Tuesday 31 December 2013

Happy New Year from Handbags and Cupcakes!

My sister and I, generally being excited
Well golly gosh. Another year gone by in the blink of an eye. I do sound like an old fart, don't I? To be fair I did hit the ripe old age of 21 in 2013, which is a bit of a milestone according to society.

Becoming an actual, proper, legally-allowed-to-buy-alcohol-in-America grown-up was not the only momentous moment of the year though, oh no!

My proudest achievement of the year? Well it's got to be winning Highly Commended Best Lifestyle blog at the Cosmo Blog Awards!

As you probably know, my mind was blown when I found out I'd made the shortlist, so to come second to The (extremely successful and famous) Londoner out of over 43,000 entries was - and still is - quite frankly, astounding. And it was all (well, 50%) down to the votes of YOU lovely people. I was overwhelmed and am still so so grateful for your support.

(Speaking of, there's still time to vote for me in the National UK Blog Awards, and it would make me SO happy if you spared a few seconds - literally - to do so...)

I find the end of a year a bit, well, meh. New Year's Eve is more often than not somewhat anticlimactic (although I'm sure tonight won't be!), and if I want to make a change in my life I'll do it right away - resolutions, schmesolutions. Are you making resolutions?

Tonight, however, I shall be going to a jolly good old friend's house for a girly dinner party, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Naturally, I have made a cake - extremely chocolatey orangey chocolate orange cake, should you be wondering, oh curious one - and if it tastes as delicious as I hope it will, I shall of course share the recipe with you all. IN 2014!

Wasn't it 1998, like, yesterday?! It weirds me out that the German kids I teach we're born in the 2000s. THE TWO THOUSANDS?! I'm getting old. But that's by the by,

Handbags and Cupcakes has sure developed over the course of the past year - not intentionally, but I suppose it's only natural and good for a blog to evolve. Since the start of 2013, my blog views have oct-tupled - no, I don't think that's a word either, but I basically get eight times as many views as I did this time last year, and I'm so excited at the prospect of taking Handbags and Cupcakes to new heights in 2014. I'd love it if you stuck with me for the ride!

And WHO BLIMMIN' KNOWS what's going to happen in the next twelve months?! I imagine more travelly posts shall continue as I continue my year abroad - people, I cannot WAIT to start sharing all my experiences from the exciting new job I'll be starting in Brussels in March! Watch this space...

There are a couple other exciting potential prospects coming my way too, but I'm going to have to keep schtum at the mo. You know I'll reveal all in good time, though.

But here's the most exciting thing about a new year - no-one knows what's going to happen! Think back to this time last year. What did you foresee and what took you by a massive surprise? I certainly had no idea where I'd be spending my year abroad.

There's so much unknown potential ahead, AND IT'S SO EXCITING! The future is ours for the taking, my friends. Let's make 2014 our year.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who has ever read my blog, even just once. I wish you all a happy, successful, healthy fun 2014, and go let your hair down tonight, yeah?
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Friday 27 December 2013

Please vote for me in the National UK Blog Awards 2014!


Hello everyone. I hope you are all well and have had absolutely spiffing Christmases (yes, even if you're reading this weeks afterwards.)

I write to you this evening to tell you all about an exciting new competition and, yet again, to cheekily ask for your help.

The National UK Blog Awards is a brand spanking new blogging competition, and pretty much is what it says on the tin. I think it's jolly exciting to have a national blog awards, don't you?

Being Highly Commended Best Lifestyle Blog at the Cosmo Blog Awards was one of the biggest achievements of my year, and I am so so grateful for all the support I received. I couldn't have done it without all the kind people who voted for me, so I am here once again to ask for your votes! Sorry.

The National UK Blog Awards 2014 is, in my opinion, an absolutely super idea! Why did we not have one before!? There are lots of different categories, and you can vote for yours truly in a whopping FIVE different ones, should you feel so inclined.

Those categories are: 'Food and Drink', 'Lifestyle', 'Retail and Fashion', 'Travel' and 'Young Persons Blog Award' (for 18-25 year olds.) As a youth (at 21, can I still call myself that?), I particularly think that last category is a fab idea.

My blog is ever evolving, as anyone who's been following my ramblings for a while may know, so it's really exciting for me to be entered into so many different categories. If I manage to have any success in one area, who knows how Handbags and Cupcakes will develop over 2014!

