So we moved into the flat a couple of days ago. The room was pretty messy, so me and Sarah had to spend a fair while cleaning everything up. Ended up buying a heap of bedding stuff as well, which was a bit of a dent in the wallet, albeit an expected one.
The room is now looking pretty good, and feels homely enough for now, and we've got to know a few people we're living with... so everything on that front is going okay.
Jobs-wise, I have a couple of interviews lined up... one in a bar, and one in a call centre... I'm not sure which I'd rather prefer, but with finances the way they are at the moment, I'll probably just take the first one that's offered to me.
Not much else to say really, we don't have internet access in our flat, but it's apparently being set up in the very near future, but I'm not holding my breath.
Okay, I have nothing else to say...
Cya.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Australian Base Jumper death in Swiss Alps...
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24237046-2,00.html
...was in Lauterbrunnen, the same place we were staying a few weeks ago. Here's a photo of the cliffs I took when we were there. It gives you a bit of an idea of what he was up against... he had no chance, poor guy.
All good here in England... will update you all soon.
...was in Lauterbrunnen, the same place we were staying a few weeks ago. Here's a photo of the cliffs I took when we were there. It gives you a bit of an idea of what he was up against... he had no chance, poor guy.
All good here in England... will update you all soon.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Exploring a bit of England...
The last week has been pretty quiet, although we have explored a bit of the area surrounding Cropredy. Staying here has been really nice, and we have well and truly been spoilt.
Earlier in the week we went into Oxford via the train, and had a look around there. Like many parts of England, the place was full of old buildings and good shopping. I managed to pick up a skinny tie and sweet cardigan, so I felt pretty accomplished. We settled into a nice pub for a meal and a pint, before heading back to Cropredy.
Oxford
Myself and Sarah also caught the train to a place called Stratford, just north of here which, in addition to the really old buildings, contains the birth place of Shakespeare. I also had an awesome pasty here.... which seem to be everywhere – it's like the primary English takeaway food... as they don't have meat pies anywhere, not that I've really felt like one anyway.
Shakespeare's birth place, Stratford
Stratford
The rest of the week we've basically been relaxing at home in Cropredy, watching the Olympics and movies. There isn't a lot in the village, but we did have a look at the local pub The Red Lion, and I've had a bit of a walk around the place. It's really small, and cool in a quiet, quaint kind of way. There's a canal running through the back part of town full of house boats people live in, which is kind of cool, and not something I really expected for rural England.
Cropredy
So good
Karl has gone back to London for a concert, so it's just me and Sarah at the moment. We're heading to her grandmothers on Sunday to stay there for few days before heading back to London, via Cropredy again, at the end of next week. We move into the house on Saturday, which is pretty exciting.
Until next time.....
Mark
Earlier in the week we went into Oxford via the train, and had a look around there. Like many parts of England, the place was full of old buildings and good shopping. I managed to pick up a skinny tie and sweet cardigan, so I felt pretty accomplished. We settled into a nice pub for a meal and a pint, before heading back to Cropredy.
Oxford
Myself and Sarah also caught the train to a place called Stratford, just north of here which, in addition to the really old buildings, contains the birth place of Shakespeare. I also had an awesome pasty here.... which seem to be everywhere – it's like the primary English takeaway food... as they don't have meat pies anywhere, not that I've really felt like one anyway.
Shakespeare's birth place, Stratford
Stratford
The rest of the week we've basically been relaxing at home in Cropredy, watching the Olympics and movies. There isn't a lot in the village, but we did have a look at the local pub The Red Lion, and I've had a bit of a walk around the place. It's really small, and cool in a quiet, quaint kind of way. There's a canal running through the back part of town full of house boats people live in, which is kind of cool, and not something I really expected for rural England.
Cropredy
So good
Karl has gone back to London for a concert, so it's just me and Sarah at the moment. We're heading to her grandmothers on Sunday to stay there for few days before heading back to London, via Cropredy again, at the end of next week. We move into the house on Saturday, which is pretty exciting.
Until next time.....
