LIVE In Concert - DAVID GARRETT!!!

Time to cash the chistmas-presents

I wished for a David Garrett CD for my birthday - and got tickets for the concert for christmas.... Yesterday it was time to go! YEAH - we went to the ColorLineArena in HAMBURG and it was soooo cool!

Susy, you would really like him....

He is a classical vikonist and recording artist. Together with his band, consisting of keyboard, guitar and drums, he gives concerts that include classical sonatas in the first part (accompanied by a concert grand piano) and arrangements and compositions, as well as Nothing Else Matters by Metallica in the second part.

The concert started at 8 p.m. and went until 12:00! It was great!


The best part was, when he left the stage and went through the rows. He walked through our line.... how cool!


I also uploaded a video for you guys.





I took this picture at the ent, when he played "A whole new world" from Aladdin. He told the crowd to get out their lighters or handys... I am sorry for the bad picture but it was really cool!


THANKs for the great evening, grandma!


P.S. I think the dude behind us looks funny!

HSV vs. 1860 München

SOCCER-TIME

Soccertime in Germany - boring for you guys - fun for us.
Since soccer is still sport # 1 in Germany we got some ticets for a championship game of the Hamburger SV! They acutally do pretty good this year - we can't believe it!



We took a friend of Chrstophs parents, who lost his wife last year and who also is a great fan.
The day was really busy - which made me have three appiontments before the game - so I took the train and got there all by myself and 10 minutes late. It was weired - nobody on the roads, just me walking there all by myself, cuddling in my blanket (the one I made with your help, Susy) .... but I made it.


Here are Christoph and Jürgen watching the game permanently....


Although we had only 25°F - we didn't freeze too much.

AND THE BEST THING: WE WON 3:1 YEAH! FREEZING!

Christoph turnin 29 - almost OLD

Hey everyone - it was Christophs birthday..... January 24th.

How fun - I thought and got him all kinds of fun presents.

29 - 29 - 29 - 29 - 29 - 29 - 29 - 29 - 29 -29 - 29 - 29

We were way too awake that night and so we didn't make it into bed beforme midnight - so we had 2 birthdays - one before going to bed - unwrapping one present - and one in the morning.

I got him a computer-game, a DVD, a book with air-pictures of Norderstedt, a new pair of houseshoes, and some moose stuff.

This is him at night - celebrating! He wasn't in the mood for pictures.



This is his birthday-table - and the unwrapped presents later.





During the day - we went to Christoph mom, who had set up a birthday get together with the whole family. It was nice and we had some great cake.

In the evernig we had some friends over and were deadly tired when they left - why are birthdays always so exhausting?




Another cute thing - I want to show you - is this cute card I got for Christoph - don't you just love it? I got it in a cute toy-shop, which only sells hand-made wooden toys, in Augsburg.

WE found a HOUSE!

Yeah,

we finally found a house. We have been thinking about moving for a long time, but now we dicidesd. It took us a long time to find out, whether we wanted to move to Hamburg downtown, or stay close to our parents. (althoug its only 10 miles away - it takes almost 60 minutes to get downtown, since there is so much traffic).

Now we found this cute rowhouse. How do you like it? The address is grüner Weg 63b - greenway! :-)


I guess it is weird for you guys, to see houses that close to each other. Since you have so much space in Idaho and Utah... but maybe your cities are more cramped than I remember.

The house has 5 rooms and a really nice roof terrace, which is about 330 sq ft.

It also has 3 bedrooms, a big living room and a nice studio (office) in the top, whcih is also almost 500 sq ft.

Over all the house has an are of about 1.400 sq ft.

Another cute thing about the house: On the back side, there is a horse pasture. So in the summer there will always be horses in our yard... isn't that cute? Although I think moose would be better.... :-)

This is the view from out bottom terrace - too bad the yard is so small - but a small yard is not as much work - so that makes it good.



Since the house is not finished yet, and the workers are still working, I can't show you any pics of the inside. But I will as soon, as we see any new stuff.

Last week we decided on the fooring and the bathrooms. We chose a beige for the floor and a white bathroom with a nature-stone border and light brown floor.

I bet you guys will like the kitchen. I will post some pictures as soon as I get them.

I will keep you updated..... love ya tons

Germany itself

I guess you guys now know enough about Hamburg.... so I better go on to tell you about Germany.

GERMANY

Germany is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and theCzech Republic; to the south by Austria and Swizerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium; and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 137,000 sq miles. With 82 million inhabitants, it accounts for the largest population among the member states of theEuropean Union and is home to thet third largest number of international migrands worldwide.

Germany is a federal parliamentary republic of sixteen states (Länder). The capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, G8 and OECD. It is a major economic power with the world's third largest economy by nominal GDP and the fifth largest in purchasing power parity. It is the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods. In absolute terms, Germany allocates the second biggest annual budget of development aid in the world, while its military expenditure ranked sixth. The country has developed a high standard of living and established a comprehensive system of social security. It holds a key position in European affairs and maintains a multitude of close partnerships on a global level.

Germany comprises 16 states, which are further subdivided into 439districts and cities.

Environment

The largest wind farm and solar power capacity in the world is installed in Germany. Germany is known for its environmental consciousness. Most Germans consider anthropogenic causes to be a significant factor in global warming. The state is committed to the Kyoto protocol and several other treaties promoting biodiversity, low emission standards, recycling, and the use of renewable energy, and supports sustainable development at a global level.

I will make another post about the garbage in general in Germany - it is really funny how different Germans and Americans are, when you think about garbage... :-)

Demographics

With 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous country in the European Union. However, its fertility rate of 1.39 children per mother is one of the lowest in the world, and the federal statistics office estimates the population will shrink to between 69 and 74 million by 2050 (69 million assuming a net migration of +100,000 per year; 74 million assuming a net migration of +200,000 per year). Germany has a number of large cities, the most populous being Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

As of December 2004, about seven million foreign citizens were registered in Germany, and 19% of the country's residents were of foreign or partially foreign descent.

The largest group (2.7 million) is from Turkey, and a majority of the rest are from European states such as Italy, Serbia, Greece, Poland, and Croatia.

Religion

Christianity is the largest religious denomination in Germany, with 53 million adherents (64%).The second largest religion is Islam with 3.3 million adherents (4%) followed by Buddhism and Judaism, both with around 200,000 adherents (c. 0.25%). Hinduism has some 90,000 adherents (0.1%). All other religious communities in Germany have fewer than 50,000 (or less than 0.05%) adherents. About 24.4 million Germans (29.6%) have no registered religious denomination.

Economy

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the third largest by nominal GDP in the world, and ranked fifth by GDP (PPP); its growth rate in 2007 was 2.4%. Since the age of industrialization the country has been a driver, innovator and beneficiary of an ever more globalized economy. Germany is the world's top exporter with $1.133 trillion exported in 2006 (Euro zone countries are included) and generates a trade surplus of €165 billion.

Of the world's 500 largest stock market listed companies measured by revenue, the Fortune Global 500, 37 companies are headquartered in Germany. Well known global brands are Mercedes Benz, SAP, BMW, Adidas, Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen.

I hope I didn't bother you too much about GERMANY - I just want you to come and see! It is nice over here, although we are a little special, sometimes! :-)

But I guess you guy know!

I better go and get at my desk to study. I still gotta get a lot of stuff done today.