So, just how would you go about voting? Well, lovely people, allow me to make it as simple as possible for you.

Here are my five categories, and each one is linked to the appropriate page:

Food and Drink

Lifestyle

Retail and Fashion

Travel

Young Persons Blog Award (18-25)

After you've clicked the above links, a new page will open, and you simply click on 'vote now'. From there, all you have to do is pop in your name and email address (my blog name, the category and blog type should be already filled in automatically) and Bob's you uncle! You're sorted. A few seconds of your time, a vote for Handbags and Cupcakes and a massive smile on my face.

My award from the Cosmo Blog Awards was such a big boost to me, and I know my blog has come on leaps and bounds since. Just a little bit of recognition can do wonders for a blogger, and it would be absolutely amazing to get another little nod for my efforts.

Believe it or not, I do actually put rather a lot of effort into Handbags and Cupcakes. I love blogging, reading blogs and engaging with other bloggers, so really, I'm thrilled just to be part of the first National UK Blog Awards and the British blogging community as a whole. It's an exciting place to be!

Enjoying reading about my European year abroad adventures? Pop on over to the Travel section. Like trying out my recipes? Click into Food and Drink. Generally enjoying my ramblings? Perhaps you could show your support for me in Lifestyle or the Young Persons Award categories. I cannot tell you how much it would mean to me. Aaaaand voting has actually been open for a few weeks already so I'm pretty behind. Oops.

SO. I shall now stop nagging and leave you all to get voting back to your turkey sandwiches.

If you have any questions about voting, or anything I've unsaid is unclear, do drop me a comment and I'll do my best to help. I'm honestly super grateful for every single vote and second of your time.

MUCHO MUCHO THANKS! Rachel x
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Tuesday 24 December 2013

RECIPE: Spiced mince pie cupcakes with cinnamon-vanilla icing


I love mince pies, and I love cupcakes, so HELLO! Why have I never tried to combine them before? These mince pie cupcakes are a welcome addition to our very well-stocked pantry of Christmas goodies, and have gone down a treat with both family and friends alike.


However I'm a little bit annoyed. Not so annoyed that my festive cheer has dimmed, oh no, but just slightly. I made these cupcakes yesterday, took a couple of snaps on my iPhone, then whacked out my snazzy camera to take a load of pics should the cupcakes be considered blogworthy. (And they totally are. You need to make these.)


Alas, it's only today as I came to write up le recipe that I realised I've oh-so-geniusly left the required camera-laptop connecty cable in blimmin' Germany. DAMMIT, GERMANY! So, I disappointingly do not have all my pretty, appetising, Christmassy pictures with which to entice you, but you'll just have to take my word for it when I say these cupcakes are gooooood!

9/01/14 Update: I'm now back in Germany and have added a few better photos. Enjoy!


The lightly-spiced sponge tastes like Christmas in itself (and is delightfully moist thanks to the addition of the yoghurt), but combined with the cheeky, juicy, moist mincemeat in the middle and the sweet, spicy, cinnamon-vanilla icing, it really is a festive flavour explosion in your mouth. Using muscovado sugar also adds a lovely depth to the flavour, if you ask me.

How much mixed spice you add is totally up to you and how strong a flavour you fancy - I went for two teaspoons as I'm pretty spicy and exciting like that.


Yes, I realise it's Christmas Eve and the chances are you're off to church/have all your family over/are in a mulled wine induced heap on the floor, and thus you probably won't have time to make these in time for the big day itself, but make them afterwards - the Christmas (AKA indulgent) period totally goes on until January 6th, and your mincemeat isn't going anywhere.


So, Merry Christmas to every single one of you. I am massively grateful for all the lovely comments, competition votes and general support I've had over the past year, and I wish a happy, peaceful, fun, delicious Christmas to you all.

This recipe makes nine cupcakes... Get baking!



Ingredients - Cake:

150g self-raising flour
1-2tsp mixed spice
120g butter, softened
120g soft light brown muscovado sugar
2 eggs
4 tbsp natural yoghurt
9 tsp mincemeat

Topping:

85g butter, softened
40ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
375g icing sugar
silver balls to decorate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line your muffin tin with paper cases. Sift the flour and mixed spice into a medium-sized bowl.

2. In a separate larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a handheld electric whisk for 3–5 minutes until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.

