Down with a Sickness & Covered in Germs.

I officially have the flu. Well technically J has the flu since he went to see the doctor after work today who then told him he had caught some kind of viral infection a.k.a the flu. Unlike most doctors i've known, they are more than happy to shove various coloured capsules and tablets down your throat and claim that within a few days this concoction of drugs will improve the condition.

But really, all one needs is a lot of rest and to drink lots of fluids.

And when it comes to the common cold or flu, taking medicine is just a waste of money. Sure it'll make you feel better but the duration of the illness won't be any shorter. And people just end up becoming immune to the meds which makes future illnesses harder to treat and forcing them to take even stronger drugs.


That said, i totally swear by Aspirin Complex. It dissolves in water and it actually doesn't taste too bad. And you know what? That shit actually works! It combats sniffles, fever, aches and pains.

But my cough doesn't seem to have gotten better though. I reckon i must have woken up a few of the neighbors last night. And although my body doesn't ache as much as it did a few days ago, i'm still not feeling 100% fabulous.

I'm thinking i must have caught something at the Ski Hall last week. There was a point when we had to weave through the crowd of semi-intoxicated German folk music lovers. Standing face to face and only inches away from merry germs. And i'm sure i walked into a cloud of infectious droplets. And what do you know, 3 days later my throat's all scratchy and the coughing and aches began.

But the timing couldn't be any worse. This weekend is a long weekend. And even though we didn't really have that much planned, the very fact that we could have had something, makes being sick on a 3-day weekend even more depressing.

Seriously, being sick sucks balls.

So whilst my poor little J is totally knocked out and passed out in bed looking like the world just sat on him, i'm contemplating on whether to take another one of those magic green pills that does wonders when it comes to battling the flu - which goes against everything that i said before about taking meds but i know that Febricol works.

Then maybe just maybe i can steal a few more hours of sleep and hope i don't wake up anymore of my neighbors with my oh so lady-like seal cough.

And Down Came the Rain...

So i made it out of the apartment yesterday only because hunger got the better of me. And i was confronted by what could only be described as an allergy sufferers nightmare. Pollen danced in the wind and attempted to wedge itself in every orifice. And as drama as it might sound but those baby chicken fluff, as i like to call them, were attacking me!

My pupils were like moving targets, occasionally being hit and causing me to respond by winking uncontrollably. No wonder that girl walking her dog kept looking at me funny.


There was no turning back. Perhaps i shouldn't have walked the back way where all the overgrown plants were. I mean i could have just crossed the river at the bridge and walked along the side road or even took a different route.

But i didn't.


And before i knew it i was heading straight into the war zone.


At one point the ground was cushioned with a soft layer of these terrors. Covering the edge of the pathway looking all innocent like sheeps' wool. Wouldn't it be just my luck that the wind would pick up at that very second and those fuckers would rise from the dead and attack once again.


Even the small river beside us looked suffocated. With its' murky water and overgrown grass, one could easily mistake it as a monsoon drain decorated in confetti.

But i made it home just in time armed with some basic food necessities. And within minutes the sky turned a stone grey. The trees were beaten about by the winds. Rain fell in huge chunks and with much excitement drowned all the chicken fluff.


I later watched the clouds race across the sky whilst the sun prepared itself to go to bed behind the giant trees. It looked like Mother Nature was holding a farewell ceremony by lighting the sky on fire one last time.


But like a disobedient child not wanting to go to sleep, it continued to stay light way past its' bedtime. And it was just past 10:30pm when she finally shut her eyes and the light was switched off. Day light Savings is totally screwing up with my body clock.

Chicken fluff and Indoor Snow.

I'm contemplating whether i should go outside today but the weather man says it's going to rain. The clouds are brewing something nasty and the wind is definitely picking up. They just cut the grass outside so there's bits of grass flying everywhere! And although the pollen count isn't as high as it was over the weekend, allergy sufferers need to be aware.


And for the past few days there's these pesky little pieces of pollen that resemble tiny pieces of fluff fallen off the backs of chickens floating in the air. They're everywhere! I think that's what's causing my throat to itch.

On top of that, we're slowly running out of food since we didn't make it to the supermarket over the weekend. We've finally managed to finish off all the leftovers and those stored items-for-a-rainy-day.

It doesn't help that i think i've come down with some kind of sickness. I'm not sure if it's allergies or i am in fact falling ill. Yesterday was a toasty 30 degrees celcius and i spent all of my day indoors hoping to catch some kind of cool breeze through the apartment.

But there was nothing.

We don't own a fan and having an air-conditioner would just be too expensive and unnecessary since Germany rarely gets warm. So i alternated my hours by finding cool spots to lay down.



Last Thursday we went to visit J's colleague who was doing the catering for an event at a horse riding event. It was about 20 minutes away and so we figured since it was a public holiday, we'd do something other than catching some Z's. They were judging the performance of the horses and the riders' ability to handle them.


