In About me

Liebster Blog Award!

liebster2Hi guys! I am so excited! living in Stuttgart got nominated for “Liebster Blog Award”! Yay!!  Thank you very much Dobrena from The Hiking High Heel for the nomination Smiley!

 

Dobrena has eleven questions for me. Here we go:

1. Do you like cats or dogs better? Or both? Or no animals at all?

I love animals, nearly all of them. Some exceptions are only tics, horse flies and so on.  When it comes to cats and dogs, I like both. Moritz and I do have two adorable cats: Nero and Milka. If we had more time, we would love to have a dog. But with both of us working, this wouldn’t be very dog-friendly…

2. Name your favorite books.

That’s a tough one. I love reading and could name a bunch of books I really like. I just finished  “Guruji and his nine pearls of wisdom” by Anji Pink. It is based on experiences the author had with yoga teacher Sunil (whom I met when I was staying in India for two weeks this winter). It’s a lovely, easy read and made me smile very often because I totally recognized Sunil in the descriptions Smiley.

Then there is the book “Reunion” by Fred Uhlman. The story begins in Stuttgart in 1933 and describes the friendship of  two boys – Conrad von Hohenfels and Hans Schwarz, son of a Jewish doctor – as they encounter the horrors of World War Two. The ending is so powerful, I promise you will never forget it. And there is more about this book than  just the fictional story. Conrad von Hohenfels will remind you of another young man who lived in Stuttgart during his childhood… But read for yourselves, I don’t want to give away too much.

And of course I have to name the books of the best hiking author we have in the region (and who happens to be my dad as those of you, who follow my blog for a while, know already because I never tire to mention how proud I am of him Smiley). My favorite one: “Stuttgarter Wanderbuch”. So get out those hiking boots and explore our beautiful city! Smiley

3. What are you doing to win readers for your blog?

Well, first of all, I try to write  interesting articles about places and events in Stuttgart – and about my travels. Secondly I engage on facebook, post my newest articles there and comment on other post sometimes. And – due to a lack of time – that’s about it.

4. What item are you always taking with you when traveling?

My camera! I love to take pictures when traveling and there’s nothing better than looking at those pics when you’re back home. I wouldn’t mind loosing my whole suitcase if only my camera would be with me.

5. Which kind of challenge do you like most?

I’m always proud when I dare something, I was afraid of before. When I was still in school, I didn’t like speaking in front of the class. So I decided to join the theatre group to overcome this feeling. When I entered University, my fellow students talked about how they want to study abroad. I didn’t like the idea at first. Then I noticed that I’m simply afraid of it – and applied for a semester in Australia… then for an internship in Czech Republic… then for another internship in Brussels and then for a year in Wales… I had found out that I LOVED exploring new countries and cultures.  Smiley And since I was a child, I was afraid of heights. That had annoyed me for a while already. This spring I got the opportunity to participate in a climbing course and now I am the proud holder of a Kletterschein (climbing license). Don’t get me wrong, there are still enough things that make my heartbeat rise – and some of them are entitled to do so (I wouldn’t do anything really dangerous to overcome my fear of it because in the end, fear is sometimes a good indicator of what one should do and what one shouldn’t do) – but it is a great feeling to overcome some of your fears. Makes you notice that you can always achieve more than you thought at the beginning… Smiley

6. Are you nervous before you publish an article?

To tell you the truth, yes, a little bit Smiley

7. How much time do you invest in an article before you publish it?

As I do not write in my first language but in English and as I often do some research about the topic I write about – not to forget the many pictures I always take Smiley – it takes me between one and three hours to finish an article. But it is so much fun, I don’t notice how time flies – only Moritz reminds me sometimes… Zwinkerndes Smiley

8. What was the most extreme experience you had while traveling?

Well, that was definitely my encounter with a very rude and aggressive salesman while traveling Vietnam in 2009. My friends and I had just arrived at Ha Long Bay and wanted to book a ticket for a boat cruise  that would bring us out on the bay. Suddenly a man came up to us and tried to drag us to his stand. At first we were interested in his offer but when we found out his prices were too high, we thanked him and checked out the other stands. But he couldn’t accept that he had lost us as customers, he followed us, screamed at us and threatened that he will wait for us till our tour is over… That was horrible. In the end, he wasn’t there anymore when we came back from our boat tour, but we had been nervous the whole time. Instead of spending one more night at Ha Long Bay, we took the bus straight away and drove to our next destination. Well, that’s definitely an example of how you can loose tourists for good.

9. Do you like football? And why /why not?

I don’t dare say it right now, with Germany playing in the world cup this year  and EVERYBODY being a fan and stuff but…. I’m not very interested in football. Last week, when Germany was playing, I was mowing the garden (Well, someone had to do it! The grass was very long after we came back from our holiday… Smiley) I don’t enjoy watching sports in general, I find it kind of boring actually. I prefer being active myself rather than watching other people. OK, go on now and call me lame! I can take it. Smiley mit herausgestreckter Zunge

10. How often do you travel each year? And how often would you like to travel?

We try to travel once, if possible twice a year. Traveling is such an amazing, mind opening experience. Of course I could do it much more often (well, who couldn’t Zwinkerndes Smiley). But I also like coming home after a trip and seeing all my friends and my family again. And with beautiful Stuttgart in front of your doorstep, you needn’t travel all the time in order to have a great time.

11. Which other hobbies do you have next to blogging?

Doing sports (running, yoga, hiking, now climbing Smiley),traveling, reading, enjoying cultural events…

OK, now it’s up to me to nominate some Bloggers for the “Liebster Blog Award”.

My nominees

 

The questions:

  1. What makes you happy?

  2. If you had to choose right now (well, after you’ve answered my questions Zwinkerndes Smiley): go out or stay on the couch, what would you do and why?

3, What is your favorite city?

  1. Where did your first flight bring you?

  2. What was the craziest thing that happened to you while traveling?

  3. Is there a place in the  world you wouldn’t visit anymore? If yes, why?

  4. Why did you start blogging?

  5. Is there a topic you wouldn’t write about?

  6. This one is tricky, I know: What is the ONE picture on your blog you like the most?

  7. If you could/ had to start a second blog, what would it be about?

  8. Which question was the toughest to answer?

 

The rules

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and insert a link to his or her blog in your article

  2. Answer the 11 questions

  3. Nominate 5 to 11 other bloggers for Liebster Award, who have less than 1.000 fans on facebook

  4. Create a new list of questions for the bloggers, you’ve nominated

  5. Include the rules of “Liebster Award” into your article

  6. Inform your nominees via your blog article

 

Mellivinginstuttgart

Hello and welcome to "living in Stuttgart". I am Mel and I love this beautiful city. There are so many things to explore, I can't wait sharing them with you. So come along and let me show you Stuttgart the way I see it.

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