3. Beat in a third of the flour mix. Add half the yoghurt and beat well. Then mix in another third of the flour. Add the remaining yoghurt and finally the last third of the flour mixture, beating well between each addition.

4. Fill each paper case about halfway with the cake mix.


Spoon a rounded teaspoon of mincemeat over the mixture...


... and cover with another spoonful or so of the cake mix.


Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for about ten minutes before transfering to a wire rack to cool fully.


5. To make the icing, beat the butter, milk and vanilla together - to avoid splashing everywhere, it's best to start with a spoon, then change to an electric whisk to make light and fluffy. Sieve in the cinnamon and icing sugar about a third at a time, beating well in between each addition. Beat and beat and beat and beat. And keep beating. The longer you beat, the fluffier your icing will be. If it seems a little runny, pop into the fridge for 15-30 minutes or so and then rebeat briefly.


6. When the cupcakes are fully cooled, it's time to ice them! Dollop a large spoonful of icing on to each cake, and spread evenly with the back of the spoon. Dot on a few silver balls and share with your friends and family, spreading Christmas joy as you go.
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Sunday 22 December 2013

Leaving Germany and coming home for Christmas.


My last couple of weeks in Germany were fab, filled with festive food, friends and even a spot of family – yes, Miss Hosie junior (that would be my sister, not daughter) came to visit for a few days of German Christmas fun.

Oh, how excited I was as I travelled to Nuremberg to meet Holly at the airport! Grinning from ear to ear (aided by the fact that I was listening to Busted), I just could not sit still on the train, and definitely got some odd looks. As I waited at the arrival gate, I can totally see what Hugh Grant was on about in Love Actually – all those reunions are emotional! I could barely hold it together as I waited! What a pansy, I know.

Finally reunited after nearly 14 weeks apart, the sister and I made our way into Nuremberg. Holly said to me, ‘The thing is, it doesn’t really feel like we’ve been separated for that long,’ and I thought she was going to say something like, ‘Because we just get on so well when we’re together,’ but she was actually going for, ‘Because of Snapchat, Whatsapp, Facebook and everything.’ Hmph. Less sentimental but very true.

Gorgeous view over Nuremberg as the sun set.
Nuremberg Castle
Holly and I at the Christkindlesmarkt
I showed Holly the city, the castle and of course, the Christmas market. We also met up with some of my lovely language assistant friends, Charlotte (y’all must definitely know Charlotte by now!), Ross Anne and Joe for one final Glühwein fix. Waffles, Lebkuchen, Wurst and crêpes may also have been involved, but I know you’re not judging us, right?

Rosse Anne, Joe, Charlotte and me
Nutella waffle. That is all.
After saying goodbye to my friends for A WHOLE TWO AND A HALF WEEKS(!), Holly and I made our way back to Bayreuth, where we spent my final couple of days in Germany Christmas shopping, Christmas eating and Christmas film watching (oh yeah, and packing and cleaning and teaching a few classes.)

I hope Holly liked her flying visit to Germany, because I think it’s always lovely to show your family and friends your new life. I’d booked us in for a traditional Bavarian lunch at the best restaurant in town, along with my two wonderful housemates and the British Bayreuth babes, Emily and Emma, and it’s safe to say the Schnitzel certainly went down well with the sister. How could it not!?

Schnitz FTW
However, as Holly doesn’t speak German, we spoke to my German housemates auf Englisch, which I must say, I found very odd. Hopefully I impressed Holly with my German abilities, as I'm not going to lie to you, I really feel like my German has improved. HOORAH!

Normal-sized sausage for Holly

Stupidly large sausage for me
After a final evening of German market fun (involving a HALF METRE of sausage!), my housemates and I exchanged presents (they’re such sweeties) and said our goodbyes.

Ya gotta love walking round with a bag full of presents!
With an overweight (natch) suitcase full of presents for my family and friends, Holly and I excitedly flew back to Britain together.

And now I’m home. Of course, it feels like I’ve never been away. Coming back home at the end of a uni term is always lovely, but coming back to your home country from abroad feels extra special. Sure, my puppy has grown horrendously since I left her fourteen weeks ago, but baked beans are still baked beans and the Aga is still as cosifying as I remember.