Since J's colleague was one of the chefs, we managed to score some free food which was our main reason of going there to begin with. I had a huge portion of shrimps marinated in lemon grass, potatoes and mushrooms, which made it all worth heading out.


Oh i also got to taste Warsteiner beer. Not only was it free too but i've decided it's much lighter and easier to drink. It now positions itself high up in 'My Favorite Beers to Drink' list.


Up the road from the riding fest was the Jever Skihalle in Neuss - an indoor ski hall. The slope looked massive from the outside and looked somewhat out of place in the openness that surrounded it.


We saw tonnes of people drinking outside and the place seemed quite popular, so we thought we'd check it out and have a Weizenbier - also one of my favorites. It was a public holiday and i'm guessing a lot of people took Friday off because everyone looked very merry by the time we got there.


They also had this outdoor obstacle course [Kletterpark Neuss] for those who weren't interested in skiing. Definitely not something to try when intoxicated or if one is afraid of heights. But perhaps an activity to choose should you wish to get your adrenalin pumping and in need of a work-out.


But as the sun was going down, so was the temperature and i was busting to go to the loo. So we figured we'd check out the ski hall before heading back. And we were surprised that there were even more people inside. That's where everyone went! Had we known it was warmer inside, we wouldn't have chosen to sit in the cold.

They had a bar inside and everyone was dancing to a mish-mash of past hits and German folk music. It was rather strange. Everyone seemed to know the words and had the moves to go with it.


And at one point there was a table full of girls celebrating, i can only assume a Hens' party, standing on the table and benches singing along to the music. Then the table next to theirs decided to join too. It was rather entertaining. I'm guessing everyone was very drunk at that point because nobody looked like they knew the song or the beat. But good for them for letting loose and not giving a shit what anyone thought!


And just beside the tables, you could look out the window and check out the people skiing and snowboarding down the slope. It was so surreal to see people all geared up in their winter gear indoors when only months ago it was zero degrees and there was actual snow falling outside.

Bustin' out the Grill!

The weather's been on the shitty side the last few days with rain and cool temperatures. So when the Weatherman predicted sunshine yesterday afternoon, J thought it would be a great idea to bust out the electric grill. We inherited it from his ex just before she left. And if i'm not mistaken, it was his to begin with but somehow it remained with her until now.

So anyway, now that the weather is getting better it's also become Grilling Season.

J put the pieces of the electric grill together but then noticed that the legs were a bit wobbly and could be a potential fire hazard. We're thinking there must a piece missing to keep the legs in place. So J had this brilliant idea to keep the legs from swaying by making use of our step ladder.


And just like magic, it stayed put.

I believe grilling with coal makes the food tastes better but we don't really have that option. Unlike coal which takes forever to heat up, the electric grill only took a matter of seconds. So that was a bonus. Plus i think it's illegal for residents to have burning coal on ones' balcony. Our neighbors would definitely hate us.


J waited patiently so that i could finish taking photos of our 'Grilling Trial Session' and kept himself busy by dazing off into the distance and sipping Campari + orange juice.

"WAIT one more! Hang on, it's too light. OK done. Go!"


I defrosted some chicken fillets and seasoned them. Then boiled some potatoes in advance, so that they could be sprinkled with thyme and wrapped in silver foil and chucked onto the grill after. J stopped by the supermarket on his way home from work to get some sour cream, chives, vegetables and vegetarian sausages for me.

How considerate!

Yes i'm still Vegetarian. 6 years and counting. Well technically still Pescetarian since i eat seafood but only occasionally.


We haven't gotten around to buying outdoor furniture yet, so we're making use of what's available. And the wooden dining chairs that we inherited from my sister's old kitchen worked fine. The only problem was the side plates were too small to hold the food, so stuff kept falling off them.


And i have to say, it was a lovely evening. We laughed and spent some real quality time together. It wouldn't surprise me if grilling on our balcony becomes a more regular affair.

Plus i'm thinking J is keen on sinking his teeth in a few steaks and some typical German Bratwursts. As for me, i'm all up for more veggies, baked potatoes and my new love for Vegetarische Rostbratwurst.

I know, i know, nothing beats eating real meat. But hey, it tastes good so i'm not complaining.

The sun sets just after 10pm and that still manages to throw me off each time i check the time. And having late dinners on the balcony with the sun setting as a backdrop is a nice option to have.

Shades of Green and patches of Fuchsia.

One of our requirements when we were looking for a place was it had to have a balcony. There's something about having that option of being outside yet still being inside, that makes having a balcony worth having. An extension of the living room or just a quiet place to hang out.

I never used to have a green thumb but when i entered my 20's, somehow plants started liking me more. Correction: Plants didn't start dying on me. I am currently caring for 7 plants that sit comfortably on our window ledge and so far they look happy. There's 2 in the bathroom and one Aloe Vera in the kitchen.

And with Summer coming up, the sun has been making more frequent appearances which gives us more reason to be outdoors. So that's when we decided we'd get rid of the severely dehydrated plants that have plastered themselves to the sides of the planter boxes and the rose bush that refuses to come back to life.


