Part 95: Tissues, Not My Shoes!

Today was a good day :D

Currently, I am sitting with Sally next to me watching me type and failing miserably with the amount of typos I have made in this one sentence. FAIL.

So! I shall start in the morning where I woke up at 10.30 (sleep in!) and then sat around the TV and laptop with Louisa and the Davidsons watching random stuff on telly. Sally would like to add that she was absent as she was sleeping. She claims to not have seen me at all this morning. I have no idea. Memory. Fading.

So at 12ish Louisa and I went into Glasgow with the intentions of going to the Kelvin Grove Art Museum. On the train trip we went through our coupon book we found the other day and realised we were hungry. Fortunately for us the coupon booklet had a 10% discount for a lovely little teahouse named the Willowtree Tea House. We went there. Good times. The building was designed by some dude named Mckintosh (Louisa spelt that) I wouldn't be able to explain if that means something or not, but its apparently a feature of this particular place making it unique. We were going to just have tea and a dessert but got sucked in by the menu making us have lunch and dessert (for me, Scrambled eggs and lemon meringue pie) it was epically awesome and with our discount, still bloody expensive but worth it... sure.

After lunch we toured around Glasgow buying a camera for me... yes, I bought a new bloody camera; FINALLY. Its a cool one too and only costed...too much for me to say (not that much really) We also saw kids running around with bubbles which was awesome. I like bubbles. I should mention that the streets were SO crowded it was amazing. We took photos, on Louisas camera so sorry, none for you.

When we finally decided to go to the Kelvin Grove place it was 3ish and took us about half an hour to get there by foot. It was a nice walk full of complaints and whinges (not all by me!) and many-a-photos (by me!) We finally got to the museum which had free entry so we went in and ripped the museum to shreds with our mad picking-on skills. Not really! It was a fun little museum to hang out in and I really enjoyed it, actually. Its no Louvre, but its cool. The building was pretty epic too and there was Glasgow uni behind it which was so impressive to look out. Win.

We then caught a bus back into the centre of the city and then walked around a bit before catching the train back into Muirend. When we arrived back home everyone was busy but we did have a brief chat to Al about our day and his. The kids had a nice day in the park with a Boomerang... Aussies. hehe.

Eventually we watched MORE tv (win!) and then Al, Louisa and I sat outside with a beer in hand and the sun shining for a lovely afternoon chat. Well it was a nice afternoon chat until, dun dun duuunnn! AJ came along with his bloody water pistol and squirted us. Oh and Sally was there too. Yes, so he squirted us and then I was all
"If you squirt me one more time, I will throw you over the fence" - he stopped.
Then after more squirting of the others, Sally and Louisa decided threatening was the only strategy for getting what you wanted so they said:
"If you squirt me one more time, I will throw you over the other fence" - he stopped...temporarily until he 'accidently' squirted Sally. This led to outrage! AJ didn't want to get thrown over the fence so, the only reasonable solution was to make AJ our personal slave. For the next 10 hours. Duh.

Our first devious instruction for the poor little AJ was to bring us all food and also the box of tissues for me. AJ ran inside, desperate to not fail and bought us back each a snacky item (malteasers-win) and also my... shoes. The poor kid. He thought I said 'My shoes' not 'tissues' so ran into my room to find my shoes and bring them to me... sigh. He did figure out his mistake when I was disappointed, but in hysterics *facepalm* (that was Sally)

Then when it began to cool we sat back inside and the rest of the day was wasted... in front of the TV and laptop..Its a good life. :D

Would Sally like to add anything?

Yay!!! I want my own blog, but I'm not allowed one
D:

Right now, well, I'm sitting here... typing...
*duh*

Byez!

P.S. My favourite word is awesomesauce. xD

Catchya! (OMG COLOUR)

Part 94: Cant. Breathe.

I cant breathe. I am bloody sick.

After waking up at 9.00am I couldn't breathe thus I watched Smallville- it makes sense. I then went back to sleep and woke up at 12.04. Had a sandwhich Al made, watched TV. Watched TV. Watched TV. Louisa and I were both so sick that we couldn't be stuffed doing anything. I couldn't anyway. I really wanted to but kept dozing off all day. We'll do something tomorrow.

To make up for this crappy blog/day I will do two things:

1. Get you into these two songs : "Plan B, She Said" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQjh9H-ymK4) and "Biffy Clyro, Bubbles" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxUb9Yzr1sE) The second is a scottish band which are huge right now and they are, admittedly, awesome.


2. A picture from yesterday: Nessie!

This was taken Just infront of Loch Ness, well.. Its across the road :D

Part 93: Highland Hospitality

Today was way too epic. I am exhausted and I hope my blog does today some justice even in my rushed fatigue...

So, I have included a really quick comic that I did that was going to be more but laziness took over. I just really wanted to draw Nessie, thus the pic.

I woke up this morning at 6am and went and got Louisa and we got ready to go up and out, touring for the day all around the Highlands. We left the house at 7am with a pre-packed lunch and intentions on making it to the station to catch the 7.15 train to Glasgow Central. I say intentions because we missed the bloody train thus making us late for a tour. We had to wait half an hour for the next train which arrived 5 minutes before out meeting time at Georges Square. Luckily, they called us to see f we were coming and waited for us. It. Was. Amazingly lucky.

We caught the tour van, which was cool because it was better than a bus. So comfy and so much nicer than a bus. Good times. The tour started at 8.05 in Glasgow and our first stop was just after a drive along Loch Lomond and a bit past the Loch Lomond National Park in a town called Inverulas. Here, we had a tea and looked out over the amazingly beautiful scenes of the Loch. It was also good because our driver/tour guide had a chat to me and Louisa and he was pretty cool. He was named Keith...

Anyway, back on the van the landscape began to change as we climbed up into the Highlands. The first thing we noticed was the most desolate place in Europe, Rannoch Moor we drove through here all the way up to Glencoe where we learnt a bit about the Glencoe Massacre. We then made a stop at these three beautiful mountains which were named in memorial of the massacre of the MacDonell (I think thats their name) family known as 'the three sisters'. We got out into the rainy weather and took some photos for a little bit, stretched our legs and where back in the van where we drove up to Fort William which is right under Ben Nevis (Ben meaning Mountain) which is the largest 'Ben' in Brittain. We had lunch here and pondered around our first Scottish gift shop.

We drove some more and went through the great Glen (valley) which was cool and took us to the Caledonian Canal which then connected up to Loch Ness. The Loch Ness. It was pretty mad! Oh, we also went past Loch Lochy at some point hehe. The Loch Ness was pretty much the same as the other lochs but still, it was cool. We got to stop here for lunch and so we went and touched the water, got our photos with Nessie and ate. We also boughht stuff from the souvenir shop. Unfortunately, a snowglobe was as close as we got to the real Nessie, but still... We also learnt the history of Nessie which was about monks telling a monster to stop attacking them and go back under the water. For some reason, Nessie obeyed and never showed himself again. Poor Nessie.

We then rove through Inverness which I would be keen on going through again and looking around properly but ... later. We then had a huuuugely long drive back to Sterling and then over to Glasgow again. Of course on the way, we had many many things pointed out to us and of course, I dont remember half of it but still, there are photos which I would add to this except the Camera is with Louisa who is asleep.

I didn't mention on the there was 4 other people. 2 Italians and a Brazilian and a Portuguesean (is that a word?) anyway, the Brazilian and Portugeusean talked to each other all day and were a bit annoying (hehe) because they kept asking questions and takling to the driver. How awful haha. Yea, good times. The tour was incredibly long (12 hours) lots of driving but definetly fun checking out the Highlands. Theres a million more things to see there but I am happy I have started. Win.

