Flogge taking a nap

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Currently listening to: "Cowboy Junkies - Just want to see"

after calling the AA this morning in order to jump-start the lady (will need to buy a new battery for next season I guess) I prepped her for the next three lonely months. well, maybe I'll visit her some stage in between, just to keep her company for a few mins in case she's feeling sad...and to check if she's being a good girl and not flirting with some car nearby (as one should do once in a while, how I learned).

Spent christmas with my mom, was sick most of the time (darn sinuses...). The ride back was special though, had 45 mins in Bremen. hmmm... around the main train station it looked (and felt) a bit like Barmbek... I had to think of "Neue Vahr Sued" (a book written by someone who grew up in Bremen and describes - in a funny way - the quirky ways of a young guy who grew up in an appartment block in Bremen, probably similar to one here).

Jobwise, well, I'll have a second interview with one company next Tuesday. BUT, M.'s offer, to work with him and D. in Dublin is more and more becoming something I thoroughly consider - would need an account with "Parsheep" though...;)  I'll make a final call on that one by the second week in January. and if all goes according to plan, I hope to spend some weeks in Peru, before it's back to the "grind" ;)

you all have a good rutsch and so :-D

currently listening to: El Bicho - Mama Dolores

getting home

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currently listening to: Mark Knopfler - You don't know you're born

after 4 great days in Dublin and a "few" drinks with each Mareke, Chelly, Mark, Dan and Ed I finally got my lurvely behind in gear and did my 2 first interviews last week. didn't go too bad actually. we'll see how it goes :)
Sunday (after a very german like and totally crazy "feuerzangenbowlen party" on Sat) I went to see F. for her B-day party. well, was supposed to be more a brunch really... I ended up walking home the 10 km or so from Wellingsbuettel at 1 a.m. (since I was a tad tipsy, the moon was out and I felt like walking). took me like 2 hours, but it was great. :) nostalgia... thought of when we always walked home from the discos when I was 18 ish (jaisus, that's 21 years ago now, jeje)... 5-10 km were no problem back then...

currently listening to: Pappo - Quizas mañana

The High Fidelity Trap

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On my way back to Hamburg, first day (Barcelona to Zurich,  Sept. 22, 2009). I was driving along, some highway in France, pretty much devastated. In my head though I created a list, a list of lovers long gone (and thought about if I had treated them properly and what they would be doing right now).

an hour or so after that I realized, that I had fallen into the "High Fidelity" trap. I laughed so hard, and for a good bit the heartache disappeared. Thanks Nick H. for writing such a great piece and thanks Conor W. (who suggested I should read that book in like 1998)! :-)

So, 6 weeks later, in Hamburg...

I went to the Abaton Restaurant to meet B., which wanted to surprise me. She only said "well, since you do speak ok english, we might as well do something bilingual." I love surprises!

You probably can understand my joy, when I got to know that we'd be going to a Nick Hornby Reading (for "Juliet, naked"). well, not only joy, kind of a flashback too, since I of course immediately thought of me "falling into the High Fidelity" trap a few weeks earlier ;)

The reading was a great pleasure. well, and fun too ;)

N.H. about women constantly needing to talk: "women always need to catch up. Strange, while I never feel left behind".

and the talks about Jedward and "X-Factor" and his comment, that Jedward are oirish and not brits, got the audience roaring with laughter.

anyhow, thanks again to B. for the fun night!

Last party in Poppenbuettel

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currently listening to: Neil Young - "Southern Man". Reminds me very much of one of my favourite movies - "Dead Man" with Jonny Depp (luv the soundtrack!)

am just about to finish up here in Hamburgs north. 2 or 3 rides more, then the move is done. strange, sad, angry... I tell you...

the chair here I sat on after all the guests were gone, had another sip of rum (El Dorado, 12 years, yummi...), and looked at the stars... very emotional moment...

thanks to all who helped me moving my stuff, the ones which came to party with me last friday, and also the ones which didn't tag along but would have liked to have a beer with me...

currently listening to: The Prodigy - "Smack by bitch up"

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Boletus and more

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What a week...

