I was super impressed with seeing Bajofondo Tango Club in London, so when I found out that Gotan Project were playing, I just HAD to go. Only problem was, that the London show had sold out. However, during my last visit Slovenia I noticed that there was also a Gotan gig in Ljubljana - so I decided to fly there and check them out. Rok wasn't going to be there, but my friend Mateja who is also from Slovenia is living there at the moment, and she said she'd also be keen to check it out + that I could crash. So I did the math, and after counting transport, ticket costs and pound->EU conversion, seeing the concert in Slovenia would cost only 9pounds more. Concert AND a trip. DO IT!
Yes I am a groupie
So I land in Trieste (Italy) where Mateja kindly picks me up. Having seen Ljubljana before, this time sightseeing involved some more of the natural wonders of the land of dreams. So she gave me a choice - coast today and mountains tomorrow - or vice-versa. I choose the coast, cos growing up near the beach, mountains are something different for me, so I'd want more time exploring those. So we start cruising around in this gorgeous summertime weather. Gawd I live in the wrong country. First stop was a 'surprise' - the salt mills. When I was in Slovenia last time I had heard so much about this salt, and bought heaps of it (that people thought I was strange), so as a 'treat' Mateja took me to the place were the magic salt thang happens. Actually quite a popular spot - lotsa tourist buses (from Garmani jaa!). It was nice, cos the area was really quiet and tranquil. But my favourite part was the museum, which is basically a room with a salt-field recreation, and a video with some information. Oh yeah, they also had this tourist thing which would email out touristic postcards with your head. So I sent some to random @cam.ac.uk email addresses. Fun. It is probably the worst museum ever, but I did meet a peasant lady who told me of the mystical secrets of the salt.
Enlightenment - the secrets of the salt fields revealed
After salt lost it's appeal, we hit Piran, which is a Slovene coastal town. Apparently it can be quite touristy, but is really beautiful. Nice beach, nice seaside weather. Man I miss the coast - not used to landlocked lifestyle of Cambridge. Place was quite crowded at the nice beach, and parking was hard. Walking around, we saw people sunbaking on the cement, and because it was quite hot, old ladies just taking off their shirts and walking around. Europe... The town was nice, and pretty with a very villagy like feel. We climb up a hill where there is a church and a nice outlook over the coast. Finish up the daylight enjoying pizza and beer by the beach. ohhhhhhhhh ja! So different to Cam...
Chillin' in Piran
It's hot - get off your gear and roast on the pavement
Next day was Sunday - mountain time. Road trippin' in Mateja's 'sports car' - dunno if you stretch the definition of a sports car to include a Peugeot 206; but it was still a sweet car for exploring. First stop - Lake Bled. I had heard a lot about this place, being one of _the_ tourist attractions of Slovenia. And for good reason, it's beautiful. We go up this mountain/castle thing (fighting through the masses of Spanish and Italian tourists) to find this amazing outlook over this church in the middle of the lake. The view was simply amazing, especially given that it was so hot - the blue/green contrasting colours. Awesome. The castle was touristy - they had an information video running on loop, but despite the place being packed, it didn't attract any visitors. Though I decided to pay my respects - for a few secs anyway. Also there was a 'print-shop' where you could have your name pressed onto various touristic style scrolls in the old traditional manner. Out the front there was a book with letters, postcards, and such that tourists had sent in thanking the master printer for his great skill creating their souvenirs. But when I went there was only some young trainee boy doing the business - I felt so disappointed that I took a photo which I am going to send to them saying how upset I was to miss out on meeting the famous craftsman himself.
Beautiful Lake Bled
SO disappointed!
After Bled, we went to a 'valley-walk', which involved walking along this path of this mountainous river through this valley. It was a great walk, nice scenery - fresh air, but with the promise of a waterfall at the end. After quite a substantial walk, we didn't find any waterfall, but merely a trickle. Nonetheless it was a really nice walk through awesome vegetation with a view into a clear stream. We stopped for lunch at a 'traditional' restaurant (Gostilna) - which from the sign offered beds, drinks, pizza, parking as well as bikers and a bus! Nice meal, though extremely salted. Oh and no male restroom is complete in Slovenia without a pornographic advertisement - yes, even in a 3-star tourist establishment. Land of dreams? Depends on what you're into... Final bit of a the trip involved a long drive through the alps. This was amazing, mountains are so different for me. So climbing up the mountains you could feel the change in temperature/climate and even notice the vegetation changes. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries, so I couldn't get many pics, but the views were amazing. We drove around and found this waterfall area. We arrived just after this bus of Czech tourists, so we were kinda stuck behind them. But the hike up the mountain was no easy task. Well it was easy, maybe just a bit unsafe as often we had to strongly grip a rope to have any sort of chance of making it across. Didn't help that m y shoes kept coming undone :( Unforutnately the waterfall was kinda boring, but the hike was somewhat adventurous, so fun. Oh and at that shop I found out that my German is more easily understood than my Australian-accented English. On the way back I HAD to try Hot Horse - which is a burger joint that sells horseburgers. Was really tasty, I got all basically all the sauces, so it was hot. But the patty tasted a lot like beef; though perhaps a little more tender...
The AMAZING waterfall at the end
Alps
Slovene toilet entertainment
Monday - I hit up town and wondered around. Started off walking past an Interspar (supermarket) cafeteria which was absolutely packed. As in a queue almost outside of the complex. Cheap + nasty meals I hear. Then catch the bus into town, and wonder around a bit. Had an amazing lunch (more pork) but with some nice dark beer (pivo) made by a brewery Union. Though I am definitely a La¹ko boy (the rival brewer is Union - people say you drink La¹ko and piss Union, or vice-versa depending upon who you ask; though I think they're the same company now). Now my second time in Ljubljana, I started to get a feel for the place - the centre seems quite small. Granted it should, with only a population of 300k. It's still cool though with many cafes, bars and icecream places by the river. Very pretty, but maybe a boring place to live? I met up with Rok's mate Simon for a bit, and we walked around - bumping into many people he knew along the way. I'm guessing Ljubljana is kinda like Perth - with three degrees of separation between everyone in the city. Summertime is great - nice scenery (if you know what I mean :)). We walked past the venue for the concert (Gotan were playing that night) and it had a massive line for tickets. I was so happy Mateja bought ours in advance!
Sepia is sexy
So finally the concert night - we get there perhaps at the perfect time. Too late for the support act but in plenty of time before the main act. You could spot the venue a mile away, as many people were camped outside to hear the concert without going in. Mateja said that was common practice, though the organisers caught on and made the walls higher so people could only hear and not see in. Dodgy Balkans :) We line up for a bit, and just before entering I get told off for using my camera - apparently cameras (inc ultra-compacts) aren't allowed in this gig. Anyway, we go in - smash some La¹kos, and after going to the toilet (where security let girls into the guys one because of the line) we push our way into the massive crowd waiting for the act. After finding a position, some guy tells me move cos he can't see (I guess). I just make some 'eh?' face. Once they started playing he says something again and I reply "I don't speak Slovene". He says "Oh ok that's fine" (in English). Weird. ahha. But yeh I was taller than most around me.
Mateja going crazy
Bravo!
The concert was good - although a little slow. Bajofondo I guess is more of a dancy electro-tango, where as Gotan Project were (arguably) more artistic. It was great music, many musicians and awesome singers - though the prescense/stage show wasn't as good as I had expected. Still an awesome concert, dancing (well, more accurately swaying) to the tunes. Not sure if many Spanish were there (I think I was the only one screaming OTRA OTRA) but apparently there are quite a few Argentines in Ljubljana. Anyway, the concert was great and I am definately glad I went. Although it finsihed a little late, I needed to try Burek - which is an Albanian fast food, but really popular in Slovenia. We walk ages to Nobel Burek (one of the most famous) were I am treated to this amazingly oily snack. Apparently Nobel's are more oily than the general ones. I think that three bites of that burek tripled my cholesterol levels :(
A segment of Epoca
Finally it was time to leave Ljubljana. It was a really hot day, which was easily passed with a lunch of Æevapèiæi, La¹ko and icecream. On teh way to the airport the weather started to turn a little. Mateja promised me she'd keep the weekend sunny + warm for me, and she did; so it was only fitting that it turned grey when I left. I bid adeu and check into the airport. Though our flight is delayed by 1.5 hours. Why? Because just as our EasyJet flight was to arrive, a freak thunderstorm hit (it was humid as fk) and so the people wanting to land were in a holding pattern for 50mins! Nasty. Seems I got out just in time.
How could I not SMILE (pivo/beer) whilst on holidays
Though the smile might be bigger had I mad 80's bathers
Ahhhhhhh I'm SO pleased I decided to go to Slovenia for the concert - for only a bit more $$ I got to see so many tourist sights (thanks Mateja!) in addition to the concert. And not only that - sun on my skin!!!
I took many a pic with my new camera (Sony T100) - check them out!
Almost too embarrassed to say - this trip was to Leipzig to see the one-and-only Scooter. Scooter is a German techno band from the mid '90s - peaking in popularity around the same time; though they just wont quit - even today still churning out the choones. Everyone I know that's heard of them seem to have their music associated with their younger/school days - personally, I place Scooter back to year 10 in high school. Now I'm not a massive techno boy; but the massive drawcard of Scooter is that they combine techno tunes (think Eurotrash) with amazingly philosophical lyrics (hah). The most known of the band is the MC, H.P. Baxxter - who has been around for a while. Just as I had to see Cuba before Fidel died, similarly I was on a mission to see Scooter before Baxxter dies :) Once news came out of a Scooter club tour - I was in! Actually a group of us were keen, but one-by-one they pulled out; leaving only Rok & I. Still, couldn't miss this opportunity. Laughs central.
Pushing the term 'OLD-skool' to the extremes.
