Life the universe and everything in between

Rotoma; the second annual occurance since the tradition was established. Generally theres a whole lot of eating, drinking, talking and laughing all accomplished in with the considerably relaxed state that Rotoma seems to set upon you.

Great location, Great friends, Great times.

Life . . . i guess if I were to try squeeze it into another word it could be substituted as ‘Change’.

I had the pleasure of finding some old slides of my mum’s while with her this weekend. In retrospect some of our memories can seem life-times ago from when you were someone else and yet i cant help noticing the similarities in the perceptions mum and I both have around life today. All in all what an awesome find and more importantly what stories behind them!

yip, never fails to put a smile on my dial

Heres a few more shots from my visit to Germany a month or so ago during which carnival was kicking off .

Look what i fished out of my photo folder ….  Mmm warm fuzzies about home :) 

Hello everyone!

How are we all? Well as you can see i made it to Germany to visit Annalena which was really special and im glad i took the window of oppotunity to do so, she’s such a long time friend it was a so nice to see where her home town would have been if it hadn’t been Russell. I traveled by train to Kolblenz a city an hour from Montabaur and Annalena met me there to start an day of exploration. We did the sighseeing on the old city the huge river Riens flows past the city and on one hill theres a fort/castle that took the french ten years to penitrate and that wasn’t untill everyone inside had perished… We also did our fair share of shopping and window shopping and then made our way to Montabaur. Annalena is over briefly for her  Oma’s 90th birthday, the houses and property have been in the family for generations and generations. It was facinating to stay with them as there relivites etc slowly began to gather together having traveled small and vast distances for the birthday celebrations. My Second day there we explored the township of Monabaur. The centre its self is very old and after listening to her Oma’s stories of the war and the bombs dropped in her lifetime i realised just how lucky it was that such a town like this was still standing 700 years later. The weather was fricken cold to say the least! the sort of cold that stings your cheeks and involentarily hunch and tense from its strength. I can imagine how stunny and beautiful this county (or any for that matter) would be in the spring and summer seasons… i’ll just have to stick round We found a cozy typical German cafe wedged between the other 16 of the town serving cakes, flans, slices freshly baked German delights and most importantly  COFFEE! The third day we went Annalena her Dad and i  went tiki-touring exploring the surounding villages and castles of the reigion. It was the first day of Carnivale in Germany there was alot to be seen on the streets of some towns. It was enjoyable to do a large portion of the sightseeing from the warmth of the car and cozy cafes! Germany is littered with Castles perched on hill tops of nestled in valleys. They were home to kings and queens of the township dukes or weathly families. Due to being royal dewelings this made them targets for bombing in the war so many are ruins but alot are perfectly intact also. That evening we ventured out into the night. Marcus a friend of Annalenas cousin joined us in going to Kolblenz, The first night of Carnivale in Germany is traditionally the night the women own the streets! We went to a bar/club called ‘Dream’ Which was ammusing because it was owned and run by a bikey gang. This made for interesting listening whilst we were there. Due tot he mass amounts of crazy carnivale people in costumes and the regulars i guess,  the music selection ranged from ‘Mika’ to death metal and everything in between  But i must say watching 5 long hair Germans mosh and head bang to Ramstien was an amusing sight i wont forget in a hurry. Our night didnt end there we returned to Montabaur and decided to have a laugh and go to the ’social outcast’ bar. I had my first typical german beverage there of wheat beer and banana liquor which was delicious. not long after we sat ourselves down a pair of tequila shots with cinnamon orange segments were sent to us compliments of a mysterious man across the room in a lush red flouncy blouse. He turned out to be a Greek- German who also spoke italian and english however he didnt seem to put it to use and spoke mainly in german to Annalena. We recieved a second tequila shot before he  got the message and abruptly disembarked to pursue his other ‘projects’…  we had some laughs on that one. we stayed and even made a few moves on the dance floor before migrating to a small after hours bar down a side street and got home at 6am.

 My last day in gemany started at 13.30pm and it was mainly the journey to the trainstation and the 6hours trip home to the Netherlands via a 45min delay and double train miss. Annalena has the photos of our nihgt out and a few additional humourous ones which i’ll post when i recieve them

 Carnivale is on ant the moment … so a report on that later a hint about my first days outfit….    . she has stripey long socks……

well yet another full on day, im now utterly exhausted and a little under the weather from a series of ciders at Ves bar! Ok.. so sunday is the `hardcores` night for those who fight mondayitis with a hangover! And as for Ves bar its home away from home for any london kiwi. And sure enough i bumped in to Warrick . yes Warrick the bar guy at Tussoc, Massey! aswell as Zara and two other keri high friends. There were two kiwi muso`s playing (maori), and they thoroughly kept the bar packed and moving to anything from Dave Dobin to Rage Against the Machine, solely on guitar and drums. Just awesome. Such a good atmosphere and about 70% kiwi. As for us, we all boogied till our hearts were content and limbs were weak!

Went to the tower of london today… and a ora striking service in the grand presence of St Pauls Cathedral… i didnt know such a spritual/religious place and the voice of a choir could send shivers down my spine like that… breathtakingly beautiful.

Back to the netherlands on the 23rd.. a post-ment of photos will be due then, but prompt movements to germany are likely soon after i arrive.

Well.. thou hast just retreated to my aunty`s humble abode at 1am in south west london. My first 24hours in london/England have been eventfully filled with Hampton Court Palace this morning and The Stone Henge this afternoon, whilst recently followed up by night out in Fulham with five Kiwi lassies! I think its fair to say i have had a `minnor pivital moment` several hours ago whilst momentusly listening to Bon Jovi and drinking “Snake Bite*” in an Australian bar by the name of “The Slug” (LOL!). My minnor pivital moment was triggered by the lyrics “It’s my life - It’s now or never - I ain’t gonna live forever - I just want to live while I’m alive!” Haha! woohoo! go Bon Jovi! yeehaa! What a blast my thursday night has been, with the company of two highschool mates and three other kiwis tonight has totally lifted my spirits in the sense of making the most of now. i was experiencing my first mild and initial homesickness during the last few days but ive had a rattle and now things are back on track. Also id like to put a quiet word out there for a close friend that past away on the 17th of january 9yrs ago… always thinking of you xo

hope everyones safe and well back home… xo

NB* “Snake Bite” = A beverage consisting of a blend between Beer, Cider and redcurrent juice. Illegal in most countries except England due to the ambiguity of its alcohol content. … D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S-!

It has come to my attention that this blog is more than likely to be subconsciously satsfying my own yearning to stay in contact with everyone back home rather than others to stay in contact with me. However this is a concept that resides with me fine, if indeed it is the case. I am strong diary writter for those who know me well and i tend to keep my lifes contemplations and such like primarly a relationship between paper and pen where i find it more enjoyable. I believe it will probably remain that way, however after reading through others personal ramblings its rather inspiring to purge ones thoughts on random matters of the mind publically too.Perhaps this has all come to surface since my mum gave me a book “The Power of Now ; A Spiritual Guide to Enlightenment”

… anyways photos and a report on my day in Maastricht soon.

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had beautiful, gleeful christmas’s with your families!  Im envious of all the beauftiful sunshine and summer you all have ahead of you but looking forward to my adventure ahead! as well as a spot of snow and ice! Horray for a sunny birthday it was so enjoyable I had a really nice day with some close family friends and family. Here is a more substancial collection of photographs that sum up my last 6weeks up home.

On the 28th at 11.45pm i fly out and have 32 hours of travel ahead of me so that means… the next update will be from Holland!

enjoy and take care everyone!