The last week, which was also my last week at work for this year, has been more or less without anything special happening.
I took the Friday of and went to Gold Coast... quite nice and worth to see it once, especially when there is something going on, otherwise it's just another beach. And there are better ones to visit then this, especially due to the fact, that the beach is covered in the skyscrapers shadows after 4pm... Who had that brilliant idea?
To sum it up, Gold Coast seems to be more like a little Santa Monica or Venice Beach, but much smaller and less exciting.
Yesterday I've attended one more match of Brisbane Roar, this time against Central Coast and Brisbane lost 2:1. This is also another record for Roar. The other game I watched was the record for the longest winning streak in Australian sports history, but since then, they lost every match and with last nights' they leveled the teams record for most consecutive losses in history. Well, not sure if that is a record you want to break...
Anyways, my luggage is ready, cause tomorrow I'll be flying to Tasmania, where I'll spend the next week and thereafter it's time to go to Sydney for New Years!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Sunday, 11 December 2011
New Job, New Party, Same Weather
Since this week I'm working in a new department and have to design maps for carbon offset areas. Much more interesting than what I've done before.
Therefore we went onside on Wednesday. The worst day we could choose with pouring rain. And as the newbie, I was walking through head-high grasses to get GPS-Data. Sounds worse than it actually was. Much better than sitting in the office all the time, so I really enjoyed that outdoor work.
Besides that we also hat our Christmas Party on Thursday, which included some Minigolf and a Bar Night afterwards. Quite funny, even if most people didn't take the game to serious and were more focused on drinking.
Nothing really special happened over the weekend, mostly stay at home and studied, as this might have been the best option considering the weather. Just today I went to the library as they were screening 'The Dark Knight'. This is a quite good feature, they are having free screenings each Sunday there.
Well, that's about it folks... Next week will be the last week at work for this year and then it's finally time to travel around!
Therefore we went onside on Wednesday. The worst day we could choose with pouring rain. And as the newbie, I was walking through head-high grasses to get GPS-Data. Sounds worse than it actually was. Much better than sitting in the office all the time, so I really enjoyed that outdoor work.
Besides that we also hat our Christmas Party on Thursday, which included some Minigolf and a Bar Night afterwards. Quite funny, even if most people didn't take the game to serious and were more focused on drinking.
Nothing really special happened over the weekend, mostly stay at home and studied, as this might have been the best option considering the weather. Just today I went to the library as they were screening 'The Dark Knight'. This is a quite good feature, they are having free screenings each Sunday there.
Well, that's about it folks... Next week will be the last week at work for this year and then it's finally time to travel around!
Sunday, 4 December 2011
The Australian Wildlife - A Start
Friday was my day off work and I took the chance to go to the 'Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary'. Before I start to tell you what you can do and see there, I just have to say, that this was the most amazing thing I did in Australia so far.
'Lone Pine' is the oldest and biggest Koala Sanctuary in the World with more than 130 Koalas. But it's more like a little zoo, as one can find other animals there, like the Tasmanian Devil, Kangaroos, Platypus, Parrots, etc. The area itself is at a very nice location next to the River, so one has actually the chance t get there by a cruise (which costs extra).
During the day, there are plenty of shows, like feedings, Meet & Greets with keepers and animals. As they are specialized in Koalas there is an opportunity throughout the day to hold a Koala and have a picture taken with him (costs extra again, 16$). Thought about doing that, but didn't, because there is actually another chance to get into touch with a Koala. They have Koala presentations twice a day and after that, one gets the chance to pet on. Koalas are the fluffiest things I've ever touched in life.
The talks and feedings of the Platypus and Tasmanian Devil are also very interesting, so is the Bird of Prey show, where birds actually fly just centimeters over your head, literally.
But the Sanctuary is also famous for its Kangaroo enclosure, where everybody can just walk in, hang out and feed them. This is pretty awesome, as the Kangaroos are pretty laid back you can really chill out next to them. This also gives great photo-opportunities, an example is under the post. One can also buy a bag of Kangaroo-Food for 2$. If you wanna take good pictures with them, I recommend doing that, as this is the chance to really interest them in you and your camera ;-)
I spend the whole day there, but if you don't have that much time, you can basically see it all in 2-3 hours, but if you have the time, take it and enjoy the animals, espicially that Kangaroo enclosure, it's just fun to sit on the grass and be surrounded by them.
'Lone Pine' is the oldest and biggest Koala Sanctuary in the World with more than 130 Koalas. But it's more like a little zoo, as one can find other animals there, like the Tasmanian Devil, Kangaroos, Platypus, Parrots, etc. The area itself is at a very nice location next to the River, so one has actually the chance t get there by a cruise (which costs extra).
During the day, there are plenty of shows, like feedings, Meet & Greets with keepers and animals. As they are specialized in Koalas there is an opportunity throughout the day to hold a Koala and have a picture taken with him (costs extra again, 16$). Thought about doing that, but didn't, because there is actually another chance to get into touch with a Koala. They have Koala presentations twice a day and after that, one gets the chance to pet on. Koalas are the fluffiest things I've ever touched in life.
The talks and feedings of the Platypus and Tasmanian Devil are also very interesting, so is the Bird of Prey show, where birds actually fly just centimeters over your head, literally.
