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Monday, December 24, 2012

Week 5: The halfway point

Yet another week gone and Germany never manages to disappoint. School was pretty good, apart from my results in the English test. My results were good for a German student but as someone who speaks fluent English they were a little disappointing. I wish we learnt grammar after primary school, or at least what the various grammar terms were called.
I was sick this week so I missed school on Thursday, this proved to be a good thing as school went until 4 that day. Friday was our last day of school before our 2 weeks of Christmas holidays. Friday night was spent celebrating our holidays with a few boys from our class. We went and saw Skyfall in German. I actually understood the majority of it, I guess explosions and women are an international language. 

Saturday was also amazing with family visiting from Luxembourg, it was so good to catch up and to see familiar faces, exactly what I needed halfway through.
Yesterday Robert and I went to an ice hockey game between Munich and Düsseldorf, the crowd was amazingly loud and passionate. Ice hockey was every bit as violent as I'd imagined it to be. It was amazing.
We celebrate Christmas tonight on Christmas Eve, we will eat dinner, go to church and open presents.
Merry Christmas everyone
Michael :)

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Halfway there

Its hard to believe that we are already five weeks into the exchange as it feels like we only stepped off the plane last week. It did snow a couple of days ago but unfortunately it is just raining now so the chances of a white christmas are looking more slim :P .

On Wednesday as well as last night we went to a german basketball match where we saw Bamberg's team ( the Brose baskets) dominate in both. The basketball over here is really good with some of the players having done stints in the NBA and there is lots of talent to be seen.
 On Thursday we went to see a german play called " Nathan der Weise" with our class in the nearby town of Coburg. We got to wander the christmas market and check out the local sights there. We ended up getting back at midnight which was unfortunate because we had to get up at six the next morning for school. Luckily though because it was the last day until christmas holidays we just got to eat cookies and play games (like soccer in the classroom) which was good. 
On Saturday Tim and i played soccer with some of Tim's friends in Geisfeld which was heaps of fun and it again proved as Michael has already said previously they really take soccer seriously over here. 

With Christmas just a couple of days around the corner its becoming a much more exciting time here and I am so keen for Austria! Just for your information the place where I am staying in Austria has next to no internet so Michael shall be the main poster until the 8th of January.

Ciao Peter :)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Fourth week: Christmas trees and sights seen

This week was a calmer one for me compared to previous weeks, and with a month already gone it just shows how time flies.

School has become a normal part of the routine now, apart from the language barrier I have managed to fit right in and really have fun with my new German friends. On Friday we went on a walk through Bamberg, sampling some of the sites like the Alter Rathaus and the Bamberger Dom, which were very interesting. 

On the weekend we bought a christmas tree from a nearby village and that should arrive in a couple of days, as well as go to Tim's soccer presentation night, where there was much food and many gifts given. 

As Michael has mentioned it is getting warmer here ( like Tassie Winter temperature :P ) so the snow has melted, but there is a small chance of a White Christmas so who knows? The next few weeks are going to be very fun with Skiing in Austria for two weeks, school for a week, Berlin, then final week of school. 

Servus
Peter :)

The fourth week

We are nearing the halfway stage of the exchange. I know Peter and I have said it almost every week but this whole thing is really flying by. School has become a routine and it is easy now. The only highlight for school in the week was going to get Running Sushi. Basically, you pay €10 and can eat as much sushi as you want. I was triumphantly sick afterwards. 
The snow was good this week. On Friday afternoon/evening, Robert, his friend an myself went to Westpark. We went sledding, the snowfall was good so we managed to go down the hills pretty fast. After many hours of sledding down, rolling down and riding a shopping trolley down (an activity I declined to be apart of preferring to return to Australia alive) we decided to build a considerable jump halfway down the slope, this extended out stay by an hour or two and was very much worth it.

The weekend was very much a family one. Meeting extended family members eating a lot of good Bavarian food. The Christmas tree also went up this weekend. Munich is lookin very good with lights and cute little markets set up for Christmas. 
It is getting warmer, no where near the summer of Australia but the snow is melting. We have a slight chance of a White Christmas, we will see how that goes. The odds here are much better than Launceston anyway.

School holidays start at the end of the week. I cannot wait for 2 weeks off. After this week, our remaining five weeks consist of: 2 weeks holiday, 1 week school, 1 week in Berlin with all the exchange students and 1 week more of school. 

Michael :)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Third week: Tollwood, Bayern and meetings

What an amazing week it has been, definitely my favourite so far. School was pretty standard and went by very quickly now that I've settled into the way things work there. On Monday night, Robert and I went to the Tollwood market. The biggest Christmas market in Munich. It really was impressive and lit up an otherwise dreary sky. We had one of my favourite experiences so far, chocolate döner. Quite literally döner made from chocolate, best €5 I've ever spent.
On Wednesday night I went to see FC Bayern München play BATE Borrisov in the Champions league at Allianz arena. The game was amazing and Bayern won 4-1. The crowd was incredible, much greater than any AFL crowd (sorry if I offended anyone there), it seriously was amazing. Everyone joined in the chants and had incredible passion which made the atmosphere very special.

