I'm such an idiot. I have a USB I brought with me, how about I utilise it? Yeah, Nicole? *smacks head*
So I'll post stuff tomorrow. I also need to apply for uni for 2010 so I cand defer it until 2011. I know, why don't I just apply next year? Because I like making plans. Simple.
Dresden was very beautiful. No one speaks English so my German has gotten a lot better. My head does hurt though from so much thinking. Thankfully I'm in Bielefeld now and the people speak English.
Just letting you know I'm still alive and truckin'.
Also, where I'm staying I have a whole floor to myself. My own living room, my own room, my own bathroom. It's fab! And Tante Monika just leaves me do my thang. That's right - thang. Why don't I live here? Actually there is nothing in Bielefeld, really. But that's not really why I'm here. I could spend my entire day asleep. I bought some iron tablets because I suspect this may be the cause of my constant tiredness.
So I need to find a doctor here, plus a hairdresser (I really need to get my fringe trimmed, I look ridiculous) and someone to tame my wild, bushy eyebrows.
Okay I better go...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Music, prostitutes, graffiti and sex clubs. This post has it all.
I'm really annoyed I didn't upload most of my music onto my computer and now have to download it all. So, I'm beginning with my first love: bands of the 1990s, despite the fact that when these bands were at their peak I was still in primary school all innocent and such. Oh, to have been born just a few years earlier. Actually not really, that would make me pretty old and I'm already trying to brace myself for the big 25 next year. It’s actually not that old, who am I kidding? I need to stop talking to 18 year olds. On the pub-crawl the Irish guys were about 19... and you could tell. In saying that though, I'm not sure I was that stupid at 20, it might have just been them.
Well, I was going to go on the bike tour yesterday only to realise it's exactly like the walking tour (which I've done), but on bikes. So I decided to do the alternative tour again. The guy was hungover though and not really into it, so if he can do tour guiding, I'm pretty sure I can. He's an artist too; this town is full of them! I'm starting to think I'm not cool enough or creative enough for this city. Maybe if I dye my hair black again and become all edgy this will change things. No? Yeah, didn't think so. My hair can stay a lovely shade of low-maintenance brown.
So, something I did learn this time around that the other guy, Dave, never mentioned were a few laws that differ to most cities. In Berlin you can pee in public, have sex in public as long as you're not near families; marijuana has been decriminalised and prostitution is legal. This explains why I've seen quite a number of women dressed in corsets, extremely short frilly skirts and stockings; it's a very baby doll look, but obviously with a much more seductive slant. They even have their own union and if registered as a prostitute, the government provides free health checks. This whole leaglising of prostitution was basically to take these women out of the criminalised hands of pimps and dealers and provide a safer work place for them. The only problem with this is, I’ve read; that more than half of the prostitutes who work in Germany are eastern European and so don’t have the proper working permits and thus these laws and unions don’t apply to them. Now, not that I think prostitution is an ideal avenue for anyone and hopefully a career that one can avoid, but it's comforting to hear of a city that recognises that this is an unfortunate aspect of society that will always be present, and so by giving these women support, 1. doesn't marginalise them in society, but instead actually recognises them as citizens and 2. offers a, hopefully, much safer working environment. I’m sure there are many problems that will continually plague the women in this industry, many that I'm sure I am not even aware of, but they’re certainly doing more for women in this situation than I can imagine the Australian government is. I'm no expert on the subject by any means, but I can just imagine prostitutes in Sydney have little to no resources. It’s really sad when certain aspects of society, especially those that don’t fit into a conventional category are completely marginalised.
From just going out in Sydney, prostitutes are not treated with any sort of dignity or respect from the average person, while here it all seems a bit different. They're just left to do what they're doing, no one says anything, some people have a look - usually foreigners who do this. I walked passed a girl last night who was having a conversation with an English speaking couple about her job and the situation in Berlin. But like I said, it’s not an ideal situation that there are women who feel they need to sell themselves; it is really sad. I wonder what other support networks there are for these women in terms of even trying to get them out of the sex industry. It would be interesting to look into.
Mainly, it just makes me think of the girls I would see on a night out in the city and the terrible way in which they are by both men and women. I don’t think I could ever turn around to another woman, especially someone in obviously such a desperate situation, and just completely disregard them as a person; as someone who is 'disgusting' or a 'waste-of-space'. I think in large part, people need to re-evaluate their pre-determined perceptions and see that not everyone fits into a neat little box of what life is supposed to be. Who knows why this has become a post about prostitution and why I am suddenly their spokesperson; but I find the social issues of Berlin very interesting. As a woman, I feel very safe walking around Berlin alone; I hope this city doesn't prove me wrong. I certainly like its values. If only Australia weren't so conservative and people weren't so easily shocked by things, or more accurately, weren’t so inclined to turn a blind eye to uncomfortable issues that yes, perhaps don't concern them on a daily basis, but are in fact serious social issues that need to be addressed - and I'm not just talking about the prostitutes of Sydney either. But moving on before I get too fired up.
