Sorry!

I haven't been writing for quite some time I know, but I was and am busy! The weekend I was in Aachen with my family and A.! It was very nice, we had a good time and went to the concert of Herman van Veen. 

Now I am back in Bad Honnef, have a lot to do for uni and therefore not really the time or the motivation to write! Tomorrow I will be heading to Hamburg to see A. again. I will take uni stuff with me so I have something to do while A. is working!

Now I am watching the game Germany - Australia and am hoping that Germany wins; right now it looks like it!

~M~

14-hour Writing Marathon!

This morning I got up early. I wanted to write my internship report today and knew I needed time for that. First of all it was because of the writing and secondly, because I am still recovering from the cold. Somehow playing football, when you are sick, doesn't really help getting rid of the cold!

Anyways, the alarm rang at 8 o'clock, I got up and felt like sh*t. I felt really sick and thought about staying in bed. But then I realized, that I promised to A. that I would be finished with it before the weekend and so I got up. I had a quick breakfast and started writing around 8.30 in the morning.

My head was jammed and I could not really concentrate. I was trying, but sometimes I was just sitting and staring at the screen for minutes without writing anything. I couldn't focus and I didn't know what to write. I was drinking tea and took vitamins to get better and eventually it helped.

I went on writing with short breaks in between. I wrote and wrote and actually finished. Then I realized, that I had written two pages more than we are allowed to. So I sat down to shorten the text and to get out as many unnecessary sentences as possible and it worked!

Now I have exactly the amount of pages I am allowed to and just have to put the list of references in. I will do that tomorrow and will hand it in on Monday. It will be the first paper for university I ever handed in before the due date, amazing!

~M~

Internship Report & Evening Walk!

This morning I got up rather early. The alarm was set at 7.30 in the morning, since I had to be in uni at 9 o'clock. I had problems getting up for some reason, but made it eventually. I had quick breakfast, fixed myself and then went to class. Class was ok, nothing really interesting or special, I'm still asking myself, why I have to take this course, but nevermind!

Uni was over before 11 o'clock and so I went home, put the laundry in and prepared a second breakfast, which was really nice: freshly toasted bread, orange juice, slices of apples and some tea with it, awesome! At the same time I was looking a bit at uni stuff and was trying to think a bit about my trips to Hamburg over the next couple of weeks! I know I will have a lot to do and this scares me a bit, but I'll figure it out!

After the second breakfast I started working on my internship report and made quite some progress. Although I am still a bit behind schedule I feel confident, that I will finish it before Friday evening, which was my promise to A.! She is coming this weekend and said, I should finish it so that I don't have to think about it while we are together. I will get up tomorrow earlier than planned in the first place and will work harder and have less breaks, then it'll be fine!

In the late afternoon, when I reached a dead end and couldn't write anymore, I decided to go out for a walk through the woods. So I packed my camera, as always, and made my way uphill. I walked a bit the way I have been walking a couple of days ago, but took then another turn and went further into the forest. 

Soon I found myself on the Rheinsteig, the famous hiking trail I had been walking on when going to the Drachenfels. I really understood why it is called Rheinsteig; "steigen" means something like "climbing", but more as in "hiking up a steep path". The path was really steep and soon I started sweating, but I had the sun in my back and I really enjoyed the way.

After sometime I came to a fork and decided to walk back to Bad Honnef. So I was walking along the forest road for something like two or three kilometers and then it suddenly ended! I saw down in the valley the point I wanted to go to, but couldn't walk there straight, since there were several fields and pastures with high fences were blocking the way.

So I walked along the fence and through the woods off the beaten tracks in one direction. I had seen a horse path before and thought to know where it would come out of the forest; I wanted to get to the path to walk on it back home.

So I walked through the undergrowth and had to cross several deep rifts and jump over small creeks and ditches until I finally found the horse path. I was following it and came out of the forest where I expected it.

I walked on and realized, that I had come to the "golden hour", the time when the sun is low and creates a very warm and nice light. It was prefect to take pictures and I got some nice shots, but then my battery ran low. I was a bit mad and disappointed, but couldn't do anything about it and so I went home.

Now I just wrote a bit on my internship report, wrote the post and will have dinner soon. I somehow forgot to have lunch and now I am quite hungry. I will work on the pictures still, upload them and then publish the post!

~M~

Day off!

Like last Tuesday and like most Thursdays I was off today! This meant, that I slept long and didn't put an alarm. I am still recovering from my slight cold and feel how much I need the sleep! I then had lazy breakfast and was not really doing anything until 12 o'clock.

I then dressed and went to the shops. I needed some food again and also it was just such nice weather that I anyways had to go out for a walk; so why not combining these two things with each other! When I looked at all my shoes I decided to wear my old summer shoes; they are so comfortable and light, just perfect for a walk and also a sign, that temperatures are getting higher!

My beloved shoes!

