kind of sponteneously I went to Valencia for las fallas last weekend. all the trains were booked, so take the bus, dude :-P
fiesta was great, cool fireworks, and some of las fallas were really nicey done. a tad noisy though and unfortunately I didn't get to explore Valencia and the surroundings really... well, maybe next time ;) but met a few nice peeps along the way and I sure know now where to get a good mojito :-D
was listening to:
jeje, who'd have though that it would be that busy... apart from the friendly welcome weather wise (needed to buy after sun lotion the first weekend) I also enjoyed work. no rocket science, but due to the workload challenging enough. I like :)
met a good few new cool and nice people. discovered a latino restaurant where they have fabulous frijoles (beans). yummie... went to Germany for my moms 70th birthday. discovered Barca a bit more. went clubbing twice (until 7 o clock each, and one was a feckin mad night with the 3 M's). spend a good bit of money for new clothes - it's a rewarding feeling when an attractive 22 year old calls you "v. attractive" :-D - god loves italian designers, outlets and sales/rebajas, hehe
currently listening to: Skunk Anansie - Brazen
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...
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 :)
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! :)
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 :)
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 :-)
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...
and another trip , this time to Dublin. anyway... this pic here, is one of the guys who woke us up at like 11 a.m.... some sort of a competition, lots of bagpipes and the like in Howth... more pics from Sarah, Dan, Mark and Ed can be seen here
here a few pics from cycling to Sylt and after that visiting my mom, Knut, my Bro, my dad and my sisters.
Bummer btw, that i wasn't able to see all the people I wanted to...like Antje in Munich, or Jessy, Feargal and Brian in Dublin... oh well, next time :)
Hola! we made it to Trinidad, after three exciting days in Habana, we spent 5 kind of quiet days in Vinales (100 km ish west of Habana), then 3 days on the gorgeous carribean beach in Maria La Gorda (in the utmost southwest of Cuba), another day stopover in Vinales, and yesterday we made it to lively Trinidad. so far we we have come to the following conclusions:
mobile phones coverage is prett good here, we check our mobile usually once a day for text messages. please do not expect a quick reply though, too expensive...and the first postcards are one the way. we'll see if they make it to good ole yermany and Ireland...
right so, over and out for the time being. :)
and Knulli, keep it up ;)
sittin here, a tad nervous...tomorrow night we'll (hopefully) be sleeping in the Parkview Hotel in Havanna.
Address is:
Hotel Parkview
Calle Colón esq. a Morro,
Ciudad de La Habana
Cuba
as we will be staying there at the end of April and in May too, you may as well send birthday cards to this address :) seriously, we'll be checking in there from time to time. worth a try anyway :-D
The pic here, by the way, I took in Seville last year. I just hope I will find spots as nice and cozy as this bar here a the Alameda de Hercules...
mobile will be switched off most of the time, and I will not be able to read my emails... please be patient with me. maybe I'll get a chance to post an update here though!
Hasta pronto!
Klaussi
P.S.: for Jesko
blue sky, driving form my mom near Osnabrueck to Thueringia.
number 1:
and the message is (a tad longer, but still just 90 secs)
TGIO (thank god it's over)...
Party on friday was a smash hit. roughly 200 peeps made it, where some I haven't seen in like 7 years... organizing it (with contribs from other people of course) was a pain though. much more effort was needed than I had anticipated. but well worth it :-D
want a link to the pics? mail me, don't want to post it here, too public. link can be seen though at www.bye-btc.de
will be off to see mom and dad, hitting the road in two hours, like 1000 miles within two days...oh well :-( also, a friends granny died last weekend... I hope she'll be ok...
well, time surely flies by... right now just 4 more days really, then I'll be omw back to good ole Alemania...
Valle, buying the ticket at the Estacion de Autobus en Placa de Armas was almost trivial, apart from the "vuelta" (and return please). reading the ticket, I of course again needed my dictionary.... Asiento means seat and arden means platform... gosh, even the most simple things need to be taken care of. hey, I estudia on the fly, roish? ;)
the hotel was a nice surprise. given the fact, that in the house here in Seville the Ducha (shower) is not great really, I used the opportunity and showered for what seemed like ages... then off to the pub. The clerk from the hotel suggested "taverna el cruce" - well, that's what I went for then . do I need to say, that the ole trick (sitting at the bar, reading a book) worked here as well? well, Hemingways "islands in the stream" was halfway though (like 2 hours), but then Javier Gomez Rioja started talking to me. what a fun guy. he spoke enough english to have a pleasant conversation.
anyways, had 2 more manzanilla (after 2 cervezas and the wine) and went to bed, kind of wasted...
next day, saturday, up early - sort of, at least ;) breakfast, and then off to explore the Sierra Norte.
how fast the 6 hours (while hacer una excursion) went by, unbelievable. not to mention all the cerdas, the GPS trouble, and the sore feet...
eve, off to El Cruze again, to meet Javier. more beers, off to the pub "Pepes bar"... nuff said, right? ;o)
sunday, un poco hungover, another short trip to the sierra, a last cafe solo in el cruze, a last chat with Antonio
and then back to Seville. I think I gotta go back there sooner or later...
enuff :-P
what a weekend... long walks around Seville, dancing till like 6 in the morning, meeting interesting people...
por ejemplo the batista (e.g the drummer here) here: Raymond, and his 8 year old son. funnily enough, he is german (although he looks like a latino really). very friendly. and he has the privilege to practicar the drums/conga down at the guadalquivir. first met him on Saturday (sabado), and tambien (again) on sunday, when I walked back from the Parque de Amarillo.
ejemplo numero dos: skateboarder. ejemplo numero tres: grafitero. ejemplo numero cuatro: pescador.
changed school today by the way, started at "click.es". can only recommend them, much better than Mester imho...
want to see the spanish version of spiderpig? ever heard of the schnitzelschwein? no? click here ;)
