Flying home for Christmas

So am sat at home now and it is the day after Boxing Day - just watching Carol Vorderman's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' having watched Eastenders AGAIN and also most of Chicken Run even though I have already seen it lots and still own it on video.

I haven't been well since I got home - am struggling with the flu but I think it is the reaction to flying home again. I wasn't so good on the flight from Amsterdam and got really freaked out but then in the end I was ~(as usual) ok. I loved Amsterdam especially covered in snow. I didn't get the chance to go to any musuems because they were too expensive or couldn't hold the luggage I was carrying. So I spent most of the day in the airport watching the snow come down.

My suitcase came out first on the conveyor belt and I was straight out through passport control. Mum was waiting there and we headed home in the car. It was nice to travel in a car and not a tram or a train for a change. We went straight to Penny Lane to pick up some chips from Lucy. I have never eaten so quickly in my entire life. When I came home I went straight up to my bed and jumped on it....my double bed that isn't broken - also Stella was sitting waiting in my bed and I think she was very happy to see me. It felt so good to come home.

The next few days where spent getting ready for Christmas day. Went to the cathedral to see the Messiah by Handel - the music was amazing but the cathedral was so cold. If we go next time then definately take blankets and hot water bottles. Also went to spend an evening with Mrs Lewis and a curry too - Catie was in work but I saw her on Christmas day. I tried to go to Crumpet Eve celebrations but due to being in the dark ages with no mobile phone I can't get hold of anyone and so after my long walk headed home.

Christmas day was lazy - headed to the Lewis's for morning/afternoon drinks. I was still feeling sick so I couldn't eat anything. I waited for the turkey mum had cooked(first time in years we have had turkey on Christmas day) and ate all the dinner including sprouts. Divine! got some lovely presents and Gareth was here too. Just a nice quiet family christmas.

It is strange but while I was in Bonn I thought so much about coming home and now I am here I keep thinking about being back in Bonn again. I miss my little room with all my things in it and I miss my boys and my gals as well too. Anyways before I get too sentimental I shall head off to make some food.

Der Zug endet hier. Bitte alle Fahrgaeste aussteigen :-)

WHAT A FEW DAYS:-)

It began on Thursday with the arrival of Ms Emily Ford to the country which you know can only mean endless laughter oh and potential falling asleep on trains. Had to go to Anna's to pick up a blow up mattress/bouncy castle which just about fitted into my room but very fun to jump up and down on:-) So off I went to Cologne/Bonn airport to pick up the Emily one with a very scary/road-raged bus driver. SERIOUSLY I know he was on the motorway but that is no excuse to drive like a maniac...felt like I was an extra in the film for SPEED or something.

Anyhoo Emily arrived safely in one piece and we returned to the beautiful Tannenbusch(I don't see where any of the problems in the area are in the slightest!!!). Ended up watching 'Up' as Emilylein was a little sleepy from flying and probably the severe lack of Coffee pushing through her veins. GOT TO LOVE KEVIN!!!!!(Kevin's a girl?)

Friday morning was unfortunately lecture at 10am and I didn't get out of bed until about 9.20! OH WELL! Normally the lecture is quite boring but we got to watch the beginning of SCREAM so it was ok. Met up with Emily and we went to Cafe Blau with the girlies for some essen and trinken but no Heiss Schoko was had unfortunately. Knowing we were going to meet Chloe later on in Cologne for a good old fashioned Liverpool Uni Rendevouz - we had a 'little' afternoon nap, which turned into the rest of the afternoon.

Got ready and headed to Cologne to meet the Chloe one - also met her two mates Julie and Ani(sorry if I spelt it wrong). After looking for somewhere to eat eventually found somewhere(this wasn't before a drunk yelled "HAESSLICH" numerous times and a fight began outside a pub with one hell of a bitch slap). Food was grand and the cocktails delicious. Then on to a Kareoke Bar which contained a massive group of Polish people who were EXTREMELY drunk but very funny. Of course not wanting to miss out on the fun tried to get up and sing but the mean kareoke lady would only let us sing 'It's raining men'. Tired of kareoke it was onto a club on the Hohenzoller ring(think that is how you spell it) - there was LOTS of dancing to be had, fair bit of drinking and plenty of photographs to be taken - am awaiting their arrival on Facebook:-)

Getting home from Cologne proved a little difficult but 2 taxi's and a train ride later we made it back around 4.30am.