OK so Scooter were big, but not so popular today. No Germans that I know are into them. When I told Jan he was like "Scooter - do they still allow them them play?", when mentioning the trip to another girl in Koeln she said "Scooter is crap. Are you silly?!", and I remember Doro banning me from using the 'S' word around her mates. Hhahahaha. Seriously though, how can anyone resist - the lyrics that they manage to work into their hardcore techno songs are simply amazing. We decided that if we were going, that we should do it properly. Somehow we came up with the idea to make T-Shirts with our fave Scooter line on the back (we might be crazy, but lots of other people at the gig also had custom-made gear). Choosing only one quote from the plethora of great lines written by these modern day poets was by no means an easy task. Some of the contenders include "The sky has changed, can you smell the sun" (re summer), "Respect to the man in the icecream van", "How do I get off the bus", "How much is the fish", "We are not the monkeys, but we've got the key", "Get off your shirts and wait for further instructions" ,"Does the fish have chips", "Starting the microphone business I've got one message for the next decade. Move you ass!". Whilst "here comes the chicks terminator" was appealing, I decided on my all time favourite "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice". SOOO deep. While Rok chose "Lass uns tanzen oder ficken oder beides!" (I won't translate that - but Scooter are becoming 'dirtier' as they get older). Gotta imagine these words used in techno songs! Shirts would have been more awesome had more crew joined us on this tour. Their loss. Scooter club tour - gotta do it!
We found these 'professional' pics on various websites a few days after the concert.
Before we left, I thought I might try and contact people 'in the know' - to find out more about the venue, concert, any after parties, etc. I've had pretty good luck with VIP stuff in the past :) So we logon to the official Scooter Techno forums and get in contact one of the moderators (bosses) of the message board. The moderator, is a professional lady, in her mid-forties, a mother of two and a die-hard scooter fan. We dubbed her 'Scooter Mom'. She was also flying over from the UK for Leipzig gig, and informed us that there would be a meet, greet & autograph sesh slightly before the show. Wow. Meet the legends themselves... Too funny. Sehr Schoen!
Finally the day arrived. Our flight was kinda early, but we were out really late the night before with some of the Spanish crew from BCN. Completely dead for the journey - thinking we were gonna die by the time the concert started. We land in Leipzig - and fall in love with the place, mainly because it was sunny and warm. Something you don't get often in Cam. Somehow the sun just gives you energy! After checking into our hostel, we debated about whether to make the trek out to where the autograph session was. It was either go get autographs. Or sleep. We (sheepishly) decided this opportunity was too much to pass up, and head to the outskirts of Leipzig to the mall where Scooter was appearing. We took our shirts, but were far to embarrassed to wear them out. Our idea was to bring them and get them signed - but we didn't want them to sign our chests hahaha. Keeping the shirts hidden was probably a good plan, as this mall was out in the middle of suburbia, in a rough area. Drunk/homeless looking people everywhere - surrounded by really old (obv. ex-communist accommodation) run down apartment blocks. Seemed like a German-ghettos. Redneck-esc people screaming, shouting, smashing bottles and stuff in this rundown area, with a fancy shopping mall smack-bang in the centre. So we finally find the place and the store where the signing is to take place. But we can't find any sign of Scooter. There were posters saying Autograph Session 5pm. It was 5.30 - were the Germans that efficient that they had already been and gone?! We wondered through every corner of the store several times - looking around at the crowd, wondering if they were there for Scooter or not; but FAR too embarrassed to ask. After quite a long time, Rok somehow musters up the courage to ask, and find out the signing was outside and around the corner. Phew. So we go out, Scooter hadn't arrived yet, but there was a massive queue of eager fans waiting for their heroes. What a bizarre crowd - a total mix of people, from typical raver types (as you'd expect) to old Eurotrash chicks, to German-versions of redneck/hicks; and every type of person inbetween. Despite our dislike for queues (livin' in UK...), we decide we only get one shot at this, so we line up. I get some beers to ease our nerves before we met our heroes (hahahaha). Finally we get to the front and show our shirts. I say I'm from Australia - and Baxxter was like "wow. what are you doing here" (think a higher pitched Arnie-style accent). Hahah it's all for you baby. "we should get out there soon". All good. We didn't have any witty retorts or cool lines. Probably cos we hadn't ate or slept the whole day and just downed beers. But none-the-less we got our tour shirts autographed by Scooter. Awesome...
H.P. Baxxter - givin' props to da whole EU posseeee
Smoothtalkin' Rok
Surprisingly I didn't faint...
So afterwards we go into the mall, and enjoy a free jazz concert and botomless champagne being given to the shoppers. Nice. Then down some German food & beers in this awesome cafe strip in Leipzig before heading out to the concert. This time we wore our shirts in public, and despite a few odd looks, somehow made it to the concert alive. Actually lots of ppl on the public transport were headed the same direction to the concert. The venue - Volkspalast was amazing. It was like a circular venue, DJ box kinda in the middle, with like massive roman arches around. A very classy joint, not at all like the warehouse I had expected. People at the gig were a lot more normal (I guess only freaks like us go to an autograph session). Armed with our shirts, we got approached by many professional photographers - and a few days later we spotted photos of Rok & I all over the websites of various Leipzig nightlife magazines. Not sure if that's good or bad. As for the concert - the atmosphere was amazing. People went bananas, and when Scooter played their own tracks, people went ballistic. MC Baxxter didn't disappoint, screaming out various lines - such as pointing to Scooter's new member (who actually people tend to dislike cause he changed the band's direction) who was Djg - shouting out 'shiny shiny shiny shiny' in the tune of "lager lager lager lager" from that Trainspotting sign whilst pointing at the guy's blinged up silver headphones. The concert was amazing - we jumped around like crazy for hours. Ravers unite! By far the best track was WEEKEND - so many awesome lines in that song, coupled with Baxxter's freestyling. Ohhh yeah. There were a group of crazy lads dressed in various raver gear, each one with a different Scooter track written on their back. Everytime there was a bit of silence they would scream DUP DAH DUP DA DA DUP DUP DUP - which is the call from one famous Scooter track called Maria - where people scream out that (in a downer-like voice). So it was fantastic when that song played. Other times, lotsa rave tracks mixed in, with Baxxter with some fresh lines such as "Rich bitch show us your tits". Hahah. Seriously though, the atmosphere was amazing, the Scooter trio blasting out tunes, lyrics and even airhorns. Crowd going bananas. So much fun. Absolutely exhausted at 3.30am when they finished. We left the place to see those same raver boys from before (dup dup dup) blasting old-skool Scooter tracks from their car. After dancing past them for a second we knew the night was over....
Check the vids...
The concert was on a Fri night, so we devoted Sat to sightseeing. I contacted some CouchSurfers to see if we could meet someone to show us around. We got up late so msg'd late, and I realised I got some phone numbers wrong :( One person said "oh now I am going to an apartment out of town where the wallpaper is peeling off the walls - I can pick you guys up on the way if you want.". As curious as we were about that offer, since we only had a day here, we decided it was better to see the city. Leipzig is a nice city, lotsa nice buildings, mixture of some old architecture with some ex-DDR buildings as well. Some of the ex-Commo-buildings were draped in 'happy' covers - I'm guessing to doll the place up for the World Cup. Blue pipes ran all over the city, wrecking the ambience. We were confused as to why, but then were told it was to do with drainage for the metro they were making. The weather was fantastic, so everybody was out and about. Rok had his super-duper new digital SLR camera, so he was out taking all sorts of pics, from classic tourist shots to inappropriate pics of cripples and girls-arses. All class. Everyone there was eating icecream. Like constantly. We did so too - amazing. Also, everywhere we went to eat was promoting their spargel dishes. Spargel is asparagus - one guy with a super strong & deep accented voice told us "I DONT KNOW HOW YOU CALL THIS IN UNGLISH BUT IT IS LIKE DAT WHITE THINGGG ON DA FRONT!") dishes. Seriously. Most restaurants had a separate Spargel menu. We had to try it - and it was sehr gut. Spargelriffic ja! Seriously though - people were going nuts for Spargel.
At night, we got in contact with Mia from CouchSurfing. She said that she was going with her friend Wiebe to some punk/electro mix party and that we could come along. Awesome. We totally got a taste of some of the Leipzig underground scene. So we met them at 23:50 (German precision) and caught the tram to some stop before walking to the party. They kindly brought us beers, but we didn't have an opener. We tried to crack them open against bricks when we saw a train/rail employee come over to us. I naturally assumed we'd be told off - it was an official after all; but instead he hands us his bottle opener. In case of emergency huh?! :) Garmany und bier! Mia and Weibe were totally into the alternate scene, with out-there cuts/styles, and they've even dj'd a few of their own gigs in the past. We walk for a while before following a group of American tourists towards the party. Mia/Weibe were concerned about the yanks going in the same direction, but then told them that the other party they were looking for was close but in a different area. Some weird place with reloving beds or something?! That was the one they were looking for - much to the relief of Mia & Weibe. So we go in and the band, MIT, starts cranking. Bizarre music - like moog synths, live drums and a person (he spoke like a guy, sang like a girl - though we couldn't tell the gender) screaming angrily in German into the mic. They were actually good. The venue was awesome too, very warehouse/underground like. Then the main band came on, "World Domination" - weren't as good (in all of our opinions) - but they had mad costumes etc. These guys were more Indy. Rok purchased a World Domination tank top. Farny. After a bit we run (literally) for a bus, but miss it. Eventually we head towards this other club. We walk down these random dark suburban streets, and then up this dark alley & path lit by candles. I make the joke "so this is where you rob us", though given the surroundings it was perhaps a possiblity:) Eventually we go through some curtains into this club playing lotsa bleepy-techno music. I was disappointed to discover that we just missed the main act which involved mixing in old Commodore 64 & Amiga computers to make various tracks. Doh! But the music was still great so we danced around for hours in this bizarre club, which seemed like a hollowed out house, with non-functioning toilets (think buckets of water). Big crowd, lots of people dancing like crazy for hours and hours. Close to 6am we call it quits, as our bus to the airport left in 3 hours - and we hardly slept the night before. We walk outside and it is sunny. Outside of the club looks like we are in some gypsy parkland - lots of caravans, gardens, couches, etc. Maybe more like some alternative art-space. I guess like city farm in Perth but more 'real' + full on. We had an amazing night; there is no way we would have found these awesome nightspots without Mia - super fun...
MIT - makin' noise....
Leipzig party crew
Pretty much died when we had to catch the bus, the flight, and then make our way through the hour long immigration queue - given the Non-EU line had only two booths open for 189481284198124 people. But we made it back. Alive - having met Scooter, dancing like crazy to some classic tracks, and checking out the Leipzig bleep scene. Mission accomplished. Over-und-out.