But the Sanctuary is also famous for its Kangaroo enclosure, where everybody can just walk in, hang out and feed them. This is pretty awesome, as the Kangaroos are pretty laid back you can really chill out next to them. This also gives great photo-opportunities, an example is under the post. One can also buy a bag of Kangaroo-Food for 2$. If you wanna take good pictures with them, I recommend doing that, as this is the chance to really interest them in you and your camera ;-)
I spend the whole day there, but if you don't have that much time, you can basically see it all in 2-3 hours, but if you have the time, take it and enjoy the animals, espicially that Kangaroo enclosure, it's just fun to sit on the grass and be surrounded by them.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Becoming History
On Saturday I was at the right spot and right time, as I was attending a soccer-match. That doesn't sound too exciting, but it was an historic match. Brisbane Roar won 4-0 against Perth Glory and thereby extended its unbeaten streak to 36 matches in a row. No team in history in ANY Australian sport was able to achieve this before. The old record was set by a cricket team 74 years ago.
The match itself, was entertaining, at least the first half, which included all the goals. The second one was more or less boring. Well, happens. Therefore the weather was given us a show, we picked the completely wrong day to watch a soccer match, the only day in November with rain. At least it is so warm outside that one dries up quickly.
On Sunday I've paid the Gallery of Modern Art a visit. This is a much better than expected venue, some very interesting 'things' are on display there. What I very much like about museums in Australia, like in Britain, they are for free. That's quite a good argument to go there in my eyes...
Yeah, that was about the weekend and now another exciting week of work has started...
The match itself, was entertaining, at least the first half, which included all the goals. The second one was more or less boring. Well, happens. Therefore the weather was given us a show, we picked the completely wrong day to watch a soccer match, the only day in November with rain. At least it is so warm outside that one dries up quickly.
On Sunday I've paid the Gallery of Modern Art a visit. This is a much better than expected venue, some very interesting 'things' are on display there. What I very much like about museums in Australia, like in Britain, they are for free. That's quite a good argument to go there in my eyes...
Yeah, that was about the weekend and now another exciting week of work has started...
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
The Highlights
of this week are as following:
- There was a bagpipe-player in South Bank... ah, Scotland...
- A Blackout occurred
- I got a week extra holidays
- I learned something about Ahriman
- It was stormy yesterday
- It is stormy today
- I've been to the Post Office
- I bought soccer tickets
- Andy Murray is coming to the Brisbane International
- I've been to the Gallery of Art
- I overslept today and was still the first person in the office...
When you list it up, the things you did and that happened seem to be more and more exciting, than when you just think about them.
- There was a bagpipe-player in South Bank... ah, Scotland...
- A Blackout occurred
- I got a week extra holidays
- I learned something about Ahriman
- It was stormy yesterday
- It is stormy today
- I've been to the Post Office
- I bought soccer tickets
- Andy Murray is coming to the Brisbane International
- I've been to the Gallery of Art
- I overslept today and was still the first person in the office...
When you list it up, the things you did and that happened seem to be more and more exciting, than when you just think about them.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Better Option?
Sunday noon... 30°C... sunny... and I'm sitting inside and study/correct assignments... because the original plan for today, to watch koalas and feed kangaroos, was cancelled at midnight... I think I found an equally awesome alternative, haven't I?
At least yesterday I got out of here and went to the horse racing... but couldn't really bet anything, as most of my horses got scratched... lucky me, so I haven't lost anything either. Still there was something to do at the track, as this race day was sponsored by the Brisbane Tennis International. Hence there were lots of kids' activities, like ping pong and other stuff, but also some fun things to do for me. Like a place where you can measure your service speed. Well sounded fun, so I did that. What I didn't know, the girl who asked me to do that, was a tennis player. Resulting in, my fastest serve was 126km/h, while her fastest serve was 140km/h. One could think that I was at least close, BUT she was playing in a dress gown and high heels, while I was properly clothed. That's what I call a big defeat. Nevertheless, was still fun and totally unexpected, so we had a laugh. At least I was better than two guys trying to hit on her, by showing their tennis skills... which included missing the ball and the target. The target was an area of about 10m² and the serving distance was about 7 meters... That's what I call a big fail! Not even their designer clothes were making up for their lack of skills ;-)
At least yesterday I got out of here and went to the horse racing... but couldn't really bet anything, as most of my horses got scratched... lucky me, so I haven't lost anything either. Still there was something to do at the track, as this race day was sponsored by the Brisbane Tennis International. Hence there were lots of kids' activities, like ping pong and other stuff, but also some fun things to do for me. Like a place where you can measure your service speed. Well sounded fun, so I did that. What I didn't know, the girl who asked me to do that, was a tennis player. Resulting in, my fastest serve was 126km/h, while her fastest serve was 140km/h. One could think that I was at least close, BUT she was playing in a dress gown and high heels, while I was properly clothed. That's what I call a big defeat. Nevertheless, was still fun and totally unexpected, so we had a laugh. At least I was better than two guys trying to hit on her, by showing their tennis skills... which included missing the ball and the target. The target was an area of about 10m² and the serving distance was about 7 meters... That's what I call a big fail! Not even their designer clothes were making up for their lack of skills ;-)
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
3 more to go
That's correct... three more movie reviews from the BIFF.
Saturday's movie was called 'Dancing with Dictators'. Initially a camera team wanted to follow the only foreign editor of Burmanese newspaper and report about the first elections held in the country for 20 years. But as the editor gets arrested and everybody else is forced to leave the country, this documentation takes unexpected turns. It's very interesting to see how Human Rights are treated in Burma, even though at some points the movie just scratches on the surface... Nevertheless a recommendable documentation.