Yesterday we got up late and decided to head to Aachen which was beautiful but very very cold. The Christmas market was crowded with people - quite a fair few French/Belgians but then again when you see how close the border is to the city it sort of makes sense. Also had a few Gluehwein at the Hexenhof which was brilliant but claustraphobic. We also went into Der Dom were Charlemagne's remains are supposed to be and probably explains why the cathedral itself was so beautiful. Not as big as Cologne I don't think but the interior made up for the size. I will try to find a few pictures. After getting back from Aachen we were pretty whacked and so couldn't make it to Monja's party unfortunately. I also missed out on Bernie Boy's birthday celebrations too. OH WELL!!!!

Now Emily will be up in the sky with Germanwings and I am back in Tannenbusch about to potentially begin some work/reading

Christmas Time...the girls and Gluhwein

Hey all,

Has been a few weeks since I have written on here and lots has been going on.

On Academicus Tag on Wednesday me, Anna, Ramona and Susie went off to Munster. Of course it takes like 3 hours to get there by train. The in-train entertainment was hilarious; Guess Who is a GREAT game if not sometimes hard. Some of the people were interesting too; Amy WineHouse, Jesus, Elvis, Richard Armitage, Lady Gaga, Keira Knightly and Richard Armitage to name a few - all very funny indeed.

Got to Munster and it was really pretty. As Susie warned me - this really is the Bike capital of Germany where bikes rule the way and they do. I have never seen so many bikes except when I was in Freiburg. We wandered around the many Christmas markets and also met up with Susie's sister to go for some food.

Also discovered I have my own church St Lamberti in Munster...the problem is that anabaptists used to be tortured there in the 15th century and their torture cages now hang off the side of the church(thank you wikipedia)..lovely thing to see! Also visted the Dom which was HUGE but as Ramona pointed out no where near as big as the Anglican Cathedrale in Liddypool.

Of course to commemorate our day out - we decided to buy something. So we came across some minature ducks and each bought one.

Name deciding was tough but eventually; George Michael, Tina Turner, Tom Jones and Elvis were welcomed into the world. All very silly indeed. also there may have been some purchasing of Christmas antlers for next weeks Christmas party:-) SO excited.

I can't believe it is less than 2 weeks until I am going home. Am very excited to be going back home but am not spending enough time there I think. I wish I could stay for a month!!! But unfortunately it is not to be as the Uni will be starting up - need to email some tutors now!

From Bonn - lots of love

Steffi x

Back in the Day...

Sometimes it is always good to go to see older relatives and hear the stories of the 'good old days'. Today I went off to Troisdorf which is sort of midway between Bonn and Cologne to visit my great-uncle and his lady friend Micki(who is ACTUALLY named after Micki Mouse because she was born in the same year!). Had to take a few trains to get there but eventually arrived.

We went for a lovely meal in a restaurant which is attached to the church that Micki and my uncle go to at Christmas time for the service. The food was GORGEOUS and I had some chicken schnitzel which was covered in sauce with onions and peppers. Also I tried my very best to sprechen the Deutsch - which amazingly I did:-) Showed some old pictures of my daddy from when he must of been about 16 or 17 as Onkel Rudi sent me a picture from when I was 18 months old in Denmark so decided to show him some of the photos I have.

We then drove back to Micki's house in Troisdorf where she had cake ready for us to eat - I have never eaten so much! IT IS RIDICULOUS but the cake was gorgeous. Then the conversation turned to many random things and also saying certain sayings in German and English....my uncle taught himself English and can also speak Norwegian fluently!

