so, yesterday and today we checked out a couple of neighborhoods in the city. Let me tell you, if you are ever in Berlin, biking is the way to go! First of all, the trains and S-bahns are unbelievably expensive ( a week card cost 25 euros!) and also you really get a good impression of the city by bike... soooooooo
tomorrow we'll be visiting 4 appartments... wish us luck!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
New Orleans
shit. I'm checking out the news here and the number of deaths caused by Katrina in Louisiana is raising by the hour. Please grab someone you love and tell them how important they are to you.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I know it sounds totally cliche, but it really does.
My heart goes out to the families of the victims. I know it sounds totally cliche, but it really does.
Monday, August 29, 2005
BERLIN!!!
Okay folks, we are officially leaving this afternoon for Berlin. We're off to find an appartment! If I manage to find a computer I will post pictures of the ones we like and you can give me some feedback!
I will also be studying 2 hours a day for the bloody DSH test I have mid september (7 hour language test needed for immatriculation at the university).
hmm what else... oh yeah, I am getting pretty short on cash, so I will be looking up jobs... official and non official ones. Or I could just win the lottery!
;)
keep your fingers crossed for me!
I will also be studying 2 hours a day for the bloody DSH test I have mid september (7 hour language test needed for immatriculation at the university).
hmm what else... oh yeah, I am getting pretty short on cash, so I will be looking up jobs... official and non official ones. Or I could just win the lottery!
;)
keep your fingers crossed for me!
Memory loss
Well, it seems as though I have lost my mind while being here. I can't believe I did it, but I actually forgot one of my best friends' birthday. I feel so bad about it, I didn't sleep much last night...
As if it weren't enough that I'm not there to see all the important events in my friends'lives, I have to forget important dates on top of it all.
I hope once I am settled in I will be able to start being normal again...
As a punishment, I will post a picture of myself begging for foregiveness and looking totally stupid
As if it weren't enough that I'm not there to see all the important events in my friends'lives, I have to forget important dates on top of it all.
I hope once I am settled in I will be able to start being normal again...
As a punishment, I will post a picture of myself begging for foregiveness and looking totally stupid
Friday, August 26, 2005
AVRIL!!!
One of my best friends in the whole wide world (literally) is getting married in one week. I talked to her today and it felt great. I felt like I had reconnected with an old friend, but really reconnected.
I am so sorry I can't be there for her in these precious times, but at the same time we respect each others'lives and happy that we are both living something extroardinary.
Look how cute they are!:
Avril and Eric's Wedding
I am super happy for her, AND they're getting married in an incredibly beautiful place.
How about you guys? Is it normal in your country to marry or is it not in anymore? At what age is it normal for you?
:)
I am so sorry I can't be there for her in these precious times, but at the same time we respect each others'lives and happy that we are both living something extroardinary.
Look how cute they are!:
I am super happy for her, AND they're getting married in an incredibly beautiful place.
How about you guys? Is it normal in your country to marry or is it not in anymore? At what age is it normal for you?
:)
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Home
So I have been here for about 6 weeks now. So much things are starting to feel normal. I don't get weirded out so easily by stuff anymore , and it got me to thinking... Will I ever feel "home" here? How much time does it take? I used to work at a gym in Montreal and one of the clients was a french woman. She had been in Quebec since 20 years and said it still didn't feel like home. If anyone reading this has ever experienced something similar to this, you comments are absolutely welcome on this post particularly. I would really like to hear about other peoples experiences.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
FUNNY!
I just found a jewel of a site on the internet. It's about a couple, the guy is british and the girl is german - FUNNY!
apparently some arguments are REALLY culturally related.
Go read it to have a good laugh!
ThingsMyGirlfriendAndIHaveArguedAbout.com
apparently some arguments are REALLY culturally related.
Go read it to have a good laugh!
Absolute Sunday
Today is an absolutely perfect sunday. I woke up and it was gray and misty outside. Right now we can't even see well the top of the mountains. Everything seems just so Perfect. I cuddled with my boyfriend on our giant sofa, read the Spiegel (a little the Time Magazine), watched tv a bit (nothing on but the Pope - yay) and then I proceeded to spend a very productive 2 hours working on my at home german lessons. I even wrote a text that I was really proud of - bf has to correct it later, we'll see if it's good or not!
Just really mellow and happy
:)
happy sunday y'all!
Just really mellow and happy
:)
happy sunday y'all!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Accepted
Woo-hooooooooooo! Thank god for mail on saturdays in Germany! I just got a letter from Humboldt Uni saying that I am accepted and an enveloppe containing all the papers I need to fill out to register!!!! YAY!
I am SO going to celebrate tonight!
I DID IT!
I am SO going to celebrate tonight!
I DID IT!
