Using Plastic When Travelling

If you are a frequent traveller, you will surely need a plastic. How about a jobless traveller? I was surprised two years ago when my application for a credit card was approved. I am jobless but they still approved it. I guess, this is probably the advantage of having a European passport. At first, they gave me a credit limit of 300.00 Euros. It's already enough for me. I can use my debit card when I travel but I prefer using a plastic especially in times of emergency. 

Have you also heard about free debit cards? It probably depends on which bank or financial institution you applied for it but I am surprised to see one online. Don't you know that I don't pay for a yearly payment or card renewal for my credit card. This is one of the reasons why I love my card but take note, it is only use for emergency when I travel. I also use it when booking online for airline tickets.

I therefore conclude that a jobless traveller like me always need a plastic. Cheers!

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Invitations

I had quite a tiring day today.  There are a lot of things to do both online and offline. The weather was also so hot outside today but thanks to our old stone house where you feel like you are inside an airconditioned room.

Anyway back to the main topic. This is one thing I love in my life in Europe.  I received a lot of invitations the past days  from  events, gatherings, birthday parties,  group travel and shopping escapade. The biggest  deal for me is  the invitation for a birthday party  next week.  I am planning to make customized gift cards as presents. This sounds unique and I already experienced doing it before.

Yesterday, I also received a call for a trip but my friend in facebook sent me a message that it won't push through. I guess not so many people are coming. There will also be an event tomorrow for a Pinoy Summer Festival. I will try my best to come when all my assignments are done.

I guess that is all for now. Thanks to all my friends for  always remembering  me thru invitations of any kind.  I truly appreciate it. Have a nice weekend ahead!

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Garden Stuffs

I love the new patio in our garden. Sad to say, we can no longer install our gazebo because it was replaced with this new patio. I love that gazebo design i found in the garden center but I can no longer have one. We actually still have a room for a gazebo in our garden but hubby don't want to have one in that area. If I don't get very busy next year in summer, I would love to have that gazebo back in our garden. Another project that is still waiting is a little garden house. I can still wait till hubby built one.

The Poppy Peridot flowers were also gone now.

White tulips from our garden last spring time. They were gone now.

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Shipping from Europe

It depends on what you are planning to ship or mail and how it weighs, the price will certainly differ. When I  mailed one box that weight around 12 kilos to Spain, I paid  around 22.00 euros. Just yesterday,  a friend of mine asked  me how much does it cost for a box  that weighs 25 kilos to the United Kingdom.  I need to ask again the post office since the one she talked with last week don't speak English.  This is the problem sometimes in Germany, not all people are speaking  English. Of course, you need to have good packaging for shipping to ensure the safety of your items.

I need to pack today the items that I will be sending to the U.S. this week.

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One Life is Not Enough to See The World

I had some nice conversation with friends yesterday. We were talking about travel and we agreed that when we have extra money, we will surely keep on travelling. We will not wait until our legs get  painful due to old age and can no longer enjoy walking while sightseeing. Besides we  cannot bring our money and all material possessions 6 feet under the ground. Agree folks! I can't even imagine on how to plan a funeral  and   all of us has a final destination. So let's keep on travelling when we still can! Life is short  and I believed that a lifetime is even not enough to see all the wonderful creations of God in this world.

If you have the chance, time and money, go travel and see the world, for this is truly a beautiful world! Have a safe travel all the time!

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Things I Love in Germany

Almost nine years of living in this country now, I consider Germany as my second home. I love it here and there are a lot of things that made me fall in love with this beautiful European country.

First and foremost, I found my other half in this country. The most wonderful, loving and responsible person I ever met. I am thankful for having him in my life.

I love German food- I guess most men would say that they love  German beer but I would say I love German food. I can't imagine the first year I came here and I only weight 53 kilos. Its all the fault of the good German foods that made me weight now over 70 kilos. Quite a sad part of me and  I hope to bring back my previous weight.