Then it was time to come home - had the intention of going out but now may just stay in and watch a film or listen to some James Brown! Also discovered a better way of sleeping which is to put the mattress on the floor under the window because the lights from the stairwell shine right in my eyes when I try to sleep....so last night I actually felt like I slept despite going to bed at around 3.30am!

Was at the Christmas market yesterday and it was great - a few Gluhwein too many made me really really sleepy though which was bad but I will definately be having some more very soon.

Coffee and Strike!

Well this week has been an interesting one - lots of Students have gone on strike about the Studienbeitrag(can't spell but basically their version of tuition fees!) and also the conversion into the new system of Batchelor and Magister because it means people can get degrees quicker and not spend 10 years (as my sister has just done) trying to FINALLY get their degree. The tuition fee here is only €500 per Semester which is fairly cheap in comparison to England. Plus also technically I am being paid to study at the University so I really should not be striking with the other students even though I can see why they want to protest in the first place.

Went for coffee/hot chocolate and cake with the girls today. Always a LOVELY and funny time to be had. Isi is having her birthday I THINK on Saturday so got her a little gift - she has so much patience with me and everyone who is learning German she is GRAND! Plus must be said Charlotte's Tunfisch Unfall(insert Beethoven melody here) meant a very fun trip to the perfume department of Kaufhof. Good memory to be had there.

Yesterday's regular meeting with Dave for Doener and conversation or as I am now going to call it Dave und Doener Mittwoch - also resulted in some very philosophical conversation too. Amazing the things people find to talk about.

It is only 4 weeks until I will be back in the UK - in fact around this time EXACTLY in 4 weeks time I will be at home. Am looking forward to it to say the least - am loosing focus of why I am here but going home I think will put me back onto track. Today was a bad day for German language but yesterday was better. Today I tried to write a piece on cliches about the Brits.....is it bad I could only think about 3? Anyways as usual have wittered on for a page and a half and it is utternonsense...any suggestions? Perhaps not.

Still I get to spend the weekend with my great uncle and his lady friend which I am looking forward to. Am hoping my sister is going to come up here if not I am DETERMINED to car share my way to Freiburg(Dave fancy a trip?!)

miss ya'll

Let's start with some song lyrics, "Tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing"

I hate the world today
You're so good to me, I know
But I can't change
Tried to tell you
But you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath
Innocent and sweet

Yesterday I cried
Must have been relieved to see the softer side
I can understand how you'd be so confused
I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything
All rolled into one

I'm a bitch I'm a lover
I'm a child I'm a mother
I'm a sinner I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know, you wouldn't want it any other way

So take me as I am
This may mean, you'll have to be a stronger man
rest assured , when I start to make you nervous
And I'm going to extremes
Tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing

Just when you think
You got me
Figure out the seasons all ready changing
I think it's cool, you do what you do
And don't try to save me

I'm a bitch,
I'm tease
I'm a goddess on my knees
When you're hurt
When you suffer
I'm your angel undercoverI
've been numb
I'm revived can't say I'm not alive
You know I wouldn't want it ANY other way

It's always great to start with a song and observing LUST photographs of the Rocky Horror Show has made me realise how much I miss partaking with Theatre and having something to go to nearly every night. Of course not that I am complaining about being here - I really like it! We all have up days and we all have down days.

There is something about year abroads or prolonged time in another country that puts things into pespective about what you know what you want from life. For me I want to do well with things and do the best that I can achieve - if that means I become an international superstar along the way then so be it. No but in all reality am wondering whether or even what I can do when I finish University. Naturally I would like to travel a bit more further into Eastern Europe and maybe pick up another language another way but I don't think Fernando Torres is going to let me move in any time soon. Of course getting some nice job and working my way up somewhere would be divine too.

Today I spent the day with Dave and it was almost a piece of England entering into Germany - Toad in the Hole with beer for dinner...it really couldn't get any better except it did with the massive inclusion of football(even if England did loose!). Also the walk along the Rhine was great and meant we could look at the boats which in a geeky way reminds me alot of being back in the 'pool. It is a problem trying to find people who want to speak German with you ( they are here if you look hard enough) but as soon as you mention you are English then people want to speak to you. I am wondering how it is going to be when I have to go off to Stendal? Living in the village *welsh accent* - it is going to be alot of German which I believe will be GREAT but of course there are going to be ALOT of people that I miss in Bonn!!!