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Germany
In Germany there are autobahns where there is no speed limit.
In Germany people feel free to be naked on their balcony, even though people can see them and take pictures directly from the train station nearby:
hehehe
In Germany people feel free to be naked on their balcony, even though people can see them and take pictures directly from the train station nearby:
hehehe
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Vienna... beautiful!
Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen yet. All the buildings are old, classic, detailed and simply breath-taking. The german spoken here is quite different, a little like the german spoken in bavaria, so I had a little trouble understanding the people. We were staying at an old roommate's from Carsten. He was living really close to downtown and the museums quartier with his girlfriend and 2 other roommates. The museums quartier is really coo, with all the museums and cool retro shops, in Electric Avenue. A must see. I was really glad because I really hit it off with Ingrid, the girlfriend of Peter, my bf's ex roommate. I was SO proud of myself after I spent most of the evening alone with her, speaking only her austrian german together, and actually having meaningful, serious conversations... and getting along really well. that was definitely a victory!
the first thing we visited was the Stephansdom, a church in downtown Vienna:
I overcame my fear of heights and went with the others up to the tower were you can walk around and have a view of Vienna... It's not inside! When you go up, you take an elevator and wait downstairs inside... when you are finished, you must wait in line for the elevator, standing on nothing but a metal cage-like floor... You can literally see the street way below between your feet. Here is me, holding on to the churches'wall for dear life...
NOT fun
There are SO many smokers in Germany and Autria.Everywhere: stores, bars, restaurants you name it, there is smoke there. Here is a picture of an ashtray in the Vienna public transportation:
We then visited Schloß Schönbrunn (castle Schönbrunn). This is absolutely a must see in Vienna. Incredibly beautiful castle, but beware of tourist-traps: for example, they'll try to tell you you have to buy a combo ticket to visit the castle, gardens and whatnot, but actually the gardens and grounds are free, and you can pay for each activity serparately. We ended up paying abour 3 euros each instead of this combp ticket for 17 euros...
Here is a garden at the back of the Schloß:
the gardens and the Gloriette:
the maze gardens (Irrgarten):
And finally, the Schloß itself:
beautiful.
The Vienna city hall:
Then we visited Schloß Belvedere, please if you are in Vienna visit this first, and Schönbrunn after, or else it seems really small but actually isn't. This is a statue in the gardens, I really liked it because it reminded me of the two sphinx in the never-ending story, through which Atrayu must pass to get to the oracle ( I am at the moment reading the Never Ending story in it s original version, german :)
The Museum of Natural History... if you plan on visiting it here, plan at least two full days... there is SO much to see here! and SO beautiful!
places like Vienna are why I LIVE for travelling.. If you haven't been there... GO!
the first thing we visited was the Stephansdom, a church in downtown Vienna:
I overcame my fear of heights and went with the others up to the tower were you can walk around and have a view of Vienna... It's not inside! When you go up, you take an elevator and wait downstairs inside... when you are finished, you must wait in line for the elevator, standing on nothing but a metal cage-like floor... You can literally see the street way below between your feet. Here is me, holding on to the churches'wall for dear life...
NOT fun
There are SO many smokers in Germany and Autria.Everywhere: stores, bars, restaurants you name it, there is smoke there. Here is a picture of an ashtray in the Vienna public transportation:
We then visited Schloß Schönbrunn (castle Schönbrunn). This is absolutely a must see in Vienna. Incredibly beautiful castle, but beware of tourist-traps: for example, they'll try to tell you you have to buy a combo ticket to visit the castle, gardens and whatnot, but actually the gardens and grounds are free, and you can pay for each activity serparately. We ended up paying abour 3 euros each instead of this combp ticket for 17 euros...
Here is a garden at the back of the Schloß:
the gardens and the Gloriette:
the maze gardens (Irrgarten):
And finally, the Schloß itself:
beautiful.
The Vienna city hall:
Then we visited Schloß Belvedere, please if you are in Vienna visit this first, and Schönbrunn after, or else it seems really small but actually isn't. This is a statue in the gardens, I really liked it because it reminded me of the two sphinx in the never-ending story, through which Atrayu must pass to get to the oracle ( I am at the moment reading the Never Ending story in it s original version, german :)
The Museum of Natural History... if you plan on visiting it here, plan at least two full days... there is SO much to see here! and SO beautiful!
places like Vienna are why I LIVE for travelling.. If you haven't been there... GO!
Los geht's!
So, I am finally back in Honnef, and here are some pictures from our trip!!!
here we go!