So when we got back, we had tea at some chinese place then came back home and crashed. Good times. Today I have started to catch Louisas cold which isnt good because her cold is really bad and involved vomiting (sorry for pointing that out...) but I do not want to catch it. So I already started taking Lemsip and/or nurofen. I will NOT get sicker =_=*

Anyway, Highlands lived up to the expectations in my head. I have heard much about them MUCH about them. I loved it. I really did. OH! And I went to a place called Perth. It was cool because dad is in Perth too...but in Aus :D

Okay!! Must go sleep. So. Tired. Its 12.30.

Night!

Part 92: Grasgrow

Theres a bloody something stuck under my space key so it makes me grumpy.

So today I woke up to the sounds of the kids getting ready and the dog snorring in my room. At 9 I went up and woke Louisa up because she had arranged to talk to her friend on msn. During her msn time I had breakfast, showered and bummed around until at 11 we were both up, dressed and on our way to the station for our day in Glasgow city.

We had no plans becuase we're lazy like that but neither of us could really be bothered being 'tourists' as such, we just wanted a day in a city which is what we got. It was quite good. We started by walking around and orientating ourselves. Having been there only two times, I was impressed with myself because I knew exactly how to get to the main two streets which was cool. We walked down to a shopping centre near by and then found a shop named Primark. It. Is. Legendary. Everything is so ridiculously cheap. I really want to go back there and buy some shirts because mine are all getting a bit ...well, I am completely over them so it will be nice to get some cheap, but pretty awesome, new shirts. While we were there Louisa bought some new shorts and I bought new thongs (flip-flops) which were : omg. So awesome and comfy and 1.50pounds. Onefifty. I was amazed. Thes like $3.00AUD. Haha. Seriously. Cheap.

We then toured a little bit more in a shopping centre which included lunch. I had chinese. Good times. More walking around looking around the town and the pretty cool buildings. We eventually stumbled into the main square which had a tourism office just next to it. T'was good, not because we wanted a tourist office, but because they had maps for future reference and also gave us the opportunity to book our tour on Friday. We are going up to Loch Ness and around down to a castle which is famous and I am too tired to think of the name of and look up. Good times. Yea, it wasn't too expensive at all and will be a nice day out-I hope.

Oh, we went out for a milkshake at Caffe Nero (yes cafFe, not cafe) where we had a really nice person serving us who talked for ages about random shizz that was cool and it came up I need a job. She gave me application forms so thats another place to apply. She said there were no jobs just yet, but they pop up randomly so I might be in luck.

So I will tour Glasgow at some point as a tourist with my map. Elsetime. We're now looking into Edinburgh and London. I am also looking at my bank accounts. I need a job. Now.

I called my (great) Aunt Moira today too but she wasn't there, so I left a message. I will call again tomorrow.

More touring around aimlessly. Train trip home. TV. Talking to kids. Supermarket to buy more milk....TV and talking to Al and Louisa. Was good. But I did have way too much energy and thus was a bit restless earlier. Now I am just tired and want to go to sleep.

G'night.

Part 91: Louisa Returns

Good evening,

So again I have not alot to say today but this should begin to change soonish! This morning I woke up and then finished bits on my CV and msn'd until Al took me into the city to print out my resumes and pick up Louisa.

We started off driving into Als office which was cool to see, its an office but still, its his and now I can say I know where he works. Do I remember? Not a chance. We went in and I printed out my resumes and that took all of 10 seconds. Al also got conned into doing a tiny bit of work to because he answered the phone. Yep. We then drove into Glasgow and went to a shopping center. We didn't feel lke shopping so we went for a coffee at this dodgy little restaurant which ad the WORST coffee I have ever had. There was a random layer of skin forming on the top of it and there was no options for sugar which was disappointing. I also burnt my tongue. I am never going there again, thats for sure!

When we left the coffee store we walked to Central Station to meet Louisa who was late and delayed so we stood in the middle of the station talking for about half an hour waiting for Louisa to get in. It was good to chat to Al for a while. Louisa eventually got in at 2.10 and it was very cool to see her again even if she had gained an extra HUGE heavy bag. Thankfully, this time, it wasnt me who carried it because Al got in with the offer before I did.

We drove back in to Netherlee and then went for a coffee again but this time I had coke and the three of us chatted until Al had to go pick up the kids from school so Louisa and I just stayed in the coffee shop chatting and catching up on our last month or so. It was nice and we had much to discuss. Eventually Al came back picked us up and then we got home and after the grand tour, we grabbed a beer each then again, the three of us sat outside and chatted. It was nice.

Later, we watched telly and then yea went through each others photos and talked some more. Then we had tea...HAGGIS. I had bloody haggis for dinner. I can honestly say its really not that bad but I cant see myself eating it again... for a looong time.

Right, thats it now we're watching a movie. Oh! I also have been researching jobs online. Good times...

Part 90: Camera

So, I am again doing a quick blog only because of the lack of stuff I did today. I also am feeling lazy with blogs and tired all the time so excuse that. Its happened before but I will get back on track!

In a word my day was good. Wow, complex word I got going there... I woke up at 8.30 to the smell and sound of Sparky, the dog, barging into my room and then sleeping on the floor. I got up and said g'day to the kids and Al before grabbing breaky and sitting outside in the sun. Yes, it is sunny once again.

After breaky I went on the net and had a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong conversation on webcam starting with mum and the nmoving on to Lachlan and Tor who had just downloaded skype. It was awesome fun. I was a bit vague though with mum (sorry!) and of course, money dominated our conversation but it was fun talking to Lachlan for the first time in a loooong time and when we werent talking about money, it was great talking to mum too. I've missed my computer. When the convo was finished it was 2pm and so I grabbed lunch (a nutella sandwhich hehe) then went out for a jog/walk thing around Lin Park which is a nice park not to far away that I went to the other day. 45 minutes later I was back home watching TV with Sally.

After a while of TV I sat outside with Al and a beer and chatted about stuff until he had other things to do and I had TV to watch. Oh! I also finished my CV today and sent that off to dad for checking. I really REALLY want a job really soon because, well, I cant say it now but if I get a job much good will come of it!! So excited!

Louisa comes tomorrow :D we're meeting in the city I also am going to try and get some stuff for my project which has fallen seriously behind. I might also get a new camera soonish... dunno. I am a bit worried about buying a new one because they're so bloody expensive! We'll see.

Right thats it. The picture I have included it a prnt screen from the convo I was having. I makes me laugh because I was talking to both of them seperately and could see them both and they couldnt even hear each other. I would reply to one and the other would be all 'what?' and then I'd giggle.

Good times.

Part 89: Paragraph

I really dont have anything to write today but I feel like I am getting into the skipping blog habit which is not bad really, but I liked the whole daily blog system so I'll keep it.

I can sum up today in a paragraph I think, lets see:

I woke up and watched Smallville then got up and said goodbye to Jilly who was leaving (so now Al is in charge) then had a shower. After, I did not a lot. I read for a while outside which was really nice because the weather was stunning even in Scotland so I sat and enjoyed it while I could. It was what I did for the majority of the day...okay I lie, it was a while but maybe 3hours max. I also watched TV, played Wii (online!! It was mad, I was playing with people in Spain and France good times. I was epic fail though NB: Doug sucks at Mario Kart Wii) and I dunno, bummed around. Sally and I also discussed anime which she is a fan of and also watched an episode of Love Hina which is an Anime that I've watched before with Lachlan and Victoria and I thought that she would like it. Now I am watching Friends and typing this while Al is watching Friends and doing something on his computer. Good times.

