September 30, 2011

NOCH EINE LUNCH AT CHEZ MAURICE




Earlier this week we went to CHEZ MAURICE to have LUNCH, and to THANK THEM for the fantastic dinner they hosted for us on the day our WEDDING. The dinner was not in the restaurant, but in the WINE CELLAR and it was just perfect; the atmosphere, the food, the wine and the service. We have been regulars at this restaurant since I started coming to BERLIN to visit E (it was also here, over some good food and a bottle of wine, we decided that I should come live in Berlin) so it was a perfect location for us. After we moved to KREUZBERG the traveling distance is not a short as it used to be, but there is no doubt that after going to this restaurant for now almost two years ..distance can not keep us away.


September 26, 2011

BERLIN BACHELORETTE



Some of the pictures from my MAGICAL BERLIN BACHELORETTE PARTY.. shot by the wonderful friend and photographer BRITNEY ANNE MAJURE. My Berlin Bachelorette party was amazing, and as mentioned at some point magical. The first stop was CRUBA by MIRA BECKER's space in MITTE ..to try on and pick up the wedding dress (more about her and the dress making proses in a later post) ..and drink some celebratory bubbles (all my friends turned up in black; they all looked like fab power New Yorkers, and they gave me this stunning FLOWER CROWN to wear it for the rest of the day.. It was kind of funny because even though the flower crown thing is not something we normally do for bachelorette parties in Norway, everybody who stopped us asked if it was a Scandinavian wedding, so I guess they now think that's the Scandinavian way. It was actually really nice to wear it; the sight of me in this crown put a SMILE on the faces of many Berliners, old, young, female and male, and I have to say; receiving smiles from strangers on the street in Berlin is not something that happens on a regular basis. So yes, I can recommend it, even thinking about making it an accessory for next summer..  well enough about the magical flower crown. 




So after safely dropping off my dress at the apartment (not smart to bring your wedding dress to your bachelorette party) we went off to SCHLACHTENSEE. I love this lake, I've been there a couple of times this summer and it's really nice. By the time we got there the SUN was almost setting and the light was sooo beautiful, so while the rest of the crew started ordering drinks (we were having dinner at the FISCHERHÜTTE, a restaurant situated right by the lake) BRITNEY and I went down to the lake to take some pictures while the sun was still up. A bit tipsy from the sparkling (as you might tell from the pictures there was always sparkling, at one point outside the Oranienburger Tor station, the U-bahn travellers were almost covered in some of it, reason: the bottle was really hard to open so I had this guy help me and suddenly the bubbles were heading for the sky! ..but even though we lost some drops creating this pink fountain outside the Oranienburger Tor there was enough to get tipsy, ..so there I was, by the lake, looking at all these people going for a nice evening sunset swim, but with nothing to swim in. Looking at the Germans it dawned on me, even though I sometimes think the Germans take the whole naked in public thing a bit far, the openness to nakedness it's a big advantage when you want to go for a spontaneous swim. So I did what the Germans do, took off all my clothes and walked into the water ( well I did not do exactly what the Germans do because many of them like to take their time, do a little stretch and walking around before they go in ..and I did it in the more straight to the point way)





So there I was, swimming into the sunset.. with my flower crown on. In the bushes next to the lake was BRITNEY ...with her camera. I think it was a good thing that she was a young attractive woman and not some dude.. because then the whole photographing from the bushes might have looked a bit different.. of course the flower crown bathing woman attracted some attention so Britney told them that I was getting married to kind of explain, but I don't know, for me that kind of just made it seem like I wanted some symbolic naked shots before I entered the 'life long one man' institution of marriage. Anyhow, no matter how it sounded to others it was a fun and magical experience ..that I can highly recommend, with or without flower crown, with or without photographer friend lurking in the bushes; swimming into the sunset is like paradise, at least my paradise.




There is nothing like eating after swimming so when we got back to the table I ordered a big SCHNITZEL, as pointed out by the table maybe not what brides normally might order under one week before the wedding, but then again; what about my diet this last half year has been typical wedding dress friendly.  Reminding you of this trip and this trip ...and this trip. Well, after a long and nice meal we all decided that it was time for the rest of the crew to go swimming, it was dark at this point and it was almost a FULL MOON and the lake was covered with red, yellow and orange LANTERNS. I can not begin to explain how beautiful it was. I really wanted to join the others for one more swim, but afraid to catch a cold I stayed at the shore. I still kind of wish that I had gotten in with the others, but I guess it was the smart thing to do.. at that point.. ah.. I can't think about it! I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was one of those nights, that was just special, and I am so lucky to have friends that documented parts of it for me so that I can look at the pictures later and remember that day. Thank you all for making it such an Amazing Berlin Summer Day!


September 24, 2011

September 21, 2011

BEFORE AND AFTER

GIFT DELIVERY


Yesterday at the crack of dawn this PILE OF PRESENTS was delivered to our apartment by a sweet KaDeWe guy in a white coat with nice blue letters (wish I had taken a photo of him). The presents are all the wedding gifts from KaDeWe that our lovely guests/friends/family has given us. It was SOO FUN to get all the presents delivered to our apartment ..all in one!  We chose to register at KaDeWe because they have a good online service that made it possible for people in Norway to give us stuff without having to send it or bring it on the plane to BERLIN. When the gifts were delivered I also realized that the delivery thing was super because we then did not have to bring all the gifts home from the party AND we got to open all the presents our selves:) ..instead of having some appointed person unwrap them (which is the way we often do it in Norway at least) who would rather have a nice glass of bubbles with all of the other guests. So thank you to all of you sweet people who gave us lots of great stuff from KaDeWe, we had a blast unwrapping it all:)

CUTEST CARD ARRIVED IN THE MAIL TODAY


THE DREAM SHOE FOR THE DREAM DRESS


September 20, 2011

September 13, 2011

WEDDING WEEK!



This beautiful FLOWER CROWN my fantastic girlfriends gave me to wear the day of my BERLN BACHELORETTE PARTY. Had a MAGICAL day, more pictures to come later ..this week is hectic! :)

September 11, 2011

HAPPY AND PROUD BALCONY OWNER




.. this balcony has by the way been taken really good care of earlier as well, you can see it here if you don't remember .. but yes, it has just been a little bit neglected for some months this summer when no one was staying at the flat. Now its back in shape again and I hope it doesn't get too cold yet, so that we can enjoy it for some more weeks:)