SO, during the tour I met a girl called Alina. She is American but was originally born in the Ukraine and speaks Russian. She moved when she was four and has just graduated from Berkley University in California. She is really nice, travelling alone, so when we found out we were both by ourselves she invited me to dinner with some people she had met. See below pic:
Me, Anna, Anne Marie, Marcel and Alina
They are all really lovely. Anna is 24, Australian and from BrisVegas and a nurse, Anne Marie is 22, American and from Chicago. She is an artist and just has this really cool, quirky view towards life, really smart but really down to earth. Her sister was there also but she wasn't feeling well. Her name is Caitlin and she is 32. Currently doing her Doctorate in Social Science (I think) and conducting research on statistics of gifted children in schools and their curriculum, while also devising curriculum for these kids. Very serious person but still really nice. Marcel is Canadian and... I don't think I found out what he is doing, and Alina studied International Communications and Foreign Affairs, or something to that affect. So, very accomplished people in this photo. We had pasta at this little place and then sat near the Brandenburg Gates and chatted and joked around into the night. It was really nice; we exchanged contact details and promised to skype. It's so funny how people you meet in just one day become your best friend for a little while.
Well I want to talk about the alternative tour a little more.
The place we visited was a place called Tacheles on Oranienburger Straße, which is a building that is filled with graffiti. It was once used by the Nazis during the war, then made into a shopping centre, then was to be made into apartments but the wall came down and there was suddenly nothing there. So all these artists of the east and west inhabited it and made it what it is today. There is a global warming art gallery right up the top, the artist is up there too, a little shop where you can buy art and a cinema. Downstairs is a cool open-air bar on sand (which I went to on the pub crawl, would love to go back). There is also a metal art gallery around the side. It's all very amazing and bizarre at the same time. I look at the work and think - where did you think up that, how did you even construct this? I can't even draw a stick figure and have neither the inspiration nor the handy work to create a piece. Feeling very inadequate in the creative stakes here. But nevermind, I'm not trying to make it as an artist so what does it matter?
But here are some pictures because it is amazing.
And this is an image I want to show you (below). It's a marking of where the wall used to stand. It's marked in brick all through Berlin. I really love it; I think it is so important to keep a reminder of where this country used to be only 20 years ago. That's in most of our lifetime, which I suppose is why I'm so disappointed with the painting of the wall. It just renders it a bit meaningless to me, and I'm sure a lot of people now. There are still parts of the wall that retain the original graffiti and markings, but the longest strip of the wall has been altered forever and that is sad. It can never be taken back.
Brick markings of where the wall once ran
The rest of the tour went around Berlin showing various graffiti work which I'll also post, talked about the rivals between different graffiti artist groups, the ever changing culture of Berlin. Also, talked about how commercial buildings and apartment blocks infiltrating predominantly artistic areas are threatening the free-spirited culture of Berlin, while also bringing renting costs up significantly and thus almost threatening the poorer people of Berlin who can only afford to live in these areas. One bar, Club 25 has already been given their notice to leave their premises. I think they have to be out by the 20th, which is sad because I'll be in Dresden then. There's so much more information that goes with this but as I am not an expert and really can't remember it all, just the basics, this is all I can offer you.
Oh, and he showed us some places where some, apparently, super wild clubs are. Such as KitKat Club, which is basically a sex fetish club where one must dress in bondage wear or some form of fetish gear. Guests are allowed to openly engage in sex in the venue and parties run from night all the way into the day. It sounds pretty crazy, a completely sexually uninhibited club. Lauren C wants me to go to do research for our travel website and write an article about it. I don't know... that seems a bit too wild for me... I think I'll need to bring someone with me. So Sarah, come to Berlin now so we can go to a sex club. Do we even have these in Sydney? I feel so sheltered. Our guide was like, "Don't go on Monday's, it's crap." so it seems he is quite the frequenter. A little glimpse into my guide's personal life I could have done without. Though he is very pretty.
Another club is Panorama Bar, which you're not allowed to take cameras into. Sounds interesting, I don't remember too much but apparently it has cubbyholes?? Once again, I'm not going by myself, I'm taking someone with me. When I went out with the Australian boys all we did was go to a pub, drink beer and talk about the film, Chopper. Well they did, I've only seen that movie once. It must be a guy thing. Male's conversations are incredibly boring.
And speaking of Australian males, why must they be so embarrassing? Maybe it's just the ones I have met, but they talk so loudly, in the most ocker accent (perhaps even putting it on, "Hey everyone, I'm Australian!"), and talk about how they're so grateful they got to see the final day of the Ashes series. Who fucking cares! Oh, and their blatant homophobia. Okay, Berlin is a very gay-friendly city. Get used to it. When our guide was speaking about this, and yes, he did have a camp way of speaking, the Aussie guys in our group just seemed so threatened by this, making inappropriate comments about gays and the tour guide. It was so rude. Deal with your sexuality issues before travelling please, because you're just an embarrassment to yourself. If you don't want to meet people from all walks of life then stay in the Shire.
Wow, I've done so much ranting today. I'm on a roll.
Okay I'll post more artwork because it's really cool:
Graffiti art throughout the city
Well I'm off to Dresden tomorrow for a few days to see some family. Staying with my Opa's sister Dorle. She doesn't speak much English and my German is pretty abysmal so we're going to have a great time trying to communicate. We can smile at each other. But she's really lovely, she said I could stay as long as I like. It's really cute; she's going to have a big sign at the train station saying 'Nicole' and a blue umbrella. Ha! How sweet. So I think I'll stay about three days and she's going to show me around Dresden, which is meant to be really beautiful.