Day. In. A. Paragraph. Grammatically correct? Not really. OH OH! Louisa comes on Tuesday and I got in contact with Elizabeth Gatens who is one of Tams friends living in Scotland atm. Win.

x

Part 88: Time after Time

Hello!

I must apologise for my lack of blogging yesterday I could explain but, you know, was too sleepy. Stupid.

Okay I really dont have much to talk about again today because I am not doing much touristy stuff. I am waiting for Louisa to get here so we can do it together. Yesterday was good though- went into Glasgow city with Jilly and did some shopping. I also spoke to Net and Poppa who rang and it was a great conversation which was just what the doctor ordered. I did unfortunately learn of my camera being stuffed. I have no camera now so I have to look on ebay and/or shops and get some replacement-type thing.

This morning I woke up reeeeally early- 7.15am and sat on the laptop waiting for anyone else to wake up. At 9.30 everyone was up and at them and then Al came over to take Jilly to get her bike fixed. This meant that Iwas looking after the kids which meant Nintendo and Jenga. Good times. I am terrible at Nintendo All-Star Olympics but Mario Kart- Bring it! It was a fun morning. I showered, watched TV and waited around for Jilly to get back and then we sat outside and chatted until 2.

At 2 we took AJ in to a Birthday Party and Sally, Jilly and I went into the Shopping Center and did some shopping for Jilly and Sally. WE also grabbed lunch. They had KFC but because I am still off the stuff completely (havent had it once since I quit) I had subway. Unfortunately though..I did have some chips. Fail. Anyway we spent a few hours there and then picked up AJ and come back home. I also spent way too much time on Mobile Internet damnit and also got in contact with Lizzie Gatens who is in Scotland too ! We'll catch up soon, possibly tomorrow. I dunno.

Thats it. My days are sooo easy at the moment. Oh MAN! I need my CV out though. Mr. Sedunary, I need your help!

Catchyas!

P.S: Time after Time was just because it was the song I was listening to on the film I'm watching.

Part 87: Netherlee

Hellooo!

I dont have much to report today (thank God! I am so sleepy) so it will be a quick little blog.

After being woken up at 10.30 by Jilly who was going into town and just letting me know that I'd be on my own for the day I stared at my room for a while already starting to feel like its mine. Its a good system. I then fell back asleep only to wake up like an hour later, watch tv and have breakfast, do a load of washing then watch some more TV.

I had a shower, which took a while (+a phone call) to work out- its confusing, okay? then went for a ponder around Netherlee, the suburb I am living in. After a ponder around I found this amazing park which is huge and green and great for if I ever feel like getting lost or going for a jog or anything (and, seriously, my tummy is getting podgy -for me- so I am going to take up jogging again, I think) so its perfect.

I got back and then Jilly and the kids did so I played with them whilst watching tv for a while. I couldn't help but be reminded of Tim though because AJ the 5 year old, did some similar things to what Tim did and it made me smile. (Oh! speaking of Tim, I also chatted to Bastien via facebook this morning which was cool. First convo since I left!!) Anyway, yea played with Kids and then I sat out with Jilly with a beer and cake and at 7 watched Sally in a school music concert which was ... a school music concert (again, AJ was similar to Tim at the music comp we went to in Le Touvet- constantly up and down wanting to go home) Honestly, Sallys group was the best because they used harmonies that didn't sound like a bagpipes drone.

When the concert was over Jilly and I grabbed fish and chips (because I'm good like that) and and had tea, the kids had already eaten. Then I chatted to Sally for a while who showed me her DSi. She is pretty game savvy, loves anime AND knows about failblog and goes explained to me in a very technical way why youtube doesnt work on her DS (something about flash drives or someting...) Sally is 10 soon. What is qith 9 year olds and epic intelligence? Anyway it made me think this time of Lachlan. They would get along well. Haha.

Righto! Sleep. Its 12.20 going to Glasgow city tomorrow :) Weeee! (ouiiii!) hehe.

Part 86: Nineteen

Wow.

Sorry I didn't do my blog yesterday. I was soooo bloody tired because I got to bed at like 4.30 body clock time. So, yesterday quickly: Woke up, showered, checked out, went to the national History museum which was okay then went to the Airport and flew to Glasgow and here I am. Scotland. Finally. Haha. It was a lovely night last night hanging out with Jilly, Allan and the kids for a while. We had pizza and beer and talked for a while. Then Allan left and then I talked to Jilly for a while longer and had a bath and watched TV. It was wonderful BATH. First one in such a long time.

Yes, that was yesterday. So today is obviously the 19th of May otherwise known as my birthday. I woke up at 11 and then walked around looking for breaky stuff. Jilly was in bed and the kids had gone off to school. I then watched TV for a while and did not alot in the morning. Eventually Jilly came downstairs and we decided to go to a huge shopping center to look for an adapter and stuff that I need for here. An hour and a bit later, we were there walking around and doing stuff. It was cool and HUGEEE. HUGE! So I ended up getting a really cheap phone so I have a brittish one to save me money whilst I am here and yea, thats about it.

When I got back I did all my unpacking making my room, my room which was good. Its nice to have my place. I had tea with Jilly and talked to the kids for a bit as well. After, we had tea and watched TV and I perfected my room. OH! And I also got apresent from the family at home and Jilly and the kids also came in with a surprise cake and card and sang me happy birthday which made me smile and was good to have happy birthday sung to me.

As far as birthdays go, it was incredibly lowkey, but it was nice, easy-going and relaxing- as it should be. Also, my facebook page was SWAMPED with messages. I had over 85 notifications from Birthday messages. It made me happy. Very happy and remembered :D

So here I am, 19 on the 19th of May born in 1991. It doesn't seem right. I still look about 14 damnit.

Oh and I am watching an episode of the Simpsons. My first episode of it since I left Australia. Happy :D

Part 85: The Grunge

Today is another day which is hard to explain/justify as being as good as it was. I'll do my absolute best, and hope that my seriously awful photography today gives you some idea. Today was a great day for photography but my eye just wasn't on so my photos kinda suck.

I woke up to the sound of snorring this morning and groaned. I hate snorring. I lay awake staring at the top bunk as one guy just snored and snored and then when he stopped, the other guy took over as if they were a tagteam and he started snoring. So annoying. Eventually though time to get up arrived and then, after a shower, I was down stairs waiting for the two brits who I met yesterday, a bit before the time we agreed to meet was. Time flew by and before I knew it I realised they had either slept in, forgotten or never wanted to see me again as I was there on my own a good 20 minutes after they were meant to be there. Oh well.

I got up chucked my stuff in my amazing backpack and set off into the city. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do, I was half keen on going to the History Museum for the morning and then taking either a Communist Tour or an Alternative Berlin Tour at 1pm or 2pm respectively. It was about 11.30 so I started off by going to the Reichstag which I saw yesterday but not very well so I went again and walked around the entire thing. Its huge. I was going to line up and go into the dome which is apparently pretty awesome but looking at the line I decided not to and instead sat and stared for a while.

I then walked around some more making my way to the History Museum getting constantly destracted by souvenir shops. I dont even really like buying souvenirs I just enjoy looking at them- its so stupid. I go into every shop too! They're all exactly the same and sell practically exactly the same stuff but I love it. Stupid. by now, it was nearly 1. I dont really know where time went but it was too late to go to the History Museum so I made my way back to the meeting point for the Communist Tour only to decide I'd prefer to do the Alternative tour. I grabbed some lunch from a cafe and then made my way down to the meeting spot for the Alt. Tour which was a bit away so I arrived there with enough time to find an ATM and then go. The tour group was comprised basically all of Aussies all from Victoria. There was about 4 non-victorians in the entire group who where like Brittish or something. Anyway, the point is I still didn't talk to anyone because all the Aussies decided to group away because they all knew each other from either Aus or their hostel. I'm much too shy. Still, the tour was interesting and it was still cool having the Aussie accent around me and when I did either have to talk to them or asked them something when I missheard, it was good.

