life2gether.nl

So here we are, living in London. Getting used to what it’s like to be living in this part of the world again. That part of the world where everything just seems to go faster. There are days that I feel I can get addicted to the rush of it. And there are days that I long for the more relaxed pace life seemed to have in Israel.
Of course it makes a big difference that I’m now working full time again. Yes I’ve found a job. And a very nice one at that! Since the beginning of April, I’ve been responsible for the corporate relations of a small company, producing handmade chocolates. And yes, that means I’m having my fair share of chocolates every day.
Also we’ve found a perfect little apartment, just outside of London, but within cycling distance from both our jobs. It’s a lot smaller than what we had in Israel, but also a lot more cozy. Our living room is all windows on one side, and it has a view of the Thames.
For Emanuel life has become a bit busier as well. First of all, he has some more responsibilities in his new position; second…he now has a working wife. Sweet as he is, he’s helping out with all the chores I used to do… Especially in the kitchen…instead of having a meal ready upon arrival at home, he’s now the one doing most of the cooking! And I’m loving it!

One of the big advantages of living in London is that it’s a lot closer to family and friends. And that this does make a difference has already been proven. The first ones to visit were Menno and Lian (Aukje’s brother and his girlfriend). As a birthday present we’d given them tickets for a concert here in London. During their stay in Israel they’d introduced us to the music of Jason Mraz, a real good musician. We all liked his music so much, that we thought it would be fun to go and see his concert.
With London being so close, Menno and Lian drove over on Saturday morning, stayed overnight and left on Sunday afternoon. The concert was on Saturday evening, leaving a few hours on Saturday and a few on Sunday to have a look at London. All in all a great weekend!
Two weeks later (the Easter weekend), both our parents came over to celebrate Emanuel’s birthday. They arrived on Friday early afternoon and stayed until Monday, giving us plenty of time to see London’s highlights. Since we don’t have enough space at our apartment to have them sleep here, they booked a hotel just around the corner. Breakfast was at our place, lunch and dinner wherever we happened to be when we got hungry. Another very nice weekend!

Only a few days after our parents left, Emanuel had to go to Taiwan for a conference. As he usually does, he’d arranged to arrive a few days before and leave a few days after the conference, giving him the chance to see Taipei and the surrounding area. He’d be away for a little more than a week. For me, that meant two weekends on my own. One of them I spent being very lazy. The other I spent in Tenterden, Kent. Dave, a good friend from my Mondi days lives there, and he invited me over to meet his wife, Carole, see his house, and catch up. Saturday afternoon I took the train, arriving early enough to have a look at Sissinghurst, a beautiful estate, with Dave and Carole, before having a very nice Turkish meal in Tenterden. Carole didn’t feel happy about me traveling alone back to London so late in the evening, and had invited me to stay the night and have Sunday roast with them. So that weekend I enjoyed my first real English Sunday roast, deliciously homemade, with Dave and Carole. But not before Dave and I went out to see Bateman, once the home of Rudyard Kipling, writer of Jungle Book.

A couple of days later Emanuel returned to London, with a jetlag and lots of beautiful pictures. Although we’d already celebrated Emanuel’s birthday when our parents came over, I hadn’t yet given him his present. I’d asked him to be patient and give me time to buy his gift from my own, newly earned money. So the weekend after his return from Taiwan, we spent a day celebrating his birthday, with just the two of us. We took our bikes and cycled in the general direction of Richmond Park. On our way we stopped at a fair and a few smaller parks. Richmond Park is quite big, and well known for its deer. We cycled to the center of the park, took a little walk to a small lake and watched deer pass by within just a few feet. Later we cycled back in the direction of Brentford (home), taking a short stop at a really big fair in Richmond. Back home we changed and left again, headed to Chiswick, where I’d made a reservation at Tosa, a cute Japanese restaurant. Although I’m not sure how much the waitress understood from what we said, she managed to bring us what we ordered and we had a really good meal.
Assuming that London must have some really nice cinemas we’d also ordered tickets for a movie…well, that was to be the only disappointment of that day…unbelievable how horrible!! At least one of the speakers was broken, there was no surround system and to cover all that up they turned up the bass until it hurt. The screen was far too small and was damaged in several places. No, we will not be returning to any of the cineworld cinemas after that experience.

Sometime along those weeks, London has become our new home. We’ve been blessed with lots and lots of great weather, allowing us to cycle to work and back everyday, with only a shower once or twice so far. Life is slowly returning to normal, and that’s when you realize how far from normal our live had become. And how much you need to get used to normal…
But the best was yet to come… For my father’s 65th birthday he’d asked for all of us (me, Emanuel, Menno and Lian) to join him and my mother on a holiday to Austria. When Menno and I were kids we used to go there every year, usually 4 to 5 weeks, every year to the same place: Tscheltsch. And now we’d be going back for another family holiday…but that’s for next time…