2.2.2011

Came home from school, no sport tomorrow!!! I am really happy because the teacher is a total w*&%er and thinks he knows how to do every sport, even though he doesn't. I still can't believe the time has gone by so fast. Slept quite a lot after school. Really loving this bakery down the road from the school that sells mozzarella bread rolls, Laurent quality, normal price. I am really going to miss Germany

Another Bulk Posting

27.1. cont.

I took the train to Nürnberg and it was worth the trip. I walked around town for a while and didn't really know what to do, in the end I had about 2 hours to spare and I saw that there was a transport museum. It was really cool, showing the growth and extravagance of the German train system since the beginning. I stayed until closing time and I saw a Russian kindergarten group. One of the kids reminded me of one the crazy little ones in Ukrainian school. Oh Uki school...

It had been snowing the whole day and it didn't look like it was getting better, when I walked into the museum, it was snowing but instantly melting, as I left, it was snowing like crazy, windy and there was snow everywhere. I asked the cashier at the museum if she knew where there was a supermarket. She recommended a petrol station, which I know is expensive. 50 metres down the road was a shopping complex with 2 supermarkets and a pharmacy.

The train ride home was delayed 20 minutes and at various points along the route, the train driver had different excuses for why we were late. I got home from an action-packed day of which about 6 hours were spent travelling, but for only 21 €, it was absolutely worth the money spent!

28-30.1.2011

Some people thought I had left without saying goodbye, again!! I found out that I didn't miss out on anything in sport, as in I didn't miss gymnastics, damn!!! I was really tired from the last few weeks of travelling so as soon as I came home I crashed into bed practically until Sunday morning.

On Sunday I logged some points into my GPS and I was off geocaching with Rocky. Sadly I was not able to find anything because it is all snowed in, it was still a fun walk to a place that I had never been before. Part of the place where we were was back in the first few weeks when I got lost with Rocky. It struck me how much more confident I was walking around in the forest, knowing where I was, despite having a GPS.

I spent the afternoon sleeping again, it was so nice and relaxing to just have a quiet weekend without anything on.

31.1.2011

I spent the day at school and then commuted to Munich. I lodged a complaint with DHL about my parcel not turning up yet. I like how they expect you to remember what you packed in there 2 months ago!! Hopefully my second parcel with all the fun stuff arrives a bit more punctually.

The TV show in the Australian jungle finished on Saturday, but they have a channel called DMAX, which broadcasts often Man vs Wild and such other American survival shows. I would say it is one of my favourite non-mainstream channels.

Sara-Maria has her 16th birthday tomorrow and I was walking around in a shop and the Aussie film "Beneath Hill 60" instantly got my attention. I hope she likes it, I know she is a war story/film fanatic.

1.2.2011

Pinch, punch, first day of the month!! Last month in Germany, the time has flown so quickly. I have enjoyed the time here and I have been to so many places in such a short timespan, mostly thanks to being already confident with the German transport system, the friends I have in Deidesheim and region and the fact that I could join the school German trip in Berlin, it has been absolutely amazing!!

Sara-Maria really liked my present and my card, Sara set up sparklers outside which was also really cool!!

After school we had farm muffins, don't quote me on the title. Sara had school longer and as soon as she came home, the guests started pouring in for the typical German: "Kaffee und Kuchen", translates to coffee and cake.

Last two three weeks

9.1.2011

I haven't written for a while so I will try to compile my memory as much as possible. This was a Sunday, the last proper day in my holiday, that started on New Years Eve. It has been an amazing 10 days.

Today we left late enough to sleep in a little bit. We went and visited Neuschwanstein. The woman giving us a tour was obviously not a person who regularly spoke Hochdeutsch because she spoke very long words and every now and then she let out out a bit of Boarisch.

The host sister of one of the people I came to Australia with is really nice. We have all been staying up really late just talking, I want to go visit her. She lives near Frankfurt.

In the afternoon we had a lot of time and we wanted to go to Austria, as it is only 1 km away. We caught this extra small bus and it was really cute. The first stop in Austria was only eight minutes away. At the time it sounded like a good idea.

