I can’t believe we have been here for three weeks already. Time is flying by, and with loosing a week due to disrupted travel, we have had to cut a couple of things from our ‘would be nice to do’ list. Anyway, it is spring here, and the clocks went forward on Sunday, meaning we are now 11 hours behind New Zealand. We have a regular visiting robin which is such a delight to see and I saw geese flying overhead in formation – can’t remember the last time I saw that. I heard what I thought was a very loud chaffinch yesterday, but I could have been wrong, it was quite far away, but the colouring helped me guess.
Anyway, we continue to carry out daily tasks, but as even just going to the local shops can be an adventure (what sort of bread to buy? Should I try a different type of mushroom – though having just listened to The Mushroom Tapes I am not so sure! When will local asparagus appear (I so want to have some of the white asparagus Germany is famed for)? In the meantime, every corner has something interesting, like this window installation below.
Food
I went into the wonderful looking nut shop I had spotted, and picked up these hot honey cashews, some ‘Australian gold’ which seem to be curry flavour (why?) and a taste of ‘safari deluxe’ which was a gorgeous mix of paprika and other spices on a very good mix of nuts. The shop roasts and makes all the blends, and honestly was such a lovely place to visit. Pity I can’t take any back to New Zealand, but I can take some up to Stockholm.
I had a couple of lunch sandwiches out – a very good one with beef, salad and an excellent dressing and an OK one with turkey that was tasty but just a bit overwhelming. We went to the market in Ottensen on Saturday, where we picked up some very good if a little expensive salmon which we had for Saturday night’s dinner, some sausages, and a few veggies – a radiccio, large red capsicum and some golden beetroot (which I will roast for a lunch). I also got some lamb’s lettuce, some lovely crackers and a piece of cheese called Schwarzer Peter which turned out to be a mild, slightly sweet cheese. Being in Europe, means we are missing feijoa season, but I did spot physalis in the supermarket, something you don’t get in New Zealand, so I have been enjoying them.
Sunday
Sunday turned out to be a sunny day, so we got on the S and U trains and headed to Eppendorf, known for houses along the river and some rather nice looking shops. We had excellent toasted sandwiches for lunch – mine was a sort of three cheese with fresh thyme which was delicious if rich. Karl stuck with ham and cheese. We took a walk to the park, noting the stunning cherry blossom tree and this fun sign for a dog park. The middle of the three vertical pictures below was actually taken from the station platform, and I spotted more interesting faces on the building bottom right.
Simple things
- Reading this important article from New Zealand 🙂
- Going back to the same local Italian restaurant and now being recognised.
- Falling into a routine and exploring at the same time.
- Finding I have lots of time for reading which is nice.
- Realising that Easter is next weekend.
- Spotting these little devil faces – at least that is what I think they look like!
What were your small pleasures this week? Here are some other blog posts from a few fellow bloggers looking at the good things in life.
- Lovely to see Lisa of Southern Patches back, and with a lovely new goose.
- Carol Ann shares her wonderful delights of the week.
- We go on a visit to Lan Su Chinese Gardens with Travels Through My Lens.
- Neal shares his Five Friday Happy Bringers.
- And Natalie takes us to the Winter Stations
- Anne shares black and white images.
- And Debbie embraces silliness.
- The Travel Sketcher shares so many wonderful things from The Pearl this week – memories of Croatia and a beautiful rose are a couple.
- And Mr Tootlepedal still spots some glorious things despite the rain.
- Laurie celebrates her 49th wedding anniversary and shows us more snow.
- Anabel of The Glasgow Gallivanter takes us to Richmond.
- As part of her daily gratitude series, Maria takes us down memory lane.
- Jo’s walk takes us to the beautiful Monte Brasil.
- The Eternal Traveller shows us the best view in Athens.
- And Jo describes reaching a mountain and overcoming it – in life and writing.
- Finally….Mr Platypus shares a wonderful bird picture.
- ..…and all the other lovely bloggers out there. Sorry if I have missed anyone…..
