It's me, books and airplanes

Few weeks ago my dear friends Melisser and Ryan visited Europe for two weeks. While they were staying in Berlin, we enjoyed some beautiful days together with lots of food and walking.

After Ryan left towards home, Melisser and I headed to Stockholm. We were lucky to stay with new friends in their lovely flat and had an awesome time. Thinking about these days reminds me of two certain things: books from my childhood and me having problems with airplanes.

Let's start with the nicer memory. My parents are totally addcited to books. Their house is filled with hundreds and hundreds of novels, biographies, coffee-table books, travel guides, monographies, detective stories, architecture books, thriller and, of course, children's books. I was raised with so many differents stories, many of them I already forgot, but some will remain in my heart forever. While exploring Stockholm I couldn't resist to search for some of my favorite books. As expected is was not hard to find all the Astrid Lingren stories (Pippi Longstockings), especially the ones about my all-time favorite character Karlsson. But I was very happy and surprised when I saw the "The Big Mumin book" by Tove Jansson and even a swedish version of a Richard Scarry book. If you have children I really recommend these authors! Back in Germany I read a tweet about a movie coming out this year, which story is adapted by one of the most amazing books ever been written: "Where the Wild Things are" ("Wo die wilden Kerle wohnen"). I think this book is more famos in the States, but here in Germany it's kind of hard to meet people who know it. It was first released in the 1960's, so it was already twenty years old, when my parents discovered the book and started to read it to me and my brother. I am a bit afraid of the movie's quality, because it's hard two make a 1 1/2 hours movie out of a 385 words book. But otherwise I already love the trailer. The atmosphere, the cast, the music and of course the Wild Things are so good, I can't wait to go to the cinema!!!

The not so nice (but more exciting) part of this post is about the problems I seem to have with catching my flights.
It started last year in November, when I almost missed my flight from San Francisco to Berlin. I was really early at the airport and checked in about two hours before the departure. While walking around in the duty-free area, I did a little window shopping and ate some snacks. Then I found an express manicure/pedicure shop and the (almost) disaster began. For what reason ever I started to think that the departure time is when I should be at the airplane, not the time the plane actually wants to leave. So I was sitting in a massage chair, getting a manicure while they announced my flight over and over and over again, what I couldn't hear because of the music in the shop. Luckily something inside of me started to make me feel nervous, so I checked my papers again and finally realized my mistake. Gosh, I would have never thought I could run that fast with a big bag and my purse. The stewardesses literally shouted at me while I ran down the hall: "Come on, hurry up! Everyone is waiting just for you!" SO EMBARRASSING!
Sitting on my seat, I have never been so relieved in my whole life - not before or afterwards. Never before? Absolutely true! Never afterwards? Also true - until the 18th of March, when I lost almost every hope to catch my flight home from Stockholm.
Melisser and I started on time to the central station to get the airport bus. The schedule on the company's homepage said the busses leave every 20 minutes, but for some reason not on that day. So, when we found out we had to take the next one, we realized the bus would arrive at the airport the same time the check-in counter would close.That was the worst busride ever! I really tried not to think about missing the flight, but I was so nervous, I started feeling kind of sick inside. And then the bus even was behind the schedule! So we ran like hell into the building, found the check-in counter closed, ran to the next one, begged the people in the line to admit us and finally got the OK!

Please World, never again!

It's the love of my life!

No, this post is not about the man. It's about my little monster.
There are dogs, where you guess someone accidentally pushed a mute button. Strummer is one of these dogs. Something really extreme has to happen before you hear a single tone to come out of their mouths (like a hit from a 18 pounds cat).
But also there are dogs, where you wished you had at least a button to turn the volume down. A bit, at least a little bit, just for a second, GOD DAMMIT CAN'T YOU JUST SHUT UP?
Wether they are barking, whimpering, howling, singing, muttering, growling or whining.


