B&B in Germany

The Bump

2010-01-31T14:03:00.003+01:00

Week 20

Week 21

Week 25

Week 29

Week 30

Week 32

Week 34

Sssshhh, I'm sleeping...

2009-10-15T16:45:00.000+02:00

This 3D picture is freaky but cool at the same time.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Sixteen weeks and counting

2009-10-13T10:36:00.003+02:00

Here are 2 scans from Wk 16, just in case you are interested. We could have found out the gender that week, but:

We don't want to know; and
It didn't want to play along, and refused to show us anything other than its bum and back.

Upside down, with a clear view of the spine.

Still upside down, with what I think are two arms either side of the body.

We still have some scans from Wk 12 and some newer ones to scan in and put up here, so stay tuned!

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Wish I had have been there...

2009-10-08T14:37:00.000+02:00

Last weekend a group of artists performed a piece in Berlin symbolising the reunification of East and West Germany with massive puppets. Wish I had have been there to see it, but you get a pretty good feel for what it was like by checking out the pictures here.

Picture is Copyright PHILIPP GUELLAND/AFP/Getty Images.

Tschüß,

Brushy

Mein Doppelgänger?

2009-10-07T17:41:00.003+02:00

A guy who I was working with at an interop event in Berlin a few weeks ago snapped this picture of a billboard in the capital. It is an ad for an energy company that was sponsoring the athletics world championships that were taking place in Berlin around the time of our visit.
Looks scarily like me, huh?

Tschüß und Grüße aus der Hauptstadt,
Brushy.

09/09/09

2009-09-09T10:08:00.004+02:00

Today is the 9th of the 9th 2009. which is cool, but it is also the 252 day of the year, and 2+5+2=9. spooky
I saw online that this is the last time there will be single digits in the day, month and year for 1001 years, but that cannot be right, it must be for 902 years... surely in 1001 years it will be 3010...

B

German pregnany vocab

2009-09-08T18:05:00.000+02:00

So every new experience brings with it a new set of vocab we need to learn, and the vocab related to pregnancy has some funny ones...

Mutterkuchen - Mothercake - placenta
Muttermund - Mothermouth - cervix
Fruchtwasser - Fruitwater - amniotic fluid
Fruchtblase - Fruitbladder - amniotic sack
Fruchtbar - Fruitable - fertile

Entbindung - unbind - delivery/birth

Wehe - pains - contractions (that one is actually more honest)

Wann ist der Termin? - when is the appointment? - When are you due?
Ein Braten im Ofen - A roast in the oven - A bun in the oven (we haven't found an equivalent for Brush's favorite - 'up the duf')

A few weeks ago one of Brush's workmate, who knew I was pregnant, commented to Brush that my diet must be bad/lacking since I was so tired... When Brush told me this I got really mad, and told Brush that he had to go back and tell this guy that I was baking a Mothercake and it takes a lot of energy to heat an oven... I am not sure Brush passed on the message though

Being pregnant... in Germany

2009-09-08T18:00:00.000+02:00

So the system here for having babies works differently than in Aus. I had had some of it explained to me by a friend here but I was still quite confused. I knew that the doctor isn't in the birth with you, you have a midwife that accompanies you through the process and is at the birth, and does the at home follow up. I didn't think this sounded too bad, but we still didn't really know what we needed to do. So at some stage between our monthly doctor apts we started to worry that we were leaving it too late to organise things, as we know from the experience of friends in Aus that you miss out on good hospital spots etc if you book to late... So after a panicked call from Brett one day that he was getting very stressed that we had no hospital organised so after some googling I discovered that the following week our local hospital was having a birth info evening, so we went along. The inf session was great, the hospital set up is really nice, their philosophy is nice, Brush likes it because he already knows 5 or 6 different ways there depending on traffic, and its close - so we decided that that would be where we would go... but this decision is apparently very early in the German system - according to the staff there we can (if we want) register 4-6 weeks before the birth that we want to give birth there, so that they have my medical info and dietary requirements ahead of time - but we don't have to register... we can rock up when I am in labour without ever having registered... so we relaxed a little :)

Being pregnant...

2009-09-08T17:38:00.000+02:00

So in answer to the general questions... I have been doing well so far. I only had a few weeks of morning/day sickness, and as Brush reported on facebook one spew - a few more near misses though. At the time the few weeks seemed to drag on forever - but looking back i can say _only_. Brett was great the whole time(when he was actually home) and was very sweet when I chuck - held my hair and only laughed a little (which is fine - I have never seen him spew but I imagine its hilarious). I have also had the other the normal things of needing to pee ALL THE TIME, indigestion (a new and not so fun experiences), bloating (not so new), overactive sense of smell, metallic taste in my mouth, Brush's favourite - rapidly expanding boobs (though sadly quite sore), and being TIRED (that word cannot be emphasised enough - one of our friends here who knew I was pregnant I think though I was being a little melodramatic, but is also now pregnant and is SHOCKED at how tired she is - I think she believes me now :) ). Most of the things I was feeling I assumed I was imagining just because I was so conscious of my own bdy, but once I started reading up I realised I was basically checking off the list of symptoms...

So we knew basically right from the beginning thanks to an at home early detection test as Brush was scheduled to fly to South Africa, and I was scheduled to fly to the Philippines, and we wanted to know before we were both on work trips... I had assumed knowing would not effect the trip as such, but after the positive result I called a few Women's doctors to get an appointment to check things out. The receptionist at the first place told me they had no apts before I flew, but that I should not fly as it would be against doctor recommendations. I thought this was a bit silly, and was a bit annoyed... I got an apt at another Doc, who told me the same thing... apparently they worry about the extra radiation exposure that you get at the altitude that long haul flights fly at... Initially I thought it was completely ridiculous, but after a day or so thinking about it the fact that more than one doc had said it got to me and I cancelled my trip. In the end it was good though as the few weeks I was quite sick would have all been while I was away, and that was not so much fun at home, but during project visits I think it would be even less enjoyable... I told my immediate boss why I was cancelling the trip, and she was great - she was so excited for me. She said as soon as I closed the door to talk to her she hoped I was going to say I was pregnant. I told the department head in the last few weeks (when he and my immediate boss got back form summer holidays) and the following day he announced it under the list of staff news in our team meeting - very embarrassing, but great because everyone knew all at once.

I haven't been coping at all with the heat, so I am happy that Autumn seems to be coming. Our office has no aircon, so I have suffered. I am SOOOO happy I am at the start, rather the the end, of the 9 months in summer. I did have a bit of a near falling down/passing out incident when we were at the Grand Prix. The weather report suggested it would be cool and cloudy, so I went dressed appropriately, but in the end the prediction was not so accurate, and I got really warm. I decided I would go for a little wander to find some shade and a cool breeze, and a cold drink, which initially helped, but the line for drinks then wasn't getting the nice cool breeze, so I started to get a bit dizzy, and as I got to 2nd or 3rd I must have looked awful because one of the guys who was working at the bar asked me what I wanted. Then things started to go a bit black to I decided to sit down, under the bar. I had assumed I was being served because I was next, but they bought me my drink (on the ground) and I didn't have to pay, and they offered to go and find my friends (which was really nice of them) but after the cold water, and a bit of a sit down with my head between my knees I was ok... After that Brush decided I wasn't allowed to wander off without my mobile.

At my doctors apt the next weeks she wasn't at all happy with my blood pressure (which is always lowish, but was really low) and she said if I had another incident I would have to go on meds for my blood pressure. She suggested that in the meantime I drink some coffee, and that I should warm/cold shower. As most of you probably know I am a tea drinker/addict (though in preparation for pregnancy I had cut down from 10 a day to 1 to 2 - SO PROUD) but I have started having some coffee most days, and doing the warm cold showering, which I now enjoy. Initially I was just turning the shower on to cold and standing under it, which was shocking (!!!) but after talking to a couple of girls at work who happen to do the warm/cold shower I now have a better method. We have one of those very European shower-heads on a hose, and you are meant to make the water cold and then do one leg after the other (from the foot up), then the arms (from the hand up), back, tummy and upwards, then I do face and hair (meant to be great against bags and wrinkles, and make your hair shiny). I do that twice - once after shampooing and once at the end, and it is very invigorating :) And, my blood pressure is much improved... still low but better.

Sorry about the long post, and the lack of posts in general. As I have been so wiped out I haven't been blogging (or doing ANYTHING for that matter) and Brush has had to do EVERYTHING so he hasn't had time either. The last week or 2 I have been feeling a bit better so have been doing some things around the house, so the posting has started again. We will also post about some other things too for the non baby crazy among you:-)

B

B + B + me makes 3

2009-09-07T09:58:00.005+02:00

Dear World outside,

Sorry that this message took so long to get to you, but the mail doesn't get picked up that often from in here. Maybe I need to talk to the mailman about that.

So, where am I, and more importantly, who am I. These are questions that you may well be asking yourselves.
The "where am I" is relatively easy to answer - I am in a warm, dark place, swimming around and enjoying the development process, as I have been for the last 15 weeks now.
"Who am I" can't be answered right now, but that question will start to be answered on 2nd March, 2010, when I see the light of the world and you guys for the first time. On that day I will receive my name, which will help start me on the journey to defining myself and being able to answer the question of who I am. Hopefully you guys will be able to help me out along the way. :)

So you recognise me later on, I thought I would send you a few pictures.

Week 7

Week 11

Look forward to seeing you soon-ish!

Love,
Me.

Yeah, we were there...

2009-08-09T16:42:00.006+02:00

Thanks to GkT for his exceptional generosity, Bel and I got to attend the "Großer Preis von Deutschland" at the Nürburgring and see Mark Webber drive his first pole position home to victory.

George, you're a bloody champion, and it was awesome having you here and experiencing the 4 hour traffic jam on the way to the Nürburgring with you. :)

In August, Bel and I also went to see Tracy Chapman perform at the Stimmenfestival in Lörrach in the south of Germany.

The gig was opened by Scott Matthew, and ex-pat Aussie who has been living in NYC for the last 12 or so years. This guy (and his band) have a really interesting and crazy sound, that just has to be heard to be understood - sometimes melacholy, sometimes happy go lucky, sometimes with a ukulele. The dude has a soft, smokey, kick-arse voice that you can also hear on his website (linked to above).

Between Scott's set and Tracy Chapman coming out on stage, the heavens decided to open up and deliver us with torrential rain for about 30min. Given that the concert was in the market place in Lörrach, there weren't many places to run and hide, but we managed to take refuge under a canvas awning attached to the ice cream parlour, that decided to dump its contents in one big gush at regular intervals over those who weren't lucky enough to be standing underneath it. Funny stuff.

After the rain delay (and the cleanup effort of the roadies on stage), TC came on an delivered a great concert and encore set. I think that it's rare these days to hear an artist whose voice is just as powerful and flawless on stage as on their records, due to the over production of the majority of shitty pop albums, but Tracy is just as good, if not better vocally live as on her discs. Sure, she doesn't deliver a gimmicky stage show that lots of people love to see, but she just plain and simply doesn't need to. That being said - when she wants to rock, she knows how to rock, as she proved in her covers of Proud Mary [Ike & Tina Turner] and Money (That's What I Want) [Barrett Strong].

Bel really loved this gig (and really loves TC in general), and if you get the chance, you should really check her out live.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Outdoor rock climbing in France

2009-08-09T16:30:00.000+02:00

In June, Bel and I decided that it was time to enrol in a rock climbing technique course at the local gym that we have been frequenting. The course was a basic introduction to a few key techniques and ran for 2 x 2 hours during the week after work, with a week gap in between so that you had time to practise what you had learned.

After finishing up the second night of the course, Björn, our climbing instructor, asked Bel and I if we wanted to head out with him on the weekend to France to try outdoor climbing. The opportunity was too good to pass up, so we piled into the car, picked up Björn and another girl in Mainz, and headed off to France.

Björn preparing the first climb

Buggered Bel brooding

The conquered crevice

All in all we had an awesome day, with us both learning a lot about keeping your balance, your center of gravity, and climbing up crevices. Both Bel and I left a little skin behind on the sand stone in France (the French national anthem says something about spilling the blood of their enemies on the fields of France...), and I had already left a sizable strip of shin-skin on the wall the night before in the gym, so after this weekend we looked like real pros. :)

Björn lead roping the crevice
The view from the top	Brushy preparing for a route that beat him

Thanks to Björn for taking us out, and hopefully we will get the chance to go again and experience climbing in the great outdoors.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Dresden and the Sächsische Schweiz

2009-07-31T16:49:00.008+02:00

The end of June saw Bel and I take advantage of one of the last long weekends for the year, and we headed off to spend some time in Dresden and surrounds. We had been toying with the idea of camping in Dresden, but decided relatively last minute that we wanted to find a Ferienwohnung (holiday apartment) to rent instead, and ended up finding an abolute gem within walking distance to the Altstadt. Ferienwohnungen are one of our new favourite things, as they give you a certain amount of freedom (no set breakfast time) and the ability to cook for yourself if you want.

Dresden and the Elbe River by night

Now, Dresden pretty much had the living bejeezus bombed out of it at the end of the second world war, and still finds itself in an ongoing state of reconstruction, but is still a very impressive city none the less. Especially impressive is the reconstructed Frauenkirche which was rebuilt using as many of the original stones as possible. You can still see which of the stones are the originals today due to their discolouration, but this will slowly disappear with time, which is kind of a shame, IMHO.

As is typical on our holidays of late, Bel and I managed to:

Sit in traffic jams for ages on the way there and the way back (thanks to the economic stimulus package that has resulted in road works all over the country); and
Get rained on...a lot! (Luckily we had a few days to play with and could reschedule our planned hike to a sunnier day)

Other than being architecturally spectacular (in the Altstadt), Dresden also managed to entertain us on the cultural (in the Neustadt) and language side of things.
The Neustadt is the newer part of town, though it is barely older than the older part of town - the Altstadt. This part of town is really the heart of the alternative scene and is full of interesting shops, restaurants, punks, graffiti, etc., all of which are completely harmless (my impression anyway).
As far as the language goes, the Sachsens don't speak Hochdeutsch like we learned, but rather their own Sächsisch dialect. This resulted in many false starts, misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and funny looks from both sides, and it generally took us a couple of sentences before both sides had found the lowest common denominator and were able to progress with a conversation with a relatively acceptable level of understanding.

The Sunday saw Bel and I take the train out into the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland), which is the playground of all outdoor sports fanatics, offering hiking and mountain biking trails, outdoor rock climbing possibilities, and much much more. We chose probably one of the most popular hikes and did it in the reverse direction (less people that way), taking us from Stadt Wehlen up to the Bastei (pre-medieval fortress) and back again in a leisurely 13k loop. If only we had have realised how much up and down was included in those 13k...

The final day of the long weekend saw us head out to Schloß Weesenstein before piling back into the car for what turned out to be a hell of a long 5+hr drive home. And boy did we need a holiday after that long weekend...

Schloß Weesenstein

Scary goat...

Tschüß,
Brushy.

PS: Sorry for the long post...

Schängel-Stadt Koblenz

2009-07-31T13:24:00.002+02:00

A week after our weekend touring Bamberg and Coburg, Bel and I headed to Koblenz for the weekend to watch some friends go crazy and run in the Koblenz half-marathon.

The Altstadt in Koblenz lies nested between the rivers Mosel and Rhein near the so-called Deutschen Eck (German corner). If you take a look at the pic that I just linked to, you will see that the flags of all of the 16 german states and the flag of the Republic of Germany are all present here, as well as a massive statue to Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm the Great).

Ehrenbreitstein by day

Ehrenbreitstein by night

Overlooking Koblenz is the fortress Ehrenbreitstein which was built by the Prussians to guard this area which was continually under attack from the French. And is it because of the French that Koblenz has the "Schängel" as its town symbol.

This area belonged to the French for 20 years, and the most common name for children of german mothers with french roots was derived from Jean, which the Koblenzer couldn't pronounce. So Jean became Schang then finally the diminutive Schängel, and this cheeky little kid can be seen all around town on all of the manhole covers, and even has his own fountain dedicated to him, which spits on passers by. :)

The Schängel fountain

Bindy checking out the local art offerings

So, thanks to our nuttier than squirrel shit friends who wanted to run the half-marathon (and did a bang-up job), we got to tick off another beautiful and famous german town (which we then proceded to take GkT back to a few weeks later).

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Smokey Beers and Daunting Defenses

2009-07-29T17:19:00.012+02:00

A few weeks after getting back from France, Bel and I decided to check out one of the gems in Germany - the town of Bamberg in Oberfranken, Bavaria. An important point for the unaware - although the town of Bamberg is in Bavaria, the inhabitants ARE NOT Bavarian, they are Franken.

The town of Bamberg is well known for 2 things - one we got to enjoy, and the other that we chose not to enjoy. The first is the Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) which sits perched on its own little island in the middle of the Regnitz river. The second of the two is smoked beer, but this just isn't our beer (meaning it's just not our thing).

Bel and I spent a fair bit of the day following a cache around town, which lead us to most of the interesting points and places to see...but didn't lead us to the cache itself. We're not really having too much luck with caches as of late.
Towards the end of the day we stumbled across a market in the middle of town which just happened to have a "Bio" stall where we were able to find all manner of things sugar and yeast free (yes, we are back on the diet again). Nearly 50€ later we had stocked up on spreads, breads, pestos, etc. and the weekend was well and truly saved (I had my sads on about not being able to eat anything...).

The next day we had planned to go to Nürnberg for the day, but a quick browse of our "Germany on a Shoestring" book the day before had revealed a fortification in the nearby town of Coburg that I wanted to see - die Veste. So we packed up our tent and headed off to see these daunting defenses that were never defeated.

After having a look around the fortifications, we walked down into the heart of Coburg to check out the palace, chill a little in the town square, and generally take in the ambience.

If you get the chance to come here, both Bamberg and Coburg are worth a day trip, IMHO. But make sure you have a designated driver, so that you can try out the Rauchbier in Bamberg - they say it's pretty good, but what would I know?!?! :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Mayday! May Day!

2009-07-29T17:03:00.008+02:00

Yeah, this posting is a little late, but better late than never. We have been quite busy lately, and haven't managed to get around to posting about the various goings-on in our lives, where we have been, what we have seen, etc. It's finally time to do something about it.

So, as a sequel to last year's May Day long weekend in Paris, Bel and I piled onto a plane and flew back to Paris to catch up with Stéven and Emilie one year later, and to celebrate Stéven's 30th in Brittany.

Parisian Café life	Best Falafel in Paris
Pretty flowers in a Parisian park	Soccer and Pétanque in the Colosseum

This time around we managed more than just the long weekend, which allowed us just to relax, take things easy, and enjoy Paris for what it is, rather than rushing around to see the sights.

Old guy getting his Pétanque on	Evil Mr Tumnus...
Tennis Pavillion at the Petit Trianon (Versailles)	Part of the village in the Petit Trianon

Before heading to Brittany for the start of Stéven's long weekend of birthday fun and frivolity, we took a day to head out to see Cháteau Versailles, where Marie Antionette lived, and where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of the First World War (which arguably lead to the Second World War, according to Bel who is sitting on the couch reading HP 7 for the 5th time).

Cháteau Versailles from the back	Fountain at Versailles
Part of the village in the Petit Trianon	Part of the village in the Petit Trianon

After Paris, Versailles, and a really good Côte de Boeuf at Baignoire (the Bath), it was off to Brittany to Stéven's parents' house and the beginning of his weekend of birthday celebrations. Unfortunately we were only able to stay for the first night of festivities, and therefore missed seeing Stéven soil his newly purchased white Converse boots with the insides of his own stomach... But who knows, maybe he will do us the honours of repeating it next year, if we manage to make it to Paris again.

Brushy in a tent

Bel and Stéven in Brittany

Tschüß,
Brushy.

A Wicked UK Tour, Part 5 - Edinburgh

2009-05-27T19:12:00.002+02:00

And finally we started the long trek back to Edinburgh to visit Jarek and Evelyn before flying back to Germany. I had been hoping that the weather would be typically scotish - overcast, raining, etc - so that we could drop the car back to the rental company a day early, and hopefully they wouldn't notice the chip in the windscreen. While eating breakfast the gods were surely on our side, as most of the hills around Glencoe were shrouded in fog, and it was drizzling. But unfortunately it didn't stay that way as we were getting closer to Edinburgh - the sky was a brilliant blue, no clouds in site, and the sun was shining right onto the chip in the windscreen, making it stick out like dogs' balls. So in hoping that tomorrow would bring shitty weather, we decided to take the car into down-town Edinburgh, part it overnight, and return it the next day when we drove out to the airport.

Arthur's Seat

Edinburgh Castle from near Arthur's Seat

In Edinburg, Jarek took us on a whirlwind tour of the local sites. We hoofed it up to the castle, along the royal mile, took a hike up the smaller hill in front of Arthur's Seat (and proceeded to nearly get blown off), ate the most awesome pastie that I have had in a long time, hit Greyfriars Kirk (including the grave of Greyfriars Bobby, a little dog who spent 14 years guarding his owner's grave), before catching up with Evelyn at The Last Drop pub for a drink and then dinner at a neighbouring local.

Arthur's Seat

A rock that I found cool

After dinner Bel and I were off to visit Mary King's Close, which is a tour through the covered over streets of early Edinburgh. Although the tour is a little cheesy at times, it was interesting to see these streets and houses that were simply built over when it was decided to make Edinburgh a little flatter. Apparently there was still one man working down in his workshop "underground" until the 1930s. He had refused to leave because his family had taken out a life-long lease on the workshop. If you get the chance to take the tour, then I would recommend it.