Thistles and Kiwis is a Wellington, New Zealand based blog written by Barbara, who likes cats, summer and good food. Thistles and Kiwis can be found on Facebook and Instagram @thistlesandkiwis
Thistles and Kiwis 
I love white asparagus and always looked forward to it when I lived in Germany. You should be finding some soon. Cheers.
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Hope so!
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I love that you got to go into the Nut Shop and made some purchases. They all look very good.
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The nut shop was an absolute delight.
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I absolutely love the thick white asparagus you should be able to enjoy it very shortly. I had to attend the Hannover Messe for many years. . . on in April if I remember correctly . . . and truly lived on the asparagus and Westphalian ham whilst there 🙂 ! I daresay you know Rick Stein is of German background (from Dusseldorf) – Schwarzer Peter actually is one of his fave cheeses !
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I am so hoping to get some of the white asparagus before we leave. I saw some imported stalks but I want the local one. I don’t think I thought about Rick Stein’s origins – interesting – and logical given his name!
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I am so happy to read about your pleasant stay in Germany and see your lovely spring photos. I’d say that Stockholm is slightly behind when it comes to blooms, but not by far. Enjoy the rest of your visit there.
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It has certainly been a great stay so far. I can imagine Stockholm being that further behind being north of here.
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Sounds like you are making the most of your stay, finding great food and architecture.
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Trying to make the most of our visit.
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Seems like you’re having a good time. And if you get fed up with travelling, you have those 170 different flavours of chip to try when you get back home…I mean, in the interests of scientific research, you really should find out if you agree with the ranking in that article! 😂
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🙂
He missed the dill pickle ones…. 🙂
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Yes, so I clicked on your important article and laughed! I think the person who wrote that has too much time on their hands!
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I can’t imagine how long this took, though I hope he had a team of helpers! It was just such a silly thing in amongst all the news at the moment.
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Sounds like a lovely week. Thanks for tagging my blog!
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It was a good week!
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Those traditional, savory sandwiches look mighty tasty! And the architectural details are amazing!
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It has been so fun to explore.
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So much to notice and taste! That nut shop sounds fabulous. Never met a nut I didn’t like. 😉 that window installation is certainly striking. An interesting mind behind that one. Thanks for the mention!
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That shop is such a delight, and you can ask for tastings too. Had a lovely chat to the woman behind the counter too. Yes – not sure about that window installation but certainly eye catching!
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That was a very important article indeed.
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It was!
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Do the mushroom tapes refer to that infamous crime in Victoria? Ghastly! I would never forage for mushrooms after that. I read the important article – I think you have way more chip brands than we do. Some of them sound delicious but others not so much. We like a particular flavour of Aldi Sprinters. Mr ET insists that they are the best on the market. We only eat them when watching an AFL game on TV.
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Yes! What a story…. The crisp article missed the dill pickle ones 🙂 My favourite is sour cream and spring onion or similar or the Swedish dill ones. We always share a small bowl before dinner on a Saturday 🙂
I’ve only seen one full AFL game live in Wellington on Anzac Day many years ago. It was really exciting and we were lucky to have someone sitting next to us who could explain the rules, or at least the scoring.
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We’re going to see our team play on Thursday. Fingers crossed for a big win. 🙂
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Isn’t cherry blossom beautiful? I still miss it, even though we have other delights here. Many thanks for the link, and I’ll try to catch up with some of the others this week xx
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I agree – cherry blossom is so pretty and such a part of spring.
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What a wonderful fun adventure you are having. Enjoy every second. I love reading about your adventures and I swear I can almost taste the food.
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Thank you! It is fun living in another country for a short time and not just being a tourist.
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So much fun! I’m glad you shared the photo of the bike parts and lifesaving ring; it sizzles! Thanks also for more faces-on-buildings. I love them too, Finally, I very much appreciate these simple pleasures:
“Going back to the same local Italian restaurant and now being recognised.
“Falling into a routine and exploring at the same time.”
They capture two things important to me (and, I see, to you): being part of a community (so fast!!) and noticing the special amid the ordinary. Thanks for this apt reminder!
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I have spotted so many interesting faces on buildings – would love to know more about their history. Thanks for your kind comments. It has been nice to experience a new place by living in it.
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