Then I'm heading to Bielefeld, which is where my mum was born. My Great Auntie Monika lives there and I'll be staying with her. She is the wife of my Oma's brother and speaks a little bit of English. Her daughters will also be around and they speak English, which is good. Then I may head down to Dortmund and visit Sarah and then back to Berlin. To cut costs I'm thinking of doing this car-pooling thing. It's like registered hitchhiking. I know! It sounds really dodgy and like I'll end up on the Australian Embassy's missing persons list, but Alina has done it three times in Germany now and is actually in a car on her way to Dresden right now. So, we'll see. It's only 25 euros back to Berlin as opposed to 69 euros by train and what's life without a little could-possibly-get-kidnapped risk? At any rate, I'm excited about seeing family and having home cooked meals and washing my clothes. I'm currently on the third day wear of all my clothes because I want to wait until I get to Dorle's house so I don't have to pay. I'm so cheap. I'm doing pretty well money wise.
I love the freedom of being by myself and calling all the shots. It's very liberating. I've never had it before; I almost don't know what to do with myself. And sure, at night it can get lonely, but all you have to do is get over the shyness and chat to someone. Like last night, I went to have a shower and ended up chatting to this girl from Lebanon for about an hour. There were a few language issues, which were really funny, but she was really cute. She's by herself too and having a few of the same fears as me, mainly to do with safety - which I'm not having too much of an issue here in Berlin. I'm actually really proud of myself for not totally freaking out at the idea of being alone in a foreign city on the other side of the world. I'm actually doing pretty well. Go me!
Okay, I think that will do.
I'm not doing anything tonight, I'm pretty tired, I think I'll go to bed early. I should probably write in my travel journal, that thing is being pitifully neglected. It's become more of a notebook for things I need to do, random thoughts, places to go than an actual diary. Nevermind.
Well, I was going to go on the bike tour yesterday only to realise it's exactly like the walking tour (which I've done), but on bikes. So I decided to do the alternative tour again. The guy was hungover though and not really into it, so if he can do tour guiding, I'm pretty sure I can. He's an artist too; this town is full of them! I'm starting to think I'm not cool enough or creative enough for this city. Maybe if I dye my hair black again and become all edgy this will change things. No? Yeah, didn't think so. My hair can stay a lovely shade of low-maintenance brown.
So, something I did learn this time around that the other guy, Dave, never mentioned were a few laws that differ to most cities. In Berlin you can pee in public, have sex in public as long as you're not near families; marijuana has been decriminalised and prostitution is legal. This explains why I've seen quite a number of women dressed in corsets, extremely short frilly skirts and stockings; it's a very baby doll look, but obviously with a much more seductive slant. They even have their own union and if registered as a prostitute, the government provides free health checks. This whole leaglising of prostitution was basically to take these women out of the criminalised hands of pimps and dealers and provide a safer work place for them. The only problem with this is, I’ve read; that more than half of the prostitutes who work in Germany are eastern European and so don’t have the proper working permits and thus these laws and unions don’t apply to them. Now, not that I think prostitution is an ideal avenue for anyone and hopefully a career that one can avoid, but it's comforting to hear of a city that recognises that this is an unfortunate aspect of society that will always be present, and so by giving these women support, 1. doesn't marginalise them in society, but instead actually recognises them as citizens and 2. offers a, hopefully, much safer working environment. I’m sure there are many problems that will continually plague the women in this industry, many that I'm sure I am not even aware of, but they’re certainly doing more for women in this situation than I can imagine the Australian government is. I'm no expert on the subject by any means, but I can just imagine prostitutes in Sydney have little to no resources. It’s really sad when certain aspects of society, especially those that don’t fit into a conventional category are completely marginalised.
From just going out in Sydney, prostitutes are not treated with any sort of dignity or respect from the average person, while here it all seems a bit different. They're just left to do what they're doing, no one says anything, some people have a look - usually foreigners who do this. I walked passed a girl last night who was having a conversation with an English speaking couple about her job and the situation in Berlin. But like I said, it’s not an ideal situation that there are women who feel they need to sell themselves; it is really sad. I wonder what other support networks there are for these women in terms of even trying to get them out of the sex industry. It would be interesting to look into.
Mainly, it just makes me think of the girls I would see on a night out in the city and the terrible way in which they are by both men and women. I don’t think I could ever turn around to another woman, especially someone in obviously such a desperate situation, and just completely disregard them as a person; as someone who is 'disgusting' or a 'waste-of-space'. I think in large part, people need to re-evaluate their pre-determined perceptions and see that not everyone fits into a neat little box of what life is supposed to be. Who knows why this has become a post about prostitution and why I am suddenly their spokesperson; but I find the social issues of Berlin very interesting. As a woman, I feel very safe walking around Berlin alone; I hope this city doesn't prove me wrong. I certainly like its values. If only Australia weren't so conservative and people weren't so easily shocked by things, or more accurately, weren’t so inclined to turn a blind eye to uncomfortable issues that yes, perhaps don't concern them on a daily basis, but are in fact serious social issues that need to be addressed - and I'm not just talking about the prostitutes of Sydney either. But moving on before I get too fired up.
