"I love climbing because it feels so good when I stop..." ~Karl 'we're all nuts' Baba ~

While Meike was here, we dragged her along to our climbing gym and she took some photos or us on the wall....

More visitors!

Yep - Jack's cousin Meike was here from Frankfurt. The weather hasn't been it's best, but we still managed to do a bit. On Saturday Jack and Meike did a little cruise on the Spree, but got so cold that they had to come back home and warm up with some canned soup. On Sunday Meike and I went to the flea market on Boxhanger Platz in Friedrichsain and then hung out in a cafe on Simon Dach Str. sipping our drinks and watching the freaky people go by. One night we also dropped by the Mauerpark. 'Mauer' = Wall. It's the only remaint of the Berlin Wall which people are allowed to graffiti. Here are a couple of snaps:

Bad eyesight, eh?

I've been meaning to take a photo of this advertisement in the U-Bahn. It's an ad for laser eye correction clinic... thought it was quite funny :)

My first brush with the LAW!!!

Woo hoo! I got my first fine! I'm still in shock! And I don't even own a car!

.....

BUT I do own a bicycle! My bike is the best and I LOVE it..

Here's the story...

It's 17:00 on the dot and I'm out of the door from work... getting on my bike... it's a sunny day, no clouds, the birds are chirping, my bike is making it's usual funny noises - everything is a OK! And just as I'm turning out of the driveway of the work building and heading for the intersection (where from FYI I was going to ride on the actual road), two women and a guy in white t-shirts stop in front of me and make me get off the bike... they basically made this human chain accross the foot walk (which FYI I tried to get around and ride off). The conversation that followed was basically me pretending not to speak German and them explaining to me that it is illegal to ride on the footwalk... to which I said "ok" and tried to bugger off, but they stopped me again and told me "five euro"! To which I said "What???". At which point I got asked for ID, which I refused to give... so anyhoo they just wanted me to pay on the spot without giving any receipt, nothing... when I asked them for their ID they just turned with their backs showing something in big letters written accross the back. AAAAnyway... I've written down my address and asked them to mail me the fine, which they actually let me do...

What surprised me was:

a) that the fine is a mere 5 Euro (beats CityLink, eh?)
b) that they expect to collect money just like that on the street without (themselves) providing any form of ID, or a receipt/bill of what the fine is for
c) that they were very keen to get their bad English across when they wanted the money from me, and how bad it got as soon as I asked about specific laws
d) that they didn't take me to the station or somewhere to check my address (which FYI was correct, 'cos I didn't know what was going to happen from that point on - figured it's safer).

Somehow I feel much more proud to be on the road after this encounter... as if this is my first battle wound. And if I actually end up getting a written bill from them that I have to pay, then I'll feel even more entitled to ride on the foot walk, as if I actually paid for that right!

FYI - I do ride on the roads as much as possible, but the drivers here are pretty nasty and where we live, there are heaps of roadworks making riding on the roads in parts really unsafe. So when the foot walk is more or less empty I just use it.

You know you miss home when...

...while looking for cheap flights from Berlin with Singapore Airlines the only destination you keep picking is Melbourne. *sigh* I miss Australia. I miss Melbourne. I miss my friends. I miss our wonderful cats. I miss my course. I miss... i miss... And here I am at 16:19 in Berlin putting together a new web page element for Siemens.

My Grandmother is here. She's arrived last Tuesday and is leaving this Sunday. She's managed to do a lot while here - 2 days in Vienna, 2 days in Hamburg and on Sunday the three of us did a day trip to Weimar. It is actually a very nice little town with a couple of museums, and VERY good ice-cream, which makes any travel experience always better for me. But on that and Spain somewhat later... when we actually have time to sit down and write something decent. Tomorrow the two of us are off to see the Berlin towing tank - that's a pool to test performance of ships. My Grandma is a mathematician you see, and all of her professional career revolves around calculating ship forms that perform better against water resistance.

This is how life is at 50 30N latitude adn 13 25E longitude!

"Darn the wheel of the world! Why must it continually turn over? Where is the reverse gear?" ~ Jack London ~

More Tests - Self Esteem

So a guy from work recommended this test of self esteem for women... pretty funny :)

Simpsons me?!

Yep - this is what I'd look like if I was in the Simpsons. Make your own avatar on www.simpsonsmovie.com :)











Actually I've decided that this is more me... :)

bleah

after an annoying stressful day here's something stupid I'm doing while Jack's on the phone...

Am I cool or uncool? [CLICK] You are Cool! You're pretty cool! People look at you and think.. 'wow.. that person is cool!' Congratulations. Use your position wisely and teach the dorks below you a thing or two. There's nothing like recruiting a cool person. Cool quizzes at Go-Quiz.com

Your Icecream Flavour is...Neopolitan!

You aren't satisfied with just one flavor. They say variety is the spice of life and this shines through in your Ice cream of choice! Just don't eat all the chocolate and leave the strawberry and vanilla behind!

What is your Icecream Flavour?

Find out at Go Quiz