Back from Vienna zero hours sleep. Rush to Cam, repack, back to London to see an amazing concert - Bajofondo Tango Club; a group I saw when in Buenos Aires, amazing electro tango. Next morning - straight to Gatwick to head to Barcelona.
I've been to Spain many times, but never to Barcers. I was going as part of a language exchange with the Language Unit of Cam's Engineering Dept. and the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC). Basically the CompSci dept here funds some students to learn a foreign language, so I chose Spanish. Unfortunately due to the timing of the classes I missed many, though I somehow managed to squeeze-in a week away to hit-up Barcelona. Barcelona isn't the obvious choice for a Spanish exchange trip, given that the language is Catalan (kinda like a French-Spanish mix), though basically everyone understands espanhol. The trip looked great - all organised, visits to companies, tourist attractions, opportunity to stay with a student's family and all well priced. xk no!
So I land Sunday and basically sleep the day + night away, totally needed to recover from Vienna and London. It was easy to do cos we were put up in these sweet student rooms. Next day I met the other six students who came from Cam. As I do Computer Science, which isn't Engineering per-se, I didn't know anyone else from Cambridge. Actually we were meant be a group of 10, but 3 didn't show. That kinda sucked, because each Cam student was paired with a host student (whom we stayed with), which meant three Spanairds missed out on having a local Cam contact for when they came to visit. No big deal, but it woulda been nicer for them...
Cambridge possee
El grupo
The first morning we met up with the organisers from the Spanish Uni - Sandra, Jose & Lázaro, all of whom were super cool. They, along with the Lang Unit of Cam had preorganised everything. It is sooooooooo good to go on a trip where you don't have to think, where everything is organised - from transport, activities and also meals! I'm totally not used to stress-free travel - it's almost too easy... We were welcomed by the Uni and then introduced to our student hosts (who in turn would visit us in Cambridge). It was great, as everyone was awesome, and we quickly became good mates. As expected, all of the Spanish students could speak WAY better English than we could Spanish; actually my host, Enrique (Nicky), grew up learning English, and his whole family speak that at home! But it didn't matter, I still got to practice my Espanglish and even better it meant that we could have more meaningful conversations than otherwise would have been possible with my poor level of Spanish. Nicky's family was super nice, and quite large. Six kids total, though only a few were there at the time (they shipped one off to Madrid so that I could have her room :/ Incidentally, her boyfriend from Germany arrived that same week.. heh. I guess I'm a reasonable replacement. JA!). They were great - got on with all of them really well. And lucky for me they had this awesome piso (flat) quite close to the uni - which meant a few extra minutes for sleep after a hard night of partying BCN style.
A major part of the trip involved visiting various Engineering sites - from university departments to various companies. We visited the SEAT automotive factory, to learn of various design/manufacturing processes. They covered everything from general aesthetic design, shell construction, damage & safety testing to sound and pollution control. Another factory we visited was Dow Chemicals, where we got to visit a chemical refinery and learn of various chemical processes. It was very interesting for me, as I knew nothing about chemical engineering - even if we did finish with pig trotters for lunch :) Finally we visited the AGBAR Group - which manages various aspects of water, with the tour focusing on the architectural decisions (quirks?) of the Torre Agbar (building) housing the company's offices. The Torres Agbar is essentially the 'Gherkin' (per London) of Barcelona. This was really interesting, with things such as uneven + unconnected floors, all windows facing the Segrada Familia, etc. Definitely more to this pickle than meets the eye...
Engineers get all the chicks...
Torre Agbar, floors aren't level, nor touch the edge
As we were paired with students, much of our spare time was spent with them - checking out tourist sights. Barcelona is an awesome coastal city (though the beaches aint nufin on Perth beaches), with lots of crazy architecture, attributed to Gaudi (and his disciples). Very artistic - throughout the city you will see nothing but mad buildings (well, facades), sights, sculptures, etc. Lots and lots of jaw dropping sights. Y la Sagrada Familia. Increible....
BCN is VERY tourist friendly, though locals get sick of it. Some of our hosts were amused by some of the graffiti, but it ain't always easy to pick a local, huh...:)
Obviously we had to check out BCN nightlife. Nicky's sister Angel is like the queen of the BCN nightlife scene, so she managed to get some tickets to some VIP party with free drinks at some fancy club one night. Then a few nights later she arranged free entry for the whole group at another club - Pacha. Free IS the right price... We went out with the entire Cam-Bcn crew one Thursday (a good night for student parties apparently) - starting with dinner, then hitting various bars until we hit a club. Very messy night, especially since we had to be up bright and early for some company tours. I think the organisers expected us to go out on Thurs as they kindly give us a later start on Friday morning. All of us managed, to survive! One night I checked out a student party for a short while. I heard it was at the facultad de matematicas (Maths faculty). Maths students aren't usually known for their partying skills - but the party was great - people were there from every discipline (the faculty was just the host). Live bands, lots of people, a real festival atmosphere. Oh and a game where you get kisses in exchange for a sticker. Oye! :) I also caught up for a sheesha session with some buddies from Bcn whom I met in Ljubljana (they were touring around in a Caravan). Very cool. Oh - I was sad though when I found out that Manu Chao were playing at a festival near Bcn 5 days after I left. K puta suerte...
Party people....
Just like in Cam, keep off the grass in BCN...
I really enjoyed Barcelona, though I think I might prefer Madrid. BCN has that coastal feel, which perhaps I'm more used to - having grown up in Aus. I'm totally living in the wrong country - I should so be in Spain...
So the Barcelona students came to visit Cam a week later (poor things! hahaha), and we tried to reciprocate hospitality-wise. Us 'kids' were more in charge of social aspects. So our hands were tied, I mean Cambridge isn't exactly well known for its fun - _especially_ compared to Bcn. To make matters worse it was quite close to exams, so the streets (and hence, clubs) were basically dead. Though I guess some of the weird aspects of Cambridge are always are interesting to those unfamiliar - such as the chapel tower, punting, formal dinners. Wow as a grad student I had no concept as to the number of penny game variations were out there (i.e. drink before the queen drowns).
All-in-all was an awesome trip, and I'm glad they all came to visit. Made some good mates and was actually sad to see them go. Given that I am constantly going back to Spain, I have no doubt that I'll catch some of them again.
I went to Vienna to attend/present at a conference related to my studies. The conference was over four days, and it was not only interesting, but reassuring to see that our thoughts are inline with (and in some aspects, maybe even ahead of) others in the field. I met people with a number of similar research interests and got some new leads to follow. A change of scenery in which to think - definitely helped to renew motivation in my work....
I won't talk about the conference, as it is slightly off track with what I usually write about, except to say my presentation went OK. I was there for almost a week - so in addition to the conference, there was also time for fun & touristic stuff. But nothing crazy like Iceland or Koeln. The conference organised various activities. On the first night, we got a guided tour, followed by a nice dinner at the Klosterneuburg Monastery. Very cool, extremely old, with a rich history, and of course with wine made in the Kloster. The next night the delegates were invited by the Mayor of Vienna to the amazing city hall for a cocktail and canapes evening. Lunches weren't included in the conference package, but instead they recommended various restaurants around the place, so I hung out a lot during the days with other delegates, indulging in various treats - such as schnitzels the size of my head, or a brauhaus with a pan full of some sort of deer casserole. Excellent.
Klosterneuburg Monastery
City hall reception we in the VIP yeah yeah
The first day I arrived I stayed with Michael who graciously offered me his couch through Couchsurfing, as my accommodation for the conference was booked for the day after. He works in IT, and after taking me for a tour around some of the main touristy sights of Vienna (simply amazing city) we checked out The Metalab. The lab is what's known as a 'Hacker's Space' basically where people who are interested in technology to hang out and do things/be creative. Kinda stuff you see in the art-world, but this is with a tech focus. Was cool - they had just finished some competition to make a game, etc. I also enjoyed playing the Wii - I'm pretty good at boxing:) Actually I spent lots of time hanging with the Viennese Couchsurfers - as they are a _very_ active community. The first night Michael & I met up with Christine, Spyro and Rachie - barhopping for a bit, starting at Chelsea's (a bar), quickly skipping through some bar for youngsters, before ending up at this place which is not advertised or with signs, you just open this blue door and suddenly there's some awesome bar with projected lights, music and bizarre ghetto toilets with graffiti. You'd never know it existed if you didn't know it was there. There was a Couchsurfing picnic on the long weekend - which I hit up late (after spending the day refining my speech, and then spending hours trying to find them in the massive park) - and hung out there a while, meeting a whole bunch more ppl over food, etc - before heading back to Christine's place to chill-out. Throughout the week I constantly met up with ppl at night. For example, one night I went to a Dancehall night (think Sean Paul). I was probably the whitest there (except for Ingrid) enjoying watching the set steps. Last night I was there we had a group dinner, then hit up some bar which was full of youngsters thrashing out to alternative music, followed by hitting the well known club Flex - which is by the water. Flex was a cool club, but it kinda reminded me of those clubs in movies, you know the type where the club is also the HQ of the evil European boss. Like that. Hhahah. We had good times - hanging out with a good group of ppl. Great fun.
Party people
Toilet action
Vienna is an amazingly beautiful city. Every building is impressive, like you see some buildings and find out that's a library, or a university - expecting more like a presidential palace or something. I went a bit street-scene crazy with my camera, but my mum asked me to, so I have an excuse:) Just look at the album and it's understandable as to why. As mentioned, Michael took me on quite a thorough tour on my first day there. I also met up with Anton, a mate from Cambridge who was also visiting Vienna at the same time. He was there with another friend from Cambridge, Anne and we met up with a friend he met in Belarus, Alena, who now lives in Vienna. So on my last day we charged around the city, checking out the sights, such as various parks, the Wien (hah), and generally being stupid/having fun. Actually we met up the night before, and hit up that same 'hidden' bar, where Anton and crew were taken by their host - again, pictures of the toilet were taken...
Beware of the mighty Wien
Penguin Molestation Down 'n Dirty
I seriously can't believe the population of Vienna is the same as Perth. It seems way bigger - well, I mean it seems like a city. Apparently it's one of the nicest cities to live in, as it is a big-small city; all the advantages with good transport, etc; without the big city problems. I had a great time there - highly recommended!
