First Home Leave during Christmas and New Year...

Only three months after moving to Japan we already had our first “Home Leave” to Germany. How nice! However, having arrived at Narita Airport about two hours before our scheduled departure time, we learned that our flight by Austrian Airlines had a 2-hour delay. So we had a lovely relaxing waiting time at the ANA Lounge drinking tea and sending e-mails...

We were greeted by lots of different birds such as wild geese and falcons, as well as little birds, some of which came to our garden for some bread crumbs after our breakfast.

Dornum, another small villeage near Nessmersiel, is very pretty and rather old. The tradition of tranquil and relaxed Ostfriesland is seen here and there...
Everytime we visit Dornum, we pop in the “Waecken’s Teehandel”, the tea shop where you can buy a great variety of flavoured teas, fruit teas, herb teas etc., many of them unique. You can order tea via internet, although they deliver only within Germany.

Our New Year’s Eve this time was a very simple one. No party, just quietly stayed home (mainly because most of us got a cold...).
Still, even in this remote villege in the very north part of Germany, we enjoyed watching the dark sky illuminated by plenty of fireworks, thanks to a number of holiday makers staying here over the New Year.