Two Months in Deutschland

So today marks the end of my second month in Munich! This time two months ago, I'd just landed.

Living in Germany, has taken quite a lot of getting used to. Moving to a new place is strange enough, but moving somewhere where I barely speak the language is another thing entirely!  My German has quickly improved (though I don't think I'd be able to have a real conversation) and I can actually find my way around the strange German supermarkets now. And of course, I've drank plenty of brilliant German beer!

I've made some great friends already - both through my internship and through things like knitting.  Munich has even started to feel a little bit like home, though I still miss England and Durham.  

There's always going to be a few language based misunderstandings!

I've been exploring  Munich and a few other German cities. Heidelberg, Bamberg and Nuremberg were all beautiful - next I need to visit the Bavarian alps and lakes.

Today we went on the slides in the TUM Maths department. I've missed playgrounds :P

The two slides go from the 3rd to the ground floor and are in the shape of parabolas - but really they're just brilliant fun and a good excuse to regress! If only the Physics department had one between my office and the lab.

 V x

I'm listening to: Yet more Laura Marling plus a dash of Johnny Flynn and Elbow :)

Going on a Bear Hunt (aka I'm off for a Bike Ride)

A German bank holiday meant a trip out of Munich - I needed to see more countryside and trees (even though Munich *is* very green). I took myself on a bike ride along the Isar, up to Freising and back. I went to see a monastery (Freising Dom) and ate awesome ice cream!

Alex, my (not so) trusty German bike! Armed with the rucksack I made over Easter

The track along the Isar

Picnicking on a river beach

Paddling in the Isar

Prettiness in Freising Dom - it was such a wonderful place and so peaceful

There were lots of these painted bears dotted around Freising! There was even one wearing lipstick!

Lavender ice-cream. Nom nom nom.

And later in the week, a white mocha at work ^ ^

V x

I'm listening to: Laura Marling's new album 'Once I was an Eagle'

Woolly Munich Adventures

Today I visited the wonderful Wollmeise just outside of Munich with some lovely ladies that I've met at an English speaking knitting group here. Wollmeise is amazing! All of the wool is hand dyed with the most beautiful, vibrant colours - I was in wool heaven!

It was so difficult choosing which wool to buy - and anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm completely useless at making any decisions at all. During this past week I've been trying to decide which pattern to do next so that I could buy wool accordingly - I decided on a cowl, as, by the time I finish my current project, it'll probably be winter. So with much deliberation, I decided on Cassis DK (for the cowl) which is a variegated red and purple, some lovely green DK (Oh Tannenbaum) and a little skein of a semi-solid grey (Maus jung).  I'm not sure what I'll do with the green or grey yet, but I couldn't resist them. I was rather restrained though, originally I had about 10 skeins in my bag!

My Lauriel cardigan is finally a go! It took forever to find the right wool, but I finally settled on Artesano DK Brazil, which is so soft and squidgy!  So far I've done the yolk and started the shaping between the yoke and underarms (1 and a bit balls used so far :) ). I'm loving it, but progress is slow as I never seem to have time to knit except at the knitting group.

As you may have guessed, I'm currently living in Munich (or rather a Munich suburb). I'm doing a research internship in the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics (basically I play with really high powered and scary lasers!). I've been here for a month and a bit now and am loving it. moving to Germany has been a bit of an experience and a challenge, but I'll talk about the fun of living in a new country another day.

V x

I'm listening to: British Sea Power, Johnny Flynn and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Home is where Mum is.

Now that my brothers and I have all left home to go to University, the word home has become a bit confusing.  I refer to my University house as home, but my parents house as home as well (though sometimes, to avoid confusion this becomes 'home-home').  I feel very at home in my room at University, and there's nothing quite like being surrounded by all the little things that I've collected; but being around my family is where home is. It doesn't matter whether we get on, or whether we bicker (and with two brothers I can tell you we Bicker with a capital B!), but I'm surrounded by love and to me that's being at home.

The centre guide makes it easier to stitch in the right place

I miss my Mum like nobody's business when I'm away, she's the person I phone when I'm upset, or worried or need advice.  It's because she's only a phone call away that I feel like I can call my house at University home.  So to show her that, I made her this cross stitch for Mother's Day.

Everyone has their own way to cross stitch - lines, blocks, single stitches - I alternate but make sure all the crosses cross in the same direction. I got a bit obsessed with making it very neat and ended up having to undo whole letters after having a gin and tonic and getting a bit mixed up!