When we got out, we saw that it wasn't all that it cracked up to be. There was a kiosk, basically a shop that is always open and sells alcohol and cigarettes to any he can, a derelict Gasthaus and derelict bus shelter and a large house where weird drunk people, on Sunday at 4 pm, were walking in and out all the time. As we got off the bus, one of them walked towards us, it was a pretty scary guy!!!

That night we went and played billiards, it was practically empty and then we went to McDonalds. Afterwards we walked home and then stayed up until 2 or 3 am talking again.

10.1.2011

Not much happened today either. We caught the train back home, wherever home was for all of us. My train trip was much shorter than I expected, leaving me a few hours to bum around in Munich, since there was no one at home anyway.

I caught a train with an Aussie girl who came down with me and she seems to think that exchange is hard and it isn't fun, oh well, I found out that she was leaving one month earlier than scheduled!!

When I came home, I just slept for a while recovering all of that lost sleep.

11-12.1.2011

The day started really slowly, I was really tired and then some people thought I had left for Australia without saying goodbye!!

School is as usual. Maths I am finding really easy, so I am going to start doing Maths work for Australia. University German results on Friday!!!

Plans are going into affect to go to Frankfurt on the 21-24 February. After school the last two days I haven't done anything but sleep, still recovering from the trip and lack of sleep since last Wednesday. It was still totally worth it.

13.1.2011

Thinking that we would be doing gymnastics in sport I decided it would be wise not to go and better use my time exploring Starnberg. I bought myself a magazine and looking for a unique present for Didus in Starnberg.

It is all confirmed, the trip to Frankfurt is go!!!

14.11.2011

Today I checked my emails and guess what was there, an offer for UMEP German!!!! I am over the world happy, which is because that means that I am finish with Chemistry at school and I am wholly doing what I want, apart from English, which I sort of like.

After school I went to the city, booked my ticket to Frankfurt, having bought a Bahncard for 10 €, I have already saved heaps, should have done this earlier, if only I knew that there was such a thing that was so simple to set up and use.

I walked up to the river and I walked up to the Museum, but it was closing and it looks like it is aimed more at small children! I saw some beautiful churches from inside and outside, was really cool. I have noticed that at every Church I go to, I have to buy a candle and then take a photo of it. I think that's as close as I am going to get to go on Sunday to church.

My GPS finally came today after all that stress, I can't wait to find the geocaches that are within 1 km of our house!

Tomorrow Salzburg, this is a city in Austria direct on the border between Germany and Austria.

15.11.2011

This was early for a Saturday wake-up, but this is what traveling is about, wake up early and then recover in the train! I got up at 5:45 am and then left at 6:30.

There were a few problems with the train about 5 km outside of Salzburg, I ended up getting there at about 10:30.

First impressions, it was raining and I decided I was smart and I just started walking without a map, in the wrong direction! I ended up walking in the right direction and walked into a bakery, which was noticeably more expensive than any other bakery I have ever been to yet, I went to another and it confirmed my theory, Salzburg is expensive!!

I walked into the city and then saw a castle up the hill, it looked like where everyone was going, so decided to follow suit. Everyone around around me was speaking Russian or Ukrainian, I must say that I heard a substantial amount more of my mother tongue than German for the rest of the day.

The castle was way up a hill, and the funicular was broken! It was quite a hike, I had to stop a few times to take in the view, that's what I called it. The castle has been well preserved and there are a few museum, a guided audio tour of the castles history and also break taking views of Salzburg. I got a few postcards, including one that had "No, Austria does not have Kangaroos".

I went back down to the city to grab a bite to eat. There was a Saturday market where I went to a stall and got currywurst and chips and then found a stall that sold a poppyseed stick, sort of like the one we get between Cherkassy and Kiev. It tasted really good, but at the end I couldn't eat anymore I was so full. I walked around the city and saw that practically every shops sells Mozart Kugeln, I got a decent amount for Christmas, so I thought that was enough. Mozart's birth house is where there are lots of tourists and also a lot are shopping in Gucci, Swarovski and the like. The majority of the tourist were either backpackers or very rich.

I climbed another massive hill in the middle of the city and spent about an hour taking photos of the whole place. The late afternoon I spent walking slowly back along the river the train station. I then got a Döner and saw for the first time an automatic meat carver. Goodbye Salzburg.