I was due to present a paper at a conference in Vienna. As the conference was right after the Easter break, the flights directly to Vienna were stupidly expensive. Which meant that in order to get there affordably, I had to take a flight a couple of days earlier to Bratislava. The chance to check out Slovakia as well! Bonus! Got to the airport on Good Friday - it was quite quiet. Things weren't going so well for the staff either. Over the loadspeaker we heard "RyanAir is pleased to announce the boarding of flight ...." blank. Then again. Then again. And again. The guy kept stopping and restarting when about to say the flight name/number. Then about the fifth time, he booms over the airport "RyanAir is pleased to announce the boarding of flight ...... OHHHH SSSHHIIITTTT!!". The whole airport starts laughing.
Despite the airport being empty, the flight is full. I spent the flight talking to an engineer from Slovakia working in the UK. He gave me good tips for the airport, such as making sure to get coins from the airport staff so that you can buy a bus ticket. The flight got in late, so I checked in and walked around town for a short while. The old-town of the city is really nice, pedestrian only, lots of nice buildings - and at night basically just full of tourists. I heard much Spanish in the streets, as well as American accents. I didn't stay out long - instead retreating 'home' to refine my presentation a little, and rest up for a big day.
I basically had an entire Sat - day + night, to check out the city. Bratislava is nice, but kinda small (from a tourist perspective). Lotsa nice buildings and street scenes in the old town, and even some work by Plecnic:)
Crowd Control
I deserved to be in this ad
I saw some random stuff in the morning. One thing was a string of police cars & officers standing around with batons in hand etc (in front of Tesco!). Lots of people screaming and wailing at each other. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be some sort of argument (war?) between two, well-dressed, families. People were screaming in each other's faces, with a big crowd watching to see what happened. The older female figures of each family were causing the problems. So many police for such a little thing! Nothing like a bit of morning entertainment... They were also filming a beer commercial in town, apparently picking people out of the crowd to join in. I worked out that I was too late by about 10 mins :( Which was a shame as they had hundreds of beers ready for consumption. God damn beer is well priced in Slovakia - one beer I like to buy costs 1.50(quid) in the Supermarket here, but around 15p in Slovakian supermarkets. BOOOO.
So around midday I met up with Suzy from Hospitality Club - who basically runs the Slovak hospitality club scene, constantly hosting people, organising meetings, etc, and we walked around the town, and up the hill to Bratislava Castle - which overlooks the city. Hmmm a castle on-top over-looking old-town - sound familiar? Some interesting architecture, like really old buildings with modern architecture like the UFO bridge. Back in town, we found this tower with people on top, and I wanted to go up - but we asked in shops, etc, and nobody knew how. Eventually we found the entrance and went up to get in. Suzy was talking in Slovakian whilst giving students cards, etc. Then the lady blurts out, quite slowly "plleeassee give me coins". She then laughs really hard, and kept repeating it. Then she wrote down the word "ISIC" (thinking that was the word for student card) so she could go home and practice her English. It was so funny cos she kept saying it over and over and over. Whilst cackling like a crazy person.
Castle
UFO Bridge
Hungry, we went to Slovak Pub. Which is probably the BEST touristy pub/restaurant I've ever been to. Each room is decorated differently to represent a different part of Slovakia's history. Was awesome. Good beer too. I asked for something traditional, so Suzy recommended some dumplings in a cream sauce with bacon. It was fine - kinda like pasta; but apparently it's "peasants food" hahah. Interesting, though not sure I'd order it again. Actually I got to try tons of traditional food. We went to one Slovak restaurant which was full, so they recommended another one. This one was really fancy. And funny. Tons of ppl working there, for not that many customers. One waiter commented that I had nice hair (in Slovak.. errrr. no discount either...). Anyway, the place was decorated really nicely/traditionally (I guess). Then these musicians came out, blasting their violins etc behind my head. Only tourists go to this place, so all these old Italians in the restaurant start singing along. Funny stuff. Got to try this soup served in hollowed out bread, and this massive plate of meat and other stuff. God damn I couldn't walk after. Such a random random place to have Slovak music being played right behind our heads. The waitstaff were characters also. Haha many laughs.
Suzy checkin out Slovak Pub
Enjoying my peasants food
Apparently most of the (good) nightlife happens outside of the main city (i.e. away from the tourists), but the buses finish around midnight, with taxis being unbelievably expensive (compared to everything else which is really cheap). All the things going on in old town are for tourists, and because Slovakia is relatively cheap, apparently some tourists have a bad rep (I was told to make sure I say I'm Australian, not living in England) because of going there for stag nights. There are lots of cool bars, restaurants, etc - very cosmo. Not sure if that's the influenced by the tourists or the EU generally. I had fun in Bratislava, it was nice to visit - but really a day or two (if you go out + need to recover) is more than enough to do the tourist thing. I was lucky to have an awesome guide, but still it is the kinda place you could quickly explore on your own.
Slovenia. Finally! My best mate Rok is from there and one conversation he was reminiscing about all the fantastic things of the country - so much so, that we dubbed it the land of dreams. I couldn't wait to go there, and it really is awesome - it's quite small, but has everything - nightlife, pretty city, and proximity to mountains, snow, beach, etc. What more do you want?!
So I went to go visit Rok at his place, but unfortunately he got his with this debilitating flu. So bad he couldn't really leave bed for long. Terrible timing - cos not only were we both on holidays, but it was also the week I chose to visit. But he went out of his way to hook me up with friends + family to make sure I had an awesome trip. So Rok's mum came to pick me up from the airport in Italy and drove me to their place in the capital, Ljubljana. Europe is so amazing, where you can fly into one country, and in no time at all you are in another, with a different language, culture, etc. Italy Trieste to Ljubljana is about an hour's drive, and is a great trip as you can see the change in the climate/vegetation from the Mediterranean to more Continental - from sun to fog, sea to mountains, all in a single trip! An hour in Perth and you can probably still be in (greater) Perth. His family are awesome, overly hospitable, so we spent the first night chilling - chatting & watching movies...
Family 'n Friends
The next day, Rok arranged for his good mate Simon to take me on a tour of Ljubljana. Man Simon knew his stuff, planned an entire route, giving a concise explanation of the history of each place along the way. Ljubljana is a pretty city, especially right in the centre where the city surrounds like a river/canal. It seems that almost every construction in the city (of note) was done by the architect - Plecnik. Apparently so popular is his work that the church actually wants to make him a saint or something!? Anyway, lots of cool sites (difficult to explain - see the gallery), though Simon seemed overly impressed/excited about the new H&M opening in the city centre. Actually lots of the big shops (like these massive massive shopping malls) are on the outskirts of town, much like you see in many European cities. Kinda good cos it keeps the old town/centre really nice. We were walking around and we passed this 'famous' store selling Slovene salt - yes they've been using the same procedure for 40 years! WoW! hahah actually they've been extracting salt for hundreds of years, but they changed the procedure 40 years ago. Simon thought I was pretty nuts when I went in and wasted so many Euros buying bizzarre salt related products. One of the highlights of the tourist trail is Ljubljana castle, which sits high up on the hill overlooking the city. Had an amazing view, and to get there you can either walk, or take a funicular. I'd call this a cable car, but Simon insisted the English word is funicular. Apparently it's in the dictionary, but I've only ever heard that word in Spanish. Anyway the view from up top is amazing. Though only slightly more amazing than the 3D film on the history of Ljubljana - where the Slovene version is blasted out so loud that you hear Slovene and English (Slovenglish?) at the same time :)
Downtown
OK Simon, you win the bet...
I was lucky enough to smash through some meat whilst there. Rok knew that I'd never tried deer, so he made sure I got to try it. His mum cooked it - super tasty. I also went with Simon to this traditional Slovene restaurant. Basically made for tourists, but very cool - even with it's own brand of (lousy) beer. Though I got to eat horse too. They have a fast food burger chain called Hot Horse (horseburgers), but I'll have to try that next time. Reason enough to come back, no? Apparently you can eat bear, though it's hard to get. Simon told of a story where the owner of the zoo was in trouble for eating bears there (he made Bear goulash), but everyone else we told the story doubted that happened. Hahah imagine - "honey, I don't have time to go to the shops, can you bring some meat home", "sure dear, I'll just raid the cage" :) Also ate some amazing dip/spread - made of raw, heavily spiced mince. Tasted great.
A little TOO happy to be eating horse. Tastes like beef
For Sat night, Rok hooked me up with another friend of his, Dragan. He came past and we picked up his friend/employee/slave to have some predrinks. They decided on going to a bowling alley - not to play, but just to drink. Different experience - not my usual choice of watering hole, but interesting nonetheless. They brought out beer in these massive cylinders with connected taps - 3L at a time. We smashed through one quickly, where another was ordered before I knew it. We spent the time time talking about Slovene life, business and technology whilst 'enjoying' the music. The music playing was TurboFolk. Kinda like electronic versions of ethnic songs - more Bosnian or Serbian or something rather than Slovene. Slovene traditional music is more Austrian-like apparently, where as some of the neighbouring countries sound more Eastern (makes sense given the history). Turbofolk is very new-school - it's best you see for yourself (MAKE SURE YOU DO) here and here. Anyway. Digression. The other dude doesnt drink much and Dragan was driving which left me to finish more beer than I could handle. Messy. Anyway, re drink driving, Dragan assured me that once he hits this point, he doesn't become any more intoxicated and can drive perfectly. I still held on for life as we slid around corners. Our destination was a club - Global. Dragan has VIP entrance so we go through the back and go upstairs. Global is famous in Slovenia, it's kind of a pretty-person's/upper-class club. It located on top of a building, overlooking the city - quite stylish. Dragan says the drink of choice is the infamous Long Island IceTea - 6eu (which is apparently obscene in Slovenia) but super potent. Seriously. I was out of it in no time. Simon and Tinka (his gf) and one of her friends came as well, and had the pleasure of hanging out with us drunken lads... The decor/setup in Global was nice, but the music was pretty off. Lots of really old songs; though granted it was a 60s-70s themed night or something. But I mean, John Lennon's Imagine, whilst a great song, isn't exactly appropriate for a club:) After a while, we lose Dragon (as he said "every man for himself") and his mates, so Simon + crew decide to head to another club. I was completely mashed that it wasn't until we were outside that I realise I didn't have my phone. We go back in and _somehow_ Simon finds it on the ground. I totally owe him one. Then I can't find my ticket for the cloakroom. We go to another club, but I think the night was over. I then find my cloakroom ticket, so we go back (_again_) and get my jacket. Arrggghhh. Poor guys having to put up with me :S
Boozing and the bowling alley
Party people @ Global
Next day I went to the caves at Postojna. They were really touristy - a Disneyland-esc train takes you from the entrance to deep inside. But it was worth it, there were some amazing features and formations. They also have some salamanders in there, which usually live in the dark (as dislike light). Though some lucky critters had the pleasure of being trapped in a cave with bright lights on them, subjected to flash photography by eager tourists :) I enjoyed the tour despite a hangover. Rok's folks were kind enough to drive me to the caves, so whilst waiting for them to pick me up, I met some ppl from Barcelona who hired a caravan for their vacations, so I chilled with them for a bit until I saw Rok's parents standing out the front. Seriously, a caravan looks like the way to go for a European Adventure! On the way back, we went for a drive past a lake which apparently dries up in summertime, as well as through some marshlands and past (yet more) work of Plecnik. That night, we had a nice dinner with fam and chilled out. Later I met up with a friend from Cam, Mateja, who took me to a cool bar which resembled something out of some 70s club/porn den - think disco-balls, animal skin couches, etc. Hahah it had a cool scene.
