Stockholm.

As this year comes to a close, I have to admit that I am woefully behind in posts. I had hoped to do 3 a week these past few months to catch up....but failed. This declaration and realization fits in nicely with my new year's resolution, "To do less, focus on the things that mean the most to me, and to be bored."

Over these past 3 years in London, our life has become a truly wondrous blur of trips, movement, new places, conversations spent trying to put in words our feelings about all we are seeing, connecting and disconnecting with friends and family and above all adventure. It can feel amazing, lonely, inspiring, energizing, exhausting, disjointed and both real and surreal.

I need more time to enjoy the city, to be a bit more quiet, to read the stack of books that has grown rapidly, to reflect and to capture a bit more of life as it happens.

I will wrap- up the final posts of 2009 in the next few weeks, then on to the year in pictures I hope to create! Now on to Stockholm.....

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A part of TJ's birthday present this year (ahh hem, yes it was back in January,) was a trip to Stockholm. Lured a bit by a promise of a Christmas market, we scheduled the trip. To make the trip even more fabulous, we were joined by his mom Kathy making the trip from Florida via London.



The city was perfect for wandering. There were not many 'must-see's' on our list so we just headed out each day to see different islands (of which there are 14.)






Lighting is very important to the Swedish, especially this time of year with just about 6 hours of daylight. Most of the apartments have unadorned windows, and beautiful lighting, candles and stars on display.





We rambled, shopped a bit, ate like kings, went for a few runs and soaked up the atmosphere in our modern hotel.



It is a city that we need to re-visit as I would love to see it in the full light of the summer. Posts on the food experiences to follow.

Much to be Thankful for.

We we so excited this year to host Thanksgiving at our flat. It can be a bit tough to get excited for a holiday when we know our families are gathering and we cannot be a part of it.

But being around friends on these important days creates our London family.


Our friends John and Melissa, and their dog Brooklyn joined Susan and James and their baby Ian. It was Ian's first Thanksgiving, John and Melissa's first in London, and our first time hosting in London as well.






The table was bountiful, a combination of contributions from all of us. The turkey was from a local butcher who knows to order extra turkeys earlier for the Americans, (as most people here have turkey for Christmas.) I had to talk him into a bigger turkey as I could almost hear my family laughing at his original suggestion.

Brooklyn was joined later in the afternoon by Susan and James' dog Kona. I was in heaven! The flat was filled with dogs, friends, wine and food....

I am still smiling thinking of it!

Hampstead - Tree Trimming

Hampstead Village had a tree lighting on a Sunday afternoon at the end of November. It was supposed to begin at 4:30 and the village was filled with children in their prams, tons of parents, a sleigh doing a loop repeatedly. live music and closed streets to allow everyone to wander.

One of the greatest reasons we first liked this neighborhood (or borough to be specific) was that it reminded us of England, and not just London. There is a real sense of nature with the close proximity to the Heath, plenty of little winding streets with a good mix of local shops and quaint restaurants and pubs.




While the afternoon was a bit frustrating for us, as we found that all of our favorite spots, (The Wells, and The Horseshoe) both were between services.

They stopped serving lunch at 3:00 and didn't start dinner service until 6 or 6:30. A bit frustrating when you want an early dinner around 5:00...after much grumbling and a few mumblings of 'really....seriously the kitchen is closed...why would they do that on a Sunday' we figured out our plan and enjoyed seeing the lights alighted and the village don its Christmas best.

As I sit, listening to Christmas music, watching the first snow fall of the year come down outside our front window...about to gear-up for a run in the Heath and thinking of our to-do-lists filled with tasks to get us ready to come home to the US for the Holidays...I feel very grateful. We have truly so much to be thankful for.

This glorious neighborhood and our home here is just one of them.

Berlin -Reichstag

The second spot on our list was a visit to the Reichstag - the home of the German Parliament. We heard that if you visit the restaurant at the top, you don't need to wait on the huge long line at the entrance.

We first tried to go in the 'side door', telling them we had a reservation at the restaurant...well a quick call up confirmed that they were not yet open. After our own call to them, and a booking for later that night, the security team let us up.


To ensure full artistic transparency, the majority of these pictures were taken by TJ. I had what some would call 'a tough time' on the walk up the circular dome once inside.


It started out OK for me, but once I went on, it was a weird combination of height, dimensions and depth as we climbed nearer and nearer to the top of the dome. We had the headsets on, which told you when to stop and pointed out sights and gave facts about the dome.

It was a bit comical as I started walking more and more quickly, all the while clinging on to the railing with my sweaty palms. (I may have pushed a few people out of the way gently - it's all a blur =)

It is an amazing building with a fantastic design that focuses on harvesting heat from the sun, and recycling water. The view were unreal, and we were able to walk around outside of it in the brisk air (very good for my palms.)

A remarkable blend of old historic Berlin with a new, modern element. And a very comical walk for me.

Berlin - Long Weekend

TJ came to Berlin after my event to spend the weekend. The last time we were here together was last year for the marathon. This time, we stayed in the Charlottenburg neighborhood at the Hotel Q.

I had a relaxing morning before he arrived. I went for a nice long run, changed hotels and discovered a bit of this charming neighborhood. It reminded me a bit of Pacific Heights with it's cute boutiques, restaurants and 'neighborhood feel.' The hotel had a fabulous modern design. The spa had a waiting room with loungers and filled with sand.

That first night was pretty relaxed as I was thoroughly exhausted after being 'onsite', so we went to what is without-a-doubt, THE best place in Berlin for roast chicken - Henne. It is so good, that we went again (something we don't do too often as we like to try new places,) and it was the second time in a week that I went.

The restaurant is right on the old border where the wall once stood. We met a sweet man there who took the pictures above, and we shared his excitement for all the charm of the place.



We spent the first day of sight-seeing walking from our hotel to 'downtown' and the Ka De We department store. TJ had to put up with a fair share of winging and wining as my feet were quite sore still.

The next day we went to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. On our last visit, we walked amongst the concrete slabs, this time we toured the memorial and visitors center.




I would definitely encourage people to go. It is important to learn about this part of history and it is especially fitting to do so when in Berlin.



Other highlights of the trip included a long run in the Tiergarten together, a lovely lunch at Vau, and a bit of a walk through our other favorite neighborhood, the Mitte.