Every resident in the block has made some kind of effort to do up their balcony. I'm sure it's probably unheard of to let your plants wilt and be a sore sight. When we moved in the plants weren't looking too healthy but because it was Winter, we just figured they weren't hardy plants. And that we'd wait till warmer weathers to sort them out. And seeing that J had some time and we hadn't planned on going anywhere over the weekend, we figured we'd designate some time to prettifying the balcony.


Saturday, 16 May:
So our mission was to do up the balcony and get some gorgeous flowers. Bauhaus is basically this hardware store that sells everything plus gardening items. About 10 minutes in the opposite direction that we usually drive into the City, stands this massive store. It's huge! The image above is only half of the building, we got there an hour before closing and i'm sure had we gotten there earlier, we'd still be walking through there til they shut. Seriously, you could spend hours in there wasting time and money.


So that's us walking through the dozens of aisles of plants and flowers. All J knew was that he wanted some kind of creeper at the end of each planter box. So J went down one aisle and i went down another and somehow we came to an agreement on which plants we liked.


Everything was grouped in such a way that finding a certain species was just a matter of knowing which category it fell into. My knowledge in gardening extends to reading the little tags that come with flower pots. And if it says full sun, then i give it full sun. Plus never water plants under the sun, as the water droplets can damage the leaves when the rays hit them.

I also believe that if you talk to your plants and tell them nice things, they "listen". Telling them that they're beautiful and sending them good vibes somehow helps. Well that's what i like to think.


In the covered area were flowers of all shapes and sizes. Your options seemed endless.


We eventually went with these off-pink flowers. The colour reminds me of soft marshmallows set amongst deep green leaves. And when they're buds they look like roses with long tails and when they blossom they look like orchids. I've already forgotten the name of the flower but the lady assures us that it will grow on the balcony. I think they're gorgeous.

We also got Fuchsia's also known as 'Son of a Thumb' that can even stand frost and colder temperatures. As well as 2 creeper plants; Wisteria and Pasiflora. We added an umbrella with an attachment that screw onto the side of the balcony should we wish to sit outside without being roasted alive. 1 hour plus and 77 Euros later we were the last to leave and were on our way home.

Sunday, 17 May:
The next day our gardening session began. Whatever the previous tenant had growing in them they seemed to have grown quite well because the roots had taken up the whole pot. No wonder nothing survived. Not only was it dehydrated but it seemed to have suffocated itself.


We originally had the day bed in the middle of the balcony but not only was it wasting space but it would have gotten in the way. So after measuring the length, we lifted it above our heads and turned it 90 degrees. It fit exactly at the end of the balcony and figured it was meant to be.


After about 4 hours of re-potting and trying not to spill the fresh soil all over the place, we got into cleaning and rearranging the balcony so it would be more space sufficient.

These are the flowers on the left...


As you can see the trees have got their leaves back and they've taken over the view.


And there's our purple umbrella with our middle planter box. In my middle planter box i re-potted some Sempervivum mix and also converted it into a rock garden. Basically any shells and rocks that J and i collect during holidays or visits to any place, we'll add them to our collection.


Instead of them collecting dust in a jar or using up space on the window ledge, we'll use them as decoration for our mini rock garden. We figured it would be a better way to admire them. The ones above are shells we found on our impulsive overnight trip to the Netherlands.

Eventually, i'll get around to planting some, carrots, radishes, sugar peas and tomato seeds. We got an assortment of seeds that i plan to try and grow next month. So it'll be kind of cool to have my own little vegetable garden.

And this is the planter box on the right with the sun blinding me in the background...


We then spent another 2 hours scrubbing part of the floor and the sides because they were covered in a layer of moss, dust and dirt. I'm not sure when the last time they were cleaned but it was absolutely filthy. It's amazing what a bit of soap and water can do. The place had transformed itself and it looked like it got a fresh layer of paint.


By the end of it all we were exhausted. Our balcony gets the afternoon sun, so it's perfect for a snooze or a place to chill when the sun goes down. And since there are no buildings across blocking our view, we don't have to worry about nosy neighbors peeking into our place.


It's amazing what some water and sunshine can do. All the trees have recovered from the Winter blues and even the bridge below is slowly being swallowed up by the leaves.


I woke up this morning to have another look at our balcony. I love sitting outside now. Whether it's to have a cigarette or just to admire our plants. It's so peaceful with the birds gossiping away and the swaying of the trees. J often finds me drifting off into a moment, staring out into space.

It's hypnotizing.

So anyway, i followed the patches of morning sun and noticed something white on the ground. And there was our neighborhood white duck soaking in the morning sunshine. I don't know why but it was one of my moments that needed to be captured and so i ran in to get my camera.

I think he may have escaped from the local Butcher because he's the only white duck in the area. He stands out like a sore thumb amongst the wild ones but despite his appearance, he fits in just perfectly with his fellow friends.