• accomodation from November onwards is sorted. good :-D


• garage - sorted too.


• job - haven't started yet (bad boy...).


• emotional state - improving, but like a rollercoaster at times though...

the shrooms you see I gathered with a good friend yesterday. was fun (haven't done it in like 7 years, since my ex better half didn't like it). loved it when I was a kid, and yesterday brought back many good memories.

Also, there will be a party some stage soon, so give me a shout if you want to come. I still have like 20 original thuringian sausages (original Thueringer wuerste) left...

all the besht for you!

So I received my compostela, and then?

After a really troubling long week and 180 km on foot in Portugal and Galicia, with lots of blisters, heavy shoulders, but a mind fresher than before I reached Santiaga de Compostela ( linkie to a few pics ). While I was walking alone most of the time I only came to one conclusion really. Back to Hamburg and start looking for a new job. and, I was really looking forward to it, after those 3 months here in Barcelona. my own bed, a nice steak, Claudia (which I really missed)...

The last night a few of us peregrinos / pilgrims went for a few drinks (my first alcohol in 10 days). and 2 of the guys even said, why they were doing the walk ---> heartache...I could relate, but said: lads, how happy am I that I have a very stable relationship... and thank god for that.

But, la vida es un rouleta...(live is a roulette)... next day, once back to Barcelona, I read an email from Claudia. She fell in love. Not only that, but with a mutual friend of ours... I already suspected there was something wrong, since her SMS were so much shorter and without caring words. Alas, I put that down to her upcoming exams though.

So while some do the camino in order to forget their heartache, my GF dumps me WHILE I am doing it. :o)

couldn't that have happened at the start of my stay here in BCN? I might "just  even" have found a nice spanish woman to connect with...;)

in two days I'll be driving back to Hamburg, and I'll be moving out of Poptown within a month (won't be wasting energy with fighting for her or the like). and then I might to do the Camino de Santiago again for new ideas...

I am very curious what this change will be good for. Right now it simply hurts...

Training for the way of St. James

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today i am off for Braga in Portugal, where I'll be starting with my way towards Santiago de Compostela (camino portugues de Santiago). One of my training days I did in Montserrat, others in Montseny (great tours indeed...). Wish me luck, I'll be back Sept. 17.
cheers, Klaus :)

Cloning facilities in Barcelona!

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wow, just a few blocks (manzanas) from my flat I found this... cloning (clonacion) now seems to be legal here in Barcelona/Spain!
FYI, "claus" is the catalan word for "llave-->key". just an ordinary keycutter.. but still, seemed funny to me, jeje.

Last weekend I went to Montserrat and had a brilliant time. will upload pics some stage, whenever I have a bit more time. am busy, since I'll be flying to Santiago de Compostela next week (an idea which I had when hillwalking last weekend), and will be doing el camino portugues (well, only 150 k or so). but still, today I received my "credencial de peregrino" ... now I only have to find means of transportation from Santiago to Ponte de Lima, where I'll be starting off.

apart form that, Claudia will be picking me up here the end of September and then we'll head back to good ole Hamburgo. :)

you all have a good time! :)

Al final - nueva habitacion

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Finally, I found a new room to stay for the next 2.5 months here in Barcelona.
finding a nice room wasn't as easy as one would have thought...quite a bit running around...that one here I share with 2 blokes, one 23 year old from Argentina and the other one 30 ish from Spain. Sound guys. :)
went to the El Macareno last night (as the night before). it's a bar run by lads from Venezuela. and yes, los latinos son mucho mas abierto que los espanoles... played chino and drank rum ;)
right so, now off to explore mi barrrio un poco mas.
muchos saludos desde Barca!
Klaus :)

In Montpellier

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I stayed for one night. I never thought it would be that beautiful, I surely would have liked to stay a few more days... the architecture is simply stunning...
anyways, made it safely to Barcelona too, but haven't really taken quality photos yet.
this weeks task: off to the INEM, the policia nacional, to obtain an NIE. plus, check out some rooms and find one I like. vamos a ver ;)
muchos saludos desde Barca :-)