So the tour... Its... interesting. It went until 6.10pm so it was a good 4 hours of walking around learning about the history of Berlins Grafitti and such. It sounds a bit stupid but it was really amazing and opens your eyes to a whole other world in Berlin that is right in front of you, but if you weren't shown it, you wouldn't even notice. We learnt of some of the well known Graffiti artists in the area, whose real identity is anon. but there art is reknown by the underground of Berlin as being amazing. I really like the work of this guy 'Xooox' (pronounced Zuess) who does stencil work everywhere. Theres also this other artist who does 'Little Lucy's' everywhere who is a kid who has different ways of killing cats, it sounds horrible but its kinda cool.

It was bizarre going through places I'd already seen but suddenly recognizing the work of different artists in the area and trying to find ones looking in places I would never have thought to look before. Twas cool. There is a really well-known guy in who paints the number 6 everywhere. What it really means, dunno, but seriously. There is apparently over 40 thousand 6's painted all over Berlin. Its crazy because you'd never really notice it. So cool. We also made it to the largest remaining part of the Berlin wall which has been covered in graffite which is premitted to be there. Some of it is very powerful and others are just cool. The tour is, I think, I must do for young ones touring in Berlin and anyone interested in Art.

After the tour finished my feet where killing me so I just came back to the hostel (after going and actually buying some things I saw this morning and realised I should just get now to get it out of the way and getting some dinner) Its now 9 and I dont really know what I'll do now or tomorrow. Luckily, so far, my flight has NOT been cancelled.

All is well.

Berlin photos are on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=232487&id=667554767&l=162e2e7060

Enjoy!

Part 84: *Mind Explodes*

Good evening one and all,

So I am in a much better mood now then yesterday as today I actually did something!! It was a long day though but totally worth it. People are right- Berlin is an amazing city.

Hm, I woke up this morning to the sound of people moving. Over night my room had completely filled up and now, we were 8. There were two old people bumping around in their underwear looking for towels and clothes and had no sense of quiet. At all. This was at 8am so I lay in bed only to then realise the guy in the bed perpendicular to mine was listening to really loud music on his iPod and that the other guy on the top bunk above him was snorring. I dislike sharing a room with one person, let alone 7. Anyway, at 9, I got up and had a shower then went downstairs and had some form of breakfast and then by 10.15 I was waiting to start the free walking tour the hostel offers.

10.20...10.25...no one. There were 2 girls also standing around but I was far to shy to talk to them and see if they were doing the tour too so I just rolled my eyes becuase no one rocked up and then decided to go find the tour myself (you see, its not the hostel who runs it, its just they take you to the meeting point of it). I grabbed a map and then jumped on the trains making it up as I went along. Amazingly, I found it straight away. It began just under the famous gate Brandenburg and there were people with signs, so it wasn't that hard really. I stood in line oly to notice the two girls from before had just arrive, with a guide who must've been running late. This time, I wanted to double check everything so I asked them if I was in the right spot. They ended up helping me and they became my buddies for the day.

So, rather than bore you with the details of ALL of the tour I'll just do a checklist of things I saw in Berlin then go in to details if I have something to add.


Brandenburg Gate
Holocaust Memorial
The Reichstag
Above Hitlers Bunker in which he commited suicide. Theres a carpark there now.
The Nazi Book Burning Memorial
Checkpoint Charlie
Postdamer Platz
SS Headquaters
The Wall
Museum Island which includes the church in the above pic.
I think thats it... I dont remember OH! The same hotel where Micheal Jackson dangled his child.


Really, its hard to explain Berlins sights. Its really remarkable and changes so quickly. I think the Holocaust Memorial was just bizarre. Its just a huge amount of grey blocks which you can get lost in like a maze. Checkpoint Charlie was kinda stupid, I mean, I get what it was for and how important it is but the site now is quite retarded and a bit of an anticlimax. The whole Hitlers suicide place is quite amusing because well, its the ugliest carpark I have ever seen and theres just a sign that shows you where the bunker is. You cant go in there or get close but you can stand on top of it and not even realise it.

The buildings in Berlin are so nice too. So old looking even though they have been destroyed completely. Its mindboggling. Berlin is mindboggling.

I learnt SO much today as well. I mean, I had a brief history on Berlin and Germany in y head but holy shit. Its quite amazing. Its interesting how the Germans decide to remember somethings how they do and forget others completely. Its...amazing. At the end of the tour we heard the full story of why and how the wall got destroyed and that in itself is just such a story. One guys lack of knowledge accidently changed all of Germany completely.

Anyway, after the tour finished I was invited to go to a fleamarket with the 2 girls who I should mention were named Emma and Lauren and where from London. So we caught a train where we meet Nate, an American who was on the tour with us and wa going to the Fleamarket too. He was really cool and the 4 of us chatted for ages until sadly, he got lost in the fleamarket which was massive and full of people. It was quite phenomenal. The now three of us did find a beach bar and had a beer in the sand then we made our way to the Sony Centre, famous for its modern design and shopping area. There, we watched a play on TV while having another beer from the WORST Australian bar ever. I say worst because of the service, not because of their Australian take-off. That wasn't half bad. Anyway, by this time it was 8 and they had a play to go to so agreeing to meet tomorrow and see what each others plans are, we said fairwell and I was alone again.

I toured the city some more looking into more detail at some of the sites I had previously seen and looking in souvenir shops just to see what I could buy. I'll go back. At 10, I made it back to the hostel, had tea and then came and typed this blog. Good times.

Part 83: From Paris to Berlin

In every disco I go in, my heart is pumping for love!

Problem: I am bored on a Saturday night in Berlin THE city where you go out. So really, I cant sing the title reference because I haven't actually been in a disco... Reasons: I am much too shy to go out all alone. I am staying in Generator Hostel which I find out is the PARTY hostel and still I manage not to meet anyone. I am so bad on my own. No seriously! I am in Berlin sitting in the main room surrounded by groups but I dont mind really I can people watch and at least pretend I am cool by grabbing a beer and sitting down looking like I am doing something very important on my laptop. OccasionallyI'll look up and keep typing, because all the cool kids and touch type these days. Then when no one acknowledges me I'll sip my beer raise an eyebrow and some nonsense behaviour to feel included and then look back down. Focused. On my blog. Man. I am so cool, not only do I frost glass I crack it I'm that cool.

So far I have arrived after a 5 hour journey all up to my hostel. I have toured around the area and had some dinne. Thats about it. There is a bar and theres soccer on in the other room. There was a pub crawl that started at 7.45 except I cruised past eyeing it out but everyone was in groups so I was a bit to 'solo' for it so, that was a no-go. I cant wait to start touring tomorrow and being touristy but I am a bit ashamed that my lack of confidence and partytude stops me going out and clubbing in theclubbing capital of the world. Ahhh well.

Bus trip here was wonderful though. It was a double decker and I was on the top floor. Germanys landscape is a bit repetitive but you know, cool.

Yep.

Part 82: Danke, Ellerau

My time in Ellerau has drawn to a close already and tomorrow I head off to Berlin. Unfortunately. I was invited to go out tomorrow night by a bunch of people, figures that happens just as I am leaving, but I'll get to this.

