"Knowledge is for sharing. And so are strawberries." Frozen Joghurt @ Wonderpots in Berlin

 During my Europe tour, I went to Berlin and Potsdam to stay with - you probably guessed it - Berlin girl! During one of the days we went to WONDERPOTS, a cafe that sells the healthiest ice cream I know - and by far one of the most delicious organic ones: frozen joghurt with all imaginable fruits and sweets *_* AMAZING.

We went twice, once to their cafe in Berlin-Mitte (lovely atmosphere, quite spacious compared to the other stores)

Georgenstraße, S-Bahnbogen 194
close to the train station Friedrichstr.

and the other time to their cafe in Berlin-Charlottenburg

Hardenbergplatz 2
close to Zoologischer Garten

There are three Wonderpot stores in Berlin, the third one is at the Alexa shopping centre at Alexander Platz.

Berlin girl enjoying her wonderpot <3 Miss you hun!!!

It is THE BEST during warm spring and hot summer days, even if the weather was rather chilly with a bit of sun on the day we went there, the taste really made up for it. 

As a coffee lover, I had to try their espresso which was lovely as well. I'll definitely return when I visit Berlin next time!




My simple choice this time:

Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like...

We live in a your-worth-is-what-and-how-much-u-consume world, a fact that I get reminded day by day, not only here in Brazil, but whereever I go. Although it comes to extremes here, with neighbour ladies remembering that I was wearing the same t-shirt on two Sundays of the monthy.

Wow, something I wouldn t really have taken notice myself. It made me aware that a lot of women (not only here) are trapped in the lie that you should only wear most things once - or at least should be seen with it only once. Luckily I was educated in a different way and quite enjoy wearing the same t-shirt - I even have favourites that I wore when I was 15 years old and (lucky that my body almost didn t change since then) still wear today. Same with TV, furniture, name it!

But why worrying about all that? It saves so much money and time to just keep the stuff to its basics, less maintenance work, less time working and more free time to do things instead of accummulating possessions in order to throw them away when the new bigger and better "trend" comes up. It is probably one of the main things that keep people in the debt and credit card trap spending money on clothes each month, being unable to save money and eating low quality food instead... to name just one of the side effects of over-consumerism. To then watch TV while you are eating the low quality food and hear how you are not worth anything if you don t buy (so and so) - which a lot of the TV ads will make very clear. So you then have a go at your maybe even two jobs to get stuff you don t want, again, spend your free time shopping what you don t need then to relax start watching TV, get told you are not good enough if you don t buy so and so - vicious circle....

"Trying to be happy by accumulating possessions is like 

trying to satisfy hunger by taping sandwiches all over your body." 

George Carlin

Why not just be happy with what you already have?

Trip to the Taperapuã Beach

Last Friday the prince of sun and I went on another beach trip, this time we decided to walk the whole distance by foot for some bum muscle training ;) (and indeed I felt those dear muscles even where I didn t know before that I had them haha).

The sea was pretty quiet this time with only few people wandering along the Taperapuã beach.

Later on we went to the Churrascaria (barbecue restaurant where we met for the first time) and had lunch - wonderful as always, I just <3 Brazilian barbecue meat *.*

My alltime favourite of Ivan Lins: Depois dos temporais

Com um arranjo super gostoso de ouvir.

Lyrics:
Sempre viveram no mesmo barco
Foram farinha do mesmo saco
Da mesma marinha, da mesma rainha
Sob a mesma bandeira
Tremulando no mastro
E assim foram seguindo os astros
Cortaram as amarras e os nós
Deixando pra trás o porto e o cais
Berrando até perder a voz
Em busca do imenso,
Do silêncio mais intenso
Que está depois dos temporais

E assim foram sempre em frente
Fazendo amor pelos sete mares
Inchando a água de alga e peixe
Seguindo os ventos
As marés e as correntes
O caminho dos golfinhos
A trilha das baleias
E não havia arrecifes
Nem bancos de areia
Nem temores, nem mais dores
Não havia cansaço
Só havia, só havia azul e espaço.