National Monument

Greyfriar's Kirk

The next morning it was off to the airport after breakfast with Jarek at his house. When we went outside all of my prayers appeared to have been answered - it was raining, and it kept raining the whole way to the airport. As we were approaching the rental company's return compound I stopped using the wipers in order to let the water build up on the windscreen and hopefully hide the chip. I also had my choice of car parks in the return area, so I chose one with a sign pole at the front on the driver's side, as this is where the chip was, and I was hoping that the guy wouldn't be able to look too closely because of that. The guy came over, took the keys from us, check the fuel, did his lap of the car to check for damage (he looked very closely at the passenger door at a dint that was already on the car when we got it, and was also documented on the previous damage report), and ... nothing! So we signed off on the car, high-tailed it out of there to the bus, and disappeared off to the terminal, and back to Germany. :)

Scotish Parliament

The castle from Greyfriar's cemetery

Upon arriving back at the car in Germany, Bel and I realised that we had no idea where our car keys were, and had to proceed to completely unpack our bag onto the ground in order to find them. So I guess it was a good thing that we limited ourselves to the 1 carry on bag each after all. :)

So that's it, the end of our Wicked UK Tour, and what a wicked tour it was too. We had heaps of fun, and send out a big thanks to all of those who put us up (and put up with us) along the way. Maybe next time we will take it a little slower and not do so much - 1000 miles in 1 week was a bit too much, especially when combined with a case of the green apple splatters.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

A Wicked UK Tour, Part 4 - A Highland Fling

2009-05-27T18:55:00.002+02:00

From St. Andrews Bel and I then headed west to the opposite coast of Scotland, up into the Scotish Highlands, for a bit more R&R. We'd received a bit of an inside tip from Chis and Bec for a B&B in Glencoe, so off we headed, unsure of what to expect.

Duck, duck, duck...

Arriving in Glencoe hours later, we discovered that there isn't too much to Glencoe, other than great views, a couple of small shops, great views, relaxing quiet, and great views. It was pretty easy to see why some of the scenery for various Harry Potter films was filmed up here. Our host at the B&B even informed us that he got to use one of the porta-loos that were brought in for the crew when they left them unlocked one night. He said it looked like a normal porta-loo from the outside, but on the inside it was all marble and pretty spiffy.

The Highlands

Urquhart Castle

After dinner at the local pub (I had a venison burger which was to die for), a DVD in our room, and a great sleep (the best that I had had in a while) we downed our excellent breakfast (including porridge and crumpets), enjoying the aforementioned awesome views, before picking up our packed lunch from the B&B (yes, they did packed lunches!!!) and headed out for a day at Loch Ness and the ruins of the Urquhart castle.

Urquhart Castle

After a freezing couple of hours at the castle (views are great, but I would never have wanted to live there due to the cold weather and the constant invasions and sackings of the castle) we headed back to the B&B with a few short stops to look at the bridge that appears in a few Harry Potter films and Ben Nevis. On the way back we managed to get a massive chip in the windscreen of the rental car after an oncoming car flicked up a stone from the really poorly surfaced roads. This caused me a crazy amount of stress over the next few days, as we had chosen not to pay down the excess on the car, and I had neglected to take out the 1GBP a day insurance on the windscreen. Given that I had been stung before by this same rental company for a windscreen (which I didn't chip), I knew that this was going to cost a pretty penny. :(

Urquhart Castle

Ben Nevis

That night, after chatting with the B&B owner and playing with their dog for an hour or so, we had dinner at one of the few little restaurants in town and put on a Harry Potter film in the room (and I proceeded to fall asleep pretty much straight away). The next morning we enjoyed our breakfast views, porridge, crumpets, etc. before piling back into the car and heading off to Edinburgh to visit Jarek and Evelyn.

Urquhart Castle

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Where is Bel, and why can't she hear me?

2009-05-15T12:25:00.002+02:00

----- UPDATE #3 -----
So I am home now safe and sound. Although I was somewhat nervous about the return flight I had no problems.

I have been to an ear specialist here and after a number of tests he assures me there is no lasting damage... YAY. And, I now have special drops that i have to take before take off and landing to help me in future.

thanks for thinking of me
B
----- UPDATE #2 -----
So, if everyting goes well, Bel should be coming home tomorrow. It turns out that her eardrum hadn't burst, but there was a lot of fluid and gunk in there that could have caused it to burst if she flew any further or earlier. She has been going to the Dr every day in Korea to get it looked at and get the gunk sucked out - YUM!

----- UPDATE #1 -----
Now Bel has to stay in Korea until Saturday. The ear doctor that she went to near her hotel isn't happy with her flying any earlier than that, due to her other ear still being a little blocked. :(

----- Original Post -----
Right now Bel should be in the Philippines, but she isn't. So where is she, and why can't she hear me?

Well, right now she is probably sleeping in her hotel room somewhere in Seoul, Korea. Why in Korea, you may ask. Well, she was flying via Korea to the Philippines and was due to have a 7 hour stop over before continuing on. Problem is that her ear drum burst and she isn't allowed to fly any further, at least until Wednesday, when hopefully she can come back to Germany. Turned out that her being worried about her blocked ears and nose, due to a cold that she got in France, was justified...

Yes, she can actually hear me - she hasn't lost her hearing or anything like that, but is in a little bit of pain, as one can imagine.

So, I just thought I should update you all on that.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

A Wicked UK Tour, Part 3 - A Scotish Wedding

2009-05-14T23:49:00.006+02:00

After a relaxing couple of days in Keswick, it was back into the broom-broom Blood Clot for some more highway time in the direction of Edinburgh, Scotland. Luckily Andrew, whose wedding we were attending, and who was putting us up for the night, had given us some directions for the more scenic route, so after the border it was off the highway and onto some of the back roads for some crazy driving fun.

After rocking up to Andrew's farm house, realising it was the wrong one, and then actually turning up at the right one, it was time to sit down and enjoy a break after...well...sitting down for so long in the car. Andrew was actually off picking up the first of the french visitors from the airport, so Elaine - the soon to be Mrs Wilson - looked after us while preparing the feast for the evening, including some great salads, seafood, and a mushroom risotto, which was all sensational, and me being me ate too much, of course. :)

After dinner, Andrew and Elaine were off again to pick up some more frenchies, coming to four in total for the evening. Elaine used to put french students up in her house when they came over to study, hence both her and Andrew speak french, and hence the large red, white, and blue contingent for the wedding.

A bridge to nowhere in the middle of nowhere.

That night I didn't sleep to well. The risotto from dinner was sitting like a brick in my guts, and I felt like I wanted to be sick. It wasn't any better the next morning when I got up either, but nobody else was suffering the same problem, so we were pretty sure that it wasn't food poisoning. So everyone else tucked into bacon and egg rolls for breakfast, and I enjoyed water, and nothing other than water.

After breakfast (around noon) we packed our stuff together and climbed back into the blood clot, and took two of the french contingent to the local P&R before heading up to St. Andrews via the scenic route. Apparently my driving on the local roads scared the french girl a little, which would explain the le mans like breathing that was coming from the back seat...

Honey? Did you remember to take the cray traps AND the boats out of the water before the tide went out?

Watchtowers like these are pointless on a day like today...or nearly every day in Scotland.

Taking the scenic route turned out to be a bit of a waste of time as it was completely fogged in the whole way up to St. Andrews. I also wasn't feeling that great when we arrived, so we headed to our B&B for a bit of a relax before going to dinner with Jarek and Evelyn, who were also up for the wedding. And later that night it started... Let me just say that I almost saw more of the bathroom in the B&B than the bed that night (the bathroom was really big, and you accessed it through what looked like the double doors to a big closet), and I didn't make it out of bed the next morning for breakfast. Luckily the B&B hostess gave us the tip to go to the chemist in the local town, rather than in St. Andrews, where I was able to pick up some medication to get my digestion going again and to stop the squirtle-turtles that I was suffering from. I actually found the consultation in the chemist quite funny, as the girl talked at a normal volume until it came to words like "movement" or "diarrhoea", then she would whisper. :)

Part of the ruined church in St. Andrews

More of the ruined church.

After the chemist we went to check into our hotel for the wedding and I spent most of the rest of the day in bed, while Belinda went for a walk with the rest of the group along the beach where Chariots of Fire was filmed. When she came back it was time for us to get dressed for the big event, and what does one wear when one goes to a Scotish wedding? You would think that most would wear a kilt, but out of the 6 kilt wearers at the event, at least 3 of them were foreigners, including Jarek and myself. But here's a tip for young players - if you have a case of the Bradley Pitts, a kilt is AWESOME! No fiddling with a belt - skirt up, boxers down, and THERE SHE BLOWS!!!

Brush and J-man kilted up to the 9s.	Brushy and his David McJones catalogue pose.
J-man, Derren, and Brushy in matching kilts.	Taking the kilts out for a spin. Can you see my arse?!?!

The next day I was feeling a little better and managed to battle my way through a continental breakfast at the hotel (the stomach couldn't deal with the full scotish that Jarek had) before meeting up with the others at Andrew and Elaine's hotel for another walk on the beach. By the time everyone got themselves sorted I was feeling a little dodgy again, so we said our goodbyes, went and got ourselves a fresh juice and some lunch (yes, it took everyone that long to get sorted) and headed off in the red rocket in the direction of the Scotish Highlands.

The Old Course - a shot that I took for my Dad.

In the next installment - me in normal clothes feeling a lot better, the highlands, and Nessie...

Tschüß,
Brushy

A Wicked UK Tour, Part 2 - The Lakes

2009-05-12T21:59:00.005+02:00

After our awesome 4 or 5 days in London with Chis and Bec, Bel and I jumped into our bloated rollerskate of a hire car (Fiat 500) and headed out towards Bristol to visit some other friends of ours. We met Mark and Nikki in Athens last year and they had said that if we were ever in town that we should drop on in, so we did.

But before heading to Bristol for the night, Bel and I took a little detour to Cheddar Gorge. Cheddar Gorge is where the cheddar cheese comes from, and it is here that the cheese is ripened in the caves that are buried in the mountains. By time we got there it was getting late in the afternoon, so we decided not to do the tour, but to have a quick look around the "town" instead. We found the shop in town that is the only cheese factory in cheddar, which was already cleaning up and shutting down for the evening (they all close early in winter because they have to work so late in summer), so we grabbed some cheese to take to Mark and Nikki's and got back in the car for the drive through the gorge to Bristol...which was kick-arse fun in the red rollerskate.

From A Wicked UK Tour, Part 2

When we arrived at Mark and Nikki's place we got to meet their 2 great daughters, 2 crazy dogs, 1 cat, and Belinda even got to meet the hamster. Nikki cooked up and awesome dinner for us - the first lasagne that I have had in AGES - which was a nice distraction from the news that Mark gave me, that my company was going to lay off a large part of its workforce. This ALWAYS happens when I am on holidays!!! The next morning we kept Mark away from his work until lunchtime, chatting, eating cheese, and eating more cheese, before strapping on the rollerskate and heading off to Keswick on the shores of the Derwent Water (where the pencils come from) in the Lakes District for a couple of days R&R.

From A Wicked UK Tour, Part 2

After a full Cumberland breakfast the next morning, including fried bread, Bel and I headed out for a hike through the hills surrounding the Derwent Water. The owner of the B&B had suggested a hike for us that had a required time of about 3-4hrs, but he made it clear to us that this was the time required for old people who walk really slowly. Little did he know that over the next 5 hours someone, who is not the author of this post, was going to take in excess of 200 photos of the scenery. :) But it was worth it...and we really needed the walk to work off that full Cumberland and the great Indian dinner that we had the night before.

The next morning saw us tackle another full Cumberland (again with fried bread - YUM!) before leaving Keswick and driving to Hilltop, the farm home of Beatrix Potter. This was a little treat for Bel, who has all of the Beatrix Potter between herself and her sister. After taking our time to look through the house and seeing where a lot of BP's inspiration came from, we had a picnic on the banks of a lake and then laced up the skates and left England for the land of the dress wearing men.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

A Wicked UK Tour, Part 1 - London

2009-05-11T21:58:00.000+02:00

For Bel's Xmas and B'day present I decided to get her tickets to Wicked in London. Luckily she was nice enough to take me along with the second ticket, so we decided to make a weekend of it and visit Chis and Bec while we were there. As it turns out, one of my colleagues was getting married on the following weekend in St. Andrews in Scotland, so we decided to extend said weekend to a 2 week tour of England and Scotland. Because we had originally planned to only go for the weekend, we had booked flights with Ryanair (sigh) and hadn't paid for any checked baggage (they sting you for EVERYTHING), so we took the challenge of packing for 2 weeks, including wedding clothes, in one piece of carry-on luggage with a max weight of 10kg each.

The Millenium Eye.

And from the anchor point.

A 1.5hr drive to the Frankfurt Hahn airport (which is in a different state to Frankfurt), 2 failed and 1 successful check-in attempts, a long wait, an uncomfortable 1.5hr flight including 2 for 1 offers on spirits and endless offers to buy scratchies, a long wait, and a 70min bus ride later, we had arrived at Victoria Station in London. At this point in time the heavens decided to open up, so Bel and I hid in a Café on the banks of the Thames for a while before slowly hoofing our way to Waterloo Station via multiple "sights" and catching the train to Chis and Bec's place. We took in dinner that evening at the local and signed ourselves up for the trivia comp. For a team of 4 Aussies in a British Pub Quiz we did pretty darn well, pulling some answers out of the deepest, darkest reaches of our backsides. The Tools missed out on a 3-way tie for second by 0.5 points, and headed home for the night with a well earned 4th behind "My beaver has bucked teeth", "We put the sex in dyslexia", and another team who's name obviously wasn't funny enough to stay in my memory.

Look kids! Big Ben...

...Parliament!

On Friday I bit the bullet and went with Bel to the Tate Modern art gallery. I came to the conclusion that I just don't get modern art whatsoever, though it was pretty impressive to see and original Salvidor Dali painting up close and see just how much detail he was able to capture in his paintings. Some phsychologist's detailed analysis of a Jackson Pollock painting saying that he had discovered fractals in Pollock's painting, 25 years ahead of them being discovered in nature, and therefore Pollock was like so ahead of his time, gave me enough "how much of a tool is this guy!" fodder to take to Chis' birthday dinner and really enjoy myself. :)

Midget Bindy!

Brolly and wellies are a must.

With a good cooked breakfast in our bellies (why did everyone else's omlettes work, and mine basically became scrambled eggs?!?!) we took Chis and Bec out on a 7-8 stage Sherlock Holmes inspired geocache. The cache lead us all over London, including to parts that Chis and Bec had never been to before, like the spot where William Wallace (see Mel Gibson in Braveheart for a bad portrayal) was executed. Unfortunately it turned out that the Temple area was closed off on Saturday due to the G20 protests, meaning that we couldn't find one of the answers to the clues, and the cache remained unfound. :(
After dinner at a great French restaurant with C&B just near the Theatre, Bel and I headed off to see Wicked - and it truly was. The story, the sets, the music, the acting and singing - all of it was just bloody excellent, and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going, regardless of whether you are a fan of The Wizard of Oz or not. Whatever you do though, don't try and take and video with your camera, video camera, or iPhone - they will be confiscated from you, and I will probably be the one sitting behind you laughing my arse off! :)

Shop front on Portabello Road.	What you lookin' at, punk?
Check this for hang-time!	Maybe should have heeded this warning before getting on the bike.

At Chis' b'day dinner on Friday night the seeds were sown, and on Sunday the plan came to fruition - it was off the Bletchley Park for a nerd outing for Brush and Chis! For those who haven't seen the movie Enigma, this was the home of British Code Cracking and the cracking of the German Enigma in the second world war.
Before going into Bletchley we tried to take in another cache. I am pretty sure that we had all of the details correct, but we couldn't find the hidden treasure at the end location, even with Chis and I doing a bit of tree climbing...
The it was off to Bletchley. After 1hr we bailed on the guided tour (a guy reading from prompt cards really ain't my idea of entertaining) and took in a 90min presentation on the theory of the Enigma instead. The presentation was held by a guy who really knew his stuff, but who kept it at a level that even those who hadn't studied Algebraeic Coding and Cryptography could understand and enjoy. It took a fair bit of time and effort to get Bel to stop asking follow-up questions after the presentation was over.

Chis doing his best Rizatta ad.	And helping me climb a tree.
It's da bombe!	Who is that stunning man?!?!?

On Monday morning it was time to say goodbye to Chis and Bec (thanks for letting us stay guys!!!!), London, and The Tube, and jump in our rental car - our travel companion for the next 9 days - and head west to Bristol and the Cheddar Gorge. We got to Cheddar Gorge too late to tour the caves where the Cheddar cheese is matured, but we still got to have a little look around and buy some cheese brfore heading back to Bristol to stay with some friends for the night. Here I learned that my company is planning on cutting around 1/3 of the workforce - why does this always happen when I am on holidays?!?!?

Some cool windows I found.	Boats in Hyde Park.
Not sure what the building is called, but we are in the reflection.	A little river in Cheddar. Kinda cheesy, huh?

Here ends Part 1 of our Wicked Tour of the UK. In Part 2 we head off in the red rocket to The Lakes District for a couple of days of R&R.

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Budapest - a holiday to profit from

2009-04-13T14:27:00.008+02:00

I was sitting in the office one day as an email came in from Lufthansa offering cheap flights (74€ return) from Frankfurt to various european locations. A few emails and a phone call or two to Bel later and I had booked 2 tickets to Budapest for a long weekend. A bit of quick searching on lastminute.de and we had a hotel booked (3 nights, 120€ in total) in the center of Budapest and the weekend planning was complete.

So the Friday of the long weekend comes around and we pile into the local S-Bahn to head off to the airport. A quick train change in Frankfurt later and we have arrived a Frankfurt Airport and go to the First Class Counter to check in (perks of being Gold Card holders).
Now, ordinarily the check-in process doesn't take too long, so I knew that something was up as this time it was taking a while. After a minute or so the check-in chick said "this doesn't usually happen to frequent fliers, but you are on the wait-list - the flight is overbooked." Ok, and now what? The check-in chick then told us that there is the chance to take a later flight (around 21:00 instead of 16:30) and take either a 350€ travel voucher or 250€ in cash per person as compensation. As we weren't in a hurry, we decided to take the 250€ cash each and wait...but apparently you can't just secure the vouchers at the check-in counter. We were told that we would have to go through security to the gate and ask there about the later flight. So off we go, hoping that nobody else takes them up on this offer before us, thereby bumping us onto the flight.

View from the Castle

Millenium hourglass

As luck would have it, it turns out that everyone else was in a hurry to get to Budapest and were hassling the girls at the gate about getting onto the flight, so they were very happy when we said that we would gladly accept their offer. :) We still had to wait to ensure that enough people arrived for the flight to make sure we "missed" it, which was luckily the case. So, with 500€ and a 20€ voucher for dinner at the airport in hand, we headed back through security and out to check our suitcase (we were going to carry it on, but couldn't be bothered carrying it around with us the whole time while waiting for the flight) and have some dinner.

About 4 hours later it's back through security again and off to board the flight to Budapest. After an uneventful flight and a crazy taxi ride we arrived at the hotel. Now, we didn't know exactly what to expect, as lastminute.de didn't give us the name of the hotel (special offers sometimes don't have a name associated with them), but the room that we got (with breakfast included) for 40€ per night was pretty bloody good.

Bel on a bridge

On Saturday we took our time getting up and enjoying our continental breakfast in the hotel. After that it was out to explore the city...or so we though until someone accidentally closed the door to the safe in our room without setting the code. After a few stressful minutes and a visit from the hotel manager with the default code, it was off to see the city without any real clue on where to go or what to see...and we headed off in the wrong direction... Once we had realised our mistake and consulted the map, it was off to the Opera House to see if we could find the first geocache that I had loaded onto our GPS...without success. We are pretty sure that a family had just found it and put it back where it came from, but for some reason we just couldn't find the bastard. :(
After the Opera House we headed off to St Stephen's Basilika for the second cache for the day. Just in case you are interested, St Stephen's Basilika is where you can see the mummified "incorruptable" right hand of Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary. Afterwards you most definitely won't be...hungry that is. :) We located the cache hidden away in the base of a lamp outside the basilika, being careful not to make it too obvious due to the couple not standing all that far away, and then headed off in the direction of the City Park and the Castle in the middle of the Park.

St Stephen's Basilika

Spooky looking statue

Approaching the location of the cache at the Castle in the Park, we noticed some familiar faces. Remember that couple at St Stephen's Basilika? Well here they were again. A quick exchange of "are you doing what we're doing?" looks we managed to locate the cache together, and then procede to explain to the Danes that were around that no, those are not really big mobile phones in our hands...they are GPS receivers. They thought that we must have been using them to geotag our photos, and we didn't bother correcting them...better just to leave it alone. Then on the way out of the Park we saw this guy with his eagle...

Sunday turned out to be the National Holiday in Hungary, and as one would expect, the skies decided to open up and rain on everybody's parade. So Bel and I took the opportunity to head to the busiest part of town - the Buda Castle on Castle Hill (heart of the celebrations). If only we had have known that this is where the celebrations were taking place we would have probably avoided it, but oh well...we got to hear people banging on about Hungary and how great it is (I guess) in Hungarian, and not understand a damn word of it. :)
Due to the rain, Bel and I decided to head underground to the "Labyrinth" - a series of underground tunnels and caves with old cave paintings and some newer art. While it was entertaining and interesting, it wasn't exactly what Bel had thought the "Labyrinth" would be, and was still wanting to head off to the hedge maze at the castle after we had left. Unfortunately there is no hedge maze at the castle...poor Bindy.

