Packing for Germany

Posted on December 3, 2018 by vanbraman

Tonight I have been packing my bag for Germany.

Empty Suitcase, Packing, packing formula, Trip, TravelOf course, I start with an empty suitcase. Over the weekend I had done laundry so had most of the clothes that I planned to take all folded and ready to select.

Weather, Jena, Germany, Cold Weather, Rain, ClothingOf course, one major input to The Packing Formula was to check the weather. The clip above is not from what I checked today, but it is fairly close to what the weather will be on the trip.

I noticed that there were a few days near the end of the trip that were all of a sudden forecast to be about 10 degrees cooler than when I checked a couple days ago. I then decided that a heavier coat would be required for the trip, but I will still take the lighter one and use it as much as possible 🙂

Packing, Suitcase, Clifford the Big Red SuitcaseIt was then time to select pants, shirts, socks, under clothes, sweaters, sleep wear, etc..

Then tidy up the toiletry kit and drop it in the suitcase and make sure that I had plenty of books tucked away in the suitcase.

The picture above could have been taken tonight as the fleece, toiletry kit and blue rain jacket are all in the suitcase for this trip.

Clifford the Big Red Suitecase, Packing Formula, How to Pack a SuitcaseThe suitcase will soon be zipped up and be ready to load into the car tomorrow for the trip to the airport.

Germany, Regional Train, Weimar, Jena, TravelThe suitcase along with a small bag and backpack will then be lugged through the airports and train stations as I make my way to Jena, Germany.

It will be a long day as I will miss a night of sleep along the way.

Now to get a good night of sleep before the trip.

Steven

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Dessert Tea

Posted on December 2, 2018 by vanbraman

This evening I tried some dessert tea that I bought from Trina’s Tea Kettle.

Trina's Tea Kettle, Tracy, California, Downtown, Small Business SaturdayI always like to visit this nice little shop which has some nice tea related items.

Pinky Up, Dessert Tea, Cinnamon Bun, teaThe tea is Cinnamon Bun by Pinky Up and is a loose leaf herbal tea.

Cinnamon Bun Tea, herbal tea, Pinky upThe ingredients are cinnamon, maple, orange, carrot, black currant, moringa and nutmeg along with some natural flavors.

The tea has a very nice aroma and you can definitely smell the cinnamon.

Sunday tea, dessert tea, pinky upHere I am ready for the water to finish heating up. I thought about using a tea ball as some of the ingredients are small, but wanted to show what it looked like better with the glass tea pot.

tea infuser, herbal tea, loose leaf teaThis is an interesting picture as I have never had it take so long for the water to drain out of the infuser. The small pieces are clogging up the slits. I think I will definitely use a mesh ball in the future.

dessert tea, cinnamon bun tea, pinky up, herbal teaYou can also see that small particles have escaped the infuser. The brewed tea had a nice aroma, and it was time for the tasting.

I definitely got the cinnamon taste and there was also a cake taste. However, it was not a definite cinnamon bun taste. However, maybe it is a flavor profile that has to develop so I will have to try it again sometime soon (with a tea ball).

I did like the taste of the tea and it definitely tastes like a dessert 🙂

There are some other Pinky Up flavors that I want to try. One of them is a chocolate mint rooibos. It definitely sounds like it would taste good.

Steven

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