Asia/Europe Travels 2008: Kuala Lumpur Thailand Laos Vietnam Germany Austria Prague (Czech Republic)
Poland Vilnius (Lithuania) Riga (Latvia) Berlin London (UK) Amsterdam (Holland) Dublin (Ireland) Hamburg

Hamburg (Germany again)

Tues 25th Nov - Dublin to Hamburg

Yes I made it to Hamburg! the full day of travel after a big night out and I was exhausted. I still made the most of my time however heading out into town for a walk around all the little Christmas stalls. It was really pleasant being out in the crisp fresh air exploring the streets of Hamburg at night. I did stay away from the more dodgey looking alleys but never felt unsafe. I made it to my favourite resaurant with the all you can eat salad bar for 6.40 euros, and wandered around a couple of the bars and monuments which were all lit up.

Wed 26th Nov - Hamburg

Today I had a mega sleep in catching up on the last couple of days. I used the internet and organised my suitcase which was pretty much a bomb site. At midday I jumped on the net and did some writing. It was nice just taking it easy and talking to my room mates from Canada. at about 2pm I headed into town and having starved myself all morning, I had breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one go at... you guessed it, the all you can eat salad bar. I think I really got my money's worth from that place. I sat there for a couple of hours and wrote up my time in Ireland before heading out into town again.

I was going to a concert tonight, but on the way there I walked through the fairground that I discovered the night before. Despite the freezing weather and the faint drizzle, I just had to try the rides. They were so good. The roller coaster had about 6 loop the loops and another ride whisked you around in a large 50m diameter circle above the ground. I didn't even have to line up for these rides.

Finally it was time for the Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky concert to a full house. The concert was amazing, and they played with real passion and finese. At the end of the show they did two encores resulting in a standing ovation, the last piece of which I used to play on the cello.

Afterwards I lined up to meet the stars and despite not being able to talk to Martha Argerich who seemed to be getting a bit swamped, I got my picture taken with Mischa Maisky who was a very friendly guy. Afterwards I headed back home where I met up with one of my hostel room mates. We went down to the bar and had a couple of beers. It was kind of a nice way to wind up the evening after such an amazing concert.

Thu 27th Nov - Hamburg to Bosse

Today I booked out of my hostel and met up with Sally, Dain, Geoffrey and Siobhan which was a nice suprise. They had taken a day trip from the farm to Hamburg to see me, and say their final farewells to Sally who was catching a lift to Berlin later that day. Sally and I put our large cases in storage for the afternoon and then we headed off in search of food at one of the markets. After sampling a variety of traditional foods we went to the fairground where I was eager to take the guys on some of the awesome rides I had been on. It was however closed, so we went for a drink around the corner hoping to revisit the fairground afterwards. The restaurant was quite nice, and there were some hilarious signs on the toilet doors depicting little men either standing at a urinal or sitting down. I guess there really was no confusion as to what was behind those doors.

Back at the fairground we were in luck as the place was buzzing. I convinced everyone (except Siobhan) to take a ride on the roller coaster which had half a dozen loop the loops. I was heaps more fun with friends to share the thrills with. We then went to the second ride, which I had been on the night before, but it looked a little bit full on for the other guys. I really wanted to go again, except when I tried to get a ticket, the lady said I was too tall to go on the ride. Or thats what it seemed she was saying. I must have grown overnight! Anyway the price had gone up to 5 euros so kind of nice to save the money and of course I had already been on the ride. After that it was kind of time to go and see Sally off. Her lift left the main station about an hour before we had to leave for Bosse, so we said our final goodbye's and then went for a final wander around the markets. At Bosse our hosts picked us up from the station and drove us to the farm house, which was very homely.

Fri 28th Nov - Bosse

Today we helped out raking up leaves around the farmhouse which had built up over the recent Autumn months. It was actually quite nice to be outdoors doing some good old fashioned manual labour. We all looked quite funny in our overly warm boots and puffy jackets. That day we were treated to more amazing food and played cards in the evening. Anna also arrived and we had a really nice meal all together.

Sat 29th Nov - Bosse

I got up and went for a short walk around the farm. It had been snowing over night and everything looked amazing. Anna took us for a grand tour of the farm which was really interesting. One of the more interesting things was the biogas plant they had going. It produced about 1MW of electricity and was powered by fermented corn mulch. I am quite interested in all sorts of sustainable energy options, so naturally it was intriguing seeing a working biogas plant in action. In Australia there are a lot of biomass plants on the fringe of the electricity grid which become cost effective as the electricity is expensive to distribute to remote areas, so any electricity that can be generated on site is a good thing. The growing of mallee trees to turn into biomass pulp also combats some of the growing salinity issues in many of these areas.

