the story so far..............

well, left amsterdam with a heavy heart. knowing it was the last visit this trip made me realise how close to the end of the trip i actually am.

got on the train..... and this man with 2 girls and a dog came into the compartment. i thought they had reserved the place and i had taken their seat, until he said police, and proceeded to let the dog have a sniff around. wow.. i had no idea they were going to do that. then at Rheine, the police came on again to check passports. again, a first for me.

got back to hamburg and walked to the apartment.... god, it so felt like coming home... no longer does Hamburg feel like a new or foreign city. had a wundershcone evening with Andreas and Henning....trying to arrange the plan for the next day.

unfortunately my other friedn andreas couldnt make it to say goodbye due to work committments.... shade.
but my last full day in H-burg was prob one of the best ive had there. we went down to langesbrucke and ate fischbrotchen and then took a ferry down to the elbe strand. the hamburg version of a beach... and drank beers (i think im beginning to like this beer stuff)

then in the late afternoon, we packed a picnic dinner and went to sit down by the Alster Lake, and had a BBQ, with more beer, and a smoke or two. there were dragon boat races on the lake, so you could hear the drums beating into the warm night air....it was a cross between being in the midst of a jungle, and laying on some french riveria.

i couldnt help but think... kann du die Trommeln hören Fernando

next morning (very very fruh) we must leave for the airport. Ollie came too. which meant the world to me. as we sat there, drinking a coffee before i had to go thru immigration, i got all teary, looking at the friends i had made on the other side of the world, who came to the airport to see me off. es freut mich so sehr, das hast passiet. danke mein freunds (nicht Freunds....freunds)

thansk to everyone in germany who really made my stay so nice. i made some wonderful new friends this trip..... some i hope to see in australia one day.. but already have planned to go back to hamburg in May. this time ill take someone with me i think.. for the itmes my friends are all busy

anyway.. the flight to london passed without incident..... hmm.. sorry folks no amusing annecdote for that. does it count that i kept speaking german to the flight attendants, forgetting i was now on an english airline.

arrived in london and i am sooooooooooooooo shocked at the price of everything. i spent nearly AUD80 just getting from the airport to the hotel. and can you bel;iev, last night i paid AUD14.30 for a packet of ciggarettes.

the hotel room is huge.. i mean really huge. esp after the tiny gaol cells of germany. i even have a huge desk with a fax. and typically..... they gave me a non smoking room.... why is it that this ALWAYS happens to me, even when i made the reservation for a smoking room. but bugger it, att he price im paying for the room, ill do what i god damn please.. (hahaha he says now, after spending the night sneaking into the toilets and holding the ciggarette next to the extractor fan, like a naughty school boy) punishment anyone. dust?.....anyone?.....dust?......no?......dust?

walked around last night in the city getting totally lost, and experiencingthe total confusion that i had in my first week of hamburg. not knowing which wayto look crossing the streets.. and having many near misses with fellow pedestrians. having gotten so used to walking to the right of people on the streets in germany... i have to reaccliamatise to walking to the left again. its something we never think about...... but its like the cars on the road.... we drive on the left so when you walk towards someone more often than not you walk to the left of them to pass. in europe they walk to the right. funny little world isnt it.

anyway, got totally lost last night and didint really manage to find anything of any importance. saw some nice lads tho. whilst the german men on the whole are so yummy.... the brittish "lads" are a bit of aw-roight!

notices a very heavy police presense everywhere... and hearing sirens and the like all the time. london has a different feel to it at the moment to the last visits.

today catching up with a friend.... which i am sure will keep me amused. trying hard to find presants for the family but i really cant find anything worthy...and i dont want to buy crap.

anyway.. check you all soon.....