4000 sad Germans. 10 happy Spaniards. Congrats :)

Last Friday I had to kill five hours of time in the Franconian province. I had to take our car to Forchheim for its anual inspection and as no one was able to pick me up I had to spend the whole morning from 8 to 1 in that small (and very traditional) town.

Doesn't sound too exciting, I know. But I took the opportunity to do some hardcore chilling: enjoying the morning sun outside a cute little café in the city center, reading a book (haven't done that in nearly 5 years!), strolling through town, taking a 5km walk to the small village where I used to live for two years and having some good old 'Wirtshaus' food in the local tavern while chatting with a local retired farmer.

Seriously, even though this might sound boring as hell and even though I was confronted with a lot of cliché provincialism, traces of pure boredom and heaps of bad taste it was maybe the best day at home I've had so far. I guess it's just very soothing for the soul to spend some time in an area where the clocks tick a bit slower and people still greet each other in the streets...



P.S. It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff one can do during a day when getting out of bed before 12 for a change.

...I'm just taking a break :D Still, my second 5 months abroad have come to an end and last Saturday, after a 6 1/2 hour drive - my dad thankfully picked me up - I returned to my hometown in Germany. Depending on how I will decide on my 'future education plans' I will spend the next one or two months here before moving on to Oslo. I'm gonna try to 'come down' a bit, relax and do absolutely nothing for a change - after almost 10 months of constant studying (I really only had the two week break over Christmas).

The only things that are on my schedule are attending my sister's high school prom and maybe some short trips to Darmstadt, Copenhagen, Den Haag or some other cities, we'll see. Also I'll try to decide where I'm gonna finish my studies. After giving it some thought, KABK now does seem a much bigger option than it did right after it was offered to me. If I would take it, there'd still be a lot of details to clear up but it might affect the start and length of my stay in Norway. Again, time will tell. First I reeeeally need to chill for a bit now.

By the way, that below is honestly only half my luggage...

I don't know how you guys handle it, but often enough I need some downtime just for myself. I then feel the strong urge to be alone somewhere – secluded, remote, quiet and preferably with a calming view. Escape my own life for an hour to slow down, breathe, think. I guess that's the little Buddhist inside me ;)

Luckily, at home I have the perfect place for these 'urges' – a hill close to my house which takes me about half an hour to jog up, with a beautiful view across the countryside. I really treasured those occasions I was able to take some time off to go there when I was in Germany last week. Mostly because here in Den Haag I don't really have such a place. An isolated spot at the beach used to work for me in the beginning, but since a couple of weeks it's being occupied by seasonal beach bars and fences – it's a damn ugly sight actually.

Anyways, I think it's very benefiting to have such a sanctuary / refuge, really helps sometimes. Guess, I'm just gonna have to start looking again...

Yesterday was 'Anstich'. For everyone from my homewtown Erlangen that - the opening of the first beer barrel at 17:00 o'clock - marks the start of one and a half weeks of total excess. Drinking, singing, dancing, partying, meeting old friends - the Bergkirchweih is all that. It's the one time of the year where every Erlanger comes home for a couple of days, no matter how far away they work or study.

If you've ever been to the Oktoberfest: it's like that just much nicer :) Instead of in big tents the whole party takes place outside under huge old trees, basically like one big beergarden. Also, there aren't nearly as much people dressed up in traditional clothing (which in my opinion always gives the event in Munich something of an old fashioned flair) and the music is less folklore-ish.

The partying during these 12 days usually starts somewhere in the afternoon and lasts 'til 11, then the music has to shut down because of noise regulations. But who cares. After 11 the pack moves from the 'Berg' (German for mountain, and giving the festival it's name), which is more of a hill on the outskirts of the town, to the inner city to continue celebrating in and around the local bars and clubs til early morning. It's totally berzerk. You have to experience it to understand why this event so important to 'us' Erlangen people ;)

Here's a short video I shot that pretty much sums up the happenings of one such days. Though the first part - the three hour pilgrimage with old highschool buddies to the festival from a local supermarket - only takes place on the first day. And no footage of the afterparty, as it didn't happen for me... too wasted and too tired.

Straight outta Zwischenflüh biatch! The hut where the magic happened.

One week. One cottage in the Swiss Alps. Thirty people. New Year's. And one hell of a time. Some impressions...

1) Mmmmh.
2) Whooo loves pooowder? IIII love pooowder!
3) For grandma.
4) The big New Year's feast.
5) 12 o'clock and "Sie hatte ganz ganz dicke dicke Titten..."
6) Some relaxed Texas Hold'Em with Linda, Tobi and Tobi.