The first movie I attended on Sunday is called 'Trollhunter'. As it is very hard to describe, what this movie is about I just quote the BIFF here: 'Trollhunter sports the point-of-view camera style found in [...] Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield but [...] turns the over-serious horror-mockumentary genre on its head [...]. An original and highly assured fusion of B-movie ore and fairy-tale error.' That kinda fits it, it's good fun.
The final movie was 'Melancholia', unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with it. Even the movie and sound were quite impressive, the storyline wasn't. As it was lacking a bit of structure at some points and having fundamental scientific mistakes. I've definitely seen better movies by Lars von Trier. Anyways still interesting to watch, but definitely not the best movie of this Festival. Still an interesting movie about depression and Armageddon. TRAILER
Saturday's movie was called 'Dancing with Dictators'. Initially a camera team wanted to follow the only foreign editor of Burmanese newspaper and report about the first elections held in the country for 20 years. But as the editor gets arrested and everybody else is forced to leave the country, this documentation takes unexpected turns. It's very interesting to see how Human Rights are treated in Burma, even though at some points the movie just scratches on the surface... Nevertheless a recommendable documentation.
The first movie I attended on Sunday is called 'Trollhunter'. As it is very hard to describe, what this movie is about I just quote the BIFF here: 'Trollhunter sports the point-of-view camera style found in [...] Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield but [...] turns the over-serious horror-mockumentary genre on its head [...]. An original and highly assured fusion of B-movie ore and fairy-tale error.' That kinda fits it, it's good fun.
The final movie was 'Melancholia', unfortunately I was slightly disappointed with it. Even the movie and sound were quite impressive, the storyline wasn't. As it was lacking a bit of structure at some points and having fundamental scientific mistakes. I've definitely seen better movies by Lars von Trier. Anyways still interesting to watch, but definitely not the best movie of this Festival. Still an interesting movie about depression and Armageddon. TRAILER
Monday, 14 November 2011
BIFF after VIFF
There is actually lot to tell, so I gonna split this post up. Unfortunately, I was without Internet for almost a week... like every other one.
After attending the Vancouver International Film Festival last year, this year it was time for the Brisbane International Film Festival. Hence I had the opportunity during the last week to attend some very interesting screenings; here is a short summary of the first 3 movies I have seen.
Last Sunday it was time for Medianeras, an Argentinean movie. It's a nicely filmed movie based in Buenos Aires about two people that try to find love in this multi-million city, but fail all the time. They online need to find each other, which seems to be impossible even though they are living next to each other. They might have never met, if they wouldn't have met in the internet. The film is a good one to watch and recommendable. Here you can watch the Trailer.
The next film I watched was filmed in Venezuela and is called 'The Zero Hour'. The story is about a hitman that takes over a private hospital to get medical treatment for a pregnant woman that is with him. At the same time the public medical personal is on strike, hence the broad public, especially the poor can't get medical treatment. To help himself in this situation, the hitman tells the public to show up at the hospital to get treated for free, while anti-terror-forces try to free the hospital. The film takes several unexpected turnings and is very recommendable, but be aware, that it might be a bit bloody and violent. Probably the best movie I have seen at the festival. Curious? Watch the Trailer.
The third movie was set for Thursday. This tie it was an US-production called 'Like Crazy'. The movie tells the story of a British exchange student that falls in love in LA and suffuses her visa and from there on is refused to reenter the United States. After that the movie follows both characters and their relationship. It displays very nicely what issues come along with long-distance relationships. This movie is still quite nice, especially the sound but it has some slight mistakes to the end... which somehow belittle the quality. Nevertheless a good watch, just missing the Trailer.
After attending the Vancouver International Film Festival last year, this year it was time for the Brisbane International Film Festival. Hence I had the opportunity during the last week to attend some very interesting screenings; here is a short summary of the first 3 movies I have seen.
Last Sunday it was time for Medianeras, an Argentinean movie. It's a nicely filmed movie based in Buenos Aires about two people that try to find love in this multi-million city, but fail all the time. They online need to find each other, which seems to be impossible even though they are living next to each other. They might have never met, if they wouldn't have met in the internet. The film is a good one to watch and recommendable. Here you can watch the Trailer.
The next film I watched was filmed in Venezuela and is called 'The Zero Hour'. The story is about a hitman that takes over a private hospital to get medical treatment for a pregnant woman that is with him. At the same time the public medical personal is on strike, hence the broad public, especially the poor can't get medical treatment. To help himself in this situation, the hitman tells the public to show up at the hospital to get treated for free, while anti-terror-forces try to free the hospital. The film takes several unexpected turnings and is very recommendable, but be aware, that it might be a bit bloody and violent. Probably the best movie I have seen at the festival. Curious? Watch the Trailer.
The third movie was set for Thursday. This tie it was an US-production called 'Like Crazy'. The movie tells the story of a British exchange student that falls in love in LA and suffuses her visa and from there on is refused to reenter the United States. After that the movie follows both characters and their relationship. It displays very nicely what issues come along with long-distance relationships. This movie is still quite nice, especially the sound but it has some slight mistakes to the end... which somehow belittle the quality. Nevertheless a good watch, just missing the Trailer.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Weekend update
Next week's over, nothing new, just worse... that kinda sums it up.
Not exactly, but more or less.
