Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! So, have any resolutions? Mine is to not eat as much as I did in the month of December...at least not until next December. Unlike last year, Brenda and I rang in the New Year at a party. Our friends, Florian and Marlar, hosted a really fun party at their home in which they made several delicious asian dishes. I was particularly fond of the soup made with coconut milk. Yum! We contributed a few of our own recipes to the evening's calorie intake. Brenda made Chex Mix and deviled eggs and I baked monster cookies. Not exactly asian foods but tasty nonetheless.

Dinner in action.

At the stroke of midnight we went outside and the city of Frankfurt erupted in noise and exploding lights. According to Florian, fireworks are illegal in Frankfurt all year long except for on New Years, at which point you can buy them everywhere, including the supermarket. Apparently, lots of people bought them. We were standing on the street outside of our host's apartment and we could see fireworks going off all around us. And these were the real deal. The same kind you see at big city-sponsored shows in the US. The only difference is, instead of professionals lighting them off, there are slightly (or not so slightly) drunk citizens. It truly was an amazing spectacle.

Another highlight of the evening was the television that we watched leading up to the New Year. There is a program that German's traditionally watch every year. It is a short, black and white movie that is in English and is full of slapstick humor. If you care to check it out, you can do so here.

Once we came back inside, after viewing the firework extravaganza, we continued surfing the channels and stumbled upon a very special musical treat - a David Hasselhoff music video. Now, I have never heard Mr. Hasselhoff sing, much less seen his music videos. I have, however, heard that he was really big in Germany for his acting AND his singing. The idea of his popularity in Germany was further confirmed by the movie "Dodgeball" in which Herr Hasselhoff played the coach of the German dodgeball team. So when David appeared on screen, with back-up singers and all, I lost it. It was so funny that I asked Brenda to pose for a picture with Dave.

This is the funniest thing I've seen in 2010.

Do you see him staring back at Brenda?

Well, that was our New Year. No doubt one of the best I've had in recent memory. I hope yours were equally enjoyable. Until next time, have a great week!