SO, during the tour I met a girl called Alina. She is American but was originally born in the Ukraine and speaks Russian. She moved when she was four and has just graduated from Berkley University in California. She is really nice, travelling alone, so when we found out we were both by ourselves she invited me to dinner with some people she had met. See below pic:
Me, Anna, Anne Marie, Marcel and Alina
They are all really lovely. Anna is 24, Australian and from BrisVegas and a nurse, Anne Marie is 22, American and from Chicago. She is an artist and just has this really cool, quirky view towards life, really smart but really down to earth. Her sister was there also but she wasn't feeling well. Her name is Caitlin and she is 32. Currently doing her Doctorate in Social Science (I think) and conducting research on statistics of gifted children in schools and their curriculum, while also devising curriculum for these kids. Very serious person but still really nice. Marcel is Canadian and... I don't think I found out what he is doing, and Alina studied International Communications and Foreign Affairs, or something to that affect. So, very accomplished people in this photo. We had pasta at this little place and then sat near the Brandenburg Gates and chatted and joked around into the night. It was really nice; we exchanged contact details and promised to skype. It's so funny how people you meet in just one day become your best friend for a little while.
Well I want to talk about the alternative tour a little more.
The place we visited was a place called Tacheles on Oranienburger Straße, which is a building that is filled with graffiti. It was once used by the Nazis during the war, then made into a shopping centre, then was to be made into apartments but the wall came down and there was suddenly nothing there. So all these artists of the east and west inhabited it and made it what it is today. There is a global warming art gallery right up the top, the artist is up there too, a little shop where you can buy art and a cinema. Downstairs is a cool open-air bar on sand (which I went to on the pub crawl, would love to go back). There is also a metal art gallery around the side. It's all very amazing and bizarre at the same time. I look at the work and think - where did you think up that, how did you even construct this? I can't even draw a stick figure and have neither the inspiration nor the handy work to create a piece. Feeling very inadequate in the creative stakes here. But nevermind, I'm not trying to make it as an artist so what does it matter?
But here are some pictures because it is amazing.
And this is an image I want to show you (below). It's a marking of where the wall used to stand. It's marked in brick all through Berlin. I really love it; I think it is so important to keep a reminder of where this country used to be only 20 years ago. That's in most of our lifetime, which I suppose is why I'm so disappointed with the painting of the wall. It just renders it a bit meaningless to me, and I'm sure a lot of people now. There are still parts of the wall that retain the original graffiti and markings, but the longest strip of the wall has been altered forever and that is sad. It can never be taken back.
Brick markings of where the wall once ran
The rest of the tour went around Berlin showing various graffiti work which I'll also post, talked about the rivals between different graffiti artist groups, the ever changing culture of Berlin. Also, talked about how commercial buildings and apartment blocks infiltrating predominantly artistic areas are threatening the free-spirited culture of Berlin, while also bringing renting costs up significantly and thus almost threatening the poorer people of Berlin who can only afford to live in these areas. One bar, Club 25 has already been given their notice to leave their premises. I think they have to be out by the 20th, which is sad because I'll be in Dresden then. There's so much more information that goes with this but as I am not an expert and really can't remember it all, just the basics, this is all I can offer you.
Oh, and he showed us some places where some, apparently, super wild clubs are. Such as KitKat Club, which is basically a sex fetish club where one must dress in bondage wear or some form of fetish gear. Guests are allowed to openly engage in sex in the venue and parties run from night all the way into the day. It sounds pretty crazy, a completely sexually uninhibited club. Lauren C wants me to go to do research for our travel website and write an article about it. I don't know... that seems a bit too wild for me... I think I'll need to bring someone with me. So Sarah, come to Berlin now so we can go to a sex club. Do we even have these in Sydney? I feel so sheltered. Our guide was like, "Don't go on Monday's, it's crap." so it seems he is quite the frequenter. A little glimpse into my guide's personal life I could have done without. Though he is very pretty.
Another club is Panorama Bar, which you're not allowed to take cameras into. Sounds interesting, I don't remember too much but apparently it has cubbyholes?? Once again, I'm not going by myself, I'm taking someone with me. When I went out with the Australian boys all we did was go to a pub, drink beer and talk about the film, Chopper. Well they did, I've only seen that movie once. It must be a guy thing. Male's conversations are incredibly boring.
And speaking of Australian males, why must they be so embarrassing? Maybe it's just the ones I have met, but they talk so loudly, in the most ocker accent (perhaps even putting it on, "Hey everyone, I'm Australian!"), and talk about how they're so grateful they got to see the final day of the Ashes series. Who fucking cares! Oh, and their blatant homophobia. Okay, Berlin is a very gay-friendly city. Get used to it. When our guide was speaking about this, and yes, he did have a camp way of speaking, the Aussie guys in our group just seemed so threatened by this, making inappropriate comments about gays and the tour guide. It was so rude. Deal with your sexuality issues before travelling please, because you're just an embarrassment to yourself. If you don't want to meet people from all walks of life then stay in the Shire.
Wow, I've done so much ranting today. I'm on a roll.
Okay I'll post more artwork because it's really cool:
Graffiti art throughout the city
Well I'm off to Dresden tomorrow for a few days to see some family. Staying with my Opa's sister Dorle. She doesn't speak much English and my German is pretty abysmal so we're going to have a great time trying to communicate. We can smile at each other. But she's really lovely, she said I could stay as long as I like. It's really cute; she's going to have a big sign at the train station saying 'Nicole' and a blue umbrella. Ha! How sweet. So I think I'll stay about three days and she's going to show me around Dresden, which is meant to be really beautiful.
