“So you will be gone next weekend? But we had this girls weekend set for months now. You can’t be at the wedding? Honestly, isn’t there anybody else that can go on this site visit?” Over the last 15 years those kind of questions occurred frequently and my family and friends got used to fact that they would be healthier and easier for them not to get to excited for me to come and visit already days before. They would rather start to get excited when I actually made and stood in front of them. Also, I am pretty used to the fact that things change all the time. We would be planning a job and felt like we just had figured out everything when we had to learn that the whole concept needs to be changed, the event day would be re-scheduled Continue Reading
Places to Be
Alameda, Freemont and Alberta.
We moved to Alameda in May 2015 and happen to end up just between Freemont and Alberta. Back then I wasn’t really sure I would like the area we decided to rent a house in. I hadn’t spend much time on Portland’s east side and I was hesitant if we wouldn’t be to "far out". ( funny, right?). Besides the fact that we ended up loving the house we stayed in, the neighborhood has been growing on us day by day and we still very much like it. The question leaving our house basically was: “Left or Right?” Which either meant we would end up on Alberta Street or Freemont Street ;-). // When on Alberta // A sun downer, a happy hour, a blazer’s game or just a little snack and IPA. So many times we ended up in THE STATION. It’s definitely Continue Reading
You got half a day to kill in Portland? What about…? #getoutthere!
Being the tourist guide in your own city always makes you explore more things and might take you to places you normally don’t go that often which is great! A similar thing happens when you take different kinds of transportation: Even if you have the same destination you need to go to every week: If you mix it up (car, bike, walking, public transportation) you will notice different spots you might not have known just taking by car. The last couple weeks motivated me again to play tourist in my own city more often as well as to try to get to same places taking different transportation and ways to explore more by even doing your daily routine. Here we go with my new April-finds, ever-greens to go’s as well as some “re-born” Continue Reading
Wanna go on a little city hike today?
When I first moved to Portland, I rented an apartment in NW Portland as it seemed so convenient to get to work as well as it felt such a nice #placetobe. The combination of being walking distance to the city center, having the chance to always do a little neighborhood shopping and the fact of being so close to forest park sealed the deal for me. Upon today NW is still one of my #placestobe in Portlandia and one of my favorite half day activities is definitely a little hike in forest park accompanied by a brunch, lunch or coffee afterwards. One option is to park your car somewhere on NW Thurman Street. If you like to fuel up before the walk, get yourself a coffee, a snack and fill up your water bottle at the Dragonfly Coffeehouse and Continue Reading
Prasad – so good, so healthy and sooo yummy!
Yes, on Tuesdays we talk about #placestobe. Today I would love to take the chance to introduce you to Prasad. Or should I better say: I will remind you that it still exists as it feels like it has been there forever but we all have forgotten about it? My gut feeling is that a lot of Portland peeps interested in healthy food, especially bowls as well as organic, gluten-free and plant-based food, know Prasad and Harlow already. That's exactly how I was. I knew both places, I liked both places and would stop by there very randomly ( just because I never happened to be around this area during lunch time or early dinner time). The fact that I was looking for a pre-natal yoga class ( yes, I do it and it really does good to me so I Continue Reading
Fresh air, salty hair? The Oregon Coast – let’s get out there!
The Oregon Coast is big, so pretty and comes with so many great places and things to explore. You can totally spend your annual vacation just traveling the coast side. But if you just like to get out for a day, the closest touch point coming from Portland is definitely Cannon Beach. That's what we try to do from time to time and every time we do it, we drive back saying: " We should do it more often!". It’s just a super nice day trip and will make you feel so refreshed heading back to the city in the evening. To me it’s also a kind of all-year-thing to do, since every season by the beach feels so special and good. And even if it is super rainy day it’s not as bad as rainy day in the city and change of scenery. At least this is Continue Reading
A little getaway: California, Manhattan Beach. Hermosa Beach.
One of the great gifts that comes with living in Portland is that whenever you need a break from the rain ( which most of us probably feel like especially this winter) you can easily hop on plane and spend some days in sunny California. This is exactly what we did last week and besides all the good things you know about getaways like taking a break from life and relaxing for a couple of days, it amazes me how much the combination of sunshine, oceans and beaches adds to it. At least for me. As always we never have a plan when heading anywhere because we hardly ever have time to come up with one before and secondly because we like to explore. Have fun day dreaming while reading our experience and #placestobe we got to explore and that Continue Reading
Have you tried our kolaches yet?
It was on a so-called "snow day" (for those you are not from Portland: Portland hardly ever gets snow during this winter 2016 / 2017 we had a lot and that’s why schools and offices had to close multiple times) that I first happened to stumble into the Bread&Honey Café. Although it was a beautiful sunny, snowy and crisp day in winter wonderland it was expected to freeze and snow again as soon as the sun would go down. Based on that fact many places decided to close early on this lovely Wednesday afternoon. I went for a long walk after working from home ( that’s pretty much what everybody did I think) and felt like a coffee and maybe a little cookie. You wouldn’t believe it but all places I considered where closed anyway or Continue Reading
A little neighborhood spot…
Yay, it's Tuesday again which means time to share some #placestobe with you. After a great trip to Germany I am very happy to be back in wonderful Portland. Portland is full of #placestobe I can't wait to share with you. Mr V. and I love walking and biking around the city. Sometimes we just leave the house and start strolling around and every time we go we get to explore new restaurant, shops, bars, parks or just cool places. The city is so vibrant, constantly changing and eclectic but nevertheless old-school, personal and lovely. I look forward to sharing a few of our walks which include a mixture of food, drink, art, sport and shopping destinations as well as simply my favorite spots in categories. Having that said I am at Continue Reading
your easy peasy Frankfurt shopping tour
Last week one of my best friends and I did the perfect little Frankfurt shopping, eating & catch up tour which we loved. Last weekend I repeated the tour with Mr. V, Malinski and my parents and they loved it, too. So let's call it approved ;-). Here we go: Park your car at a parking garage at PARKHAUS HAUPTWACHE. Get out and refuel with a coffee + pastries and KAFFEE WACKERS first. It's an institution in Frankfurt so sometimes there is a little line, don't be afraid, it goes super quick and you can watch people in between. Don't forget to check out KONSTRASTE, an interior design store next door, they have awesome little gifts, accessories as well as all kind of premium design furniture. Be careful and don't buy too many things Continue Reading