I'm working on the social media of the company now, trying to create a super account, which combines Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. That is more complicated as I expected it to be, but I might find a solution next week.
Yesterday I've been to Mt. Coot Tha and the Botanical Garden. These are really nice places, but one have to really think about how to get there and even more about how to get home. Issue is, even these are tourist places, public transport more or less doesn't exist. Buses go there every 60 minutes until 5pm... Very smart hence the best view is at night, as you can see all of the city and surrounding... even smarter when you make commercials with it, but do not provide transport... so I had two choices to walk down... a unlighted street with cars running fast and without a pedestrian walk or the unlighted forest walk I used to get up there... I took the forest route... next issue is to find a bus stop as either the webpage or stops provide maps... so one has to search for the stops... excellently done for tourist.
Besides that, my mobile phone seems to die... but nobody is calling or texting anyways... no loss on that side...
Theme for the upcoming week is movies, as I'll gonna watch a lot of them at the Brisbane International Film Festival is on. Hence next posts might be movie critics... some good ones are on my schedule.
Not exactly, but more or less.
I'm working on the social media of the company now, trying to create a super account, which combines Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. That is more complicated as I expected it to be, but I might find a solution next week.
Yesterday I've been to Mt. Coot Tha and the Botanical Garden. These are really nice places, but one have to really think about how to get there and even more about how to get home. Issue is, even these are tourist places, public transport more or less doesn't exist. Buses go there every 60 minutes until 5pm... Very smart hence the best view is at night, as you can see all of the city and surrounding... even smarter when you make commercials with it, but do not provide transport... so I had two choices to walk down... a unlighted street with cars running fast and without a pedestrian walk or the unlighted forest walk I used to get up there... I took the forest route... next issue is to find a bus stop as either the webpage or stops provide maps... so one has to search for the stops... excellently done for tourist.
Besides that, my mobile phone seems to die... but nobody is calling or texting anyways... no loss on that side...
Theme for the upcoming week is movies, as I'll gonna watch a lot of them at the Brisbane International Film Festival is on. Hence next posts might be movie critics... some good ones are on my schedule.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Odd start...
...into the week so far.
When I came back from lunch yesterday there was an accident just outside the office, where a car flipped. Quite a show, but nobody got hurt.
Today a sinkhole came into being just outside from where I live. I must have just missed the moment it originated. When I walked home the sidewalk was normal and not even 30 minutes later, when I went to get some groceries, there was this 1 m² hole. Let's see if it keeps on growing over night.
Lets see what odd surprise is awaiting me tomorrow...
When I came back from lunch yesterday there was an accident just outside the office, where a car flipped. Quite a show, but nobody got hurt.
Today a sinkhole came into being just outside from where I live. I must have just missed the moment it originated. When I walked home the sidewalk was normal and not even 30 minutes later, when I went to get some groceries, there was this 1 m² hole. Let's see if it keeps on growing over night.
Lets see what odd surprise is awaiting me tomorrow...
Sunday, 30 October 2011
A Third World
That's the best way to describe the internet in Australia... either it's not working or it's super-slow. Especially on Sundays it is more or less impossible to get a proper connection, at least where I live. I can't believe why it is so hard to get a proper internet connection here, even at work, there are more or less frequently black-outs.
Anyways, another week is gone, but not much happened... Work was, well work... Wednesday have been some drinks and free pizza with the agency.
Oh, there is something cool happening these days. The Open Air Cinema started in South Bank and fortunately I have some connections, so I can get in for free. That's a pretty nice venue. They put up a screen on the riverside and as evenings are quite warm, it is very nice to sit outside and watch movies. On Thursday I've seen 'Red Dog', that's an Australian movie about a dog that got famous at the west coast in the seventies, for travelling around on his own. Here is the trailer.
On Friday night I've been again to a screening, that night the movie has been 'Friends with Benefits'. Quite funny and better than the average movie of that genre. Nice movie to just hang out with an easy plot. And again, here is the trailer.
Yesterday wasn't really exciting either... just walked through town and along the river... very nice walks, as one can go through mangrove forests, a botanic garden, along cliffs, etc.
Yeah, that was about the week and weekend... not really decided what I should do today; well it's already 1pm... but as usually rain is predicted, so I didn't went to the Zoo... But it is still not raining... well if it's not starting soon, I might go out and walk around a bit... or not...
Anyways, another week is gone, but not much happened... Work was, well work... Wednesday have been some drinks and free pizza with the agency.
Oh, there is something cool happening these days. The Open Air Cinema started in South Bank and fortunately I have some connections, so I can get in for free. That's a pretty nice venue. They put up a screen on the riverside and as evenings are quite warm, it is very nice to sit outside and watch movies. On Thursday I've seen 'Red Dog', that's an Australian movie about a dog that got famous at the west coast in the seventies, for travelling around on his own. Here is the trailer.
On Friday night I've been again to a screening, that night the movie has been 'Friends with Benefits'. Quite funny and better than the average movie of that genre. Nice movie to just hang out with an easy plot. And again, here is the trailer.
Yesterday wasn't really exciting either... just walked through town and along the river... very nice walks, as one can go through mangrove forests, a botanic garden, along cliffs, etc.
Yeah, that was about the week and weekend... not really decided what I should do today; well it's already 1pm... but as usually rain is predicted, so I didn't went to the Zoo... But it is still not raining... well if it's not starting soon, I might go out and walk around a bit... or not...