Anyways, I went to the shops and bought all kinds of stuff; bread, jam, loads of vitamins and fruits to kill the cold and finally a toaster. ALDI had them as a special offer since yesterday and due to the fact that we don't have one in the flat I decided to buy one. For the last two weeks I had been roasting my toast in the frying pan, which is simply a pain in the a** and totally inconvenient!

The afternoon I spent reading for the university, doing some homework and writing my internship report. I got quite far already for the short time I spent. I will work tomorrow after university again on it and then the whole Thursday; then it should be finished. In the worst case I still have Friday morning and a bit of the afternoon to finish it; should work!

After working for university for just two hours I quickly changed and left to the soccer field. Although we have been playing yesterday we met up today again to have a match; it's simply so much fun. I mean, I suck big time in football, but we play just for fun; and fun I have! I really missed that, but I can tell, that I haven't been playing for about 1 1/2 years. 

Now I just had a shower and will relax again. The funny thing was, that I wrote four sentences here in the post and then had something for my report in my head, so I quickly wrote it down. Who knows, maybe I will be writing tonight still on it!

~M~

Finally Football!

This was a really good day! Despite the fact, that I am still battling the upcoming cold I felt really good today! I got up round 10 since I didn't had to be in uni until 2 o'clock. I had a lazy breakfast and was surfing the internet and was watching series.

After a while I got bored; I haven't really been doing much else for the last 10 days, which is kind of sad. So I finally sat down and started writing my internship report. It went quite well and for the short time I wrote I came already quite far. I will go on doing it tomorrow when I am off.

Then my flatmate S. came back, he had been away for the whole weekend. We talked a bit while I was preparing my lunch and after I had eaten my food I fixed my self and went to uni. Change Management, the only course I had today went fine, although I wasn't really focused.

After uni I quickly went home, changed and went to the field where we always play football with the guys. It had become somewhat of a tradition already; we started in first semester during winter with indoor football and then kept on meeting up all the time while we were in Bad Honnef. Now we hadn't played for 1,5 years, since we all were away for so long, but luckily we managed to reestablish this habit!

After football I came home, had a shower and made some dinner. I was starving and made a soup as starter and some spring rolls and rice as main course. It's not really fancy or healthy, but it's quick and filling and that were the only things I needed right now.

I will talk to A. now, drink my tea and will go on fighting my cold. I hope the football was rather helping than making it worse; I tried at least to stay warm and not cool down too quickly after the match. Let's hope it worked out!

~M~

Getting Sick!

This morning when I got up my throat was scratching and is still ever since. I feel like I'm getting sick and am doing right now everything to not do so. Since this morning I am drinking a lot of tea, taking vitamins and eating salad and drinking orange juice. I am really trying, but right now I dont feel better!

After some time sitting around I realized that it often helps to freshen up a little in order to feel better. So I took a hot shower, dressed properly and brushed my teeth a second time. Then I talked to for some time and decided to go out for a walk before lunch. I also think that physical movement and fresh air often prevents you from getting sick.

Anyways, I went outside in the beautiful sunshine and warm weather and walked uphill a bit. After a couple of hundred meters I left the main road and walked through some small fields and pastures into the woods. Again I was amazed how close such beautiful areas are and how long I have been missing out on them. 

Since my legs are still sore from dancing Thursday night and hiking yesterday I soon turned back to the town and walked back home through some living quarters. It was nice though and I am sure that I will, once I feel better, walk there again and then take a longer round!

When I got back home I fixed my lunch and watched some series while eating. Then I tried to have a nap, but couldn't really relax. So I got up and had tea instead. I will go on trying to not get sick, I really can't have that at the moment!

~M~

Saturday Hike!

This morning when I got up the weather was fabulous and after having breakfast and talking to A. for a while I decided to go out for a long walk! I have been studying for nearly four years now and have been in Bad Honnef for quite some time, but I've never been to the Drachenfels, an old castle ruin close by.

So I packed my camera and a bottle of water and walked through the backstreets of Bad Honnef towards Rhöndorf, the neighboring town and one of the common starting points for a hike up to the mountain top. It was nice to walk the backstreets with the small houses and cute places. I had never walked this streets, I always stayed on the main roads before, and was amazed what I missed so far!

Anyways, soon I arrived in Rhöndorf and made my way up the Rheinsteig, a quite famous hiking trail that follows the Rhein from Bonn to Wiesbaden and passes through the Upper-Middle-Rhein-Valley, which is part of the UNESCO world heritage.

It was a nice, but often quite steep walk through the woods and vineyards. Every now and then the way gave nice panoramic views onto the Rhein valley and the islands of Grafenwerth and Nonnenwerth. After some time I made it up to the upper terminus of the Drachenfels-railway and the mountaintop restaurant. The restaurant wasn't open due to construction works, but luckily the observation deck was still accessible. 