Everyone I met in Slovenia was extremely nice and cool - made my trip awesome. Rok's family loaded me up with so many goodies, like pumpkin oil (amazing for salads), wine, honey, etc. So good. Hats off to Rok for arranging things (whilst sick) and his friends and family who went above and beyond to ensure that I had the best time possible in Slovenia. Land of dreams. Not far off! I will be back.
It was almost a year since being back home - and I was itching for the chilled out sunny lifestyle which I grew up knowing. Perth delivered. Awesome weather - 30-36 degrees on various days (though the odd day of 24 - seemed damn cold after 36). Was a great recharge of the batteries. Spent time lazing on the beach (I still have a wife-beater tan), and catching up with people. Planned to do work, but it didn't happen.
I arrived to some nice afternoon Sun after some bitchin' flights - 14 hours London - KL, a few hours in the airport then 5.5 hrs KL to Perth. Not to mention the 8hrs time diff.... Ugghh. Actually 10 days is way too short for a trip home - you basically lose 2 days from travelling and jet-lag; and I didn't get to see everyone I had planned. Anyway, it was awesome to catch up with the fam. I surprised everyone by appearing at my grandma's 80th birthday dinner. She was totally shocked when I walked in last, hiding behind the people greeting each other infront of me. Good stuff. Caught up with the family a fair bit, went out for dinner+drinks with grandparents, beers with Rick and a big family bbq (I had Kangaroo - yes!) which involved eating and drinking until the early hours of the morning. Sweet.
Nana's 80th
Messy nights
I think if you look up Perth in a dictionary, the definition will read 'laid back'. After being to Europe, everything seems small. Can't believe the population is 1.5mil - because the city is so spread out, it seems sooooo empty. Seriously - it has as many people as Vienna! But the beaches are incredible, you can go there, in the heat of the day, on a weekend and still have space to yourself, and maybe even find your own secluded area. The nightlife is OK, but you really need to know where to go, as well as have axs to a car or taxi. But I enjoyed being back. Caught up with some mates too, particularly Tim + Kelly, Joel and Frank. It's funny that they are all back only temporarily, all likely to head away again soon. Most of my mates I grew up with are scattered all over the place. Heh - the day after I arrived it was the going away party (to London) of a mate from high-school. Basically nobody's left in Perth! Did a few things tho. They had these sculptures at a popular beach (Cottesloe) which I checked out with Gary Cruise (Joel). After we went to the institution known as The Cott for a Sunday Sesh. Wow having beers by sunset in the warmth with some great mid-90s dance tracks - aint nothing like it. I was there for St Patrick's day - so my sisters and I met up with Tim & Kelly - later Frank and Joel came, along with some of Richelle's mates, and we hit Northbridge. Jess hit it in a big way and needed the sobering effects of litres of water + chips. All good. We also hit a cocktail night which was kinda fun. Latin night @ The Deen is always great - a big international crowd, rooms of brasilian music, salsa and DJs, hit that up in a big way - having tequila bombs (beer with a tequila shot dropped in). Good times. Australians are known to be alcoholics. I can see why. Though it's diff to the UK :)
Only Venice Beach is good enough for Gary Cruise
Sunday Sesh at the Cott, overlooking the beach
I always used to complain about Perth - but I really enjoyed going back. Well first and foremost it is the people I miss, not so much the place. Having said that, I still feel tied to the place I grew up, and I can see why the property market etc there is going crazy - awesome weather, amazing nature, proximity to temperate wine regions as well as tropics, laid-back lifestyle. Sounds like I'm writing a travel brochure. Not sure when I'll be back next, but I think I'll bring some friends with me so they can check it out...
Lotsa travel coming up. Australia (10 days) mid March, back to UK a few days, Slovenia for the weekend, back for a week, then Bratislava for Easter, Vienna for a couple of days (presenting at a conference), then back to London for a night before a week in Barcelona (Spanish Camp). Gotta get a lot done prontisimo!
Ugh - I lost my camera. On a night where I was the designated photographer for a friend's 21st. She is super-sad that all these amazing shots are gone :( Arrgh I feel so, naked, without my cam. Gotta get a new one before I go. Suggestions?
This time - Iceland. Most Nth I've ever been. I booked about six months in advance, because of some super 70quid BA special. About two weeks after booking it I wished I hadn't, because I did so on the same weekend as Karneval in Koeln. I heard amazing things about Koeln madness during Karneval from Jan, and it was the ONLY thing I had planned to do (in advance) for 2007! So I was a little sad. But looking back I'm totally happy I hit Iceland when I did - everything fell nicely into place.
The start was a bit rocky - especially on the sleep front. Somehow I thought that because the flight was early, I'd be better staying at my mate Allen's house in London the night before. Ended up taking about the same amount of time to go from London to Gatwick as it'd take going there from Cambridge, except costing about twice as much. Also, there was no power at Allen's house (the whole neighbourhood was out) which meant I couldn't use the net to find the best way to get to the airport. Damn. Also three days before I left my camera stuffed up - the lens wouldn't retract. This happened when in a club. I came home, disassembled the camera, detached the lens, shocked my hand, twisted and reseated the lens and got it working again. All whilst drunk! I was impressed. Though I didn't try the zoom feature until I got to Iceland, where the lens got stuck again. I freaked out, I needed a camera this trip, but somehow managed to massage it back into place. I have mad skills. Anyyyyyyyyway - after hardly any sleep we hit the airport and met-up with the group. I went to Iceland with Frank and a few of his mates from work, along with one of Allen's mates. Allen was supposed to go, but had to cancel at the last minute. Also, one of Frank's mates couldn't make it either, cos he drove to London to pickup his passport from his folks on the way to the airport, but his parents who were away at the time put it somewhere and he couldn't find it. So he missed out! Lame...Planned to catch some Zs on the plane because I was super tired after 4hrs sleep, but it didn't happen. Sat next to some cool chicks on the plane which involved gasbaggin' and smashing Gin & Tonics at like 9am. Gotta do it when on holidays eh?
The Church
Good place for tats
Got to my guesthouse, where two of the guys, Dave & Emilio, were also staying. After checking in I wondered around the city. Downtown Reykjavik is pretty small & compact. But it's got a really arty vibe, losta funky cafes, cool shops - like art, music, fashion (cutting edge as well as 80s-90s styled second hand stores), tattoo shops, etc. Very cool vibe. People are friendly, and everyone speaks perfect English - way better than in Germany, for example. I met some random people in the streets who gave me advice of things to see. Iceland only has 300,000 people, 200,000 of them living in greater-Reyk. Reykjavik is actually quite spread out, a bit different to the typical European style of people living on top of each other. I met a girl from Mexico who was working there. She spoke to me in Spanish off the bat, which was fun. I asked her whether there were many Mexicans in Iceland. She replied 23. Hahaha. Pretty exact! I guess when the place is small it's like everybody-knows-everybody. Maybe Iceland 2 degrees rather than 7 of separation. I was told that "people ask me if I have met Bjork. Of course I have, you see her around, shopping, etc"... Awesome. The Mexican chick described Iceland as "caro y frio" (expensive and cold). I could have worked that much out for myself :) Lotsa random stuff on the streets. Like streams of people coming out of nowhere. Motorists are super courteous there - the cars ALWAYS stop for pedestrians. Like even if you are just sort-of near the side of the road (not close at all), they will stop in anticipation of you crossing. Sure, almost every country in the world has to give way to pedestrians, but never have I been to a place where they anticipate someone coming onto the road meters and meters in advance. Heh, you hear people with stereos cruising the strip. One old guy was swingin' through the streets in this 4WD with blaring cowboy music (think country & western - ultra hillbilly), giving maximum thumbs-up to everyone he passed....
After checking out a bit of the town on Fri I was damn tired - so I caught some Zs before meeting up with Asta who is an awesome Icelandic chick who I met through Couchsurfing. She made my trip unforgettable, as through her I got to experience some totally random things I'd never have on my own. Her day job is dealing with some business aspects of IT, but at night she's a professional dancer. So that night, she got me tickets to a live Icelandic X-Factor show (ep 4) where she was dancing that night. She wasn't competing, but being a support dancer for the contestants. X-Factor Iceland!!! Awesome!
Where's Wally/Waldo (errrrrrrrrrrrr Jat)?!