Parliment viewed from the Castle

Pest viewed from the Castle

Come Monday I was pretty tired and didn't really have that much energy to go out and keep looking around the city, so it was off to the baths. We chose the Szechenyi baths in the City Park, which are probably the less famous of the two in the City that we found in the Lonely Planet guide, but were the ones on our side of the river. After waiting in the queue to buy entry tickets for at least 20min we finally got in, got changed, and headed off to relax.
The first room that we entered had at least 5 different baths (pools) with different temperatures ranging from 28-38C. Initially...well the whole time I guess...it smelled kinda like eggs. Luckily you get used to it after a few minutes, but there was still the one pool that REALLY smelled like eggs, even after you got used to it. I guess the smell is due to the water composition, which contains "a significant amount of fluoride and metabolic acid, along with calcium, magnesium, hydro-carbonate, sodium and sulphate", and it was hillarious to watch the looks on the faces when new people came into the room - you know, that "GOD! Who farted?!?!?!?" kind of look. :)
In the next couple of hours we worked our way slowly through the 15 or so pools in the baths. There is even a pool there that is a permanent whirlpool where you swim around and around in circles in a pool that would be about 20m long and maybe 5m wide.
As it was still fairly cold, Bel and I decided not to use the outdoor pools, though heaps of locals and tourists had chosen to brave the cold and were rewarded with bathing fun in a really nice looking roman inspired bathing complex. I can imagine that it would be really nice out there in summer, though probably a little crowded too.

Castle in the park

A monument in the park to something

After the baths and a really delicious final meal in Budapest it was into the subway and then onto a bus out to the airport. We had originally planned to use this method to get into the city on the first night due to the exceptionally low price, but because we arrived later (with 500€ from Lufthansa in our hands) we decided to take the taxi instead, which I think was the right idea.

So thanks Budapest for showing us a good time, and thanks to Lufthansa for letting us make a profit on our holiday. If only you could bank on this and collect the cash every time... :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

PS: More pics here
PPS: This pic reminds me of me, for some reason...

Berlin (Dec 08)

2008-12-07T20:22:00.009+01:00

So during November and December I somehow had a two day training or conference everyweek. Timing wise it was terrible for work (I only had 1 full week in the office in December before we headed to Aus for Christmas) but because Brush had been away ever week for that period at least it gave me somehting to do

One of these trainings was Berlin for two days for a conference on Disabilty Inclusion in development. I may have already said (or perhaps its in the post on my trip to Armenia that is still half written) that disability inlcusion is my special area of focus along with my country responsibilites (Vietnam and the Philippines).The conference started at 1030 on the first day to give everyone time to arrive, but I had arrived the night before as I didn't want to have to get up at 4 am to arrive in time (I was taking the train). I had planned on getting a nice sleep-in before the confernce but as I got from teh train station to my Hotel and passed the Reichstag and Brandenburg gate I remembered how much I love Berlin so changed my plan to get up early and go exploring. Although it was FREEZING I wandered around for an hour and a half. Just after leaving the hotel I cam across the Holocaust momument (which I think we posted about after our first visit to Berlin) which I love. And this time I was the only person there which was a new and differnt expereince to normal. One nice thing about the momument is that people do just sit around there which gives it more life, but visiting it when it was totally empty and freezing was also great.

Here are some photos I took with my mobile...

One of the trainings I did was in the Netherlands where I did a very expensive but VERY good training course on Appreciate Inquiry. An organisation change, or project plannign tool that unlike normal planning tools doesn't start from a problem analysis but looks at strengths and how to build on them. I think in any work with human beings(which is in any organisation change process) but especially in working on development projects looing at what communiites/organisations already do well and building on that is far more sensible than only talking to people about their problems and what they don't do right... Since I am finished with my masters I am trying to do 1 good course per year to keep learning (thankfully I can tax deduct them :))
(In case anyone has any trainng needs check out www. mdf.nl - they have offices all over the world and if this trianing course is any indication are excellent - very practicle, not just theory blah blah)

The amazing maze that is FRA.

2008-12-07T19:31:00.002+01:00

Monday morning last week I had to fly from Frankfurt to Helsinki for a few days, and then on Wednesday evening from Helsinki to Zurich, before returning on Friday evening to Frankfurt. Trips like this aren't normally too bad from the logistics point of view, but as I was flying to Helsinki with Finnair and then back to Frankfurt on Lufthansa my departure and arrival terminals were different - so where to park the car? As I had to be at the airport at 6am, I decided to park in Terminal 2 (departure terminal), meaning that I would have to take the train between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 on Friday night to pick up the car - no biggy.

So Friday night I land back in Frankfurt at 19:00 in Terminal 1, Hall A. I leave the plane and see a couple of signs - 1 pointing to the exit, and 1 pointing to the SkyTrain and Terminal 2, Gates D and E. So I follow the latter sign to the train and get in (calling it a train is generous, as it is more a 2 carriage bus that drives itself...but whatever).

The "train" departs from Hall A on its way to Halls B & C before going further to Terminal 2. At the stop for Halls B & C I notice that our carriage exits on one side, but the other carriage exits on the other. What is the difference? Well, the other carriage has doors on the "public" side, and the carriage I am has doors on the "clean" side - behind security and passport control. Hmmm...what is this going to mean when I get to Terminal 2?

So, the "train" trundles off to Terminal 2 and the same thing happens again. First carriage (mine) exits on the "clean" side, and the other carriage exits on the "public" side - the side I wanted to be on so that I could get to my car.

So I get out of the "train" and follow the signs towards the exit and come to passport control. There was a bit of a line there, and I was a little worried about how the Customs guys would look at someone who landed in Terminal 1 but was trying to clear Customs in Terminal 2, so I decided to get back in the train and go back to Terminal 1 and follow the signs to the exit there before coming back to Terminal 2 on the public side.

"Train" arrives back at Terminal 1, Hall A (which is for passengers only, BTW - public have to get out at B & C) and I get out. Down the stairs and I suddenly notice that where I came in to the train has a big "No Exit" sign, a security guard, and closed doors - none of which I noticed on the way in. :(

So I chat to the security guard and he says that I can either go back to Terminal 2 and clear passport control and Customs there or I can go through the security checkpoint around the corner and then exit Hall A - so I opt for this. Seems a little stupid to have to go through the security scanners just to get to the exit from here, but this was does also lead you onto the concourse where all the normal gates are, so whatever...laptop out, fluids out, belt off, empty pockets, etc.

Through the scanners and guess what? The can of tea that a colleague gave me as part of an Xmas present looks suspicious, so it is off to bomb screening with me and my bags. :( After clearing that it is off through passport control in Hall A, down 2 levels past the baggage collection and through Customs (nobody at the control point in Hall A), up 3 or 4 levels to the SkyTrain, across to Terminal 2, down about 5 levels to my car, and I finally get to go home nearly 1 hr after landing in Frankfurt.

What an ordeal! Next time I will just park in Terminal 1. :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

German names

2008-11-25T21:01:00.004+01:00

So it is my opinion that a much higher proportion of German surnames are common words than in English. Perhaps its only because I am quite conscious of German vocab in a way you never are in your native language, but I find it quite amusing.

Here are some examples:
Spiegel - mirror
Stamm - trunk
Heller - lighter
Berg - mountain
Bär - bear
spät - late
Haut - skin
Jahr - year
Reich - rich
Esser - eater
plus all the 'normal' ones like middle-age occupations and colours

But, what I find really cool is that when they are telling someone their last name to make it clear what it is/how to spell it they match it with the opposite. It saves so much time...
So you would say your name as:
Heller wie Dunkler - lighter like darker
Reich wie Arm - rich like poor
White wie Black...

B

Do you love my insides? The parts you can't see?

2008-11-02T09:48:00.003+01:00

*** overshare warning & long post warning***

So a few weeks ago the doctor decided that I needed to have a colonoscopy. Apparently there are a few doctors in the area that do them but my doctor recommended that I go the local hospital to get it done because they have anaesthesiologists - not just one doctor who is too busy up one end and doesn't notice that you have gone too deeply to sleep (Doctor's explanation)

So I got an introduction appointment for the hospital for a Monday, and assumed that it would then take a while to get the actual appointment, but they wanted to do it that week. The only problem was that Brush was heading OS on the Thursday which was the day they were suggesting. As it is only quick kind of procedure (I have had one before) where you don't have to stay overnight I got an appointment for the Wednesday.

So they gave me a list of very clear instructions about what I was/was not allowed to eat, and when, in the days leading up to the procedure and bunch of tablets and sachets of powdered that I had to dissolve in 3 litres of water that I take to take starting at 4pm on Tuesday. Since the instructions included a very clear instruction to have an easily available toilet I headed home early on the Tuesday so that I could take everything.

Everything was fine (no extreme reactions) until I was near the end of my first litre when the very fake vanilla flavour of the liquid was just too much - so without warning, sitting on a giant floor cushion in the lounge room I chucked. Luckily I managed to only chuck on myself (floor cushion and favourite rug were fine) and my woollen jumper soaked everything up. After a while I decided that I needed to be disciplined and drink more - with an even more enthusiastic reaction this time.. but I was prepared enough that I was at the kitchen sink.

I think this was the first time Brush had seen me vomit and I must say he was great. No freak out, did the obligatory hair holding and didn't laugh at me too much about having chucked on myself. Don't get me wrong - he did laugh, but it was very funny

So the next morning Brett dropped me off at the hospital with the arrangement that I would call him to pick me up when I was done.

After I was signed in and had a shunt inserted in my hand I had to go wait in a room (with two older patients who were not just there for the day) and drink more liquid. After the previous night I was really apprehensive about this but it was always going to be part of the programme. I was told that I would have to drink 1-2 litres depending on how I was going.

So a nurse brings me in an old giant saucepan full of the liquid and a small glass with the instruction that I scull a glassful every five minutes and that after I went to the bathroom I had to show them how I was going, and then she left.

I just stared after her...

After a few minutes another nurse came in... 'Excuse me? I think that other nurse said that I had to show her what I do in the bathroom... What does that mean?'
'After you do your business ring the bell and we will come look'

OH MY…

Well, after a few hours and almost 4 litres of liquid - which I very bravely kept down, they finally decided I was ready and I had to change into the backless gown and a nappy thing... The embarrassment continues...

So eventually I wake up not back in my room but in the nurses’ station where I am informed everything went well, nothing was found except that maybe I have a small intestine infection, but that they took some samples (10-12) just to make sure, and that my blood pressure was quite low but not to worry, just to lay there and it would get better.

After a long while I decided that I was better and that I was fine to go home. So I called Brett to come pick me up and I got dressed. The only thing left to do was pick up my results (which included colour pictures) from the nurses station and have the shunt removed. So while I am sitting in the nurses’ station they pulled the shunt out... and the world started to spin and go dark...

Just then Brush called to say he was there and ask where to meet. I managed, I thought, quite calmly to tell him to come to the ward to meet me. Apparently though I sounded awful and he got a bit worried.

So while the doctors were seeing to me, putting me in a wheelchair to get me back to the room Brett called again to ask where exactly I was. I had no idea - I had been wheeled around all day by large orderlies so a doctor had to give me directions to give to Brett. He arrived at me room just in time to hear the doctor saying that I had to stay in overnight so that they could observe me and work out whether something serious was wrong.

Problem. Brett was flying out the next morning early.

After going home to get things that I needed to stay in overnight and many phone calls to the travel agent and his boss he ended up delaying his flight by a day.

After seeing the doctors a few times in the morning (and more embarrassing experiences of having to have my business inspected) I was allowed to go home

So after my first experience eof German hospitals I can say that the staff are lovely, but the food is not. Especially for a vegetarian... I can also proudly say that the entire experience (except my conversations with Brush of course) was in German.

So I finally have all my results back and the whole adventure found nothing. Though a bad colonoscopy and good results are definitely preferred to a good colonoscopy and bad results... Now I just have to keep a food diary and document how I feel to see if I have an allergy that would explain the small intestine

Hopefully that will also turn out to be nothing…

B

PS - bonus points if you know where the quote in the title is from... and more bonus points if you can complete it :)

Night Caching

2008-10-25T21:27:00.003+02:00

So there are many types of caches that you can do - multies, micros, urbans, night caches and so on. There are also different levels of difficulty, not just of terrain but in access - some you need to take climbing equipment with you, some you need to decode the first clue, some involve much research before a cache can be undertaken so you can solve the clues, some have the first clue hidden in magic eye picture that you have to view online before starting, some have webcams at them that take a photo every minute to record the fact that you actually found it so you have to wait there long enough to ensure you picture was taken, while others you need a friend at home to actually wait for you command to activate a web cam...

Tonight we did our first night cache. Necessary equipment includes warm clothes (its cold here now) and torches (plus of course the GPS). Night caches generally rely on reflectors, so can only be done at night. With this one once you found the first reflector you had to see the next reflector and walk to it, shine your torch around and see the next one and walk to it and so on until you find the final and dig up the log book.

It was cool!!!!! The reflectors have to be close enough that you can see the next one from where you are, but we were in an orchard then a forest so its not so simple so it is quite fun

It was also the first time we have come across other cachers. As we were heading to the first spot we could see torches in the distance and guessed (correctly) that we weren't the only ones out. It did prove somewhat difficult to find the second reflector so the people we had come across (who have been caching much longer but were also on their first night cache) called a friend who knew the person who had set up the cache who was they then called to give us a clue to find the second reflector...

Once we had the second we were off. The reflectors were generally the size of a lage nail head in a tree trunk so it wasn't super easy, but it was fun.

Once you have worked out what you are looking for though it is easier to find. The first cache we did we didn't find the hidden box because we didn't actually know what kind of place it would be hidden in - now it's much easier to know where it should be. The first time we looked for something in a more urban setting it was also difficult, but you start to think like the person who hid the object and it becomes easier to find it.

Bel.

Singing in the Rhein, just singing in the Rhein...

2008-10-24T18:51:00.013+02:00

Ok, so that was a crap title, but whatever!

2 weekends ago Bel and I were planning on going rock climbing (indoor) on the Saturday until Bel managed to get us invited to go on a 20km day walk / hike along the Rhein (big river). The Rheinsteig is a hike that runs along the Rhein from Wiesbaden (the capital of Hessen) to Bonn (the old capital of West Germany), through winefields and past castles, for a total distance of 320km. We decided that 300km of it was complete crap (kidding), so opted for the 17-or-so km from Östrich-Winkel to Rüdesheim (toursit Mecca of the Rhein).

Shiny web

Misty hikers

Foggy God of Wine

If I had have got my act into gear, I could have downloaded the GPS information for the trail that we were going to follow...but I didn't. So instead we relied on a book that we had of the trail, looking for little Rheinsteig stickers stuck to things, and keying in key points along the way on our GPS. All in all it was pretty successful.

Unfortunately the weather didn't really want to play along with our plans. We ended up with a fairly cold day (good for hiking) that was really foggy (bad for the view, which is supposed to be magical). But luckily it didn't rain along the way.
After conquering the 17km trail we sat and had coffee and cake in Rüdesheim before catching the train back to where we had parked our car...or so we thought. We got into the train which proceeded to stop at the next stop, and then skip ours and the next one, before stopping way to far away for us to walk back. Luckily there was a bus at the station that was heading back to Östrich-Winkel, and the bus driver let us ride back with them at no extra cost.
All in all we had a great day, and I would recommend it to anyone who ever gets the crazy idea of "going for a 20km walk" in their heads. :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Der Tag der deutschen Einheit - Das lange Wochenende

2008-10-23T19:39:00.009+02:00

At the start of October we had what is our last long weekend before Xmas, thanks to "der Tag der deutschen Einheit" (the Day of German Unity). We had planned to spend the weekend camping in Dresden, but Bel caught a pretty bad cold in the weeks leading up, and we thought that camping in the cold weather wasn't the best of ideas. So instead we planned to spend a weekend in Frankfurt and explore the city a little.

In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the Lion sleeps tonight.

How you doin', Tiger?

I was poking around in the Internet a few days in advance and managed to stumble across a geocache that was located at the Frankfurt Zoo. We had never been to the Zoo before, and thought that this would be a good chance to combine a trip to the Zoo with a new hobby of ours.

These little guys were so cute!

Spike's the name...

The cache that I found is a so called Puzzle Cache that lead us through the Zoo to a bunch of different enclosures where you had to answer questions about the animals that you found there. These answers were then plugged into a formula that lead us to the final location of the cache, which we found relatively easily.
Bel had a ball photographing all of the animals along the way, and we both laughed ourselves silly at the Rhino that decided to roll around on the ground like a tool, all the while farting like a large diarrhoetic...well...like a large diarrhoetic version of me, really. :)

Looks like someone ate too much.

I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...

For Saturday we had registered ourselves for a introductory Rock Climbing course at an indoor climbing center near us. The course was 2hrs long went through the basics of how to tie a double-8 to secure yourself to the line, how to belay with an ATC, etc. After we had passed the tests and got our certificate (Germans! Gotta have a certificate for everything!) we were allowed to climb until closing - not that we made it that long. This sport is REALLY tiring! And my god did we know about it the next day - we couldn't open bottles, lift anything, or even type properly. Everything that used our forearms in anyway hurt like hell.

Lil' blighter looks all lonely.

Ugly lookin' bird eyeing off my hot lookin' bird.

Since the course we have been back again, and are planning to go again this weekend. Suckers for punishment. :) When we come home, we expect some of you to come with us every now and then, ok?

Are you...? Are you lookin' at me?	Tooty the Rhino takes on Barkey the Tree.
These Flamingos are actually real.	The grand "Finding of the Cache".

Tschüß,
Brushy

Congratulations!

2008-10-16T20:05:00.003+02:00

Just a quick one to say congratulations to Whitty and Tanya for the birth of their baby girl Maya Katherine. We wish you guys all the best, and look forward to catching up with you in December.

Love,
Us.

Making your work trips fun!

2008-10-06T20:05:00.005+02:00

Here's a cool way to make your work trips fun - GEOCACHING!!!

I flew to Finland today (hi from Helsinki) in preparation for some training that I have to deliver tomorrow. After getting here I sat in my hotel for 3 or 4 hours and did some work before heading out side with my GPS receiver to go looking for little buried boxes - and I found 'em! In 90min I managed to find 4 that were located within an 800m radius of my hotel (I had downloaded the co-ordinates in the weekend). :)

Sure beats sitting in your hotel room watching crappy TV. :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

PS: You can now see our Geocaching stats, from the 2 sites that we are registered on, on the top-right of this blog page.

Womit beschäftigen wir uns?

2008-09-30T18:20:00.003+02:00

So, just what have we been up to lately? It has been a hell of a long time since we talked to you the last time.

1. Geocaching
Geocaching is a modern form of a treasure hunt (yar, me hearties!) using a GPS receiver to guide you to your destination. Basically someone hides a container at a particular location with a log book and some little trinkets to exchange. Then the log the cache at one of the many websites from which "normal" people like you and me can download them and go searching for the "treasure". The caches can either be single stage (go straight to the final location), or multi-stage caches where you may have to solve riddles or find clues in order to calculate the GPS co-ordinates for the next location and so on. So far we have tried to find 3 caches, with the following results:

Cache 1 - didn't find the damn thing, but Bel brought about 10 ticks home with her.
Cache 2 - found it, and I brought one tick home with me.
Cache 3 - half-way through a 10 Stage cache, but haven't found Stage number 5 yet. This one is a riddle cache based on fairytales from the Brothers Grimm (at each location you find a picture of a fairy tale, and based on a list of quotes from fairy tales you find out the GPS co-ordinates of the next location).

After trying this out the first time with a borrowed GPS receiver, we decided that we enjoyed in and bought ourselves one so that we could do it more often. This is the one that we have - the Garmin Colorado 300 (just in case you care):Yes, it's very nerdy, but no, I don't care - you can't knock it until you've tried it. :)

2. Work and Residence permits
Yes, that time of year came around again - the time of year when we sacrifice ourselves to the bureaucratic gods at the immigration department. For Bel it was a relatively pleasant affair, given that she had an appointment and a nice person taking care of her case.
For me it was hell, as I didn't get the approval for mine until 1 week before my current one was due to run out. I was informed of this via a postcard on the Thursday, and I was requested to present myself (read into it what you will) at the immigration department before the following Thursday. Now, that was going to be impossible, given that they are closed on Fridays and on the weekend, and that I was going to be in Sweden from Monday through Thursday of the following week. I tried to call my Sachbearbeiterin about it on the Friday, but of course you can never get on to these people when you need them...
So I eventually managed to get on to this chick on Tuesday of the following week, calling her from Helsinki. I explained the situation and got a "well if you are in Sweden, then there is nothing that we can do about it, and I guess if will just have to wait until you are back". I should have known from the tone of the voice that this didn't bode well...
So on the Monday of the following week - 4 days after my permits had expired - I turn up at immigration 1.5 hrs early (6am) to enter my name onto the list, like we had to do in the past, only to find out that the system had changed and numbers would be given out by a machine 30min before the office opened - that is, in 1hr time. Oh goodie...
1 hour later I get my number (the first one - obviously) and wait the 30min until they open, only to then discover that my chick was 20min late for work without informing anyone. Grrr.
Then I finally get called, after all the other people who turned up later than me but had names that are processed by competent people, and proceed to sit through one hell of a telling off by Little Miss Grumpy-britches. Apparently I should have come past and picked up an temporary extension for my permits if I wasn't going to be around when they expired - even though the new ones had been approved. WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF SHE HAD HAVE MENTIONED THIS AT ANY POINT IN TIME IN THE PAST! BUT NO!, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO DAMN EASY, NOW WOULDN'T IT?!?!?!Anyway lange Rede, kurzer Sinn (to make a long story short) - I finally got my new permits - although only for 1 year due to some bureaucratic bullshit instead of the 2 years that we applied for (and that Bel got) - and one hell of a reaming from devil woman for my troubles. Gotta love it. :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Before D&D came W&W...

