the last supper

one last dinner and wine at the best restaurant ever with meine besten. oh, how i'll miss rehashing all the dirty details of our trips with you kids, not to mention all our bamberg adventures. k-train and priscilla, just forget how you met me, ok? shawn, man oh man do i owe you for dealing with car sick ang in ireland, and then dealing with i-feel-like-i'm-dying ang in turkey. but there are good memories, too. salzburg - complete with jailbirds and ballerinas ;) - got the ball rolling in style. where the party cup had its beginning, non? good times, good times. and then there was vienna featuring zoolander and that other disney character whose name i can never remember, and probably couldn't spell even if i remembered. and who could forget portugal. *sigh* how many times did we see that one video?!? and do you guys know i filmed you doing the fatboy slim dance? yeah, it's as bad as you think it is. sun burns, aloe gel, skippy peanut butter, ketchup chips and oh so many laughs. i will miss you so, so much. why do all good things come to an end?

picnic

i love reformhaus. i can buy ang-friendly bread and crackers and pizza crust and soy milk at reformhaus and that makes me happy. yes, plain crackers make me happy. i almost cried when i got back from turkey (i.e. hell) and saw crackers in my cupboard. anyways, i also noticed that reformhaus carries gluten-free german-style pretzels and thought it fitting to at least try the oktoberfest staple before i leave (and while we're on the topic of leaving - don't ask me about it. it sucks. i don't want to leave. i don't want to go back to school. i don't want to move back to winnipeg even though i love the city. yes, i want to see my best girls and my family, but in all honesty i would prefer a short holiday there as opposed to living there another two years. there, that's all i'm saying on the topic because it is depressing). back to better things, namely german bread. so, i bought the over-priced aufbackbrezeln, and even splurged on €3 gluten-free beer to make my experience complete. yup, had a little bier and brezel picnic and it was lovely. sun was shining, company was delightful, warm, doughy pretzels were eaten, cold beer was sipped. here's the photographic evidence:

hochzeitsfeier!

remember the sweetest, smiley italian from the alte generation? well, guess who got married last weekend! if you were one of the alte generation, you also know fc nürnberg's biggest fan and former erasmus tutor, kathrin. kathrin and michi drove down to italy for the wedding, and posted pics of the feier here. congratulations miriam and stefano!

we'll pick up some mango juice...

reminiscing about the best vacation ever over €1 beer in the sauna best known as fäßla stube.

rosengarten

enjoying one of the lovely bamberg attractions on a sunny summer day. think the average 15°c weather has taken its toll on the roses.

still making music

taking me all the way back to my pre-uni days, backpacking around the UK and listening to 'turn' for the first time, travis is back with a brand new album. glad it's a little less i'm-mad-at-the-world than 12 memories. fran healy's voice floods me with memories of people and places i haven't seen in ages and still makes me want to sing along.

here's the boy with no name's first single:

closer

I've had enough of this parade
I'm thinking of the words to say
We open up unfinished parts
Broken up, it’s so mellow

And when I see you, then I know it will be next to me
And when I need you, then I know you will be there with me
I’ll never leave you

Just need to get closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now
Closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now

Keep waking up without you here
Another day, another year
I seek the truth we set apart
Thinking of a second chance

And when I see you, then I know it will be next to me
And when I need you, then I know you will be there with me
I’ll never leave you

Just need to get closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now
Closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now

And when I see you, then I know it will be next to me
And when I need you, then I know you will be there with me
I’ll never leave you

Just need to be closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now
Closer, closer
Lean on me now
Lean on me now

Closer, closer... closer, closer

canada day!

chocolate and that beautiful flag first thing in the morning - you know it was a good day! finally some sunshine in deutschland, which we enjoyed by spending all day outdoors. first we headed over to msv duisburg's first practise of the season, then we checked out some of christoph’s old mülheim haunts.

wasserrosen im MüGa

spiegel der wahrheit? hmm, not sure how i feel about that...

a vonderful goot game

if you get the title, you know what we were playing!

gasometer

former gas storage facility in oberhausen which now hosts a variety of exhibitions. when we visited, satellite images from around the world were being displayed. took the elevator the hundred-something metres up, but the wind and rain meant my hands stayed in my pockets and therefore my camera stayed safely tucked away in its case.

an image of the land of ice and snow. a little taste of home...

landschaftspark nord

an old steel mill converted into a park. trees, an open air cinema, a scuba diving tank, banquet halls, a restaurant, a disco, and a youth hostel now grace the grounds of this piece of ruhrpott history.