I was inspired by some posts I saw on Pinterest around American Mother's Day last year. I lost the posts (silly me didn't pin or like them) but remembered them enough to design my own version.  I haven't cross stitched since I about 12 and even then I could never finish a project, I just got bored and gave up because it looked scruffy. Thankfully, my Mum taught me to cross stitch well (she's a cross stitch demon!) and I could still remember how to do it, though I was probably a bit slower than I should have been!

I didn't quite manage to finish the cross stitch in time, but Mum got it as soon as I got back from University for Easter properly (only a week late and I had a good excuse with Brownie Pack Holiday!). I even managed to sort out something for my brothers' to get her - they paid for the frame.

Casually cross stitching at the train station

I took it everywhere with me - even knitting whilst waiting for a train. I invaded knitting society with my sewing, and had everyone being amazed by my embroidery scissors because they look like a phoenix (apparently - to me they just look like normal embroidery scissor, but what do I know). And I had to give my lacey scarf a break (don't worry I'm still doing it even though I started it on New Year's day!). I can tell you I got some funny looks, probably even more so than when I knit! 

The cross stitch even managed to survive having beer spilt on it! I'd been really careful all the time I'd been sewing it and made sure I didn't have dirty hands, then the day I finished it (in my favourite pub), I managed to spill part of my half of Archbishop's Best on it (from the Black Paw Brewery - my fave!)!

I'm really proud of how it turned out and I managed to prove to myself that I CAN finish cross stitch projects!

V x

I'm listening to: A mixture of BBC 6 Music (as normal) and my driving playlist of Elbow, Patrick Wolf and Mumford and Sons.

Stress Baking: St Germain Liqueur Elderflower Cakes

Recently, I've been really busy with University work, no matter how much I do there's always more to do. As well as University, I always have more to do for my Brownie pack, ah the life of a Brown Owl. It was Thinking Day last week (22nd February) which reminds us to think of others in need and gives us chance to celebrate how awesome guiding is. To celebrate, we attended a Church service and on Saturday we'll be going to a division activity day - I'll get to do some crafts that I haven't organised! 

But no matter how busy I am, I always need to bake. Call it what you like... my favourite name for it is Stress Baking. Or maybe Procrastibaking!

Anyone who knows me can tell you that there're a few things that I can't pass up when they're on a menu: Elderflower, Amaretto,  Crème Brulée, and Lemon Curd.  I'm a wee bit obsessed with each of them. For some reason I've not actually tried to make crème brulée, maybe it should be left until  after my exams, when I have a bit more time. However, I caved to the craving of elderflower and cake and decided to have a try at making some.

I used this recipe from My Button Cake for inspiration but swapped the milk for St Germain Elderflower Liqueur, because you can very have enough Elderflower!  My cream cheese icing went wrong as normal - I can never get it to be thick enough to pipe, it's really sad as it's my favourite icing! But everything tasted lovely and the cake was the fluffiest and lightest I've ever made!

Recipe:

Cake:

4oz Self Raising Flour
2 tsps Elderflower Cordial
4oz Butter

4oz Sugar
2 Eggs
10ml Milk

10ml St. Germain Elderflower liqueur

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Beat in the eggs, cordial, milk and liqueur
3. Fold in the flour
4. Divide the mixture between cake case and cook in a preheated oven at 180C or gas mark 4 for around 15 minutes (until a skewer prodded into the cakes comes out clean)
5. Allow to cool then ice

V x

I'm listening to: BBC 6 Music - the radio keeps me sane and connected to the world!

Durham, How I Love You

Every now and again, I'm struck by just how lucky I am to live where I live.

Durham's such a beautiful city, full of green places and woods, churches and quirky old buildings, and of course the most beautiful Cathedral in England.  I hope that seeing the towers of the cathedral always makes me feel so proud and so in awe.  It's amazing to think about how many people have walked along the same path as I walked today, along the same bridge, sat in the same pew in church... 

The general street layout of Durham has changed so little since this map was made in the 17th century yet the city changes daily, there's always something different. It might be something as small as the blooming of the first snowdrops or as big as the building of a new University building, but we still have the same comforting constants as the cathedral, the castle, the bridges and the churches.

I love calling Durham home.

V x

Daffodils

It's almost spring! I swear I can smell it in the air!

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Daffodils - William Wordsworth

That verse of Daffodils is on an ornament in my Grandma's house: so it always reminds me of her and Grandad. Soon it'll be time to enjoy the snowdrops, crocuses and primroses in the woods.

V x

The sound track for this post: this Doctor Who themed playlist - we're doing a Doctor Who themed badge with Brownies this term, so I'm pretending that indulging in lots of DW themed things is prep!