Then I'm heading to Bielefeld, which is where my mum was born. My Great Auntie Monika lives there and I'll be staying with her. She is the wife of my Oma's brother and speaks a little bit of English. Her daughters will also be around and they speak English, which is good. Then I may head down to Dortmund and visit Sarah and then back to Berlin. To cut costs I'm thinking of doing this car-pooling thing. It's like registered hitchhiking. I know! It sounds really dodgy and like I'll end up on the Australian Embassy's missing persons list, but Alina has done it three times in Germany now and is actually in a car on her way to Dresden right now. So, we'll see. It's only 25 euros back to Berlin as opposed to 69 euros by train and what's life without a little could-possibly-get-kidnapped risk? At any rate, I'm excited about seeing family and having home cooked meals and washing my clothes. I'm currently on the third day wear of all my clothes because I want to wait until I get to Dorle's house so I don't have to pay. I'm so cheap. I'm doing pretty well money wise.
I love the freedom of being by myself and calling all the shots. It's very liberating. I've never had it before; I almost don't know what to do with myself. And sure, at night it can get lonely, but all you have to do is get over the shyness and chat to someone. Like last night, I went to have a shower and ended up chatting to this girl from Lebanon for about an hour. There were a few language issues, which were really funny, but she was really cute. She's by herself too and having a few of the same fears as me, mainly to do with safety - which I'm not having too much of an issue here in Berlin. I'm actually really proud of myself for not totally freaking out at the idea of being alone in a foreign city on the other side of the world. I'm actually doing pretty well. Go me!
Okay, I think that will do.
I'm not doing anything tonight, I'm pretty tired, I think I'll go to bed early. I should probably write in my travel journal, that thing is being pitifully neglected. It's become more of a notebook for things I need to do, random thoughts, places to go than an actual diary. Nevermind.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
From Rome to Berlin...
I just wrote a whole blog and my computer is not letting me cut and paste it into this thing. GAH!
My hand touching the wall.
So this post is going to be super boring because I can't be stuffed typing what I had. Grrrness.
Okay basic run down... bunch of Christians walking around in my hostel courtyard singing, holding candles and a statue of the Virgin Mary. Ahhh, what?
what else... Lauren has decided she doesn't want to work in Berlin and so is currently in London doing, something. Not sure what. So I'm in Berlin, at my hostel just kickin' it by myself. Went out last night with these two Aussie guys from my dorm (of which I am the only girl!) and had dinner and then drinks which was nice. They're from Melbourne so they got none of my Sydney reference jokes. We were meant to go to the concentration camps today but I got back to the hostel at 4am, them at about 5am. I didn't hear them get in. They paid for my taxi which was sweet but I was so tired. And one of them decided he liked me and was trying to get with me so by that time I had had enough. So instead I saw Harry Potter again, then went to Alexanderplatz for a bit of a shop.
Anyway, I have my laptop. Hurrah! Which means I can now post pictures. Like this one.
Me in front of the Berlin wall
Did the whole free walking tour thing and saw the wall, the gates, brick markings on the roads where the Berlin wall used to stand, Jewish memorial, Hitler's bunker which is just a car park. See for yourself:
Hitler's bunker
Apparently it was a conscious decision to not mark where Hitler spent his final days as a way of paying him no respect and also so neo-Nazis don't make it a shrine. It was pretty messed up seeing it though.
Okay what else... did the alternative tour which was pretty kewl... yes it needs to be spelt that way for this occasion. Actually, I'm sure the rebels of Berlin would murder me if they knew I'd referred to their super cool culture like that. This camp British guy took us around Berlin, told us and showed us the sites of Berlin's sub graffiti culture, some squats and ex-squats, totally hip places to hang and finished off with the East Side Gallery which is pretty awesome, but I liked that the wall was just covered in graffiti from before it came down. Now I'm not sure what all this new art means. A new Berlin, looking to a more prosperous and harmonious future? Okay so those who don't know, the East Side Gallery is a long strip of the Berlin Wall that the goverment has had artists come in and repaint with messages of peace, unification etc.To me, it just seems a bit forced and almost like a covering up of the strength and perseverance of the Berliner's spirit.
My hand touching the wall.
It's pretty interesting for me to see this as my Opa would tell me stories of how he would constantly go from East to West when Germany was first divided, eventually being caught by the Russians. That old man has some crazy stories. And I think my life is pretty tough at times!
Okay will do more of Belin later. I'm still up to Rome!!
Okay.... last day in Rome we head to the Vatican. Climbed those crazy 551 steps to the top of the Basilica. In front of Kristi and I were these two Spanish teenagers who kept stopping to take pictures. I really thought Kristi was going to knock one of them out, because up in those stairways it is hot and muggy, we were sweaty and in desperate need of fresh air and these guys were just acting like they had all the time in the world; no there aren't another 20 people behind you waiting to get up. Move!
The view was gorgeous though and I'm pretty sure my leg muscles are growing by the day! We then went down into the church which was stunning. I'm supposed to be Catholic, was baptized, did the holy communion and confirmation shindig... but I don't go to church, don't believe, went to public schools... anyway, Kristi and I see all these people lining up to rub the feet of a statue of some guy. And we're thinking, "Wow, this guy must be really important. It must be Jesus!" so we take snaps of people rubbing "Jesus'" feet. Yeah, it was St. Peter. I'm pretty sure I would have learnt this at holy communion school when i was eight, but I'm also pretty sure I hated going and thus, refused to listen. Stubborn thing, I am.
Oh look, it's Jesu...sorry-Peter! I am going to hell.
And view of Rome, 551 steps high! Bodyattack ain't got shit on that climb.
