Unpack, Look around and Maultaschen

Since tonight we have 3 full days behind us and slowly settling in. Well, our apartment is quite spartan in terms of furnishings, apart from the furniture that is already there, and only equipped with what we need immediately and is light enough for our luggage (2 sets of plastic dishes, towels, Löwensenf,...). In return, we were already able to explore our immediate surroundings to some extent...

Restaurants: The selection is almost inexhaustible, it feels like there is a shopping center with noodle stalls, pizzerias, soup stands, sushi restaurants or shops with food whose pictures are not clearly identifiable on every street corner. Accordingly high are the expectations. So far, we have already found a favorite for soups and dumplings. The culinary experimentum continues...

Nature and Parks: If someone imagines only crowds of people and a concrete jungle when thinking of China, Suzhou is a little surprise. Of course, the Venice of the East is not a sleepy little town. With 9 million inhabitants, the many canals, rivers, parks and the JinJie Lake, which we can look out onto from our apartment, offer a surprisingly natural quality of life (even though most of it is not actually of natural origin). In the center of the historic old town, the over 500-year-old "Garden of the Humble Administrator" turned out to be a surprising oasis of relaxation and tranquility. As soon as we entered, the constantly noticeable traffic seemed to disappear.

Shopping: There are supermarkets ranging from Chinese ones with live crabs and dried fish chips to Western ones with Hochwald milk and pickles. Accordingly, our hoarding supplies of food are not as necessary as feared, but having is better than needing :-) The only thing that is still missing is a Nutella fountain, you can guess three times for whom ;-)

Anna & Simon