Sunday, 23 October 2011
The Queen is coming
That's exactly what is going to happen tomorrow/today. Even better, she is going to be where I'm working, well not the company, but like 5 minutes from it. Hence, it might get a little crowded and maybe I'll have a longer lunch break to try to see the Queen. Even so I doubt that is possible, as they are expecting loads of people.
*** *** UPDATE *** *** I actually saw the Queen, one pic added, more to be seen here. *** ***
The Queen and the Duke
But that is not the only invader to Brisbane these days. Today hundreds of Zombies were taking over Brisbane. As it was charity event for the Brisbane Brain Foundation. Quite an awesome view to see them all walking through the city.
The biggest issue this weekend occurred Friday night, when we were out. I just wanted to order a beer, but instead of ordering a glass or a pint, etc. I just had the options between a 'pot' and a 'schooner', which I never heard of. After some discussing with the barkeeper, I finally figured out that a schooner contains 3/4 of a pint or 15 fl oz or 425ml. I'm talking about Imperial oz and pints here. A pot is half schooner, good to know that. That's a t least what I thought, until we kept on talking and then the guy explained to me, that these units vary from town to town in Australia... WTF?!?!
Here is a little example, comparing Brisbane and Adelaide.
What is called a schooner in Brisbane is a pint in Adelaide, and the Brisbane pot contains as much as the schooner in Adelaide. To make that even more confusing, there are 2 different schooners in Adelaide containing either 9 or 10 fl oz. Not confusing enough?
Okay, in Adelaide you can also order a 'butcher', containing either 7 fl oz (200ml) or 4 fl oz (115ml). The bigger butcher is named 'ounce' in Brisbane. To top this, there is also something called 'pony' in both cities, which has the size of 5 fl oz or 140ml.
Here I've just compared two cities, there are at least a dozen other names for the glasses above and/or with a different content. Unfortunately, nobody can explain to me so far, where this system is coming from.
*** *** UPDATE *** *** I actually saw the Queen, one pic added, more to be seen here. *** ***
The Queen and the DukeBut that is not the only invader to Brisbane these days. Today hundreds of Zombies were taking over Brisbane. As it was charity event for the Brisbane Brain Foundation. Quite an awesome view to see them all walking through the city.
The biggest issue this weekend occurred Friday night, when we were out. I just wanted to order a beer, but instead of ordering a glass or a pint, etc. I just had the options between a 'pot' and a 'schooner', which I never heard of. After some discussing with the barkeeper, I finally figured out that a schooner contains 3/4 of a pint or 15 fl oz or 425ml. I'm talking about Imperial oz and pints here. A pot is half schooner, good to know that. That's a t least what I thought, until we kept on talking and then the guy explained to me, that these units vary from town to town in Australia... WTF?!?!
Here is a little example, comparing Brisbane and Adelaide.
What is called a schooner in Brisbane is a pint in Adelaide, and the Brisbane pot contains as much as the schooner in Adelaide. To make that even more confusing, there are 2 different schooners in Adelaide containing either 9 or 10 fl oz. Not confusing enough?
Okay, in Adelaide you can also order a 'butcher', containing either 7 fl oz (200ml) or 4 fl oz (115ml). The bigger butcher is named 'ounce' in Brisbane. To top this, there is also something called 'pony' in both cities, which has the size of 5 fl oz or 140ml.
Here I've just compared two cities, there are at least a dozen other names for the glasses above and/or with a different content. Unfortunately, nobody can explain to me so far, where this system is coming from.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
There is no Burger King
Right, there is no Burger King Australia. You can find every well known Fast-Food-Franchise here, but not Burger King, just Hungry Jacks, as you can see from the picture. Why is that?
Well easy to explain, when Burger King wanted to open their first restaurants in Australia, they couldn't use the original name, as it was already taken by a joint in Adelaide. So they chose another trademark they own. Hungry Jacks was born. A more detailed story on that can be read here.
The one you can see in the picture is one of the best known places in town... not because of the food, obviously, no, it is best known as it is very central and a famous meeting spot.
Nothing especially worth talking about happened the last days. Well, internet was broken for a couple of days at home, as a thunderstorm killed it. After that was restored it broke at my work... so 'working' was more or less impossible.
On the weekend, there wasn't much to do, as that was when the thunderstorm happened... pictures can be seen here. Sunday I went to see the Rugby-Worldcup-Semifinal between Australia and New Zealand. As New Zealand won, the mood wasn't that good, nevertheless, still interesting for me to watch, as you would experience something like that in Germany.
That's about it from the last days, updates will follow when more exciting things are happening here.
Well easy to explain, when Burger King wanted to open their first restaurants in Australia, they couldn't use the original name, as it was already taken by a joint in Adelaide. So they chose another trademark they own. Hungry Jacks was born. A more detailed story on that can be read here.
The one you can see in the picture is one of the best known places in town... not because of the food, obviously, no, it is best known as it is very central and a famous meeting spot.
Nothing especially worth talking about happened the last days. Well, internet was broken for a couple of days at home, as a thunderstorm killed it. After that was restored it broke at my work... so 'working' was more or less impossible.
On the weekend, there wasn't much to do, as that was when the thunderstorm happened... pictures can be seen here. Sunday I went to see the Rugby-Worldcup-Semifinal between Australia and New Zealand. As New Zealand won, the mood wasn't that good, nevertheless, still interesting for me to watch, as you would experience something like that in Germany.