Today was really a good last day in the Hamburg/Ellerau area with the day beginning by Jette and I going into Hamburg to check out the Customs museum I had been meaning to go to. We arrived there and paid the 2Euro fare and then toured around the interactive museum. Most of it was in German which was a shame but there were some English boards here and there and Jette would translate sometimes which was great. We stayed there for just over an hour before making our way into the main city section of Hamburg to go in search for a new backpack for me and some shoes for Jette. It was fun cruising the streets and what was awesome was that finding the perfect backpack was really easy. Its an ugly thing, but man is it practical with a laptop compartment and all. My old one broke so I needed a new one quick smart for my Berlin journey tomorrow!

Eventually Eiva (I think thats right, maybe not, pronounced ee-va) Jettes sister, and Fredericke, Jettes mum met us in town to pay for Jettes shoes and then Jette, Eiva and I toured Hamburg some more and Fredericke wet back home. It was cool touring around with them because between them they knew some things to point out and also this cool non-touristy place to go in Hamburg. Its a really 'posh' area but whats odd is that it doesn't look it. It looks quite the opposite but thats, I think, part of the charm. Its bizarre. We bought some lollies and then looked at the massively grafitted houses etc. for a while before slowly making our ways back home. It was a nice time in Hamburg and we got back around 5ish.

Back home, I went and computered while Jette and Eiva did there own things. Jette had a girls-night out to go to tonight so Eiva invited me to go hang ot with her and her friends for a games night thing that her and her mates were having. I packed all my stuff and by 9.30 we were there. At first I got mixed reactions for being there. My presence meant that they would have to speak a little bit of English here and there and some people where stoked and others well...weren't. I did say that if they didn't want to speak English it was fine but the Eiva sad they had to so eventually everyone, except one girl, spoke English a fair bit which made it great.

We started playing some game where you draw, explain or act out a word to move foward. It was interesting because sometimes it would be English, others German and then when it was my turn the card that I drew was passed around to all my non-team mates to find the perfect translation. A few drinks later we ended up changing the game because two people had to go home making the teams uneven. We then played red-faces which was really good fun and everyone enjoyed the challenge of doing it in English. It was cool and they all were an awesome group of people. There was 12 of us all up and I ended up coming second being 'Pamela Anderson'.

Eventually though, I had to go home, it was 1am and I have to be up and out by 9 tomorrow morning. When I was leaving they were all saying I should go to Kiel tomorrow where Eiva is having a party. It would have been awesome but I have booked everything and I am in Berlin so I cant make it :/ Still! It was good hanging out with them. I think they were all about 22ish except one girl who was my age and she was good to talk too :) Good times.

Now I really should get going to bed as I do have to be up early tomorrow so I will leave you and apologise for the rushedness of this blog!

Night!

p.s. Danke - Thanks. Special 'danke' to the Merkels for hosting me these last 10 days!

Part 81: Sixty-Two

Dear All,

I hereby would like to inform you that today I rode 62km on a bike.

Sincerely,

Douglas

Thats right! Me, whose idea of excersize is seeing how many words I can type in a minute or running to the nearest Maccas to get a cheeseburger quicker, rode a total of 62 kilometers by bike. A real bike, no tricks or gimicks, a real cycling bike. Theres not really much of a blog in this but still - 62 bloody kilometers. I am surprised at myself that I made it.

This morning I woke up bright and early (10.30 or something ridiculous like that) and made my way to the shower and then downstairs to find the family all preparing a big breakfast. I offered to help but by the time I was there it was mainly all done anyway (phew!) so I just had to sit down and enjoy. We were having bread rolls with fruit salads and yogurts and lots of stuff - I even ate the fruit salad, and don't tell anyone, but I enjoyed it too. So breakfast was lovely. We were graced by one of Jettes sisters about half way through and I say 'graced' because she made me coffee. I like coffee. We allsat around and they explained to me that today we were going on a little bike tour around town and happy to be active and spend time with Jette and some her family, I smiled and said 'excellent' At this point though, I didn't know what 'a little bike tour around town' really meant...

We left at 1ish after making packed lunches and rode to a trainstation at a nearby town named Alveslohe. On the way was the worst bit of the day- I was riding along sie Jette chatting away when I heard someone yelling in German. I looked up to see that there was a guy coming on a bike towards me so I slowed down so that I could pull in behind Jette so he could pass only to feel a huge WHACK on my arm and then next thing I knew, I crashed into Jettes bike and then flipped over onto the ground cutting my chin. The bastard punched me whilst we were riding, not lightly either, I have a bruise on my arm and he was a LOT bigger than I am. I got up and yelled expletives when Jettes sister rushed after him cutting him off and started asking him 'wtf, dude?' but he explained that I was deliberately ignoring him and trying to get in his way to attack him and so he tried to brush past me and accident;y bumped me. Probably fortunately, I didn't understand that that was what he was saying becuase if I did, I would have argued there and then that that was NOT the case. Only later when I heard this did I reveal the bruise and explained what actually happened. I was so shocked and annoyed and now I have this stupid cut on my chin and some little cuts on my legs and a bloody bruise on my arm. Bastard.

Anyway, thats about it story-wise. We trained from Alveslohe over to another town named Elmshorn and then from there we bike rode West over to Gluckstadt (what a great name!). The ride was sooo painful in my thighs but it was so scenic and very cool to see this side of Germany. There, we quickly had a coffee and lunch and then toured the town before proceeding to go down alongside the river there and then around back up to Elmshorn station. This took ages and was exhausting but again, the views were incredible. I also started to ride with no hands... I still cant do that very well... but I am learning now! Haha.

Eventually we made it back to the train station, rode back and listened to many drunken boys singing and shouting and then made the journey back home. I think all up it took like 6 hours or something and yea, Jettes dads thingo clocked up 62kms. Win. Then I had MSN time while Jette went somewhere then tea then shower then blog. I am tired.

Cool.

Part 80: Hamburg is Illuminated

Guten Tag!

Wow, so I warn you, depending on the stamina of my fingers and brain, this could turn out to be a long blog - we'll see!

So, I got up this morning at 9 and pondered around the house talking to Jettes sister and Dad about our plans for the day. They invited me to go swimming with them, but due to my genuine dislike of water and also the fact that its freezing and it was an out door pool, I politely declined and told them of my plans to check out the Customs Museum in Hamburg. I got dressed and ready to go and then by 11.16 I was on the train riding into Hamburg with book in hand and iPod in ears. Its a good way to travel.

When I arrived, I walked up to the museum which was easy to find because it was close to the Miniatur Wunderlan one I went to yesterday, but just a bit further down the road...well, a lot further. I walked for ages and then eventually found out that it was unreachable at the moment because of construction work in the area. Disappointed, I thought of going home but then realised, my ticket costed 5.40euros and what a waste that would be if I went home now. Also, I hadn't actually toured Hamburg yet, just sorta seen this and that so I thought, why not do it now?

There was a massive black spire sticking out from behind all these buildings a fair hike away that looked interesting so I decided to walk there and go check it out. As I made my way I saw some pretty cool buildings and such and when I arrived at the spire I was impressed at what it actually was. There seemed to be some sort of ruins all around it, I mean not ruins but walls that didnt full join up and had no rooves etc. It turned out I had made it to the St. Nicholas (?) Cathedral. This particular Cathedral had been destroyed many times in its history and then after a huge raid in 1942 or 43, the Cathedral was not rebuilt and all that remained was the spire and some random walls. Its quite beautiful all the same. There are all statues and stuff in memorial for the destruction of Hamburg during the war. It costed me 2Euro, but you can go up the elevator in the spire and get a pretty ace view of Hamburg so I did that. Up there, there was lots of pictures of what Hamburg looked like after the raids and they were laid out so you could see what it looked like then while looking at it now. It was really eerie but very cool. It also had various info on the spire and why it stands etc.

