Italy, Rome

As frequent readers of my blog will know, I have just returned from a trip to Italy. I started planning this trip about eight weeks ago when airlines such as Ryan Air were advertising their huge November sales, and all I can say is that I am very very happy I did it. There are some beautiful places in Italy that are most certainly worth seeing, and the history of the place is just incredible.

At first I was a little worried about traveling by myself, but after a night I was fine. Most of the people I met in the hostels were really really friendly, and made the time very memorable. Of course there were a few people that were very trying, however I guess you learn to live with that in shared accommodation.

My Trip started on Sunday the 19th of November when I took off to Rome. I had heard and read lots of stories about Rome, and I certainly was not disappointed. When I got to the Hostel I met my room mates who had also just checked in.

I wasted no time, and I decided I would take a walk to see what I could find. Firstly I came upon ancient Rome, The Colosseum, and the Roman Forum. These are truly wonderful sites. Then I walked through the crowded and hectic streets of Rome. MY GOD! All I can say is traffic. Cars driving way too fast, people just don't care about the speed limit. Thousands of scooters driving in and out looking for a faster way! Crossing the road is a life threating exercise where ever you are, whether you are at lights or not. The green man means head down, don't look at what's coming, and hope to hell they stop! In my case the always did!

The next 3 days were spent sightseeing with different people from the hostel. I was staying in a small hostel so most people socialised. Most people were traveling alone which meant it was very easy to meet people.

I took so many photos in Rome! I look about 450 photos in total, and I was being very conservative with my camera. Here are just a few.

On the first morning I headed to the Vatican City. I thought I would tackle this first, only to find that St Peter's Basilica was closed, and the line for the museum was about three hours! Arh damn had to rethink the strategy!

Next I headed for a walk past the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument. This building is massive, and I almost got killed walking across the crossing in this picture. Crazy drivers!

Then it was off for a tour of the Colosseum. Initially I didn't consider a guided tour, but I forked out the extra cash and it was well worth it. Actually found a toilet in here as well!!! Not so many public facilities in Rome.

Because I took the tour, it entitled me to a photo with this guy. I am pretty lucky I survived. If his sword wasn't plastic I think he would have killed me.

A picture of me inside the building. I was shocked to learn that some 1 MILLION people got killed in this arena for entertainment! Completely barbaric!

After the tour of the Colosseum, I then took my free tour of Palatine Hill, and this provided the best view of the Roman Forum pictured here. This was where the Roman Administration worked. Unfortunately it was pretty much destroyed by the Church. The buildings they couldn't knock down got converted.

Next Day started with a trip to Trevi Fountain. I threw the coin in over my shoulder, so now I am sure to return to Rome.

Then it was off to the Pantheon. From memory I think it was built around 32BC. Now that's old.

After a few more stops Richard (a roomie from the Hostel, or should I say POM, no he wasn't so worried about being called a POM) and myself headed outside the city walls to St Paul's Basilica. It was a long way but well worth it. This building was huge and had some 131 massive columns.

Then we headed to Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Wednesday was a great day to go to the Vatican City, and check out the amazing Vatican Museum. Not only did we see the Pope!! But we didn't have to line up at all! This place is huge, and is just so grand. I am by no means a religious person, but the museum has something about it that makes it great. The art, the sense of history, and the Sistine Chapel are all amazing and just leave you in oar! I recommend it to anybody.

Another photo of me inside the museum. The ceiling is decorated like this through the entire six wings.

Me inside St Peter's.

Then we decided to climb to the top of Michaelangelo's Dome. What a view. That's St Peter's Square in the background.

After a few other stops, we then decided to take the mandatory photo from out the front of the building.

Rome is such an amazing city, and a few photos just can't do it justice. So I have created a Google Photo Album with the best photos from the trip. You can find it here.

Tomorrow I will make a big effort to post the photos from Venice, Florence and Pisa. Until then, Keep well.

Home from Italy

I have arrived back in Germany this afternoon to more beautiful German weather! In Italy I was spoiled with fantastic weather for the entire trip. Most of the time it was dry and sunny, and the temperature was a nice easy 14 - 18 degrees during the day. I was told many times by Italians that this was not normal, and November is usually very rainy. I would really like to thank the Rain Gods for their good will.

