Crazy times at UEA and beyond.

Arghh another late blog post!! Too much work obviously (at club-lib)..

Yeah well quite a bit has been going on. I don't know where to begin to be quite honest with you all... It has all gone by in a flash. I have no idea where the 12 weeks disappeared, and quite frankly can't quite comprehend my return to NZ.

I'll begin with my trip to Sweden and Copenhagen with my American mate, Julian. I guess the idea was sparked from Julian's plan to attend the University of Copenhagen, and my interest in the Scandinavian political structure, which so many of my Professors have droned on about over the past year. We flew into Malmö, Sweden for something as little as £25 on budget airline, Ryan Air. We crashed in Malmö for the night, had a few beers, and made the most of what the small city had to offer - definitely not somewhere I'd stay for more than a day. We then caught a train over Europe's longest bridge to Copenhagen, found our hostel, then ventured into the central city for the evening. Saw most of the sights, and ended up at Copenhagen's annual film festival, where we saw some documentary about Egypt's revolution. The following day we made it to Freetown Christiania, a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood, which is regulated by 'special law'. Check it out on wikipedia if you wanna know more... We also had a quick look at Copenhagen University (which looked like an awesome place to study). Our flight left from Malmö again so we jumped back on the train and flew home later that evening. It was a pretty short trip, but definitely well worth it given the price of flights, and accessibility to the UK.

Since then, I had loads and loads of work. All my modules are entirely graded on essays, so I needed to dedicate much of my time to the library, or 'club lib' as we liked to call it. But despite my heavy workload (which some friends like Emily and Jonny would dispute), I managed to squeeze a fair number of weekend trips, one of them being to a Windsurfing tournament in Cornwall. Another weekend was spent in London with Julian, Darren, Liselotte, Fanny, and Emilie - the same weekend that I ventured to Twickenham to witness England challenge the All Blacks... but it's not worth writing about that for obvious reasons. The last two weeks of University were just essay writing weeks, on topics that would literally put you to sleep. I departed Norwich on the 16th of December for London, after a long, sad night packing up my bags. It wasn't too bad and I didn't have to say too many goodbyes as I'm planning to return for a few days before I depart in mid-January.

I've had an awesome past week in Camden Town, East London, and Kent. I am very grateful to have stayed with the Moore and Stack family. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time in both places, and with both families! :) - Kent has always been a place I have wanted to see, and I'm sure I will be back there in the near future. Also had a great time exploring more of London with Scotty, Emily, Leah, Lewis, Julian, and Simon.

Off to France tomorrow for Christmas with my friend, Marina, who I met when she was in New Zealand a fair few years ago!

I'll write some more soon about my actual experience at the University - my course, friends, etc..

Churr.

The Water-sports ball! A couple of windsurfers and sailors.

In the centre of Copenhagen, with Julian Huynh.

Windsurfing tournament in Bude, Cornwall.

Me and Julian in Green Park, London!

England vs All Blacks, Twickenham.

My flat before Christmas dinner!

Brilliant photography by upcoming artist, Leah Stack.

Supporting the boys in the English Premier League. Norwich City FC vs Wigan.

Sad times saying goodbye to Julian

Cruising around London with Leah.

Off to our next destination!

Uni Life!!!

Whooooops. I had no idea it had been so many days since my last blog post - slack, I know.

Heaps of things have happened since my last post. On the 19th I finally made it to Norwich for the start of my short time at the University of East Anglia. All the international students arrived at this time and we had our own exclusive 'fresher week' events. On the following Saturday, all the UK students arrived, and ever since then I literally haven't had any time to myself - a legitimate excuse for failing to update my blog.

This University has a real heart and soul. It pretty much has its own little self-contained village. It's kitted out with everything - pubs, clubs, a supermarket, cafes and restaurants, post office etc.... this may seem normal, but it trumps everything available at my home University, in Wellington. My room is on Suffolk Terrace in one of the 'Ziggurat' buildings. There is a massive park and broad (lake) out front, perfect for a bit of footy when the sun's out. There is an awesome run around the lake, but haven't managed to do it quite enough at this point.. I'm in a flat with 14 others - the building is divided up into 4 'blocks', with each block containing 5 levels, each of which is a flat. But it's not like all the flats keep to themselves - we are all pretty integrated.