Right, so... head to the Sistine Chapel which is HUGE! And just filled with the most amazing artwork. Gold star Michelangelo. I tried taking a picture of the ceiling of God giving life to Adam but I had to be quick as the guards were watching, so all my pictures came out blurry. Kristi, on the otherhand, has a great image of it. I'll seek it out.
It was a pretty long day, but we piked out at about 2pm and went back to the hotel. Had McDonalds for dinner.... in our defence the night before we had an amazing dinner of pasta and red wine. We're also pretty sure the waiters wanted us drunk because they were trying to feed us after-dinner spirits. I took one whiff and I was about to vomit. I don't even like the taste of alcohol - except wine. Everything else needs to be watered down by so much orange juice/lemonade/cranberry juice etc etc before I'll touch it.
Me and my Italian red wine.
The next day we got on a plane and headed for Athens! With me guzzling red wine to calm my flying nerves. I hate flying. End of story. Tried doing a bunch of breathing exercises (which usually work!), but all they did was make me feel very light-headed with the lack of fresh air. So, instead I clutched onto Kristi's arm while we took off and landed and listened to calming ocean sounds through my ipod. And we made it! I never had a doubt...
Have uploaded London and Paris pics to my picasa album which you can find at: http://picasaweb.google.com/secretagentnicole
And now I have my laptop back I can begin this section:
Song of the Moment
So Close/So Alive - Just Surrender
This song has been in my head for the passed week. I am so happy to have my emo music back. I love emo music, I don't care what anyone says and that I'm 24. It's ace. Just Surrender, one of the better emo bands who actually never made it big in Australia.
And now I have my laptop back I can begin this section:
Song of the Moment
So Close/So Alive - Just Surrender
This song has been in my head for the passed week. I am so happy to have my emo music back. I love emo music, I don't care what anyone says and that I'm 24. It's ace. Just Surrender, one of the better emo bands who actually never made it big in Australia.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Just a-Romeing around...
I thought up the title myself. Pretty clever eh?
I missed one our driving stories from France so I'm going to backtrack a little here.
SO, Kristi is driving along the highway, Lauren is navigating in the backseat, while I'm in the front trying to control my motion sickness. We're getting closer to our destination and know we have to turn off soon. We see our exit marked on a sign and assume that it is the next exit over and so we take it... as it turns out it is in fact just a pit stop. So, we have to get back onto the highway, a very scary task when you're not used to even just merging on the French highways. But that's fine, we're on now. Must be the next exit. We keep driving along, excited that we can merge onto highways without getting ourselves killed when another exit comes up. Okay, this must be it! That exit sign was ages ago so surely this is it.... no it's another pit stop, and we have to merge back onto the highway. Where the fuck is this exit? Well, as it turns out the French give you lots of time to prepare for their exits because ours didn't come up for another 10 minutes. How confusing! It made us begin to doubt ourselves! Maybe we missed! No, no we didn't... French highways are just stupid. End of story.
As I write this I am currently in Berlin. Such a cool city. Graffiti everywhere, gritty, some ugly modern buildings but it is actually really cool and so are the people. I can't wait until I get an apartment though because I am going crazy constantly being around people. As nice as they are. I'm looking forward to having a closed door. Went on a pub crawl the other night which was super fun. Our roommates are really nice, one left for Prague this morning while the other two - one Canadian, one French Canadian - we've been hanging out with.
The Irish cannot hold their liquor. These 19 year old Irish boys (highlight the word boys) were drunk before it even started and one had passed out by the time we got to the last pub. Spoke to the Irish guide who was really helpful with apartment issues and talked a lot about how awesome the city is to live and how easy it is to make friends. So yay! A lot of Berliners have many holes in their faces (aka piercings) so I'm thinking mine may not be too much of a problem when going to interviews. Hope not, I really don't want to take it.
Haven't begun looking for work yet, we want to get an apartment soon, hopefully by next week, but if it doesn't happen soon I'm going to start looking regardless. I've already mapped out the cities I want to visit while here. Maybe I'll make a timeline. Also want to visit LA to see ALI! Spoke to her on Skype yesterday and it was so good to see a friendly, familiar face.
Anyway... ROME!
I have 7 minutes to write this part.
After eating canned tuna and crackers in our hostel (living on a budget bites sometimes), we hopped on one of those red touristy buses and hit the town. As it turns out the Colosseum is a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Radical! Drive passed that, drive passed the Vatican, head towards Trevi Fountain, Kristi and I spot some shops we want to check out so this is the main reason for our pit stop - not so we can soak up some culture, that would be crazy!
At the fountain I nudge a bunch of American tourists out of the way so I can eat my gelato (which tastes like strawberry hubba bubba) by the fountain. It is 40 degrees today and I could literally just dive right in. But instead I opt for sprinkling water over my arms and legs and throwing coins into the fountain for good luck. Then we head off for some shopping and I buy a cute dress. A very productive day.
3 minutes and counting, lucky I'm a fast typer. There will be no spell check this time so forgive me.
Then we head back to the Colosseum and I insist we go inside and have a squiz, I mean, why not? It is amazing! Our guide is this Italian man in his 50s who is funny but also sleazy, so like pretty much most young Italian men but just 20 years older.
Okay I have to go... will finish this one off later.
Ciao! I'm such a pro.
I missed one our driving stories from France so I'm going to backtrack a little here.