Sun 30th Nov - Bosse

On the first advent we went to an amazing a cappella concert in a small heratige town called Wilsede not too far from Bosse. To get to the town you had to walk for about an hour which we all really enjoyed. The snow looked so pretty covering logs, trees and anything else which happened to be out in the open. The group were a Swedish group who sang a variety of Swedish Christmas carols, and other songs in English and German. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. They all had amazing voices and had real individual personalities on stage. We all went for lunch at a restaurant just down the road and I had mulled wine, salad and soup, the perfect combo. On the way back we walked up the highest hill in the region and back to the car through more snow covered woods. That evening we had our last night with Anna, who was heading back the next morning. We played a game of Risk which we had to stop mid game because it was taking too long, and also had drinks and watched Summer Heights High, one of the best Australian mockumentaries ever. Eventually after much wine and slumbering the night came to an end.

Mon 1st Dec - Bosse

We said our farewell's to Anna and then spent the morning or what was left of it pottering around. I did my washing and some internet stuff and in the afternoon we all helped again with the leaves in the garden. Once again it was refreshing to get outdoors and breathe the crisp air which was only a few degrees celsius. The small pond provided much amuzement as a thin layer of water had frozen over the top giving it a frosty winter look. We had fun snapping bits of the glass like ice off the surface and throwing them onto the pond surface where the ice shattered and skidded over the top of the pong like a puck on ice. The ice also sounded a bit like glass as it shattered and we certainly enjoyed being quite destructive smashing up the ice and making a bit of a mess of the pond. It was of course nice to know that shortly it would melt and return to it's previous pristine state.

Tue 2nd Dec - Bosse

Today we did a day trip to Walsrode, a small town apparently famous for its bird park. We went for a walk in the woods just out of town and were rewarded with stunning scenery. Most of the autumn leaves had fallen to the ground and the trees formed skeletons towering over the river. Afterwards we found a cafe and tried some of the famous hot chocolates. I swear these things were just melted chocolate as they were so rich. Lucky we had that walk!

Wed 3rd Dec - Bosse

Another day at the farmhouse enjoying delicious food. I did some work outside and in the evening we played cards with our hosts. It was our last night together which was quite sad but it was really nice to share drinks and

Thu 4th Dec - Bosse to Cologne

Leaving the farmhouse was very sad. We said our farewells and headed off on a series of three trains to get from Bosse to Cologne, a town famous for its cathedral.

Fri 5th Dec - Day trip to Bonn

We left mid morning to Bonn. Our hotel is actually mid way between Cologne and Bonn so the train journey was only an hour or so. Our first stop was the Beethoven House near the town center. This was the house where Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770. It now contains the biggest Beethoven collection world-wide and includes paintings, portraits, original manuscripts and Beethoven's last piano. It was really interesting following the story of his life. One of the saddest parts of the display was a letter describing how he had kept his worsening deafness a secret for almost two years before it became unbearable. There were all sorts of devices made for him to help him hear better. I really enjoyed this museum and the way everything was set out. Afterwards we continued on into town for some gluehwein and riesen bockwurst. The markets looked quite amazing nestled in amongst the ancient buildings.

In the afternoon I headed off on my own for a few hours walking down along the Rhein river towards a technology museum. Unfortunately I never made it, as time was short and it was quite a way away, so I jumped on a train half way down the river and headed back to the university, a large array of old buildings. I bought some fruit at the markets and met up with the others again at our meeting place. We did another walk around the town, and down to the river at night and then jumped on the train home. In the evening we had fruit and crackers for dinner, played president, scrabble and watched Southpark taking advantage of our private 4 bed dorm.

Sat 6th Dec - Day trip to Cologne

We left mid morning by train and made it to the city of Cologne. You exit the main station right onto the footsteps of the Cologne Cathedral certainly a most spectacular sight. We briefly checked emails and then split up to do our various things. I went initially towards a museum but the thought of a tasty meal distracted me and I walked out of the main touristy section in search of some reasonably priced cuisine. I was in luck as I came across a tiny restaurant bar not far away from the cathedral with a sign outside which said 5 euro spaghetti Bolognese. All the tables were taken but soon one was free and I settled in to enjoy my Bolognese and a beer with a distant view of the Cathedral from my table. The food was really good, but I felt like moving on to see some of the town.

Just as I exited the building it started raining, and by the time I made it to the museum my jacket and backpack were a little wet. The Roman Germanic Museum was quite interesting with ancient stones and artefacts with good English descriptions accompanying most of the exhibits. You could also take photos without a flash. At 3.15pm we all met up again and went into the cathedral. For only a couple of euros you can walk to the very top of one of the giant spires and get some stunning views out across Cologne. The sheer size of this cathedral has to be seen to be believed. There is even a replica of one of the formations on top of the spires down at ground level, and although it looks tiny from below, standing right next to it, does change the perspective. The inside was equally stunning with incredible stained glass windows and intricate stone carvings all over the interior.