Next, I made my way to the town hall, by accident actually, I was looking for something else, but there was a huuuuuge crowd of people yelling and singing because I am assuming, there was some footy match or something today because they were all dressed in colours and stuff and it was pretty funny to walk around there listening to already drunken men babbling on about whatever in German whilst others shouted out random cheers. I made my way through the crowd to find Saint Petris Church. Saint Petris in just down the road from the town hall and to me, the building itself isn't all that impressive (however, it was originally built in 1342 and then destroyed and then rebuilt so.. you know.. has an excuse) but all the same I thought I should check it out. I went in and explored and saw a counter where you could pay 2euro (everything-2euro!) to go up the spire which is 123m high. I was all, yea cool quick view of the town WRONG. The way to get up the spire is with the 544 stairs. 544! Bah. It had various floors where you could look at different things and it was cool to check out but god it was exhausting, and by the time I was reaching the top, petrifying. The stairs would shake slightly and creek and they were windy and narrow and bleargh. Still it was fun and reaching the top made me feel like I achieved something. Haha. Best. Achievement. Ever. The views up there were through portholes and there was about 2 square meters of floor space which I shared with and elderly couple who were so happy when I offered to to their photos :)

I then went down and had some lunch before making my way to a shopping center and exploring for a while. Then I decided to go find the Planetarium, which is apparently amazing. I caught the trains out of the center of Hamburg and made my way to it. It took ages to find and I got... not lost because I knew where I was but... put off course a few times before an hour and 40 minutes later finding and making my way. In that hour though, I did go through an amazing park thing which was so green and pretty to walk through. I think I walked for like an hour rather than half an hour because of my detour, but it was worth it anyway until I got there. I went in and they were all like.. we dont speak English and I was all like... Pooh you. I could have spent that 1h40 doing things that achieved things but no! I walked here and then you sucked. Still, the building was cool and the walk there really was very nice, so I shouldn't complain. It was good to see the non-city part of Hamburg too. Really see Hamburg for what it is not just as a city...Yeeeah.

So I made my way back to the city part, which was a lot quicker and easier and then checked out Reeperbahn. For those who dont know Reeperbahn is a huge redlight district famous for legalised prostitution and sex shops. Its also the best nightlife area of Hamburg apparently and you can see why, it looked pretty cool but being a solo tourist who looks like a 12 year old school kid, especially with my backpack I didn't hang around long I basically walked from one train stop to the next then left. I am so cool I frost the windows.

So, by this time it was like 6ish and so I made my way back to Ellerau arriving home at 7ish where Jette was sitting around NOT studying. I nearly died from a heart attack! (Not really, I should stop making Jette out to be some snobby person who just studies all the time. Jette really is an awesome host who just has the pressures of school to worry about! I totally get that and so please, if I say something about Jette studying, I dont mean it to be mean about her! She's fantastic and very helpful) Right, so we talked for a while then I booked all my Berlin trip with the help of Jette and her sister who left this morning but before she did, researched and printed a few pages of Berlin info including prices and ways to get there, hostels and things to see and do. I was stunned at the effort she put in, it was SO nice and incredibly useful. Hostel, Bus and Plane trip to Glasgow are all booked and out of the way!

I then had tea and then Jette and I watched this really weird movie called 'Everything is Illuminated' with Elijah Wood. I really recommend it, its bizarre but very interesting and good. I wont babble on about it because it will ruin it if you watch it but yea, good film. I want to see it again just to see what I missed.

Then Jette went to Arvids place, but we made plans for tomorrow and then I came and typed this. I'm going to Facebook the photos now because theres too many important ones to blog them.

Cheerio!

Part 79: The Little People and 100 days

Hullo!

First off. Far out, its been 100 days now since I left Australia! 100!! Wow. Thats like.. a lot. (wow, Deep Doug... If you had 'Doug' any deeper you'd be in China because it was that deep -Lol@name reference.)

So today I was flying solo once again and after waking up at 10.30 or something, doing a load of washing, talking to my parents about money and organising my life in general I had a shower and made my way out to Hamburg so that I could go to the Miniatur Wunderland museum.

The museum is situated along the harbour and because I'd been to the Harbour before, finding it proved to be quite easy. I did walk around a little bit before going to the museum though just to get the area well into my head. When I got to the museum I was surprised to find so many people there as well. Being a Tuesday, I figured people would all be at work or school or something but, alas, no. Everyone decided to take this particular Tuesday off so they could go and check out the same museum as me, I am flattered.

The girl at the counter was very excited to hear that I was an English speaker and got even more enthused to find out that I was from Melbourne orignally. She, three years ago, spent 6 months living in Essendon as an exchange student and that was a nice way to start my trip, a chat with her. Eventually, 10 euros later I made me way in to the museum and walked into Switzerland. The mini version, of course. You see the museum is like a model train one, but awesome. They build entire cities out of tiny little things and they are huge and impressive with lights and movement and music and wow. They also make the day change to night every like 10 mintues or something and then you can see a completely different side to the place. Its really very cool- I was impressed.

I spent a fair bit of time there making my way through the crowds and looking at as much as I can. I even picked up my third Squished Penny which was cool. My favorite part was probably either the swiss concert, seen in the movie below, or the Las Vegas section at 'night' time. The lights were quite amazing. Oh! and it was really cool because before I went into the museum, I stood on a bridge and took a photo of the building. Then there was a model version of Hamburg which had the museum, so I took the same photo, just model version. I felt awesome and like no one would have thought of it. Ever. Good times. As I left, I bought a little something and the girl who went to Australia made an effort to serve me again. We chatted longer holding up the queue... She was really nice.

I got back home around 5.30 and caught Jette studying, so to be out of her way I went online and then talked to her sister for a while. Tea. Blog. Looking up museums for tomorrow, I think, Smallville, Bed. Good system.

At least on Thursday Jette doesn't have school. I hope she doesn't study the whooooooole day

This video just shows the concert thing part in the Switzerland sections, it shows the details and size of it all, sorta. Should upload photos to Facebook soon.

Part 78: Marzipan Central

Hello.

So for some unknown reason, I am in a really grumpy mood just now, so I am hoping that typing this blog will cheer me up... Yep. Jette is studying with Arvid so whatever, I'll just come over here now.

Today I went to Lubeck which is 45 minutes north-east of Hamburg, because of the trip to Hamburg however, it took me an hour and a half to get there, and some difficulty with non-english speaking assistance. It was good though because it meant I had to work it out all on my own and I did. Win. Last night I spent sometime researching the town and things to see and do there which also gave me reading matirial for the trip to get me pumped up and ready to get out there and see the world...well, Lubeck which isn't much of the world, but its got some good history going on.

When I first got in to Lubeck I ponderede around with my dodgy map I printed last night trying to find the Holsentor which is a really old gate which was originally started in the 1400's. Obviously, its nothing like what it was back then now, but still its kinda cool that its the same gate, just modified a little bit over time. I took some photos and enjoyed the crappy weather (at least it wasn't raining) and then made my way (by fluke) to an information centre which also had a squished penny machine. I got a map from the IC which was 90cents but contained a touristic route of the town and some information about the different things I would see, so I thought it was pretty worth it.

