List no. 6: What I love about the Emerald City

  1. Coffee. You think you know coffee until you go to the Pacific Northwest. It’s an obsession. No matter what time of day it is or where you are in the city, there are always at least 5-10 people within eyeshot drinking a cup.  My coffee consumption more than doubles when I’m home, and I plan to visit each and everyone one of my fave shops: Zeitgeist, Cafe Ladro, Uptown, and Monorail Espresso. It really doesn’t get any better.
  2. Mountains. The skies may not always be clear enough to catch a glimpse of Mt. Rainier or the Cascades, but when you do, their beauty will knock your socks off, every single time.
  3. Friendliness. Growing up, I thought people were friendly to each other in every city. Boy, was I wrong about that one. But it makes me appreciate even more the small talk and the friendly smiles and the easy-going-ness of Seattleites. It’s just, well, pleasant.
  4. Music. Make all the grunge jokes you want, but the Seattle music scene is so incredibly talented. And the best part is that the city is small enough that it’s super accessible and you can really immerse yourself in some of the best music out there.
  5. It’s my home. I feel so lucky to have my family together all in one place, with my cute little nephews rounding out our fourth generation of Seattleites.  Even if I don’t get to visit very often, it’s always feels like I never left.

My body may be in Hamburg, but my mind is kind of already on vacation. Can you tell?

Crisis averted

I’m flying to Seattle this weekend (more on that in another post) on Lufthansa and was (naturally) a little anxious about that fact that Lufthansa pilots wanted to go on strike. I mean, I bought my tickets back in October and haven’t been home to see my family in over a year. Even though their strike was scheduled to end a couple days before my flight, it still made me uneasy.

So, what better outlet for my nerves than a little complaining via Twitter?  Here’s what I tweeted on Monday:

Here’s hoping the Lufthansa pilot’s strike ends on Thursday (as scheduled) so I can fly to Seattle on Saturday without any problems.

And then later, after hearing that the strike was already over:

Yipee! RT @nytimes: NYT NEWS ALERT: Striking Lufthansa Pilots Agree to Suspend Walkout, the A.P. Reports.

That night, part of a CNN report covered how Lufthansa was dealing with the fallout from customers – by individually replying to tweets complaining about the airline. And wouldn’t you know it, the next morning, I had my very own personal tweet from Lufthansa:

Lufthansa_USA @namatovu Confirm strike suspended by court, your flights should be fine. Updated schedules always on LH.com.

Wow, kind of a savvy way of trying to repair your reputation, don’t you think?

Hamburg | Alster Ice Pleasure

So in case you haven’t heard, it’s been so cold this winter that the Alster – the large lake in the middle of Hamburg – has frozen over thick enough for Alstereisvergnügen! For the first time in over a decade, Hamburg’s population is free to roam about on the ice, drink Glühwein and be merry. Technically though, it’s a mini-Vergnügen, which means that the ice isn’t thick enough to hold the Glühwein stands (they’re on the banks of the lake instead), just the people. But that’s not dampening anyone’s spirits. It’s been such a highly anticipated event this winter that it has it’s own Facebook page with about 12,000 fans, and it’s been tweeted about a gazillion times.

After holing myself up at home and work for a couple weeks to meet some deadlines, I was afraid I would miss enjoying this rare event. But it’s lasted long enough for us to take a Valentine’s Day stroll on the lake, along with a few thousand other people. What a sight! Everyone was completely reveling in the novelty of walking — or biking or skiing or sledding (but it was a little too snowy for skating) — on the lake. It was certainly the happiest I’ve seen people in Hamburg for a long while. Plus it looks cool! Check it out:

Alstereis
Alstereisvergnügen
Alstereis
Time for a bike ride.
Alstereis Grill Party
Time for a grill party.
Alstereis
Time for a sled ride.
Alstereis
Alstereisvergnügen

Almost makes up for all the suffering this winter has caused, don’t you think?

More photos to be found here.

List no. 5: Gold stars I deserve (or, things I’m good at)

I love this clever list idea from Hula Seventy, and I love even more that we have no. 2 and 5 in common.

  1. Noticing the details. In my mind, there is a proper place and order for everything, so when something is out of order, I notice it immediately. Some might call it obsessive-compulsive, but I prefer to think of it as a talent. Staying with friends in Berlin in a chaotic apartment, someone was looking for their cell phone. In the bathroom on the radiator, I said. Because I remember thinking, that’s just not a good place for a cell phone. Since then I’ve gained sort of a reputation for finding lost items.
  2. Spelling. Maybe it has something to do with no. 1, but I’m an awesome speller. Class spelling bees, yep. School spelling bees, yep. I even competed in the district spelling bee in the sixth grade, but didn’t make it so far. I remember standing at the microphone in the huge auditorium and being asked to spell “mayhem”. At 11 years old, I’d never heard that word in my life. I asked them to repeat it. I asked for a definition. I asked for the word in a sentence. Unfortunately, it was all for nought. Still, you can bet your bottom dollar that I never spelled mayhem wrong ever again.
  3. Planning. My favorite thing to plan is vacations. Months in advance. I become obsessive [there’s that word again] about booking airline tickets and hotels, about reading the Lonely Planet from cover to cover. I love the anticipation.
  4. Traveling. I have my own travel rituals and ways I like to do things, kind of like the awesome airport choreography scene in Up in the Air. Efficiency is key. Still, contrary to no. 3, once I’m settled in to wherever I’m at, I totally don’t mind letting go and following the wind. Plan what you can and enjoy what you can’t, I say.
  5. Gift wrapping. I could get lost in paper shops, with all the gorgeous wrapping papers, boxes and ribbons. My wrapping has toned down in the last years, especially since the majority of my gifts need to travel on airplanes unwrapped. But I still get immense pleasure from a neatly wrapped gift.

And you? What are your (hidden) talents?