for me, a good day in bavaria involves…

1.  eating gemüse spätzle people often ask me what my favorite thing to eat in germany is.  well, this is it.  not schnitzel, not bratwurst, not sauerkrat….no, gemüse spätzle has been my ultimate weakness since i first came to bavaria in 2009.  vegetables, noodles and cheese – what’s not to like?  piotr once told me that if i ate this every single day, there’s a chance i miiiiight gain a noticeable amount of weight.  i tried it for a week and….well, he was right.  so, this is sort of a special occasion meal these days.  ;)

2.  taking a stroll through a bavarian neighborhood

when i lived in a more rural part of germany, i used to love walking through the neighborhoods and taking photos of all the traditional bavarian homes i passed (and hopefully not looking too creepy while doing so).  they are especially dreamy in the snow!  and even now that it’s sunny, i can’t get over how manicured all the yards are – they almost look too perfect to be real.  i love mentally noting the difference between these neighborhoods and american suburbia as i pass by.

3.  roasted almonds at the market

you can find roasted almonds at all the outdoor markets here!  cinnamon-coated almonds, nutella-coated almonds, chocolate almonds – you can order 100 grams of any kind you fancy and they serve them to you in a paper cone.  i found myself “accidentally” detouring through the main market square in nuremberg (seen above) quite a bit this past year just to treat myself to this snack.

4.  stumbling across a secret gnome family

how funny is this little scene?  i spotted this in the backyard of a house much like the one seen in the 2nd photo (i was standing on a bridge that overlooked a few yards).  i would have loved to have this in my backyard when i was little!  i think i would have rearranged them every day. :)

5.  buying a vespa

ok, i didn’t buy this vespa….but i so wanted to.  it’s what euro barbie would drive, right?  can i be her?