Mark
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Getting settled in London
So things are considerably better than last time, as we now have a flat to move into. Fingers crossed, if nothing goes wrong in the next couple of weeks, we should move in on the 28th of August. It's a 3 storey share house in with another six or so Australians/Kiwi's, so it should be good fun - albeit a bit full on, but I guess I didn't come here to live in 3 by 2's with balconies, so it's all part of the experience... and it's still going to be better than hostels anyway.
The flat is in an area called Fulham, which is in the south western parts of London, and from what we have been told - is quite a nice area, with a lot of Australians. On first impressions, we all like the area... it has a lot of pubs nearby which will be good for work, as well as nearby shops, transport etc etc. Another positive aspect is that it's only 10 minutes walk to Stamford Bridge (home of Chelsea FC), so I'm hoping to catch a few games.
Applied for a fair few jobs online... but it was difficult to know which to apply for without having a fixed address. Have since explored the area surrounding where we'll be living, and handed a few resume's in around the place. I got a response from an Australian pub nearby, so I might give that a shot when I get back to London.
... which leads me onto another thing.
We're luckily enough to be currently staying with Sarah's Aunty and Uncle for a few days, so we can explore this area of the UK in the couple of weeks before we can move into our new house. It's really nice to have a home cooked meal, nice beds, and all the nice things you don't get at a hostel. It's in a nice little village of 600 or so people called Cropredy, near Banbury... probably about an hour and a half north of London - so it will be an awesome little getaway for all of us before getting back into the 'grind' of work and so on.
Took Karl on a 'night tour' of London the other day which was cool, as we hadn't looked at many of the sights at night before. Besides that, we've just been incredibly, incredibly boring and looking for jobs/houses all day which kinda sucks for Karl... but things will be much more fun once we get settled.
Not much else to say... so here are some pics from last week or so.
The Netherlands
Back in London....
The flat is in an area called Fulham, which is in the south western parts of London, and from what we have been told - is quite a nice area, with a lot of Australians. On first impressions, we all like the area... it has a lot of pubs nearby which will be good for work, as well as nearby shops, transport etc etc. Another positive aspect is that it's only 10 minutes walk to Stamford Bridge (home of Chelsea FC), so I'm hoping to catch a few games.
Applied for a fair few jobs online... but it was difficult to know which to apply for without having a fixed address. Have since explored the area surrounding where we'll be living, and handed a few resume's in around the place. I got a response from an Australian pub nearby, so I might give that a shot when I get back to London.
... which leads me onto another thing.
We're luckily enough to be currently staying with Sarah's Aunty and Uncle for a few days, so we can explore this area of the UK in the couple of weeks before we can move into our new house. It's really nice to have a home cooked meal, nice beds, and all the nice things you don't get at a hostel. It's in a nice little village of 600 or so people called Cropredy, near Banbury... probably about an hour and a half north of London - so it will be an awesome little getaway for all of us before getting back into the 'grind' of work and so on.
Took Karl on a 'night tour' of London the other day which was cool, as we hadn't looked at many of the sights at night before. Besides that, we've just been incredibly, incredibly boring and looking for jobs/houses all day which kinda sucks for Karl... but things will be much more fun once we get settled.
Not much else to say... so here are some pics from last week or so.
The Netherlands
Back in London....
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Back in London and the real world...
So yeah, we're back in London now. Went to Amsterdam after Switzerland... it was okay, pretty seedy place. My sunglasses are also in the bottom of a canal....
Currently looking for a place to stay... and a job... which is kind of an annoying process as you can't find a place to live without having a job... and finding a job without a place to live is not much better.
Ben and Claire have since left 'us', and Karl has arrived, so it's now just the three of us, and we are slowly coming to the realisation that we might not be able to all work/live together.
All is good though, the whole desires vs capabilities thing is coming to the fore, I guess I'm not really too phased, having been a poor uni student living out of home for a while.
I'll post up some pictures from Amsterdam sometime soon.
Hopefully next blog update I'll have a house & job!
Mark
Currently looking for a place to stay... and a job... which is kind of an annoying process as you can't find a place to live without having a job... and finding a job without a place to live is not much better.