2008-08-13T18:49:00.007+02:00

A few weeks before heading Down Under for Dad and Diane's wedding, we headed down south to Schwarzwald (the Black Forest) for Wiebke and Wolfgang's church wedding. You may ask yourself why I said "church wedding", and the answer is this: Germans get "officially" married at a standesamtliche Trauung (Civil Registry wedding) - after this they are concidered "married". If the couple are members of a church, then they usually choose to get married in a kirchliche Trauung (Church wedding) either on the same day, or sometime later. In this case it was roughly six months after W&W's wedding at the town hall, and this time Bel got to play Bridesmaid for the day (and was kinda pretty too).

After the service, we all headed off to the reception venue (just up the road) for coffee and cake before the main meal. At this point in time, I took the opportunity to take on a real Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake) - it beat me down, and it beat me down bad! These guys really don't hold back on the cherry liquor when making black forest cake, as well as not holding back on the thick layers of cream and cake that make up this monstrosity. It was AWESOME!!!

After the cake, and a bit of tummy pain, it was inside to an awesome 4 course dinner in the restaurant run by Wolfgang's auntie. My favourite dish was the "Indian wedding curry soup with lentils". I have never heard of this before - and it could be that they just invented it - but it was so delicious that I would have gladly had a second or even third helping, if it had have been on offer.

After the meal was finished, the evening kicked on to the giving of presents. This is another part of the day that is completely different to Aussie weddings. Here, groups of people organise themselves ahead of time and come up with elaborate group gifts. These are then presented to the couple in the form of challenges, games, or little plays or poems that they have written to go along with the gift.
One example of such a challenge was taking a tree trunk, boaring holes in it, and filling them up with 2€ coins. The holes were then plugged and glued, and the bridal couple had to chisel them open to get all the money back out.
Another example was a group that was sponsoring a massive BBQ for the bridal pair, but in order to win the various components that would make up the BBQ, the bridal pair had to try and guess the answers to questions that they hadn't seen. How does that work? The statements (eg. BMW drivers) were written on cards and carried through the audience. All of those people that matched the statement had to stand up, and the bridal pair had to try and guess what was on the card based on who was standing. This got kinda interesting when the cards progressed towards "Who has a belly button piercing" or "Who is wearing a G-string". :)

Another way that the weddings differentiate themselves from ours is that the bridal pair has to stay at the reception until the last guest has left. There is no bailing early, or no setting an end time like we do (usually midnight in Australia). No, poor W&W walked across to their hotel as the sun was coming up after kicking the last guest out at 5:30am! They asked themselves more than once that day why they had bothered to book an expensive suite at the hotel across the road. :)

Anyway, we had an awesome time, and were really happy that we got to share in this wonderful occasion with Wiebke and Wolfgang. We wish them all the best and that they continue to feel the joy, happiness, and love for one another that was written on their faces on their wedding day for the rest of their lives.

The cake that broke the Brushy

Tschüß,
Brushy

Things that I got in Australia...

2008-08-13T18:30:00.003+02:00

Here is a list of things that I got in Australia:

A new camera lens which we used at the wedding (Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 with VR);
A ripper discount on said camera lens (at Croydon Camera House);
2 step-brothers, 1 step-sister, and 1 step-mother;
A new found respect for low power cars (who needs a V8 when you are limited to 100km/h??);
A dose of homesickness and a desire not to return to Germany;
Pneumonia from my brother (night sweats followed by night shivers - still coughing);
Looked after by pretty much everyone when I was sick (big thanks to Gwenda and my Mum); and finally
Back on the plane to go home (most of which I slept through - Pneumonia isn't so bad after all).

See you all again at Christmas, and let's see if we can find something to top Pneumonia - maybe the Plague?

Tschüß,
Brushy.

D&D's Day Down Under

2008-08-13T17:46:00.008+02:00

A few weeks ago, Bel and I boarded the first of three flights back to Australia for a wedding - and a very special wedding at that. My Dad was getting married, and we weren't going to miss it for the world.

I don't think that I need to say much about the wedding, other than that it was beautiful and moving, and we were so happy that we were there to share the day with close friends and family.

So here are the photos of the beautiful side of the event:

Son, Daughter, Father, Son	B1 & B2 - such posers
Dad & Daughter do the lapel flower pinning thing	Water restrictions - gotta pay extra for water
What are they waiting for?	Dad & Daughter waiting patiently
THAT's what we've all be waiting for (for a few years)	Making the whole thing legal
The happy couple...	...dancing the night away

A random flower that I found pretty

The bouquet

And now those of the not so beautiful side:

Ah Nelson - such a picture of beauty	Is that Damo or Paul McDermot?
Who is that dashing fellow?	Oopsie forgot to do her face-ups this morning

On behalf of Bel and I, I just want to say thanks to Dad & Diane for inviting us to share in this special occasion. It was great to be a part of it, and I hope that you both find the happiness, joy, and comfort in your lives together that you both deserve.

PS: Nice work on having Fairy Bread at the reception. :)

Love,
Bj (on behalf of B2).

Things you may or may not know

2008-07-16T15:03:00.003+02:00

I had a wisdom tooth out a week ago. Didn't hurt too much, and was done in the dentist's chair in the practice with a few needles (I prefer complete anethesia, but oh well).
There is German in the opening credits of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It only appears for a few frames at a time, but if you know what to look for, you will see it.
You can tell the difference between "Mehrwegflaschen" (multiple use bottles for recycling) and "Einwegflaschen" (single use bottles) by that little ring that is around the bottom of the bottle lid. If it stays stuck on the bottle when you take the lid off, then it is an Einwegflasche. If it stays stuck to the lid, then it is a Mehrwegflasche. This is because it is then easier to screw a new bottle top onto the bottle after it being cleaned.
We're a-comin'-home to visit tomorrow. Flying via Dubai and will be landing at 00:30 on Saturday morning.

See ya soon!

Tschüß,
Brushy

The things visitors make us see...

2008-07-08T22:26:00.011+02:00

While Bel was in the Philippines on some world peace, stop hunger, or related initiative, I was stuck at home getting a feel for what it must be like when I go away - dead bloody boring. Luckily some friends from Aus decided to show up in Germany and help kill off the boredom.

Chis and Bec dropped in from the UK on the same weekend that Matt and Mel showed up from France for a two week stay in Schwarzwald (the Black Forest). So on Saturday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed, got into the car, and drove down to Ettlingen to catch up with them and head to Burg Hohenzollern for a bit of castle action - the results of which can be seen on Matty's blog. Here are some of my pics.

The following Friday I had a customer visit fall through, so I piled myself back into the car again, and drove back down to Ettlingen for a bit of a photo expedition with Matt to the highest waterfall in Germany. Given that Germany isn't particularly mountainous, this probably isn't such a big claim, but was still fun to take some pics of. Thanks for the tips Matt - though your shots still turned out better in the end (though most of the credit goes to the mullet).

And just last weekend we had Naomi (one of Bel's sister's friends) and her boyfriend drop in for a few days on their whirlwind European tour. I used this as an excuse to get us down to Rothenburg ob der Tauber - a walled city on the Romantic Road in Germany.

Anyway - to all of those who visited in the last few weeks, a big thank you. It is great having people come to stay, as it helps get us out of the house and seeing a bit more of Germany. Not only that, but it's great to see you guys when you manage the long hop across the big pond.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

AFL on Eurosport 2 :)

2008-07-08T11:45:00.003+02:00

When searching through the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) last night, I stumbled across something really cool - AFL on Eurosport 2!!! Last night they were showing the Sydney vs Collingwood game from Saturday night (I assume). We didn't watch it all, but it was amusing to hear it being commentated in German "Ach! Was für ein toller Mark!" :)

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Europameisterschaft - how cool is that then?!?!?!

2008-06-10T11:28:00.002+02:00

Being an Aussie, I couldn't have given less of a crap about the European Cup in the past if I tried. But now that I am living in Europe it takes on a whole new appeal. Of the 6 games that have been played so far I have seen all 6 in their complete length.

2 really cool things that have happened so far:

1. The flags on the cars are back!
During the World Cup, everyone went nutty and started hanging little flags from their cars, showing where their allegiances lay. Most cars had German flags, of course, but there were also a bunch with flags of the other countries. Now that the European Cup has started the flags are back! It is awesome to see so many ppl driving around with their flags out, showing their support for their country. A friend put one on our car on Sunday on the way to watch the game at another friend's house - poor little flag didn't survive the trip on the autobahn...but it's in a better place now.

2. The Netherlands kicked the living crap out of Italy!!!
Now I call that revenge! Revenge for cheating and beating us in the world cup! Revenge exacted by a third party, on our behalf, without even knowing they were doing it! Netherlands 3:0 Italy. Revenge is sweet. :)

Now, if only Australia could get special consideration and be allowed to play in the Euro...

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Eifelsacrenotrerougetriumph

2008-05-17T16:40:00.011+02:00

Eifelsacrenotrerougetriumph - my insanity riddled brain came up with this word as a summary of some of the cool things that Bel and I saw over our 3 day long weekend in Paris a few weeks ago.

Stéven and Emilie were kind enough to put us up in their appartment in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, and take the time to show us the sights, sounds, and smells of Paris. Not only did they do that, but they also fed us on countless occasions with great parisien croissants, chocolate croissants, sweet breads, cheeses, italian inspired salads, and homemade crêpes.

The back end of Sacré-Cœur on a cloudy paris day.

Half the European AE team working hard for the money.

Apropos Crêpes - if you ever get the chance, you have to try them with Confiture de lait, which is a combination of milk and sugar boiled into a spreadable caramel sauce - really to die for.

Also worth trying is the Côte de boeuf, which is a beef rib dish with the bone removed, charred on the outside, and medium (our choice) in the middle. Stéven and I shared this in some little back-water restaurant in Paris, and it was sensational!

Parisian life can be hard - time for a nap.

Back-water parisian café - unfortunatley couldn't seat us. :(

Pyramid and small arch at the Louvre.

In terms of things to see in Paris, I would recommend finding yourself a local (could post Stéven's contact details here, but that would be a little cruel) and get them to show you their favourite places. If you have to, or want to visit the sights (like I did), then it is worth climbing up to the dome of Sacré-Cœur to get a ripper view of Paris, including the Eifel Tower in the distance. Also the view from the front of the Louvre up the Champs-Élysées, and a stroll through the park adjacent are worth a look in. You can safely skip the Moulin Rouge, IMHO, as it is just dodgy looking and really nothing special - plus there is no massive elephant house on the roof. :( Climb the Eifel Tower? - I don't know, as we didn't do it, but I hear that the view from Sacré-Cœur is better anyway.

Spider sculpture in front of the Louvre.

I'm fond of the pond in front of the Louvre.

Oh yeah, try and avoid the cafes and restaurants that are set up for tourists. See if you can find some little "bobo" (Bourgeois Bohême) cafes or restaurants in the back-water where you can find some nice food at decent prices - but make sure you have a friend for help with the menus, and just for all round good company.

Paris put a spring in Brushy's step.

Grande Arche de la Défense

The tower from a small side street.

So, thanks heaps to Stéven and Emilie for putting us up, and putting up with us. You guys are welcome to come and see Frankfurt and surrounds with us any time you want.

Have to arch your back to shoot the Arc de Triomphe.	How you doin'? Brushy with Stéven's sunnies.
Cool statue with a pigeon problem.	Free Tibet!...and me from these skates!

Being towered over by the tower.

Crazy fishing guy at Pont Neuf.

Tulips at the back of Notre Dame.

Brushy's favourite shot of the Eifel Tower.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Athens - home of the High Achievers

2008-05-13T19:42:00.006+02:00

In April, my company decided to hold an event in Athens for the High Achievers in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). Due to some obvious failure in judgement, or a typo when entering the names into the list of invitees, I was invited.

The first evening in Athens included welcome drinks and a buffet dinner in the hotel, where we were entertained by a belly dancer, who proceede to make all the girls react like "oh, they are definitely FAKE!", and the guys just feel uncomfortable sitting there watching it with their wives/girlfriends sitting next to them. I am pretty sure I tried to sink into my seat as she danced past, so that she wouldn't try and
get me involved in the dance...and I am pretty sure that everyone realised that I didn't want to have a bar of it either.

Day two started with a "Pentathlon" through the heart of Athens, which was supposed to be a team building event. There was certainly some team building going on in my team, but more like a bunch of us teaming up and hating the others who were acting like dicks and holding us back. Competitive much?
In the Pentathlon we had to find a bunch of stuff, answer questions, take photos of other weird stuff etc, in order to earn points and try and be the team with the most points at the end of the day. Due to our team work, or rather the lack of it, we ended up coming in 10th out of 14 teams - but at least we had formed some bonds with some of our teammates, and it gave us plenty to bitch to our new found English friends about later. :)

Guards outside the Parlament doing their funky march. Dress and funny march were introduced by a Bavarian - figures.

Bel running away from a horse that just tried to go her.

Dinner on day two was at some seafood restaurant down by the ocean. This could have been a great night, except for the 3 guys who made up the "band", who proceeded to ruin it for everyone...IMHO. I have no problems with people singing traditional greek songs - in fact, these were good. The trouble began when they started with the english songs, without knowing the tune or the text...

The next day saw Bel and I pile into a bus with a bunch of others, and do a city tour of Athens. The tour took us past the Olympic Stadium (old one), the Temple to Zeus, and a bunch of other really old stuff, before landing at the Acropolis and Parthenon.
Interesting fact - the Acropolis is what most people would view as the rock or the defense like structure on top of the hill. Acropolis means "high city", and many of them can be found around Greece. The Parthenon on the other hand is the massive temple to goddess Athena, who is the patron goddess of the city of Athens.

Herodes Atticus Theatre on the slopes of the Acropolis.	Erechtheion on the Acropolis - temple to Athena Polias and Poseidon Erechtheus.
Top corner of the Parthenon hiding the hot midday sun.	The Parthenon covered in scaffolding - disappointing, but won't change any time soon.

The hotel that we were staying in was right in the heart of Athens, directly opposite the Temple to Zeus. Unfortunately our hotel room looked out on the pool (if you pressed your face really hard against the glass and looked left) and a renovation site - so we decided to go take a closer look.

'Brushy getting his Temple of Zeus on.

A free-standing and a collapsed pilar of the Temple to Zeus.

That evening we had the HA Gala Dinner in a really nice museum and estate outside of Athens. The food was sensational (IMHO) and the entertainment wasn't too bad either. On the one hand we had the traditional greek dancers who were jumping about slapping their feet and saying Opa!. On the other hand we had another band that was good when doing traditional greek songs, and awful when they started with the renditions of english classics. Tip guys - stick to what you know! :)
One of the guys on our table had placed a special meal request for the evening, due to an allergy or distinct dislike of mushrooms. The first dish that they brought out for him (and the rest of us) was a steak with some other stuff, and mushrooms. He sent this back, due to the mushies, and what did they bring him in return? Mushroom risotto! He sent this back, and they offered to pick the mushrooms out of it for him, before he kindly informed them that it would be better to just remove the mushrooms from the other plate and give him the steak instead. :)

The final day saw Bel and I hoof it around the city to take in a few final sights. One of these included what I will call "The running of the Illegal Immigrants". This is an event that involves the illegal african immigrants selling fake Gucci, Luis Vuitton, etc handbags on the popular tourist streets. At some point the cops decide to storm the street, and the illegals pick up their sheet with all the handbags wrapped in it, and run for their lives. It is kinda scary seeing a bunch of these guys belting up the street towards you. But you know, as soon as the cops buggered off, or were too busy arresting someone, the ones who were part way through a trade came back to quickly secure their cash before disappearing again.

Temple to Hephaestus, god of Metal, Fire, etc. in the Ancient Agora.

The base of a pilar basking in the shade of a palm at the Temple to Zeus.

So, if you get the chance, go and check out Athens. The city has a lot to offer in a very small area, so it is great for even the slackest of tourists - just be prepared for the bad air quality and excessive eating. :)

Tschüß
'Brushy.

3 days on an island - bliss!

2008-04-28T21:23:00.010+02:00

Two weeks ago Bel and I flew from Frankfurt via Athens to the Greek island of Santorini. We had a few days before we had to return to Athens for an event thrown by my company, so we took the opportunity to take a few days and relax, not doing much at all...and that's exactly what we did.

The most stressful part of the 3 days was on arrival when we took a taxi from the airport to the hotel, and proceeded to start to carry our suitcase down all the stairs to the reception. Luckily someone met us along the way and took the suitcase from us, leaving us to enjoy the view, the walk, and the sand from the Sahara that was hanging in the air, making it quite humid - quite a change to Germany where is had snowed on the Monday leading up to the trip.

The next day we had almost completely to ourselves in the town, as there were no cruise ships in the harbour. We found out, however, tha when the season really gets going, 11 cruise ships per day can arrive, swelling the population of Fira from 10,000 to 40,000 in minutes. I really don't know how this little town of tight streets and brightly coloured houses can cope, but it somehow does.

On day two, Bel and I got a little taste of what it could be like in Summer, when 1 cruise ship from Norway turned up. The difference in the number of people and the buzz in the town was amazing, compared to the first day.
After a bit more walking around Fira, Bel and I followed a whole heap of tourists down the 100s of steps to the harbour, to see what the view of the town was like from the water. Unfortunately you can't see much of the town from down there, but you can take a donkey back up for 5€ per person. For your 5€ you get one hell of a ride on a donkey that you can't control, but who knows the way inside and out, and a very sore arse the next day...trust me. :)
After the donkeys, we did a bit more (window) shopping and then had dinner in a small restaurant where the whole menu was only in Greek. The owner came to our table and asked us what we would like to eat, without us ever seeing a menu or hearing what was on offer. We told him that Bel is vegetarian, and he suggested a bit of this, that, and the other, and we ate our selves silly for peanuts - YUM!

Day three saw us get on a bus (full of school kids watching violent videos or porn on their mobiles) to Oia, on the north tip of the island. Oia is similar to Fira in that the houses are all painted white with coloured roofs etc, but much quieter and more arty. It is also apparently a great place to come and watch the sun sink into the ocean. Supposedly you should turn around and look at the reflection of the sun on all of the white houses - we didn't stay though, as we were too buggered from all of the walking of the last few days.
On the way back in the bus, I had another of my "german experiences" where I managed to find germans and start talking to them. The lady was quite shocked when she sneezed and I said "Gesundheit", as she had already heard us talking in English to each other - I love shocking people like that. :)

Anyway, if you get a chance, you should really check out the island of Santorini. It really is a beautiful place, but try and get their before tourist season starts to avoid the crowds. Who knows, you may be there at the right time to watch all of the locals painting their houses and footpaths (steps get done every 10 days or so) in preparation for the tourists.

Master said must...make...it...whiter!!!	Oia seen from the northern top of Santorini
A Greek church looking all pretty against the blue sky	The old Mills of Oia from the northern tip

Tschüß,
Brushy.

Life and Death

2008-04-05T13:26:00.002+02:00

This week in our circle of friends and family we have had both good and bad news.

So, to those who are in the process of developing and introducing a new life to the world, we send our heartfelt congratulations and love.

To those who lost a loved and cherished life from this world, we send our heartfelt condolences, and want to say that we share your sorrow and that our thoughts are with you in this truly awful and difficult time. No parents should ever have to lose a child, and no siblings should ever have to lose a brother at such a young age.

Our love goes out to all those involved, and to our other friends and family that we miss on a daily basis.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Züri! Züri! Wir fahren nach Züri!

2008-03-26T10:23:00.008+01:00

So continuing with the trend of posts well after the event, in February we went to Zurich for a weekend. We knew Brush would be working there all week so we decided I should meet him there and have a fun weekend exploring Zurich.

In Germany there is a great scheme for frequent train travellers where you can purchases discount cards for the train – these are general either a 25% off or 50% card for either first class or normal class. Because Brush travels so much for work he has had one since we got here, but it hasn’t been worth it for me up until now. In the lead up to the Zurich weekend we went to get me a ‘bahncard’. First of all we tried our local station which is sometime manned – not the case on the weekend. Then we tried the next biggest station between us and Frankfurt. Also there the ticket windows were closed, so we ended up driving into the middle of Frankfurt to the main train station. There after about an hour in the que we were finally served. We were totally prepared with all the possible paper work we may need, as well as passport photos that would be then printed on my card. After almost another hour filling out forms we are all set. The card itself, we were told wont turn up for about six weeks, but we were given a piece of paper to use in the meantime… [It has now turned up without a picture – I hope I wont have any problems using it now…] Because Brush already had a 50% off card my 50% off card was 50% off, so it cost me €110, but saved my €89 on my return ticket to Zurich

World's largest church clock face at 8.7m diameter, St Peter's Kirche

So, on the Friday after work I headed off to Zurich, well prepared for the 5 hours ride with thermos mug, book, Nintendo DS, snacks, and a sushi dinner purchased at Frankfurts main station.
When I arrived it was after 9pm and Brush met me on the platform. The plan was that we chuck my suitcase in a locker and head out to find a nice café for coffee and desert. But after wandering Zurich for ages and finding no cafes still open or full restaurants we gave up on that plan, headed back to the station to pick up my bag and have a piece of pie at a café in the station. Not quite what we had in mind but not too bad a solution (by then I really was in need of tea and some sugar). After that we rolled my suitcase (carryon size so) to the hotel. The next morning after filling up on complimentary breakfast in the hotel we headed out to explore.

