10th Feb. Visit New Home in Düsseldorf

I am moving to Düsseldorf! How could I expect that? 

When I decided to quit the community college last year (September 2016), I was thinking that returning home in Tokyo would be my fate and I would go back to the life with crazy hours of work, no vacation, and random people to hang out with. I could've made it better but honestly, I didn't like it. 

I almost started to get myself ready for it and told most people back in Japan that I would come back for good. No wonder, my mom was the happiest. It's easy to see that your mom would be relieved and happy when she knows you're coming back home from overseas. Having her kids where she can reach (not by a plane) them must mean a lot to her. And/but of course, she tells her kids that we should live our lives any way we want and wherever we'd like to live in. 

If the trial for our divorce would've been taken place in 6 months as our expected, I would've left Germany right away which was the mid November and started to work in Tokyo. (and I was going to come back to Germany just to get the trial done.)

Return Home for 2 Weeks

I returned home for exact 2 weeks in January. Surprising my mom that had no idea that I'd ever come back was a plan. :)

On 14th January, Frankfurt Airport, Jan in his uniform and I walked up to the check in counter and his friend who always checks me in took care of my baggage and seats. Yes seats. She gets me extra one or two seats next to mine and blocked so that I can lie down to rest ;) 

The flight was nice but I couldn't rest for even 30 minutes. 

After I went through the immigration, picked up my suitcase, said goodbye to Jan, I met one of my best friends, Mike that came all the way to Narita Airport to pick me up. 

He carried my suitcase and we got on the express train back to Tokyo. What a joy. We enjoyed our reunion and endless chat until he saw me off from a taxi right in front of the door of my mom's apartment. 

I tried to keep lifting the suitcase from the ground not to make the noise of rolling and unlock the door with my key as if either my brother or sister would do it and saw my mom was standing there with BIIGG opened eyes. 

She literally froze for a second recognizing that was really me (lol). I heard her taking a big inhale and not exhale (you know what it's like) and suddenly her eyes filled up with tears. 

"WHYYYYY" and cried on my shoulder, mixed with laugh. 

This is a beautiful thing. 

So this is how my stay started. 

Scones!

AH!!!!!!! These scones are good. So good. 

The face you get when the first bite makes you take a big breathe-in from nose with your eyes wide opened. 

This is what they did to me. Cooled scones are just as good but freshly backed ones are more winning. 

By the time they come out of the oven you should get your coffee prepared. Good syrup or jam. 

Trust me. These scones are good. You wouldn't even realize how fast they get gone from the batch. 

Recipe is easy and simple. Click down here.

Take me back: Bostalsee 2 night-stay

I've still got a couple (maybe more) of posts that I haven't made yet and had been putting off to write. 

And this is the one that has been stuck in my head, wouldn't leave my mind and keep on telling me "make a post. make a post. make a post" and I was thinking back "I will. I will. I will."

You sure know what it feels like if you were like me: You know you will do it at some point (and you do it actually) but don't want to work on it right right away…and end up putting it off. 

I haven't made any solid resolutions for 2017 yet though, one of them would be reducing this problem: Putting off things that I know I can get done right away. 

So, okay, I've written enough blah blah. Now it's about the lake Jan and I visited back in Summer last year. 

Hope it sends you off a bit of warmth from the screen and helps you forget the coldness for some seconds.

In the end of August 2016, we drove for the direction France and stayed out at a hotel for 2 nights.

The Bostalsee is a lake of Nohfelden in the northern Saarland. With a water surface of 120 ha and a depth of up to 20 m. This lake is one of the largest leisure waters in the south-west of Germany. 

Day 4. 21sr Oct. Our Trip to Neuschwanstein

This was taken when we left the lodge to return home. As you can see, the weather couldn't been any worse. Windy, freezing, rainy and dark. I'm glad the weather stayed nice last days. 

We only have to drive back home. Goodbye Bayern until next time!!

Day 3. 20th Oct. Our Trip to Neuschwanstein

Woke up, felt the sunlight, opened the curtains, and asked "why so sunny today and not yesterday??"

This couldn't have been more beautiful but oh well. It was lucky enough for us that it never rained yesterday. 

Today we wanted to walk around in Füssen city which is about 15 minute-drive from where we stayed (or from castles). 

The sun was so warm, crisp air, farms, Alps mountains, and nice foods.

Day 2. 19th Oct. Our Trip to Neuschwanstein

I don't know about you but I looked up and it kept my mouth opened in a shock for a while. SO beautiful. 

I think I'd like to write a bit about the history of this castle here. It might help you appreciate its background of LudwigⅡof Bavaria who built the castle and how it's loved over centuries. For more information and details, please check Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle) or other related sources.  

Castle Neuschwanstein (Neu=New Schwan=Swan Stein=Stone) was built by LudwigⅡ, King of Bayern, in early 19th century. 

It's located by the border of Austria (about 4km to the border) and there is a castle Hohenschwangau where LudwigⅡspent his childhood and owned by the father of LudwigⅡnear Neuschwanstein. 

The name of Neuschwanstein derives from a castle "Schwanstein" that used to be where Hohenschwangau is today and named after the year 1890. So now you know where "Neu=New" Schwanstein comes from. 

The castle can appear to have built with the traditional construction system at that time. It was, however,  constructed not with stones or brick but with mortar or concrete structured by steel frames and lack of weather resistance and durability. 

This castle was neither constructed as a "fort" of a military position nor as a "palace" of the political and diplomatic base. 

It was built just for the romantic hobby of Ludwig II: there are no small cathedral or graves that should be in the castle hall of Germany in this castle,  and an artificial cave named Venus cave (Venusgrotte) was built while making the throne was postponed.

Liveability as an actual residence wasn't put in a consideration and practicality as a facility had been neglected.

This castle is unsuitable for both residential and political affairs (as well as military facilities).

As you can find the line in Wiki, the castle was publicly opened immediately after Ludwig II's death in 1886.