Paleo 30 Day Challenge - Day 1

After lots of fun partying and drinking in Germany for Christmas and New Year, Britta and I have decided to go on a Paleo challenge. 

Starting details are:

Britty 69.7kg, BF 25.5%, max pushups 11, 1 Double Under, pull up 0

Scott 78kg, BF 15.8%, max pushups 30, 32 Double Under, pull up 5 

Should be fun. I'll post some results in coming days.

Too long ago

It has been far too long since making a post on my blog! Way way too long a time has gone by, and even this post is a quick one.

I have been working now for about 4 weeks and so far I am really enjoying the job. Starting to learn the ins and outs of the company, and learning more and more about business daily.

Britta is now here in Australia! She has been here for just over a week, and I am really enjoying having her back here with me. We are now working on getting the visa, and on the weekend we bought a car!! Toyota for those that are interested.

The weekend is all but over, and it is time to sleep and get ready for the upcoming week. I still haven't forgotten about making a post about our Amsterdam trip, and will do a proper catch up soon.

Best to all! Scott

Job

Sorry for the lack of posting over the last week, but I have been really really busy working on job applications. My work has now paid off, I start a new job on Wednesday. I won't give everyone the name of the company, but I will say that it is doing networking installs, configs, documentation, and in coming months will hopefully move into more of a network design type role. I am really really looking forward to getting back to work (I wonder if I will say that in a few weeks)!!

The other great thing about the job is I get a company car. This is new territory for me, so I guess it means I will be going out to see clients a lot!! I always liked that aspect at GU, getting out of the office and seeing something different is always great to break up the days. In my new job I doubt I will really need to break up the days, there is so much to learn, and I really want to give it a good crack. I think this is certainly what I need, moving into the private sector. I really loved working at GU, it was a top place to work, people were mostly good, and it gave me so much experience, however I think this is the right time to move my career along. Maybe one day I would like to return to GU, but I guess we never really know what the future will bring.

On another note I have now finished unpacking all my stuff, and have got my room at Dad's place sorted out. I have the computer setup, and the wardrobes have been cleaned and are now somewhat organised. I have also cleaned up some space for Britty when she arrives in about 4 weeks. I am so looking forward to her coming, it has only been a week since I saw her, but I am missing Britty so much! Every afternoon I would look forward to that knock on the door of our flat in Kiel, when Britty would walk through. I guess in the coming months it will be the opposite way around when I return from work.

I have also had a lot of questions about this blog. In the future I will continue to blog, mostly for those people that don't get to see and hear what Britty and myself are up to. I am still planning on finishing the Amsterdam post, and my last days in Europe.

Hope to catch up with all you Australian based people soon (if I haven't already). Keep well. Scott

Back in OZ

Well I am back in Australia! That is the first time I have taken a flight from Europe to Brisbane non stop, and it is not much fun. I am not good at sleeping on planes, I really couldn't get comfortable, so all up I think I went about 35 hours before I got some sleep. Even then the sleep wasn't the best sleep because as soon as the sun was up, so was I. I have been use to the sun rising about 9am, now coming home and having it up by 5am really throws you out. I guess I will get use to it in the next few days.

Now it is onto searching for jobs. So far things are looking ok so I will keep everyone posted. Over the next few days and the weekend, I will do my best to catch up with people. Hope to see you soon.

I will also try to post the photos from Britty and my trip to Amsterdam. We used Britty's Mum's camera this time, so I need to get them uploaded to google before I can make the post. Amsterdam is a very cool and interesting city, with so much to do, and so much money to spend. I will post them in the coming days.

Hope everyone is well, and see the Australian people soon!

Great way to cool beer, and final day!!

After moving Saturday, I decided to have a few drinks to celerbrate. In Germany, who needs a freezer when you have Mother Nature.

Also today is my final day in Germany. Tomorrow it is off to Amsterdam. Really really looking forward to that. I think tonight we will also have a few drinks to celebrate. Maybe everyone in Germany will celebrate me leaving! :=) We have a huge bottle of champagne that was given to britty and myself by Sabine and Terry as a going away present! We will be sharing it with the rest of Britta's family tonight. It is just too big for us to drink by ourselves.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in Germany that has helped make my stay so wonderful. The time here has been fantastic, and has let me experience the German way of life. I really really like the culture here, and I look forward to seeing you all again in the future!