Among my favorites are Schweinebraten (oven-baked pork, Leberkase, bratwurst, Sauerbraten with potato dumplings (Klöße) and more.

I love the nature around- I live in Bavarian region and I always love it here. The forests, hills, mountains, rivers and lakes, these are perfect for me since I really love nature. Germany is also a very clean country compared to other European countries I visited in the past.

My favorite German pastries on a wedding.

I love Brezen or pretzels and all of German pastries and breads. Another reason why I love this country. I can't say now when somebody will offer me German cakes and pastries. It really taste so good and not too sweet.

The historical sites, monuments, statues, castles and palaces and old cities in Germany are simply gorgeous. I always love history and whatever things or places that  represent  or speak about it, will truly bring interest to me.

The famous Fairytale castle of King Ludwig II of  Bavaria, the Neuschwanstein Castle.

I love German festivals.  If you say Volksfest, Dultfest, Fasching,  and the world's famous Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital of  Munich, you will truly say that Germany is a festival country.  Germans love to party and have fun.

Oktoberfest in Munich. I was there!

Since my almost nine years of living here, I already understand the people, the culture and many things that made me embraced and loved this country.

If you are planning to visit Germany in the future, be sure to plan it ahead. Don't forget,  there are always cheap Flights to Germany. Among the affordable carriers are Ryanair, Air Berlin, Easyjet, German wings and more.

The Old City of Frankfurt, the financial capital of Germany.

For sure you will really say that this country is beautiful. Let me know if you are coming. I might be your tour guide.

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Calling The Car Experts in Lengenfeld

This time we need the help of car experts from Lengenfeld. Hubby's twin sister is married to a mechanic and car expert for over 20 years now.  Their auto repair shop is getting bigger now with all the modern machines to repair and paint vehicles. Hubby called  his bother-in-law yesterday to ask about shaft coupling. He also ordered new tires since his summer tires  are already thin. I am not quite sure how much do these 4 tires cost. We will see when the bill comes.

I am also thankful to hubby for changing my winter tires to summer ones. We saved around 30 Euros  for that.

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Christmas in Europe 2011

It's been eight long years now since I am celebrating Christmas in Europe. It is always great and I am thankful for everything. I am also very thankful to all my family and friends who are always around celebrating with us. Thank you so much for your love and goodness. I truly appreciate everything. There are just a lot of things to be thankful this year. I hope that the year 2012 will bring us more success, love, peace, happiness and good health too!

Lastly, I would like to greet a Happy Birthday to my BFF Jesus! Once again Merry Christmas and and a Happy New Year to one and all!

A Baby is born on the manger and mankind was save!
Happy Holidays to one and all!

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Visit to Baby Hanna in Schierling

This is a special post for today and the story goes this way. I was talking to our neighbor last Wednesday last week. I was telling her that hubby will be a grandpa soon. It was around in the morning that time. At around lunch time, I received a call that someone already gave birth. I was quite happy and excited about the good news. When I mentioned it to hubby as he arrived from work that afternoon, I can see the sunshine in his face. He was so happy because he is finally a Grandpa, so I did!



It is time for me to slowly search for a nice personalized christening gift. Last weekend, I bought some clothes for baby Hanna. We also had the chance to visit them in Schierling, a municipality in the district of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. It is quite a nice place and I believed that it is a good place to raise a child, rather than in big cities like Regensburg. It was a wonderful day seeing one of the big miracles in this world, a new baby was born! Welcome to the world Hanna!



How sweet and beautiful she is in the image here!

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8 Years in Europe

Time flies-by so fast nowadays. I have been living in Europe for 8 years now. I found my second home in this continent and I am quite happy and contented about it. For almost 8 years now, I am also happily married to my loving and kind husband. I just remember makemypromisering.com because I wanted a new ring for our 8th wedding anniversary. I found very nice ones in this site. Just tonight, hubby was also asking me what I like for my birthday since it is coming soon. I told him that I don't need anything but probably a little wish. My friends in facebook are already sending their birthday greetings and wishes. Aahhh, it is nice to have a lot of friends around. Thank you so much for all your greetings. I truly appreciate it.