I was way excited. Got there and Asta gets me in and seats me with the cheersquad for a contestant Jogvan, before going back-stage ready to perform. Jogvan is this super-gay looking (but apparently straight) hairdresser. He had a massive cheersquad, all with matching shirts. The girl I was sitting next to told me that he was her boss - so she was cheering extra loudly :) I saw the host of the show, Halla, giving out autographs to kids etc. Then the next minute I hear "Jat! Jat!". I look over and see Halla looking at me. Then I look behind me, thinking maybe Jat is some Icelandic word and she's calling someone else. Why would the much younger, and more attractive Gretel Colleen of Iceland wanna reach across a few rows to shake my hand? Hahah. Then I notice Asta next to her - Asta is good mates with her, so it quickly made sense. The person sitting next to me was intrigued as to how/why that just happened. Anyway so the show started, and with my vast knowledge of the Icelandic language I knew exactly what was happening ;) - all good fun. Asta was dancing in the first act, which was some Shania Twain cover, so she had to churn out some mad bootscooting moves. See some here. The acts were pretty good - it wasn't as random as I had hoped as all the songs were English covers; no crazy/different Icelandic music. It's much more amusing to watch performers in a language you don't understand, cos nothing makes sense you can focus more on the spectacle of it all. Especially trying to work out the judges reactions to stuff. Clearly it is the same formula as always, one girl, one bad-ass judge (this guy was hilarious, a gay ex-Eurovision star from 1997, Páll Óskar, who wore ultra tight pants and an historical military jacket - I thought he looked so much like a German soldier[though I might have been biased, having watched Schindler's List a few days before]). Only two songs had supporting dancers, and Asta was in both - the other song was a cover of Outkast's Hey-Ya - meaning crazy pom-pom action. The judges apparently said the dancers distracted from the singer. Maybe they were right, I thought the singer was ordinary - he didn't do much except sing badly and flex his muscles!! See for yourself. During the intervals and after the show I was admitted 'backstage' (it was in a shopping centre so backstage was some sort of creche), and all the performers and judges were back there looking stressed, etc. So the way X-factor works is that all the contestants perform, then people vote on their favourite acts via SMS/calls. Then the bottom-two scores have to perform again and then one act is voted off. So the two most rockiest songs, one performed by an old guy and the other by a pair of unattractive girls (singing AccaDacca tracks) had to perform again. Sure the guy was old, but he was good. But he got voted off. I couldn't help but feel sad - too easily caught up in the emotion; apparently tears were flowing back-stage. Especially since he was one of the best. Why couldn't the guy who absolutely killed "Karma Police" go?! Oh the drama!
Asta (right)
Jogvan - my hero!
Judges - Pall on left
After the show we go hit some nightspots. Reykjavik goes crazy on the weekends, but apparently this Fri is more quiet than usual because the next day was the big Icelandic Eurovision final so people were saving themselves to party then. Eurovision!! YESSS!! More on that later. Anyway so we hit some clubs. The first one was awesome, Vegamot. They had this really good hiphop dj, playing good hiphop (like old-skool along with Pharcyde/Roots style stuff etc - no modern RnB/JayZ schtuff). Amazing mixing and scratching, and they had a trombone playing along and stuff. Great tunes.. Then we hit up the Kaffibarrin, which is owned by Damon Albaran (lead of Blur/Gorillas), which is ultra funky (no photos allowed!) place, with bizarre electro (think a Commodore 64 bleeping away with heavy beats) blaring out of the speakers. Lotsa crazy dress & dancing. Afterwards we hitup some punky/rock bar. Early night that night, like 3ish, cos I had a massive road trip the next day. Icelandic nightlife is interesting. All the cafes/restaurants transform into nightspots/bars/clubs in the night. And most places are basically located on (or just off) the same street, so you can literally crawl between them. Reyk is dead until about 1am when it goes crazy. By then, people are absolutely trashed. Basically people drink heaps before they go out cos drinks are goddamn expensive. Like a pint is about 5quid. I bought a magic(redbull)+jager and a bacardi breezer and it cost 1750krone (14quid or $35AUD!). So yeah, boozing before is a smart move. Saw people drinking on the streets, behind alleys and stuff. At 3am there were still queues everywhere. Also, there are no cover chargers in Reyk, I guess cos the drink prices MORE than make up for it. It was pretty cold. Actually I should say, despite the name - Iceland is not THAT cold. Was only a few degrees below the temp in the UK. I guess it was like 6-2 degrees max-min. Though I'm sure it dropped below 0 overnight. Still, there was a bit of sun on Sat, the day we went road-trippin'. No where near as bad as I thought. Oh yeah, Icelandic chicks are generally pretty hot, actually in my opinion, ones generally out and about seemed better than those in the VIP section. They're forward too - ask me for details re this random girl who only liked boys who spoke Japanese (don't worry - nothin' too excitin') ).
The Geyser
At the falls
Frank and his workmates organised a sweet 9seater 4wd. And because of the few cancellations I managed to sneak in a seat! So we hit the road bright and early to check out the golden-circle (tourist route). Our bizarre, unluxurious brick of a RangeRover would stop, immobilise and start the alarm upon a stall (leaving us stranded in the middle of the street). Finally it started behaving and we hit the road. I listened to Bjork (I'm cheesy I know) as we cruised around and admired the amazing scenery of Iceland. I mean, snow capped mountains, volcanic rocks, frozen lakes, waterfalls. Simply breathtaking. First stop was the Thingvellir national park, with some good outlooks. Next stop, the geyser, which performed very nicely - launching quite a few times, even spraying some of the boys with hot water. It's one of the biggest geysers in the world. Mind the sulphuric smell. Lunch involved this 20quid buffet of terrible food (apparently - I went the 'cheap' option next door) - laughs abound at the quality. Next stop, the waterfalls - Gulfgoss. Absolutely amazing. We walk down the slope to get to the falls. Well actually, we slid down the slope. Even guys with grip on their shoes were basically holding onto the rope sliding down the trail. The falls were amazing, check out the video I took.. Probably my highlight re nature. We stopped at various places on the way, taking photos here and there. The countryside is so scenic - pictures speak a thousand words, though given others had far better cameras than me, I left the scenic shots to them (guys if you're reading this, please send me some of your best pics). After the falls, I FORCED the rest of the group to drop me back in Reyk. They wanted to hit the Blue Lagoon. But I needed to be back, as Asta was dancing at the Icelandic Eurovision Final, and she managed to score me a ticket!!! I was SO excited. love Eurovision, and to be there watching Icelanders fighting it out for their chance to compete, I just couldn't miss it!
Gulfgoss - seriously amazing falls
I get home in time for a short sleep, before hitting the contest. Everyone sitting in my row had free tickets from ppl somehow associated with the contest. Seats were a little far back, but still great - the place was packed. Man Eurovision. Absolutely incredible - everything I had hoped for and more. Like crazy spectacle of sound, lights, dance and movements. Crowd going crazy. Icelandic acts going crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. I'm sure it was much more fun as I couldn't understand the words. So I was sitting next to two Sweeds, a couple, the girl didn't know much about Eurovision, but the guy knew everything: who performed what, where, etc. The whole history of contest... Asta was dancing whilst the voting was taking place, with Silvia Night. Silvia N is described as the Ali-G of Iceland, so she's totally provocative, doing crazy stunts, abusing people, etc. She engineered a campaign whilst there saying "Say NO to the Silvia Night show" - a publicity stunt appearing like a protest. She represented Iceland in Eurovision last year - with her song which is hilarious, saying stuff like how's she the best, how Iceland is lucky to have her, using a phone to call god and saying "Hi God, it's your favourite person", and of course the famous lines "no damn eurotrashfreak, The vote is in, I'll fuckin' win "etc. If you wanna know more check here, and see the post Athens Eurovision Controversy, where people didn't know her background and thought she was crazy. Or better yet, see it as it happened. Anyway so I got to enjoy all the performances of the Icelandic Eurovision Final - where the winning act goes to Helsinki for the final. Lots of styles - everything from terrible country and western style songs, to heavy rock, to clubbin' tunes, to one cheesy song with equally camp dancers. Haha funniest thing for was some 'hot boy' who came up on stage, wearing a jacket without a shirt, showing off his muscles. As he was obviously trying to be a sex god, it was SO amusing when his biggest cheersquad was a bunch of pre-pubescent boys, who stood on their chairs, removed their shirts to display his name painted across their naked stomachs, screaming out his name in their high-pitched voices every time he was mentioned. Something dodgy goin on eh? A few acts went through, and then they brought on some past Eurovision stars whilst the votes were counted. The Romanian guy from the final last year (finishing #4) performed his quite catchy club song Tornero. Asta's act came on, which was probably the most polished of all acts. She's the one in black. The winner was this heavy metal singer guy. My favourite part was when the guy, all tough and stuff, is presented with a trophy and a MASSIVE bouquet. He's standing there, this old tough rocker lovin' these flowers. Classic.
Stud
Naked boys for stud
Tough guy getting flowers
After the show, Asta gives me her VIP pass, so I'm sitting backstage, enjoying some good food and drink, randomly talking to people (probably stars - I have no idea) while she does her backstage stuff. Then a few of Asta's friends - Halla and Hei?a (from yesterday) and I get into her car for the after party. We are VIP in the club Nasa (hosting the afterparty) - which means free drinks (bad for Jat ;), but good for his pocket). There I formulate my story where I'm from Channel V in Aus and I'm scoping the Icelandic Eurovision Scene to see whether we want to cover it next year. But I didn't get around to using those top lines. So after boozing and hobnobbing with Icelandic VIPs and Eurovision stars, it's dancefloor time. Páll, the 'mean' judge from X-Factor (who I thought looked German), was DJg a mix of all classic Eurovision songs. So cheesy, so good. He even grabbed the mic and started MC'g to his old songs. Amazing stuff. I managed to grab a video of a bit of his set (see below). Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Danced like crazy for a few hours - it's awesome hitting the dancefloor with a pro-dancer. Burn' it up. Make the space. All this in between more drinks, such as Topas which was described as a drink of death by Quentin Tarantino. Good fun. I lost my scarf which made me pretty sad cos I had just bought it in Reyk about 28 hours earlier.