Moving Sucks

Today made the move from Kiel to Brittys parents place. I have to say that after today, I think moving is the worst thing you will ever do. It completely sucks, but I guess you cant really do anything about it. If you need to move, you need to move. When Britty and myself both have jobs, I will sure as hell get someone to move for me. I think it will most certainly be worth the money.

Still continuing on the moving theme, tomorrow we have to clean. Now we have finally moved all the stuff, we will spend at least a day cleaning. What fun!!! I just cant wait until it is all over.

Anyways bye for now. Hope you all have a great Sunday.

Last Night in Kiel

Tonight is our last night in Kiel. Tomorrow we move all our stuff back to Britty's parents house, then next week its off to Amsterdam!! Then it is back to OZ to look for work.

It is a funny feeling to be packing everything up, Kiel has been such a cool place to live, and I have had some great times here. Looking back over the time, we have certainly had a lot of excitement. Summer was especially good, the weather was fantastic and there was so much to do. Going to the beach, riding the bikes, and just generally spending as much time outside as possible was really nice. Not to mention the World Cup, Kieler Week, and the fun associated with those events!

Now that winter is here we are obviously spending a lot more time inside, and without the fast Internet access I think I would have gone nuts. Sometimes though it is really nice to go outside in the really really fresh winter air, and over the last weeks we have been going out for a run at night. I have really enjoyed the change in Temperature, and the change in general. I am still however looking forward to the warm Brissy weather. I will be nice to see the sun most days.

Today finally produced some snow!!!! Yes, on the last day in Kiel, it snowed. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go outside in the snow and take some photos. Only a few centimetres of snow fell, but it was enough to give everything a white covering. You can check out the photos here, and the best below.

The view out the window toward the car park.

The view out the back window of our place, or should I say old place.

The kids playground over the road.

Cars completely covered in snow.

The small intersection on the other side of the car park.

A random front yard covered with snow.

I think I remember doing some blog posts about my plan to collect the beer bottles of the beers I try here in Germany. Well yesterday I placed the bottles I collected on the table, and this is the result. There were some really nice ones, but after trying all these I still don't know what my favorite is.

I actually didn't gain too much weight from trying all these beers! Bit surprising really.

Well that just about does this post. Tomorrow I am going to pack up my computer for the trip home. So this is actually my last post from my own computer in Germany!! Have a great weekend where ever you are, and if you live in Australia, see you soon.

Scott

Less than 1 week left in Germany

Time is absolutely flying by now!! Days are moving so fast, and my time in Germany is almost over. Next Wednesday Britty and myself leave for Amsterdam for our 4 night stop over, before I head back to the land of OZ, and Britty comes back to Germany for another 5 weeks!

Over the last week I have started applying for jobs. So far I have but in about 4 applications, and there are many more I will go for. The market for IT in Australia seems to be pretty good at the moment so I am hoping I can find something challenging.

This weekend we have the move out of our place here in Kiel! So far we have taken quite a few loads of stuff back to Britty's parents, but on Saturday we need to move the bigger stuff. The fact that this place is quite small probably makes the move bearable, but moving is still on my list of most hated activities!

Over the past few days the weather has been quite good here. Today I actually saw the sun!! We have had a little bit of snow, but still no major falls. I am hoping that next week the heavens will open and produce some good falls! Forecast looks pretty good!!

In the next few days I will post some photos from our party on the weekend...

Until then, keep well.

Less than 3 weeks of Grey Skies

There are now less than 3 weeks before I head back to Australia on the 4th of February, and in that time we have to finish moving out of our place here, have a going away party this Saturday night, and take a trip to Amsterdam which is our last trip in Europe for the foreseeable future.

Over the past two months the weather here has been terrible, and I have not seen the sun at all. In a way I don't mind the change, but I would really have liked to have seen a real winter. So far the temperature is only going down to about 1 or 2 degrees at night, and during the day it is hanging about 7 or 8. There still has not been any real snow, and I am starting to doubt whether I will see any before I come home. Let's hope!!