I am currently downloading the photos! It is taking forever!!!!! There were about 1000 photos on my 2 gig card, and because the camera is old it only has a USB 1.1 interface! arhh so much pain. Maybe when I get back to Australia and get a job I can upgrade.

Anyways some photos will be up tomorrow, others will have to wait until after Britty and myself get back from our Germany trip. Until then, Scott

Moving on again

Today I am heading to Pisa where my trip will finish. I am planning on leaving here shortly, getting a train there, and then this afternoon after checking into my hotel, will head out to see the learning tower. From what I have read there isn't much else to see, but I am thinking it is a good way to wind down the trip.

I am leaving from Pisa airport tomorrow morning, heading back to Luebeck in Germany. Photos to come soon!!!!

In Florence

I have no moved on to Florence! This is a very beautiful city with so much to do. Tonight me and my room mate went and watched a soccer game in an Italian pub. That was quite some experience. Tomorrow it is off to look at more old buildings, and enjoy the good weather. I only really have one full day in Florence so I need to make the most of it.

Today I went to see the Michelangelos David statue. It was huge, and was extremely impressive.

Hope everyone is well. Speak to you all soon. Scott

Update From Italy

I am now halfway through the trip, and I am currently in Venice. Rome was a great city with so much to do. Venice is very beautiful, but doesnt seem to be as much happening. I have taken so so so many photos. I think I am up to about 550 already, so you know what that means. Heaps of posts when I return.

Keep well. Scott

Off to Italy

Today I am heading to Italy, first stop is Rome. Over the next few weeks there will not be many updates to my blog, unless Internet access is cheaper than expected.

When I am back I will post all the photos, and stories from the trip. Until then, Scott

Sweeping in Autumn

As I have said on a number of occasions it is now autumn in Germany. The temperature is dropping, the clouds are here most of the time, and there is normally a howling wind blowing. These conditions are excellent for deciduous trees to drop their leaves anywhere and everywhere.

In my spare time, I have been helping Britty's Mum keep her driveway relatively clear from leaves. This is not an easy task considering just how many tress there are around the yard. Its almost like the trees are trying to spite me. I sweep up some leaves, then within minutes some more drop!! Or maybe that's just gravity!! :) I guess there is no way to get every single leaf, but at least I try. Today I took a couple of shots whilst working. Thought I would do some before and afters.

When I arrived this was the scene near Charlie's dog house.

A longer view of the paved area. Leaves everywhere.

Arh that's better!!! After the hours of sweeping.

The drive way before before.

And After!

Ok. Just to prove it was me, here is the photo evidence. I also have witnesses.

Charlie was much happier when the leaves were gone!

In the comings weeks I am going to Italy so there will be no sweeping, however Petra (Britty's Mum) informed me there will be heaps more when I get back! Can't wait for that!!!!

South Park Characters

In a recent post on my cousins website, Mick is encouraging people to make South Park characters of themselves with this website.

Britty and myself decided to give it a go. This is what we came up with. I did Britty's character and she did mine. Here they are.

Britty added a touch of Germany with the Rammstein shirt, and the bier!

I gave Britty more of an Australian feel, Sun, Water, and a warm temperature.

I also urge people to give it a go and post them on their blogs.

Old house

For those of you that knew me well before this blog will remember the house that I use to live in at Wynnum. For those who have never been to the old house, met me recently, or perhaps never at all, I use to live with my parents and they owned a Queensland style house within a suburb of Brisbane called Wynnum.

I spent 23 years in the house in Wynnum, and got to know it very well. It was where we played countless games of Cricket in the backyard, I would practice my basketball like crazy in the backyard, we would kick the footy, or soccer ball, and as we got older, the house was the scene for heaps of parties including my 21st birthday.

A couple of months before I left for Germany, Mum and Dad sold the house to go their separate ways. When they sold it, it wasn't in the best condition, but in my opinion it was still very nice. This house always had potential, and would be really nice one day if someone decided to give it some tender love and care.

Well that day has arrived. After Mum and Dad sold it, the new owners started the renovations. Before I left I took this photo of the old place.

As you can see it was under pretty heavy renovations. I also took a photo of inside, just for the memories.
This was the main living area up stairs for people that do not know. The kitchen was to the left of the photo and the main room was through the door.

