In the weather forecast and still surprised of the amount of snow for this area. It’s still white. Living in a white village wonderland ⛄️

…and while we are waiting for spring 🌷

We walked the wine 🍷

Weather forecast for next weekend: +15C degrees ☀️ 👙😍

“Dear Milena,

I wish the world were ending tomorrow. Then I could take the next train, arrive at your doorstep in Vienna, and say: “Come with me, Milena. We are going to love each other without scruples or fear or restraint. Because the world is ending tomorrow.” Perhaps we don’t love unreasonably because we think we have time, or have to reckon with time. But what if we don’t have time? Or what if time, as we know it, is irrelevant? Ah, if only the world were ending tomorrow. We could help each other very much.”

Franz Kafka – Letters to Milena 💌

Tell your loved ones how much you love them! Nobody knows how much time we have!

Happy Valentine’s Day 💘

PS: if you are fed up with Valentine’s Day —> IKEA is hosting in-store dates for single Londoners this Valentine’s Day. Just saying.

Are you more an early bird 🐦 or a night owl?

Die einen machen Frühsport, um vor der Arbeit auf Touren zu kommen. Die anderen machen Party – so auch zum Beispiel die Anwältin Lauren Blodgett. „An den Daybreaker-Tagen bin ich schon beim Aufwachen bereit zu tanzen”, so die Harvard-Juristin für Einwanderungsrecht. Ab 5:30 geht’s los mit Clubbing, danach geht’s mit Elan zum Gerichtshof.

Ins Leben gerufen hat die Daybreaker Radha Agrawal, Chefin einer Unterwäschefirma, Erfinderin und DJ. Sie wollte gerne ausgehen um zu feiern, war aber nicht bereit, sich ins herkömmliche Nachtleben zu stürzen.

Would you go partying in the morning? Since I’m an early bird… count me in 💃 🕕

From the world 🌍 to Stuttgart: we went to the pre-work party at 6 (!!!) am this morning.

So proud we made it. Got up at 5am, walked the dog, drove to Stuttgart…

It was so much fun.

Re-freshed. Awake. Energized. That was fun.

When is the next pre-work party? 🎉

It’s the week of Valentine’s Day 💘

Despite the fact that the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupery published his first copy 75 years ago, The Little Prince is still giving us priceless lessons about love & life. The book is written for children but is also meant for adults. 

It was written during World War II when, as a pilot, de St. Exupéry experienced a crash landing in the North African desert. He struggles to repair his airplane and water is running low. He then meets a little prince  🤴 and the experiences begin.  

My favourite chapter of the book is the one about the little Prince and the fox 🦊:

“One only understands the things that one tames,” said the fox. “Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things already made at the shops. But there’s no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me…”

“What must I do, to tame you?” asked the little prince.

“You must be very patient,” replied the fox. “First you’ll sit down at a little distance from me – like that – in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you’ll sit a little closer to me, every day…”

The next day the little prince came back.

“It would have been better to come back at the same hour,” said the fox. “If for example, you came at four o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o’clock, I shall be worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is ready to greet you…”

The fox teaches the little Prince what it means growing to love a person. After the process of taming, they will come to mean something to each other and will need each other: “Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with the heart.  Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

“Anything essential is invisible to the eyes,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.”

However, the real lesson about true love comes from the relationship between the little prince and the rose 🥀 

He leaves his planet because of her but then she is the reason why he comes back.

The rose 🥀 is delicate, needs protection from being eaten by a sheep, needs watering, and a barrier to block the wind.   She is all that is vulnerable. She has her pride when she states that she was born with the sun and states that she is the only living rose to be found. She has only four thorns to protect herself and she tells the little prince she would use them. She insists on having a globe put over her at night to protect her. The Little Prince dutifully cares for her and then he must move on.  

The little fox says “it’s the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important.” 

“It’s the time I spent on my rose …,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.  

“People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said.  “But you mustn’t forget it.  You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose …” 

“I’m responsible for my rose …,” the little prince repeated, in order to remember.

So this is what it means. We are responsible for the ones we care about.  That is love ❤️ 

…the month of love continues…

“And in the end, I believe that we don’t need to do anything to be loved. We spend our lives trying to seem prettier, smarter. But I realized two things. Those who love us see us with their hearts and attribute qualities to us beyond those we really have. And those who don’t want to love us will never be satisfied with all our efforts. Yes, I really believe that it is important to leave our imperfections alone. They are precious to understand those who see us with the heart.”

~Frida Kahlo

Just be you. Don’t try and be someone else. We are all unique in our own special way own it embrace it 💚

Don’t leave anything for later.

Later, the coffee gets cold. ☕️

Later, you lose interest.

Later, the day turns into night.

Later, people grow up.

Later, people grow old.

Later, life goes by.

Later, you regret not doing something…

When you had the chance.