This was my first visit to Switzerland so I was eager to see what it was like and how much it was similar/different to Germany (Zurich is in the German speaking section). The city is gorgeous. We wandered the old streets for hours staring at all the fantastic old buildings. After a while we finally worked out why this city had so many more gorgeous old buildings than we had seen in other places – the Swiss neutrality has a nice side effect of preventing war damage to their cities and old buildings. In a cute little café we had a yummy lunch (mien was a cheese sandwich – but I am sucker for good cheese) and decent coffee we discovered that the Swiss have the same habit as the Germans of taking there dogs everywhere with them. There was an older (and very well healed) couple whose dog was with them also enjoying a nice lunch. Showing though that perhaps the Swiss really are that bit more organised that the Germans the owners had with them a small Tupperware container that they open up and sat on the floor to put the dogs snack into, as well as carrying water and a mini water bowl with them (many restaurants do have doggy water bowls that they will bring out when a custom brings there dog with them).

Put the credit card down, and step away from the Jeweler...

I did discover that the rumours about the Swiss German really are true. When we spoke they could understand our German and would (try to) speak normal German back to us, but the blank stare is a very handy tool for when shop assistants etc try speaking to you in Swiss German – I could not understand a thing!!!!!

After exploring most of the first day and WEARING ourselves out we crawled back to the hotel to recharge before heading back out to dinner. We managed a pizza restaurant nearby then we rolled back to the hotel exhausted.

Crowds of people waiting to board the ferry with the mountains in the background (hazy)

The next day after breakfast and checkout we rolled our suitcase down to the train station where we stashed then in a locker (super practical in every European train station) then took a bit more of a wander before heading to the dock to jump on a cruise around the lake the Zurich sits around. It was really interesting seeing how the city has spread and linked up with what used to be villages on the lake edge. Also the huge number of old houses was just amazing coming from Germany (or Australia). Eventually we got back to the train station, grabbed our bags and jumped on the train – so simple. I LOVE the European train network!!!

Could only be more Swiss if it was a Bank, a Pocketknife, Chocolate, or Cheese

So long Sapa, hooroo Halong Bay, 'f Wiedersehen Viet Nam

2008-03-25T19:54:00.007+01:00

After the loud, dirty, and relatively dangerous traffic situation in Hanoi it was into the overnight train for a trip into the moutains to Sapa - a small mountain town that is getting more touristy by the minute.

The overnight train was an experience in itself, and one that I am not likely to repeat. I am sure that this was a small guage train, as the thing rocked and rolled the whole night, and I barely slept a wink, constantly worrying that it was going to tip. Upon arrival we were suddenly aware of the climate change from the city to the mountains, and were wishing that Bel's family hadn't shipped all their winter stuff home from HCMC. Brrrrr....

In Sapa we again stayed in a 4 or 5 star resort, but this time it wasn't as over the top as in Hoi An, so I was a little more comfortable with the whole thing. It also gave us the opportunity to meet Kym Gyngell (from Comedy Company and Coln Carpenter fame) who was staying in the same hotel. Bel's Dad and I even made him laugh! :)

The mountains near Sapa, without too many rice fields

Although Sapa is in the mountains, and relatively quiet compared to HCMC or Hanoi, it doesn't mean that the people try any less to sell you trinkets and other touristy crap. If anything it is worse here, as this really is the only income that the local minority tribes live from. And I tell you what, you really don't want to stop and talk to one of them, or all the others will come out of the woodwork, and next thing you know you are surrounded by a pack of ladies in dark blue smocks, or with red head-dress, trying desperately to offer you the same crap as everyone else. And of course, as soon as you are done with your bargaining and decide to buy something, the others will tell you "I would have given it to you for less". But please don't think that pretending not to speak English will help you! Most of the minority tribes are versed in many different European languages, and will always find some way to fleece you. :)

The tourist trap...

While in Sapa we did a half-day long guided walk through some of the country side, and through some of the minority villages. While the walk really was amazing, and the country side stunning, even this was a little spoiled by the constant sales push.
On the way down to the villages, we were joined by a group of 5 locals that then proceeded to follow us for the rest of the day. It was cool in a way, as they helped with river crossings, made stuff for you out of grass and tree leaves, and were pleasant company to talk to. Unfortunately all of that kinda disappeared into a distant memory when we got towards the end of the walk, and they started trying to sell us stuff again, even though we had tipped them for helping us along the way (done thing, and then they should usually leave you alone).

The "extended" Greig Family :)

Anyway, all of that stuff you can take with a grain of salt, and is kinda worth it for the experience and the scenery in this crazy little town.

After 3 or 4 days in Sapa (who can remember??) it was back into the train from hell and back to Hanoi (still no towers) before heading out for a 2 day cruise on Halong Bay. If the weather had have been clearer, then this would have been even more stunning, but it was still fun to spend a couple of days away from everything on a reconstructed French paddle-steamer. (Vendors still find a way to get at you out here too though).

One of the rare moments that the sun appeared on Halong Bay

A floating village on Halong Bay that even has a school

All in all, we had a great time in Viet Nam, and I would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it. I would also recommend that you try and get around to it soon before too much more of the charm and culture of this country gives way to the inevitable wave of tourism.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Hanoi - where are the damn towers?

2008-03-24T20:01:00.010+01:00

After Hoi An, it was off to Hanoi, where I was hoping on seeing some towers that I could rearrange by moving increasingly larger discs from one stick to another...

From the relative calmness of Hoi An, it was a bit of a shock to arrive in Hanoi and be confronted again with the extreme traffic that we had left behind in Ho Chih Minh City. Other tourists had told us that the traffic in Hanoi was better than in HCMC, but I am not sure that I would agree. It is hard to say if it was better or worse, it was simply different. eg. In HCMC you can pretty safely cross the road at any point in time, as long as you are confident and committed to the crossing - the traffic will dodge around you. In Hanoi they are not so willing to dodge, as Belinda found out on day one as she was collected by a motorbike coming through the traffic in the wrong direction. Luckily it was very light, and she only got a few bruises on the shins from the whole affair, but it was enough to make us doubt our road crossing skills for the rest of the trip.

One other thing that is different in Hanoi are the beggars and roadside vendors. In HCMC they will ask you once if you want to give them something or buy something from them, and that is it. In Hanoi they are all very persistant, and will follow you for
blocks offering you different things (vendors) or begging for money with their blind uncle in tow. The vendors here will even offer to let you hold their baskets and wear their hats for the purpose of a photo - with the expectation that you will buy something off them in return. You have been warned. :)

Hanoi is also a city where you can find a lot of copied and real name brand stuff being sold from small shops all over the city. For example, you could get your hands on hiking packs and other backpacks from Crumpler, Lowe Alpine, Jack Wolfskin, etc just near our hotel. Or there were other sections of town that were dedicated to shoes, clothing, electronics, or even optomotrists that could copy your existing prescriptions and put them into brand name frames for peanuts. Bel's mum took these guys up on their offer and was very happy with the results. Suz also took a lot of them up on their sunglasses offer... :)

On our second day in Hanoi we booked with another tour company to do a tour to the Perfume Pagoda, which is a cluster of pagodas in the perfume mountains, about 70km from Hanoi. To reach the pagodas we were rowed for about 1hr in a metal canoe along a river between fields and mountains. With the mist in the mountains, it really was quite amazing. Then to reach the largest of the pagodas - a temple inside a large natural cave - we took a gondola (built by the Swiss, thank God or Buddah) up into the mountains, which was a lot faster than the 30min walk back down again.

After a buffet lunch of questionable looking but delicious foods, it was back into the boats for the 1hr ride back to the tour bus. The piece and tranquility of the ride back in the boats was destroyed a little by the stress associated with the expected tip at the end of the trip. The "done thing" is to give them 50,000 dong and leave as fast as you can, because they will try and squeeze you for more. This happened to me after getting out of the boat first and holding it so that the others could get out. After they had given the guy the 50k, he tapped me on the shoulder and was asking for more. What did I do? Well, I just walked off... Don't know what all the stressing was for. :)

Back to Hanoi for a bit more "experiencing the city" - including two guys going at each other with sticks on the street - before packing again and heading to the train station for the overnight train to Sapa. But that's a story for another day.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Hoi An - cut to fit

2008-03-07T18:46:00.014+01:00

On New Year's Eve we left our hotel in Ho Chih Minh City, took a brief stop at the post office so Bel's family could ship a bunch of winter clothes back to Oz (had been with us in Germany, and the weather in Viet Nam was somewhat different...), before heading out to the airport to fly to Danang.

I had an interesting experience at the airport when I bumped into a Vietnamese guy who was also travelling to Danang (not in the literal sense of bump). I noticed that this guy had a German address on his luggage, and we ended up chatting for a bit in German. Was kinda strange, but kinda cool at the same time. This was the first of many german language encounters in the last place on earth that I expected to have them...

So, landing in Danang we piled into the shuttle and were driven about 30min to our hotel on the beach. This particular area of Viet Nam was where the American soldiers came for R&R before being sent back to the battle front, and is also the area that apparently featured in some series "China Beach". Don't ask me for the details, I am just a tourist here...

This hotel / resort that we stayed in was amazing...but also a little over done in my opinion. Especially seeing how the normal Vietnamese live, living in this kind of opulence makes you feel bad. That being said, the massive bed, seaside location, swimming pool, etc. makes you quickly forget your bad feelings. :) ...at least until you step out the door again...

So in this resort, Bel and I had our own room this time, with Bel's parents in another, and her sister in her own room (jumped up and down like a crazy idiot with glee...or so the reports go).
Outside there was a massive swimming pool that stretched along the beach front (one may ask - why have a pool at the beach??), including swim up bar - but it was a little too cold and windy to think about taking a dip.

That night, being New Year's Eve, we unfortunately had to attend the New Year's Eve Dinner at the hotel for around $50USD a head. This may not sound like much, but $1USD goes a hell of a long way here, so it really was excessive for what it was. Basically dinner was a banquet of fresh seafood and other dishes, deserts, coffee, etc. For the first couple of hours the drinks were on the house, and after that you had to pay for them. This ritualistic fleecing of the guests started around 10pm, which is when most ppl would have liked to start getting sauced in order to see in the New Year - nicely timed.
The Dinner included a live show which showcased some of the local talent (I guess the other resorts got the first pick...), including some traditional Vietnamese dancing, some guy who played a flute / pipe instrument making bird-like noises, and a band imported from the Philippines (local talent must have been thin on the ground).

The next day we got picked up early to go and visit the My Son ruins, which were where religious ceremonies and burials of royals of the Champa Dynasty from 4th to 14th Century - more info on Wikipedia. Bel and I were sitting in the back of the van with Suz, getting merrily gassed to death along the way. I am sure that there was a leak in the exhaust somewhere, but Bel's parents didn't notice it at all. In fact, they fell asleep on the way back...or did they just lose consciousness due to the fumes?!?!

Unfortunately it started raining on the way to My Son, and continued to rain the whole time we were there, which made for one grumpy and probably unbearable me. I spent most of the time trying to take photos from under an umbrella, but still succeeded in getting my lens wet and dirty, which just made matters worse. Because of all that drama, I missed most of the information, but was still impressed by the site - especially the inital walk into the valley, which was all misty and mysterous looking...

Bel's mum getting rained on at My Son

Does my phallus make you jealous?

One of the key pieces of information that I took away was that these guys loved all things phallic...especially the pouring of milk over them during religious ceremonies.

After My Son, the rest of our time in Hoi An was spent exploring this cool old city, which has unfortunately become a little touristy, but luckily still kept some of the old charm. The streets in the old town are really interesting to walk down, taking in the buildings and the people, but most of the shops are now just tourist oriented.

Locally made silk lamps swinging in the breeze

A Hoi An street at night with a motorcycle driveby

One of the main tourist activities in Hoi An is tailoring, and we weren't going to pass up this opportunity. A large amount of our time there was dedicated to the tailoring of suit pants, shirts, and jackets for Bel and I. Even Bel's Dad, who claimed that he didn't want anything, fell prey to the tailoring fever, taking home 2 suits and 11 shirts. But all of that paled into insignificance compared to Suz's purchases... :)

Hoi An also saw us celebrating Bel's birthday, which was a little drama of its own. Bel's parents had bought her some nice Lacqwork pictures in Ho Chih Minh City, which were all nicely packaged up, and which Bel had carried onto the plane on the way to Da Nang. On arrival in Da Nang the lacqwork was loaded into the bus with us, but we apparently forgot to get it out at the other end. Upon noticing this on Bel's birthday-eve there was a lot of searching, stressing, tears, etc. We finally got on to the travel agent and they tracked the lacqwork down, which was then delivered back to us by the driver when he picked us up to take us to the airport for our flight to Hanoi...

A little local teaching me how to make
boats from tree leaves

Hardly a Holden or Ford V8 ute in
sight for these local builders

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Charlie in the trees...

2008-02-14T18:54:00.012+01:00

While most people were still sitting on the couch, moaning and holding their stomachs after eating WAY too much at Christmas, we (Bel, her family, and I) got into a plane and flew half way around the world to Viet Nam for a 2 week cultural shock - and what a shock it was!

Bel had already been to Viet Nam before (work thing), and was a little more prepared for the overwhelming sounds, smells, and sheer intensity of the country than we were. That didn't stop her getting hit by a motorbike while crossing the road in Hanoi...luckily it wasn't very serious (a bruise or two), but it did scare the bejeezus (?) out of her. But that comes later...

Our first stop on the family tour through Viet Nam was Saigon or, as it is now known, Ho Chi Minh City. Coming out of the airport we expected to find someone waiting to pick us up and take us to our hotel. Little did we expect that there would be 100s of hired shuttle drivers waiting for their customers, so it took us a few phone calls to the travel agency and about 30min to locate the driver. Then it was into the taxi / mini-van for the hair-raising trip to the hotel.

For those who have never been to Viet Nam or anywhere like that before, the whole "driving experience" here is best left to the profis. There is no hope in hell that you would survive more that 5 mins in this complete shit-fight that is the Vietnamese way of traffic life. There are more motorbikes on these roads than you would ever seen on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne (but none of these are standing still), and per bike there are more passengers that in an average family car in the rest of the world. Indicators also don't seem to exist, and overtaking is achieved by using your horn - constantly - to let people know you are coming. And lanes? What are they? Drive wherever the toss you want - the fittest or those in the biggest car survive. I can really understand why it has recently become compulsory to wear helmets here.

That night we had an awesome dinner in Ho Chih Minh City after choosing to avoid the noodle restaurant that had a sign outside "No Pay, No Delicious". After much thinking, we realised that this meant that you didn't have to pay if you didn't like it, and not that if you don't pay then you don't get something delicious, or any of the other variations we came up with.

The next day we piled into our shuttle bus and headed out to the Chi Chu Tunnels. These tunnels were where the VC lived and fought during the war with France and then with the US. These tunnels actually had 3 levels, with kitchens, living space, offices, etc all underground. These tunnels also allowed the VC to get behind their enemy and surprise them, before disappearing and turning up somewhere else.
Here we also had the chance to squeeze into a single person hiding place, which would be used when the enemy was coming and the VC didn't have a chance to get back to their normal tunnels.

After the tunnels we headed to the Cao Dai Great Temple, which is a temple belonging to a sect that pulls together elements of 6 or 7 religions. This was a freaky and very colourful place, but I wouldn't say that you absolutely have to see it, if you go to Viet Nam.

That reminds me - on the way to the Chi Chu tunnels, we pulled out to overtake a truck, car, cow, whatever, and were on the "wrong side of the road" (not that that seems to exist here). Coming from the other direction was a motorbike / scooter with a dad driving, and his little boy standing infront of him. As we got closer and closer, to the point that we all thought that we were going to crash, the little boy lifted one of his hands up and covered his eyes... Luckily our driver decided to finally get out of their way and let them live a little bit longer.

Ok, so that's enough about Ho Chih Minh City. Next time we head off to Hoi An for New Years and Tailoring tailoring tailoring...

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Street vendor and her shop, on the move.

One of the levels of priest or believer from the Cao Dai sect.

Installing new powerlines. What work place safety regulations??

My Kingdom for...

2008-02-14T18:43:00.002+01:00

...a copy of L'Antidote (The Antidote) with English subtitles! There is a possibility that the version on Amazon.fr has English subtitles, but I can't really tell or work out how to order the film, as the whole website is in French. If I could understand French, I wouldn't need the subtitles now, would I?!?!?

For anyone who has seen "The Dinner Game", L'Antidote has the guy who played the idiot in The Dinner Game, and is also a great film, if I remember correctly. If you want to see another film with the guy who played the other main character, then check out Les Bronzés.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

10 years...

2008-02-05T11:59:00.000+01:00

Today (or maybe Sunday or yesterday) is our 10 year anniversary!!!

We have never quite worked out which day it is as there was no 'will u go steady with me?' moment, but somewhere between Feb 3 and 5 it just happened. Aaaaw

We had talked about doing soemthing to mark the ocassion, but then as it got closer we forgot, so Brush is in Zurich all week and I am home, but we will be meeting up in Zurich on Friday night to spend the weekend together there, so that is something.

Its amazing how fast time really does fly...

Santa, Surfing, Snow...

2007-12-18T11:40:00.000+01:00

Took Belinda's parents and sister up Feldberg yesterday to enjoy the view - we had no idea what an interesting view it would be on this particular day.

Firstly, let me set the scene:

That's right - freezing f'n cold. It was around -5.5C, with a wind chill factor to about -15C. Not a place for the faint at heart. Then we saw this:

That right there is a model in a bikini, with a surfboard, getting photographed. Before I snuck this shot we saw here kicking around in a skimpy Santa suit. When we were driving back down Feldberg she nearly caused an accident as we saw her getting photographed TOPLESS! That's right, TOPLESS in -5.5C weather!

Merry Xmas. :)

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Wann ist 'ne Autobahn keine Autobahn?

2007-11-23T20:38:00.000+01:00

When is an Autobahn not an Autobahn? When it's a carpark!

Every day for the last 2 weeks, there has been a traffic jam on the A5 between Friedrichsdorf (where we live) and Frankfurt (you know, that big city that was named after the sausage) - and not only in one direction. Every day this traffic jam is between 8 and 12km long. Every day this traffic jam is because of an accident.

It is as though everyone has suddenly forgot how to drive because it has started to get cold. It hasn't even started to snow yet, so I am kinda concerned how this is going to look in a few weeks time...

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Selling blood to survive in China

2007-11-23T16:21:00.001+01:00

If you want a really fucked up read, then check out this article on The Age's website. It is about peasants selling blood in order to survive in the poorest parts of China.

China's Deadly Trade

Tschüß,
'Brushy

ITD?

2007-11-19T20:45:00.001+01:00

One of my friends reliably informed me that today was International Toilet Day. Toilet humour it one of my favourite topics, so I thought I would copy my response that I send them and paste it here on my blog for you to enjoy.

"International Toilet Day" huh? Well if that ain't enough to give you the shits! :)

But on my favourite topic - I saw a report on TV the other day that was saying that Germans are predominantly folders, whereas Americans are predominantly scrunchers. Because of this, the Germans find the American thin and baking-paper like toilet paper too easy to break through (if you get my drift...), whereas the Americans find that the German multi-layer softer paper isn't rigid enough for the folds to be able to grab anything...

God, I nearly spewed writing that...sorry. :)

PS: Folders are people who fold the paper into many layers, and then use sheer finger pressure to remove the .... Scrunchers scrunch the paper into a ball, using the edges and the folds to, I guess, kinda scrape it off.

Keep all that in mind next time you eat a Picnic bar... :)

PPS: I just chuckled when I had to click "Log out" to log off another website. :)

PPPS:

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Frozen Lions

2007-11-18T21:04:00.000+01:00

Went to the ice hockey today to see Frankfurt Lions play the Hamburg Freezers. The game was a pretty good one, with the Lions having a 2-0 lead, before the Freezers came back and scored 2 quick goals to make it 2-2 by the end of the 2nd period. The third period saw the Lions take the lead again 3-2, and then the Freezers snuck the equaliser in with about 2min to go to send it into overtime. Nobody scored in overtime, so it went to penalty shootouts, which Frankfurt lost 2-3. :(

But the game is not the thing that I really wanted to mention too much. For some reason, the Lions played in their 3rd Jersey for the first time this year. This year it is also a different jersey to the green and pink one that I posted about last year (and their other 2 jerseys have changed too...but not so much).

The thing that I found crazy is the number of supporters who bought themselves this new jersey at the game today. The selling of jerseys here is a massive business (I assume), with a massive percentage of the crowd having one. Then the supporters go nutty when a special jersey comes out, like this 3rd one, or some that look like they were made in the past for games around Xmas (with snow-flakes on them etc).

I mean, I am kinda a "supporter stuff whore" who likes to buy stuff to show his support for a team, band, or whatever - but the germans are leaving me for dead in this department.

That was it. Not very interesting...sorry. For more interesting posts, see the ones that were posted a few days ago.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Multi-culti confusion?

2007-11-18T11:47:00.000+01:00

Ok, so in Europe you are bound to get a lot of multi-culti going on, but a restaurant in Bad Homburg seems to have either 1) taken it too far, or 2) misunderstood the assignment. I have their flyer infront of me, and it reads:

Pizza Service beim India Haus
Nur deutsche und italienische Küche

Which when translated means:

Pizza Service from India House
Only german and italian food

Anyone else confused? With a name like "India House", I would expect, well, INDIAN FOOD! But no! That would make too much sense! How about we call ourselves India House and then only serve german and italian food - that will confuse the hell out of everyone!

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Arsehole Taxi driver, lady that doesn't like to be touched, and Amazon gone wrong.

2007-11-16T16:54:00.000+01:00

Oh what a difference a day makes,
24 little hours...

STORY #1 - Arsehole Taxi driver, aka. Silence! I KILL YOU!

This morning I flew to Amsterdam to go and visit a key Customer. I usually get picked up at the airport by my Sales Guy, but he wasn't coming on this visit, so I had to take a taxi about 15min to the Customer.