International credit card disaster in Brazil: Foreigners unable to use Visa and Mastercard bank cards

Since about 2-3 weeks, foreigners (including me) in the whole of Brazil are unable to use cash machines due to changements in the criteria of autorization of foreign Visa and Mastercard bank cards. If one isn t in a quite protected and networked family environment like my husband s and my own, this must cause very serious trouble and headache to most foreigners stranded abroad without any money for weeks. Let s not even mention the coming international events taking place in Brazil in the next few weeks and months...

But back to the issue: The first thing that probably appears on screen is something similar to ^malfunction^, ^no communication^ or ^Your bank failed to authorize this transaction^.

As most foreigners, I contacted my bank which told me that everything was fine with my bank card and that the problems seems to have their roots in the Brazilian withdrawal system.

There is no official information available, but after hours of research I was able to find the following information on the Banco do Brasil official facebook homepage: ** (portuguese)
in short:
a) the foreigner needs to authorize his BIN, the six first digits of the card number), the fact that the card isn t authorized causes the error messages.
b) the bank advises to contact the emergency phone number at the back of the bank card to receive further advice.

By the way, I checked this information with my bank and got an incredibly rude response that this was no valid information, that the Brazilian bank was inventing something to avoid facing the error themselves and that I needed to decide myself whom I would believe. O. K. :D relax...

I guess there is no other option than wait and hope. We shall never forget that

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE. Yes it is. And life is a waiting game. Don t you know that! ahem...



**a) A bandeira (Visa ou Mastercard) deve autorizar o BIN (seis primeiros dígitos do nº do cartão) a utilizar a rede conveniada no exterior; Caso o BIN não tenha sido autorizado pela bandeira, o saque será negado com a msg "FALHA DE COMUNICAÇÃO","SEM COMUNICAÇÃO" ou"NÃO PERMITIDO".
b) O valor do limite diário de saque é definido por cada banco conveniado.
Diante do exposto, sugerimos que você entre em contato com os telefones de emergência das bandeiras - informados no verso do cartão - a fim de obter as orientações.
Os cartões com BIN ainda não autorizados pela Visa ou Mastercard terão as transações de saque negadas em nossos terminais. A orientação nesses casos é que entre em contato com os telefones de emergência das bandeiras - informados no verso do cartão - a fim de obter as orientações para fazer esse procedimento. Reforçamos novamente que tais ajustes visam adequar o BB a critérios definidos pelas bandeiras Visa e Mastercard.

Wiedersehensfreude

With my sister and niece at the train station

"The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are." - Samuel Johnson

Travel preparations - baggage allowance - travelbus company Aguia Branca and airline Condor

My Europe tour is coming closer and closer now, so excited!!!

My cross atlantic trip will take a bit longer this time, first I will take a nightbus with the company Aguia Branca to Salvador da Bahia and then a Condor flight to Frankfurt (plus a few ICE trains with the Deutsche Bahn to get to my home town).

Luggage restrictions are quite generous, Aguia Branca allows 5kg hand luggage and a suitcase with 30kg, Condor allows 6kg hand luggage, a laptopbag with one laptop, small handbag, an umbrella and TWO suitcases of each 32kg. I was stunned! I am not sure why they allow so much luggage, but the Condor site says specifically that flights booked from/departing and returning to Brasil have those seperate luggage restrictions. Maybe to get those Brazilians spend a small fortune on German/EU goodies ;)))

Anyway, good for me, I am not going to need two suitcases of each 32kg (also due to restrictions of the travelbus), but the 30kg allowance (instead of 20 as on most flights) means 10kg more than usual and comes in quite handy as I am bringing a few presents with me, planning to stock up on favourite EU goodies and products, and taking a few presents back to Brasil. (I bought a new hand luggage-carryon bag, just couldn't resist the butterflies: <3

Revival

A cosy feeling in my belly. Like eating freshly-made, warm apple crumble.

Soft shudder in back and ears.

Neck moves like a fond wave caressing rolling shoulders.

A wish to run and jump and love and laugh and cry and scream and dream.

Energy wakes up deep inside, simmering in my stomach.

Legs get up in soft motions.

Heart beating strong and round.