Asta (pro-dancer), Halla (host/actress), Hei?a (Iceland Idol star), and someone I can't remember who performed a compilation of Eurovision winners earlier that night. At last AND least - me :)
At about 3.30 we hit the most famous drunk-food place in Reyk, called Nonnabiti. It had a massive line, where they made these awesome toasted subs. I was pretty hammered, and asked the staff for recommendations, which made sense for the sandwich, but not really for the drink. Imagine - soooo what do you recommend from your softdrink fridge? Appelsín (Fanta)... Haahah. Food was really good. But filling. And pricey (like 10 quid!). I get back to my guesthouse about 3.30 with Carl and Debby (from UK) just leaving the place after boozing there. I go upstairs and Dave & Emilio are still up. Being drunk, I don't feel like sleeping, so I drag them out. Not knowing where to go, I text Esther, another person I contacted from Couchsurfing, who suggests a place - so we head down. It's now 4.30 but people are still around. So hit up some place and dance around for a bit. Can't really remember meeting Esther. Smash a beer and then the place closes around 5.30 or something. So we get back around 6ish (I think - times are a bit hazy). I sleep in until 12, knowing I didn't want to go on a massive roadtrip the next day; unlike the other boys who had to be bright and early to head out. Nasty.
Páll Óskar showing us that 1997 Eurovision Songs just won't quit The secret to fame is in smooth and skilled movements of the right hand. Take notes people...
Last day involved chilling out. I went to the Blue Lagoon - which is this geothermal swimming area. So surreal cos it glows like a flourescent blue. Apparently people with chronic skin conditions are sent there from all over the world for a week or two and thy get cured. It's really awesome, swimming in warm (to hot) water against a grey sky, knowing it's cold outside. Steam everywhere, and was even cooler when it started to rain a bit. They have saunas which are directly heated from lava beneath (massive trenches in the ground). I could feel my feet cooking. Best hangover cure in the world. Actually the water everywhere in iceland is so fresh and pure - prob a hangover cure in itself. Sun was very chilled - not feeling like mayhem after having such little sleep over the previous days, Asta asked if I wanted to go to her folks place for a traditional Icelandic family meal. I'm such a foody - I'm there! Her family were all really nice and accommodating, good convo about differences between Aus & Iceland. I was surprised that her dad and brother looked a bit like my Grandad - actually a lot more similar in real-life than in the photos. Strong resemblance - though I think Grandad is of slavic descent(?). They made some awesome food, like a nice leg of lamb - SO tender, was amazing, with some apple salad, another green salad (which even included grapes - obviously native to Iceland...). For desert we had like massive profiteroles/cream puffs with jam inside. Apparently I was the day before this once-a-year celebration which involves eating nothing but eating cream-puffs for the whole day. The tradition is that kids are given these sticks, and the more times they hit their parents the more cream puffs they are given!! Seriously - check it out here. The day after that is salted meat day, where people eat as much salted lamb as they can. Awesome festivals...Oh yeah, lots of people in Iceland believe in Elves and hidden people - and say lots of strange things happen. Not surprising, given the crazy geophysical nature of the land. I was searching to find out more about the tales of elves when I found this mental-chick's page. Pretty amusing - check it out here(18+). Scary thing is I got to that link from the Iceland Tourism Board homepage!
Infront of the Blue Lagoon
Asta's family
Bought more drinks for my 'crazy-drinks' collection. I have some drink known as black-death - Brennivin, some Topas and some Icelandic schnapps with like some sort of leaf or moss or something inside. Good stuff. Iceland is incredible. Just ask Mr Tarantino. Reyk is awesome. It's small and compact. But really arty. And the nightlife on the weekend is fantastic. People are fun and kinda out-there. Like you see people with crazy hair (one chick had one side of her hair curly, the other side dead straight, another just had a massive spike of hair coming out of her head). Overall - this trip was amazing. I got to do so many random/incredible things - going to see Icelandic pop-culture with X-Factor, along with some of the craziness that Eurovision brings, enjoy fancy parties, enjoy some of the breathtaking countryside, sights, water, etc. Most of this was thanks to Asta, an awesome chick who went above and beyond the call of duty to sort me out with all these different experiences; and of course to Frank and mates for finding the cheap flights, organising the car, etc. So much fun. I will definitely go back - but maybe in summer, which averages like 13degrees! Too hot eh? Or maybe for New Year's - videos of that look so fun. Can't wait....
Germany, Spain, Germany, Spain. Seems I keep bouncing back and forth. And why not. Visiting friends is guaranteed good times. Germany this time was for Silvester (NYE) - back to Koeln to party with Jan, a good mate who I met whilst in Argentina. Joel, who I know from primary school, decided to come as well - flying into London in the morning from Amsterdam, and flying out to Koeln at night. It was a whirlwind run, but nothing that a cheap Marks & Spencer's Banana smoothie couldn't fuel (worst stuff in the world). We get there at a good hour, but our flight is delayed. It's no prob - hanging out eating quality 75p sandwiches purchased from a pharmacy (they tasted like air) and singing out loud to Belinda Carlisle tracks (from Joel's iPod, not mine:)) helped pass the time. Land in Koeln and Jan has some sweet wheels awaiting us. Cruise towards Jan's joint - seeing the Dom in the distance. This will be the only glimpse of anything 'touristy' on this trip. Too much mayhem. Not a big deal for me, I've been to Koeln before so I've seen the sights. But Joel..... well that's another story. Hah.
Jan picks us up in a nice Audi. He's a professional driver, so I felt half comfortable when he was driving at 225km/h whilst eating Subway
Jan's awesome cos his flat is really small but he's totally cool with us crashing there even though it meant stepping over us and our crap all same time. First night, we head out locally - Jan lives near Barbarossaplatz which is a super central/funky/student area. We decided to grab some chow, Turkish, and down a few beers where Joel gets his introduction to Jagermeister. I guess he fell in love with the stuff cos it definitely wasn't his last encounter with the black-gold. After a coupla Jagers we head out for a bit and grab a few more beers and walk home drinking them in the street. As Jan says about Germany - it's a Free Country. Kiosks rule the city, where every block you can buy some fantastic tasting Reissdorf Koelsch and walk around legally drinking beer. That would be sooooo good in Australia, given the weather, but I guess you'd just get drunks wondering the streets. Despite Joel's intense tiredness (he slept through the flight including the landing - apparently Amsterdam does that to you:)) we decided to hit a club - Ivory Lounge. I'd been there before, but didn't remember it all that well. I freaked out when we walked in and everything was reversed. I was like - uhhh I'm sure that the bar was against the other wall last time. I was much happier when we moved downstairs and found that the layout was as I remembered it. PHEW. The place is kinda upmarket, sorta like a 'pretty-person' place. So we fit right in - of course. Hah. Actually Jan got us on the guestlist cos he told them that we were friends visiting from LA. I asked Jan why didn't he say we're Australian - and he said LA people are cooler/more respected in Germany. JA! I put on my best valley-girl accent, which was mediocre at best. Little did we know that we could have totally pulled off the LA thing thanks to Joel... Once the pieces fell into place. The music started off hip-hoppy - with some random guy from the crowd (we think) doing a bit of freestylin' whilst standing on a table. We looked good in our suit-jackets. Joel borrowed a shirt and a suit jacket, of course he looked super hot cos they were my clothes. Whilst I was at the bar Joel told me that some girl was telling Jan that he looked like Tom Cruise. Both Joel and I thought that was amusing and teased Jan. It wasn't until later that we found out that the chick actually meant that Joel looked like Tom Cruise. This was super hilarious cos one time when talking about Joel's Cambridge exploits with some crazy chick in Cam (I warned him about girls that worked at that bar...), Rok says with such passionate authority "C'mon man, he can have any girl he wants - he looks like Tom Cruise". Now at Ivory he got his 2nd Tom Cruise comment. Super smooth. Theme of the trip. We had a good time at the Ivory, jumping around, teaching various German girls the exquisite art of perreo- (heh, some actually wanted lessons). Get home at a usual European 5am. Good times.
Next day we get up, slam some Schoko-flakes for breakfast to give us the energy we need for an action packed day. After a bunch of indecisiveness (on the part of the Australians) we decide to go snowboarding. Thing is, there isn't usually much snow in that part of Germany, especially since this is the warmest European winter in 500 years. But no problem, they have this 'indoor' manufactured skislope about 45 mins away from Koeln. Jan kindly offers to take us - he didn't want to board; he said he was going to work, but instead spent his time taking embarassing photos of us. So we get there, and I almost break my neck before even entering, by attempting to stand on some ice posing for a photo in front of the place. Great start. After purchasing our slope tickets from the friendly cashier named "A. Bonk", we get our gear. Firstly the guy says something about shoes, so I give the guy my shoe. He's like I don't want that, stand over there (on this hi-tech shoesizin' machine). Boots take me about 2hrs to put on. Change my pants right there in front of everyone (couldn't be bothered going to the changerooms) and it was time to shred. Man. Snowboarding is hard. I thought it might be a bit like a skateboard, but no. Basically you just slide over the ice in all directions, so basically I spent the day bruising my arse. Most people I've spoken too say that it takes about three days to get the basic skills. I only had 3hrs. So I basically spent the time hurting myself. By the end, stuff started to make _slightly_ more sense, i.e. basically how to turn and get slight control. But basically I had nothing. Joel was shredding by the end. He has about 5 or 6 days under his belt, and by the end of our stint he was going great guns. At the end I saw him coming down the slope, but wasn't sure if it was him cos it was so controlled. I was so lame. You see these little weiner kids like 5 years old flying past you. And cos there's only one slope, every 5 secs you have to stop/get out of the way of someone, which for me meant throwing myself on the ground to avoid smashing them. Also, we weren't expecting the snow so we both only had these cloth knitted gloves. MASSIVE mistake. They just get wet and snow sticks to it - so we had massive iceblocks both inside/outside of the glove - my hands were blue by the time we'd finished. The 10secs I managed to shred I got a feel how boarding could be fun, but next time I think I need lessons, and maybe somewhere less crowded. Was a great experience though - first time with snowsports. Majorily sore the next day...
We looked the part
For about five seconds...