Life is a fleeting dance, a delicate balance of moments that unfold before us, never to return in quite the same way again.

Regret is a bitter pill to swallow, a weight that bears down upon the soul with the burden of missed chances and unspoken words.

So, let us not leave anything for later. Let us seize the moments as they come, with hearts open and arms outstretched to embrace the possibilities that lie before us. For in the end, it is not the things we did that we regret, but the things we left undone, the words left unspoken, the dreams left unfulfilled.

– Toshikazu Kawaguchi,

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

(2015)

* Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a 2015 novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. It tells the story of a café in Tokyo that allows its customers to travel back in time, as long as they return before their coffee gets cold. The story originally began as a play in 2010, before being adapted into a novel in 2015.

In that sense, have a great weekend!

It’s February, the month of Valentine’s Day. The month of love and lovers. February is notably a month used to communicate love. Specifically, millions around the globe take part in Valentine’s Day on February 14 to show their significant others how much they care. February is typically a month that is either dreaded by some or looked forward to by others… 

And so I just had a new blog idea: I’m going to share for the next couple of days poetry, love letters of great men (in hope this will lead to motivate my own man for a love letter. Lol.) or anything else to do with love 💕

Today, a love letter from the following great man:

——————————

Mark Twain 

To Olivia Langdon

1869 in Buffalo, New York

Livy dear,

I have already mailed today’s letter, but I am so proud of my privilege of writing the dearest girl in the world whenever I please, that I must add a few lines if only to say I love you, Livy. For I do love you, Livy… as the dew loves the flowers; as the birds love the sunshine; as the wavelets love the breeze; as mothers love their first-born; as memory loves old faces; as the yearning tides love the moon; as the angels love the pure in heart… Take my kiss and my benediction, and try to be reconciled to the fact that I am

Yours forever,

Sam

——————————

Last Night in Stuttgart: redeem my birthday gift from last year from friends. A different kind of dining tour through Stuttgart: we felt a bit like Sherlock Holmes on a bar tour. Lol. 

How it works: 3 locations. Each one in walking distance from each other. All of them a surprise. We get the info on the go via email. 

Let’s get started:

Location #1: welcome drink at a bar in Stuttgart’s “red light district”

We got to choose our aperitif a la card. 

About 45min later, next location was shared via email. Walking off that Gin&Tonic. 

Location #2: the starter at a cafe

Only created for us: 

Excited and waiting for the next location to be shared via email. Walking through Stuttgart’s party streets. 

Location #3: main dish & dessert 

Sharing truffle pasta and tuna.

Not sharing: this super delicious dessert. 

It all worked out. We found all surprise location. The restaurants all expected us. Great choice of locations.

That was exciting, delicious, different and so much fun. A great night out in great company. 

Thanks, for the fantastic gift 💝

@dear friends, my birthday is coming up again in May… just in case you need an idea for a gift. Lol. 😍

January 2025 is already almost over. And what a month it was. 

Back to the office. My department moved to a new office location. Brand new building. Parking spots incl. reserved spots for ladies. Huge windows & light. Nice! 

Winter in Swabia. Most mornings were chilly. Some mornings -8.5C degrees. Super icey streets early in the morning. 

A weekend in London. 

Trumps inauguration. Puh! And all of that for the next 4 years… 

Storm “Eowyn” in Ireland and other parts of the UK. Scott’s family is out of electric, no electric heating and no cell network… fingers crossed it will be all back in the next 10 days 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Yesterday a day of spring in Swabia: +16C (!!!) degrees and garden work started. Crazy. Forecast is again cold. 

Forecast for February:

Goodbye, January!

London. The city of Paddington. The Tower Bridge. Charles Dickens. Shakespeare. The Christmas movie “Love actually”. The London Eye. Fish & chip. The city of freedom where you can dress whatever you fancy (and nobody cares). My old home for a year when I was 18. I just love London. It’s timeless. It’s class. 

And us here for a weekend ♥️

Friday nights are for comedy. Saturday nights, too! 

Pub crawl.

Eating us through London. 

You are my cup of tea, London!

Postcard-worthy scenes: 

Charles dickens enjoyed a pint of beer here back in the days. More recently Beyoncé. And now us! 

The Banksy tunnel in London is an urban art haven. Its walls boast a mesmerizing array of thought-provoking pieces, showcasing Banksy’s signature style. Navigating through this street art gallery is a visual treat, each mural telling a unique story. The atmosphere is vibrant, attracting both art enthusiasts and curious passersby.

A fun weekend including shopping, Chinese hot pot, Indian infused English breakfast, a daily fish & chip dose, sticky toffee puddings with glotted cream (goes well with a pint of beer) – our taste buds were doing a happy dance. A weekend filled with comedy, seeing parts of London we haven’t seen and all of that with our fabulous friend ♥️ Great weekend! 

London is always a good idea ♥️

Bye for now!