We jumped back on the train and found ourselves back in the hotel having much needed warm showers as it was freezing. That night we were heading out to meet up with some more of Siobhan's friends in Cologne. We arrived at Rebecca's apartment and joined the other guests for a wonderful meal. They all spoke very good English so we felt very welcome. After dinner they were all planning to go out to a party at one of the local clubs. The night was of Bohemian theme and there were feature DJ's and a bit of live music. Siobhan, Dain, and Geoffrey were feeling a little off colour, so headed home but I was eager to join the others and have a dance. The night was one of the best yet, and the music was amazing. Lots of Eastern European sounds put to a strong dancey beat. At one point a guy on the trombone started jamming along to one of the songs on stage and was soon joined by about three other brass instruments and they walked off stage into the centre of the dance floor jamming along with the tunes. I had a really good night, which unfortunately had to come to an end when we were all having trouble staying awake at about 4am. A short bike ride home and I crashed out on a camping mat at Rebecca's apartment.

Sun 7th Dec - Off to Frankfurt

The next morning I woke up at about 9am and after some really nice breaky I said farewell to Rebecca who had been an awesome host, and walked towards the main station. I did somehow take a wrong turn and ended up heading away from where I wanted to go, still it was nice to have a bit of a stroll through the university grounds. With only 50 minutes to get back before check out time I jumped on a train and made it to the main station. From there I had to wait about half an hour for the train out to our Hotel, so ended up arriving about 45 minutes late. As I was hastily walking towards the hotel I spotted the other who had gone for a wander to find coffee, or rather they spotted me storming past and called out. They had been champs and packed my bag and left everything behind the counter at the hotel so I was very grateful.

We walked around the town for a bit, but everything was shut it being a Sunday and all so we went back to the hotel. Siobhan asked the lady behind the counter where we could get a cup of coffee and she offered us to have some at the hotel for free. They were really nice at this hotel, and I would recommend it highly. It was a great way to chill out before the 3 hours of trains to Frankfurt. The train trip was as usual quite smooth thanks once again to Siobhan's excellent timetable planning. We arrived at our hostel in Frankfurt and checked in, showered and enjoyed their 5 Euro dinner. Afterwards we went to a small Irish pub around the corner and played cards and drank Guinness.

Mon 8th Dec - Frankfurt

We had the complementary breakfast which was pretty decent, and walked into town. There was a Cathedral we had a brief look at before checking out the local Christmas markets. Eventually we made it to the main shopping strip and I found some free wireless internet, able to do my internet oriented activities for an hour. Afterwards we met up and had coffee at a small cafe just off one of the main market strips and we played cards again. I think we were almost getting sick of playing 500 at this stage. Finally we headed back to the hostel for a sleep and showers etc.

During the evening the pub from the night before had a quiz on, so we headed back to try our luck. At first we were the only people in the place, but it soon filled up a bit, and there ended up being half a dozen tables. I think the first round we did pretty poorly and the second was only a little better but the last two rounds must have got us some points because we ended up coming second! The prize was 20 Euros so we spent it on food and it also paid for about half the drinks we had bought. What a great last night with the four of us.

Tue 9th Dec - Frankfurt

Today it was sad to see Siobhan go, her flight being a day earlier on Singapore Airlines. In the afternoon we just did our own thing checking net stuff and walking around. I also went back to sleep twice as I was feeling a bit ill in the stomach. In the evening we just chilled out and watched some movies ready for the long two day flight ordeal home to Australia. We were all really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone again. I was also missing the warm weather, the beaches, the sun, my bed, clothes and home cooking. Our last night of a three and a half month trip away from Australia!

Wed 10th Dec - Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur to Perth

Getting up at an early 7.30am we grabbed a bite to eat and checked out of the hotel. Dain couldn't find his card key for the room too, but they were nice enough to not charge us. Two short train trips and we were at the airport and a shuttle train got us to the right terminal (Franfurt international airport is huge). The flight was a doddle, and I watched the entire season 2 of Heroes. We managed to even jump on an earlier flight so made it to Perth in the warm sunny afternoon. It was so strange to see the sun stay up until about 8pm instead of 4.30pm or whatever it was in Germany. Well we made it back, and so did Dain's bag, but Geoffrey and I had to wait till the next morning to get our luggage as it must have decided to go on the later flight. Still all was well and the trip ended without any dramas what so ever. Travelling with these guys through Europe and of course with Kristy through East Asia was one of the best experiences of my life, and I want to thank them for being such awesome travel buddies. Till next time!