Ok now its time for the new photos. I was alerted to this by a friend from school who drove past and saw the change. The link for the site is here. Thanks to the site for the photos! As you will see the change is pretty big. The place looks great.

The place from the street. Looks a little different to the way it use to be. I love the door in the front. Also there is a fence!!!! The new family can have a dog!

And from the back. The back deck looks really really good. I have to say it is much much better then the old one! :)

I think this is the new down stairs bathroom. For those of you that remember the way it was it is now a little bit bigger!!

A close up of the back deck.

I think the website says this is a pool room. This was where my old room was! What a huge change.

Mum will be happy because they kept the nice polished floors, and the little area their for the TV. Looks great.

Right where that stove is was a window. Great idea to close up the window.

This is the most amazing bit for me. There use to be a small entrance way here, and the stairs were never ever complete. Looks brilliant.

A view toward the back yard. Many of the trees look the same. Just wondering why there is no pool.

The open plan up stairs is great. I think this shot is taken from where the dinning room was.

Ok, now for the price. I would never have guessed they would even considered putting so much money on the place, but they have. If you want it, you can have it for only $899 000. It took Mum and Dad over 1 year to sell the house. Wonder how long it will take this time. I don't really think I would fancy taking out a loan for 900K, especially when the RBA keep raising rates. But then again, anyone considering this place would have to have a huge deposit, if not all the capital.

Anyway, I was stunned when I saw it, and now seeing what it could have been like I want it back! Maybe one day I could afford to buy it back... haha wishful thinking!

Bye for now. Scott

Layout Update

Thanks to everyone that made suggestions regarding my new layout. Most of the suggestions I really liked so I implemented them in one form or another. I have changed the header picture now, and I think it is acceptable. It is not quite wide enough, so if you have a huge display or really high res you will find that it repeats itself. I will clean this up another time.

I have also changed the code so that it should make viewing the site in lower resolutions than 1280x1024 less problematic. It should resize now, however if you are using 800x600 there are no guarantees. One other word of warning for those IE users out there. I have not tested the site with IE (yes I will do it one day) so if you experience problems please make a comment. Of course I recommend that everyone out there downloads firefox as soon as possible!

The power of blogger templates is just brilliant, there is so much you can do if you have the time. For now I do, so I will keep experimenting.

A rare "site"

Well for those of you that don't know Britty doesn't have the best eye sight in the world, and she normally wears contacts. She really hates wearing her glasses, but last night I was able to steal a couple of photos with her wearing them. I think she looks hot, very beautiful and very sophisticated!!!!

Finally I am happy....

Well after many hours, and I mean many playing with my blogger template, I am reasonably happy with what I have come up with. It might not be the best looking blog out there, but as I keep reading and learning I will keep improving it.

Anyways all those readers out there, let me know what you think. O and please be nice! :)

Better get some sleep now, it is almost 3am. Scott

Stick Cricket

Some of you may have already seen this, however I was not aware of "stick cricket" until my cousin Mick posted it on his website. I also think these little web based games are great, and find them very challenging. Stick Cricket is not as easy as it looks, and takes a while to get use to. After playing quite a few matches, here is a screen shot of my stats.




One of the best things about Stick Cricket is that you can register and then it will maintain your stats. If anyone else knows any other cool web based games please comment.

Mick, I would be keen to play in a league, even though I am not quite sure how it works. I doubt I will be seeing much of the Ashes Sires from Germany, so this is a good way to keep my cricket skills up!

Winter Snow!

Last week we saw the first snow fall of the Winter here in Kiel. There wasn't that much, but there was enough for me to snap a photo through the window. You might have to click on the photo to actually see the snow!


Other than that there isn't that much happening here at the moment. I am currently counting down until my trip to Italy, and then counting down until Britty and myself take off to Munich.

I have also started to update my CV details for my impending return to Australia. I am going to start looking for jobs in January before I leave Germany. The quicker I get a job back home, the quicker we can start deciding where to live next year. I have really enjoyed this break from work, but in a way I am really looking forward to getting back into it.

When I get back to OZ I really want to get back into Networking and Project Management. Before I left Australia I took on a position that I should have no way taken. I had my reasons, but everyday I use to count down the seconds until it was time to leave. This time I really want to avoid this situation, and hopefully I can find a workplace where I can improve and become a valuable member of the organisation. I guess I will have to wait and see.

