Back again

Christmas is coming...

... and I still do not know what to buy for some members of my family.

At least I've already found presents for my parents. I went to one of the bigger towns this morning. It is always easy to find something for my mother as she is interested in a lot of things. With my father, it is more difficult. He is always so busy and doesn't have much time for anything else than his work. Nevertheless, I did find a book he'll like.

Because of all the hecticness and chaos on the streets and because of being tired of standing in line in every single shop I didn't stay in the town very long. Which means I still need some presents for my aunt, uncle and cousins. Which means I'll have to go shopping in this pre-Christmas chaos again.

Delicious!

Last Sunday, my family invited some friends and family. It was kind of a late birthday party for my Dad. As always on such occasions, we (my Mom and I) cooked the dinner. As always, it was much work. But the result can only be described as delicious!

We had bread


and cheese and jam as a starter,


followed by Quiche Lorraine


and, finally, lamb from the oven.


The lamb was wonderful! And very easy and fast to prepare, actually. We just added some garlic, salt, pepper, wine and olive oil, and put it in the oven.

Our guests liked it very very much. Especially my Dad's tennis friends.

Memories

Three years ago around this time of the year I visited one of my Dad's cousins for a weekend. She lives in the North of Germany, very close to the coast. It's such a lovely landscape there, especially in fall. Most of the tourists are gone (except for one or two weeks in October, during the fall vacation in Germany). It can be very rainy and windy and cold but on some days it is wonderful! Just look at the photo above.

Becoming a doctor?

This question haunted me during my last high school years. And the answer was really difficult though I have always had a keen interest in medicine and science in general.

My father is a doctor. For as long as I can remember medicine was (and still is) a central part of my family’s life. I liked to listen to my dad’s stories about his studies, his work, his experiences with patients. I liked to visit him in his office.

Therefore it might seem natural that I went into medicine as well. But in contrast to many of my friends who knew not much more about medicine and doctors than the image that was/is created in the newspapers and TV, I knew from firsthand experience that being a doctor has not much to do with this image. Weekends were often spent only with my mother because my dad was on call, at conferences or finishing things he didn’t manage to get done during the week.

It took quite a long time for me to figure out whether I should go into medicine as well. My dad was not of much help. He probably didn’t want to influence me – in one way or the other. The decision was made only days before the end of the application period. Until then I was thinking more about other opportunities - like biology or law or maths – than about going to med school.

Well, now I am glad I decided to become a doctor. Even though it takes away a lot of my free time, it feels like the right thing.

Sweet kitten

The young couple who lives near my family's appartment in Italy found a kitten in June. I have seen the kitten the for the first time during my recent stay in Italy. It is such a sweet kitten!

When I was younger, I wanted to have a cat. But we already had a dog, so my parents did not allow it. Actually, my parents don't like cats that much, so even without a dog in our household there probably wouldn't have been a chance for me to get a cat!

I have never owned a cat in my life and my love for cats has diminished during the years but I still like them. It's just that I like dogs much better.

But let's get back to the Italian kitten. It loves to be pet and it loves to play hide-and-seek. I really had to fight the urge to take it home with me!

Another try

During my recent trip to Italy, I tried to hike up the mountain shown below. It's Monte Penna in Northern Italy.



I already wanted to go up there last year but didn't find the time. So I postponed it. In March this year I was in Italy again but it was impossible to get up there because the road leading to the start point of the hike was still closed because of snow.

Well, this summer I got up early, drove to the start point, started the hike and even made it to one of the neighboring mountain tops. And took the photo shown above. It is the closest I have ever been to Monte Penna. Because shortly after the picture was taken, big dark clouds rolled in and a thunderstorm was getting nearer and nearer.



So I decided to turn around and go back to my car. It would have been to dangerous to go on. I was told that the view from the top is amazing. Guess I'll have to wait another year...

I'm back!

Nearly one month has passed since my last post. So much has happened, I can't even remember a lot of the things. And unfortunately I didn't have the time to write something for this blog. I'll try to update it more often again. I promise!

A short version of the last weeks:
- my dad's birthday
- vacation in Italy
- my birthday
- remodeling
- working
- and much more

Mobile blogging

Well, this is just a nonsense post. I am trying to post from my new mobile phone. Wondering if it is going to work out.

Things to say

1) I love my family. They are wonderful folks.

2) Sorry to hear that the fat cyclist's wife Susan passed away last week. To read more about her/their battle with cancer, visit his website.

3) The weather is great at the moment. And I don't have time to spend as much time outside as I would like to. That leads to frustration...

4) I have bought myself a new mobile phone today. An iPhone.

5) I like it when things finally work out in the way I want them to. Especially if it took very long to plan them.

6) Dinner tonight will probably be pasta with lemon sauce.

7) This is my father's aunt. She celebrated her 100th birthday in March this year. I want to be as happy and healthy as she is when I am old.