Ben and Claire have since left 'us', and Karl has arrived, so it's now just the three of us, and we are slowly coming to the realisation that we might not be able to all work/live together.
All is good though, the whole desires vs capabilities thing is coming to the fore, I guess I'm not really too phased, having been a poor uni student living out of home for a while.
I'll post up some pictures from Amsterdam sometime soon.
Hopefully next blog update I'll have a house & job!
Mark
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Switzerland
So yeah, Switzerland is to put it bluntly, seriously amazingly awesome. Everywhere you look is an awesome photo opportunity, and the landscapes are so varied, it puts you in a constant state of awe. It's by far the most attractive country I've been to 'landscape' wise. and from awesome valleys, to awesome lakes, hills, mountains, waterfalls... Switzerland rules, and is something you really need to see to believe.
The journey to Switzerland was pretty cool, as we drove through a heap of nice scenic hills, including a stop in the country of Lichtenstein, which provided another pizza that was better than any of those experienced in Italy. In somewhat of a let down, the best pizza, pasta and icecream I've had have probably all been outside of Italy. I guess being sick and missing the Italian dinner kind of contributed to that.
After lunch in Lichtenstein, we headed over the Swiss border and onto Lucerne, an amazing Lucerne. The whole area is amazingly attractive and clean and it's hard to put into words how nice it looks, as it's something you really need to see to believe.
Lichtenstein
Lucerne
Already in awe of Switzerland, I then headed onto Lauterbrunnen, an insanely picturesque village we were staying in. The village was situated in a valley, surrounded by mountains, hills, fast flowing rivers and waterfalls. The morning after arriving in Lauterbrunnen, we headed to the local train station for a 2 or so hour train ride to the 'Top Of Europe', a train station right up in the upper reaches of the surrounding mountain ranges, more particularly Jungfraujoch.
Lauterbrunnen
The views up the mountain were amazing, but nothing compared to the top, approximately 3500m above sea level. In all honesty though, I have never been more cold in my life. The temperature was 'only' 2 degrees celsius, or so, which was fine, but the wind was absolutely insane, and took a bit of getting used to. I can't even begin to imagine how cold it would be in winter.
After going right to the top of the observation tower, as well as a bit of exploring outside, we headed towards the outside area for snow activities and so on. After getting slighty airbourne on the 'ski discs', and performing some sort of 180 degree manouver, I ended up with a nice war wound on my arm, which looked a lot worse than it actually felt.
Once we were back down the mountain, we decided to walk to the nearby Trummelbachfalle, a series of glacial waterfalls and cliffs and so on. Once again, something that needs to be seen to be believed, the falls consist of a huge waterfall and 'river' runnning throughout the mountain, down various cliff faces, and ending up down the bottom in a violent white water river...it was like something out of 'Planet Earth'.
Anyway, back to Germany next...
The journey to Switzerland was pretty cool, as we drove through a heap of nice scenic hills, including a stop in the country of Lichtenstein, which provided another pizza that was better than any of those experienced in Italy. In somewhat of a let down, the best pizza, pasta and icecream I've had have probably all been outside of Italy. I guess being sick and missing the Italian dinner kind of contributed to that.
After lunch in Lichtenstein, we headed over the Swiss border and onto Lucerne, an amazing Lucerne. The whole area is amazingly attractive and clean and it's hard to put into words how nice it looks, as it's something you really need to see to believe.
Lichtenstein
Lucerne
Already in awe of Switzerland, I then headed onto Lauterbrunnen, an insanely picturesque village we were staying in. The village was situated in a valley, surrounded by mountains, hills, fast flowing rivers and waterfalls. The morning after arriving in Lauterbrunnen, we headed to the local train station for a 2 or so hour train ride to the 'Top Of Europe', a train station right up in the upper reaches of the surrounding mountain ranges, more particularly Jungfraujoch.
Lauterbrunnen
The views up the mountain were amazing, but nothing compared to the top, approximately 3500m above sea level. In all honesty though, I have never been more cold in my life. The temperature was 'only' 2 degrees celsius, or so, which was fine, but the wind was absolutely insane, and took a bit of getting used to. I can't even begin to imagine how cold it would be in winter.