A few more photos.

Yesterday I was going over my photos and found a few that I forgot to post. I guess it just slipped my mind considering the party was only a few days before Britty and myself went to Mallorca.

These photos were taken in August at Britty's Mum's birthday party. The Party was also to celebrate the house turning 100 years old. The only downfall of the night was that it absolutely pissed down raining right when everyone was arriving. Up until the night of the party, the weather in Germany had been fantastic, but as is so often the case when you least want the rain it arrives.

Here are the photos.

All the cars parked in the yard with two excavators.

Britty's parents, and friends made inside very very nice for the party. I have to take credit for the green wall though!

Inside when most people had arrived.

DJ "Axe" had the music pumping for the night.

Much to his disgust Charlie was initially kept outside, but when he was aloud in he was much more content.

Hanna and Lars opening another bier. Maybe Hanna should have stopped before this one! After this one she spent a lot of the night speaking to the porcelain god!

Britty's mum dancing with her brother-in-law Volker.

Britty dancing with her Dad.

Britty's very pregnant sister Kerstin, with Ingola (left), and Nadine (right). We were lucky the baby didn't decide to show on this night!

All in all a everyone had a good night. The party lasted until well into the early hours of the morning. Much bier, and Korn was consumed.

Tschüss for now. Scott

Travel Plans, and 2007

We have almost fully confirmed our Travel plans for November! After some time studying, and doing research (plus deciding what we can afford), I have decided on a trip to Italy in November, and then a trip with Britty into Germany in December. Here is the itinerary of my trip.

1. Fly to Rome from Hamburg and spend four nights. Staying in a hostel, however hostels are still very expensive in Italy.
2. Train on Italy Euro Star from Rome to Venice (6 hour trip). The train is certainly not as expensive as traveling on the Deutsche Bahn in Germany! Three nights in Venice, once again in a even more expensive hostel.
   
3. Train from Venice to Florence, which is another 2.5 hour trip, and is still quite a reasonable priced. Two nights in Florence, maybe, and most likely not enough time. Once again staying in hostel accommodation.
   
4. Train it from Florence to Pisa, and then stay in Pisa for a night in a private room!! Check out the leaning tower of course.
5. Wake early the next day to fly home from Pisa airport on Ryan Air. Ryan Air requires check in approximately 2 hours before the flight. If you get there any later you will be stuck with a sequence number below 90 which means you will almost get in a fight for a seat! I guess I can't complain because the flight was almost free except for the additional charges (baggage charge) that help them make some money!
   
6. Train from Luebeck in Germany to Kiel on the Deutsche Bahn.
   

So in total it is 10 nights. Unfortunately as I said earlier Britty isn't able to get out of work for this trip! I wish she was able to come with me, but unfortunately her work doesn't give her 50 days of holidays per year! I also really wanted to make sure I got to see a little bit of Italy before we make a decision as to where to live in the future. Once we decide we are going to have other priorities other than travel.

Even though Britty can't make the trip to Italy, she has managed to use up some more of her 24 days of holidays per year in December. At this stage our trip is pretty much planned with just the accommodation to sort out in one city.

From what I have seen of Germany so far it is a very very beautiful country. We have been to Frankfurt, Hamburg, Flensburg, Luebeck, Bremen, Berlin, Kiel, plus countless small towns in and around the state we live. However there is one more state that I really want to visit before we leave for the land of OZ. That state is Bavaria!

The plan is as follows:

1. Britty and myself drive to Köln in the very west of Germany and spend two nights exploring the city. Köln is one of Germany's biggest cities and should be a fantastic place to see.
2. Next Britty and myself drive to Munich for four nights. There are so many things to see and we hope that four nights will be enough. It is also Britty's birthday during the stay here, so I will most certainly make sure we do something special on the day!
   
3. Following our Munich trip, we then head to Nürnberg to stay with Britty's cousin for 3 nights. Nürnberg is the second largest city in Bavaira, and has some very famous Christmas markets which we will need to check out.
   
4. The last leg of our trip is to visit Britty's great Aunt in Halle.
   
5. Then we head back to Kiel.
   

Once we get back from this trip that will pretty much be all the traveling we can do before I come back to Australia. The remaining time in Germany will be spent with Britty, her family and friends.

Have a great weekend where ever you are!

Scott