So basically my day was spent looking around at all the different touristy sites and trying to learn as much about them as I could. Thankfully, a lot of the time the signs were translated into English, unfortunately I do feel like I missed some of the more meaningful stuff because of my lack of German. Some of the highlights were: The top of Saint Peters Cathedral, which gave me a wicked view over Lubeck and also helped me get an idea of the orientation of the town. I also really enjoyed some of the side streets which werent actually on the route I was supposed to be taking, but they were so typical and quite pretty all the same. Also, the Niederegger cafe, famous for its Marizpan, the best in the world so it claims was a nice little spot to hang out too. The whole cafe was decked out to be like really old fashioned and all the staff wore maid outfits and stuff, and it was so nice feeling. I felt underdressed for it though, which is ridiculous feeling under dressed for a coffee! Anyway, it was cool. Also, opposite that was this really cool market medieval syle or whatever, where everyone was dressed up reaaaaaaally old fashioned selling things. You could also see the tradespeople at work for example there were blacksmith with their hammers and stuff and this cool glass guy who would manipulate glass and make really intricate sculptures.

I think the bit that stands out to me the most, not necessarily the best thing, but the most powerful thing was in the Saint Marien cathedral (which, by the way, s the biggest brickstone church in the world!) where in 1942 a bombing raid came and destroyed the area and two bells fell from roof and smashed on the ground and damaging the whole area. The church never moved the bells ever and now they sit there to remind people of the horrors of war. I think its so simple but so sad seeing just two smashed up bells with all the concrete on the ground smashed as well but its so effective and its just incredible to think that they haven't moved since a raid in 1942. It was... I dont know.

I think I've decided, all that said, this area of German architecture isn't the most attractive. I mean, some of it looks amazing and nice however none of it is particularly pretty, in my opinon apart from the occasional street or house. Its much to brick orientated for my liking and its all the same orange brick which I am not too keen on. Still, it was a great little day out and I learnt a lot. Lubeck is really interesting and highly recommended for anyone who has any interest in history because it has a lot of it. Some records show Lubeck being settled in just after the latest Ice Age (so a loooooong time ago) and since then has been the host to some incredible things such as being one of the original trading centers of Germany, creating gates and moats to prevent neighbouring towns from attacking, Slavery, Castles, Marzipan, War its phenomenal actually.

Anyway, I eventually left at around 5.10 and made my way back to Hamburg, got home and talked to Jette for a little bit, but then she was busy so I did nothing until tea time where I set the table. Then Jette, Jettes mum, Arvid and I talked around the table but I was in such a bad mood that I just sat quietly and tried to not get spoken to.

Dunno. Go figure.

So I added some photos to the blog for interest but there is an album with more of the photos I took today (I thinkg thers 48 of the 138 I took) on facebook. You can check them out logged in or not at this link here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=230498&id=667554767&l=2727896310

I didn't write something about ALL the pictures on Facebook because I am lazy but I hope you can at least get a feel for Lubecks look. Enjoy! Now, the 1st picture is the Holsentor gate, the second is a view from St. Peters and the third is the bells. Yep.

Kcoolbye

Part 77: Markets

Hello!

Really quick blog today, just give a bried overview.

I woke up this morning at 7am and lay in bed regretting writing last nights blog and staying up later tha necessary. I eventually got up and had a shower only to get yelled at by Jette to hurry up (not in a mean way though) I ran downstairs chucked on my shoes and Jettes dad drove us out to the market we were going to be spending the day at.

We met Jettes friends Sandra and Caro who where also selling stuff. I thought we would only be there until 12 but it turned out we were there until 4, but you know, whatever. At some points it was really boring because there was just so much German I couldn't do anything. At other points it was really fun, because I was in charge of the money and I could understand all the numbers and thus keep up with conversations between customers. I spoke German - Win!! In the end they made about 260euro, of which I got zilch. I did however get a coffee and a crepe AND cookies, so I was content. I also drew because I got bored and my artistic talents were recognised... In hindsight, I should have sold my work :P

After, I got back and Jette studied so I talked to Jettes older sister over a coffee and slice of cake before going upstairs and wasting time for a while. Then went back downstairs and helped make tea which was just going to be Jette, her two sisters and I because Jettes parents had guests over. We made some awesome thing I cant even explain and it had the most amazing sauce I was in awe. Haha. It was good getting to know her family a little bit too. Eventually I went back upstairs and organised my trip to Lubeck tomorrow. Then went with Jette to drop her sister somewhere and then chatted to Jette for a while.

We did have a debate though: is 'it is sheer impossible' grammatically correct? Please reply. Anyone. (Preferably Kersie though- I hope you still read this!!)

okay! must off !

Bye

Part 76: Royalty on a Birthday

Okay, its now 1am and I have to be up at 7am so I am gonna try and make this short and sweet. Kcool. Sorry for my lack of blogging yesterday by the way, just had nothing too exiting to report.

So, todays day was pretty crap. I was invited going to go to a brunch with Jette and he boyfriend, Arvid, but then stuff happened and I ended up not going. This meant I had the whole time home alone again. I mean, I could have gone exploring, but Ellerau is another Maryborough where by, if you've seen it once, you've seen it all and I didn't know when Jette would be back so I just stayed at home (turned out she was away for 6.5 hours, I could have done a fair bit in that time ie, Hamburg..) anyway, I did get time to work on my project which I havent done for a while, which was good. I also dusted off season 8 of Smallville. Eep.

When Jette got back at 4.30 she had some packing to do for selling tomorrow so I talked to her and followed around for that. I also uploaded this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHwI8jM7B3w on to youtube. Its a 'how to make a paper crane' video. Yep. check it out if you have a spare 10 minutes and a square piece of paper. So anyway at 6.30 we ate cake which Jettes mum made then we walked to the station and caught the train in to Hamburg. On the way we met up with one of Jettes friends whose name I should remember but I cant and her two friends who was Timone (the only name I can remember because its like the lion king) and his girlfriend. The 5 of us all introduced ourselves and I reverted back to the shy guy who cant speak German. Still it was fun following them around and listening to them, also, they could all speak English to different degrees so when I caught them one on one it was fine.

We arrived at the harbour which had a whole fete going on with soooo many people it was ridiculous. Also, it is legal to drink in public in Germany so already there were drunks walking around with beer. Anyway, we cruised around for ages looking at everything and anything that looked like anything. Good times. There was also the Queen Mary 2 (The fanciest ship in the world) in the harbour today, which I have seen before in Queenscliffe, I think, so it was cool seeing that somewhere else.

We then met up with another guy, whose name I forget as well (I am shocking, SHOCKING with names) Anyway he was cool and spoke great English so I talked to him eventually for a while. The 6 of us went on a ferris wheel, had some drinks (one of which was called Fickin or in English to fuck [scuse my...Italian...?], me and the other two guys had a shot of it and I was all expecting to go like wasted or something to match the name like they were saying it would... but nothin' it tasted good though) walked around and saw a historic part of the harbour which dates back to the middle ages. It was an original way of importing goods and that is one of the reasons Hamburgs harbour is so special.

Later we made our way down to a part where no one else was and watched a magnificent fireworks display but also choked on the smoke. It was fun though and the fireworks where very pretty. After we watched the Queen Mary depart from the harbour and then made out way slowly back home through the MASSES (you can sorta see in the first picture, but the masses get worse. Much worse.) of people.

Nice.

Part 75: Schienenersatzverkehr

Yes, that is a German word. A real German word which means 'replacement bus' I think every language needs a ridiculously long word for that, don't you? Thats what I learnt today.