So, I get in the taxi, and the guy asks me where I want to go. I tell him the street name and number in "Schipol". He tells me that he doesn't know where that is, and I tell him to put it in his TomTom system that he has on the dash of the car. So I tell him the address again so that he can enter it.
Now he tells me that "this is Schipol" and that "it is too close - take a bus". I tell him the address again, and he says again "this is too close - take a bus". I told him that I didn't have time to take a bus, but he just said "this is Schipol - too close - take a bus".
So, after a few more attempts, and voices being raised on both sides, I get out of the cab and slam the door. I ask the attendant to get me a new taxi, but he says "he has to take you". I discuss this with the attendant for a while but he says that it is the driver's punishment, and that he has to take me even if it is close. The driver is now out of the taxi and claiming that I never told him the address, a claim which I refute.
Back in the taxi and he is pissed. I give him the address again and he punches it in the TomTom and speeds off like a freakin' idiot. During the 15min drive to the Customer he keeps claiming that I never told him the address, that is it too close and I should have taken a bus, and that he had to wait at the airport for 2hrs for this fare. I tell him that I am sorry, but that's not my problem.
The ride of joy continues with him yelling at me in a mixture of English and Dutch, and me yelling back in a mixture of English and German (sounds really nasty when you are angry). He is now claiming that I shouldn't have yelled at him because he is a person and not an animal, even though he is doing the same to me.
Anyway, we finally arrive at the Customer and he says "30€". I ask where the meter is because I cannot see it, and I can't believe it could be 30€. He shows me the meter and it has 21€ on it. He then says "but I had to wait at the airport for 3hrs" (up from 2) and that I have to pay for that. I tell him that I don't have to pay for that as that is part of his job - waiting.
Eventually I have had enough and I say "fine" and give him my credit card - "*sigh* you don't have cash?". I did have cash, so I got it out and said "I need a receipt". More sighing and he writes me a receipt for 21€. I tell him "no, I need the receipt for 30€ if you are charging me 30€" (still haven't given him the money yet). More bitching under his breath about "I am just taxi driver" or something, and he tells me that I should lodge a complaint. Anyway, I give him the cash and I get the change for the 21€ that is on the receipt and get out.
Now as I am walking into the Customer he is doing the slow driving, stopping, glaring, mad eyes shit. Oh well, not my problem...freak.

Before you ask, no, he isn't a native Hollander.

Man, I was so mad after all that that I was physically shaking...

Anyway, the taxi back to the airport runs under contract from my Customer, and they gave me a card so that I can call them next time I turn up, and I don't have to ride with Dr Jihad again...

(For the reference to "Silence! I KILL YOU!" have a look at this clip on YouTube).

STORY #2 - Lady that doesn't like to be touched, aka. WHY FLY THEN?!?!?!?

So, after the Customer visit I rock up to the airport in Schipol (with a different taxi). The 4 lines for the security check already stretched back to the doors (about 30m long each), and it was only 13:15. I would hate to see this at 17:00!

Anyway, I finally get to the front of the queue and go through the security check without a beep (wearing my best "don't beep" shoes, shirt, and pants - but I still beeped in Frankfurt this morning).

While I am packing my stuff, there is a lady who is having to be searched because she beeped. She is busily telling the lady who wants to search her "I don't want you to touch me. My body is mine, and I don't want anyone to touch it." (While doing this, she is mainly pointing at her boobs). This discussion goes on for a while, and I pack my things slowly, as this is quite entertaining. She is even trying to convince the search lady that "it is my necklaces" and "I don't want to be touched" - yeah, BECAUSE TERRORISTS NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT ONE, YOU STUPID...
I turned away for a minute and I think she ended up getting touched, and I heard her telling her husband about it, who wanted to raise a complaint or something...

Lady (I hope you are reading this) - if you don't want to be touched, take the f'n necklaces off and all other metal that you have on your person. Then, to be really sure, take of your shoes as they usually contain metal. Finally, if you really don't want to be touched, DON'T FUCKING FLY!

Some people...

STORY #3 - Amazon gone wrong, aka. I say Hardcover, you say Paperback, let's call the whole thing off!

About 1 week ago we ordered Harry Potter 1-4 off Amazon.uk, all of them in Hardcover format. I was very certain to make sure of this, as we had all of the others in Hardcover, and wanted to complete the set so.
Anyway, after a few days the books arrived, and books 1, 2, and 4 were Hardcover, and book 3 was Paperback. I had a look at the order sheet that they sent with it, and it quite clearly said HARDCOVER for all of the books. Closer inspection showed that the ISBN on the order for the HARDCOVER actually matched the ISBN on the Paperback, which was kind of worrying.

Anyway, I sent the book back with a letter explaining this and asked for a replacement with the HARDCOVER version. Anyone see where this is going yet?

So today I go to pick the book up. What do I get? PAPERBACK!!!!!! What's on the order sheet that is with the book? HARDCOVER!!!!!!

I log on to the Amazon.uk site and look up the old order, which is now showing PAPERBACK against the book 3 where it showed HARDCOVER before. I check Bel's email and find the old order which quite clearly states HARDCOVER. Looks like they realised their mistake and fixed the website, but still screwed up the order anyway...

So now I may have to send the book back again (and pay for return shipping) and hope that I get the hardcover this time. Although, I may not have to send the book back, as we did get a mail from them after the last f'up to say that I didn't have to send the other one back because it would be quite expensive, but it was too late...

Right, so that is it from me for now. My hands are freezing cold and it has been really hard to type this - I think it is around 1C here at the moment.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

More random photos from my Palm...

2007-11-14T21:12:00.000+01:00

This was at breakfast in Switzerland were the french and german speaking parts border with each other - therefore the sign was in English, French, and German. My first look at the card made laugh because I thought they meant to say "Plain Toast" and came out with "Pain Toast" instead. Then I was informed that this is french for "toast bread". Still, the idea of "Pain Toast" makes me laugh..."Mummy, my toast tastes like owies!".

Can't remember if I have shown this one before. It is in an airport somewhere in the north of Germany, and is an ad for Sixt car rentals. The sign below it says "Warning! Only stuck with cheap [glue]." I think it goes on to say that they couldn't afford anything better because there is no room left in their prices for better glue.

I just loved the English on this sign in the toilets in Düsseldorf. "The toilet is only intended for the absorbtion of human excrements". Couldn't really be more clinical if it tried.

I don't remember if I have banged on about the Bild newspaper before or not. But I saw another classic front-page headline the other day. Forget all the other important shit that is going on in the world, like flooding in Hamburg (under 3m of water), or that stuff with Pakistan. What is more important is that the "First Bundesliga Goal scored with Penis" happened!
[snip - photo removed because it turned into a porno ad]
And don't ever accuse the Germans of not being able to make a joke. They even used phrases like "dieses Tor war geni(t)al!" (genial means ingenious/genious, and genital means...well...genital).
If you can, you should really try and read the high quality article on the Bild website (try translating it through google or something) here.

Ok, that's it from me from a very cold Germany.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Finished

2007-11-01T20:44:00.001+01:00

So it has been a long time since I have posted - mainly because every free moment of mine over the last few months has been spent reading, researching and writing, but as of last weekend I am finished my masters!!!!!!! (Well assuming its processed properly)

I am so glad I am finally finished, as is Brett who has spent the whole time I have been studying doing all the housework and cooking, and trying to amuse himself - poor Brett

B

Remember us...

2007-10-22T10:12:00.000+02:00

...when you are sitting on the beach.
...when you are having a BBQ in the sun.
...when you are forgetting to put sunscreen on your forehead.
...when you are in general enjoying the warm summer weather in AUS.

Why? Well, when we got up it was around 0C, and at 10:14am it is still around 3C...and winter isn't even here yet. :(

Tschüß,
'Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ushy

Wilkommen in der Heldenzeit!

2007-10-20T16:14:00.000+02:00

On Tuesday last week, Bel and I headed in to Offenbach (it's own town, and NEVER to be called a part of Frankfurt) to see Wir sind Helden play in the Offenbach Stadthalle. I had been looking forward to this gig for ages, and the Helden didn't let us down.

At the gig you noticed the effect of the new non-smoking laws as all the fans stood outside tarring their lungs before the show started. Inside the venue there was not a single whisp of the foul smelling blue smoke to be seen - and I was a very happy camper!

I don't remember the name of the warm-up band, but that is ok, as I won't be rushing out to buy their CD. I mean, they were ok, but they were a little loud and heavy compared to the Helden, so they didn't really fit the scene - IMHO.

Around 9pm Wir sind Helden hit the stage, and went on to perform for somewhere between 90min and 2hrs, with 2 encores. I am not the world's biggest fan of the guaranteed encore, but I am glad these guys came back on twice and added some of the older and really popular tracks to the gig - tracks like "Elefant für Dich" (Elephant for you) and "Denkmal" (Monument).

During the gig, Judith Holofernes (who formed the band, and does all the vocals), who was a little sick, laid down some great vocal and guitar performances and was dancing and jumping around like a complete freak the whole time, kitted out in a green dress with purple pockets that reminds you of the uniforms in US Diners - classic. Jean-Michel Tourette put in some nice work on the guitar and a few different forms of keyboard, including one that is worn like an electric guitar. The other two members of the group rounded out the performance with some nice work on guitar and drums as well, with the whole band then backed up a 3 piece brass section for that extra bit of umphf.

Anyway - if you want to learn any more about the band, check them out on Wikipedia or on their own website.

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

The worst Wurst?

2007-10-16T21:29:00.000+02:00

After dinner tonight I switched the TV on and flicked over to N-24, which is a station that does a lot of Docos and other stuff. Part of tonight's Wissen section was showing us how Zungenwurst (or Tongue Sausage) is made.

Basically Zungenwurst is a Blutwurst (blood sausage) that also contains pigs tongues. The pigs tongues are put into a big drum with salt and some water for about 24hrs, then they are cooked for a while, before being shock cooled in ice water. You know that the tongues are correctly cooked at this point because the slime and other crappy bits of the tongue can be removed with your bare hands without much effort.
While this is going on, fat from a pig's back gets cubed and cooked in boiling water. You know the fat cubes are ready when you squeeze one between your fingers and it easily springs out and flies around the room.
Into our lovely pig fat comes a shit load of fresh (important) pigs blood. If it wasn't fresh, the blood would have clumps and wouldn't taste like fresh death - and we wouldn't want that now, would we?
After the death juice and the fat gets mixed together for a while, it is then filled (by hand - poor sausage makers) into synthetic intestines (sausage skin), and then 4 full tongues are inserted by hand into the blood and back-fat mix that is now conjealing and quivering in the food-condom.
The slowly conjealing mass is now cooked for a couple of hours to ensure that the blood and tongue doesn't try and french-kiss you like an French Rugby Union front-rower who just got hit in the mouth when you try and eat it, and then gets shipped off for us to enjoy (?!?!?!) on our tables all over Germany.

Now, I have seen some pretty horrible sausages in my time here, but this one "licks" them all.

This is the variety with the whole tongues and diced pig fat. There are also other "cheaper" varieties where the tongue is cubed and mixed in, so you don't know if that chewy disgusting mass in your mouth is fat, pig tongue, or a part of your own tongue that you bit off in the hope that you would never taste anything like this ever again...

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Thank you for Smoking!

2007-10-08T13:11:00.000+02:00

Firstly, if you have never seen "Thank you for Smoking!" then you really should hire it and have a squiz. Quite a funny piss-take on the smoking industry.

In line with most people in the world, I really don't like Mondays. But I have to say that I really loved last Monday! Why? Well, on 1st Oct 2007 the new Anti Smoking Laws (Nichtraucherschutz) kicked in in Hessen and a lot of other states in Germany. Now it is no longer legal to smoke in restaurants, pubs, clubs, trains, etc, unless a completely sealed off seperate room is provided. There are a few exceptions to the rule (eg.
Festzelte or festival tents), but for the most part jetzt ist Schluß!

The first time I actually noticed the effects of the new laws were actually the day before they kicked in, when I picked Bel up from the Airport. Usually there are a bunch of people standing around smoking in the arrivals hall, but now all of the ashtrays have been removed, and the air there smells like...well...air! Now the only place they are allowed to smoke is in little smoking rooms scattered around the airport.

In open railway stations, people are still allowed to smoke on the platforms, but only in certain areas. So all of the smokers have to huddle together inside the yellow box painted on the platform and smoke their lives away. That means that the rest of us can stand at a distance and just point and laugh while they merrily kill themselves with no further impact on us.

One of the coolest parts of this whole thing was the speed with which it was done. None of this "give them 18 months to prepare" or whatever - it was announced in the first week of September (and right at the end of the week), and came in to force on the 1st October. Therefore most places haven't had time to prepare the "seperate room of death", and therefore smoking is completely gone in most places.

Anyway - thank you German Government for finally saving my lungs. Pity you couldn't have done it earlier...

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

What the hell are you doing here?

2007-09-29T12:08:00.000+02:00

Right, so this week goes down in history as my "What the hell are you doing here?" week.

On Tuesday I had to drive to Düsseldorf to help a Customer with a problem they were having. I arrived at the site and fixed the problem within 1hr, but had to wait for some software licenses so that I could install them for the guy. While waiting we decided to get a coffee, but there was none on the floor we were on, so we went down to the foyer. While sitting there chatting to the Customer, my phone rang - it was my Sales Guy checking if the licenses had arrived or not. While talking to him I noticed a familiar looking person walking by and I yelled out to him. Turned out that it was one of the guys who used to work for my company in Australia, who is now working for this Customer in Düsseldorf.

Then I got up this morning and went in to Frankfurt to watch the AFL Grand Final (GO CATS!). I arrived early and got a table and ordered something to drink. After a while more people started turning up, and at one point I noticed a familiar looking face in the crowd. I thought to myself "nah, it can't be", so I didn't think much more about it for a few mins. During the first quarter I kept looking over at this guy thinking "it could be...". When I went to get some breakfast at the buffet, this guy saw me and was like "What the hell are you doing here?!?!". Turns out it was a guy that I went to uni with and did a few projects with...and it was who I thought it was. This guy's wife was also one of my managers at my Company in the past. They had moved to Germany a few years ago and are now living and working in Stuttgart. Not only that, but this guy works for a company that used the same relocation company as mine did when we moved to Germany. He and his wife actually had the same relocation agent at the company and B and I did...

Small world, huh? Any other of you guys hiding over here without telling me about it?

Tschüß,
'Brushy

IAA - Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung

2007-09-26T18:42:00.000+02:00

So, while Bel has been doing some study, visiting, and enjoying her time in Australia, I have had a bit of Boys' Time. :)

On the first weekend I decided to head to the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung or International Car Show) in Frankfurt. This is the biggest car show in the world, filling 10 Exhibition halls (some multi-story), plus the Festhalle (Festival Hall containing Mercedes), plus a stand-alone building (contained BMW by itself), plus a bunch of external positions as well - this thing was in 2 words FREAKIN' MASSIVE! I personally buzzed through most of it in 4hours (had another Man-pointment to go to), but I know some people that took 9hours to go through the whole thing on the first public open day.

On the first weekend alone 385,000 people visited the IAA, and I reckon that most of them were in the hall with Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa, and some of the other big names. It was almost impossible to move in this hall, and the only way to move was to squeeze yourself into the stream of rubber-necked camera-carrying locals and internationals and just go with the flow.

That the halls with the big, expensive, and powerful cars were full to bursting point was not shocking, but must have disappointed the organisers a little. The main theme of this exhibition was supposed to focus on CO2 reduction and alternative fuels, in the name of the Environment. To that point though, there were a hell of a lot of hybrid cars there, and it really showed that a lot of car manufacturers are either taking it seriously or "tun als ob"...

Also, genug Quatscherei - here are the pics (click to enlarge)...

VIPER ATTACK! I love this car!	Feel sorry for this guy (and all the others) who permanently had to wipe finger prints and dust off the cars.
Model of a potential future Honda.	Even KIA came up with a pretty decent looking concept car.
This BMW reminds me of a shark.	Crazy arsed Citroen that must have been designed with the female market in mind.
This Hummer is "der Hammer"! I think this one was in the Transformers movie.	Toyota "mixin' things up" a little.
To remind Chis of the good times.	Outdoor off-road track. Queues were massive to get a "test drive" as passenger in these cars.
New McLaren Mercedes with wings (for comfort)	Schick oder?

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Where will you be?

2007-09-24T16:08:00.000+02:00

So, where will all you guys be when the siren sounds to start the AFL Grand Final on Saturday? I am sure that you will all be comfy at home, or somewhere else, enjoying the afternoon sunshine, having a few beers, etc...

Me? I plan to drag myself out of bed around 4:00am so that I can get into Frankfurt to see the game live at 6:00am at YOURS Australian Bar (same place I saw Australia down Croatia in the world cup last year).

Tschüß,
'Brushy

2(B+D)=f(un)

2007-09-17T18:06:00.000+02:00

So 2 weeks ago we had our first visitors for the year, with my Dad and Diane rocking in for 1 week before heading to London for a couple more. And just like when Susan, Screwsy, and my Mum came to visit, we had a great time showing them around some of the sites, and just generally hanging out.

On the day of their arrival, I got a call from Dad from Heathrow saying that he didn't think they would make their connecting flight to Frankfurt, because they had been put in a holding pattern over London, and then parked out in the boonies. I got another call a little later to say that they would just make their plane, but weren't sure if their bags would or not.
Skip forward to us waiting in the airport. After about 1hr of waiting, they finally came through the doors in the International Terminal (worst part of the airport). Turned out that 3/4 of their bags had made it, but the toilet bag hadn't. This was eventually delivered to us at 21:00 on the following day, without anyone actually calling to see if we were home - which luckily we were.
That same night (when the arrived) we took them to Café Klatsch in Friedrichsdorf for some Flammkuchen and a few bevvies - both of which went down a treat, with Diane requesting a second visit later in the week (I was only too happy to oblige).

The next day took us to Heidelberg, which is one of my favorite places to take people because of the beautiful old castle, and the killer view it offers of the town and river below. Not to mention that the town still has some nice "old town" feel to it, although it is fairly touristy now. That being said, we found a nice little place for lunch, and to hide from the rain, that offered basic german food, which went down well with the Aussies on Tour. We also managed to get ourselves interviewed for some German TV Show or Doco that we researching if people knew the song Ich hab' mein Herz in Heidelberg verloren (I lost my heart in Heidelberg). After I answered a few of their questions in German, they turned on Dad and Diane. After I told them that they came from Australia and didn't speak German, the guy switched to flawless English and asked what we sing in Australia. Next thing you know, Dad, Diane, and myself are singing "Waltzing Matilda" with Bel hiding somewhere in the background.

The following days took us for a walk around the top of Feldberg, where you can get a nice view of the surrounding area (and a nice drive up some windy roads for the petrol heads); to Braunfels (cute Castle where you need a group of 5 or more for a tour, but has a cool Alt-Stadt); Frankfurt (just for a look-see, shopping, and an excellent dinner at an Italian Restaurant where the waiter spoke no English); Herzogenaurach (more than just Adidas and Puma...there's Nike as well!); Saalburg (Roman Fort); Hessenpark (old buildings); and finally to the Wine Festival in Friedrichsdorf itself.

One of the best parts of the week was being reminded of the cool things that surround us that we take for granted. For instance - we planned to go to Nürnberg after Herzogenaurach, but the traffic heading to Nürnberg was crazy, so we bailed. D&D weren't phased at all, because they even found the views from the Autobahn amazing - views that we pay no attention to anymore, since we have been here basically 2 years, and that is "common day" kinda stuff now.

Anyway, thanks for coming and visiting guys. We loved having you here, and look forward to having the next group that come towards the end of the year.

Traditional Bindy-pose by the river in Heidelberg	And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon...
View from the Heidelberg Castle back down to the river	Dad and Diane at the Heidelberg Castle
B&B&D walking on Großer Feldberg	Crazy toothless busker dude that gave us a personal performance in Frankfurt (I ran in to buy a coffee...)
B&B&D near the Old Opera in Frankfurt before going to dinner	Make me clean my room, will you??!!?! Now it's payback time!
Show us your best TV Ad Flammkuchen pose, Diane!	The father, the beer, and the cheesy baked pasta thingy in Café Klatsch

Tschüß,
'Brushy (Bj)

Ireland Part 4 - Doolin, Athenry, Dublin, and home...

2007-09-14T18:49:00.000+02:00

After returning from our 4 days visiting Chis and Bec, we returned to the Shannon Airport, rented a car, and headed towards Doolin. We didn't know anything about Doolin, but Chis and Bec said that they had spent some time there and loved it, so we thought we should give it a shot...and we weren't disappointed. Different to the first week in Ireland, this time we basically spent the whole week in this beautiful part of Ireland, which is home to the Burren.

So, as we had previously done (or not done), we didn't have accomodation booked in Doolin, but thought that we would just rock into the town and see what we found. What we ended up finding was a B&B on top of a cliff overlooking the town and the ocean, with a ripper tower castle in the hills directly behind it.
We shared breakfast on the first morning with some lovely American ladies who were also touring Ireland. One of these ladies is involved in some movement against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and she told us of the time that they were protesting in the OC in California. On this day, the cast and crew from The West Wing were there to film, and the noise of the cars supporting the protest was interrupting filming. The producers asked them if they could postpone the protest (which they hold every week) but the ladies said that they hold it all the time and never miss one, so they wouldn't postpone it. Anyway after the filming the cast came and joined them in the middle of the round-a-bout to lend their support to the protest. Pretty cool huh?
The second morning involved sharing breakfast with a lady who looked and ate like a horse, and her spoilt children. Stark contrast to the day before, and due to them we postponed one of our planned events for the day (which we did the following day) so that we wouldn't have to cope with them.

Castle above our B&B at sunset...pretty!