Here’s how I shall be spending my precious two and a half weeks at home for Christmas:



  1. Taking the time to pamper myself with my snazzy Clinique toiletries.
  2. Walking the dogs through the countryside with my mum.
  3. Being licked to death by the puppy. A lot.
  4. Giant towels!
  5. Snuggling into my childhood bed with a stupid amount of cushions, pillows (rectangular, YES) and teddies, under two duvets.
  6. Baking with my mum and sister, and dancing round the kitchen to Christmas tunes as we go.
  7. Trying to calm down my parents as they inevitably get angry at not being able to put the tree up straight/untangle the lights/find the goddam sellotape
  8. Wrapping everyone’s presents because a) they hate doing it, b) my brother is rubbish at wrapping, and c) I am a Christmas elf who loves wrapping presents.
  9. Eating a Quality Street/clementine every time I walk past the dishes dotted round the house.
  10. Excitedly unwrapping the same Christmas decorations we use every year, and proceeding to turn most of the house into a classy countryside Christmas home, and then the ‘family room’ (as it has always been called) into a colourful, sparkly, OTT Rachel-ified Christmas explosion.
  11. Begging my dad to get a fire going EVERY DAY!
  12. Opening fourteen weeks’ worth of post as well as every Christmas card addressed to 'the Hosie family'.
  13. Spending hours reading the paper with a cup of tea at the kitchen table every morning.
  14. Attempting to try as many of the Costa/Starbucks/Caffe Nero/Pret Christmas lattes as is humanly possible in two weeks.
  15. Living in my Christmas jumpers and wearing sparkly eyeliner every day.
  16. Frantically trying to fit in seeing as many of my friends as I can.
  17. Drinking even more squash than I used to (who knew that was possible) to make sure I get my fix before heading back abroad.
  18. Eating copious bowls of Mama Hosie’s legendary, winter-warming homemade country vegetable soup.
  19. Trying to persuade my family to play Trivial Pursuit/Charades/Christmas quizzes with me.
  20. Filling up the Sky+ Planner with Christmas films and festive TV specials, then getting stressed when I can’t find the time to watch it all.
  21. Accompanying my sister on a trip into town supposedly to help with her Christmas shopping, but ending up dragging her into New Look (where I proceeded to buy a shirt – a very pretty rip-off of that heart-print Burberry one everyone from Harry Styles to Victoria Beckham has been seen in – and skirt for myself) and then standing in the corner of Waterstones reading One Direction’s This Is Us, and thus being no help whatsoever. Oops.
  22. Answering the question, ‘How’s it all going in Germany!?’ a million times, but delighting in my response every time.
  23. Trying to convince my parents that we do still need stockings, Advent calendars and generally everything to be the same as our childhood Christmases.
I'VE MISSED YOU!
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Monday 16 December 2013

On Rachel's Christmas List: Alex Monroe Bumblebee necklace


If you know Alex Monroe jewellery, the chances are that their bumblebee necklace is the first thing that springs to your mind. It's become a classic, worn by everyone from Sienna Miller to Emma Watson. I remember when I met one of my favourite journalists, Bryony Gordon, at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Picnic in Buckingham Palace (casually dropping that in, sorry), I noticed that she was wearing one too, thus enhancing my I-want-to-be-you-when-I-grow-up mindset.

Alas, I don't own any Alex Monroe jewellery (yet), despite having been a big fan for a while - I know, I know, the bumblebee necklace isn't anything new, but that doesn't mean it's not blogworthy. Whether in a little gift shop in Clifton or John Lewis in Leicester, I've stopped on many a shopping trip to admire their fine gold and silver jewellery.

Sienna Miller
The thing is, I think my first foray into the brand needs to be the classic, just like how my first Tiffany jewellery purchase was their iconic 'Return to Tiffany' little silver heart necklace. Sure, you could take the mindset, 'Why choose the same thing everyone else has?' But there's a reason everyone loves these little bumblebees so much - they're absolutely adorable.

The Alex Monroe Bumblebee necklace has developed almost a cult status, and has spawned innumerable copycats. But there's only one original.

And once I'm the proud owner of my own little bumblebee, I shall happily create a family of little creatures - I've particularly got my eye on the dragonfly pendant.