There was a Chinese woman and her half Chinese, half German son. She was really funny, to laugh at. The boy would fall asleep and then she would read the newspaper and then hit him until he woke up and show him the article, he was really grumpy. The couple sitting across from me found it also quite funny, which didn't help me keep my laughter in.

16.1.2011

Nice sleep-in, talked to parents, slept in again. Woke up at around 12 midday to a perfect day. 12 degrees, bright, sunny, blue sky. I went outside in search of my first cache.

I got to the location and then stood around for a while and saw a structure and I was sure what it was and I searched and searched and then it came to me, I ripped it apart and, Voila, my first cache!

I went to find to further ones, unsuccessfully. I think one was flushed into the river because of the snow melting and the other I think was ripped apart by a dog, both made by the same user, not going in search of his caches anymore.

That was it for the weekend. I really hope the nice warm weather holds out.

17-20.1.2011

Was a pretty uneventful day, I am really looking forward to Frankfurt. In between really loving watching 24, finishing up season 3 in German. It's a great way to watch TV without having to wait until 10 pm when I can watch what I want.

On Thursday I decided that we would not be doing gymnastics, how wrong was I. I ended up getting a 2, where 1 is the best and 6 is a complete fail. No one got below a two. I found out that if you fail sport, it doesn't matter, so there are a few who never turn up to sport because they can't be stuffed, and the sport we do is really crap and not real sport.

21.1.2011

I had a packed enough that I could pack it all into my school bag, and it was plenty! I took the school bus, went into the city and waited at Starbucks, free Internet and then got on to my train to Frankfurt. I can say that I have now finished one book for English and I have gotten quite far with Maths.

I arrived in Frankfurt at lunchtime and somehow walked to the main shopping strip, there I found again a great meal - Currywurst and chips. I then walked up to the Main river and I had a bit of dejavu, remembering when I was last in Frankfurt. It was really fun

The time came to take the train to Altenstadt, where Anne (the girl I met) lives. It's about an hours train ride. On the way there was quite a lot of flooding. This is typical for winter.

We met, had dinner and then went for a walk in the town. Anne froze so I gave her my jacket! She put on a jumper and then started arguing that it was a jacket. When we came home we watched KeinOhrGucken, apparently a chick-flick, but I laughed quite a few times so hard and loud. We then watched 17 again, it was OK. I then met Anne's dad in between the two movies, he got home late. He is really interested in the history of the area, since it was the border between the Celts and the Holy Roman Empire.

22.1.2011

Today was an early wake up for Anne, 10 am!! We then got around to leaving at 12 pm for Frankfurt. We walked around everywhere, went shopping but we didn't buy anything, it was all too expensive. It was a great day to catch up and reminisce on our weekend away two weeks ago.

At night we watched some TV, where I fell in love with my favorite German TV series: "Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus!". Basically a german version of survivor with famous people and it is set in the Australian jungle, I think Daintree rainforest. We then watched Marley & I.

23.1.2011

I nice late wake up and then we stayed at home until we got enough energy to get up and go to the Glauberg, this is a mountain that has had civilizations living there for the last 10000 years. It was really interesting and this was the first time it had snowed for a while now.

Afterwards we went to the cinemas and saw "The Green Hornet", it was a good movie but the 3D graphics were not worth the effort. It was a good way to say goodbye.

24.1.2011

I took the train back home. I caught an earlier train to Frankfurt and stayed in Starbucks, reading the The Age and watching videos in YouTube. When I got home I did the same thing as two weeks ago, practically crashed into bed and then not much more. It was nice to see all the cute cats everywhere.

25.1.2011

I came back to school and they were all expecting me to come back on the 27. My note that I wrote looks like 27. Well I am going to use that, Thursdays are particularly boring so I am planning to go to Regensburg or Nürnberg.

I missed my class and then I saw them near the end of the period so I just stayed outside.

After school I didn't really do much again but sleep, watch 24 in German and plan my next trip on Thursday.