That night, Joel & I hit the town ourselves. We needed moolah, and were told about a billion different incorrect directions for a Deutsche Bank- if only it were on the Goethestrasse I could have asked in German... We went to this place which was meant to be OK, with "DJ Funky Mike" playing some funk, hiphop, rnb stuff. Joel goes to the bouncer "do you speak English", to which he replies a little forcefully "Yes, I speak English. I speak it very well". OK. We ask about entry costs and stuff and he's like don't bother cos NYE is tomorrow so everyone is being lame. Thirsty and tired we go for a beer (Koelsch - beer from Cologne). We walk into this bar near buy with a few ppl. But then we slowly piece together it's a gay bar - or at least a gay hangout. Not that this is a problem, but there was only one space at the bar where you could go up and order a beer. And this stereotypical gay guy with hat, moustache, straggly hair, lots of denim (think 'trucker') was sitting there with his legs spread, meaning if you want to get to the bar you'd basically have to straddle him. As this isn't the particular Koelsch we were searching for, so we decide to head out towards Paeff, which is a cool Koelsch bar that Jan took me to before. A funkster working in a Nordic Kiosk (totally out of place) gives us the directions, and we go there and smash through a few fine ales until closing time. People watching there was great fun, old weird dudes tryna hit on these young German chicks. Super smooth. As we walk away we see a sign for a perreo contest at the latin club next door - but unfortunately it was for the following week :(
Next day was NYE. Day of mayhem. We tried to start the day right looking for a solid breakfast. Like something to line the stomach - like yogurt + cereal. We hit up many a kiosk, only to find these stores on every corner ONLY sold alcoholic related products. We made do for a few hours until hitting this awesome Rodizio - which is a term for a Brasilian style restaurant where they constantly come to your table with skewers of meat and slap it on your plate. Amazing, but tough tough work on NYE before dancing. We go there quite early - we were REALLY lucky to get reservations. Jan rang up and they said "no way!". But then he sent an email saying he was from the local TV station and he wanted to bring some guests. Boom we were in. We're not sure whether they thought we were VIP. We came in suits, all looking kinda different - like as if we'd play different roles in a TV show or something. One guy working there accidentally dropped some pineapple onto the table and was like "damn, why did this have to happen on this table". Yes, respect the VIPs. All good. Actually over dinner we were reliving stories about Joel's Cruise-like past, where it was decided that he would be known as "Gary Cruise" - Tom's taller, younger and less-famous brother. This theme lasted the whole rest of the trick, with Joel taking his Cruise-like nature to the extremes throughout the weekend. At the rodizio, the food was amazing. We ate about 6 times our bodyweight in 1.5 hours. We start walking back to Jan's apartment (Joel was really keen on smashing LOTS of drinks before we hit the party). Jan walks around, looking a million dollars in his out, then starts throwing out explosives (well fire crackers) around the joint. Like everywhere. At cars. In the metro. Down the stairs entering the underground. Even at the bank when withdrawing cash. Actually that was bad cos he laid a cracker then left the sealed bank withdrawal room whilst I was taking out cash. Boom - really loud. Then the place reeks of gunpowder. More ppl come in to take out cash and look weirdly at me. Seriously though it was amazing, bombing everyone on the way home. Wind caught one of them and powdered a nice S-Class Merc. That'll learn 'em. We start smashing redbull-vodkas. Joel & I take turns DJ'g as Jan throws explosives out of his first floor apartment window at the street. A kid is down there (son of the Kiosk owner across the St) launching them back. People screaming abuse etc. Amazing to stuff.
Jan's paramilitary training camp. Choose your target. Light. Throw. Count the dead.. To see Jan in action wishing his neighbours a happy new year, check out this (listen to the screams) and also this
Finally we were (overly) smashed and head towards our destination - The Candy Shop. Explosives fly around on the way, and we eventually get there. We are about to go in, where Joel is insists on more drinks at a kiosk. BAD idea. Anyway, we do, get some beer which we decide to drink outside. Me and my immense strength crack the top off the bottle when attempting to open it. Joel was disgusted at this and insisted that we drink from the broken bottle. No way. He was forcefully insisting and eventually this turns into play fighting where I rehashing my non-existent kickboxing skills which I haven't used in like 8 years. This theme continues for the night. Great look for a classy party eh. Anyway, it's time to get in. Then Joel has a brainwave, and places two glass shot-sized bottles of Jager into the front of his pants, along with a can of redbull. Jan & I advise against this but he does it regardless. We walk in, Joel who was lagging behind a bit, but we could hear him - "clang, clang, clang". Hahahah. We get in - the place is pretty full, some VIP areas. Everyone dressed nice. It's a pretty upmarket party. It's not regularly a club, but like a once-a-month thing. The place is dressed up well, and people are all looking good. They had their own fireworks display which everyone enjoyed - except for Joel, who we deduce was either in the toilets adjusting his drink arrangement or dancing by himself to the song CandyShop by Fifty-Cent which we would have loved to hear played (given that was the name of the party, we kept referring to the place just as Mr Five-0-C would). We find Joel later, he comes out of the toilet with two yellow drinks in hand. Apparently ppl in the stalls were giving him weird looks. I think that was round two, or he didnt add the jager, cos they should have been black. I give my to Jan - he's like thanks mate. Then I tell him where it came from and he's disgusted. Rest of the night was pretty much a blur. Later Joel comes up and says "when's the countdown", Jan's like "that was like 2 hours ago man". Hahah. Damn we were in such bad form. Gary Cruise and I were basically stumbling around dancing + harrassing everyone in sight. I have spots of memories of Gary bounding around the place makin' moves on ladies. Just like he'd do in LA. I was either aggressively fighting or hugging Cruise. Perreo was in my mind and we decided that we should actively promote the dance by teaching it to unsuspecting German lasses... Oye! We were in such bad form. Poor Jan had to play babysitter looking out for us. At the end of the night this girl said bye to Cruise. She actually wrote her on paper with mascara, with the name HeiBe, but then I gave them my phone and she put her name in as Maike. Same number for both. We thought they were false names, but later when Joel met up with her she reckons she never would have written HeiBe - hmmmmmmm maybe we werent the only drunk ones. We somehow get home, and wonder the streets for a bit. Cruise is on fire decides to wonder around a bit and check out the social scene at 6.30am. Eventually we all die.
In fine form @ The Candy Shop
Mad hangover New Year's Day. We go to this brunch (all-you-can-eat) and eat mountains of food. So much so that we feel stupidly sick afterwards. That night we all go our separate ways; Joel with his Candyshop girl, and I meet up with another friend I know in Koeln. Very chilled out nights due to behaviour of the night before. But it was interesting later to hear from Joel what that girl said about our antics, as our memories were shot. Apparently I was aggressive (beating up Joel) and Joel would keep coming up to her with the fantastic pickup line "your English is better than mine" or else speaking in Spanish. But we weren't the only bad ones. We have photographic proof. You can see in the back of some of the photos people in suits like sleeping, sitting down etc. Some guy talking to Jan bought a 500eu bottle of Vodka and the guy's friend lost it. Absolute carnage. The final night - Jan & I go for a schnitzel and beers (whilst Joel goes for a different sort of schnitzel elsewhere) and talk about good times. Later, I flippantly decide to go check out Dusseldorf. Why? I had msg'd some Couchsurfing ppl whether they'd tour us around, and one cool chick Jacky said she would. So due to the fact the train station has two different types of ticketing machines with no explanations, I purchase the wrong ticket which means I have to take a certain type of train. I get to Dusseldorf really late like 11.30pm. But it's cool - we have a whirlwind tour around town, I get to try some Alt (Dusseldorf beer - fierce rivalry with Koelsch, Koelsch being lighter) and hang out in this bar which had karaoke that night. My German exgf said Germans hate Karaoke. Obviously not - it was awesome to see tons of youngens singing there favourite songs - both German or English. J then gets her car and zooms me around the city pointing out the highlights. Couldn't snap many pics, nighttime and all, but all-and-all and awesome tour, and I get back in time for the 2.51am train back to Koeln. Actually it was weird, at 2.50am you can still buy waffles etc at the station. Nice. Yet another early night:) I get home and Jan has this massive street sign resting at his door. I wondered if that was big Jan's way of saying DO NOT DISTURB (with a tough Arnie-like voice) but that was pretty random. Sleep a coupla hours. Then shopping time for sauerkraut, bunter pfeffer, senf, mini dickmanns (my size?) and of course orange(cereal) balistos.
Jacky & I
I wanted a drink from a machine @ 2.20am
Instead, the machine labeled drinks was dispensing Ink Cartridges
On the way home Gary and I were overtired. We decide to smash a Koelsch on the GermanWings flight (beer is cheaper than water on that flight!). In the GermanWings inflight book, if you send a photo of you on your trip in, and it's published you win free double-flights somewhere. One of our entries is below. All good. Land in Stansted. Walk to the airtrain (inter-terminal monorail) to take us to the security entrance/baggage claim. Train was taking a while so I take out my security belt, get my passport in hand, and then decide to change the simcard on my phone back to the English one. Very smart. Train comes. Every pushes on roughly (most ppl were German on the flight, and I've noticed that Germans push aggressively through any line) when I hear something drop. I look down and see this black speck thing fall through between the train and the platform. The monorail/airtrain thing is really new/modern so its only like a gap of a few cms. I look at my hand - I have my passport, phone, sim cards, battery. So it takes me a few secs to realise that my security belt fell down. Ohhh shit. My credit cards, keys, money, etc are gone. The train takes off and I start freaking out - get to security and they say ask at information. I was SO lucky I took my passport out, or how would I pass immigration?! I go to infromation where some guy tries to explain the physics behind electricity and currents. OK so you have to stop the train before going down to get my belt. I get it. They said they'll look overnight. I ring up lost property - no sign. I sit on a switchboard so I can talk to infromation to make sure that they actually look for it before I cancel everything. After bouncing around I finally find one awesome chick Chris H who rings the engineers who say they found it and gave it to lost property. I contact lost property, they tell me to ring elsewhere. Nobody can find it. Eventually back to switchboard lady who chases it up for me. Thank god. Back to Stansted the next day and get all my cards etc. Stupid stupid stupid me for losing it. I swear to god, I remember thinking when taking out my passport whilst waiting for the train "wow it'd be really bad if you lost it here, like on the train/on the tracks etc". Must be psychic or something. buwhsefdijsafak
Jan's doorway - Do Not Disturb
This GermanWings snap is bound to win the free trip!
Anyway - had yet another amazing time in Koeln. OK so NYE was a bit out of control, but I think Jan found us more funny than annoying (I hope). Joel and I were interacting like the Odd-Couple or something bizarre. Germany seems always to bring good times; but SERIOUSLY i need to go somewhere different next time!
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