Silver bee
Simultaneously classy and cute, I love the juxtaposition of fine gold jewellery and a quirky little bee. The necklace is available in both silver and gold, and despite often wearing silver jewellery myself, I personally think the silver bee's got nothing on his gold counterpart. I can't quite explain why, but the gold buzzy little fella seems to have a little something more about him.

Then there's the question of size. The classic bumblebee necklace has a 3cm wingspan, and his younger baby bro is a mere 0.5mm smaller. It's hard to know which size is preferable without trying them on, but here's my thinking: If I had a long chain, I think the classic bumblebee would be better than the little baby, but if the pendant was to hang up by my collar bone on a shorter chain, perhaps the little one would look better. What do you think?

Whether baby or daddy, the bees are intricately detailed, and I reckon they're going to be timeless classics. Fine jewellery doesn't break or fade and should last a lifetime. In my opinion, pretty jewellery is always a good present, and I know I'd be thrilled to find a little bumblebee nestling in my stocking on Christmas morning. I'd certainly be buzzing. (Sorry.)
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Sunday 15 December 2013

A romantic day in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a delightful evening in Nuremberg and a hilarious train journey home.


I love medieval towns. Medieval towns in Germany are especially gorgeous. German medieval towns at Christmastime are almost too charming for words.


Yesterday, I made the trip to one of Germany’s most picturesque, quaint and attractive towns, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, here in Bavaria. It’s pretty popular as a tourist attraction because it’s a stop on the famous Romantic Road. And let me tell you, it sure is romantic, even when there in a group of girlfriends.

It was a Mulberry day yay! And the first outing of my self-knitted hat.
The name literally translates as ‘Red fortress above the Tauber’ (the Tauber is a river), but I’m sure you’ll agree that doesn’t sound half as good as Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Practically untouched during the war, it’s a beautiful and well-preserved ye olde town, full of cobbled streets (hence, I was sold) and gorgeous medieval-style German buildings. Were it not for the cars (ruining our photos grrr), I would’ve genuinely felt like I’d gone back in time.




There’s an impressive old wall which encircles the pretty old town centre, and you can walk along it for gorgeous views over the valley and river. Alas, the view wasn’t quite as clear as it could’ve been yesterday, but we still appreciated it. What started out as pretty snow swirling gently to the cobbles under our feet gradually turned to sleet and then rain as the afternoon drew on, but we didn’t mind. Lit up by the lights of many-a-Christmas tree, Rothenburg still looked stunning in the rain (even if our tootsies were verging on numb!)


Emily, Emma, Isabelle and I were all totally charmed by Rothenburg, and you’d be hard-pressed not to be! It’s not huge, and we had a wonderful time exploring the old town. It’s full of cute little gift shops, a ridiculous amount of Christmas shops (naturally, we went in them all) and quaint cafés a plenty.




Look! It's Ted's kids' mother!
I actually purchased what I personally think is a rather lovely Christmas present for my family yesterday, but obviously as they are all such avid readers of my blog (in my mind), I shan’t tell you all here so as not to ruin the surprise. Ahem.

Think I may have caught Father Christmas in his off-duty gear...
Rothenburg is famous for its Schneeballen (‘snowballs’). No, I’m not talking about actual balls of snow, but rather a sweet, biscuity treat. Much more exciting, oder? They’re made of shortcrust pastry, rolled into balls, and traditionally covered in icing sugar. We shared one of the original ones between us, but I’ll be honest, I wasn’t blown away.


Later, I went for a Schneeball covered in milk chocolate and filled with caramel. That, dear friends, was much better. It didn’t half take us a while to choose though, as there are so many different Schneeballen from which to choose – for example, marzipan, vanilla or coconut fillings, and chocolate, nuts and cinnamon coatings. Mmmm.


Throughout the day, we obviously kept needing warm-up stops, and we found a lovely little bakery/café on the edge of the old town called Brot und Zeit (‘bread and time’). German bakeries are generally fantastic, and this was just perfect because it also had a very cosy sit-down area. There were the usual sandwiches, pastries and cakes on offer, as well as freshly-cooked pasta if you fancied something warmer. Sehr gemütlich und angenehm. 




You don’t really need more than a day to see the main sights of Rothenburg, as far as I’m concerned, and we made sure to make the most of our day – we walked a bit of the town wall, saw the old tower gates, the grand Rathaus (town hall), the old churches, the Plönlein (a little square – one of the most photographed sights in Germany, apparently - in th ebackground of the pic at the top of this post), the market square, and the crazy lady throwing Christmas presents out of her window to passers-by below. Pretty sure she’s a tourist attraction. She also told me her son was still single, so that’s good to know, eh ladies?