As for Britty's coming to Australia, we are hoping for sometime in March! Lets keep our fingers crossed!

New Years Eve

New Years Eve in Kiel was a very very interesting experience, and one that was completely different to anything I have experienced in Australia.

In August I remember saying to Britty that I really wanted to go to Berlin for New Years, however because it was most likely going to be Britty's last New Year in Germany for a few years, we decided to celebrate it in Kiel with many of Britty's friends. I guess Berlin can wait until next time!!!

The night started pretty early by Australian New Year standards. We kicked off the party at about 6pm with a dinner at Britty's friends Marcus, and Danni's flat. The idea for the evening was to get dressed up as pirates, or sailors, and go around to peoples houses, knock on their doors and then start singing. I guess it was like trick-or-treating on Halloween. I can't remember what the song was called, and I didn't know the words because it was a German song, but I tagged along holding a skull and crossbones flag waving it in time to the song. I also started with a hat but unfortunately it was extremely windy on the night, and it kept blowing off my head.

You might ask what is the point of this? I guess there is really no other answer than to get completely and utterly blind! What happens is after you have finished singing, you then hold out a plasitc shot glass, and the person will fill it with something! Normally the person will give you some type of alcoholic drink, and in most cases it is very very strong. I think during the night we were given, wine, vodka, bourbon, and countless other drinks, which most of them I had never tasted (or even new existed). All I know is a lot of them were lethal, and by the time we got back to the flat, most of us were very drunk. Some more than others!

When we got back we then started the count down to new year. As it got closer, completely legal fireworks were going off everywhere. All of which were bought from local supermarkets for less than 1 Euro each. When midnight hit the fireworks went nuts! People shooting them all at once, the noise was pretty incredible, and colour filled the sky in no matter which direction you looked.

After the midnight celebrations, many of the others at the party had decided to go to a night club in Kiel to continue to party. Britty and myself however decided to give it a miss (mainly because of the price, about 20 Euros each). Yeah Yeah I know this is boring, but sometimes you just need to save some money!!

I took a few photos on the night. I have posted a few below and the rest can be found here.

Britty with her best Pirate outfit on! ARH HAAA MATTIES!!

Marcus looks like he has done this before!

Man look at that sexy sailor!

The group at the first house. Danni leading the way.

This was us at the last house about an hour before midnight!

That just about does it for New Years. It was a completely different experience for me, and one that I really enjoyed.

What's going on

How lazy have I been? The answer is very. Over the past week I have not made one post! That is incredible slack and today I have decided to rectify it!

Since New Year Britty has had a week holiday which was great, and I have also started playing some online poker. I know this is no excuse for not writing, but I have been working on getting my play money account up as high as possible.

We have also been working on some of the details for Britty's trip to Australia. We are looking into the final details now and when we know more I will make a post. We are hoping that Britty can come really soon, which will make leaving Europe a little bit easier!

Other than that we are pretty much counting down until the last few weeks in Germany, and our trip to Amsterdam. In a way I am looking forward to coming home, but in another way I don't want to leave Europe already!

Next week I will also explain our new years activities! Until then. Scott

Happy New Year

Hi everyone, just want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Tomorrow when I get some time I will post our new years celebration's photos.

Christmas Eve, Day, and Boxing Day

Christmas in Germany, my first, and it will not be my last! We started on Christmas Eve with a family dinner, then moved onto opening presents. First we gave the individual presents, then we played this game where each couple brings 4 different presents (2 male and 2 female) and we place them on the table. We then spin a dice for 30 minutes, and when you roll a 1 or a 6 you get to choose a present off the table. Once all the presents are gone, you then have the option to take presents from someone else!

The game was very enjoyable, and I am sure I had the best present with one round left, until Britty's dad spun up a 1 and took it from right under my nose! Arh you can't win them all!

