I have to tell you something about me. I’ve always loved adrenaline sports. I jumped with a tandem parachute, I did bungee-jumping, I even started a paraglide class few years ago. There are not many things to scare me and most people consider me quite brave.

Buuuuuuut…and here’s a looong buuuut, I must recognize I am afraid of one thing like hell – no, not that I can get abducted by aliens, nor by a natural catastrophe – I am afraid… to ride a bike in the city. That’s it, I said it! It’s ok if you just burst into laughter. All my friends do. They call me chicken and so on.

But really, if I’m riding a bike on the street and I hear a car coming from behind or I see some other bus coming from the other side, I’m simply freezing. For their safety, I don’t recommend kids to get out of the house when I’m riding a bike. Because, out of nowhere, they may get hit by something similar to a lady.

You cannot imagine how I look at all those 5 year old children that ride bikes next to their parents and seem to have no problem with it. Sounds sick, but yes, I envy the 5 year olds!

And, here, in Berlin, everything seems so easy when you have a bike around. You can travel everywhere, without any extra costs. It’s true, maybe the roads are not so bike-friendly as in Copenhagen (that’s what my Danish colleague said) but definitely this doesn’t seem to be a major problem for the bikers.

And, just to show them my appreciation – because they are totally my heroes  – I want to share a tip with them. So, just in case you didn’t know, in May you have the chance to check and repair your bike for free! Here, in Berlin! The Frühlings Check takes place in three different Saturdays and three different locations between 10-17 hours:

– 07th May: Alice-Salomon-Platz (Marzahn/Hellersdorf)
– 14th May: Henriettenplatz / Kurfürstendamm 116  (Charlottenburg/Wilmersdorf)
–  21th May: Kastanienallee / Nähe Schönhauser Allee (Pankow)

So, if your bike has a problem, May is the month to solve it! And, who knows? Maybe meanwhile I’ll get over this anxiety and we’ll meet in there!

Buenas tardes,

en España ya va quedando poco para Semana Santa y eso conlleva la aparición de millones de dulces exquisitos en todas las panaderías y pastelerías. Uno de mis favoritos son las torrijas. No suelo comer muchas, prefiero comerlas en un momento especial de la semana y saborearlas. Espero que os gusten!!

Ingredientes:

• Pan del día anterior y pan de molde (por si las queréis hacer aquí en Alemania, el pan de molde blanco es más fácil de encontrar)
• Leche
• Vino dulce (no muy fuerte)
• Piel de naranja seca y molida
• Una cucharada de azúcar vainillada
• Miel
• Azúcar
• Chocolate negro
• Aceite de oliva
• Agua
• Huevos

Preparación:

Mezclamos en un cazo la leche, el vino (por dos de leche una de vino) el azúcar vainillada, azúcar blanca (es suficiente con medio vaso, aunque depende de lo dulce que las queramos) , y la piel de naranja. Dejamos hervir, apartamos y dejamos que se enfríe.

Empapamos el pan en este preparado. Dejamos que el pan absorba el jugo en una fuente. Mientras batimos los huevos, ponemos el aceite a calentar, que sea abundante. Pasamos las rebanadas de pan por el huevo y freimos. Para que no estén demasiado aceitosas, podemos usar papel absorbente al sacarlas de la sartén.

En otro cazo ponemos la miel (200 ml), 200cc de agua, 2 cucharadas de azúcar y un trozo de chocolate negro. Dejamos que se mezcle todo y que llegue a abullición. Más tarde, lo apartamos del fuego y dejamos enfriar.

El último paso es ir pasando las torrijas por este último preparado. Las vamos colocando en una fuente, donde las dejaremos enfriar.

¡Y ahora a comer! ¡Qué aproveche!

Dear Ursula Sladek,

First of all, congratulations for the Golden Prize you received in San Francisco this Monday! That’s really something! But more than just the award, I want to congratulate you for your initiative and for fighting to do the things your way, for believing in your cause.

I wish I could tell you my name, but I don’t have one. Still, you can call me Greeny. I’m a tree from the Black Forest and I live really close to you.  Some say I’m a survivor, because every Christmas, someone looks at me with big interested eyes. But, thanks to the Tree’s God, they realize just in time that I’m not a fir. And, that adding a shiny star on top of me won’t help:)

I write you because I’m a mother too. During my last 30 years I took care of my tiny tree babies all around. I tried to protect them from heavy rain and thunder, from drought or powerful wind. You know how moms are.  There’s only one thing I can never be sure of – the power of man.

In 1986, when the Chernobyl tragedy has happened, I was just a kid. But mom told me what the nuclear power is all about and how it can affect us all.  We were really wondering if someone will ever take this initiative to start a renewable energy company here, in Germany. The wind, the sun, the rivers, they all said they’d be glad to help. They just needed someone to believe in their power. Someone to take the first step.

I can hardly describe how happy we all were when we heard about you and your company – the first renewable energy company in Germany – built not by a corporation, but 100% by your personal initiative and your ability to get the civil society involved. I know you worked a lot for this project, because 20 years may be just a little for the life of a tree, but for a man…it’s pretty much. But, now, that you look around and see almost 100.000 clients using your renewable energy, I bet it feels good! All I can hope both for you and for me is that you will manage to get to 1 million clients until 2015, as you wish.

I don’t want to get you bored anymore with my appreciation. Just wanted to add that, if you’ll ever get around, in a trip with your kids, I’d more than happy to offer you shadow and fresh air!

Best green regards,

Greeny.