Maldives III

Olaf was really keen to go big game fishing, instead, we went sunset fishing. Traditional Maldivinian fishing is almost as thrilling and less cumbersome- just a line, hook and hunk of bait.

I caught one fish, which was great until the the Russians next to us caught three. The chef prepared our catch for us the next day at lunch. We were totally happy with our little fish, until the Russians decided to rub in the extent of their fishing prowess, and sent some of their overabundance to our table. To be honest, our lovely little swimmer tasted much better than their big ass bottom-crawler.

Winter Wonderland

Last night Olaf and I ventured out in the snow to meet some of his old friends from school. The snow was really coming down, making the walk into the old town that much more magical. That's me above, on Olaf's street.
This is the old city hall. If you turn 30 and are still single, your friends will drag you to this still used building, and you must sweep the stairs like an old maid. Of course, everyone sits around and drinks lots of beer afterward.
After Christmas the children are allowed to eat the gingerbread house, which is about 12 feet tall.

Christmas Market IV

We rode the carousel at the market. It's over a hundred years old! Claudia rode it with Gerrit and Olaf when they were boys.

Christmas Market III

Making feuerzangenbowle in the Christmas market. One of these big copper kettles exploded early on in December. A scandal for the Osnabrueckers, who are still talking about the lack of regulation on mulled wine kettles, and the tragedy of the spilled gallons of that sweet nectar.



Birgit and Gerrit met us at the Christmas market. It was so cold, but we were warmed up by our feuerzangenbowle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feuerzangenbowle. Gerrit made it at home once, but used too much rum, so the whole thing exploded all over the kitchen.

Christmas Market II

Wolfgang also has a love of Kartoffelpuffer, so we shared a portion of that crispy, fried, potato goodness while on the Christmas market.

Christmas Market

Yesterday we arrived in Osnabrück, Olaf's hometown. Despite the travel mess in London, we made it out just fine.

Last night was the last night of the Christmas market, so it was a must-do for us and the other Gurks.

This is the old town, which was full of Christmas shoppers, and so gorgeous with the fresh snow and twinkling Christmas lights.

The store on the right, in the second photo, is Leysieffer. Our wedding favors came from there, via Wolfgang. They have wonderful cakes and candies, but we like their mulled wine the best.

Maldives II

Happy girl in the Maldives! I didn't blow dry or style my hair the whole week :)

We saw lots of sting rays from our balcony, but none while snorkeling. I saw a massive manta ray while snorkeling outside the reef.

Most mornings I was up to see the sunrise around 7am. It was about 85 degrees and humid, even at that time in the morning.

On Wednesday, we went with three German couples on a special trip to swim with whale-sharks. It took an hour by speedboat to get to the specific island where they live. Our guide would spot them while standing atop our boat, then jump immediately into the water while yelling at us to follow. The whale sharks are massive, growing up to 40 feet long.

Maldives

Our little water villa.

The beach on the resort's little island. You can walk around the whole thing in 20 minutes.

Pool on our balcony. There are also steps leading down to the water,
which was perfect for snorkeling in the reef around the villas.

FINALLY!!!!

After two years, we went on our honeymoon. We stayed at the Constance Halaveli, in the Maldives.

Getting Started

Hello there!
We are starting a blog at the request of my lovely sister, Rebecca.
Love love, Olaf and Michelle