Saturday was a day to be reunited with my blog buddy Peter. At the meeting we discussed our initial thoughts and shared stories and little things that were different here. Peter's host father then took us to BMW which was very cool to see. I enjoyed looking at all the cars just as much as watching Peter. He was really in heaven there, I acted as a backup photographer for him after his camera died (really should have charged it beforehand Peter, just saying). We had a rather emotional goodbye with many bro hugs and various manly embraces, we will see each other again in January when we go to Berlin.

Sunday was another meeting for me, Robert and I went to the meeting for German students doing the exchange next year. It was wet good to see it from the other side. Robert and I drew on all our Tasmania knowledge and really talked the place up, hopefully we didn't oversell it.

Christmas is getting closer, Munich sure knows how to decorate. The snow is falling at the moment, many snowball fights have been had and one failed snowman attempt.

Michael :D

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The 3rd week: Cars, Reunions and More snow!

Week three was a great one, with me fulfilling a childhood dream of mine and also reuniting with some of my friends. 

On Wednesday because I liked Adidas my host family took me to the Adidas outlets in Erlangen, where much money was spent on two shirts, a hoodie, some futsal boots and a new back pack. 

On Saturday we had a meeting for the exchange students in Munich and Nuremberg, I went to the one in Munich and Reunited with the co admin of this blog and my besto Michael. Many bro hugs were exchanged. After the meeting when we got to catch up and exchange stories of our stay so far (and make friends with the Hobart people), Michael and his exchange Robert decided to accompany us to a place I had been dreaming of going to, the BMW world and Museum (well just basically their headquarters). We got to see Rolls Royces, Minis and more BMWs then you could poke a stick at, as well as look at concepts and racing legends of years gone by.
After a reluctant goodbye we went with Tim's sister and her boyfriend to have dinner in one of the local Brauhouses where I ate a delicious Sauerbraten and had the best Spezi ever! 

The next day we went to the Tollwood Markets (where Oktoberfest is held) and experienced the local culture, then we spent the rest of the day driving back to Geisfeld, where there was over half a metre of snow waiting to be shovelled away! :P

As Michael would agree, it was a great experience this week to get reunited and bond over BMWs and I cannot wait to see the rest of the group in Berlin!

Ciao Peter :)

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Der Zweiten Woche

The second week was a great one, and it really shows that the weeks are going by rather quickly.

As Michael mentioned the local Döner here is amazing and I highly recommend having one at least once in your lifetime. I have rather become an addict to this local delicacy, jumping when the opportunity to have one arises!
 Last Wednesday we went to Coburg after school where we saw the Vaste Coburg ( a big castle) and ate apparently one of the best wursts in Bayern, which were cooked by burning pinecones if anyone is interested. The next day I was sick ( because the wursts did not agree with me so to speak :P ) but on a positive note the first snow fell in Geisfeld, which was quite an experience for me. 
On the friday we met up with Michelle and her exchange partner Sophie and we shared our experiences/ thoughts of Germany so far which was good ( plus it was good to see another Australian again). Then we went to another community concert ( this time in the Gartenstaat, which is a suburb of Bamberg) and yet again there was plenty of moshing and the pogo to some of Bamberg's finest rock music. 
On the weekend we went on a walk from Geisfeld to another village ten kilometres away, which meant walking thought the forest and on the quiet country roads (remember by now most of the Geisfeld area is covered with snow) which was quite fun, especially throwing snowballs at Tim ;). 

Now that I have settled into life in Germany things should get a lot easier, with now just the language barrier to tackle heres hoping I will improve. 

Will keep you posted

Peter :D

Monday, December 03, 2012

Week 2 update: Slides, saunas and snow!

Our second week of Germany is already over. This week went a lot faster for me as I was really getting settled into life here. School was a lot more bearable as I am really getting used to the set up there. I understand maths, chemistry and physics in German which makes me feel a little better sitting up in class. I had my first Doner Kebab this week, as I'm sure Peter can relate, the experience was incredible and we will have to find somewhere in Tasmania where we can get such food. 
Once again, my weekend was full of things I do and see. On Saturday we went to a massive water-park in Erding. It was like a water-park and a day spa all in one and was awesome. We went from lounging in the pool, to going 70km/h on one of the slides, to once again relaxing in a sauna or spa. All the pools were heated, even outside where the temperature was about 2 degrees, the pool was still very warm. So much so that you coul barely see others due to the steam off the pool. 
Today (Sunday), was also good. I went to a classical concert where Robert's uncle played violin. It was very good to see, the music was good and so was the atmosphere. We then went to a Bavarian restaurant which was delicious. 
Oh, I almost forgot to mention. IT SNOWED THIS WEEK! 
Yes, it snowed, not a lot of snow but snow nonetheless. 
I am going to watch Bayern Munich play BATE Borrisov in the champions league on Wednesday at Allianz arena. I cannot wait, I will be good fun.
We will keep you posted,
Michael :)