The Castle as seen from the road leading up from our B&B close to sunset

The first full day in Doolin took us south for a drive to the Cliffs of Moher, and the continuing further south to the Loop Head Peninsula.
The Cliffs of Moher were pretty impressive, although it was freezing cold. We bumped into our lovely Americans here again, and then marvelled at the sheer drop into the ocean that these cliffs offer. We also marvelled at 1 very bad busker, one very good busker, and many dumb tourists who apparently can't read signs, no matter how many languages it is written in.

From the worn tracks it would appear that these aren't the only illiterate tourists around

This chick was acutally very good at playing the harp and singing. She was the good busker...pity we already gave money to the crap one...

The Loop Head Peninsula is also very much worth the drive if you ever get over here. Along this coast line there are a lot of parts of the cliff that have broken away and formed islands, like when the London Bridge in Australia collapsed.

The next day took us for a drive through the Burren area, which is a rocky desolate landscape where all the top soil was removed due to receding ice many 100s or 1000s of years ago. One of the most well known structures here is the Poulnabrone Dolmen, which is/was a burial toom in ancient times.

Bel and the Burren

The Poulnabrone Dolmen

While driving through this area, we saw a guy hiking on the side of the road with a massive pack with a huge stuffed donkey strapped to the back of it. We stopped and asked him if he wanted a lift, but it turned out that this Aussie was walking the length of Ireland to raise money for Donkey Sanctuaries (was going to do the hike anyway and take the donkey for fun, and someone suggested he should raise money...). Two catches - he had to stop for a beer at every pub he passed on the way, and a stuffed donkey becomes very heavy when it rains for 2 weeks straight.

The next day, Bel and I did a tour through an underground cave that holds the 4 largest self-supporting Stalactite in the world. This was discovered by some cavers who saw a river flowing into the hills, and followed the rule that where a river flows into the hill, then you will find something cool...and they did. The tour was pretty cool for us too, as we were the only two on it, so we got to ask a lot of questions and spend as much time as we wanted looking at it in pure silence.

B&B with a big hanging thing and dopey looking hats

The big hangy thing by itself...the photo doesn't do the size of this thing justice

The next day took us from Doolin to Athenry where we got into some more castle action. But my favorite part of Athenry was walking into a Hurling training session across from our B&B and spending 1hr talking with a guy who played all his life, and getting the low down on all the equipment and how the game is played. These guys are freaking nuts. Speaking of - I found out that the goal keepers don't even wear a box for protection...

The County boys training hard, trying to get selected in the squad for their upcoming quarter final	On the streets of Athenry
Another one of the Castle during sunset	Picture at the Cliffs of Moher. Notice the layering due to different kinds of rock and soil

Anyway, even though we only saw the bottom half of the country, I would highly recommend Ireland to anyone who was thinking about a holiday in this region. Sure, the weather is crap, but you will still have a great time, and see heaps of interesting stuff (and take more photos than you could possibly blog in a lifetime).

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Ireland Part 3 - Kilkenny to Shannon Airport

2007-09-13T20:57:00.000+02:00

After a relaxing night in Kilkenny, we got up and headed into town to buy a new camera and have a look around. After a bit of shopping back and forth, we picked up a camera at White's in the main street and then went on a tour of the castle. We didn't think that the camera battery would be charged, so we didn't take it out for the tour and therefore there are no pics. But let me say this - if you are ever in Kilkenny, you really should go on this tour. The castle is awesome, and it is one of the best castle tours we have ever been on. (I found this pic on the web...)

After the tour we walked back to the B&B and picked up our car (after a 30-45min conversation with the owner on the doorstep about everything and anything) and headed to the Rock of Cashel.
The Rock of Cashel has a history that spans back from the early kings in Ireland, through the Church, and to today as a ruin thanks in part to Cromwell and his army burning it (with thousands of town people taking refuge from them inside) and the elements. If you have the chance, you should really check this out as well. Luckily here I actually decided to check if the camera's battery had a charge or not, and it turned out that it did. :)

After the Rock it was on to Cork for the night.
Now, when we were in Dublin we saw something on the news about Ambulance drivers saying that Ireland needs postcodes, but we didn't really get what they were banging on about...until now. When we tried to put the address of the B&B in the Navi, we realised that we didn't actually have it. By that I mean that we had the name of the B&B, and we had the name of the Suburb, but we didn't have a postcode (and the suburb wasn't in the Navi by name), and we didn't have a street. So Bel rang the B&B again and asked them what the address was. They told us that the name of the B&B was the address, and that there was no street name, and there is no postcode. Apparently this is normal in Ireland... Anyway, we navigated our way to the suburb/village, and after a few laps of the center of the town we managed to find the B&B based on the picture in the B&B book we had.

The next morning we had planned to go to the Bantry House and Gardens in Bantry which has been in the White family since 1765. Unfortunately this was going to be too far for us to reach and still have time to get to our flight in Shannon. Therefore we gave up on that idea and headed to the Blarney Castle instead. :)

View of the Blarney Castle on the walk from the car park	View from another angle. The Blarney Stone is in the middle on the right hand side of the castle
View from the top of the Castle down to a couple of towers	Bel infront of one of the towers seen in the previous pic

From there it was on to the airport and off to Bath to visit Bec and Chis.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Ireland part 2 - Dublin to Kilkenny

2007-08-25T12:54:00.000+02:00

After our 4 days in Dublin, B and I piled back into one of the public busses in Dublin (after having around 10 drive by that didn't go where we needed them to) and headed out to the airport to pick up our rental car, and begin the driving section of the journey.

This particular section of the holiday (the major part) was something new for me, in that we hadn't planned or booked anything, rather that we just piled into the car and drove. Luckily I had "navi" with me in my phone, so if we ever got lost, then I could just say "home, James!" and we would be saved... :)

So, as I said, we piled into the car with our luggage and headed south in the direction of Bray. As we arrived in Bray it was around lunchtime, so we decided to go looking for something to eat. Unfortunately the heavens decided to open up at this point in time too, so we took refuge in a small snack shack place on the beach and had toasted sandwiches and tea. Strange thing about these toasties, although they were sensational and reasonably priced, was that they came in and were cooked in these little plastic baggy things. Very very weird.

After the toasties, it was back into the car, and further down the coast via some back roads through Greystones, Kilcoole, Wicklow, and to Arklow before heading inland. On the way to Wicklow, I saw one of these brown tourist signs on the side of the road that had a picture of a castle with a flag on top on it. I thought "Sweet! Castle!", I chucked a u-turn and headed down this little side-road in search of my castle. After a few minutes we arrived at a funny rail-crossing right on the beach - no castle in sight. I got out of the car, crossed the tracks, and had a look along the beach for my castle - no luck. Getting back in the car, Bel and I had a discussion about the sign, and it turns out that she had seen this sign before when it was referring to a beach with sand, where kiddies can apparently build sand-castles. In a land with a lot of old castles and ruins, don't you think you would save this sign for the freakin' castles, and come up with something else for a beach, like - I dunno - WAVES?!?!?

Something else about roads in Ireland. They seem to be fairly free and easy in deciding what is a "National Road", which is second only in size to a Motorway. Some of the "National Roads" that we took on this trip were barely wide enough to squeeze two cars past each other in opposite directions, and a lot of them had basically no room for error on the side of the road before meeting a 3 foot (or more) high stone fence.

Continuing on, we decided to head inland from Arklow, to try and find a High Cross for me to have a look at. I had seen one on the map in Moone which comes from the 7th century and stands 5m high, so we headed off in that direction.
Trying to find this thing wasn't easy though, as this isn't the kind of thing that shows up in a navi system. So, we followed a few signs towards the High Cross, drove through a puddle that would have been 1 to 1.5 feet deep, and ended up confused and in the middle of nowhere, but stumbling across the ruins of an old church and graveyard (photo below). Unfortunately, after we took a few shots here, our camera decided to give up the ghost...permanently. :(
At little disheartened that we hadn't found the cross, and that the camera had died, we piled back into our little Cleo with about 1HP, and headed back towards the highway.
Just before reaching the highway, I managed to spot a brown sign pointing towards the cross, which was previously blocked by a tractor. U-turn, driving, parking in some farmer's yard, climbing through a hole in the fence, we finally came across the cross, which has been superbly captured by the crappy camera in my phone...

Back into the car, we headed off in the direction of Carlow. We thought that Carlow may be a little small in order to find somewhere to repair the camera, so we drove through there and on to Kilkenny. On the way, to avoid my head exploding with stress, we called ahead and booked a bed and breakfast in Kilkenny. Turns out that Kilkenny is even smaller than Carlow, and that basically nobody drinks Kilkenny beer here...

Next time it continues with Kilkenny to somewhere, and then to somewhere else. But for now, some pictures for those who have had the patience to read this far.

The Irish version of a beach in Bray, where it was raining and the beach was completely deserted. Notice the rocks instead of sand? Begs the question - will the Blarney Stone be a pile of sand instead?	Photo that Bel took of part of the graveyard before the camera headed in that direction.
Random photo of the landscape and some towers on one of the rare occasions that it wasn't raining.	A monument in some back-water town that I took while the navi was confused about where we were heading next.
The gates to a monestary (we think) that we randomly saw on the way. I thought they looked cool.	The monument photographed from a different angle.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

And then there was the return flight

2007-08-18T16:26:00.000+02:00

So, the return flight wasn't much less eventful than the one to Stockholm. This time I got a guy who didn't speak any English, and was with 4 other guys who were then flying to Sao Paulo (saw it on his next boarding card). My neighbour actually turned up and boarded on time, but the 3 others must have just snuck in before the doors were closed, and with 3 or 4 pieces of hand luggage each...which they then proceeded to try and stow when there was no stow room left. Eventually the stewardess had to take some of the bags and stow them somewhere in the crew section, as it is kinda dangerous to take off with bags under your seat, under your feat, and in your lap.

So, after take off, the guy next to me (sitting on the window - I was on the aisle, and there was nobody between us) signals to one of his mates that he should come over and sit between us. I wasn't too keen about this, so I huffed and puffed a little, and made a great show of getting up to let the guy in. My show seemed to work, as he started to enter the seat, and then decided not to, and headed back to his other seat - win for Brushy! :)

At some point towards the end of the flight, the 3 others get some form of telegram from the Stewardess. I wondered what this was about, but then didn't think anything of it for a while...

So, now we are finally approaching the landing in Frankfurt. Then, just before landing, we give full power and climb back up sharply to cruising altitude (this is the second time this has happened to me). Turns out again, like last time, that a plane has stopped on the runway, and hence we couldn't land. So, we fly a lap of Frankfurt and eventually land to the applause of some tools down the back of the plane (for the guy in Melbourne, note that they were "tools" and not "Tools").

After we disembark from the plane, we pile into the obligatory busses to head to the terminal - all of us except for 4 guys, who seem to be talking to guys wearing "Polizei" (Police) reflective vests...these just happen to be our 4 bound for Sao Paulo. Why they were talking to the cops I don't know, but I assume it had something to do with the telegram...

Anyone else getting the feeling I should stop flying?

Tschüß,
'Brushy

My nutty neighbour

2007-08-15T21:20:00.000+02:00

On my flight from Frankfurt to Stockholm today, I managed to find myself next to a Indian guy who proceeded to annoy the crap out of me for the whole 2hr flight.

To start with it was ok, as he was looking at his boarding card with FRA->ARN on it and stressing that he was on the wrong plane. I explained to him that ARN was the airport code for Arlanda, which is the main airport in Stockholm.
From there he proceeded to tell me that he was going to Stockholm for some water conference and some place that I really didn't care about. So, after giving him a few nice "oh really" and "that's interesting" comments, I turned back to my book...

...but he didn't get it. After a few minutes I was tapped on the arm to answer his question about how he gets the train from the Airport to Stockholm, for which he already had a pre-purchased ticket. Given that I have never taken the train from the Airport before, I tried to tell him that I didn't know, as I usually take a taxi. More questions about the train, and I said "there will be signs at the airport that will direct you to the train".
"Can you show me?"
"There will be signs"
"Would you be able to help me?" ...oh man.
"Sure" Back to my book...

...tap tap. "Water?" and points at my water bottle.
"Yeah, that is my water".
"Water?" now making drinking motions.
"Yes, that is my water".
"Can I have it?"
"Um, it is my water. They will come past soon and give you some water."
No response, so back to my book...

...tap tap. "What is the capital of Germany?"
"Berlin"
"We fly by Berlin?"
"We fly past Berlin."
"Norway?"
"No, that is to the West."
"How long is the flight?"
"2hrs"
"How long does it take to get from Germany to Stockholm?"
"It depends on where you fly from - from Frankfurt it is 2hrs."
"But how long to Germany?"
I get the map out and show him finally - "Here is Berlin, Frankfurt, and Stockholm"... blah blah blah, back to my book, with noise cancelling headphones now on as well.

...tap tap. "Can you take photo of me?"

And so it went for the whole flight, until he fell asleep with about 30min to go. In Stockholm I showed him where the signs to the train were, and then got away as fast as I could...

Airline travel really is fun...you should try it some time!

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Survivor - überwinde, überliste, überlebe

2007-08-13T20:32:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow the German version of Survivor starts. Oh God help us all...

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Ireland part 1 - Baile Átha Cliath, Dubh Linn, Dublin

2007-08-12T19:18:00.000+02:00

About 1 month ago, Bel and I got back from our 2 week tour of Ireland, including a 4 day stop over in Bath and surrounds to see the start of the Tour. So it's about time to fill you in on it, huh?

The flight over to Dublin was eventful enough, with Bel drawing a middle seat between me, and some rather large guy. As the "service" came through the cabin, this guy ordered himself a red wine, and then proceeded to knock it over, getting himself and Bel a little covered in red. Luckily it only got Bel a little on her jeans, but as he tried to clean up his splilage, he proceeded to knock the glass over twice more, and completely coat himself with red wine. Poor bastard.
In all that confusion, I ended up leaving a book on Ireland, that we had bought at the Frankfurt airport, on the plane. :(

Arriving at the airport, it was a good thing that we didn't just trust the map we had printed for getting to our hotel, but rather checked at the local tourist information desk. They proceeded to tell us that our hotel wasn't where it was shown on the map we had, but rather somewhere else, and which bus to take. So we piled into a double-decker public bus - which was chockers with ppl and luggage - and proceeded to the hotel, which was a comfortable bus trip from the airport, but also only a short bus trip from the center of Dublin.

As breakfast wasn't in our room rate, we headed into Dublin the next morning for breakfast in the Temple Bar area - an area along the river with a lot of pubs and restaurants. We ended up at the Bad Ass Cafe / Pizza Restaurant. Here I scoffed down the Big Ass Breakfast, which Bel managed the vegetarian version. The walls of this restaurant have the repeating theme of the donkey in various "Bad Ass" situations (dressed as Mafiosa etc...) which I found quite funny. Coffee was shit though.

After breakfast we did the obligatory Hop-on-Hop-off bus tour of Dublin to orient ourselves, which would have been a lot nicer if it didn't rain on and off during the day - something that we would have to get used to over the next weeks. (Everyone keeps telling me that it was my own fault for going to Ireland...ever).

Our one disembarkment from the bus was to have a look at the Kilmainham Gaol. I would have taken a bunch of photos here, but eventhough I had the camera there, I neglected to put the battery back in after charging it... :(
Anyway, this Gaol is famous for many reasons, including being the place of the imprisonment and execution of the leaders of the Easter Rising, and also being used for many films including "In the name of the father", "Michael Collins", and "The Italian Job". This was also where we learned that the Irish Flag was based on the French national flag, with the Green representing the historical Gaelic Culture or Catholics, the Orange for supporters of William the Orange or Protestants, and the white symbolising pease between the two cultures.
Another interesting part of the history here is, that during the famine years, people were actually committing crimes deliberatley in order to get in here, because they at least were guaranteed to get fed. There were complaints that the people in the gaol were getting too well fed, so the warden went on to reduce their rations, also in an attempt to stop people committing crimes in an attempt to get in. This gaol was also where a number of people were held before being sent to Australia. :)

Over the next few days we spent time looking around Dublin - including eating breakfast at a good bagel shop in Temple Bar twice, having Mongolian BBQ, doing some shopping, seeing Shrek the Third, and getting absolutely soaked to the bone one day when the normal rain turned into a torrential downpour.

Anyway, here are some pics of Dublin (which is named after a black pool where two rivers met - black pool being Dubh Linn in Old Norse):

The location of the Dubh Linn, which no longer exists after one of the rivers being diverted long ago	The House of Lords, which has been unchanged for 200 years since the parlament voted itself out of existence
Dublin Castle and one of the 2 remaining corner towers	Some dashing young fellow outside the Guinness Store House in Dublin
The throne in Dublin Castle. Some Cannucks thought it would be cool to get a pic siting on it, although it is clearly not allowed (am I becoming German??)	Bel and a pile of barrels in the Guinness Store House. I like that it says Butt...
St Patricks Cathederal - nuff said.

After that it headed south to see more of Ireland...

Tschüß,
'Brushy

German words of the week

2007-08-09T18:08:00.000+02:00

So, thought that I would throw a quick little list of words together, that have been important to know this week:

der Regen - the rain
das Wochenende - the weekend
das Wetter - the weather
Scheiße - shit
der Stau - traffic jam
der Unfall - the accident
der Idiot - the idiot
fahren - to drive

Now, boys and girls, let's use these words in a sentence or two:

Am Wochenende war das Wetter wunderbar, aber jetzt ist es echt scheiße geworden. Es regnet ohne Ende, und es scheint als ob die Deutschen vergessen, dass man im Regen vorsichtig fahren sollte. Sie fahren wie voll Idioten, und jetzt gibt's Staus überall, wegen Unfälle u.s.w.

And translated:

The weather was wonderful on the weekend, but now it has become really shit. It hasn't stopped raining, and it appears as though the Germans forget that you should drive carefully in the rain. They drive like complete idiots, and now there are traffic jams due to accidents etc. all over the place.

Of course I don't mean it as harsh as it sounds, but one gets a little edgy after sitting in traffic jams and listening to a 3 minute long traffic report alerting you to all the upcoming jams due to accidents in the rain.

And now a quote for you, and for one of you in particular (you know who you are):

wie ein Netz wirft sich der Regen über das ganze Land
klopft an unser Fenster und erinnert uns daran
dass es kein Leben ohne Schmerz gibt, ohne Suche nach dem Sinn
keine Chance etwas aufzuhalten, keine Chance etwas zurückzudrehen

and translated:

like a net the rain throws itself over the whole land
knock on our window and reminds us
that there is no life without pain, without the seach for meaning
no chance to stop something, no chance to turn something back.

That's more a word for word translation, but I think you will get the general gist of the meaning...

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

Do Pilots and Aussie Expats in Germany wear brown undies?

2007-08-02T18:58:00.000+02:00

I think it's a fair question, don't you? But here's the explaination / motivation behind my question.

Firstly, yesterday was a BAD work day for me. I had to get up and fly to Vienna for a day long evaluation / demonstration at a Customer site. I had to be there at 10, so this meant getting up around 5 to get to the airport for a 7am flight to Vienna with Adria Airways (Slovenian national carrier).

So, as you would expect, these guys don't fly big planes (Canadair Regional Jet 200LR on this leg - that's him to the left). This was a 10 or 11 row plane, with 4 seats to a row - 2 on either side of the aisle. It is nearly impossible to stand up straight in the plane, even when walking down the aisle.

Right, so plane takes off, and I fall asleep, as I am becoming prone to doing. (I am getting this whole Belinda's Pop thing going on, where I can fall asleep at will in almost any location. Zzzzzzzz...beh! Wa? I was just blinking...)

Again I missed the lecker lecker Käsebrot that is on offer on the flight, but I managed to wake up for the beverage service - chosing the normal water and apple juice option - and then starting to read my book (The Neverending Story in German...and it feels like it too...).

Skip now to about 10min before the landing (90min flight). Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the plane tips to the left (looking out the left window, all you see is ground...out the right window roughly meant that you were looking at the Hubble space telescope) and the plane dropped. Then it lurched back the other way, so that the right window was pointing to hell, and the left to heaven, and dropped even more. Ladies screaming, hearts racing, calls of "Oh My God!", and then the plane was back level again. This all happened in the space of about 2-3 seconds. No explaination from the cockpit, nothing from the hosts / hostesses (who also looked kinda worried), and we eventually land.
So, back to the original question - do pilots wear brown undies? I sure hope so, because I can guarantee that 100% of the cabin shat itself, the hosts and hostesses shat themselves, and I am pretty sure that the pilot probably left some pebbles in his jocks too.

Sidebar: What is the Oxford English past tense for "to shit"? I used "shat" above, and in a conversation with a German the other day, only to have them say "shit is the past tense of to shit".

After that, I turned up at the Customer to find that the required hardware hadn't arrived yet. So we start the discussion without the hardware, only to very quickly discover that what they need to test cannot be done with this particular product. Within 1 hour the meeting was over, and I was going back to the airport at 11am for a flight at 8pm. Luckily I was able to switch onto an earlier flight and get out at 16:25.

While at the airport I did have my first experience of two of the following German / Austrian specialties:

Pretzels or bread that is delivered with your meal, but if you eat it, then you get charged for it. Hang on - this was not the first experience. The first one was in Munich for our first Xmas, but at least it said on the menu that it cost extra if you ate the bread.
Sitting at a table for 4 all by myself, I actually had two Austrians (yes, you can tell because of their accent when the speak German) come up and ask if the other seats were free, and then proceed to share the table with me.