That's about it from the last days, updates will follow when more exciting things are happening here.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Rainprove or Rainproof?
I mentioned the weather in my last post already, here are some pictures I took today, outside of my workplace in South Bank, when I wanted to go home... well, quite impossible as one was soaked after walking 10 meters. Isn't it supposed to be warm and sunny in Australia?
Cordelia Street facing South
Cordelia Street once again
View of Brisbanes CBD from South Bank
Cordelia Street facing South
Cordelia Street once again
View of Brisbanes CBD from South BankTuesday, 11 October 2011
Short Update
2nd week is on and I'm still working on the Application, so much about work.
The weekend was quite calm, couldn't go out on Saturday as we had thunderstorms... just went shortly to the Valley Festival... a little music festival with some Indie-bands and so on. What to do when staying inside? Right, working on university assignments... hopefully the last ones in my life, which are due next month.
Today the program of the 'Brisbane International Film Festival' got published... some good ones are up for screening, so I might get some tickets. I actually found a movie on the list, wish I've seen last year at the 'Vancouver International Film Festival'. It is called Armadillo and I ranked it the 3rd best of the Festival. My ranking and critic can be found here.
Some more about Brisbane, it is surprisingly rainy here... don't know where I read that, but there are supposed to be more than 300 days of sun here... well, so far I experienced rain every other day.
Not much more to tell atm.
Brisbane time: 11pm, so I say good night ;-)
The weekend was quite calm, couldn't go out on Saturday as we had thunderstorms... just went shortly to the Valley Festival... a little music festival with some Indie-bands and so on. What to do when staying inside? Right, working on university assignments... hopefully the last ones in my life, which are due next month.
Today the program of the 'Brisbane International Film Festival' got published... some good ones are up for screening, so I might get some tickets. I actually found a movie on the list, wish I've seen last year at the 'Vancouver International Film Festival'. It is called Armadillo and I ranked it the 3rd best of the Festival. My ranking and critic can be found here.
Some more about Brisbane, it is surprisingly rainy here... don't know where I read that, but there are supposed to be more than 300 days of sun here... well, so far I experienced rain every other day.
Not much more to tell atm.
Brisbane time: 11pm, so I say good night ;-)
Friday, 7 October 2011
Reaching the Land of Koalas
I'm in Australia, Brisbane to be more accurate.
After been to Lantau on my last day in Hong Kong, which is a very beautiful island, I arrived here last Saturday.
But briefly back to Lantau, this place is really recommendable, as it is still very relaxed, completely different than Hong Kong itself. You can visit the tallest outdoor-bronze Buddha-statue in the world. Very impressive I have to say. Afterwards I had the chance to have lunch in the nearby monastery, very delicious. Afterwards I went to a small fishing village called Tai-O. Very cute and houses are built up on stilts in the water.
Thereafter I went to the airport to get on my plane. Be warned, if you ever depart from Hong Kong, Security can take a while; it took me almost an hour to get through all the checks. The flight itself was one of the best I ever had. The carrier was Virgin Atlantic, very recommendable, as food was excellent (I never thought I would say that) and Fair Trade. Furthermore, it has an excellent In-flight entertainment, good staff and uses biofuel. After clearing Immigration in Sydney, I took another flight to Brisbane.
Big question, why am I in Brisbane?
Well, I'll be doing an internship here until January. First week of work hasn't been very exciting, as they are usually, you get stuff to read and some random task to do... to find your way into the business... so, let's see what's going to happen on Monday.
About Brisbane (Australia) itself:
the city is quite nice, but much more beautiful and interesting is flora and fauna. There are animals running around everywhere, as well as nicely looking plants. And they are totally uncommon for me... so it is very nice to walk around and just look what there is to see. Another fact is that Australia is really expensive... I expect it not to be cheap over here, but these prices are really fascinating... I thought Great Britain was already quite expensive... but compared to here that's nothing... stupid, no-name Cornflakes cost about 3€ for 300g...
After been to Lantau on my last day in Hong Kong, which is a very beautiful island, I arrived here last Saturday.
But briefly back to Lantau, this place is really recommendable, as it is still very relaxed, completely different than Hong Kong itself. You can visit the tallest outdoor-bronze Buddha-statue in the world. Very impressive I have to say. Afterwards I had the chance to have lunch in the nearby monastery, very delicious. Afterwards I went to a small fishing village called Tai-O. Very cute and houses are built up on stilts in the water.
Thereafter I went to the airport to get on my plane. Be warned, if you ever depart from Hong Kong, Security can take a while; it took me almost an hour to get through all the checks. The flight itself was one of the best I ever had. The carrier was Virgin Atlantic, very recommendable, as food was excellent (I never thought I would say that) and Fair Trade. Furthermore, it has an excellent In-flight entertainment, good staff and uses biofuel. After clearing Immigration in Sydney, I took another flight to Brisbane.
Big question, why am I in Brisbane?
Well, I'll be doing an internship here until January. First week of work hasn't been very exciting, as they are usually, you get stuff to read and some random task to do... to find your way into the business... so, let's see what's going to happen on Monday.
About Brisbane (Australia) itself:
the city is quite nice, but much more beautiful and interesting is flora and fauna. There are animals running around everywhere, as well as nicely looking plants. And they are totally uncommon for me... so it is very nice to walk around and just look what there is to see. Another fact is that Australia is really expensive... I expect it not to be cheap over here, but these prices are really fascinating... I thought Great Britain was already quite expensive... but compared to here that's nothing... stupid, no-name Cornflakes cost about 3€ for 300g...
