christmas market in Dresden

Before I'm writing my last post about my Hong Kong vacation I want to blog about sth. christmas related.

Last weekend I went to the 50th birthday party of my uncle. It was some kind of family meeting because we are to busy to meet often.

A big birthday party is always a good reason to meet and spent some quality time. I arrived on wednesday last week in Berlin and stayed at my sis home till saturday. My little sis joined us on friday and we took my sis car and drove all the way in the mountins.
We packed lots of christmas music and some of our fave christmas audio dramas for the 3 1/2 hours in the car.

The party was really lovely. I was able to see my uncle and my cousins again. We ate , we drank and we danced (I really hate dancing but it was my uncles birthday and HE loves dancing).

The next morning we rushed after a little breakfast to the christmas market in Dreseden.
In germany we are taking our christmas markets very serious. Nearly every little town has there own christmas market with lots of cute and interessting stuff to see.

But there are some really big and lovely ones like the one in Dresden. Sadly I wasn't able to enjoy the christmas market as much as I'm doing it normally. After only 5 hours of sleep and my rumbling tummy I was glad to just survive the visit.

 

We had only 3 hours before I had to take the train back to Göttingen. I had to change the train 3 times and mostly I had onle 10 minutes.
I really hated it and I was glad to be at home after 5 hours on different trains.

Back in Goettingen

I'm back in Goettingen since yesterday night. I'm already in germany since wednesday last week but I wasn't in mood to blog. I stayed in Berlin for a few days and went to my uncles 50 birthday on saturday. My health is still not the best but I hope to feel better since I'm now back at home.

Hong Kong: day 8 and 9

On my 8th day I woke up with terrible pain in my stomach. As soon as I moved I felt like passing out. But since I didn't want to waste even a single day of my vacation I pulled myself together to meet up with Sabrina and Wendy for some "extreme shopping". They know a place where all the reatilers buy their stuff for a reduced price, something I didn't want to miss. Packed with 2 dresses, a blouse, a shirt and a leather bag we went back. About the same time my stomach started to hurt again. Luckily there was a free seat otherwise I would  have probably puked inside the train. Back in the Hotel I fell asleep for about 4 hours. In the evening I just went out to get some salted bretzels and cola, which is something like a secret receipe to settle the stomach.

Today I already felt a little better. But since I'm not sure about my stomach  I decided to pass on the breakfast to meet up with Wendy, Sabrina and Vincent (Sabrina's husband) to go to Stanley (like we did last year) It's a very popular area where the locals like to go on the weekends due to the beautiful beach. After a typical chinese lunch (I didn't eat to much due to my stomach) we went shopping (again :D). I bought three 100% cashmere tops and a jacket for only 56€ ! Where else can you buy stuff like that for such a good price ? After a little snack in one of the restaurants (fish & chips) and some chatting Wendy, Sabrina and Vincet dropped me off at Mo's house for a yummy dinner. I'm back in the hotel now to pack my bags since I have to move to another room tomorrow.

Hong Kong : day 7

Hong Kong : day 7, originally uploaded by crafting with loove.

The times flies so fast. My 7th day of vacation is nearly over. In 4 days I have to take the flight back to germany. But this will definetly not be my last time here in Hong Kong. I love this city so much and I love my friends from Hong Kong even more. Wendy, Helen and Mo turn every day of my vacation into sth. unforgetable.
Today I went to Tsuen Wan. I read about the Sam Tung Uk museum in In my travelbook. The museum is a traditional Hakka walled village that was founded by Chan clan in the 18th century. A lot of the people from the Chan family played an important roll in politics, theater etc.
The village was in a really bad shape when they started to restore the it. In 1987 the museum was completed. They had really hard times to find old furniture and wooden working supplies. They found most of the stuff in an old farming village where the people worked with those old wooden working supplies.
The hat I'm wearing can be tried on in the museum. The women used to wear these while working on the fields.
In the early afternoon I met with Mo and Helen for some craft supllie shopping. I've never seen so many beads and pendants for such a cheap price. Sadly I have no project in mind so I only bought a few. For dinner I shared a rice pizza and some noodle with pumpkinsauce with Mo.

Via Flickr:
craftingwithlovegermany.blogspot .com/

Honk Kong day 6

I feel a lot better today! After a long and restorative beauty sleep I felt fit enough to go on delightful trip. After a quick breakfast (a tuna bun as usual) I went on to the central station where Wendy was already waiting for me. After that we moved on to the pier where we met with Helen. About 1:20 hours later we finally reached Cheung Chau Island. Unfortunately it's a little cold here in HK so warm cloth are a must. After our arrival we had a super yummy seafood lunch (you could choose the crabs right from the fish tank).
Cheung Chau is a small island that attracts a lot locals especially on the weekends and holidays. There are no cars allowed on Cheung Chau so you have to rent a bike if you want to explore this beautiful island and its small alleys. Helen was nice enough to provide us with some interesting facts about the island and the astounding temple that is already more than a hundred years old. We had a fantastic time with lots of chatter and laughter. It is absolute awesome to hang out with Helen and Wendy. I ate tons of stuff: sweet, sour and spicy....stil can't decide what I like the best.
At 6:20 we had to take the boat to get back. Later that evening we had some chicken rice and a tasty dessert. All in all I had a fantastic day...unfortunately time goes too fast.
Thanks ladies for the most perfect day. I enjoyed every minute of our trip!!!
For pictures check my Flickr!

Hong Kong day 4 & 5

on my way to Diamond Hill, originally uploaded by crafting with loove.

Sorry for the lack of information about my vacation in Hong Kong yesterday. But it seems that I catched a really bad cold so I wasn't in the mood for writing a blog post.
Yesterday was a really quiet day for me. I got up very late and went to Causeway Bay for some shopping. But due to the cold I wasn't really in shopping mood. I just took a few pics of the christmas decoration and left with a little breakfast for some relaxing in the kowloon park. I stayed for an hour but didn't take any pics at all. I spent most of the time in the hotel that afternoon. I just left it for an hour to get me dinner.

Today I wasn't feeling any better but kicked my ass out of the hotel at around 11 am. I took the MTR to Diamond Hill to visit the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery.
If you ever go to Hong Kong you should definetly pay this place a visit. It's such a lovely garden surrounded by all the big buildings.
For all shopping fans is a big shopping center near the station. It's 3 story high and lots of cool brands. I spent my money on gifts for myself and my sisters. I can't speak about it yet but promise to show it later once I gave it to them.
I even got a cute bunny as a gift for my big purchase. I went to the supermarket in Diamond Hill to and found some good stuff I wanted to try. The cashieer was really nice and took the time to explain me how to cook it.
Diamond Hill is a great place to spent a few hours to stay away from the crowd in tourist areas.
For more pics head over to my Flickr account.

Hong Kong : day 3

Hong Kong : day 3, originally uploaded by crafting with loove.

My third day in Hong Kong is nearly over.
Today. I took the MTR and the train to Tai Po market. It's a place at the New Territories.
I was looking for the Old District Office North but wasn't able to find it. So I just went for a walk and discovered the Tai Po Waterfront park. The park is around 22 ha and has some little gardens with different themes. It a perfect place for young kids to discover the joy of nature.
On my way back I made a short stop in Tai Wai to visit the Che Kung tempel.
For dinner I met with Wendy in Mong Kok for a big bowl of noodles and some toy shopping .
For more pics check my flickr.