After going right to the top of the observation tower, as well as a bit of exploring outside, we headed towards the outside area for snow activities and so on. After getting slighty airbourne on the 'ski discs', and performing some sort of 180 degree manouver, I ended up with a nice war wound on my arm, which looked a lot worse than it actually felt.
Once we were back down the mountain, we decided to walk to the nearby Trummelbachfalle, a series of glacial waterfalls and cliffs and so on. Once again, something that needs to be seen to be believed, the falls consist of a huge waterfall and 'river' runnning throughout the mountain, down various cliff faces, and ending up down the bottom in a violent white water river...it was like something out of 'Planet Earth'.
Anyway, back to Germany next...
Czech Republic & Germany
So the Czech Republic was pretty cool, and I'm glad we spent a good three days there. It isn't as 'westernised' as everywhere else we had been so far, and it makes me want to travel further into Eastern Europe, something I'll hopefully get to do in the coming few months.
After leaving the picturesque Austria, we headed off to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. On the way there, we stopped in a smallish town called Cesky Kromlov, which was reportedly the filming location for parts of the movie 'Hostel'... I wasn't able to recognise anything, though... The village itself was interesting, most notably the bear enclosure that they have situated on the outside of the castle that overlooks the town.
Cesky Kromlov
After looking around the outskirts of Prague, and the local castle there, we checked into the accomodation and enjoyed some Beef Goulash. Ahah, I talk about food so much in this blog.
The next day we got to explore more of Prague, which has a tinge of 'medieval' about it, before heading for a ferry cruise down the Vltava River that runs through town, with a complimentary buffet (more food). After the satisfactory lunch and cruise, we headed to a pub within Prague known as the 'Beer Factory'. Essentially, you sit at a table as you would at any normal bar, except, in the middle of the table is a beer tap, from which you can pour as much beer as you want. Then, when you decide to leave, you just pay for what you've drunk (which was about 750 Czech ... or $5.50 Australian a LITRE). Oh, and another thing, there's a big screen projector on the wall, that displays a giant scoreboard of all the tables, and how much they've drunk. Good times.
Prague
The next day started off with a two and a half hour guided bike ride through Prague. This ride brought back memories of my 'younger days', as me and 'The Destroyer' (my bike) carved up the streets, parks and paths of Prague, terrorizing pedestrians, cars and the like. I also managed to see a few sites within Prague, whilst enjoying an ice cream and icy cold coca cola along the way.
John Lennon Wall, Prague
After perusing a museum one is only likely to find in Eastern Europe, I headed back to the hostel, and took advantage of the free wireless internet... something which is as rare as a Dockers finals appearance ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Hahaha, got the best reaction from people sitting near me as I read that back out loud.
Anyway, after finishing up in Prague, we headed on the bus towards Germany and the Olympic city of Munich. As I was only staying in Munich for the one night, everything was pretty rushed, and there wasn't a great deal of sight seeing to be done, besides looking through the city centre, and hugely overrated glockenspiel (clock with dancing figurine things that come out of it... trust me, it sucked.)
Glockenspiel
Munich
Munich had an abundance of shops to keep me entertained though, including perhaps the hugest electronics store I have ever seen, and quite a few clothes stores with outfits as outrageous and quirky as the people that would wear them.
After checking into the hostel, I headed to a local beerhall, for the beginning of the nights festivities. Despite not being a huge fan of pork, the porn knuckle was awesome, possibly improved by the accompanying stein of beer. Traditional German dancing and singing was the 'entertainment' throughout the dinner, and I realised Germans like to 'toast' every five minutes.
Munich
The nightclub we went to in Munich was amusing in the sense that it was 100% identical to any club in Perth. Same music, same kind of people, same drinks, everything. I don't know what I expected, but I guess I expected it to not be SO similar.
I arrived back at the hostel in the early hours of the morning, and crashed into bed like a Curtly Ambrose bouncer crashed into the ribs of many Australian openers (okay, I'll stop now), and caught a few hours sleep before the early start and trip to Switzerland ahead of me.