Christmas Day was spent calling people at home, and then visiting a few of Britty's relatives. In the night it was off to a night club about 45 minutes from Britty's parents house. I did not feel like drinking so I decided to drive. The night club was massive, and completely jammed packed with people. We stayed until about 1am, and just as we were leaving managed to avoid being caught up in a huge fight inside the club. We managed to get out even though the police were blocking the entire street! Lucky for us. Next night we heard that 7 people were injured during the fight, 3 critically. I am really not surprised at something like this happen given the lack of security in the club. If you ever visit a club in Australia, there are security people everywhere. I think during the night I saw 2 security guards!

Boxing day was spent mostly fixing Britty's parents computer. I know this sounds really lame, but every time I go over their place the Internet continuously drops in and out. I decided I would finally make a stand and fix it. Now I remember why I purchased a Mac before I came to Germany. Using windows again was down right painful! Spyware, viruses, 100s vulnerabilities, 100 of windows updates including updates to windows update!!!! Anyway in the end I think I sorted it.

I took a few photos over the Christmas days, check them out below, and you can find all of them here.

The real Christmas Tree! straight from the garden.

Some of the decorations in Britty's parents house. Petra, Britty's mum likes to decorate the house!

Me with Santa.

Britty placing all my presents under the tree.

mmmmm, what a hottie!

All the presents on the table before the game.

Me and Britty in front of the tree.

I have to say that Christmas in Germany was really frekin good!! I hope that everyone else had a top time, and are enjoying some holidays!! New Years Eve is only 1 day away, and I hope everyone has some wild plans! See you again next year!!!!!

Nürnberg Germany

After our trip to Füssen in Southern Germany, we headed to Nürnberg a city still in Bavaria, however a little further north. The GPS system initial told us the journey would take about 3 hours, however due to road works, which I might add seemed to have no point what so ever, it took us about 5.

In Nürnberg we were staying with Britty's cousin Birgit, and her boyfriend Dirk. They live very close the centre of Nürnberg, and have a really nice unit which made the stay really really comfortable. Birgit's owns her own business as a travel agent mainly organising trips for German tourists to Australia, so her tour guiding skills were exceptional when it came to giving us a guided tour of Nürnberg.

Nürnberg is a city rich in history, and is particular famous being the home of Nazi Party Rallies during the Nazi's reign between 1933 and 1945. It is also very famous for almost been completed destroyed during the war, and after the war was the home of the trails of Nazi Party Members. Nürnberg is also home of a really detailed and exceptionally well priced museum about the Nazi Party which I would class as a must if visiting the city. Britty and myself spent almost 3 hours there, and if given time I think we could have spent another 3 hours.

The old town in Nürnberg is also very beautiful, and was made all the more exciting during our trip because of the Nürnberg Christmas Markets. The market takes up quite a large portion of the city, and is jam packed full of tourists. Other than that it was pretty similar to all the other markets I saw during the Christmas period.

I of course had the camera ready at all times and snapped heaps of photos. Here are the best. You can see the rest here.

When we first arrived on Friday night we decided to have a few drinks. The night ended up being a long one!!

On the first day in Nürnberg we went to the site of the former Nazi Party Rallies, which is also a fantastic museum. This was a structure that Hitler started, but never completed. It was designed to hold 1000s of people to which Hitler would speak. In my opinion it looks similar to the Colosseum in Rome, and maybe it was meant to be used in a similar way!

I think this building is used now as a hostel. It is meant to be a very very good hostel.

Me and Britty within the Nürnberg Castle grounds.

This is the oldest house in Nürnberg. It dates back to the 1300s.

This is my favorite shot I took in Nürnberg. This was a beautiful street with some great old houses.

This is my second fav shot I took. As you can see the old town in Nürnberg is very very beautiful!

A shot of the main square in Nürnberg full of market stalls. This is only one section of the market.

Another photo of the old town.

Britty and myself had a great time in Nürnberg. After our trip here we went on to Halle which is toward the middle of Germany to visit Britty's great Aunt. I will post the photos soon!

Merry Christmas!

I would like to wish everyone (where ever you may be) a very happy Christmas and a very safe and eventful New Year.

Today Britty and myself are having dinner at Brittys parents house, and tomorrow we are partying at a night club about 1 hour from here. Should be very eventful. To me it seems a little strange that a night club would be opened on Christmas Day, but it seems pretty normal around here.