Rothenburg is totally decked out in Christmas magic, and unsurprisingly, I LOVED IT! Mini twinkling Christmas trees on the sides of all the buildings (just like my village back home actually), Christmas lights along the streets and a pretty Christmas market (known as the Reiterlesmarkt in Rothenburg) to explore, sprawling out of the market square and around the old town.




Naturally I had to get a cheeky Glühwein to add to my mug collection (now five strong!), and we wandered round, nibbling at free tasters as we went.


However, my ‘Freebie Queen’ status somewhat backfired for the first time… I saw a plate of biscuits and a sign next to it saying something about ‘zum probieren’ (to try). ‘Excellent,’ thought I, and in I went for a biscuit. It was only as I munched that I finished reading the sign. It transpired that I was in fact eating a dog biscuit, which was rather hilarious indeed (for everyone else.) To be honest, it just tasted like an oatcake. I’ve had worse!



With our Schneeballen to go, the gals and I left Rothenburg and jumped on a train (or three) to Nuremberg for our language assistants’ pre-Christmas meet-up evening. 13 weeks in Germany down, it was lovely to catch up with everyone from our area (‘The Nuremberg Crew’ was thrown around, but I’m not sure any of us are really cool enough to pull that off.)

Most of the crew
While our facebook newsfeeds are chock-full of photos of British Christmas dinners from our friends back home, we went for traditional Bavarian fare, natch. Behold: Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, Kartoffelsalat and beer. Of course, beer. I myself went for a Radler (mixed with lemonade) and then later one with Coke (nope, I didn’t know you could get that either), so I’m slowly coming round to the German beer-drinking ways. Although it may take me over an hour to drink one pint.


Sufficiently sausaged, we meandered through the Saturday-night-at-Christmas Nuremberg crowds to the biggest Feuerzangenbowle in the world. You know, a Feuerzangenbowle? Oh, you don’t? Allow me to translate. Feuerzangenbowle = Fire tongs punch. So that’s clear now, right?

Yeah, I thought as much. Feuerzangenbowle is an alcoholic drink (of course it is.) Basically, rum-soaked sugar is set on fire and then allowed to melt into mulled wine, usually in a massive punch bowl. And Nuremberg apparently has the biggest in the world. If you ask me, it just tastes like slightly stronger Glühwein and is more expensive accordingly, but it’s still a lot of fun to sip outside with all your friends, enjoying the buzzy Christmas atmosphere.

We finished off the evening with a trip to an Irish pub – yes, our German evening had turned not-so-German, and I’m pretty sure the boys planned this so that they could watch the football. Using beer glasses as props, I was successfully taught the off-side rule, so that’s something. Honestly, I don’t know why they make out like it’s so complicated in Bend It Like Beckham!

As midnight drew ever closer, Emily, Emma and I decided it was time to head back to Bayreuth so we said our goodbyes and hopped on a train, not before being approached by a drunk on the platform. Naturally, Emma commanded us to get on the train and we ignored him. Unfortunately, he followed us. Cracking.

Luckily for we three Mädls, we found a table for four with just three seats free. Perf. Down we sat, and Drunky McDrunk proceeded to sit behind me. Of course he did. Somewhat generously, he kept leaning round and offered me a swig of his wine, in a rather slurred manner. Initially, I replied ‘Ne, danke,’ but he didn’t seem to get the picture, so I resorted to a much-firmer-yet-still-polite ‘No thank you,’ auf Englisch.

As the rest of the carriage laughed on, our drunk friend got the picture and fell asleep with his feet up on my chair, spilling wine all over his trousers in the process. The rest of the carriage lovingly named him Paul and proceeded to take many-a-picture of the off-his-face guy in his drunken slumber.

Oh, there’s nothing like laughing at a drunk to encourage friend-making on a train, eh? As the train neared Bayreuth, a few passengers tried to wake Paul, but he wasn’t having any of it. That boy was out of it. Who knows where he ended up! Poor guy must’ve been in a right state this morning.

But luckily, we three gals all got home safely, after a long but wonderful last Saturday in Germany before going home for Christmas. Eeeeep!
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