Watching German Football

Football, known as Fussball in German, is the national and most famous sport in Germany. Last Wednesday night, I watched the close game played between Schalke and Mönchengladbach. It was a very interesting fight that I watched it until it was over. Mönchengladbach won with a score of 5-3 and they remain in the First Football League in Germany. It is normal that in every game especially during championships, sports trophies are always awarded. This year's champion of German football is the team of Borussia Dortmund. My favorite Bayern Munich garnered only the third place. So sad for them but that is sport, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose! Good luck next time!

Beautiful Winter in Bavaria

The sun is shining outside.
But I still remember the last beautiful winter,
When the surroundings were all white and snowy.
But I am very glad and thankful,
That spring time finally came,
And soon lovely summer too!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

-Ruby Benz.

taken on our way to Neuschwanstein castle in Schwangau, Bavaria, Germany last January 2011. I love this scenery but but happy that we are having sunshine at the moment.

Tragedy

How would you feel if you lost someone very dear to you? This happened last year and it was truly a tragedy. My friend's whole family had a car accident in Dubai and he lost all his family. His mother, father, only sister and nephew were all dead during that tragic accident. It is almost a year now since it happened. Yes, tragic incident like this can be very horrible. I was speechless when I heard that news from my friends. That is also the reason why sometimes we have to be ready of any emergencies that might happen along the was. We never know. There are professionals like the Bronx Accident Lawyer who can help and assist you with any accident especially in claiming for the loss. We may never return back the losses of lives due to accidents but at least, there will be help to the family who are left by the victims.

I have a lot of things to share about driving experiences. Lastly, I wish you safe driving. Be very careful too!

A Visit to Vatican City

It was summer 2010 when I had the chance to visit Rome. Together with Nonna, a friend from the U.S., we also visited Vatican City and landed in St. Peter's Square, the famous square in Vatican. Piazza San Pietro, as it is called in Italian, is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

We also had the chance to climb to the cupola of the Basilica. To reach the cupola, one must to climb 320 steps after taking the elevator. People especially the elderly who have ailments and heart problems must be aware of this. We had a great experience as we visited this part of Rome.

St. Peter's Square and the St. Peter's Basilica in the background. taken last August 2010.

Garden Accessories

It is finally garden time! It is also time to shop for garden accessories. I guess not for me because I already have a lot of stuffs to decorate in our garden. I am ready to put my garden statues, built the pavilion, flower pots, wind chimes and some animal figures but I just can't do it. The problem is, our garden is in chaos at the moment. We are on the process of making a terrace beside our house and most parts of my garden were transferred. It means that most of my plants were also replanted. It cost a lot of hard work for me and especially for hubby but I am quite sure when it is finish, we can have a little paradise in our garden.

these were some of the flowers in our garden. taken from summer 2010.

I just hope that we can finish everything before the high season of summer comes. I spent almost two hours this afternoon working in our garden. I always love it!

Got An Anonymous Call

I received an anonymous call this morning. I don't have any idea who was calling on the phone. That was also the reason why I didn't mentioned the German standard greetings by telling the family name and a greeting like "guten Morgen" (good morning), guten Tag (good day), etc. I was asking the other line of who she was because I am quite afraid that these might be one of those telephone callers who are scamming again. The first time I asked her, she did not answered because I said it in English. When I already asked her in German language, she immediately told me who and from where she was calling. I did not expected that the telephone number of my dentist is already private now. The secretary told me that I can already have another dental appointment tomorrow.

I am just very careful now with anonymous callers because we already had horrible experience from them. That was also the reason why we changed our telephone number into private. We are glad that we did it. The stress from anonymous callers is finally over.

Early Retirement

I once heard these words from a friend, "I have a lot of stress in the workplace. I wish I am a retiree now." I believed her! Sometimes there are just a lot of stress in the work. Sometimes it can be a challenge but sometimes it is very depressing. Hubby's situation is different. He is a very hardworking and diligent person and he always wanted to work until his retirement age. Since the last two accidents he had, in which one was an accident at the work place, he always complains now of pains in his body especially the ones affected by these accidents. He wishes for a disability appeal in some years. That is also the reason why he called the AG Metal and insurance company two weeks ago for some inquiries about early retirement.

I also availed of a lump sump early retirement after working for almost nine years in one of the top- 3 bank in the Philippines. I am quite happy with my decision but honestly I miss my job as a banker. That is life and sometimes we have to face it! Have a lovely week ahead!