While I was getting settled in at work, Manja had planned out our weekends. On most weekends I would catch up with a friend or family member back in Australia via Skype. As a celebration for completing my first week, she had booked us in for a surprise breakfast at “Alans Breakfast Club” which we had first been to in September last year.
After breakfast we strolled the streets and looked at a street market. To work off some of the excellent food from the last few months, we also decided to start playing squash regularly. Manja had played regularly a few years ago, and I do like my racket sports! Unfortunately I need serious practice – she beat me hands downs! But we got a great fun work-out in 🙂
Monday night we were going to catch up with Gaby and Robert, but unfortunately Gaby was sick. We still caught up with Robert at Ming Dynastie – Berlins Premiere Chinese restaurant. We had a great night chatting about the differences between Germany and Australia, as Robert is thinking of doing the opposite of me and moving to Australia. He’s also on Holiday there in February. Of special note for the night: The plum Brandy you buy is significantly superior to the one you get for free! We didn’t realise you got one for free and made the “mistake” of ordering it – But that was totally worth it! Gaby was kind enough to treat us all to dinner even though she couldn’t make it herself.
Thursday we caught up with Katrin and Ilka to watch a movie, before which Manja showed me the best Vegetarian Döner place. For the locals – it’s near the “Kulturbrauerei”. Got to admit, they were pretty bloody great! The film was “Der Junge muss mal an die Frische Luft” which was basically a biography of a famous German Comedian.
Friday night we headed over to Ilkas place for a wonderful evening with fondue! Katrin was there as well, and Kilian also joined us a bit later in the evening. We happily chatted the night away, and returned with a late train.
Saturday, after recovering in the morning and playing squash in the late afternoon, we headed to Butzis birthday party. Aki had made the most magnificent variety of food for the party – and there were even some party games. I DEFINITELY noticed that my German still needs some work – and that my German Trivia knowledge is nonexistent 😅 None the less it was a fantastic night and we met a whole bunch of fun people. By the time we got home it was the middle of the night and SUPER cold outside. Luckily one of Butsies friends was kind enough to offer us a lift!
And on Sunday we headed over to Katrin and Killians place for some dinner and Boardgames. I was sooooo happy to find a few people who also like to play! Katrin made a fantastic Quiche, after which we debated what to play for a while before settling on giving Marco Polo a try. It was great fun, and playable by both experienced gamers and novices. Manja ended up kicking everyones butt 😉
That Friday (The 18th!) I finally got my official German Identity card. Wohooo! We also managed to get a schoolbag organised for Silas
The next weekend we played squash again but had a relaxed day in. On Sunday we headed over to meet some more of Manjas friends, Stefan and Stefanie. It was a great afternoon getting to know them – she’s a a cop and he’s a designer, and he’s a typical “Berliner” – accent included!
Monday night we decided to head over to watch a movie in the local cinema, watching “The green book” which was a truly fantastic film. Another great bit of news is that Dan and Rachel decided to purchase my house. Over the last few weeks we agreed and I’m getting all the paperwork ready. One thing was to head to the Australian embassy for some forms. Amusingly I didn’t need the embassy for anything else in my move here, just for selling the house 🙂 If all goes well it will be sold mid February.
Friday night we headed over to Katrin and Kilians place again, this time to play Puerto Rico. It’s a good game, but wasn’t loved by everyone. Kilian had made a fantastic veggie sushi for the evening while Katrin prepared a really nice Flammkuchen.
The weekend was quiet, I only bought some squash shoes to try and up my game. It did help a little bit, but Manja still whopped my butt 2:1.
Wednesday night was our “1 year since we got to know each other” “anniversary”. I even decided to pick her up a rose from the flower store on the way. We headed to the “Umspannwerk Ost” for some nice dinner and talking about the whole last year. Turns out a LOT happened for both of us, we still can’t quite believe where we ended up! I had a really nice “Spätzele” with venison goulash, Manja opted for the baked Salmon in vegetables. Desert was a really good cream brûlée and some Kaiserschmarr, a traditional German desert with cherries, cream an some caramelised cake bits.
At the end of the Month Manja had her first work trip to Stuttgart, leaving me to look after the flat and cat on my own. To everyones surprise, we both survived just fine – I spent the evening exploring the “Kiez”, finding myself some dinner at a local Burger joint. It was good, but nothing to write home a blog about
With that January was already over! Time flies, and I’m definitely settling in!
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