Harvey's

The inlaws are in Frankfurt today to pay us a visit and even though we are in shambles at the moment (the husband started work two days after we arrived and I started full time German lessons four days later) it was nice to see some familiar faces! We tried out this Restaurant on a corner and while the location is great, the staff...somewhat friendly-ish, the food was not the best for the price we paid for (I think that is a Frankfurt thing).

Harvey's
Bornheimer Landstraße 64
60316 Frankfurt am Main

The joy and misery about finding an apartment

This was the first of four apartments we looked at today. How exhausting, I mean how hard is it to find an apartment, in a city (or country) you've never been to? From the layout this one was reminiscent of our apartment in Jakarta - only with killer dark floorboards (I love them!) but the bathroom was oddly too narrow...as wide as my arm-span so sadly we declined, and so the search continues...

A new way of life

A different kind of shops than what we are used to...

A different kind of city than we are used to... We are taking the sights in and exploring our surrounding before the husband starts to work today

The view from down here

Not really used to looking out the window and not being so high up, but it's still a nice view, a nice adjustment also

rise and shine Frankfurt

Arrived at sunrise this morning after two days of flying, looking a little disheveled and extremely sleep deprived. I never thought I would ever say this in my life but if we don't fly for a while, I would be fine with that. The husband's new boss picked us up to take us to our new temporary home (how nice!) and we soon took ourselves for a bit of a walk in our new neighbourhood - a little tired, some things to reflect on and a lot to take in.

Chillin' at Cengkareng

Catching the red-eye flight to our new Heimat (motherland), hanging out and having my last ever green tea frappo while the husband is checking some emails before we board

Our last night in Jakarta

We are back in Jakarta (arrived last night) to catch our flight to Deutschland and already having brekky at the Mulia...Jakarta at its finest!

Hotel Mulia
Jl. Asia Afrika Senayan
Jakarta 10270
Indonesia
Tel. 62 21 574 7777

So long...

I will never get sick of looking at the Australian coastline...oh to be so far from it all

Another side to the Market

When I was younger I used to hate going to this market (the crowd, the noise, the smell of raw meat), but now that I'm older (and not living here anymore) I absolutely love it! And I love sharing it with the husband also. There is always such a "working class" label that the Queen Victoria Market used to have - and at some point, still do, but there is another side to this market, a more refined side. Here you can find truly authentic tasting flavours and foods that are organically and locally produced. Ooh we are so spoilt with food in Australia!
Best chicken souvlakis ever!

Fresh, authentic dips

Homemade praline

Fresh salmon and caviar from different types of salmons

Specialised spanish sausages

Caffe e Torta

Amids the lanes and alleyways of Melbourne...

...lies Caffe e Torta

One of the best coffees, the husband claims, that he has tasted in Melbourne so far...that's a big statement considering Melbournians are coffee-obsessed

Caffe e Torta
314 Little Collins St
Melbourne 3000 VIC
Tel. 9650 1915

Kerik

After 5 years of no house chores for the husband, I guess yesterday's work was a bit of a shock to the system for him so today he was struck with fever. My mother thinks he has "masuk angin" (enter wind) and suggested "kerik" so we tried it out on the husband. Well I suppose you can't marry an Indonesian without ever trying kerik at some stage in your life.

A hard day's work

Well arrived at home and hard at work in the front yard. As we were trimming the trees of our yard, the neighbour asked whether the husband can also trim a little (alot) out of the big tree outside her house. It was causing her a nuisance as no light was coming in her house

Hard at work...it really was a tough day

But we had a BBQ later on in the evening so that almost makes up for it

Pancakes on the rocks

Our last day in Sydney and we thought we would have a little wonder down the Rocks to check out the view



...and also a breakfast at Pancake on the Rocks

So pho, so good

A family friend took us to this pho restaurant near Lakemba and I also used to frequent here when I lived in Sydney.

There was a little bit of a line to enter the restaurant and when we went in, we knew why, it was packed!

$12 for a huge bowl of pho? Can't beat that!

Some sides. The medium size are so big that it's more than enough for two people

The owner makes the special brew by herself so even her cooks and staff don't know what the ingredients are!


An Restaurant
27 Greenfield Parade
Bankstown 2200
Tel: none (don't bother reserving a seat, just show up whenever you feel like a pho and they will find a seat for you)

Bondi Beach

So you can't really go to Sydney and not visit Bondi Beach

...so off we went and had a little snack overlooking the beach

Ok these were expensive but they tasted sooo good!

Sydney fish market

After a mere 6 days in Melbourne and many trips visiting my parent's friends we went on a 12 car ride to Sydney. Being stuck in a car with my parents was the last thing I wanted to do on our two week trip here but I think my parents loved it, and seeing that Mother's Day is just around the corner I guess you could say she got the perfect present! The morning we arrived, I suggested we go straight to the Sydney Fish Markets so off we went.
The first raw oyster the husband has ever tried...

...before getting half a dozen!

Some fresh salmon slices we ate overlooking the Sydney Opera House

And we're off!

Not long after our arrival in Melbourne had my parents organised our itenary - who to see and what events to attend etc. First, a birth announcement from a family friend of my parents, an "aqiqah" which happens on the seventh day of when a baby is born. Normally I'm not a fan of going to these events because Inonesian small-talk involves a series of personal questions being said out loud, followed by a comment about how time is running and how old I am getting...this coming from an older person.
This one was quite alright. And a bonus, Indonesian food! A nice slide out of the Indonesian lifestyle.