Anyway, on a more bloggy note, today I woke up again - hooray!! (why did I even bother saying 'I woke up'? Of course I woke up, how else would I be here? Goodness.) Right, I got up and then bummed around for a bit in the morning until about 10 when I went downstairs where Jettes mum, Fredericke (Yes...thats her name), was sitting having breakfast. I cut up some toast and then spread on some Nutella (being vegemiteless) and she asked me what my plans where for the day. I explained that until Jette got home, not alot, but after we would be going into Hamburg just to check it out so I can get a feel for where it is and how to get there. Fredericke was happy to hear I was home and invited me to go grocery, being the trolley pushing pro I am, I couldn't let my talents go to waste and thus tagged along. Besides, who doesn't want to see a German supermarket?

We weren't going to the supermarket for a bit of time, so I had a shower and waited around until it was time to go. We also took some recycling and I learnt about Germanys crazy recycling system. First, you wash everything, including like metal scraps and bits of rubbish to prevent rats and foxes from getting at it, apparently everyone in Germany does this. Then you sort it into Glass, Paper and plastic and then you drive the glass and plastic with you to a big bin (similar to France, I guess) there, you sort out the glass into 'coloured' and 'white' glass and throw them in to their respective bins. Then you drive to another place to get rid of the plastic bottles. Its a bottle shop where you can buy all drinks- anything from beer to water but also get rid of your plastic stuff. You put the water bottles in a box and put them with all the other empty ones, then you put all the bottles in a machine which scans them and gives you 50c per bottle you return. Epic.

The grocery shopping began after we bought drinks from the bottle shop. It was interesting walking around having no idea what the aisle signs were saying, and everything was so perfectly set up with little sections and stuff. It was odd. But organised and thus easy to work with. I also got some cereal (not Lion, I forgot to get that!) so I had a breakfast I liked in the morning, I am not a toast in the morning kinda guy, I'm more of a cereal bloke. Yea...

After shopping Fredericke bumped into an old friend and they chatted in German for a while, it is just so odd. I really just dont have a clue what goes on. I cannot stress that enough. First time ever for me, really. Oh well, I am actually trying to focus on picking up words and I have already learnt some which is cool. Anyway, we finally got back home and then I waited around for Jette to get back home at 3 where we had lunch (with Jettes parents as well) and then Jette and I took the train to Hamburg.

The train got delayed and we had a change over but we eventually made it. We spent some time around the harbour and even took a boat up and down which took a good hour and a half so that was good except there was some ignorant Canadian who was blabbering on about how Aussies can't speak English and that we are a stupid race and culture. I lol'd at him though because then he started speaking about Americans and French people and he was so daft himself making stupid assumptions. He was so rude though just assuming no one would care either way, he made an ass of himself, even Jette was like.. 'wtf?' Then I glared at him, making him feel bad and stupid, well, thats what I hope he felt... he was probably like 'who is this kid, and why is he looking at me? is there something on my face? *checks face* nope... I must just be awesome' Bah.

After the boat cruise we went out for a tour of the city part which was fun, I mean there wasn't that much to see in the awful weather but it was good anyway. We had coffees and chatted about the good old days and then we made out way to a nice old building (that you can see in the very missplaced photo above...) which I dont even know what it was but it looked good outside and in. We then caught a train or 3 back home around 9, had tea (cereal!) and then Jette went and studied and I did this.

T'was a good day... arvo.

Part 74: Ich Sprechen Deutsch Nicht

Yea... I have no idea if that is even how *I dont speak German* is spelt..

So Jette was at school today until 1 and being in a completely unfamiliar place with no maps or anything, Jette suggested I wait for her to come back home before I toured around the town (which, by the way, is called Ellerau) because she could take me. So my morning was pretty...well, lets just say uneventful. Jettes parents were both working and her boyfriend left for school too so it was just me wondering where anything was exploring the house and well, doing nothing until Jette got home. I couldn't even go outside because the doors were locked and I didn't have a key to get out... Sigh.

Eventually Jette did get home which was good because we made a stir fry lunch for us and Jettes Dad and Cousin who were coming home for lunch this was at 1ish. The 4 of us sat around the table and occasionally someone would have something to ask me or something general to say, but it was a pretty quiet lunch.

After we went on a bike ride all around town just exploring and checking out the area. I took some photos (but my camera is over there >>) which Jette thought was quite funny only because I was taking photos of houses, either because they were pointy or had straw roofs, which is apparently very typical of northern Germany. She understood why I was taking the photos, but was saying that it was so odd that thats something to take a photo of because its so normal to her. We then saw the little shopping part of Ellerau but didn't actually go in any, except the electrical one and then kept riding around and talking. It was odd because the land is so flat its ridiculous. So compared to the bike rides I had in Saint Marie d'Alloix, this was a breeze, which was nice.

When we got back we talked in the kitchen for little bit then watched tv which was odd, we flicked through channels and I didn't have a clue what was going on. I was actually kind of glad abou this. I have always wondered how much French I actually understand or how much I just guess because it sounds English enough. Well, not understanding ANY German, even when Jette points out that was an English sounding word made me happy because yea, means my French is good :) Anyway, not that that matters now, when am I ever going to use that again!? (hopefully sooner rather than later) anyway!! We found a channel that had English with German subs and then watched that before Jette went and studied and I... did...nothing. Then she went to Handball training and I...did...nothing. Oh I met Jettes mum who seems nice and who isnt working tomorrow. She said she'll take me to the grocery store (Aldi- lol) so yea, excitement! I am also going into Hamburg with Jette so that will be good.

After that we had tea, played cards and talked and then her boyfriend came over and then we all chatted in the kitchen together for a while until we went to bed, those suckers have to be at school at 7.30 tomorrow morning so yea.. um...yep.

I have to find things that can occupy my days whilst Jette is at school. I didn't actually know she was in school when this was organised so I didn't think about it. Hmm....Oh well, I'll just ... I dunno. At least, if worst comes to worst, I can always just work on my project... :P

OH!! Great news! Germany has Lion cereal, I can continue my Lion/nutella sandwhiches... I just need to by some tomorrow! Woohoo!

Part 73: Deutschland!

What a day! I mean, really I dont have much to say, but it was just sooo long!

I woke up at 6.00am this morning (well, 3 then lay in bed) and was gone from the Beyliers by 6.30... I dont even want to talk about it... So anyway, I arrived at Pontcharra and then caught the train into Geneva (Switzerland) then caught another train from the train station to the airport. I then waited in the airport for like 2 hours before getting on my plane and taking off for London.

The flight flew by (lol) because I was just zoned out, I didn't sleep but I was just no with it. So, I arrived in London (England) an hour and a half later which, including time change, made it 12.00. I had 6 hours until my flight to Hamburg and the check-in didnt even open for another 4. I walked around trying to find an adapter so that I could plug my laptop in and watch Smallville (becuase stupidly, I didn't have one) and couldn't find the right one anywhere! So...I had nothing to do, Gatwick Airport was soooooooooooooooooooooooo boring. Iended up sitting in front of the check in and staring at the clock, which didn't help for the last hour, then doing essentially the same in the duty free zone after checking in. I did look around for a while, but there really wasn't anything I wanted/needed so...it was just time filling.

Eventually I lifted off and touched down in Hamburg (Germany) an hour and a half later. This time, I read and stared out the window getting some amazing and dull views. Good times...

I checked out or whatever and made my way to the terminal where Jette was waiting for me! After a huuuuuuge hello hug we made our way, finding her dad on the way, to the car and then drove ad picked up Jettes boyfriend Arvid(?) names... whose parents are English and he speaks incredibly well. Upon arriving to Jettes place, I was exhausted and tired and so, we talked a little bit and then I had a shower because I felt gross and then came to bed and am now sitting here thinking.. so...no more France, I'm actually in Germany now.

First thing I noticed: They have very pointy houses that remind me of gingerbread ones... hehe.

Anyway, Ich sollte gehen,

gute Nacht x