Finally fly home again with Adria, hating the turbulance that we hit on the way up to crusing altitude. Never been a scared flyer before, but the morning's events were still with me a little.
Get back to Frankfurt, get in the car, bang along the freeway, and right into a traffic jam just before my exit. After sitting there for about 20min without going anywhere, watching the police, ambulance, and fire engines squeeze through the jam, we were finally able to move again. Turns out there was an accident just before the exit between a car and a motorbike, and the road had been blocked so that the helicopter ambulance could land.
I actually recognised the bike as I drove past. This same guy came up quite fast behind me on the A5, and I got out of his way. The people in front of me didn't, so he tried to pass them on the inside. The car infront of them decided to get out of the fast lane, and tried to come back into the lane where he was illegally overtaking on the inside. Luckily all parties hit the brakes, and there was no accident...at this point on the road.

Right, so that takes care of the first part of the question, and my bad day yesterday. So what about the second part of the question? The answer is "I would if I had any". I just completed, and have to submit tomorrow, our second income tax return in Germany. An accounting company did it for us last year (paid for by my company) but they wanted €2000 to do it this year from us privately. So I got hold of some software, and I did it myself. If you ever think the Aussie system is hard, try the German one...and then try doing it in German, instead of English. :)

Tschüß,
'Brushy.

A little bitch

2007-07-26T21:30:00.000+02:00

Just wanted to have a quick little bitch about media reporting of the Tour de France.

Yeah, we all know about the crap that is going on in cycling, as has been going on for ages, with respect to various forms of performance enhancing through drugs, hormones, and blood doping (blood transfusions). The media is actually doing a fairly good job of reporting the happening with respect to this during the Tour this year, but they keep on blaming the Tour. They keep saying that the Tour is corrupt, and that the Tour is in ruins etc. But here's the thing - the problem isn't with the Tour, the problem is with professional cycling. If anything, the Tour and it's organisers are taking a stand, and trying to get the cheats out of the event, and out of the sport. The Tour got riders to sign binding statements at the start of the event to say that they were clean, and if they got caught, that they would forfeit 1 year's salary, and would be handed over to the drug investigation squads.

C'mon guys - give credit where credit is due, and make sure that you point the finger in the right directions...at the riders, managers, and doctors of the teams, and not at the Tour itself.

That is all.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Es ist mir Wurst

2007-07-22T11:27:00.000+02:00

The Germans have a saying "Es ist mir Wurst" (it's sausage to me), which means essentially "it's all the same to me". But here's proof that sausage ain't sausage ain't sausage, and that they apparently need it at all hours...

That's right! That is a vending machine in the subway in Frankfurt that delivers different types of sausage and other processed meat products. But you have to be patient, as you have to wait up to 45 seconds for your purchase, so that the machine can heat it up and deliver it to you.

I wonder if the little mouse we saw running around the bottom of the machine is that patient, or if he can reach the coin slot...

Tschüß,
'Brushy

Roger Cicero on fire in the summer heat

2007-07-21T20:52:00.000+02:00

After returning from 2 weeks of continual and relentless rain in Ireland, during which the weather in Germany was equally as bad, Belinda and I attended an outdoor concert in front of the old Opera Building in Frankfurt. We were worried that the concert was going to be rained out, but this turned out to be an awesome summer day with plenty of sunshine to go around for the 1000s of ppl that came along.

The gig was from Roger Cicero and Big Band, who were Germany's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest (but don't hold that against him). This guy does Swing music in Germany, and has a voice that would have lifted the roof off the Opera Building had we been inside.

Roger and Band played the majority of the tracks of his debut album "Männersachen" (guys' things) as well as a few that will be on their new album, due for release in October. They also did a swinging cover of "König von Deutschland" (King of Germany), which is a very well known song here, that has also been used recently in ads for Media Markt (tech store). During this rendition, he got the crowd involved with the guys singing the line "König von Deutschland" followed by the girls replying "oder Königen" (or Queen). It was quite funny, and I gotta say, that as a crowd, we sounded pretty good.

Tschüß,
'Brushy

All aboard the Mukka Express to Cow-ppuccino town!

2007-07-21T14:08:00.000+02:00

While we were in Ireland, we went into a coffee shop in Kilkenny to get some tea and coffee. In this store we saw a funny little coffee maker that claimed that it could make cappuccino on the stove top...on Thursday we bought one on sale in Frankfurt.

We have used it twice so far, and are quite impressed with it.

It works as follows:

Water goes in the bottom black section
Coffee goes in a filter between the black part and the cow part
Milk goes in the cow (goes against the grain somehow)
Whole thing goes on the stove
Water in the base gets hotter, and the pressure pushes the water up through the coffee, and out into the cow section at the top
When the pressure gets high enough, the button on the cow pops, and the pressure is then used to automatically froth the milk that is in the top section

Very cool.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Camera frustrations

2007-07-21T11:50:00.000+02:00

I will get to the posting about our holiday in Ireland and visiting Chis and Bec in Bath soon, but first I want to bitch about some camera stuff.

Firstly, just like 4 years ago when we were in New Hampshire, our Kodak digital camera decided to crap out in the middle of a holiday again. Last time the lens wouldn't come out, and the camera had to be replaced under warranty with a newer model. Luckily we had my SLR with me on that trip too, so we were still able to take some pics.
This time around it was halfway between Dublin and Kilkenny, and this time the lens won't go back in. I don't know if this is actually the problem or not, because the damn camera won't turn on any more. Now it is stuck looking like this permanently.

What made it worse this time around is that I currently have no idea where my SLR is, so of course it wasn't with us to save the day. Luckily we were able to purchase a new camera in Kilkenny and continue with our holiday snaps, only losing 1 day worth of photo opportunities.

My second frustration is with the fact that most digital cameras take photos in a 4:3 format, which matches the format of a computer monitor. 35mm cameras (film cameras) take photos in a 3:2 format, which is the classical format that we are used to seeing, and have a lot of frames and albums for.
So yesterday we go into a place here that has a digital photo printing machine, where you stick in your memory card and print the photos. Now, you could be mistaken for thinking that because it is a digital machine, that is set up for digital photo printing, that it would print the photos in a digital photo 4:3 format. WRONG! The machine automatically crops your pictures, that you spent a lot of time framing, into a 3:2 format and prints them.
The good news is that our new camera (Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01) supports taking photos in 3:2 format so that we can frame them for printing if we want, or switch into 4:3 format or even 16:9 format for normal or widescreen pc monitors.

Tschüß,
'Brush.

"To all the girls I've loved before, who travelled in and out this door..."

2007-06-10T15:48:00.000+02:00

Don't know why that song popped into my head right now, but it inspired me to think about something...

When I left Australia, some friends at work gave me a photo of my friends at my company that Trentini put together from a bunch of other photos that he got his dirty little hands on. As I walked in the door the other day, I saw this photo, and among all the sentimental feelings that one gets when one sees such a photo, I realised how many of the people in the photo don't work with me anymore.

So, here's the Honour Roll (nicknames used where possible to protect the innocent):
Lamb
GkT
Muz
Tackle
SimonR
Trentini
Big Sal
Koster
The Tweenies (expected as they were only students)
Rivet
Chisel
Dimpet
Sashi
JimD
Trowel

The ones that remain:
Wilson
Toshal
Jigs
Screwsy
J-Man
Whitty
Sprocket
Hammer
Mashy
Ando

So, to those who died in action - hope things are going well for you on the other side, and that we still keep in touch with each other every now and then.

To those who survived, and have the scars to prove it...DON'T LEAVE ME!

Tschüß,
'Brush

Was mache ich gerade?

2007-06-05T19:08:00.000+02:00

So, what am I up to at the moment?

Bel is in Vietnam, so I am at home bored and alone. Because of that I have been to the pool 2 times in 3 days, for a total of 3.8km. I used to be able to do that in a single session in the pool, but now that I am halfway between 29 and dead, it is a little harder. There was even a squad swimming in the lanes next to me today, and some of them were swimming faster than me...it is a while since that happened, and it was kinda depressing. It also reminded me how much fun I used to have swimming for Geelong Swimming Club and the Waterlions "back in the day". Die wichtige Sache ist, daß ich eine Zwiebel an meinem Gürtel hatte, was damals in der Mode war...

Other than that, I have managed to get us tickets to two upcoming concerts in Frankfurt and surrounds.
The first concert is in July, and is from the German entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest this year. The guy is called Roger Cicero, and he busts out some good swing/lounge tunes in German. Very cool stuff. Better than the music are the lyrics - einfach Spitze.
The second gig is in October, and is a German band called Wir sind Helden (we are heros). I had heard this group a couple of times on the radio, without knowing who they were, and I really liked them. Then we went home at Xmas, and Benny happened to have their second CD Von hier an Blind (from here on blind). I bought a copy of this when I was back in Germany, as well as their first album, and their recently released 3rd album. These guys are tops, and I am really looking forward to this gig.

So, the question is, should I buy tickets to Die Ärzte (the Doctors) in November? Guess I will have to check with Bel on that one, as I don't think she is the biggest fan of this German Punk band...

Later y'all.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Brocken Harz

2007-05-31T17:15:00.000+02:00

Although "Brocken Harz" may sound like "Broken Hearts" if you mispronounced it, the two things are in no way related. The Harz Mountains is a region in Sachsen-Anhalt (one of the 16 German States), and the Brocken is the tallest mountain the mountain ranges, and also in all of northern Germany (1142m). Apparently the world's first television tower was built on the Brocken in 1935, and the Brocken also housed a Russian Army Base after the end of the second world war. Apparently the whole summit used to be surrounded by a concrete wall (this was the East German side, after all) that was 3.6m high.

The Brocken is also famous because Goethe (famous German writer who has an institute named after him that teaches German) described witches and warlocks flying to the Brocken on Walpurgis Night for some crazy funky shit, and also because he climbed the thing a number of times. And because of this, the Germans flock to this location to follow in the footsteps of Goethe. This would be kinda like us flocking to somewhere because Banjo Patterson once took a piss there..who really cares?!?!

Anyway, B and I started our 6.5km trek from Schierke to the top of the Brocken at around 15:00, and we eventually reached the summit 2 hrs later. This is no world breaking performance by any stretch of the imagination, but this also isn't the world's easiest hike up the mountain.
Once we got to the top we had about 2 mins of lovely weather and view before the weather closed in, it started to rain like all hell, and got totally covered in fog. But even with the shit weather, the climb was still worth it. Luckily there is also a steam train that runs to the summit, so we took that back down to Schierke.

Would have been a lot easier to take this up, and then walk back down	But the 'Brush conquered the Brocken anyway...
Oh, and Bel too...	But just remember not to drink the water that is found in the boiler of the steam engine...

Earlier that day we also went through two underground caves in the region. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take photos in there, but the staleg-dings-bums formations in these caves were amazing - especially when you consider that a stalegmite/tite that is the thickness of your finger grows 7mm per year. Said another way, it would take 200 years to grow one the size of your thumb...and we saw some that were 3m tall!
My question is though - why must everyone touch everything? I mean, we were told in the first of our tours, right at the beginning, that if you touch them then they will not grow anymore due to the fat on our hands preventing the calcium being able to bind with the existing deposits. In the second tour the lady neglected to mention this, so a whole heap of ppl were touching the bastards, not realising that they are destroying 100s or 1000s of years of nature in 1 sec.

Oh yeah. Is anyone here scared of the dark? I ask because when we were in the caves they turned the lights out for a few seconds to show ppl how dark it was for one poor guy who got stuck in these caves for 3 days with an extiguished lantern. There were some chicks in the tour who started freaking out (we were in a cavern that would have been 30m across, and 8m high), and we had to ask ourselves "how do these people sleep at night?". The other stupid thing was that the lady running the tour had a torch, and if that failed, then we all had mobile phones which could light up to see the walls. Add to that the fact that like 30% of all Germans smoke, so someone was bound to have a lighter that we could use to find the way out!
Here are some other sights from our weekend in Wernigerode and surrounds:

The town hall, with a pretty sweet looking wooden facade from 1498.	Bel getting her hand consumed by one hungry Pferd before taking a carriage ride up to the Castle.
What has to be the prettiest pizza shop in the world.	This house is crazy old (originally build in 1300s and rebuilt in the 1600s), and was originally perfectly upright. The house then sunk down to the bedrock, and the roof leans out 1.2m over the foundations. This is more crooked that the tower of Piza!
The stairs in the castle in Wernigerode. We spent a bit of time here waiting for the rain to bugger off so we could go back to the town.	And that is the castle.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Gruß aus Kanada, eh?

2007-05-11T23:21:00.000+02:00

Greetings from Canada, eh?

Currently writing this blog from the 19th floor apartment of J-Man and Evelyn in downtown Vancouver, after getting back from walking completely around Stanley Park. Gotta say that the views from here suck. I mean - who needs to be able to see the ocean, snow capped mountains, and Stanley Park from their apartment...it's just too much. :P

Flights on the way over were not too bad. A little long, but not too bad. The first leg was 8hrs from Frankfurt to Montreal, and I managed to get myself an exit row seat with nobody beside me - SCORE! Downside to this seat (and this aeroplane) is that they don't have individual entertainment system screens, but just that big one in the middle. From my seat it was a tight angle to see the screen, so I got a bit of a sore neck. Oh well.

Flight from Montreal to Vancouver was better, as each seat had it's own personal entertainment system. The system was touch-screen operated too, which was sweet. I managed to check out 2 films on this flight, one of which was good, and the other was Hollywood trash. The good film was "The Painted Veil" with Edward Norton, and I would recommend checking it out.

Bad part about this flight was that they don't give you food on the internal flights with Air Canada. This isn't the end of the world, as you can buy food on the flight...if you have Canadian Dollars...which I didn't. :( 5.5hr flight with no food was a troubling prospect...
When the hostess came around offering food I asked her if they took credit card, or something other than CAD, but the only other alternative was USD, which I also didn't have. Luckily the Air Canada airline hostesses, although old, are quite nice and one of them offered to change my Euros for CAD so I could buy some food. The other bonus was that I already knew the exchange rate off the top of my head due to wanting to order my GPS thing from Canada, so we made our deal, I got my food, and everyone was happy.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now. Stay tuned to more later.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Die Tour geht weiter...Zweiter Teil

2007-04-29T20:17:00.000+02:00

Today, a rollerblade tour around Friedrichsdorf...

B rolling through the corn fields behind our block. These will grow massively in the next few weeks.	B giving her all to get up a hill after crossing under the train tracks. Had to be proud of her for not coating the jocks in chocolate sauce...
Part of the Friedrichsdorf cemetary. Die Atmosphäre war tot langweilig...	Aw!
The world famous Friedrichsdorf train station...if the World consists of just Friedricsdorf...	Am Houllier Platz. There is a playground for kids here, and always heaps of people out and about eating ice-cream.

Das war's eigentlich...

Tschüß,
'Brush

How Nerds exercise...

2007-04-29T15:55:00.000+02:00

Gone are the days of "Chariots of Fire", where men ran in white pants and white shirts. Gone are the days of analog watches and coaches wearing suits and corially commenting "Come on ol' chap! Give it a bit more for the Queen!" or shit like that. This is how us nerds exercise in the modern age...

Rollerblades, heart rate monitor and corresponding watch, mobile phone with bluetooth capability, Bluetooth GPS receiver.

The result is...

A kick arse map from Google Earth that shows the lap that I did on my rollerblades in 14:08min, with a max heart rate of 181, and an average heart rate of 160bpm.

Nerdy or what?

Tschüß,
'Brush

Eine Tour durch unser deutsches Leben... Erster Teil

2007-04-21T19:31:00.000+02:00

or "A Tour through our german Life... Part 1".

These are some pics in and around our apartment in Friedrichsdorf.

Our bedroom from the hallway. The little moose wearing the German flag is from Ikea.	And from another angle. The flag on the wall helps us remember why we don't talk like the others do.
Our little sitting area, which is quite nice in Summer. The kitchen, bedroom, and living room all lead out onto here.	And this time from the lounge room, over to the hedge which was completely without leaves 2 weeks ago.
Lounge room from the hall. Also known as "your room" if you come and stay...fully equiped with fold out comfy couch and plants.	And from another angle, looking back to the hallway.
Kitchen from the hallway, looking out into the back yard. Luckily everything was already there when we moved in.	Kitchen looking back to the hallway

Never claimed it would be an interesting tour...

Tschüß,
'Brush

Random Photos from my Palm

2007-04-11T22:38:00.000+02:00

Strange but cool ice formation on the roof of my car one morning.

This was at one of my Customers. Dunno that I would enjoy this as either of the participants in the two man show. In one case you would have to 1s while smelling the other guy's 2s, and in the other case you better wear a raincoat to deal with the splashback.

This one's for Damo. Gotta love a film called Jism. And this wasn't in the porn section of the video store either (which is quite large...).

View out the window of our office. We have been told that we have the nicest office in all of Germany, and mainly because of the views from the 5th floor.

This is the unfortunate number plate of our friend's new boyfriend. The "RA" indicates where in Germany the car is registered, and the "PE" is for his company. Apparently they have 1002, 1003, and 1004 as company cars.

Sauerkraut or Beetroot juice anyone? WTF?!?!?!

This is essentially chicken soup in a jar. Made us wanna boff with the big arsed lumps of chicken in there.

Even Dunkin' Donuts has made it to Berlin. Mmmmmm....Hazelnut Great One....

Tschüß,
'Brush

The head of the brush flies through the air...

2007-04-11T22:23:00.000+02:00

After shopping in the outlet malls in Bremen over Easter we had to pull in and fill the car up for the trip back to Westerstede (a friend's family has a farm there). While the car was filling up, B decided to fill up that thing where the water goes to wash the windscreen, and I decided to clean the corpses of the dead bugs off the windscreen (spring has it's downsides...).

As I have always done, I grab that squeegy/brush thing and wash the windscreen, and then start to squeegy the water off. Drag...flick the water behind me...drag...flick the water behind me. This process was repeated a number of times with a good success ratio. Then after one flick I bring the squeegy thing forward to have another go at the windscreen...and the head of the squeegy thing comes flying off...soars over the bonnet of our car...buzzes the tower of B's head...keeps flying...and thuds into the side of another car that was there filling up. Apparently the look on my face as this happened was priceless...or so the passengers in the back seat of our car told me. Especially the look on my face as I was standing there looking at what used to be a squeegy, but now was nothing more than a wet stick.

Luckily there was nobody in the other car at the time, and the owner was also nowhere to be found. Luckily there wasn't any damage done to the other car either...

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Tschüß,
'Brush

Like a bridge into troubled water...

2007-04-03T20:44:00.000+02:00

Or very calm water. I didn't take this picture, but did see basically the same view out of the plane window as we left Copenhagen today. This is the Great Belt Bridge that joins Sweden and Denmark.

Here you can see how the bridge just disappears without a trace into the ocean...or so it seems. Obviously the bridge leads into a tunnel that completes the connection between the two countries for the first time since the Ice Ages. Kinda cool, huh?

Because I am a nice guy, here is a link to the page that I stole the picture from. This guy/girl also has a bunch of other pictures of similar constructions from around the world. I realised by looking at the photos of the one in Virginia that this is done so that the boats can still sail the stretch where the bridge never was.

Tschüß,
'Brush

Das Leben der Anderen...

2007-03-26T21:01:00.000+02:00

...is a good name for any blog posting when talking about what we are up to in another part of the world, because it means "The life of the others". It also happens to be the name of a German film that won an Oscar for best International Film or something like that. You can read more about the film here in Wikipedia.

Anyway, this film isn't showing in any of the mainstream cinemas anymore, as it already finished it's run here a long time before the Oscars. We had heard nothing of it then, and therefore didn't see it, so decided to catch it this time around. As I said, it's not in the major Cinema Complexes anymore, so we headed to a little cinema to watch it - which is always more fun, IMHO.

The closest Cinema to us that was showing it are the Panda/Kaskade cinemas in Bad Homburg. Now, there are a number of special things about these cinemas...

To start with, the cinemas aren't stand-alone, they are part of the Taunus Therme thermal baths complex that we have talked about before (Japanese-themed spa complex). The cinemas actually have a seperate entrance than the thermal baths, so they are kind of seperate...or are they?

The image here shows two distinct colours in the seating arangement - one purple, and one green. You can't see it very clearly, but between the two sections there is a barrier. Also, you can see at the back of the room that there is a door, but there is also just off-screen to the left another door. What does that all mean? Well, as I said, this cinema belongs to the spa complex, so there are two sections - one for the normal viewing public, and one for the people who are currently visiting the spa complex. Therefore, during the movie, the normally dressed people are sitting in the back, and the people in bathers, bath robes, etc. are sitting in the front. To the left of screen there is also a small are which has some sun chairs for ppl who would prefer to lie down to watch the film. Cool huh?

So, that was one of the rooms/screens in the cinema. I am not sure if ppl in bathers and stuff can go into the other cinema as well, but I assume so. But what is really "special" about the other cinema - and is described as special on their website - is that smoking is allowed in the cinema. B and I just can't believe this, and neither could the guy who was complaining to the cashier while B was out getting us some drinks. When Australia is around 95 days away from banning all smoking in bars and clubs, it is strange to see this kind of behaviour in Germany. We really are on the other side of the world...

And it is not just that smoking is allowed in the cinema - smoking advertising is still allowed here. They have banned it on TV, but it is still allowed in the movies. B pissed herself laughing (and quite loud) when an ad for Malborough Wides came on, saying things like "wider for more tobacco flavour", "wider for a better smoke" etc...and it was in English too. How about "in English to suck you in to thinking it is cool, and then wider for a faster more painful cancerous death"?!?!

Yeah, so...the film. Won't say too much about it, because you can read it yourself in the link that I gave you above. Suffice to say that this is a really good story about the East German Secret Police (Stasi) and how they spied on the East German people. The best part of this film is that it doesn't offer any real comment on "this was good" or "this was bad", but just tells the story, and let's you reach your own conclusions. In my opinion "this was bad", and it is amazing that a country could do this to it's people. If you get the chance, check it out.

Tschüß,
'Brush