Thursday, 29 September 2011
Macau and the Storm
But first of all, I'm still alive, thx for the request, but more about that later.
I was in Macao yesterday, an old Portuguese colony. Nowadays, Macao is more like the little Las Vegas of the region, lots of casinos, etc. can be found there. But even if one is not interested in gambling, it's a place worth visiting. You can see lots of old colonialism time buildings over there, which are mixed with Asian style ones. Hence interesting combinations exist, like a temple next to a cathedral. Or, due to the modern times, a temple included in a casino... Macao is also a place for shopping and getting Portuguese food, as I heard, unfortunately, more or less, all restaurants were closed... or just served Asian style food.
On the way back, I could experience the first signs of typhoon 'Nesat', which hit Hong Kong today with a strength of 8 out of 10. While the sea was wild last night, ferries were still running. Today more or less everything was shut down, no boats going, just a few sights open. But the worst part was, that Thursday is the day, when all the museum are closed, hence there was not really anything to do. I just went to the cinema and through town... but even half of the shops were closed.
Before leaving Hong Kong tomorrow, I will try to go to Lantau, where I want to visit an old temple and a fishing village, called the 'Venice of Hong Kong', as houses are built on stilts.
And after that it is time to leave Asia; next destination will be Australia... so more stories from there will come.
I was in Macao yesterday, an old Portuguese colony. Nowadays, Macao is more like the little Las Vegas of the region, lots of casinos, etc. can be found there. But even if one is not interested in gambling, it's a place worth visiting. You can see lots of old colonialism time buildings over there, which are mixed with Asian style ones. Hence interesting combinations exist, like a temple next to a cathedral. Or, due to the modern times, a temple included in a casino... Macao is also a place for shopping and getting Portuguese food, as I heard, unfortunately, more or less, all restaurants were closed... or just served Asian style food.
On the way back, I could experience the first signs of typhoon 'Nesat', which hit Hong Kong today with a strength of 8 out of 10. While the sea was wild last night, ferries were still running. Today more or less everything was shut down, no boats going, just a few sights open. But the worst part was, that Thursday is the day, when all the museum are closed, hence there was not really anything to do. I just went to the cinema and through town... but even half of the shops were closed.
Before leaving Hong Kong tomorrow, I will try to go to Lantau, where I want to visit an old temple and a fishing village, called the 'Venice of Hong Kong', as houses are built on stilts.
And after that it is time to leave Asia; next destination will be Australia... so more stories from there will come.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
How to prepare Hong Kong
After almost 17hrs in planes I have reached Hong Kong. All I can say so far is that I love it. The one day I’ve spent here has been better then the complete Russia trip. But from the beginning:
My first stop was Beijing, but just for 3hrs, before I had to get on board again to fly to Hong Kong. Carrier this time was Air China. I get the feeling I’m doing Airline checks these years; it’s about the 20th company I’ve used and still not finished. Anyways, flights were good and food was an introduction to Asia including seaweed, etc. Once in Hong Kong I went straight for my Hostel, where I got a 5m² room, no kidding, picture will follow. As it was already night, I just went out to see the nightlife. It’s amazing, all these super-colorful, blinking commercials, people everywhere, shops open till midnight. That is just so cool, so instead of just getting some food I went out for hours.
This morning I just walked through the city towards the waterfront. Once there I walked down the Boulevard of Stars, it’s like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, just with Asian stars. Then I took the ferry and went to the ‘real’ Hong Kong and finally took the 123 year old tram up to ‘The Peak’, the sightseeing mountain of the city. And the view from atop is just gorgeous. I can’t really describe that. Like the whole city. For me it is kind of a mixture between, Vancouver, L.A. and Cape Town, with Asian ingredients.
I stayed up there till it was dark, but in the meantime I went to see Madame Tussauds, again with mostly Asian characters on display.
Even if I couldn’t find any good words for the view at daytime, there are less for nighttime, so I just say: splendiferous. You can see some pictures at the end of the post. (Due to the weather they are not close to what you can see with your eyes, but one gets the idea ;-)). Finally I took the tram back down and walked all the way home through Kowloon… just a really good day. I can suggest everyone to get to Hong Kong once and stay a little while, there is so much to see and do here… I hardly have enough time to see what I want to see.
Plan for tomorrow is to go to Macau, if there is no storm coming up…
So, here are the promised pictures:
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
To Sum It Up
I haven't had time to work on the pictures so far...
The last night in St. Petersburg started probably with our worst idea ever, an all-you-can-eat-&-drink competition at Pizza Hut... after that we all felt like we were ready to explode at the spot. :-P
But summarizing Russia, I can definitely say, that St. Petersburg is much more beautiful than Moscow, people are much more welcoming and willing to talk to you. I assume that Moscow can be a very interesting tourist spot as well, but therefore, one should make plans on what to do, etc. before arrival, cause the city is so huge. And with our 'program' we sometimes haven't had more time, at certain places, than for a quick photo-stop.
Food in Russia is not very exciting... either it is completely tasteless, dry or over-seasoned with dill. Why dill, I have no idea, but it seems like that is the only existing spice...