26.1.2011

School was as usual. Its funny how I was one of the worst in Chemistry to the best in Chemistry, but, it is year 10. I have noticed that I would not be able to survive longer, going to school beyond 2010 for me is impossible. I am really happy that I have the opportunity to go to university this year, to experience something new. Tomorrow Regensburg.

27.1.2011

I took the train to the city and my cheap ticket all over Bavaria starts at nine so I waited at the train station for the first train, at 9:01. Regensburg translates to rain castle. It is a giant castle but it was snowing! I was at first lost, just like in Salzburg. I quickly found the Tourist Info Centre and then I was on my way.

I visited everything, it was interesting but then I had nothing more to do at lunchtime, so I decided to go to Nürnberg

Sent from my iPad

9.1.2011

Hallo!

I haven't written for a while so I will try to jog my memory as much as possible. We went to Schloß Neuschwanstein. I took lots of photos of Neuschwanstein and people around me. Since it is around 10 degrees, the streets are icy and the trip up to the bridge was really hard. No one luckily feel but it was close. For old people it would have been dangerous. I will write more later

8.1.2011

Hallo!

Today we went to a cheese factory. Its really good to get a head start on acclimatizing to early wake-ups. We stayed up until 3 the day before so it was all cool!!

It the cheese factory we saw how everything was done and afterward we went to the restaurant that had basically everything made out of cheese and every single person ordered Käsespatzen, the best thing on Earth!!

We had a lot of time on our hands and we wanted to go to the Austrian border but we weren't sure. There isn't much to do in Füssen: Billiards, McDonalds, a cinema, pubs and a few supermarkets. Its really big but just full of residents, even the people who work at the hostel as part of their compulsory community service just drink themselves silly every night.

We all went and played billiards and I played with some locals. They wanted to know how old the girls were and when I told them that they are all 16 they were pissed off!

7.1.2011

Mostly a boring day for a Christmas. First webcammed with most of my blog followers in Australia and then got packed, bought some breakfast/lunch/dinner and then I got dropped off by Christian at the train station in Haßloch.

Caught train and met people in Mannheim, caught further 2 trains. We had a funny man sit next to us. He ate marshmallow and lollies forever, had funny socks and then pulled out a banana and a liquid similar to urine, possibly apple juice.

It then all came back to me how shit the food is there!! It was really shit. At first we got given an ensuite room but then we got told that it was for our leaders! They were joking about taing it from us beforehand, the irony.

6.1.2011

Nice late sleep in followed by lunch and then more sleeping. It was all building up to the club that we were going to go to. It is open not always, but sometimes to 16 year olds, but even then you need to have a signature from a consenting adult and an 18 year who comes in with you and is supposed to look after you.

We first went to Aqua where I met heaps of friends that I hadn't seen in a while and we stayed there until about 10:30. Then we headed off trekking through the city for 20 minutes until we got to the disco. The problem was that there were so many 16 year olds looking for someone over 18 that it took me until midnight to get into the disco. Somehow I lost my drinks card which meant I couldn't buy anything and I also had to pay a fine at the end. At 4 am we were done and we got home with a normal taxi for only 4 € a piece, not bad at all for 10 km.

5.1.2011

Early wake up at 9 (its early for the holidays) and we set off for Mannheim. Felix was driving and the last few days Andrea has been warning me that he is a driving hazard! No, he drives really well, he just doesn't have that speed of 200 km/h downpat yet, which I assume takes a while to get the nerve to do that.

We went jacket shopping for Felix, Christian and I had already bought something by the time Felix still had no clue what to buy. He ended up buying a jacket that Andrea instantly rejected upon arrival home because it was too thin. We all then went for a walk in the cold winter and he believed her.

Later that night, myself and Felix went to Aqua. This was a milestone for me because it had always been talked about but I have never seen it. The place is a symbol of Neustadt since the 60's and 70's. Christian went there as a 16 year old and it has not changed at all. it is all retro and whenever you go there, you are bound to meet someone you know, apart from the people you come with.