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From Europe to the World

It's a small world after all! Yes, it is truly a small world. If you want to get hold or have a contact with your family and friends anywhere around the world, it is very easy nowadays. Through the use of conference call equipment or the help of internet you can already make a video call, voice call or chat online and have a contact with your friends and love onesanytime and anywhere. There are also these so called social networks like facebook, myspace, friendster, netlog and many others, where you can find photos and images of your family and friends.

Whether you are in Europe, Asia or any part of the globe, getting a contact with anyone is already possible. Thanks to the invention of our modern technology like computers, internet, cellphones, television, etcetera, it made our lives easier and more convenient.

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Unique Gifts

This is quite a personal post and not some sort of my travels in Europe. It seems that somebody will be celebrating a special day this coming weekend. I am still thinking of a present. I am also thinking of some unique personalized grandma gifts for my mother's birthday next month. She's is already a grandma of six grandchildren. She's is also expecting a grandchild from me but until now, it is still zero. I guess it is not too late for me to have one. I already have some unique gift ideas for her and I hope that she will like it. Thanks dear Mother for bringing me in this world. You truly deserve a special present. Wish I am there in your special day! Wish you always the best and good health too!

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Freezing Cold in Germany

Sunshine is almost gone. I should go walking today because we have sunshine. Due to some things that I need to finish, I was not able to do it. Despite the sunny weather sometimes in Germany, it is still very cold outside. I am just happy that we are not experiencing snow at the moment. Besides, I don't really need it now.

During my three-day visit to Berlin last weekend, it was very very cold. It is probably caused by the wind coming from Siberian region. One of my friend who showed and toured me in Berlin got some problem with his lips because it was cracking already due to cold weather. Good to know that he brought with him his lip balm to cure it. Lastly, for those who are looking for best herpes treatment, I am not an expert about it but I would like to suggest that you can find a lot of information online regarding this skin problem. For sure, you will find a lot of helpful information about it. If not, you better consult a dermatologist for proper medication.

I hope that the weather will be friendly soon. I mean, will be getting warmer.

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Call From Ramstein-Miesenbach

I guess, Ramstein Miesenbach is not new especially to American soldiers who were and are currently station here. Ramstein-Miesenbach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. Ramstein Air Base is also home to the United States Air Force (USAF) base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

I just received a call from a very good friend from this place. I am happy to hear from her again especially from her baby boy. She just gave birth last December 2010. I agree that topic on cures for stretch marks is one of her concerns. We did talked a lot especially on travels in Europe. She said that traveling is now quite difficult for here because of her newly born baby. She wishes to go to Budapest but her time is quite difficult now. She was also asking when we can visit them again. I hope this coming summer season. Thanks for the call my dear friend, Liway. I am so happy for you and your family.

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Brussels Specialties

Good evening folks! I am here again to share a quick update. This happened during our visit in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. Me and my friend were asking that time, what are the specialties of Brussels. A friend from Brussels told us that chocolates in this country taste good. I ended up buying some packs of Leonidas chocolates as presents for hubby. I am just reminding you guys that if you want to know how to lose weight quick, you better avoid eating sweets like chocolates, candies, ice cream and anything that has a lot of sugar. That is also the reason why I am trying my best to avoid such food. Here is an image of the different delicacies and specialties from Brussels, Belgium. You better click the image to enlarge.

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Summer Shopping in Europe

I had some shopping escapades last month with my friend who visited me here in Europe. In every cities we visited like Rome, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Luxembourg, we always find things to shop especially for souvenir shirts, postcards, magnets, shot glasses and a lot more. I remembered when we went to Munich and she bought some nice petite clothing. She is so thin that she needs the extra small size. I cannot imagine how small she is and how big I am compared to her. Some friends from Brussels were telling her that her body size is the dream size of most women in their city. She also loves to shop and I believed she is a wise shopper. We had a great time together during our Europe tour. Here is one of the images we took in Brussels, Belgium.

