Prinzessinnengärten

After nearly two months of not having a garden of my own and noticing that my fingernails are constantly clean, I was feeling the urge to get out of doors again and into a vegetable garden. 

We are feeling fairly settled in our Berlin apartment and I have been looking for a community group to get involved in so I can to get out and meet people. It would be so easy to just keep to 'us' and not contribute to the neighborhood. Becoming part of the community is such an important part of this whole overseas experience for me, otherwise I may as well have just stayed home.

A few weeks ago I came across this amazing community participation garden, called Prinzessinnengärten, not too far from where we live. I love the history and philosophy behind this place. 

Twice a week there are community planting days, so last Saturday I covered myself in sunscreen, grabbed my hat and went along.

I was a little anxious at first, just like being back in Year 1 again, but this time a little different as I didn't speak the language. We were given the job of picking cabbage moth eggs and caterpillars from the kale, which was a very relaxing way to spend an hour or so. Quite a few people were bilingual, which was lucky for me. I did go along thinking that I may be the only non Deutsch speaker so it was a welcome surprise to be able to chat while I picked. 

Off to the next job.

With shovels in hands, three of us headed over to the compost bays to start layering some of the older compost in with some of the not-so-composted vegetation. Compost is something that I love tending to so I was happy to get right into it. The worms are a personal favourite and always bring a smile to my face. They were working busily and it almost felt wrong to disturb them. At least we were providing them with a new food source.

The afternoon tasks were complete and lunch at the cafe was calling me. I am not exactly sure what it was, but I can tell you it was delicious. The main part was made from the beetrrrot out of the garden and was a bit like a stew. This was topped with potato that had been mashed with some salt and pepper, along with a delicious addition of coconut cream.  It was so nice to eat this under the shade of some trees with a girl that I met on the day. 

It felt satisfying to wander home with some dirt under my fingernails.


Take care


Don't forget the giveaway.

Sourdough Update

I am now about 3 weeks into my 30 day sourdough challenge and I am actually really enjoying myself.

The starter came along nicely and there have certainly been many more successes than failures.

For a basic loaf recipe I am following this one and have been thrilled with the taste and the texture. The honey is a great little touch and ever so subtle.

On most days I am organised enough to get the starter out of the fridge and get it to room temperature, ready for adding the other ingredients later in the day. Yesterday I seemed to lack to energy/enthusiasm for loaf making so I thought a little pancake making was called for. This happened to double as and experiment and a Fathers' Day breakfast.

Blueberries were added during the cooking as I was following this recipe.

With a little maple syrup added these light and fluffy pancakes were a perfect way to start a beautiful Berlin day.

If you are in Perth and are interested in sourdough, you might like to know that Yoke at Wild Sourdough is launching her new book on September 25. I am sure you could email her at yoke@wildsourdough.com.au for more information.

Don't forget about the giveaway.

Take care

Milestone and a Giveaway

100th post

At the beginning of the year I tentatively jumped into the world of blogging, something that for so long I had just sat on the side and watched. I am so glad I did.

Well I thought I should celebrate this little milestone with a bit of a facelift, and more importantly, a Berlinesque giveaway.

This Ampelmann tote and cookie cutter set are up for grabs. 

If you are a follower, regular visiter or first-timer (welcome), leave a comment on this post by 8pm on Freitag (Friday) 9 September Berlin time and a winner will be selected at random.

Take care

Market Munchies

Every Tuesday and Friday one of the local streets turns into the most amazing market I have ever seen. The sights, sounds and smells are make it something that anyone visiting Berlin should experience.


We generally visit around meal time as the gozlemes are amazing. One of these is enough to keep you going all afternoon. There are a few varieties but Spinat und Käse is still my favourite.

We have luckily discovered another great little treat from the same vendor. The longer, thinner pieces are called sigara borek and I am sure that many of these will be consumed over the coming months to keep out the cold. (Everything on the board had been cut in half for sharing so the portion sizes are quite big.)

For our little sweet treat, we are loving a serve of tulumba tatlisi. These are delicious to eat while still warm, but I still manage to go through quite a few once they have cooled. The sugary syrup soaks right through but the outsides are still a little crunchy.


Roll on Friday!


Take care


PS Just wondering if anyone is going to be out on Thursday playing along with Sow. Give. Grow.?

Our Time in Spain

I look back on these and it feels like this was months ago. We have managed to do so much in the weeks since we left Australia.

We landed in Barcelona and then headed south by car for about two hours.

On our first night we were lucky enough to experience the Tortosa Festa. So much food and fun, and by the end of the night, very tired children.

We drove to the top of the mountains where we were staying and I love this view down to the Mediterranean Sea and the beautiful little house in the foreground.

Spanish beaches are a little different to those in Australia. I didn't have to worry about taking bucket loads of sand home hidden in bathers, towels and shoe like I am used to.

The evening view from the terrace was always a fabulous way to end an exhausting day.

The bells! These rang every 15 minutes all day (and night) long.

A day trip to Barcelona was a great deal of fun and very different from the Spanish experience we had been having in the smaller towns. After the most amazing Spanish Tortilla ever in a gorgeous little diner, our first touristy stop was the Sagrada Familia. The size is astounding and the intricate detail leaves you speechless.

Park Guell is another Gaudi landmark. Walking around, you feel like you are in a fairytale or a dream.

The bike paths down the middle of the busy streets must surely make the riders feel safe.

Back to our little town and an early morning wander through the empty streets.

This ferry was fabulous. We are waiting our turn to go across. There is no engine involved, just two wires that run from one side of the river to the other on either side of the little boat. The boat is attached to these wires so it can't drift down stream. Once this car drove off, three cars (including ours) drove on to it, ready for the five minute trip across the river.

After a bit more of a drive we ended up in the beautiful town of Horta, in inspirational town for Picasso.

Take care

Ich lerne Deutsch

Language learning is not something that I find easy. My message always sounds great in my head but then the words just seem to trip over themselves on their way out. Before we left Australia, we were often asked if any of us spoke German. Nup, not a word. The plan was always to learn through immersion.


Today was the start of our two-week intensive German course. 


I think it is incredible important and respectful to try to learn the native language of a country you are living in. We plan to be here until the new year so "Entschuldigung. Ich weiß nicht Deutsch sprechen," just won't cut it for the next 4 or so months. 


Our bit of homework for this evening was to learn 10 new words, this way, by the end of next week we should all have 100 new words. This is something that I think might need to become a bit of a 30 day challenge so that I could actually have at least a 300 word vocabulary.


I have such admiration for multi-linguists. To understand the different grammar and letter sounds of other languages is an amazing life skill.


I'm off to go over my notes and choose my 10 words to learn.

Take care

Reading Recommendations

No, I'm not giving a list of recommendations. I need them.

I have just finished a wonderful book, the latest in the Armistead Maupin 'Tales of the City' series. This is a series that I started reading when I lived in the Goldfields of Western Australia nearly 20 years ago. (Okay, I highly recommend these books, but that is it from me.) Now I need something else to get stuck into.

I have wandered into this and this English language bookshop in Berlin and haven't been able to make a choice. I'm not sure if there is too much choice or not enough. (Both of these shops will buy the books back when you have finished which I just love.)

My request to you is to head me in the direction of some great reading. Fiction or non-fiction, I don't mind. I just need a little direction when I head back to the bookshop.

Take care