To get home there are no more trains but a neat little service called Ruftaxi. Basically its a group of taxis that arrive at 3 certain times at night and then run like a busline. For people who live there and have a ticket its a free service, ie Felix can arrive at Deidesheim train station at the latest at 2 am, in a taxi free of charge and I only had to pay 2,40 €

4.1.2011

Well, again I haven't been writing on the blog for a while so excuse my memory. I woke up nice and late and did a few things on the computer. Its really great to be back here in this little township that is really isolated but still beautiful, rich with culture and close to important cities like Mannheim and Frankfurt. I love walking through the township and remembering things I did, places I fell.

After a really good lunch I headed over to some friends in Neustadt, where we decided we would go watch Harry Potter 7 part 1. It was a good movie and a nice way to catch up with friends I haven't seen for nearly a year. There was an exchange student there from Thailand. She was alone in the cinema, she didn't come with anyone. I felt sorry for her, but then I was told that she doesn't include herself in activities and almost never talks to anyone, fat chance you are going to learn German and/or have friends.

Then I went home where we were greeted with Herbert and Maritta and we had Raclette. It was so good and it brought back memories of last year's Christmas. They have so many stories, they are so interesting. For example, they were in Berlin for a majority of the time the Wall was up and they witnessed the fall of the Wall. They said how all the East Berliners ("Ossies") came and bought out the shops of West Berlin and they said that now that the East was empty and that the West was like the East used to be. It was a hilarious and informative night that I will remember for a while.

3.1.2011

A nice sleep-in again today. In all the rooms here there are roller shutters that block 99% of all light. That means when you wake up you think that it is really, really early, until you look at the clock and you see that it is 9:30

Christian has 2 weeks holidays now that he is spending at home leisurely. We went to Globus Baumarkt, a better version of Bunnings Warehouse. Afterwards back home. I took a walk through Deidesheim with my camera and took some pictures. So many memories rose from me. I felt so happy to be here, remembering everything that I had done there.

At lunch came Hannah's cousin, Christina to us. If she hadn't seen the Diehlmann family since Christmas. The smell of Andrea's vinegar source with the Feldsalat brought saliva to the mouth. I will never forget that salty, sour taste.

I couldn't find postcards at first, but then found the Town Hall and bought some. Both Grandparents should recieve them in the next few days.

One of Hannah's good friends Jessica came over and we went and had a coffee and talked a little bit. It was fun to catch up on the times we spent together and to share things that had happened since.

Then at night we went to see the movie "The Tourist". Although I slept though a little bit of it, I found it an awesome movie.

Now I have caught up on writing the backlog of blog posts since before Christmas and it is nearly midnight. Good night!!

2.1.2011

A good sleep-in and I was feeling much better again. We had nothing to eat at home so we decided to walk to the next town's castle - Wachtenburg. I got to know Felix much better, how he found it in America, does he want to go there and live there, such things. I also met Joschi and Eve, good friends of the Diehlmann family, who had had Andreas as an exchange student when I was in Deidesheim. It turns out that Andreas changed families straight after I left because it wasn't working out at all. H moved to a family in Munich.

Once we were up there, it was clear that everyone else had had the same idea as us, but they had thought of it a few hours earlier. We the walked all teh way back to Deidesheim and went to the restaraunt where Andrea and Christian celebrated New Years. It had great Greek food that tasted really nice and really salty.

We wanted to go to a bar but we where too tired, maybe tomorrow. Herbert and Marritta, the neighbours above us came back from a trip to Mallorca. They came over and told us about their trip. They are always going on trips somewhere. Before that, they were in Turkey for 6 weeks. They honestly represent for me ideal pensioner couple. Still enough energy to go everywhere and anywhere they want.

1.1.2011

So as I said I did not sleep at all and then at 7 am as the last peope there decided to go home. Everyone  said that it would take 20 minutes, 30 tops. It took at least 1 hour and 15 minutes through snow. My socks were soaked.

I had only told Hannah the day before that I was coming 3 days earlier and that meant that it came as a surprise to Andrea when I arrived at the door at 11. We had breakfast and then afterwards I talked a little, then slept, had dinner and then slept again.

31.12.2010

Woke up late again and there was a very important question on the table. I was invited to 2 parties in Neustadt and 0 in Starnberg. Everyone I talked to had booked a ticket a sold-out club, with parents, or in a small tight group of friends. So I started pacing my bags at 2:30, had a quick shower at 2:45, and at 3:15 we were off and going to the train station. I bought my ticket in a machine, which I never knew I could do, this will come in handy if I want to go somewhere on a Sunday.