University is going alright I wouldn't say badly and I wouldn't say excellently a little bit in der Mitte. The understanding is getting better but the 90 minutes concentration is an extreme struggle. God bless the 1 hour lectures we have at home. I also had to give a presentation on Bestimmte Sprachfunktionen des Sprachmodels Buehner und Jakobson...I could barely understand any of it with all it's academic language and Germanness. But everyone was quite and I started with an apology and when I finished everyone knocked on the table(German version of clapping) and it felt great. It wasn't perfect but I still spoke some appalling German in front of roughly 40 people!!!! Strangely exhilirating....next I will be flying planes...maybe not.

Anyway time to for bed. I may start doing a couple more blogs soonish

Shneffi x

All by myself....

.... no I am anything but all by myself. In fact I couldn't be more surrounded by people.

Just a quick note on the blog as I realised I haven't written on it in an few days. The past week or so Uni is beginning to settle down because I have finally angemeldet(i.e. registered for all the classes I am supposed to) and the work is beginning to start. It's taking me a while to get through my reading but I am hoping that with time that will get better.

Of course the other major problem is trying to find German people who want to speak German because EVERYONE wants to speak English or as soon as they know you are English then they casually slip into English mode - DAMN.

So the past weekend I wasn't up to much. Friday night was beer drinking with the boys oh and watching Anchorman(for the millionth time), Saturday night went to an Irish pub in the Altstadt and drank a fair amount of beer. Sunday night was the day to rest as it should be but also had some reading to try and get through. Then came to Anna's in the Südstadt to chill out with the girls and watch Bridget Jones(thus the meaning of the title) AND Love Actually. Ended up staying here at Anna's and am still here now - luckily have brought my stuff with me so it is just a short walk up to Uni for me!

Anyways...speak soon

Guten Abend meine Damen und Herren - wilkommen bei blog Shnuff:-)

Pretty sure that most of you will be able to understand the title.

Ok so after a mega confusing week of being lost in University and quite frankly being lost in translation. Today seemed to put me back on a mega high again mainly because I could actually follow the lecture plus we got to look at some paintings which I really liked. Also I met a few more ERASMUS people but they all seem to know each other and their level of German is amazing.

Yesterday in my determination not to sit on my bum and be lazy - I took myself off to the Art Gallery....well I was feeling cultural what can I say? It was great and there was alot for me to see. There was alot of expressionist painting jazz going on there so I spent ages looking at those pictures. Plus some of the contemporary pieces were FABULOUS! Oh check me out getting all arty and geeky. I have a whole mile of museums to cover so it will give me something to do at the weekends when I am not partying or "studying".

Then since it was a beautiful day I decided to take a big long walk since everyone else in Bonn seemed to also be walking around too it was great. I took myself along the Adenauerallee which was a little journey into history because it is where the old West German government had their former shindigs. I then also walked back to the main Uni building and headed back to Hauptbahnhof which was a total of 5 stops. Eventually when I get my bike back then i will start to cycle from Tannenbusch to town because I think it will only take me something like half an hour plus then I will get to explore more of Bonn.

Right I actually have some homework to do and since it is 10 sides of German it is going to take me a while I think to read it and probably make sense of it.

aufwiederhoeren.

Week One - Party 4

Ok so Friday night was another partying night because it was the opening of the semester even though that is technically on Monday but I think I can understand why they give us the weekend to relax before.

Had to take this boring tour of the building before we could actually go into the bar which is the smallest room in the world but the bar was fully stocked so it was good. Plus we got the beer which was only €1 for half a litre....it was great. So for me I decided to stay on the cocktails as did Maria and then the Czech boys arrived and it went a little bit crazy. They introduced us to this czech drink which had the smell of vodka with the taste of sambucca it was horrible!!! Much dancing was done and many attempts at break dancing too - I am surprised I even have a back that isnt shattered into pieces to be honest!