SO, Kristi is driving along the highway, Lauren is navigating in the backseat, while I'm in the front trying to control my motion sickness. We're getting closer to our destination and know we have to turn off soon. We see our exit marked on a sign and assume that it is the next exit over and so we take it... as it turns out it is in fact just a pit stop. So, we have to get back onto the highway, a very scary task when you're not used to even just merging on the French highways. But that's fine, we're on now. Must be the next exit. We keep driving along, excited that we can merge onto highways without getting ourselves killed when another exit comes up. Okay, this must be it! That exit sign was ages ago so surely this is it.... no it's another pit stop, and we have to merge back onto the highway. Where the fuck is this exit? Well, as it turns out the French give you lots of time to prepare for their exits because ours didn't come up for another 10 minutes. How confusing! It made us begin to doubt ourselves! Maybe we missed! No, no we didn't... French highways are just stupid. End of story.
As I write this I am currently in Berlin. Such a cool city. Graffiti everywhere, gritty, some ugly modern buildings but it is actually really cool and so are the people. I can't wait until I get an apartment though because I am going crazy constantly being around people. As nice as they are. I'm looking forward to having a closed door. Went on a pub crawl the other night which was super fun. Our roommates are really nice, one left for Prague this morning while the other two - one Canadian, one French Canadian - we've been hanging out with.
The Irish cannot hold their liquor. These 19 year old Irish boys (highlight the word boys) were drunk before it even started and one had passed out by the time we got to the last pub. Spoke to the Irish guide who was really helpful with apartment issues and talked a lot about how awesome the city is to live and how easy it is to make friends. So yay! A lot of Berliners have many holes in their faces (aka piercings) so I'm thinking mine may not be too much of a problem when going to interviews. Hope not, I really don't want to take it.
Haven't begun looking for work yet, we want to get an apartment soon, hopefully by next week, but if it doesn't happen soon I'm going to start looking regardless. I've already mapped out the cities I want to visit while here. Maybe I'll make a timeline. Also want to visit LA to see ALI! Spoke to her on Skype yesterday and it was so good to see a friendly, familiar face.
Anyway... ROME!
I have 7 minutes to write this part.
After eating canned tuna and crackers in our hostel (living on a budget bites sometimes), we hopped on one of those red touristy buses and hit the town. As it turns out the Colosseum is a short 10 minute walk from our hotel. Radical! Drive passed that, drive passed the Vatican, head towards Trevi Fountain, Kristi and I spot some shops we want to check out so this is the main reason for our pit stop - not so we can soak up some culture, that would be crazy!
At the fountain I nudge a bunch of American tourists out of the way so I can eat my gelato (which tastes like strawberry hubba bubba) by the fountain. It is 40 degrees today and I could literally just dive right in. But instead I opt for sprinkling water over my arms and legs and throwing coins into the fountain for good luck. Then we head off for some shopping and I buy a cute dress. A very productive day.
3 minutes and counting, lucky I'm a fast typer. There will be no spell check this time so forgive me.
Then we head back to the Colosseum and I insist we go inside and have a squiz, I mean, why not? It is amazing! Our guide is this Italian man in his 50s who is funny but also sleazy, so like pretty much most young Italian men but just 20 years older.
Okay I have to go... will finish this one off later.
Ciao! I'm such a pro.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Welcome to the most stressful day of my life...
So... our drive from Chaumont sur Tharonne (about 50km south of Orleans) back to Charles De Gaulle airport. My turn to drive. Oh, and the website to the little bed and breakfast we stayed at is here: www.lepetitclos.com the most amazing little place with the nicest people! Oh, Terry and Rene - be still my beating heart!
So, all was going swimmingly. Had a lovely sleep in my own bed, no Kristi to hog the blanket or the mattress, my own room, lovely breakfast, said goodbye to the owners and was cruising along the highway at a cool 130km/h. Then... we get lost. I'm instructed (and I would like to say this is NO ONE'S fault, I am not pointing the finger at anyone in case anyone starts getting offended... I'm just merely stating facts) to turn off when we should in fact have kept going. This resulted in numerous wrong ways and us ultimately heading in the wrong direction... back to where we had came.
After much merging on and off the highway, the final straw came when we realised we were in fact going in the wrong direction. I pulled over at a pit stop as I was busting for the loo, turned off the engine and stormed out of the car. A mixture of frustration, anger and stress, my legs were like jelly and my hands were shaking. You try driving on the highway in another country for the first time, getting lost and having to keep merging on and off while cars are whizzing by. Not fun.
THEN we were almost at the airport when we missed the turn off and had to keep driving for another 10km. We needed to get petrol as we had to return the car with a full tank, so I do so, go to pay when this shithead thinks he can cut in front of me in the line. I must have been breathing fire by this point because this man backed off so quickly, I'm surprised he didn't cower in the corner. I was not in the mood to let someone go ahead of me. Not. In. The Mood.
Anyway, we returned the car and I have never felt so much relief in my life.We did it! We didn't crash it, we didn't kill each other, and now I can let other people get me from point A to point B. Now, I'm not saying I'll never drive in Europe again... just not within the next 2 decades. But hurrah, what a challenge!
Well after this lovely stress-free time we then had to gun it to Bercy station in Paris and catch our sleeper train to Rome. Those things are tiny! Luckily we had two young girls and their mother in ours because it was so squashy. I kept getting off at the sporadic stops just to get some fresh air as the air conditioning was not working very well.
One of the girls was so cute. I had to tighten my lip piercing and she was watching me then talking to her mother in French and pointing and imitating me. I caught her and she grinned; guilty! At about 2am the train stopped for a good half hour and the poor girl was getting frightened. I was awake as I was wondering what was going on too, but just tried to act like everything was normal. Kids want to feel as if everything is A-OK, so if you appear calm, they're calm. Just one rule in Nicole's parenting tips 101.