My doggy is one of the latter. Her name is Frenya and she is a 70 pounds heavy, 27'' high (plus neck and head) Giantschnauzer. Her date of birth should have been a warning. You just can't get a normal dog when she was born on April 1st!
Seven years ago I read an ad in the newspaper, that a new home was really needed for a 13 weeks old Giant schnauzer girl. A farmer near Potsdam hadn't watched his dogs carefully and suddenly there were puppies everywhere. Frenya had been allready adopted, but was then brought back after ONE week, because the couple have had split up. And no one wanted to care for her anymore. Strange!
So I called afriend to pick her up and two hours later I was the proud mom of a monster pup! I had to fight really hard for her attention and to make her listen to me. Schnauzers are real bullheads, they need to accept you as the leader before they will do anything for you. But because the giant ones don't grow up until the age of 3, you first have to deal with a huge baby pup for years.

Because I planned to stay in San Francisco for a year and my ex-boyfriend (Frenya's dad) was studiying in Mexico City, we decided to give her to a hostfamily for six month. Since I returned from the States I am homeless and had to leave her in the hostfamily until Philipp finished his semester in Southamerica.
It was so hard for me to know her just 30 minutes away from me and not to be able to see her at all. She wouldn't have understood, if I had left after visiting her! I cried a lot during these weeks, but the joy when we finally picked her up compensated me for everything. And so I couldn't hold me from taking thousands of pictures and videos of her during our first day together in Babelsberg since September.

She cost me a lot of strength, nerves and sleep, but I will never stop loving her for being silly, annoying and loud in every single moment of her life!

It's dinner time!

The 22th of February is always a special day in my life. 29 years ago my parents tied the knot in Berlin-Neukölln, the same day Mrs. Sabine D. gave birth to her first son, who is now and forever the man in my life (and I DON'T believe in destiny).

Since the man wasn't interested in celebrating his day in any way, I had no bad conscience to spent some time wth my parents and my brother. We decided to have dinner at La Mano Verde, Berlin's first 100% vegan restaurant. Three month ago I applied for a job there, but decided not to take the job due to the bad working atmosphere, so I wasn't really neutral...

After a bad start with the waitress (you should never argue with a customer!), my parents started the menue with a tomatoe-coconut soup, my brother choosed the Avocado Gazpacho and I had some sushi.


Everything tasted really good and made us feel for more.
The main course was amazing to all of us. My gyros plate surprised me, since I didn't expect anything interesting by ordering typical snack stall food. The other orders were two filled flaky pastries, a mushroom risotto and astonishing exquisite mushroom ravioli.


After two hours of eating, talking and laughing my dad and I ended our gluttony by having Mousse au chocolat and a coconut cream. The cream was simply perfect, it was not too sweet, had a full but not too pushy coco taste and was topped-off with a fresh mango sauce. I can't wait to eat this in summer again.

I don't remember the last time I had such a nice evening with so much good food. The La Mano Verde exceeded all my expectaions, it is a restaurant I can really recommend to every one who wants eat in an exalted setting with interesting and remarkable vegan dishes, herivore or not!

La Mano Verde
Wiesbadener Straße 79
12161 Berlin

It's puppy time

Since I and many of my friends are vegans (or at least vegetarians), it's no wonder we love animals. If you live with a cute cat or dog, even carnivores can go crazy about your hairy friend and so do we too!

My friend Melisser happens to be the mom of one of the most amazing and adorable pups in the whole wide world. Not only that Strummer is a raving beauty and herbivore but she is also well-behaved and smells like caramel (no joke!). And because of all these fabulous characteristics, it's no wonder people want to hear about Strummer over and over again. To supply this want, Melisser decided to create a new blog, so everybody can have as much Strummer as often as they want. What a wonderful and generous idea. So, if you now feel like wanting some cuteness overdose: http://strummercalling.blogspot.com/ (visiting on your own risk!)

It's a vegan!

Righty righty right!

It's a little newborn vegan blog. Me, the proud mother, wants to tell everybody who is interested in about being a vegan in Berlin, or rather about me and my life.

At the moment, I live in Potsdam but I was born and raised in Berlin. A city which alienated me for about ten years, but is now going to be conquered.

Last year I spend two amazing month in San Francisco, where I met wonderful people, such as Melisser, Ryan, Laura, Meave, Kristen, Jordan and so many more (please don't be offended by not being named here!). Not only, that they made this trip to a life-time experience, they also showed me the world of vegan blogging and are my little baby's godmothers and godfathers.

And with this hommage to my friends who I had to leave in California, I will end my first blog entry. I hope you'll enjoy my fluffy blog and please feel free to let me know, if one of my sentences does not make any sense at all!