ALLI GOES TAIWAN: Christmas etc.

This time I will not mention the many excuses I had for not writing blog. Busy as usual. But now, sister D is here and my birthday and Christmas are already over...went so incredibly fast. I could not keep up with this year's december. Still coping with getting old (25 that is), advent time was almost over, then D arrived, some Christmas shopping and wooooosh now its almost time to head into the New Year. To sum up december highlights in a few lines:

My birthday:

Delicious hot pot followed by the best cocktails in town, special guest from HK and the absolutely WORST hang over in my entire alcohol consuming life. Not exaggerating a bit. Could not move, drink, eat or watch TV til 8pm in the evening. First wrinkles from aging.

Christmas tree:

60 cm high, quite slim and decorated sparsely. But it has fake snow and lights.

Christmas shopping:

German efficiency. Was done last minute and took only half a day.

Christmas Eve:

Really cozy Christmas eve feat. 11 people from 8 nationalities (German, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Swiss, Chines, US, Taiwanese) and a big buffet of delicious food. I made Kartoffelkloesse with my sister, then we had two grilled chickens, green salad, carrot-casserole, meatballs, a cheese selection, sauce, baguette and cracker. The whole dinner was complemented by Swedish songs and schnaps and then finished with Danish "ris a l'amande with raspberry sauce" and lllllottts of cookies. WOW.

M in cooking action

Present time!!

After Christmas:

Escaped the city in the North for the tropical South of Taiwan. 26 C and sunshine. National park offering beach, waves, forest and fresh air. Best Thai food and plenty of beer. Adventurous ride on the back of a pick up truck for 20 km with a speed of 70 km/h and sister D. Want to go back asap.