After leaving the picturesque Austria, we headed off to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. On the way there, we stopped in a smallish town called Cesky Kromlov, which was reportedly the filming location for parts of the movie 'Hostel'... I wasn't able to recognise anything, though... The village itself was interesting, most notably the bear enclosure that they have situated on the outside of the castle that overlooks the town.
Cesky Kromlov
After looking around the outskirts of Prague, and the local castle there, we checked into the accomodation and enjoyed some Beef Goulash. Ahah, I talk about food so much in this blog.
The next day we got to explore more of Prague, which has a tinge of 'medieval' about it, before heading for a ferry cruise down the Vltava River that runs through town, with a complimentary buffet (more food). After the satisfactory lunch and cruise, we headed to a pub within Prague known as the 'Beer Factory'. Essentially, you sit at a table as you would at any normal bar, except, in the middle of the table is a beer tap, from which you can pour as much beer as you want. Then, when you decide to leave, you just pay for what you've drunk (which was about 750 Czech ... or $5.50 Australian a LITRE). Oh, and another thing, there's a big screen projector on the wall, that displays a giant scoreboard of all the tables, and how much they've drunk. Good times.
Prague
The next day started off with a two and a half hour guided bike ride through Prague. This ride brought back memories of my 'younger days', as me and 'The Destroyer' (my bike) carved up the streets, parks and paths of Prague, terrorizing pedestrians, cars and the like. I also managed to see a few sites within Prague, whilst enjoying an ice cream and icy cold coca cola along the way.
John Lennon Wall, Prague
After perusing a museum one is only likely to find in Eastern Europe, I headed back to the hostel, and took advantage of the free wireless internet... something which is as rare as a Dockers finals appearance ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! Hahaha, got the best reaction from people sitting near me as I read that back out loud.
Anyway, after finishing up in Prague, we headed on the bus towards Germany and the Olympic city of Munich. As I was only staying in Munich for the one night, everything was pretty rushed, and there wasn't a great deal of sight seeing to be done, besides looking through the city centre, and hugely overrated glockenspiel (clock with dancing figurine things that come out of it... trust me, it sucked.)
Glockenspiel
Munich
Munich had an abundance of shops to keep me entertained though, including perhaps the hugest electronics store I have ever seen, and quite a few clothes stores with outfits as outrageous and quirky as the people that would wear them.
After checking into the hostel, I headed to a local beerhall, for the beginning of the nights festivities. Despite not being a huge fan of pork, the porn knuckle was awesome, possibly improved by the accompanying stein of beer. Traditional German dancing and singing was the 'entertainment' throughout the dinner, and I realised Germans like to 'toast' every five minutes.
Munich
The nightclub we went to in Munich was amusing in the sense that it was 100% identical to any club in Perth. Same music, same kind of people, same drinks, everything. I don't know what I expected, but I guess I expected it to not be SO similar.
I arrived back at the hostel in the early hours of the morning, and crashed into bed like a Curtly Ambrose bouncer crashed into the ribs of many Australian openers (okay, I'll stop now), and caught a few hours sleep before the early start and trip to Switzerland ahead of me.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Austria
The massive 8 hour bus trip from Venice to Vienna was suprisingly easy, I guess that's generally the case when you sleep most of it, as I, and many others on the coach seemed to do.
Austria
In between a few stops at my second home, Autogrilles, interspersed with some insanely nice river/mountain/valley combinations, the trip was rather event free.
After arriving into Austria, and a quick drive around the city on the coach, we settled into the hostel for an hour or so, before getting changed for dinner, and the nights entertainment – a Mozart and Strauss concert in a concert hall in Vienna.
After considerable amounts of European food over the last few weeks, we ended up at none other than an Australian Pub... in the streets of Vienna. I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had ostrich, grasshoppers or crocodile before, but this pub had the lot...including icy cold Coopers, which was the first Australian beer we had experienced (other than Fosters), since we departed. It's really weird that upon leaving the country, and being on the other side of the world, that you realise how patriotic you can be, and how much you enjoy certain things about Australia, as well as feeling almost subconciously compelled to act Australian, and let everyone know you're Australian – even if you think such attitudes are a bit stupid normally.