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Driving in Rome, Italy

I just wanted to share about an experience that me and my friend had during our trip to Rome, Italy last month. I find it there quite a chaotic place especially the driving on the streets of Rome. We arrived at night in Rome Fiumicino airport that time. After getting our luggage, we tried to find a means of transportation or shuttle going to our hotel. Some taxi drivers are offering very expensive charges. We finally found a shuttle who drove us to our hotel. It only cost 15.00 Euros per person which is quite fair compared to taxis who are charging for up to 100.00 Euros. The driver was always telephoning while driving. It was quite scary because we were on the highway and it was night time. Sometimes the driver is already out on the street marking. As we passed-by at the center of Rome and the traffic light happened to get red, he still continue driving even there were passers-by on the middle of the road. I don't know what kind of car insurance he has that he can do such kind of driving. It was truly very scary. For a driver who has a lot of accidents, finding cheap car insurance rates is quite difficult. I can't imagine how many accidents did that driver had with that kind of driving he has. I am just thankful that we arrived in our hotel safely and most of all we came back home whole and safe. Here is an image I took at the streets of Rome. This was taken some meters away from Colosseum. If you are driving to Rome, be very careful and drive safely always.

an image I took during our visit to Rome, Italy last month.

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Do You Need an Insurance When Visiting Europe

I already received a lot of inquiries in my inbox asking me about the necessity of getting a travel insurance when visiting Europe. I am not very sure if all of the countries in Europe require a travel insurance when visiting anyone of them. I know for sure that when you are a non-EU citizen and wishes to visit Germany as tourist, one of the visa requirements is getting a travel insurance. How about life insurance and What is life insurance? I mean the difference between travel insurance and life insurance? For all I know, Life insurance provides a monetary benefit to an insured person's family or a form of income for the payment of burial, funeral and other final expenses of the insured person. Travel Insurance on the other hand is an insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one's own country, or internationally.

For any travel or visa requirements you need when visiting any Europe countries, I suggest you better visit their own website. Simply google it and I know for sure, you will get more information online.

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Meeting A Fellow in Regensburg

Good day everyone! I am here again for some updates. I was not feeling good this morning because I had a migraine attack again. Thanks goodness, I am feeling better now. I believed the sudden change of weather in our place is the main cause. Back to my main topic; We visited Regensburg, a World Heritage city in Bavaria, Germany last week. As we were on the tourist information center of the said city, we happened to meet a fellowman. He said that he is not engaged in a healthcare job here in Germany but he is a scholar of a certain institution. To my surprised, he talked a lot about himself including his job in the Philippines and the travel he always made during in the neighboring countries of Germany. I ended up talking to him the recent Europe tour that me and my friend did for almost three weeks this month. He was amazed how we visited a lot of cities and countries in Europe for that span of time. More images to come from our Europe tour next time.

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Europe Summer Adventure is Over

Europe summer adventure is finally over. I mentioned in my previous post that I am slowly back to the blogosphere. Yes, I am but I am still not in full power. It seems that I am still having a jet lag after an almost three weeks adventure in Europe. Me and my friend did had a great time exploring different interesting cities in Europe. As usual, part of traveling is also shopping. I bought some travel souvenirs like postcards, magnet, shot glass, key chain and a lot more to be added to my travel collections. I guess I also need a scanner software soon so that I can slowly scan all the postcards that I bought. I wish to make another site for all the postcards and souvenirs that I have from my travel. My friend who is my companion during my Europe adventure had surely arrived safely now backed to the United States. I believed she also had a wonderful and memorable vacation here in Europe. More travel updates to come soon!

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