The initial phase of international orientation was a bit stale - when they got us all in a lecture theatre and told us how to catch a bus politely.. BUT since then it has been amazing -- B.o.B., Chase and Status, and some other big British artists have all performed either on or off campus.

My lectures began last week, and luckily I pretty much have the dream timetable - no classes on Wednesday or Friday... I spent much of this week changing my classes to make this a reality... But I picked up some good looking courses like "Politics in the USA", and dropped another course which had be entering tonnes of data into excel spreadsheets. One thing I've noticed is the emphasis each lecturer has placed on how to apply the skills that we have learnt to workplace - something I have never heard before in NZ!

Off windsurfing all tomorrow with my Aussie mate - we've never done it before, but very keen to learn.

View from my room. My accommodation looks identical to the buildings opposite.

Back to school party

What Economic Downturn?

Kia ora Amigos,

Arrived in Paris today after a couple of days in Lyon and Barcelona.

First impressions of Spain were not of another economically ravished European Union state - in fact, quite the opposite. The shops were full, the streets were pumping, and there was a positive vibe wherever I turned. But walk 5 minutes in any direction from the main strip, and you'll be in the wopps. Liquidation sales, homeless, gone-through rubbish bins - you name it and it would have been there. I stuck out like a sore thumb with my camera and tidy clothes. The tourist label came with its negatives - pickpocketing. I figured that if I thought like one, I would be able see through the many clever plots used by the world's classiest thieves, in the world's pickpocketing capital. They work in groups, and it's often the ones you expect least that will end stealing from you. Anyway, I was certainly eyed out as a tourist, but thankfully I avoided the crime.. There was an attempt to get me, but they failed haha. I suggest watching pickpocketing videos on Youtube.

Spain is currently sitting with about a 25% unemployment rate - higher than that of Greece believe it or not. And with a little exploring it quickly became pretty obvious. and sobering.

All that aside, Barcelona was just a cool city. With a population just over the size of Auckland, and a CBD 10x more crowded, it had a good vibe. The food was amazing too - the paella I had was a million times better than what you'd find down at the farmers markets in Auckland (and the shellfish wasn't Vietnamese ...Ben Appleton...). The tapas - yeah they were stunning too. And all the meals were finished with what seemed like a glass of complimentary Spanish paint-stripper - I can't remember the name of the drink, but it was the most potent alcoholic thing I've had.... to be perfectly honest, it was actually pretty good. Visited a couple of Ghadi buildings too - amazing. For those who don't know, he was an "architect from Catalonia, Spain, who belonged to the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic designs" [wikipedia].

I loved Lyon too, but it was very different to Spain. Definitely ranks as one of my favourite cities in Europe so far. But gutted I wasn't able to meet up with my friend when I was there..

3 hours sleep last night, and 1:15 am here now. Bonsoir.

Yay Maths. Unemployment rate across EU. *Google.

Sagrada Família, by Gaudi. This isn't actually my picture sorry... light was bad that day. From http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9juiqY8b81rvrhzwo1_1280.jpg

The city markets - pickpocket central.

1992 Barcelona Olympic Stadium. For Sam Patchett and Hohwieler.

Rece$$ion.

Amazing tapas.

The token shot. Had to put it up.

Freiburg, Basel, Grindelwald, Zermatt

I'm blaming the poor internet service in Switzerland on my lack of blog updates.. frustrating.

Anyway, I've been all on the go since my last post. It has been a bit too fast paced to fully take in each place for what they're worth, but I've had fun. Traveled everywhere by train - it's a bloody good service, always to the minute, and easily puts New Zealand's train network to shame.

Freiburg was a bit of a blast, but again, I was only there for one night! Chilled out at the beer gardens in the hot afternoon, and it soon became night. Spent most of my time in the old part of town checking out the markets and just absorbing what I could in the short timeframe. The people here were awesome, and because my accent stuck out like a sore thumb, I happened to connect with a lovely young German lady who has since linked me into a network of Kiwis in London (yeah, long story...).

