A couple of weeks ago, my dear friend Ashlee posted an episode of QI from the G season on my facebook wall: G is for Germany. (You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CldlRZ9Xew) I was amused by the discussions about ‘Nasty Germans stealing all the deck chairs from the lovely Brits when on holiday’. Apparently, one of the biggest stereotypes about Germans from the English point of view is that they wake up early, and, while the Brits are still gorging on the Breakfast Buffet (and the Aussies have presumably not yet rolled out of bed), they lay out their towel on the sunbeds, thus reserving them for the day. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3565419/Slump-in-the-number-of-Germans-taking-beach-holidays.html) How DARE they be more organised than us!? I’m going to be honest: hearing about this did more to ram home the ‘winging pom’ stereotype than any about the Germans. But looking into it, I’m actually a little worried. Here (http://metro.co.uk/2007/05/29/brits-cheer-as-german-towels-burn-403192/), is a story of a Welsh coach driver who first dumped all the towels into the pool, and then, when those Germans didn’t learn their …

Look, I know I’ve been crying wolf a bit lately.. but I think it really might be happening this time. We went for a walk today, and for the first time since my I arrival, I didn’t have to wear my ‘winter’ jacket!It was NINE degrees.I only had a thin jumper on.I actually rolled up the sleeves at one point! People! I think this may actually be it: (of Winter). Behold! The (fingers crossed) last remnants of snow: We went for a nice walk in the sun, and it was really exciting to see all the bulbs emerging, and the flowers frolicking. Take that, last of the snow! (Look! the joy of actual snow being replaced with little snowdroppy flowers) I mean! Really! I know you doubt my (ab)use of the English language sometimes, but that is most definitely what I would call ‘A Frolick of Flowers’. Hangin’ with my Pony. Ever since watching Veronica Mars (probably the second best show ever), I have had a slight obsession with the idea of asking people to …

There were bikes: There were flowers: There were pretty little houses all in a row: and there were canals: But, apart from the very touristy visit to the sex museum and a tour in the red light district, no sex (*ok, I just re-read that and realised that sounds sad for me and sounds ‘too much information-y’ for you. What I mean to say is ‘no public/financially facilitated engagement in sex’.) Also no drugs. And very little rock and roll. Going to Amsterdam for the weekend had the weird quality of making me feel both more aligned with Germany, and less German at the same time. I remember when I went to Holland in ’09 with Ashlee and Lauren, we felt (admittedly at least partially because of the amazing hospitality of Lauren’s extended family), that Holland was more ‘homey’ or ‘Australia-y’ than London, Paris and various German and Italian cities that we had visited in the previous 2 months. This time, I felt that again to a certain degree, but now it was in very sharp juxtaposition with all …

Hullo! It’s been a while since a blog, mostly because Andy and I ‘jetted’ off to the Netherlands for the long weekend.This statement makes our life seem more glamorous than it really is. Please try to imagine me saying it in the poshest, toffiest accent possible.Is it still classed as ‘jetting’ when one is in a vehicle not much larger than a biplane? It was a really nice trip, and we got to see many amazing things (although only about 1/63rd of what Amsterdam has to offer, and thus probably about 1/3478900 of the Nederlands). *Sigh*.. now we just have to go back. One of the fun things was remembering all the times from when I eurotripped with the lovely Ashlee and Lauren. Here’s a quick visual: Lauren and Tegan in Shoe, ’09. I think Ash refused to get in… I feel I can still pull off the shoe. More furious blogging during the week.

 … have decided to accessorise Hair with Car.