At 8:30 I was in Neustadt, I dropped my stuff off into a locker, met some friends and we were off to a restaurant. Indian people cannot speak German very well at all! We then got dropped off to a Football Club in the middle of nowhere and there was where I met the New Year and also Felix Diehlmann for the first time. Apart from the friends I came with I met a girl that was in my class last year. It was a great night and I did not sleep at all.

30.12.2010

Today from the start I new that it would be a confronting day. I visited the Dachau concentration camp. Simply put, it is quite chilling how death and punishment was really a chore for the SS. It was a duty to the nation to cleanse itself of Jews, homosexuals, gypsies. Basically wash off all the 'scum' of Germany and be left with the perfect Aryan family making babies for none other than Yours Truly, the Führer.

There were heaps of tourists and they came from everywhere - Russia, America, Spain, Italy, Germany. I think the most chilling place was where the bodies were burnt. and where the dead bodies were held before they were burnt. I got very emotional when I entered the room full of plaques of remembrance and read the 2 plaques in Ukrainian.

Later I went to the city and had some lunch and then went exploring again. I heard for the first time a woman speak clean Ukrainian without saying anything in Russian. I visited 2 Churches. One of the Churches had candles that were not wax, but refillable canisters of alcohol, I found that an ingenious idea, probably made them even more money than usual. The Catholic Church, always on the lookout for money where there is to be made!

I don't have any plans for New Years yet, I have been invited to Neustadt but I am not really sure, I am going to have to think it over.

29.12.2010

This sleeping in is something I could very easily get acclimatised to. I woke up sometime around lunchtime and then we drove off straight away to King Ludwig's supposed drowning spot. It looks more likely that he didn't drown, but that he was murdered. After his death, someone, I am not exactly sure who, built a chapel in his honour. It is not open in Winter but it looks good from the outside anyway.

We then went for a typical German afternoon tea - Kaffee und Kuchen. Punctually at 3pm, well it is actually not customary to come at 3, but to come shortly before or after. The place we went to was very schick and usually filled with pensioners on holidays. Apparently there were more under 60 people there than usual. Both Saras fell in love with the waiter!

28.12.2010

Both Saras and I went to Garmisch and Oberammergau. Vroni has a ski course that is in Austria. Its only 1.5 hours drive and the place has some good hills for snow.

Our first stop was a Kloster, which I think translates to a Church. This is Sara's (mum) favourite Church. It was big but not too big and it had some great architecture.

Oberammergau is renowned for its reenactment of the last days of Jesus Christ. The reenactments occur every 10 years and it happened this year. There are signs everywhere for the theatre where it is held even though it finished back in October. We went into this store in Oberammergau called Käthe Wohlfahrt. It is basically a shop full of Christmas decorations. There were so many to choose from but I didn't want to buy one that would break on the way to Australia. Sara's mother usually come sover from America and they come here and her mum buys as much as she can.

We then drove to Garmisch. This is a rich ski resort area with a nice shopping area if you are not particularly into skiing. I have forgotten to mention that all this is less than an hour away from where we live. We went to Pizza Hut there because the family likes to feel like they are in America when they can. I understand, it is like when we go buy Ukrainian food or bread.

At the end of the day I went to a club with some friends. It was really fun. Clubs are usually for 18+ only but every now and then, especially in the holidays there are clubs which have 16+ nights. I had a great time, dancing was better than drining, and best of all, dancing is free!

27.12.2010

Sleeping in is the norm now, not looking forward to 6:30 wake-ups anymore. Amazon has blocked me from buying anything. Oh well. If you have been reading my blog, you will know that I got lost with Rocky (dog), a few weeks ago and a couple of geocachers saved me by giving me their map. Using that map I tried to go find a cache. I had two problems: there is heaps of snow so some of the tracks if they haven't been used are hidden and I don't have a GPS, I have a map with a rough grid area. Of course I didn't find it but it was fun anyway.