Nevertheless, seeing Russia was quite an experience, but it is not a country I wanna go again soon... Maybe taken the Trans-Siberian would be quite an experience (and maybe a better one than this trip) but there are other places to explore before that ;-)
Next plan is to already leave Germany again on Sunday. The destination will be Brisbane, Australia with a short (3 days) stopover in Hong Kong.
But before leaving, I still have to work a little ( with less time every second), so I better keep on doing that ;-)
The last night in St. Petersburg started probably with our worst idea ever, an all-you-can-eat-&-drink competition at Pizza Hut... after that we all felt like we were ready to explode at the spot. :-P
But summarizing Russia, I can definitely say, that St. Petersburg is much more beautiful than Moscow, people are much more welcoming and willing to talk to you. I assume that Moscow can be a very interesting tourist spot as well, but therefore, one should make plans on what to do, etc. before arrival, cause the city is so huge. And with our 'program' we sometimes haven't had more time, at certain places, than for a quick photo-stop.
Food in Russia is not very exciting... either it is completely tasteless, dry or over-seasoned with dill. Why dill, I have no idea, but it seems like that is the only existing spice...
Nevertheless, seeing Russia was quite an experience, but it is not a country I wanna go again soon... Maybe taken the Trans-Siberian would be quite an experience (and maybe a better one than this trip) but there are other places to explore before that ;-)
Next plan is to already leave Germany again on Sunday. The destination will be Brisbane, Australia with a short (3 days) stopover in Hong Kong.
But before leaving, I still have to work a little ( with less time every second), so I better keep on doing that ;-)
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
St. Petersburg
As unpleasant as Moscow was, the better is St. Peterburg. People are much friendlier here and, the best part, there is lots of interesting stuff to do and see over here. Besides the usual work we had to do, including lectures, bustours, etc., we went to some pretty interesting museums, like the 'Ermitage'. That is the biggest Museum in Russia and totally worth visiting. Another recommendable place is 'Peterhof', a suburb of St. Petersburg. Special about this place is a castle that was built there. From the size it is comparable to Verssailles, with huge parks.
But back to St. Petersburg, the city itself is much more beautiful than Moscow, which just felt crowed and ugly.... Nightlife here is also quite fun. The other night we went to a club, where everybody is dressed in bunny-costumes, so we got ears at the entrance, and they celebrate New Year ever night. That was really a weird place to be, but big fun, like the whole night. We continued to 4 plus X other clubs and came back at 5... which was not smartest idea, when you have to get up at 8 for lectures... but, who cares???
Unfortunately our time in St. Petersburg is almost over. Today is our last day, before we will be going back to Germany tomorrow. Once back again, pictures will follow, until then:
с Новым годом!!!
But back to St. Petersburg, the city itself is much more beautiful than Moscow, which just felt crowed and ugly.... Nightlife here is also quite fun. The other night we went to a club, where everybody is dressed in bunny-costumes, so we got ears at the entrance, and they celebrate New Year ever night. That was really a weird place to be, but big fun, like the whole night. We continued to 4 plus X other clubs and came back at 5... which was not smartest idea, when you have to get up at 8 for lectures... but, who cares???
Unfortunately our time in St. Petersburg is almost over. Today is our last day, before we will be going back to Germany tomorrow. Once back again, pictures will follow, until then:
с Новым годом!!!
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Pictures from Moscow
Here are the promised pictures from Moscow:
Kremlin
Tsar Cannon
One of the seven sister Stalinist style
Lenin
Kremlin
Tsar Cannon
One of the seven sister Stalinist style
Lenin
Some random houses :-PThat might actually be the best selection of pictures there are... or of what I've seen ;-)
Friday, 9 September 2011
Muscovite Times
Week's gone, as is Moscow. Right now we're sitting in the train to St. Petersburg.
We've spent the days in Moscow at the university, with lectures about the development of the city and area. Furthermore, we've done some bus trips around city to 'experience' the urbanity... Both were not really interesting activities, so I keep that chapter short. Just saying we 'learnt' a lot about things we already knew...
Besides we were doing some sightseeing... but there is not that much, unless you like monumentality buildings from the communism time. So to say, Moscow is not the best touristic spot I would recommend. Best parts were the evenings when we went for bowling, airhockey or just hanging around.
Another weird fact is, people here are quite unfriendly and unwilling to speak English, even if they are able to do so (which is not very often the case, unfortunately).
Well, I expected this post being much longer, but that would be just boring for everybody, cause there are not really good stories to tell... Gonna give you some impressions of the city next time, cause the connection in the train is quite slow...
St. Petersburg is supposed to be the much more interesting place and that's basically what we're hoping for... can't really get much more boring ;-)
We've spent the days in Moscow at the university, with lectures about the development of the city and area. Furthermore, we've done some bus trips around city to 'experience' the urbanity... Both were not really interesting activities, so I keep that chapter short. Just saying we 'learnt' a lot about things we already knew...
Besides we were doing some sightseeing... but there is not that much, unless you like monumentality buildings from the communism time. So to say, Moscow is not the best touristic spot I would recommend. Best parts were the evenings when we went for bowling, airhockey or just hanging around.
Another weird fact is, people here are quite unfriendly and unwilling to speak English, even if they are able to do so (which is not very often the case, unfortunately).
Well, I expected this post being much longer, but that would be just boring for everybody, cause there are not really good stories to tell... Gonna give you some impressions of the city next time, cause the connection in the train is quite slow...
St. Petersburg is supposed to be the much more interesting place and that's basically what we're hoping for... can't really get much more boring ;-)
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