Aug 2006

Although the weather was shite today, nothing could dampen my sprits! (No pun intended). I was going to the ALPS!!! Soo exciting, and it definitely lived up to expectations.

We started, after passing through non-existent border controls, at Berchetsgarden, the home of Hitler's 'summer-residence'. The residence, more widely known as the 'Eagle's Nest' actually contains a huge labyrithine series of tunnels, which you can explore. The highlight of my visit though (as the rain and clouds made going to the peak a waste of time), was the extensive Dokumentation (Visitor's Centre).

This place was completely unexpected and managed successfully to detail the entire history of National Socialism (Nazism) and it's many facets. Instead of spending a planned 30mins there, we ended up being there for 2 and a half hours! Visiting the bunkers underground was also a chilling experience, not least because it is actually damned cold down there.

The town of Berchetsgarden itself is really quaint, and Bianca and I took the opportunity to travel along the lake to the Chuch (whose name escapes me). The weather actually made it more atmospheric then it would have otherwise been. Nifty huh?!

Our last stop for the day was Salzburg, in Austria. Now I definitely did NOT expect to be visiting yet another country, but as I've said often so far, 'when in Rome...'

Salzburg is amazing, especially at dusk/the evening. The castle stands glowing above the the town, and strategic lighting illuminate most of the important buildings throughout the Aldstadt. It's also quite small. All this meant that in the few hours we spent there we went up to the castle to walk around (and I got to finally ride on a furnicular railway! Simple things amuse simple minds I guess), walked around the entire Aldstadt, visited Mozart's birthplace and had an excellent Italian dinner. Mmmm...pizza

I was so tired that I fell asleep in the car home. I don't think I was much company on that car trip - I kept on fading in and out of consciousness! It was definitely the sign of a day well spent.

PS: For photos of Berchetsgarden, click here.

PPS: For photos of Salzburg, click here.

Today was one of those fantastic relaxing days in the life of a traveller.

After a long lay in, and a chance to catch up with emails etc., Bianca and I left the house at midday for the Deutsche Museum. This place is HUGE... it's touted as the European version of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC and it's not far off it.

It's essentially a Science and Tech Museum, but it contains full bridges, planes, space landing modules etc., so it's really hands-on and certainly beats Questacon anytime!! Not taht that is particularly hard to do!

After 3 hours there, during which I got to see the Northern hemisphere night sky in a planetarium (sooo much fun to watch all the stars spinning - I felt like a little kid again), we walked to Sacchus, at one end of the extensive pedestrianised Aldstadt (old-town). The aim was to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in English, but that was not to be - the next session was in 5 hours So instead we went to the nearest restaurant and I had Jägerschnitzel. OMG so nice!!! It's chicken schnitzel done in creamy sauce with noodles and salad. Deceptively simple, but oh so good.

After dinner, Bianca and I met Flo (her boyfriend who I had met in Singapore), and two friends of theirs: Marc and Jasmine. Marc studies with Flo, and Jasmine was over from Austria. We walked for AGES before finding a suitable place to have a drink, and ended up in the huge, but deserted clubbing district of Ostbahnhof (East Central Station). On a weekend this place is nuts, but at the time it was quiet and really nice, with potent cocktails. The potency, however, may have been because I ordered a Long Island Iced Tea, but hey, that's a Bavarian drink isn't it?

I also continued my education in German phrases. For example, the sitcom "Step By Step" from the 1990s is known as "A Strong Family" in Germany. You may be wondering why this subject came up at all - seriously though, when don't we talk about Step By Step!?? Nah, it came about because the aforementioned cocktails were damn cold, and Flo proceeded to have a "Brain Freeze", which is exactly the same in German (i.e. it's a literal translation). Apparently the phrase became known here through Step By Step. Small world huh?

After a relatively late breakfast, owing largely to the Robbie concert last night, Bernd and I headed off to the Haus am Deutsches Historische. It's official title is "Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland". Try saying that drunk.

This museum differs from so many other ones that I've been to recently because it only covers Germany's history since 1945. The museum itself was fascinating, but as with a lot of things in Bonn, everything was only in German, so without Bernd I would have been a little lost, to say the least! Thanks Bernd!

After rushing back home to finish packing, Bernd drove me to the airport and I boarded the plane for München. From the old capital of Germany (Bonn was the capital until 1991, believe it or not!!) to the beer capital of the world in 45mins! Hehehe...no wonder more Aussies end up in München. BTW: Germanwings have next to no leg room no flights .. be careful fellow tall people!

I've only been here a few hours and already I love it. The atmosphere is great - like a large small town (if that makes sense), and the view from the top of the Olympic Tower was grand! Plus I had a midnight beer in a real biergarden ... how much more München can you get!?!?

Tchüss!

PS: For photos of Bonn, click here

Today was split into two.

The morning I spent on my own visiting two of the main sights in Köln - the Dom (Cathedral) and the Romanische Historische Museum. Both were fantastic, particularly all the artefacts in the Roman History museum, and the view from the top of the Dom. There was just sooo much to see, and unfortunately I had limited time. The treasury at the Dom was also great, and definitely demonstrated just how much money the church has!

The afternoon was spent queuing for the Robbie Williams Concert with Bernd, Verena and 28 of their closest friends and relatives! No seriously, they bought 30 tickets and I was lucky to nab the last one! Considering the 160,000 tickets for Köln sold out in 1hr, I count myself very lucky! 80,000 people per day makes it the largest concert I've ever been to, and it definitely felt it.

We got there about 1:30pm, and already there were maybe 1000 people queueing. By 4pm when we were allowed it, the crowd had grown exponentially! Through a bizarre twist of fate we were in the right place at the right time and got "Wave 2" bands, which means no matter when we arrived we'd be allowed into the 2nd barrier, so really close! Makes all that queuing worthwhile

The concert itself was nothing short of spectacular. As much as I find Robbie annoying as a person, he can definitely entertain. The stage was specifically set up for him and was roofless, so had it rained (as it did in Munich the week before) everyone would have got wet! Even the venue was created just for the 2 nights!

Orson played first to a crowd that wasn't really interested, and as much as they tried, their music just didn't have that edge necessary. It just sounds all the same as everything else that's out there!

Basement Jaxx played next and were AWESOME!!! I've always wanted to see them live and they did not disappoint. They bought with them live bongos, singers and dancers and it was fantastic! Even their new music sounded great

Robbie was on (obviously) last and it was surprisingly great. He can really sing, and played all the 'hits' for over 2 hours! The best ones were the swing songs, done in duet with Johnny Wilks (no not the rugby player).

And to top it off I also got to try currywurst on the train home. Oh, and my special concoction - Sprite'n'Bread - made by strategically dropping a bread roll into a cup of sprite. Delicious...not!

PS: For photos of Koln & the concert, click here