Hamburg, 21.01.2011 Winter weekend
We visited Katinka for an ordinary January weekend, and Joost and Moyce came visiting us there as well! It was a great reminder that there are so many places close to our new home, and that it is possible for us to just take the train and stay with good friends or family. It is good to be back.
Potsdam, 29.01.2011 Biosphere
For everyone wondering about the best things about life in Berlin, here is one of them: the seemingly endless choice of recreational activities. Last summer, just the forest and the adjacent lakes were fantastic, and in winter they still offer good opportunities for taking a walk or sledging. But there is so much more waiting, theatre plays, cinema, opera, museums, circus, animal parks or botanical garden, and all of them offer a wide range of children activities. Today we tried the "Biosphere" in Potsdam, and it was a very pleasant stay among a lot of green plants and animals.
Berlin, 03.02.2011 Welcoming rabbit
While being in China, Chinese New Year was something we either needed to endure, or the main reason we flew the country to spend this time abroad. It was simply too noisy and extreme, and the weather also was unbearably cold and often wet. This year, instead of just ignoring 3rd of february would start the rabbit year (like all other Germans), I took the time to prepare a celebration at Mias Kinderhaus. I told the story of the animal race, we coloured out pictures, we prepared tons of handmade Jiaozi and banished evil spirits by being as noisy as we could. At he end of the day, Moritz summarised he hopes next year Chinese New Year won't take place in his winter holidays so that we can make a celebration at his school instead. It was fun!
Berlin, 15.02.2011 Film festival
My friend Ma Yan took me to the Berlinale to watch "Late autumn", a great film by the Korean director Kim Tae-Yong. Since we liked watching it a lot, we did not leave the cinema right away with everyone else. When we were finally the last ones left over, we slowly grabbed our stuff - and ran into the director himself on our way out! It was so special to have the opportunity to thank him for his work, and he was so kind to take a picture with the two of us. Compared to Shanghai, Berlin is such a tiny cute place to live.
Shanghai, 07.03.2011 53 boxes
In August 2004, we arrived at Pudong airport with a baby and around 70 kg of luggage. Over the years, we moved from one apartment to the other, and each time, the stuff got more and more, the baby boy grew and was joined by his sister. Overall, we spent six years in Shanghai together. And even though we moved to Berlin last summer already, it still felt like parts of our home had stayed here in Shanghai. We had taken around 150 kg of luggage with us - the rest stayed in our apartment here. So finally, this friday, we had packers coming to take out the "left-overs" of our private belongings. Actually, I have to admit, it was a great relief not to have to pack everything myself again, and walking through the rooms packed with our furniture, books and toys, piece by piece covered in cardbord boxes, it made me wonder - what are those six years made of? What do they fit into? What will stay in our memories, but also: what things will accompany us through our lifetime? In the end, I signed a list of 53 pieces to be shipped to Germany, and sitting here, in an almost empty apartment, I feel quite relieved. After so many years staying in apartments that never completely lost the sensation of a "temporary residence" (the only thing you are permitted to as an 'alien' in China), we will finally get the chance to join all of our belongings together in one place: that is so great. I guess it is something one can only understand when living between different worlds - my friend Kuang-ting called it a feeling between 'homesick' and 'sick of not having a home'. I am grateful for what we experienced here in Shanghai, and of course I am sad to leave a couple of close friends and our Ayi behind, but I am just as happy to start a new chapter - back home. Feel welcome to visit us there any time!
