things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011 and new year's 2012

i'm very, very choosy when it comes to friends.that's why i only have a select few of them.they are the ones who have been with me through thick and thin (and i for them!), who know me inside out, who love me (i hope so!) warts and all.

so i also consider it a blessing that i get to "inherit" mr t's close friends. they are a lovely bunch of people, and although we may not speak the same language, our bond with mr t brings us closer together.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 20121

we have been to garmisch a few times before. i've written about it a lot of times, and i am going to write another post about it as i like that place so much!

baby's godmother, l, lives in garmisch so that's why we always have a reason to visit.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

we are very thankful for the chance to see vienna in its christmas glory and to marvel at bratislava in its quirkiness, but it is always a blessing to come home to somewhere familiar...

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

so...bratislava...

i'm still amazed at how much our little family had so much fun in this historical town.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

who would have ever thought i would set foot in eastern europe? it seemed so far-fetched, but we did it. bratislava in slovakia is just an hour away by train from vienna. we took this opportunity as god knows when we would ever have this chance again.

we set off early.early being 930 in the morning.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

after a few hours of basically doing nothing at the cafe we ventured out to one of the most beautiful palaces i've ever seen - the schloss belvedere.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

the next day we went to the kalke village where we saw the radical works of mr t's favorite artist - hundertwasser. there is a colorful block of flats that add so much character in the area.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

the adjoining schonbrunn gardens are arranged in french style. as we visited right smack in the start of winter, the shades were either in brown or grey. however i got enthralled of this seemingly sad combination of colors.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

"yes, it's more than a little twee in places, but how can this festival ever be anything but? a few glasses of orange-peel-scented grog and you start to appreciate the work that goes into those little gingerbread houses with their snowy roofs and tiles made out of sweeties; the heart-shaped cookies and oranges stuffed with cloves; the extraordinary array of glass baubles and musical boxes. this is also where you come for paper plates of sharp shredded cabbage and slender sausages, twists of bread dough and slices of spice cake, paper bags of chestnuts fresh from the roaster, baked potatoes and mugs of steaming wine.

vienna, it would see, is made for christmas.." - observer.co.uk, nigel slater

it was a blessed christmas day!

our christmas day morning was spent playing with baby's gift from oma and opa - a train set!

how could we not take advantage of  a beautiful, sunny day? it was a very ideal day to go walking around...the schonbrunn palace!

things i'm grateful for:

"it is difficult not to warm to a city that smells of baked apples.strands of white fairy lights hang across the narrow streets like falling snow caught in lamplight.the bells of stephansdom chime deeply, and every now and then there is the ghostly clatter of horses' hooves on cobbles.the shop windows, when they are not full of curiously sinister antique dolls, are glistening with caskets of sugar plums and chocolate fir cones.vienna, icily cold and smeling of sweet spice, is like walking into a christmas card" - observer.co.uk, nigel slater

and what a christmas card it was! vienna certainly delivered in its promise of christmas glory.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

"...a twinkling, sugar'n'spice city that seems just made for this season..." - observer.co.uk, nigel slater

'twas the day before christmas.

we thought to take it easy as the shops will close early, but how can you take it easy in one of the most beautiful cities in the world?

when you would just take off from a tram and be greeted by this? (no, not the in-your-face coca-cola banner)

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

so i would never have imagined that this narrow street led to a full-grown christmas market! the stalls spread through narrow streets and backyards of spittelberg, with all the works! brilliant!

and somebody was also lurking!

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

" there is some amicable jostling among the duffel coats to get to the front of the queue (it is not easy to fight in mittens), all of us eager to get our hands on a piece of the stallholder's hot toast with its waves of molten cheese. there are few moments more perfect than the one that finds you biting into blistering cheese on toast while snowflakes fall on your eyelashes." - observer.co.uk, nigel slater

we reached the neue burg wing of the hofburg.

this palace has housed one of the most powerful empires in europe, the habsburgs, starting in 1279 to 1918.

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

"vienna manages to retain the feel of an advent calendar, complete with a dusting of glitter.the christmas markets, of which half are dotted around the city, are heavy with the fragrance of freshly cut pine trees and freshly baked ginger biscuits." - observer.co.uk, nigel slater

this day was definitely a christmas market day. we started off with a simple breakfast

and trekked to the mother of all christmas markets.i mean, this must be the biggest christmas market ever!

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

i have a mental bucket list.i never really put this list into writing.i really do not know why as this is one of the main things that the secret is advocating, right? one of these days i will make that list, says the procrastinator in me and the universe will be happy and grant me all my dreams and wishes, says the believer in me.oh yes it will, adds the eternal optimist in me.schizo much? hahaha.

but i know for sure that i've always wanted to spend christmas in vienna.

why?

things i'm grateful for: christmas 2011

we left for germany on the 21st of december armed with wolly hats, jumpers, gloves and really thick coats. i was kinda giddy at this point as i was excited for baby who will see her first snow. at that time, most of europe was not experiencing any heavy snowfall so i really prayed hard for some kind of snowfall, at least.a light one will do as long as baby feels and sees it.

we were picked up by opa, and as soon as we got out of the airport there was already a trickle of snowfall! danke, i thought. baby slept in the car so she did not really see the snow hitting the windshield.i was excited as well as it was only my third or fourth time to experience snowfall!

A Care Bears poem for January

"Happy New Year!" the Care Bears say.

This is the month the Care Bears play

in fluffy piles of crystal snow

... sparkling in the sun's pale glow.

They glide! They slide! It's oh so nice

to skate across the silver ice!

Bears go for a toboggan ride,

then warm up by a fireside.

Inside there's cocoa in a mug--

books to read and Bears to hug.

Outside the Trees wear frozen lace.

The world's a rather fancy place.

**

awww... CARE BEAR STARE!!!

haha! such a cute poem! nicked this off from a care bears website. baby would love this. i will read this to her. meanwhile, here's another teaser...

vienna is christmas

patricia schultz was right in her "1000 places to see before you die" book. vienna IS christmas.

i would be eternally grateful that my family and i got to spend the festive season in this beautiful, graceful and charming city.

it was a joyous event.something that would be etched in my mind forever.i'm hoping that baby can live it out through our photos, and eventually travel there on her own when she's older.

so here's a teaser.

christmas and new year's stories in munich, vienna and bratislava (yes, in slovakia!) will come soon!

thank you, thank you, universe, for these opportunities.

15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and all about the weekend!

kenzo jungle!

l'eaupar kenzo and more sweets!

my new lucky earrings!

christmas and the germans part 4

this will be the last part of my christmas experience in bavaria three years ago.

we went to the marienplatz, my favorite munich spot.