La Molina

Hola amigos,

we were off skiing again this weekend! It is a true bliss to live only 2hrs away from the slopes, yet next to the ocean ;)
Off we went to La Molina, where Mattes had already been last year. We had a huuuge bunch of people, Fish, Davide and Jeff in our car and 8 others in a van! We paired up once we got there and hit the slopes - it was snowing like crazy and had been for days, so it was puuuure powder! Sooooo beautiful!!! I would like to thank Marissa, Enikö and Mareike, all experienced skiiers, for taking me by the hand and heading down the craziness with me. Since you saved me quite a few times I will forgive you taking me down a black slope "by mistake" ;)))
The snow was so perfect and the next day had scheduled sun, so our car decided to stay the night and enjoy another day on the mountains on Sunday. We found a little youth hostle and pretty much fell right to sleep after a long day out in the cold. And it was really worth it - There was not a cloud in the sky the next day! Mattes and I went off to discover some mountain tops with our snow boots on 2500+ meters while the boys did some more boarding. It was a bliss! Mattes later also did some final jumps with his board - maybe he'll upload some videos of the magic. Enjoy the pics - they are all from day two :)

Update part three (last part): Skiing hols over new years in Baqueira

Our Spanish friend Elena was kind enough to invite us to her family's house in the Spanish Pyrenees for great 5 days of skiing, snow fun and Spanish life. Thank you, Elena, also to your family! We had a fantastic time!!
I (kati) went skiing for basically the first time in my life (besides the times I went with the Fellenzers back in 1997/98... shout out to you all :)) and wasn't quite sure how I'd like it... but I LOVED it and now proud to master blue sloaps - wopee - thanks so some schooling in a level A class together with Martin (Elena's boyfriend and you've seen him in other posts)! Beside skiing (and Mattes snow boarding and coaching me in the afternoons) we also made use of my Christmas present: Snowboots! They are fab, you can go over the deepest snow and wander over hills and forests without seeing a soal for ages. We took a 6km hike to a formerly deserted village which now hosts a small refugio, a place where you can find shelter from the cold and had some yummy soap and then happy walked the 6km back to the car...
It was sunny skies all day but one, so lotsa luck there too. And surely lots of skiing coming up this season!

Update part two: Christmas in Germany

We were happy to got home for a few days over xmas and had a great program, starting with a firm christmas party in Frankfurt, Mattes' family and friends in Düsseldorf and NRW, Kati's familiy im Hannover... Lotsa people, lotsa travel and lotsa happy times - thanks for that everyone!!
PS: and thanx for Davide for letting us host him for Christmas - it was great fun sharing this with you! :)

PS: pics of family festivities saved for later

Black & White Xmas Party

Hello friends,

it's been a while, you know, the holidays and all...
So, I'll quickly dive into part one of the update: The IESE Black & White Xmas Party. A blast I tell you, a blast.... looking forward to lots more like this in 2009!

Ski Opening La Molina

Dear all,

finally some comments also from the male part of this blog.. haven't uploaded a lot of pictures recently, since my beloved friend willi basically made my camera useless... however, I got some ski opening pictures from the guys, which i want to share... 

La Molina and skiing, that also stands for winter and holidays, which is what we have now! las exams are over and tip to germany starts tomorrow... so see you soon in Mettmann.

Also, I am looking forward to continue skiing in Baqueira over new years, with Martin and Elena, an almost real spanish vacation week... pics should follow soon... m

Chicas

I (kati) had a crazy Saturday this week.
It started with a cava brunch at Katharina's with 9 girls from IESE and let's just say that it was very merry, very chatty and the biscuits were fabulous.
I was still sobering up when I left for una cena de chicas with Montse, Carmen, Puri (all the way from Sevillaaaaaa!) and Tina (who was sick and couldn't come :-() and Julia (who became sick and had to leave :-(). That left me and my three espaniolas to party until 6am and we did (our beloved El Parco, then various cocktails and in Luz de Gas until they kicked us out... :))!!! Que noche mas buenisima chicaaaas!! Hasta la proximaaaaa! Und ganz schnell wieder gesund werden, Julehase und Tina!

Xmas Dinner en nuestra casa

It's the holiday season and Mattes wanted to share some special time with some of our closest people at IESE - so we had everyone over for an Xmas dinner. It was - once again - very interactive, with the highlight of Martin and Lenny making suuuper yummy Kaiserschmarn in the kitchen (with secretly imported Bavarian apple mousse), 10 bottles of wine, many funny presents and all in all a really nice evening. Come back soon, guys!

Lisa's Bday

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

We had a cool evening together, pre-partying, with reeeeally yummy Asian food and some highly curious shots... I wonder how long you guys pulled through... :))

Besitos guapa!*

World Press Photo Exhibition Walk

Yesterday we had a public holiday and went for a lovely walk around our BCN. We actually live 5min. walk from some great museums, and we took advantage of it this time, visiting the World Press Photo 2008 exhibition in the CCCB.
The photos were very interesting - but the building and its patios were maybe even more memorable on this winter afternoon.
But my personal highlight was the Asian store we stumbled over - FINALLY! Affordable spices and curries and all the things we need to make sushi! Olé!

Suprise Visit in Hannover for Mummy's Bday

As I (kati) was in Germany once again for interviews, I thought I'd surprise Mummy on her bday, which is on December 6th, so the German Nikolaus.
Dad helped plan it all and she was really surprised and happy - even though I could only stay for about 16 hours. We had a nice evening at friends of my parents and then a wonderful long breakfast with Oma and Opa.
Now I'm looking forward to coming back home for Christmas even more :)

Mo'vember Party on Nov. 30th

As you will have seen on the pics, Mattes has been sporting a Mo(ustache) for some now - to be exact since the beginning of November.
It's all in the sense of Mo'vember, a movement to raise money for Prostate Cancer research. Men agree to grow and keep a Mo in November and are sponsored to do so!
I actually really like his and maybe he'll even keep it... Manly man!
Anyway, so there was a final party with - yes you guessed it - dressing up! And Davide and Mattes represented IESE's team and showed best tennis action on the dance floor. Olé!

Autumn afternoon at the Beach

Even though it has become cooler, it's still beautifully sunny most days and you can wrap yourself up and head out for the beach.

It's still really nice to be at the water - and we spent some hours in a chiringuito with Tina and Jan (shout out to them right here ;)) drinking tea and/or beer.