Saturday morning was not the most pleasant of experiences shall we say - I should have also taken a trip to Aachen. In the state I was in there was no way I was going to be sitting on a bus for 3 hours. I spent most of the day in bed it was horrific - my neighbours were great though because they had come out for a few pints too. So when we made our dinner together we all had a proper masive giggle about the previous night's events.

Today I woke up and watched Frida(I know I have seen it a million times but I LOVE it so much) then decided I couldn't stay in bed all day. So I took the Strassenbahn into town and found a little market going on - like a flea market so lots of random things including a Gramaphone stand which was awesome there were about 30 different ones and the guy who owned the stand had alot of original vinyls from the 1920s it was GREAT! Then I met up with Dave and went for some hot chocolate but I have never tasted chocolate like this it was DIVINE!

Now am back home for my sunday night in drinking tea and reading the Suddeutsche Zeitung and also potentially watching Pulp Fiction. But first to wash my hair and make me some din dins.

bis spaeter

Steffi x

Yeah so i'm pretty much domestic now

Well you know moving away from home you have to do some chores in order to survive. So today I ventured to find the washing machines and dryers in the basement...only no one told me it was just in one buildings basement. So I stood in my own building's basement for about 20 minutes looking for the washers/dryers then eventually asked some one else.

Reading washing machines auf Deutsch is NOT easy - there was no escaping trying to get away with looking for maybe the English/French translation oh no entirely German(I don't know why I am so shocked I mean I am in Germany after all). Lets just say i'm not exactly down on the washing and drying vocab! So a few click of a buttons here and there and hopefully done - if I see smoke rising from the building behind me I know then that my washing is on fire instead of actually drying.

The next thing is cooking - I like to cook but the hob here is weird and there is no gas:-@ This is quite possibly the weirdest complaint ever...yeah guys love the country but do something about the hob situation. Went to the Turkish market today to get some vegetables for my tea and I went into the shop but the man nearly died - I think I was the first non-turkish person to be in the shop for a long time it was bizarre.

Was avoiding the HIT supermarket after the snotty check out woman nearly threw me out after she ram-sacked my other shopping bag suspecting me of stealing - im sorry woman but what am I going to steal out of your store exactly? Maybe if you had some nice shoes in the shop I would chance it but im not going to be stealing fruit and vegetables or tableware.

Also can someone tell my body clock/sense of time to sort itself out? I keep turning up late for things and missing everything...well not everything I mean I went partying(again) last night.

OH YEAH - I went partying! So went to this place called Bar Ludwig which was the international students opening party so people from ever inch of the earth packed into a little former restaurant. I say former because the dance floor was acutally a kitchen but with everything ripped out of it, tiles on the floor and walls oh and of course a sign about switching microwaves on. Little strange! The music was great though it reminded me alot of heebies except with the odd German Beatles track chucked in for good measure 'Sie liebt mich ja ja ja'.

Tonight is going to my Steffi night off to rest and relax before tomorrow when yet again there will be another party but this time it is in the halls so I don't have to get the nightbus or train home.

love love
Shnoodels

Queing, German Bureaucracy und Bier

It has to be said that there are too many forms to fill in and too many things to que for. I have spent nearly 6 hours in 2 days queing around waiting for stuff with about 200 other disorientated people. Today was enrolment at the University so again back to the akademisches Kunstmusuem to sit around and be spoken to about things which have already been done by everyone. Also they need to invest in some microphone’s as projection to the back of the room was terrible – anyways enough of this rant about the surprisingly lacking organisational skills.

Am now an official student of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. Woop dee doo! Am among scholars such as Karl Marx, Prince Albert and Germany’s first post war chancellor Konrad Adenauer there is now a new one – Stephanie Luise Lambert. WUNDERBAR

Have been meeting lots of people which is just awesome and they are from all over the place. Austria, Hungary, Finland, France, Albania, Czech Republic and Turkey are to name a few. There are also a few Spaniards walking around too but they just stand together and witter on and on they talk like this writing wilbevfbdfvbkenvfbkEBVNKAEJBRVFGKEJBV.Kahjb vj\HBVKEB....it doesn’t seem to make sense but you know that what they are talking about is great and important to them.