Spring has Sprung! Alas, only in the confines of our centrally heated apartment.I’ve been buying lots of flowers, not only to brighten up the place and because they’re so bloomin’ (why yes!) cheap here, but because I imagine that their timely death acts as a sacrifice, which pleases the weather spirits,  who will ultimately grant us The Warmth. One of my favourite ‘floral bunches’ is the cherry blossoms, which you buy as a heap of boring-looking sticks with tiny buds, but which gradually bloom into very lovely delicate flowers. Not merely pretty, but also makes me think of an episode of M*A*S*H in which the team are all huddled around outside, on a clearly freezing cold day, whilst Radar unveils a cherry blossom twig to ceremoniously mark the first of spring (which has been raised in a hot-house). Much like Frühling in Deutschland. We’ve seen the first of spring by the calender definition, and also by the more scientific ‘somewhere near the 20th of the month’ definition, and, I have to say, that at minus …

I’ve been ‘visited’ by a nasty cold which has seen me miss the majority of work this week in favour of fevered fetal huddling. Luckily for you, this post does not revolve around disgustingness that has been fermenting in my poor  lung… instead: Physical human guests of an invited type. James came to stay with us at the start of Feb., which was perfectly timed, as Andy was becoming increasingly bored of being a Hausmann. Possibly not as great for James, who’s kindness we abused by getting him to carry a washing machine from our friend’s cellar to the brand new apartment (to add insult to injury, we then couldn’t work out how to use the thing in time for him to do a wash before moving on). Similar enforced roles included hefting a footstool that we found on the side of the road all the way back home, cooking several Jamie Oliver style feasts, and even putting together the Ikea pots and pans needed to make the meals. Yeah, we’re pretty much the worst …

On Saturday, after living in our new Wohnung for about 5 or 6 weeks, Andy and I finally got around to having a flat-warming party. I may have ended the invitation with: Please respect our culture, and remember that the traditional housewarming gift of Australia is the presentation of small live kitten(s) to the Man of the House. Which explains this: and this…  and even this:  but does lead to some confusion when considering this:  and also this: EXCELLENT!…. It all gave me great amusement, especially the way everyone solemnly presented their cat related items to the HausMann! I should note that the mouse is actually a cat toy, which is filled with catnip, so presumably we can just put it outside for a few hours and the kittens will come to us? In a similar vein, Marta, Magda and Kris also gave us some cat grass (photo now with bonus fingerpuppet!): (Cat grass in a CAT POT!!, very good show!) Here’s what was in the kitten bag- hopefully not at all related to cats (although there were …

This post, powered by Ditsch. For all your recommended daily intake of saturated fats, and so much more: And by delicious sugary buttery things with crumby shortbread stuff on the top! But for the fear of litigation, I would suggest this is The Breakfast of Champions… On with the story. Last weekend we went to an art gallery, called the ‘me Collectors Room’ in Berlin. We actually planned to visit a couple of galleries- but the majority of places we saw in the area were more ‘private spaces for selling (overpriced?) art’ as opposed to perusal places. And the other legitimate location was in the process of moving premises. The Cheek! But it was a sunny day, so the wandering around didn’t do us any harm Some may even suggest that it was TOO sunny. It’s Berlin- so there’s plenty of free art everywhere, but I’m still super glad we committed the 3 or 4 euros to get into the gallery.It was… strange.In an awesome way! I think this guy, situated at the entrance, set the scene …

(Next time, more exultation!, more head tilt, less clothes). In what I can only assume is a snub at Certain People for trying to break my Spring is Coming Spirit (‘Spring doesn’t start until the 20th of the month ChickenCounter’), the 2nd and 3rd of March were, at least at intervals, gloriously sunny. Because of this, and also because a certain someone had to digest his magnificently large weekend helpings of sausages and Ditsch, we went a-walkin’. There’s a park that bounds the Havel river just near the Potsdam Hbf, and it’s filled with plants and and children and ducks and play equipment and sculptures… Also hipsters: … And tricksy trees that look suspiciously like wattle from a distance: But are almost more Grevillia-y on close. The combination of the bright yellow and the blue sky is the most Aussie sight I’ve seen in months!  Although the hat and scarf are a bit of a give away that we are not in the Sunny Southern Hemisphere. … We saw people fishing:  .. and a giant throne, clearly designed …