Grill-party at the Isar

Our good friend Elke is moving away to Washington D.C. to pursue her MBA soon...
She celebrated her friends and good times with a grill-party get-together on the banks of the Isar river, which flows right through the city of Munich. There are many wooded areas along the river bed with many opportunities for a BBQ! :-)
We will miss her south-american energy and joyful character!

Thank you!

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated our blog...so now it's due time for some thanks for all your birthday wishes and congratulations! Since June 10th fell on a Tuesday this year, and I was coming down with a cold, my 31st passed without big fanfare. Carlo and I ordered take-out from our favorite Thaifood restaurant and ended up watching the Euro 2008 soccer tournament at home. Yes, not a big bash by all means-but a worthy make-up party is in the works for sometime in August. The weather by the way was gorgeous that day! A rare glimpse of summer during many days of "June gloom". (Munich-style that is, which means rain and temps in the 50's!)

Here some of the great cards I received this year! Thanks guys!

Zarautz-Spain "Basque Country"

Bilbao, Spain-rainy afternoon

It was raining continuously - what better excuse for a couple hours of shopping! :-)

Weekend in Bilbao, Spain

Just returned from a fabulously fun weekend in Bilbao, Spain. Mostly known for its spectacular Guggenheim Museum, the city is well worth a trip! It was a girl-trip with five of us enjoying the spanish lifestyle with tapas, late dinners, and lots of laughter.The weather was anything but cooperative - but despite almost constant rain, we managed to have a really fun time.

On Saturday we drove up to a small surfer-town called "Zarautz", where we spent our Saturday night. The Atlantic coast was beautiful! Steep, green cliffs, yellow sand, and green-blue ocean!

The Basque region of Spain is a beautfiul destination which should be on everyones agenda!

Sailing at the Ammersee-for real this time!

On Sunday, Carlo and I rented a sailboat at the nearby (30km away) Ammersee, which we had visited waaay back in March. We were surprised how easy it was to reserve a boat and get on the water. We didn't need a license or any other documentation. The lake at 10AM was covered by a thin layer of fog, through which the snow-covered Alps were peeking at the end of the lake.(If you look closely, you can see them in the last picture!) We were only able to reserve the boat for three hours, but it was a fantastic morning - time well spent - and worth the early rising.

Sunset from high above - Salzburg

It was a beautiful afternoon and we managed, thanks to Carlo's intuition about the location of the cable car ticket office, to see the sunset from the castle high above the city. :-)

Mirabellengarten-Salzburg

Can it get more beautiful???