Happy 5772 !

May your ways this year be sunny and blessed.

Here in Hamburg, the search continues... from the application forms and paperwork we have to hand in, you might think our last name was Bin Laden and we were trying to get jobs at the Pentagon. Filling in the musical instruments questions with not one, but two violins is not really earning us any points either. None the less, important lessons are being learned. For example, "Beautiful Newly Renovated Apartment" does not necessarily mean that it has a floor. True story from yesterday: a realtor looked me in the eye and explained that although the owner had remodeled the place, he expected the renter to bring a floor. Obviously. Not even a touch of irony, either.

These things aside, Fall is here- golden and beautiful , and Schumann's Scenes from Faust last night was a smashing success.


* photo taken in Positano. We might be looking at these for a while....

We might be homeless, but at least we have a Burger Joint

Mostly to ease the pain of rejection and failure with the never ending apartment search, but also because of our serious dedication to finding the perfect burger, we made our way over to the m{eatery} this evening. Conveniently around the corner from the opera, inside a swanky design hotel, this place goes way beyond the call of duty as a burger joint. They take meat very, very seriously, and have all sorts of cuts that are smoked and aged to perfection. Their classic burger was happiness on a plate*.... so now that we have that sorted out, you can all come visit.

* bonus points for the house wasabi mayonnaise

I could tell you about the Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung I need to get, or the line of over 50 people waiting to see the apartment we went to check the other day ... but I think I'll ignore that. We might as well spend a few minutes in Positano....



95 % of the pictures we took in Italy were of our food. Which is mildly embarrassing, but it was that good. Also, planning meals and eating them took up a rather significant part of our days, so it only seems fair. Fluffy heavenly gnocchi at a beach snack shack, fabulous mozzarella everywhere you turn, Ravioli to make you cry... H. was so excited about a cake we ate at the corner deli he managed to shamelessly charm the Grandma into giving him the recipe.



We were thrilled to hear an american guy at the next table unrepentingly ask the waiter if he could PLEASE HAVE SOME GeNO-CHEEEY THANK YOU !

Priceless.

I leave you with this gem of a sfogliatella we ate in Amalfi :

still here

This one is just to prove to you that I haven't gone and fallen off the face of the earth. Almost, but not quite. But where to begin? There was a wonderfully sublime wedding, a dreamy stop on the Amalfi Coast and now a brand new city plus a festive amount of bureaucracy to be conquered.
I may be off looking for a new place to call home, but I'll be back with wedding banter before you know it. And have I got stories to tell.....

an open letter to a hurricane

Dear Irene,
Kindly back off. Leave New York airports alone-
We have a wedding this week
and don't have time for you, or any other natural disasters for that matter.
Sincerely,
Y.



photo : MCT via Ynet

Mr. and Mrs.

A few pictures, not many words.

We wake up at 4:00, and catch a taxi in the dark...
by the time we walk through the terminal, the sun is just rising.




Sooner than we know it, we're already landing in Larnaca.





We stop to get ready, I wear my green dress and H. has new wedding shoes.We drive through old narrow alleys, and arrive at the town hall. A few couples are waiting , pacing back and forth, signing papers. Some men are wearing shiny white suits , other couples look tired, dragging suitcases behind them.

Then it's our turn. The officiant is festive, and wears a large gold medal around his neck. Wagner's wedding march plays in loops - almost making me run for the door, but I don't.



We solemnly swear a few things,
and sign a few papers.

And that's it! after promising to love each other in happiness and in happiness*, we are officially married ! We stop by a blue door to take some pictures



Then we drive to Nicosia and get the coveted Apostille stamps, making everything extra-official.

To Be Continued....

* Turns out we both misheard the officiant. We were supposed to promise "in happiness and in UN-happiness"... but blissfully chose to ignore the chance that we will ever be unhappy.

off we go

Notarized and translated Certificates-of-Singleness : check!
Passports : check!
Festive wedding shoes : check!

Photo Essay to follow....

Cyprus Bound or: If at first you don't succeed...or: Mission Civil Marriage - Phase Two

Exactly one week from today we will hop on a plane to Larnaca , say I do, and come back at night with a shiny new marriage certificate in hand! All of this has been rather spontaneous but necessary. Despite the deep friendship we forged with Frau D. at the Leipzig municipality and her undeniable concern for our happiness and well being, HQ rejected our request and sent us on a scavenger hunt for more documents and translations. At this point, we decided to cut our losses and try our luck with the Greek. As expected, they are a just a little bit more relaxed.You basically have to show up- which does seem like a reasonable requirement,and prove that you are single-and now that we are experts in all things notarized/authorized/appostilled this is a piece of cake. Speaking of cake-This is also fun because I get to have my cake and eat it too
i.e I get to elope, and have a real wedding.
win-win.
Sappho looks on thoughtfully....




*In full disclosure,the first photo above may be a somewhat glorified portrayal of the whole experience as I understand that the Town Hall ceremony does take place over a Kentucky Fried Chicken.

counting down

One month from today folks, one month. For some reason, this came as a surprise to me this morning, and I find it both exciting and terrifying at the same time. We have deteriorated to the point of excel charts, but Good Things are happening, and Stuff is getting done. It did occur to me that things could be a little simpler, but the fact that we seem to be physically incapable of doing anything in a normal, mainstream fashion has it's consequences. So I find myself doing research on industrial cooling fans into the night, or waking up at the crack of dawn to take pictures in an olive grove...
This week is proving to be exceptionally fruitful .Sparks are flying and little miracles are happening. Our rings are being cast ,we have a photographer, and veil and flower research is being done by my lovely mother who should be sainted for all of her wedding mitzvas. What?
you're confused? - you didn't know that sainthood and mitzva-doing go together?

The countdown begins!


Beautiful nesting rings by Blanca Monros Gomez

taking a deep breath

Well, it seems like we've made it to the weekend safely, which is not to be taken for granted... especially after being blown away this week by a tornado of events, some sad and unexpected.
Today, on the way back from town, we decided to take a detour.We drove through the forest down a dirt road and found our way to a little goat farm. Even though the goats were out-we stopped to have some fresh goat cheese and bread and take a deep, deep breath.
Now back on our feet, and armed with lists and charts, I think we're ready to conquer next week with a vengeance. First up : Rings! which is even more exciting because we get to sit with the mother of a dear friend and design them ourselves.

Embroidery by artist Andrea Dezso
Rings unknown