Arrived in Basel the following day, but seeing France was so close, I decided to walk there. No border control or anything - it was a breezy 10 minute walk from Basel's CBD. The French town I walked to was pretty much a ghost town plonked alongside the sharp looking Swiss buildings.. such a contrast, but definitely worth the walk. I also found out while I was in Basel that I quite like Swiss cheese and chocolate - but I'll regret it when I start getting fit again once Uni starts in 2 weeks.

Over the past few days I've been staying in Grindelwald, which is somewhere in the middle of the Swiss Alps. Loving the scenery and the mountain climbing... it's like Wanaka on steroids. It's overrun by tourists, but I can understand why. Made it to the 13,000ft yesterday - the highest I've been outside a pressurised cabin. The air was actually pretty thin up there, making holding a conversation and hiking at the same time pretty damn difficult. Also had a quick look at Zermatt - the town at the bottom of the Matterhorn. Made it up one of the gondolas to the top of Klein Matterhorn, but soon enough I was in a complete white-out, and it was snowing.

Leaving for Lyon tomorrow. See ya.

Basel !

Ride up to Glacier Paradise in Zermatt.

Doing my International Relations readings.

Gindelwald

Had an insane number of people staring at me for wearing these.

Disneyland's mother.

A step above Rotorua

Kia ora again Team and hello to Samuel Patchett.

Very rushed few days in Salzburg, Hallstatt, and Neuschwanstein. The original plan was to stick to Nueschwanstein for 3 nights, but I had an urge to see some of Austria as well - none of my accommodation was booked so luckily I had the flexibility and it turned out to be a pretty nice round trip.

Salzburg was a stunning old place with filled with amazing street dancing and music - as you would expect in Mozart's hometown. Only had about 3 hours in town that night, so I did as much as I could to get a feel for what gave this town its buzz. Left early the next morning for a slow drive through Austrian lakes area, spending time in both Mondsee and Wolfgangsee, before arriving in Hallstatt. This is the town you will see the most pictures of when you google search "beautiful Austrian scenery" (that's actually how I found out about this place).. So picturesque as you can see from my photos below, but it was predictably overrun with frantic tourists. It happens to be one of 962 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and I suppose anything with 'UN' on the front of it must be worth believing.

I left early this morning for Neuschwanstein, which turned out to be about 6 hours of travelling. I went though Innsbruck briefly - a beautiful old city situated amongst the Austrian alps. Arrived here excited to see Neuschwanstein Castle, but half of it was covered in scaffolding, and wire mesh, making it look like it had been engulfed in a spider's web... so that was a bit of a fail, but it has motivated me to climb to the ridge on the other side of the castle in the morning, so I can check it out from its 'good side'.

Off to Munich tomorrow, then onto Freiburg in the afternoon. Apparently it's one of the world's greenest cities, so I thought I better pay it a visit - by electric rail..

Peace.

Stopping all the fun at Wolfgangsee by blocking the diving board. The town was actually deserted.

Couldn't think of more fitting music than Pavarotti in the Austrian countryside (yes I know he's Italian, but that's all I had on my iPod). Reminded me of my roadtrip with Dr. Samuel Patchett and Rupert to Phoebe and Aorangi's 19th Bday.

Hallstatt, Austria

The streets of Hallstatt. 

Hallstatt's town square

Just passed Innsbruck! 

Almost captured a double rainbow.

Nazi History in München, Deutschland.

Hello everyone,

Finally arrived in Munich for the second instalment of my trip before Uni starts in just over 3 weeks! I've tried learning a bit of the language over here, but 90% of people seem to speak English, so I get by just fine. I've been on the continent just over 24 hours now, squeezing in as much as I could in Munich before I left for Salzburg, Austria this afternoon. Loved the autobahn - got me to Austria in no time at all. My visit to Salzburg is quite short, but I'm keen to get out to Hallstatt for the night so I have had to compromise.

My visit to Munich was primarily for two reasons - it is the gateway to the rest of Bavaria, and it holds a lot of WWII historical significance - as it was the birthplace of the Nazi Party. Many of the sites I visited were particularly moving - including the large city square where annual Nazi marches were held, also the place where new SS members were sworn in. Just sickening to think what was going on here just 80 years ago.