Aussie Pub in Vienna...
The Mozart and Strauss performance, which included a bit of ballet and opera, was suprisingly extremely enjoyable, and I felt all the more cultured and learned for having been there, if only for the hour following the concert. While the hall in which the performance took place was smaller than expected, the sound and views were still pretty good, and I even managed to down some of the complimentary champagne.
Mozart and Strauss Concert
The next day was spent exploring Vienna, which could almost be described as a smaller, less busy, and more modern version of Paris, although many may beg to differ. The city (and country as a whole, so far), is all very attractive and clean, and has endless amounts of old, classic buildings much like a lot of European cities.
After looking at a few monuments, as well as the home of the Vienna Boys Choir, we headed to a nice cafe and enjoyed coffee, apple strudel and an omelette, before heading to Stadt Park for a bit.
A bit more exploring of Vienna kept us busy until we headed to a nearby Schapps museum to sample the goods (which included Absinthe), and get a bit of a history lesson on the place itself. Having taken advantage of the included free samples, I headed off to the Schonbrunn Palace, which is just this epicly huge uh.. Palace, with massive gardens. The whole time I was walking around, I just kept thinking how fun it would be to run amok through the gardens, but much like most gardens/lawns throughout Europe, walking/running on the grass is strictly forbidden.
Schnapps Museum
Schonbrunn Palace
From Schonbrunn Palace I spent the evening at another theme park, and sampled some local food, including an awesome schnitzel, before heading back to the hostel, and getting ready to head into the eastern section of Europe, the Czech Republic the next day.
Austria
In between a few stops at my second home, Autogrilles, interspersed with some insanely nice river/mountain/valley combinations, the trip was rather event free.
After arriving into Austria, and a quick drive around the city on the coach, we settled into the hostel for an hour or so, before getting changed for dinner, and the nights entertainment – a Mozart and Strauss concert in a concert hall in Vienna.
After considerable amounts of European food over the last few weeks, we ended up at none other than an Australian Pub... in the streets of Vienna. I don't know about anyone else, but I've never had ostrich, grasshoppers or crocodile before, but this pub had the lot...including icy cold Coopers, which was the first Australian beer we had experienced (other than Fosters), since we departed. It's really weird that upon leaving the country, and being on the other side of the world, that you realise how patriotic you can be, and how much you enjoy certain things about Australia, as well as feeling almost subconciously compelled to act Australian, and let everyone know you're Australian – even if you think such attitudes are a bit stupid normally.
Aussie Pub in Vienna...
The Mozart and Strauss performance, which included a bit of ballet and opera, was suprisingly extremely enjoyable, and I felt all the more cultured and learned for having been there, if only for the hour following the concert. While the hall in which the performance took place was smaller than expected, the sound and views were still pretty good, and I even managed to down some of the complimentary champagne.
Mozart and Strauss Concert
The next day was spent exploring Vienna, which could almost be described as a smaller, less busy, and more modern version of Paris, although many may beg to differ. The city (and country as a whole, so far), is all very attractive and clean, and has endless amounts of old, classic buildings much like a lot of European cities.
After looking at a few monuments, as well as the home of the Vienna Boys Choir, we headed to a nice cafe and enjoyed coffee, apple strudel and an omelette, before heading to Stadt Park for a bit.
A bit more exploring of Vienna kept us busy until we headed to a nearby Schapps museum to sample the goods (which included Absinthe), and get a bit of a history lesson on the place itself. Having taken advantage of the included free samples, I headed off to the Schonbrunn Palace, which is just this epicly huge uh.. Palace, with massive gardens. The whole time I was walking around, I just kept thinking how fun it would be to run amok through the gardens, but much like most gardens/lawns throughout Europe, walking/running on the grass is strictly forbidden.
Schnapps Museum
Schonbrunn Palace
From Schonbrunn Palace I spent the evening at another theme park, and sampled some local food, including an awesome schnitzel, before heading back to the hostel, and getting ready to head into the eastern section of Europe, the Czech Republic the next day.
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