Finally home

It's 11:14 pm and I am finally home after a very long day. I had to leave the house early in the morning to go to work. One of my colleagues is on vacation, one is sick and one went home at 10 am because she was on call yesterday. So there were only two other residents besides me at work today - for 60 in-patients and a more than full emergency room. Great, especially on a Friday. All the more because it is my grandfather's 80th birthday today and I wanted to leave early (around 2 pm).
Well, I left the hospital at 4:30 pm and went straight to the restaurant where my whole family was already eating loads of cake. I was so tired when I arrived but after a while I felt better and could enjoy it. It was so great to see them all! The party went on and we had a lot of fun. I realized once again how much I love my family!

The Tour de France 2009 - a look back

More than one week has passed since the end of this year’s Tour de France. Time for me to look back and name some of the tops and flops of the race (as seen by me and in no particular order).

Tops:
Kenny van Hummel – for not stopping until a crash forced him to abandon
Armstrong – for a great comeback and third place
Heinrich Haussler – for his stage win in the rain
Andy Schleck – for his strength and maturity despite his young age
Wiggins – for finishing fourth overall and suddenly being a GC contender
Cavendish – for incredible 6 stage wins
Nocentini – for several days in yellow
Contador – for his second TDF win
B. Feillu, Le Mevel and the French riders in general – is it just me or are they getting better again?
Tony Martin – for his superb ride on the Ventoux stage

Flops:
Astarloza – for failing a drug test, even if it wasn’t during the tour
Evans – what has happened to him? Not sure if his performance is a flop or a sign of whatever
Sastre – same as Evans
Boonen – why did he even sue the organizers to be there?
the route

August

The greatest month of the year starts today!

You're wondering why I think August is the best?

Well, I was born in August. My Dad was born in August. My grandfather and my grandmother were born in August. That makes four (three since my grandma's death a few years ago) birthday parties in just one month. That's reason enough to like it.

Another thing I really like about August is that the weather tends to be stable and warm. Often better than in June or July when we get a lot of thunderstorms in the evenings.

And it is that time of the year when a lot of fruits and vegetables in the garden can be harvested.

So there are many reasons to like August. But I have to admit that I like the fact about my birthday the best!

In a few weeks...

... I'll be there again:

Italy!



I'm really looking forward to it. And I'm already making plans for each day of my vacation. Cannot wait. I feel like I never needed some days off more than now.

Up and down

There was not much to do at work today so I could leave early and was home at 3 pm. With the weather being kind of nice today (I don't think we'll get a "real" summer this year, hot summer days seem to be non-existent at the moment in my area), I got on my bike and went down to the river valley first.


It's always a good opportunity to warm up. I followed the river for about 20 kilometers, then I went up to the hills you see in the background of the picture below.


It goes up and down all the time. On paved streets, unpaved streets and small forest trails. After two hours I returned home. Just a few minutes before the next thunderstorm arrived.

I'm sooo tired of this weather.

Today is the day

Remember my last post? Especially the part about my favorite senior physician leaving the hospital?
Today was her last day. During lunch time all of the physicians and a lot of the nurses of our department met in one of the doctor offices for a farewell party. We ate huge amounts of cake and a delicious salad. Though we had a lot of fun at the party (like always, it is such a great team) it's so sad to see her go. I knew it would be hard but when we said goodbye after work today we couldn't keep ourselves from crying.
The good thing is that we decided to meet for dinner next month.

Happy and sad

I can't decide if I am happy or sad right now.

Happy because the whole remodeling thing of my appartment is nearly done. There are some things that still need to be finished, but when I compare it to some weeks ago it is awesome. Now it looks like an appartment, not like some old dirty place...

Sad because I'll have to find something else to spend my evenings with. Wait, no, that's not what I wanted to say.

Let's try it again:

Sad because one of the senior physicians at the hospital where I work is leaving on Friday. She moved to another city and found a new job there. Sure, for her it is much better as she won't have to spend so much time in the car each day. She's my favorite "teacher", you can ask her everything every time. Though I've spend only four months working with her, she's become a good friend and I'm really going to miss her.

Where's the sun?

While I am looking forward to the first weekend in four weeks without work, I miss something that would make for a much better weekend: the sun! It is the middle of July and it is cold. Not cool and comfortable, no, really COLD. I had to turn on the heating in my appartment last night. What has happened to global warming?

Nevertheless, I'm going to enjoy the next two days. Going shopping tomorrow morning, watching the Tour de France in the afternoon, spending some time with my family, making plans for my next vacation(s), and so on.

Summer sky

Surprise

When I switched on the TV this afternoon to watch the third stage of this year's Tour de France I was expecting to see one of those long flat boring sprint stages: an early escape that is caught some kilometers before the finisch line and a bunch sprint.
Well, there was an early escape, it ended with a sprint, but it wasn't boring at all: approximately 30 kilometers before the finish Team Columbia split the field into two halfs and suddenly there was some excitement. Most of the contenders for the general classification were in the second half. Armstrong and two of his team mates (Popovych and Zubeldia) were in the first group, the rest of his Astana team were in the second one. Interesting to see how they (in the first group) behaved. At first they didn't ride in the front but finally they took some turns and helped to keep the lead - and helped Armstrong to gain some time on other contenders, including his team mate and official team leader Contador. So at the end of the day he suddenly became the best Astana rider in the classification.
Some might say it was unfair to Contador but I think that Astana has improved their chances (more riders closer to the front of the general classification). There are still so many stages and mountains to come!