THE LAST WEEKS

before school starts again are not an easy time. Somewhere between being excited and anxious we decided to have a last round of summer activities: days on the beach (our new favorite: Lake Phalen), brunches and dinners with friends, a BBQ in the backyard, and a lot of home improvement projects to get our place ready for a new year. Summer was great, now we're ready to move on.

Enjoying Lake Phalen beach with Jenna and George



A great and extremely entertaining night with Paul and Chika (and baby Zebra)

Our party table after (!) removing masses of beer bottles. Aren't you glad I don't have any pictures of people? ;-)

New, partly self-made curtains (in the shower, the office and the bedroom), new bed (king size!) - we're all set for another cosy year.



Boredom makes you do the funniest things - like organize your accessories.

Greetings from Finland!

HIGH

Calmly gliding through the St. Croix River valley (on the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota) on a gorgeous day was just wonderful! There are no words, and it's even hard to capture these views in pictures, but here are some impressions:











After the landing the guys packed up the balloon and we all toasted to our first ride. It was awesome, thanks everyone! Thanks Marko for this amazing birthday gift! ♥

GETTING READY TO GET HIGH

It all started with this innocent-looking little black thing...

which opened up into a colorful piece of fabric ...

and grew into a giant balloon!

And after our kick-ass pilot Missy had secured all the ropes ...

we were ready to go!

HELL'S KITCHEN

is not only where they serve great brunch along with funky music, it's also where friends reunite.Even though some people were missing and missed, it's good to be back, friends! Thanks for a lovely Saturday morning!

WHEN OFFICE FRIDAYS

get a little boring after all the work is done, but the fingers on the clock just won't turn to 5, sometimes is helps to have a chat with your wife and be a little silly...

PERSIAN NIGHTS

are best enjoyed with Persian friends. And Persian food. And Chinese and American friends of course ;-) Thank you for a great evening, Sara and Mo!

BACK IN BLACK

Our trip back was enjoyable in very unexpected ways: Our flight was delayed so we missed our connection. According to EU regulations, Iceland Air had to pay for our stay in a hotel. They didn't have to book us into the Grand Hotel of Reykjavik or upgrade us to business class, however. Thank you, Iceland Air! We forgive you! And, much more importantly: Thank you, dear people in Austria and Finland for making our holiday so special and making us feel so welcome. And thank you, dear people in the US, for giving us a wonderful and warm welcome and new home. When we walked into our apartment it actually felt like home. Good.

Last icecream before we left: "Totally Black" salmiac. Produced by Ingman, recommended by Jussi and Noora, enjoyed by Marko. And what did we bring? More black stuff = salmiakki (of course)! Kilos and kilos ...


Reykjavik, city of our hearts! Aww, Iceland!

ANOTHER PLACE

where we feel great because life is simple and easy: kesämökki! The Finnish habit of spending some days in a remote cabin (+sauna of course) by the lake is perfect to get ready for the trip home (the other one) and a new semester.



The curse of W-LAN: Every place becomes an office ...




The kesämökki time found a very enjoyable interruption: A trip to Jyväskylä, to Kerttu's birthday party. Happy birthday, again, Kerttu, and best wishes to the whole family! So good to see you again.