At first I hated the tiny space we were in, but then I just popped in my ipod and listened to the sounds of the sea. It works. I was off like a light in no time.
Eventually we arrived in Rome only to find our hostel doesn't exist - well it did after all but boy, was it hidden! But nevermind, we found way better accommodation from this random Italian woman at Termini station, after traipsing the area looking for something, anything! We managed to get a hotel on one of the main streets just up from the Colosseum, how 'bout that? I didn't choose the room, Kristi and Lauren did as my feet were covered in blisters from my shithouse ballet flats. So out popped the Target thongs with the hole in them and ahhh relief. I am never wearing closed-in shoes again.
We did barely anything our first night in Rome except see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which was quite good. I'd see it again. "Platform 9 and three quarters, Fink you're funny?" Never gets old.
Okay that'll do for now. I'm currently using a computer at my Berlin hostel and the keyboard is shitting me. The z and y are in two different places, as with some of the other letters. Oh laptop, when will I see you again? I think Karaoke has started but I think I'm going to be lame and go to bed. Big day tomorrow. Sleeping in, searching for an apartment, pub crawl tomorrow night. I heard there is this club in Berlin where you have to be naked. Whaaaa? And these Americans were talking earlier about how there is so much to do here, they could easily live here a year so that's promising. Just got to get a job first. So many Brits, and they're so LOUD! Been rocking out my German. It feels very strange.
Reminder: Book Frequency Festival tickets. Radiohead are playing. Totally rad. Sarah, I think you should come too.
So, all was going swimmingly. Had a lovely sleep in my own bed, no Kristi to hog the blanket or the mattress, my own room, lovely breakfast, said goodbye to the owners and was cruising along the highway at a cool 130km/h. Then... we get lost. I'm instructed (and I would like to say this is NO ONE'S fault, I am not pointing the finger at anyone in case anyone starts getting offended... I'm just merely stating facts) to turn off when we should in fact have kept going. This resulted in numerous wrong ways and us ultimately heading in the wrong direction... back to where we had came.
After much merging on and off the highway, the final straw came when we realised we were in fact going in the wrong direction. I pulled over at a pit stop as I was busting for the loo, turned off the engine and stormed out of the car. A mixture of frustration, anger and stress, my legs were like jelly and my hands were shaking. You try driving on the highway in another country for the first time, getting lost and having to keep merging on and off while cars are whizzing by. Not fun.
THEN we were almost at the airport when we missed the turn off and had to keep driving for another 10km. We needed to get petrol as we had to return the car with a full tank, so I do so, go to pay when this shithead thinks he can cut in front of me in the line. I must have been breathing fire by this point because this man backed off so quickly, I'm surprised he didn't cower in the corner. I was not in the mood to let someone go ahead of me. Not. In. The Mood.
Anyway, we returned the car and I have never felt so much relief in my life.We did it! We didn't crash it, we didn't kill each other, and now I can let other people get me from point A to point B. Now, I'm not saying I'll never drive in Europe again... just not within the next 2 decades. But hurrah, what a challenge!
Well after this lovely stress-free time we then had to gun it to Bercy station in Paris and catch our sleeper train to Rome. Those things are tiny! Luckily we had two young girls and their mother in ours because it was so squashy. I kept getting off at the sporadic stops just to get some fresh air as the air conditioning was not working very well.
One of the girls was so cute. I had to tighten my lip piercing and she was watching me then talking to her mother in French and pointing and imitating me. I caught her and she grinned; guilty! At about 2am the train stopped for a good half hour and the poor girl was getting frightened. I was awake as I was wondering what was going on too, but just tried to act like everything was normal. Kids want to feel as if everything is A-OK, so if you appear calm, they're calm. Just one rule in Nicole's parenting tips 101.
At first I hated the tiny space we were in, but then I just popped in my ipod and listened to the sounds of the sea. It works. I was off like a light in no time.
Eventually we arrived in Rome only to find our hostel doesn't exist - well it did after all but boy, was it hidden! But nevermind, we found way better accommodation from this random Italian woman at Termini station, after traipsing the area looking for something, anything! We managed to get a hotel on one of the main streets just up from the Colosseum, how 'bout that? I didn't choose the room, Kristi and Lauren did as my feet were covered in blisters from my shithouse ballet flats. So out popped the Target thongs with the hole in them and ahhh relief. I am never wearing closed-in shoes again.
We did barely anything our first night in Rome except see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince which was quite good. I'd see it again. "Platform 9 and three quarters, Fink you're funny?" Never gets old.
Okay that'll do for now. I'm currently using a computer at my Berlin hostel and the keyboard is shitting me. The z and y are in two different places, as with some of the other letters. Oh laptop, when will I see you again? I think Karaoke has started but I think I'm going to be lame and go to bed. Big day tomorrow. Sleeping in, searching for an apartment, pub crawl tomorrow night. I heard there is this club in Berlin where you have to be naked. Whaaaa? And these Americans were talking earlier about how there is so much to do here, they could easily live here a year so that's promising. Just got to get a job first. So many Brits, and they're so LOUD! Been rocking out my German. It feels very strange.
Reminder: Book Frequency Festival tickets. Radiohead are playing. Totally rad. Sarah, I think you should come too.
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