office clothes. The first thing my friend says is omg I'm over dressed, I'm thinking yea so am I. But you know what, its better being over dressed than under dressed in my book. We looked fabulous and the looks we got didnt bother us after a nice glass of wine.  The wine cost an arm and a leg though, which we had to literally chug since it was time to go inside.

We watched Flavius  Bertardius was great, completely different from the normal Operas, and was set in modern time and took me by surprise, they sang in German and Italian which was also different. The irony of it was that it reminded me a lot of Muammar Al Gaddafi who was also a tyrant and who was famous for his tasseled jacket full of medals. Three and half hours of great music made for a great Friday evening.

I love how Hamburg is great for Theater maybe I need to tap into English theater next time. I've heard there are some around as well...on that note till next time...Tschüß

No bake lemon cheese cake

So I made a non bake lemon cheese cake today, I miss the great cakes I got in Bahrain at the Lebanese cake shop called Lilu cakes and I have never eaten anything so delicious like them here in Germany.


Germany has their own cakes which are also nice, but nothing compared to what im used to so I attempted  making one today. I never follow recipes in cups and grams but will give you what I just threw together today.


Ingredients 
3 tubs of 175 gms Philadelphia cheese
* 1 sachet of lemon Götter speise (gelatine) 
1 cup sugar
* 1/2 a packet Leibniz wholewheat biscuits 
* 1/2 a packet kemm'sche kuchen biscuits 
3 tablespoons butter.

Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together crushed biscuits and kemm'sche kuchen with melted butter
2. Press into a 7 inch springform pan. Place in refrigerator until ready for use.
3. In another bowl, beat cream cheese.
4. Mix 1 sachet of Götter speise in 250 ml boiling water with 1 cup sugar (cooled before adding to cheese mixture)
5. Using a hand held blender, mix Cream cheese, and cooled (Götter speise) gelatine and sugar mixture.
6. Spread into pan.
7. Place in refrigerator 60 minutes before serving.

*If you are using sweetened lemon jello powder, skip the sugar

Use Digestive biscuits in place of the biscuits above.

RIP Steve!!

Steve Jobs died today, I feel the loss, does one who has not known a person personally grieve, I think so, well I do, reading all the posts on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter shows the world mourns a creative genius today!! Someone posted a fb comment " Steve Jobs is on icloud" to name a few!!

I love Apple products  my Iphone4 and my Ipad2 and the various other Apple products the family and I own. I remember 22 years ago working for Apple in Bahrain. I was in sales trying to sell Apple computers to a market flooded with cheap Chinese computers, god it was hard but also fun. I got a job finally with a company who I had sold the computer to, since I was expecting my daughter and didnt want a sales generated job, that's where my love for Apple products started, 22 years ago.

I guess Apple has a unique clientele and that's what Steve Jobs strived for, pay good money and get an excellent product, many competitors tried and failed to match up to Apple, but in saying that many new good products are available in the market today thanks to him, that's how I see it.

RIP Steve Jobs, you have left a void in this world today!! Its sad you were too young to die...like they say "Only the good die young"!! You gave me something I love, my Iphone and for that I am forever grateful!!

Autumn's here?

It's Autumn already, doesn't feel like it though, but I see the leaves turning yellow and then they will turn orange and red, fall off the trees and turn brown, coming back to the weather that's been so nice and warm the past week, even better than summer.

The things I love about Autumn is the weather, pumpkins and Autumn fruit and veggies, drinking hot tea again and snuggling up on the sofa in the evening.

But knowing Hamburg , come next week it's cold again, I'm not looking forward to Winter tho, especially working with the little ones at the kindergarten we must take them out for fresh air, I'm thinking why bother it's flippin cold, but we do and then putting on 100 layers on them takes forever, oh well...

In Germany and so my husband says, it's not about the cold weather but the clothes you wear, I'm all sorted with winter stuff, but it's such a pain putting on all your warm clothes when inside wherever you go it's boiling, the bus, work, pubs, malls etc.

Oh well meantime I shall not think about the impending winter months and focus on the sunny blue skies, I'm looking forward to the kids arrival in December, Christmas, Christmas markets and more meetups with friends.

I have made a few good ones and my curry nights can start again, good lord the list is long, I will split them up in 2 or 3 different weekends. It's hard work cooking for huge groups but I do enjoy it, given Indian restaurants are not so good here, IMHO and the prices you pay. I need to try out some new recipes though.

I'm off to make a no bake lemon cheese cake, will post the recipe here if it turns out well.

Till next time, tschüß!!

My bus trip to work

I saw this Persian couple on the bus today, I know that because I heard them speak, she was wearing a sleeveless top, feeding him nuts and cuddling, things so normal for Germany, they got off and he put his arm around her and walked away.

Living in the Middle east PDA 's are so not common and god forbid they even tried that in Iran, I noticed this huge scar on her face , I shudder to think how she got that.

My musings on the bus, love how I can just write stuff on my iPhone now and publish it right away.

So I will update this later :)

I sit in the dark!

My first post from my iPhone, it's a test blog entry, I'm sitting here in my living room with the things I like best, my laptop and my iPad nearby playing some tunes on my radio app.

I usually sit in the dark, it's just something I do, why waste energy all I need is the light on my laptop, I usually fumble my way to the loo, on my loo breaks, I had a friend staying with me and found that odd. Lol!

We all have our odd ness so what's your odd habits then...

So here it is my first post, after I added the blogger app on my iPhone, I gonna put this app on my iPad now, hope it works...

Meet ups and odd balls!!

On Saturday I went out to the Hamburg International Woman's Meetup, (http://www.meetup.com/Hamburg-International-Womens-Network),  its a cool group and its not the first meeting I've been to, you meet some interesting woman there and some not so nice, the organizer is a wonderful bubbly woman who I tell every time I meet her is,  how she does it. Getting a group of women from all walks of life to sit down and get on with each other.

To be honest it doesn't always work, one word of caution trying to befriend the first nice person you meet or so you thought, I would take it slow and steady before you proclaim that you have found your new BFF because they are not what they seem. Over time you find out, after they have exhausted you and taken what they want they show their true colours...sigh...

Like a few women here and on other meetups, that I have met who think they know everything and wont shut up... I think they try pushing their ideas on you because their life is empty. On well its not all blood and gore though because I have also met some really nice women who are genuine and just trying to get on with life in a foreign country.

On Saturday I met some women who were here a long time opposed to the ones that just got here and tried to push what works for them, I think we are all unique in our own way, because what may work for you might not for the next. Hence I just tell them all that eventually things get better.

Most of the expat women I have met have come to Hamburg for love like me, and when the stars in their eyes turn to reality its a different ball game, but its all up to the individual, like me.  Im still struggling with the language its coming to 3 years in February 2012, when I first moved to Germany. I know I must learn which would make my husband a very happy person and me as well :)

I get by so far with conversational German, I'm lucky to have found a job with limited German, I need the money for the kids in University, given my German is basic I have also attended 3 courses in German for my job. I did work hard translating all the material my teacher sent me by email before hand, thanks to hubby of course who helped. I guess we all have our priorities in life, mine is to get my kids through college, while my German language takes back seat. But not for long I will get back to it.

Some people who have been here for over 10 years are still struggling with the language or even getting a decent full time job, so I thank my lucky stars that I am settled and happy with my life like it is now. Having a few good friends and a wonderful family helps!!

On that note...till next time Tchüß!!