So last night went on a bit of a pub crawl which was great. I tried about 6 different German beers. It got to the point were I actually had to say, “STOP please I can’t drink any more.” I really am a poor excuse for a student. The night bus home was also an event. Luckily I was with my newly acquired hot neighbour, ‘Maria’ and the two of us were trying to see were our street was....easier done in broad day light rather than 3am when we stumbled home.

The next piece of bad news was we were supposed to be up at 8am to get into Uni fresh and early but I slept through my alarm and was a little worse for wear this morning so didn’t go. They didn’t tell us that going to this meeting this morning was important – so oh well it got rescheduled as no one came!!Oh well it will be alright in the end.

Also there is a local cat who I think gets fed by lots of people so he is a proper fatty – reminds me alot of Stella Bella Boodles who also has a big belly. But it is lovely to come home and have the cat follow you to the door he doesn’t miaow so I don’t think he sprechen’s Deutsch.

Anyways must go einkaufen. Missing everyone

wilkommen, bievenuem, welcome

After a difficult and tearful goodbye with the Dottie this morning it was time for me to head to the lovely international office on Poppelsdorf Allee.

Found it easy enough but don't think I have ever been in a room with so many foreign people at one time; chinese, italien, french, turkish, austrian( not sure if they count!) - were all registering up for ERASMUS. Had to fill in a form which was half English half German...I tell you trying to learn German here is going to be tough as most people can speak English or somehow recognise you are English and come to your rescue.

Hats off to the deputy lord mayor who came to do his welcoming speech at the opening talk and did it in about 7 different languages which was uberly impressive. Also met an ace austrian person who has come here to do law with ERASMUS and she lives in the next building so in the words of Daniel Hillard in Mrs Doubtfire, 'I think I made a friend'.

My phone is sorted now so for ya'll reading this via Facebook drop me a line and I will send it on to you. But for now it is time to eat some soup and then go drinking with everyone tonight

Kultur

It is safe to say that me and Dottie have not neglected our cultural duties aside from trying to pass ourselves off as British tourists who verstehen nicht. Since arriving we have abused the German cuisine quite possibly to the extreme; cheese, salami, NICE bread rolls, kase kuchen/cheese cake, pflaumen kuchen/plum cake and curry wurst have all featured in our dining.

After a lazy start to the day and a difficult night’s sleep it was time to travel into town. Of course today is 20 years since Germany became reunified as a country – so it means that nowhere is open which was not helpful so thank god we stocked up on food yesterday. Bonn city centre also seemed to go back in time a bit not by 20 years but by about 2000 years as there were Romans(half naked Roman's add's Dottie) running around doing battles all sorts of Roman stuff...as you do. A man dressed in Roman clothes going to use a toilet is quite possibly one of the randomest sights that I could have encountered but then I just thought of Liverpool city centre on a night out.
Anyways back to the culture stuff. Dottie had wanted to go to see Herrn Beethoven’s house so we went on out little walk to his house which was actually open. I am lucky as have been here before with school but I think it was good for le Dot to see the house. The house is separated up between the original and then next door there is a little studio were you can go online(think Mrs Doyle here **GO ONLINE**) and listen to any of Beethoven’s music. I tell you two scousers dancing around to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony was deffo a sight and very amusing for the group of German tourists going around the house.
Tonight we will stay in and probably watch Black Books but tomorrow I think I may venture to Aldi as quite frankly drying dishes with toilet roll has only so many perks. Bis spaeter!!!

Location, location, location

For a first day of an Auslandsjahr it has probably experienced every emotion and human action possible; rage, anger, tears, a bit more rage, silliness, laughter, confusion, loss and finally actually getting to Bonn Studentenwerk where I am going to be living until February.

