Miss Euro Blogger - Bursting the Bubble

If you could spend 5 minutes with someone who is dead, who would you choose? I would chose my dog Jake. We only spent four years together because he was already 10 years old when I adopted him and after three years, his health  deteriorated rapidly. He crossed the rainbow bridge after being diagnosed with a brain tumor and his body functions shutting down one after the other. I was never as mentally and physically healthy as I was when I had Jake in my life. I did not have a cold or even a headache while I had him. I did not miss a day of work or university. I was fit because I had to walk him several times a day. Whenever I was stressed or sad, he cheered me up with a smile or dropping his favorite ball in my lap to play - or by simply rolling onto his back when sleeping, which always made me laugh out loud. I certainly never understood why he loved laying down on my yoga mat when I was doing my pilates exercises. Whenever I lifted my legs up to the ceiling and then back down ...

When I was a teenager, fourty was always my scary-age. People who were fourty were officially 'old'. They were boring, had a steady job and had the same routine everyday. Their lives seemed basically over and they were just waiting for death to come. Last week, I turned 39. I have twelve months to go before I am officially 'old'...   via GIPHY My late thirties snuck up on me like a bold eagle on its prey. I CANNOT believe I just turned 39 - the last year in my thirties has begun. I still remember waking up the day after my 29th birthday. A sense of panic came over me and I started to cry. At the time, I thought the midlife crisis was upon me. So I was waiting for it to set in. I wasn't sure what it would feel like but I was ready for it. And then... it never came! I had a blast in my thirties! I lived life to the fullest. At the time, I lived in Santa Monica, just minutes from the beach. I was in top shape - as most people living in LA are - and I had a great ...

I grew up in the Austrian countryside in the 1980s. People were less open minded at the time - even more so in the small alpine villages. The biggest crime you committed as a woman was being a divorcee. Something must be wrong with her. She must have neglected her marital duties - either in the kitchen or another room. It was never questioned what was wrong with the guy and that he may have been at fault. Divorce was always seen as a failure. Why is it that society at large pities divorced people (mainly women)? Why is it that we see divorce as something negative. I once sat next to two sisters who were both in their 50s. One was married to the same man for the last thirty years. The other was on her second marriage. The latter told the other one commenting on her upcoming wedding anniversary: "I admire you for being married to the same man for that long." She sounded sad while she said that - and her second husband was sitting next to her. I thought to myself 'Didn...

Today marks the 15th anniversary of 9/11. Do you remember where you were when it happened? I was in Salzburg at an Irish pub. CNN was running on the TV. Both towers were still standing. I asked the guy behind the bar what happened and he told me about the planes that hit the World Trade Center. "Was it an accident?" "I don't think so..." I only came to confirm a reservation but stayed to watch and find out more. The longer I watched the more scared I got. Why? Because I had a plane ticket going to America for only 10 days after this fateful day that changed the world. Soon it became evident that I was moving to a country that is about to enter into a war. What did that mean? More terror attacks within the U.S.? Fighting on the streets? Bombings? I didn't know what to expect. When I arrived at LAX, the airport was filled with guys holding guns. Helicopters circled above the city nonstop. It seemed like a movie. CNN was on all day and all night long. Loo...

I experienced Thanksgiving in Los Angeles as being the most important holiday for Americans. It seemed even more important than Christmas. Friends booked flights to go home across the country months in advance in anticipation of the long weekend. Friends staying in town invited others over to make sure, no one is alone on this day. As someone who wasn't born in the US, I did not grow up with this holiday. People look forward and fear it all year at the same time. They are happy to go back home to see family although they know that they will also get into a fight with at least one person at the dinner table. As a vegetarian, Thanksgiving was not my kind of holiday. It was a 'eat meat stuffed with meat' kinda day. One year, I skipped Thanksgiving all together and went down to New Orleans for the long weekend with a friend. That was my favorite Thanksgiving of all time! Very relaxed! With Thanksgiving coming up this week, the question of 'What are you thankful for?...