I think back to last years Christmas and New Year, and it was Brittys first away from Germany. I promised Britty last year, that this year we would spend Christmas at her place, and I am really happy it all worked out.

This year has been very good, I have travelled a lot, and seen lots of different things. It was also really great to take in some what of a new culture this year, and the German way of life is certainly very exciting and entertaining.

I hope everyone enjoys the day, and I also hope that Santa is kind to you.

Füssen Germany

After completing 4 days in Munich, we decided to take a drive down to the bottom of Germany to a little town called Füssen. Füssen is famous for the very beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle that sits high on top of a Rock on the side of a mountain. The countryside on the drive is just fantastic, and is so picturesque. At this time of year, we would normally expect to see a little bit of snow, but because the temperature is so warm everything is still very very green. I guess this is good in a way (good for driving), but also disappointing in another way. I would love to have seen the castle and the grounds covered in snow. Maybe another time!

The pictures really speak for themselves, and turned out ok considering just how windy it was. Sometimes during the day you had to crab a railing or something to hold yourself upright. I can only describe it as cyclonic!

The view of the Castle from the bottom of the mountain. The walk to the top takes about 30 minutes, we were thinking about taking the bus until we found out it takes 45 minutes anyway. The walk wasn't so bad!

Another castle just across Hohenschwangau Castle.

Another picture before we took the walk to the top.

Photo of the castle from half way up the mountain.

And another. This time from the front.

The view from the top when you get to the gates of the castle.

The bridge that was also built by King Ludwig II.

The view from the Castle. Not bad. Wouldn't mind waking up each morning to this view.

Another view of the town below.

Britty and myself admiring the castle from the bridge. It was a bit of a hike to get to the bridge, but we worth it. The wind felt as if it would blow us off!

Another shot of the castle. It was truly a brilliant view.

Füssen was great, however it would have been really cool to spent at least a night there, to take in a little more of Southern Germany. However this was not to be, and after our quick trip we started our drive toward Nuernberg. The drive should only have taken about 3 hours, however with roadworks it ended up taking about 5 hours. I will post the photos from Nuernberg in the comings days.

If you want to check out the rest of the Füssen photos, you can get them here. Until next time Tschüss!

Munich Germany 2006 - Part 2

Our final day in Munich started with a trip to the Englischer Garten. The garden was still very nice, even in Winter, however there were no nude swimmers on the day we were there! Bit too cold I think!

A triumphal arch on the way to the Englischer Garten.

On the way we also came across this on the front of the news paper. It states that Munich is having the warmest climate in 1300 Years. No snow at all!

Britty and myself posing in front of the lake in the garden.

Then it was to the Chinese Tower for another photo.

After the Englischer Garten we headed to the new soccer stadium in Munich, were many World Cup games were held, and the home of Bayern Munich and TSV 1860 Munich the German Bundesliga. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time for a tour.

Me in front of the stadium.

Then we headed back into Munich to continue searching for Britty's birthday present. On the way I snapped the photos below. And yes, we found a great present!

Munich has quite a few shops selling the famous coo coo clock.

Munich main square just before the sun went down. The square is full of Christmas Markets.

Britty and myself enjoying a nice hot wine at the Christmas Markets on the site of Oktoberfest.

Well that just about does it for Munich. Munich is a great city, and both Britty and myself would love to live their one day. I guess it will depend on what happens in the future. In the coming days I will post the photos from Nuernberg!

Photo Albums

As many of you can now see, I have started to compile a list of Picasa Web Albums down the left hand column of the blog.

Over the last week and given I have heaps of time at the moment, I started to sort my digital photos in to separate libraries, based on the year in which they were taken. When sorting through the photos I decided to create a library of the best photos of Britty and myself. If you are interested check it out below.

Me and Britty - Our Photos

For those of you that knew me before the start of this blog, most of you will know I worked in Cairns at the start of 2005. If it wasn't for this work, I would most likely have never have met Britty. During the time spent in the tropical north, I also had quite a few visitors from Brisbane. I have also created an album for this. Check it out below.

Cairns Work 2005

Over the comings weeks I plan to unleash more photos from the past. Going back over the photos I have many dating back as far as 2000, some I am sure people will love! :)

Until next time. Scott