Location One – Manchester airportPeople don’t fly with flybe.com. I think first and for most that has to be said. Secondly it resulted in a very VERY angry mother which is never a pleasant thing but to be honest after paying over £150 in excess baggage fees who wouldn’t be a fair bit cheesed off?? Stupid regulations.

Location Two – Flybe Aircraft. As many of you will indeed know I am TERRIFIED of flying and it is something I do not pretend to enjoy in the slightest. However on seeing the tin can I was flying in I can safely say that I was more terrified than usual and not happy at the hour and a bit I had to spend in the damn thing. You see Easy Jet and Ryanair ( I should just keep plugging cheap air lines I think) are nice big planes where you have space to breathe in them. Oh no nothing like this with Flybe it was a PROPERLOR plane which I have never been in and the plane was tiny thus the STRICT regulations on the baggage. Going up into the sky felt like the plane was going to fall apart at any second – I think it was the burley football fans that were just about keeping it together.

Location Three – Düsseldorf AirportOn leaving the tin can and getting aboard the shuttle bus to go to the terminal building it came that time to go through border control. Only as I looked through my already heavy cloth bag – no passport to be found. I had only gone and left it in the tin can. So I sprinted back to the shuttle bus to ask the driver ‘SPRECHEN SIE ENGLISCH?!’ to see if I could actually get away with it but oh no he said ‘NEIN’....I set my language from stun to kill at this point explaining in a panicking manner that I have left my passport in the plane and could I go back to get it. The bus driver drove me back to the plane and said I was not legally allowed to touch the tarmacL So he got off the bus and knocked on the plane door – WHO DOES THAT? HE KNOCKED ON THE PLANE!!!! Had to then go to the Grenze Polizei /border police to explain I had left my passport in the back pocket of the seat on the plane – so a few radio calls and a nervous wait later the passport was found RESULT!

Location Four – Düsseldorf S-Bahn lineComputers in foreign countries never make sense even when they are sneakily put into the English option. THANK HEAVENS for George Michael’s cousin who lept from the stationary train to help me and the Dottie. We managed to purchase our ticket to Bonn Hauptbahnhof almost the second success of the day but it went down hill from then as we missed the connection train and had to wait an hour for the train.

Location Five – Bonn Hauptbahnhof and the final destination SWBONN. Luckily my study buddy Doro was waiting at the station for us and managed to drive us to the Studentenwerk which was absoulutely lovely and meant no kerfuffle over try to find which way to go. Arrived in my room. Got the tour – am the only girl it would appear who is living on her floor. The boys seem lovely but messy...I will soon sort them into shape and if not then I got to ship over Emily Ford. Anyways I need to try and sleepL

The countdown to D'land

It's quite funny - have been reading my old blog from the first time I went to Germany and realising actually how funny everything was there and of course how much has changed over the 2 years since I have been there.

Anyway right now am still working but not for much longer as pretty soon my summer working is going to be coming to end. So I look forward to much partying with the Liverpool crewe and abusing the fact I am still here.

So anyway quick update on Germany (AGAIN) - less than 3 weeks until I set sail...or fly however you see it really. Am going to be an ERASMUS student who have a well-known reputation for being party-mad folk - I can only hope I will contribute well to the already sterling reputation. Have already been to Bonn with high school many years ago so I got an idea of where I am going roughly and I can remember where Beethoven's house is PLUS who can forget it is also the birthplace of non other than Frau Tinee Ferst.

Anyways on the preperation side of things e.g. packing really not feeling prepared to be honest - the luggage thing is freaking me out;
1. I am NOT a light packer
2. I have to have lots of shoes to feel safe
3. I need a travel kettle the Germans cannot make tea on the British scale
4. I don't want to be alone - I need to be with people.

If I can get those 4 fear factors out of my head then it should be ok.

Oh and if the University's accommodation office would like to hurry up - as at this point in time it would seem I am homeless!!!! It makes the University of Liverpool's accommodation office look like the most organised place in the world:-D

anyways enough bitching - time to have a cup of tea