Ready to go (almost that is)

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well, went to the agency today and got my E 303 . yay!

last for Flogge was to repair the sreen washer tank, which was leaking badly. a new one would have been like 120 quid, bit so it was "only"
- 20 euros for silicone, self adhesive alumunium foil and glue (Pattex Extreme)
- about 1 hour shopping and
- 3 hours fixing it (well, tried "various other methods beforehand).
not sure if fixing it instead of buying a new one (costs roughly 120 Euros) was cheaper in the end. you judge for yourself ;o)
apart form this cost-benifit-analysis... heck, am about to start packing in a sec.
leaving in da morrow around noon. see you either in Barca over the next 3 months or very likely in Hamburg en Octubre. cause I wouldn't bet on getting a good job there. but hey, that would only be the topping on the icecream anyway.

Flogge wants more

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well, due to my own stupidity (I managed to break a small plastic part of my cooler) I needed to replace it - repairing would have been an option too, but the new "used" cooler was rather cheap. Thanks to C. who helped me fixing it.
and, if all goes according to plan, I can leave for Barca July 08. Still no news from the agency yet though... :-(

A new fender for Flogge - and more...

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well, not posting here didn't mean I was being lazy :-P

Flogge got herself a brand new Fender. to dismantle the old one was quite a task. 3 hours ish... painter and more lead to 3 days in total. But, tremendous fun and rewarding, for sure :o)

well, and of course there was
- my Bros wedding (including the first long drive for Flogge),
- a one weeks stay on the island of Sylt,
- a new radio for Flogge (a 1985 ish Becker Grand Prix 754 casette player)
- unemployment agency visits to apply for my E 303
- one visit to ze famous Arizona yesterday with the guys from Parship
- publishing an ad (looking for a room in Barcelona)
- booking a language school for the first week... (International House)
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so, hopefully all goes well with me leaving Hamburg July 08. First stop will be my mom near Osnabrueck. then somewhere in the middle of France. maybe even Paris? but hey, nothing to worry about right now. else I just stay in some small town and have lovely snails and a wine :-D Next could be Toulouse (A friend recently moved down there), and by July 12 latest I'll arrive in Barcelona. we'll see - vamos a ver!

I hope you are all well!

The smart cars

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Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger

The Smart (and the Garage) were a pressie by Bubse and Lalle (I love Smart cars by the way... - Flickr Linkie ).

In a way it's a bummer I leave Parship, on the other hand I hope now I'll be able to do what I wanted to do last year (off to Spain for a few months). Keep yer fingers crossed all works out the way I wantsss it!

and in da morrow (Thursday, May 14 2009) at 6 ish off to Finnegans Wake with some lads and lassies from Parship. have a few pints, awl roight.

Weekend in Zuerich

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Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger

Thanks to www.Lufthansa.com for their cheap 99 euro flights we had a lovely wekend in Zuerich, Suitzerland, visiting my sister.

Of course, getting up at 05:15 a.m. to get to catch the plane at 07:00 was great... but the first glass of champaigne sitting right at the Limmat was well worth it. plus, the view from the Grossmuenster (seen here), and the Luxemburgelis in Cafe Spruengli ( http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confiserie_Spr%C3%BCngli ) and the 3 hours walk down from the Rigi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigi ) which provided us with sore muscles for 3 days...

what did I bring home from Zuerich? A Baedeker "Guide to Switzerland"from 1913. did you know, that the speed limit was like 20 miles an hour in all Switzerland (within city limits even 7), and that in Graubuenden cars were not allowed at all? reason was that they were afraid their Buendnerfleisch ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindenfleisch ) would loose its savour...

Quiet weekend

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Originally uploaded by Haemmboerger

Took this shoot today, when going for a 2 hours walk along the cliffs at Brodauer Ufer (Baltic See). Toyed a bit with combining my binoculars (which I bought last September in San Sebastian) and my mobile, as you can see. worked not too bad imho :)
and now off to bed. hopefully next week will be a tad less stressful...