We drove the first day and spent the night in a bed n breakfast...
near Rothenfels, a small town on the Main (like in frankfurt am Main) Here is a picture of Rothenfels
We then drove to Bamberg, in Bavaria. Bavaria is well known for it's really cheap, gutbürgerliche küche. That means, lots of sausages, sauerkraut and beer for not a lot of money. here is a photo of Bamberg, a student town in Bavaria. Lots of clubs and Bars actually close during months when students are not in town. Here is a photo of the town center:
And when I say cheap beer, here is an actual photo of a 1 litre beer krug that I purchased in a Biergarten (yep... a garden where you go to drink beer in the summer.. and you're allowed by law to bring your own food)it costed...
3 EUROS!!!!!!!!!!!!! (4,50 can dollars!!!)
Then we drove to Nürnberg, where we visited an old roommate of mine, Ulrich... Here he is with the bf in Nürnberg gardens :
That night, we drank beer and watched Germany's national sport, fußball, or , in north america, soccer. The people here are nuts about it, it's like hockey in Canada.The next day, we visited catacoombs under the city :
Basically, passageways and rooms underneath the city in which they used to store beer te keep it cold in the middle ages. In the middle ages, beer was actually considered as food, as everyone drank it: women, men, children. It had more calories and less alcohol as now (2-3%) and was a strong part of the daily menu. They only built the tunnels during the second world war, and when Nürnberg was attacked on January 2nd, 1944, 55 000 people took shelter in these beer kellers and tunnels. TO this day, many older citizens of Nürnberg claim that "beer saved our lives" :)
The last interesting stop before Austria was the customs... There aren't any customs here (european union), so all you see as you zoom through on the highways are empty toll stations... actually I didn't get any stamp at all as I flew here, and One guy n france barely blinked at my passport... Theoretically I coul stay here as long as I want even if I didn't have a visa, and just say I just got here a week ago if anyone ever asked questions... anyway, here are the abandonned customs:
Next post will be about Austria and Vienna
here we go!
We drove the first day and spent the night in a bed n breakfast...
near Rothenfels, a small town on the Main (like in frankfurt am Main) Here is a picture of Rothenfels
We then drove to Bamberg, in Bavaria. Bavaria is well known for it's really cheap, gutbürgerliche küche. That means, lots of sausages, sauerkraut and beer for not a lot of money. here is a photo of Bamberg, a student town in Bavaria. Lots of clubs and Bars actually close during months when students are not in town. Here is a photo of the town center:
And when I say cheap beer, here is an actual photo of a 1 litre beer krug that I purchased in a Biergarten (yep... a garden where you go to drink beer in the summer.. and you're allowed by law to bring your own food)it costed...
3 EUROS!!!!!!!!!!!!! (4,50 can dollars!!!)
Then we drove to Nürnberg, where we visited an old roommate of mine, Ulrich... Here he is with the bf in Nürnberg gardens :
That night, we drank beer and watched Germany's national sport, fußball, or , in north america, soccer. The people here are nuts about it, it's like hockey in Canada.The next day, we visited catacoombs under the city :
Basically, passageways and rooms underneath the city in which they used to store beer te keep it cold in the middle ages. In the middle ages, beer was actually considered as food, as everyone drank it: women, men, children. It had more calories and less alcohol as now (2-3%) and was a strong part of the daily menu. They only built the tunnels during the second world war, and when Nürnberg was attacked on January 2nd, 1944, 55 000 people took shelter in these beer kellers and tunnels. TO this day, many older citizens of Nürnberg claim that "beer saved our lives" :)
The last interesting stop before Austria was the customs... There aren't any customs here (european union), so all you see as you zoom through on the highways are empty toll stations... actually I didn't get any stamp at all as I flew here, and One guy n france barely blinked at my passport... Theoretically I coul stay here as long as I want even if I didn't have a visa, and just say I just got here a week ago if anyone ever asked questions... anyway, here are the abandonned customs:
Next post will be about Austria and Vienna
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Wien
Hi !
I'm in Vienna for the moment and should be back on friday - with pics and tons of stuff to post about!
I'm in Vienna for the moment and should be back on friday - with pics and tons of stuff to post about!
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
and.........we're off!
Hey evryone! I got my first german vaccination yesterday in a real german doctor s office. She was really nice and my boyfriend was even allowed on the office with me so he could translate the more technical terms:) I am PREPARED to fight TICKS!!!
Bring it on, ticks and your virus-induced meningitis! HA!
so we're off in one hour to tonight Rothenfels, tomorrow Bamberg, friday Nürnberg, weekend Vienna and next week slowly making our way back on thursday or friday...
promise to come back with tons of stories + pics!
xxx
Bring it on, ticks and your virus-induced meningitis! HA!
so we're off in one hour to tonight Rothenfels, tomorrow Bamberg, friday Nürnberg, weekend Vienna and next week slowly making our way back on thursday or friday...
promise to come back with tons of stories + pics!
xxx
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