26.12.2010

Late sleep-in again. Today we had the yearly crazy event - riding a sleigh attached to the back of the car driving at speeds in between 40-60 km/h. But first Max spent 2 hours cleaning all the snow that had fallen everywhere on the farm since the night of the 24th. At the end of all the snow shovelling there was still more to do, but anyway, we wanted to go!!  It was an adreline rush, the first time I only came off onec and the second time I came off quite a few times when we would go around the bend. When Sara went the first time you could hear her screaming most of the way!!

The rest of the day was mostly R & R. Amazon is having a winter sale and they have a GPS device -50%. I have booked it because I have seen that there are many geocaches in and around where we are.

25.12.2010

Really late sleep-in. We then began to celebrate christmas with Muesli. I forgot to mention the contoction that has been brewing the past week. It is cinnamon, orange, lemon, star anise and nutmeg in water, slowly simmering and releasing a really nice christmassy scent.

We then waited in the stairwell to go up. It took a while because we wanted some Christmas music, there wasn't a CD player and then there were no CDs. But then finally it took off. I carried the angel upstairs and then we stood there for a while. There were so many presents, that 2.5 metre tree we stole in the forest a few days earlier lay there in the third floor. I asked them how much effort it took to haul it up. They said not to ask.

Sara and Vroni and Max and Sara all loved their presents. Sara had not had conditioner for 1 year so she was really happy. I was surprised the Tim-tams were not instantly gobbled up, we will see. I got a Woipertinger, a typical Bavarian mythical creature. Basically it is a doll made up of the fur of different animals, feathers of birds, a duck beak and it sits on a piece of wood. That is going to be very hard to get through customs. I also got a München jumper, an autobiography of the princess of Bayern, she recently died and her family used to own Gut Schwaige, where we live. I also got Mozart Kugeln, I will leave that for the parents.

Max would guess every single present he got. Sara said that he was like her brother Phillip. One present he didn't guess, because it wasn't for him, but for the whole family, a Nintendo Wii!! Sara and Vroni went ballistic!! Afterwards we set it up and we played, even got Max and Sara interested. I have quite a few funny videos that I will somehow post in Facebook.

24.12.2010

As always the holidays are slow and no one is awake before 10, I mean for Sara and I. Sara (mother) had her birthday today!! She was really happy! We had a good breakfast and then just lay around until the afternoon.

We went to Max's parents for Holy Night dinner. There was quite a lot to eat at the start, don't worry Ukrainians, no one can top our Christmas Dinners. I have a few videos that I hope to post in Faceboom soon. I got a book about Oberbayern, the region of Bavaria that we are in. I gave some of the small koalas and boomerangs to the little kids in the family. I understood that everyone except Vroni and Sara got their big presents today. Max's dad has a bald spot and he compensates for it by growing his hair extra long on one side and then making a combover. David, a small cousin of Sara's, decided that it would be a great idea if he started playing with it and get everyones attention. It was hilariously funny.

Aferwards we went to the Church right next to us in Leutstetten. It doesn't fit many people and there aren't that many that attend anyway.We missed a large portion of the service but it was still really cool when hey dimmed the lights to sing Silent Night, it was by candlelight.

Massive sleep-in more than usual and then we celebrate Christmas the American way.

23.12.2010

It is the last day of school and today we had a christmas breakfast. One of my friends even brought some Glühwein, it wasn't a good idea for a morning drink! I brought tea, which I was assigned to bring and also brought some aussie food, in particular, Vegemite! I love how my tolerance for salt makes it look like all people from Australia put heaps of Vegemite on their sandwiches. Of course, no one liked it after eating and told everyone else not to eat it, but curiousity got the better of them.

A few of the people in my class smoke and I went with them to the smokers corner (I did not smoke, just to clear that up). A teacher walked by, said hello, asked what we were doing, they said smoking, she said ok and just kept walking.

After school I fell asleep and I was awoken by Uschi, my coordinator. We talked for a while and then she handed me a form, I believe purely for paperworks sake. It went a little like this: "Does he/she go to school (Y/N)...Has he/she intergrated themselves into the family". We did it as a family and Sara was so surprised at how simplistic the feedback form was. Sleep-in tomorrow and then presents at Grandpa's.