In the photos below, I have posted my personal photos alongside historical shots of the same locations, sourced from http://www.thirdreichruins.com/munich.htm . Scroll down - they are pretty interesting.

Short post tonight... Bloody tired and have early start if I want to watch the All Blacks tomorrow morning. Promise there will be more in 24 hours (provided there in good internet in Hallstatt)!

On the left: My photo showing the Munich Rathaus (city hall).
On the Right: The Munich Rathaus where a Nazi flag was hung from it in March, 1933 - shortly after the Nazi's rise to power.

The Feldherrnhalle on the Odeonsplatz (city square) in central Munich, and the 'spiritual centre' of Nazism.

A nighttime rally at the Feldherrnhalle on the Odeonsplatz, where new SS members would take an oath swearing allegiance to Hitler.

One of the sites showing where the 1923 Nazi putsch took place.

An artists impression of the Nazi putsch in 1923 - where they tried to take power off the Bavarian Government.

The Feldherrnhalle on the Odeonsplatz.

The Feldherrnhalle on the Odeonsplatz 80+ years ago.

Old Things and Family History

Please don't read the last few paragraphs if you get bored by WWII or family history.. This is primarily for all the relatives out there reading this! (but read the next paragraph - it's honestly interesting).

Have had a quiet few days in Norwich, Cambridge, and Milton Keynes - and back to London tomorrow. I've had a small taste of small-town England, but want to keep it that way so when Uni starts (at the end of September), it will still be an unknown. I made a terrible mistake in visiting Great Yarmouth, and as soon as I arrived I knew I would not be making a day of it. Believe me, it was not quite my cup of tea - it was pretty much just a whole lot of old theme park rides dumped on a nice beach, with fish'n'chip and ice cream parlours everywhere.. sorry Rupert Hohwieler, but your recommendation didn't quite reach your usual high travel-advice standards! I feel I'm yarning a bit too much now, but the bottom line is - I think I found the Huntly of the UK..

On a more positive note, I made good stead into finding out more about my family history. I had no idea about this, but back in the day (agggeeess ago), 10 of my relatives on one side of the family were all mayors of Norwich. So I couldn't think of a more fitting place to be studying political science in!

Spent the next day checking out the house where that side of my family are from. The house happened to be on sale, so I was lucky enough to get inside and get a tour by its present owners. It doesn't look like it has been changed in centuries.. a stunning time piece. Let's hope the next owners aren't property developers....

Today I made it to Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, the site where some of the brains behind the allied WWII victory worked tirelessly to protect our freedom. My Grandma worked here deciphering the German Enigma code along with many others, so it was fascinating to learn more about where she worked, and the [then] state-of-the-art computers she worked with. The code used by the Germans was so secure that there were literally millions of billions of combinations that could have been used to encrypt their messages - but an incompetent Nazi General used the same combination twice, creating a breakthrough for the British in their understanding of how the code was constructed. Only until the 80s were the code breakers allowed to share stories, intelligence, and anything else to their families.. sadly this was 3 years after my grandmother's husband died!

Back to London tomorrow for a few days, then Munich on the 23rd.

Very very old home I visited.

Inside. Note the massive fireplace in the background.

A creative busker in Cambridge.

Bletchley Park - where the German code was deciphered.

Colossus II - the first computer in the world. Used to decipher enemy code.

Checking out the University of East Anglia

Caught the train up to Norwich this morning so I could get a feel for my new University before it all starts in 5 weeks. Loved what I saw today - but I suppose anything better than Victoria University's campus would satisfy me (and believe me, that's not hard).

It all looked pretty English with the large park and broad (small lake) out front.. The University buildings don't have a traditional feel about them, but most of them have been designed by leading British architects, so most of them cut the mustard.

Missing all my Wellington and Auckland mates, but can't wait to move into my new accommodation here and meet the new faces.

Thinking I may visit the coast tomorrow but not entirely sure what's good to do there. Will find our ASAP.

On the walkway around the broad. Definitely my future running track.

Norfolk Terrace - my home for the next few months.

Me with the University mascot.

Where my Uni is.

The Sainsbury Art Centre on campus. I'm yet to go in.