Hugging my loose shoulders with closed eyes.

Move my way across the room in delicate turns.

Arms swing open welcoming an imaginary mizzling summer rain.

The peaceful air smells like butterflies, allround a tender invisible breeze of beauty.

Endless love flowing out.

Thank you Zouk. You revive me over and over again.

A tree in the wind

Left: our neighbour's mango tree

Some time ago I was sitting on the roof of our house, my bubbly neighbour Clarinha, 4 years old, was sitting beside me. We were talking about anything and nothing, when I asked her:

"Você sabe que tipo de árvore é"
("Do you know what kind of tree it is")

pointing to the tree on the left. That time the mangoes weren't ripe yet so it wasn't as obvious as it is on the picture. She looked at the tree, looked at me with a surprised face and said:

"Bem, uma árvore no vento"
("Well, a tree in the wind")

Simple as that. It really hit me that moment. Here I was, trying to define and make sense of everything around me, she just said what she saw - what it was.

A tree in the wind.

Amie.

Amie.

My little puppy Amie was very special. A very kind and playful dog. She loved everyone. The same moment that she put her oversized paws on the pavement of our street, she ran to greet anyone who was standing there and if they’d let her, she’d lick their feet or hands and climb in for a hug. She loved children and playing with them. Even when they fell over her and screamed and ran like a chaotic whole lot. She would play in the sand and run around forever, she lived her life almost as if she knew that it would be short. When she ran to get a ball we had thrown for her, she’d literally throw herself onto the ball and floor, she jumped onto sand hills, swam in the stormy see and climbed over little obstacles we had build for her, sometimes she would get bruises and cuts but did not care. She ran, jumped into the mud leaving her shiny coat stripy, even knowing she would have a cold shower afterwards and making us having a bath with her, she still knew she would get a towel drying lap hug afterwards and lived every second she had, she enjoyed every day up to the last minute and she lived the life like a pure happy spirit. With her whole energy of bundled up love and joy.

Every morning, she was there. Waiting patiently and jumped and her little tail went almost like a helicopter propeller. Throwing her love onto us the second we woke up until the minute we went to sleep. Even followed me to the bathroom door when I took a shower waiting patiently at the door with her deep, loving, true, patient brown eyes.

When she got sick, she seemed to feel guilty when we had to clean after her  vomit and diarrhea. She observed us cleaning, looking at me with sad eyes, letting her head hang down and she tried to hide. But I didn t let her believe that she had to take a distance from us. I talked to her and she returned, still sad, but almost immediately wanting to climb onto my lap. I had her with me until the last moment. Even if I had to have up to 5 showers a day. But she realized after a few days, that nothing would separate her from me. So she stopped hiding and waited patiently for me while I cleaned what needed to be cleaned and then looked at me, waiting for me to invite her to sit beside me or on my lap.

In her last days, she stayed within 1m distance of me. No matter what I did, if I cooked or cleaned, she was there. As I was with her. 24/7. And most of the time, when invited or called, immediately climbed on my lap, whether I was sitting on the sofa or on the hammock. A real hammock dog. That’s how she lived her life. Not caring about anything but life, love, action and living those three.

She inspired me to live the very moment until her last minute. I had barely slept 4h tonight, when I felt I had to get up and look after her to give her some water and try to get her eat some liquid food. She was there. Waiting. Looking at me with her faithful eyes. Trying to lift her tail to greet me, using all the force she had left. I felt sick inside, but tried to cheer her up until the last minute. We went to the living room and sat down for some cuddles. I gave her water with a syringe which she had even more difficulty to gulp than the days before. She walked around me with weak feet and pressed her body against my back. Then she stood on her weak feet, using all her tiny strength and force to lift her head up and she looked at me. One intense look full of love. Then she climbed onto my lap and laid her head on my knee to rest. While I was softly patting her back, a few seconds later she collapsed. Her body went limp. Blood streamed out. And she died. She was a fighter from the start. And she wanted to make me happy and show her deep love until her last breath.

I love her so much. She will be with me, whereever I go. Forever.

Those are the last pictures I took of her. On 14 March, one day before she fell ill.