I took some pictures of the view, had a sip of water and then sat down and enjoyed the sun. There was a slight breeze that had a touch of spring in it and was just perfect. After the walk uphill and the due to the warm sun this warm wind was needed not to get too warm.

After some time I got up and walked the few hundred meters to the ruin of the castle that sits on the highest point of the rock. From there you had an even better panoramic view up and down the Rhein valley. The weather was so good that you could see Cologne in the distance.

The panorama pictures lost some quality while stitching!

I then made my way back down to Rhöndorf. I decided not walk to the backstreets again, but to walk along the Rhein back to Bad Honnef. It was really good, the sun was still up and I could take off my jacket. There were so many people walking the path and I had a real spring feeling. 

Back in Bad Honnef I passed by the shop and got some things for dinner and lunch tomorrow and then made my way back home. On the way I met several people I know from university. This is one thing I really like here: you can't go out at any time of the day without meeting at least one or two people you know!

Anyways, now I am back, had something to eat, wrote my blog, will work on the many pictures I took today and then start cooking. I will make a large portion of bolognese so that I can eat from it today and tomorrow!

~M~

Good Night-Out!

My legs are hurting and I am quite tired. Although I slept something like eight hours I feel totally knackered! I am just not used to be out so long and dance for the entire time. It was good fun though and I had a good time being out!

We first met up at a flat, where we were sitting, chatting and drinking a bit before we went to the club. The club is a novelty here in Bad Honnef and is open just half a year and so it was the first time for me to go there. Finally we have a decent place to go out and dance here in Bad Honnef, this was one thing the town was always lacking. I was dancing all night until 5 o'clock. 

After we left the club some went home, but others, including me, were hungry and so we went to the local bakery, that had just opened and had breakfast there. It was funny to see, that we just came from the club and the people working there just had gotten up. We sat there with seven people and were eating warm buns with cheese, ham and salad; it was just the perfect ending to a good night-out!

~M~

Like in the Good Old Times!

Yesterday in the evening I had a visitor. L., who I met during my internship in Oslo and who is a graduate from the very same university I am studying at right now, visited me. She is home in Germany for one week and since this is close to Bad Honnef she wanted to meet up!

When she arrived we still went to the shops to get some food and then started preparing dinner. It was funny; we had been doing this a couple of times before in Oslo and always got good results, meaning delicious food. This time we cooked pasta with a spinach-cream sauce and stir fried chicken, which is quite simple, but tastes very good. I made this dish just recently with A. in Aachen.

We were sitting the whole evening until 1 o'clock, eating, talking and drinking - a bit of - wine (just a bit, since L. still had to drive home). We talked about this and that and it was like "back in the days" in Oslo. I really enjoyed the evening and was happy to see L. again; she even brought me a present from Norway!

~M~

Back to Student Life!

I am back to the real student life. This morning I woke up with a slight hangover, but went nevertheless to uni. Although I hadn't been drinking that much I was a bit tipsy when I got home, since I didn't eat enough before.

Anyways, it was a nice evening out and good to see so many people again. I had felt bad before for not going out and not meeting people last weekend. The thing was, that I simply didn't felt like going, I first had to mentally come back to Bad Honnef.

The day in uni was slow and short, which was nice! When I came home I went to bed again for an hour, but I didn't sleep. Although I was tired I was too alert to fall asleep. The resting anyways helped a lot and I felt refreshed afterwards.

Now I just had some lunch and now I am waiting for the time to pass. This afternoon/evening my colleague and friend L., who I met in Oslo and who also has been studying at the university here, comes to visit me. I'm really looking forward to this!

~M~

Back to Uni!

I am sorry, that I didn't post for two days, but I really didn't feel like it. I had to come back to Bad Honnef and had to overcome the novelty of being alone again. After spending 3 months 24/7 with A. it is an odd feeling to suddenly sleep alone and to not have someone to talk to all the time. I also did not do anything, which I actually feel bad for, during the weekend; I didn't leave the house.

Anyways, today my uni started again. Slowly, but it started. I had my first and only lesson at 2 o'clock and so I didn't put an alarm for this morning. I got up around 10.30 a.m. and had lazy breakfast and was drinking coffee. I watched the news and was following the recent developments in the Japanese nuclear power stations. Although I am not really scared by the immediate threat of nuclear radiation, I am still worried for the people and for the fact that we might soon have a second (or even a thrid and fourth) Tschernobyl.

The afternoon in uni went fine, I had the first lecture of Change Management, which seems to be a quite interesting course. The only thing I dont like so much about it are ll the concepts and models we will be supposed to learn during this course. I am generally bad in remembering and using models and therefore this course might be a bit more challenging!

Nevertheless it was quite interesting and some new things came up. I touched this topic already in Helsinki during some courses, but never pursued it in depth. So I think I am ok prepared, since I have a basis and thought about change management already and it is not totally new to me!

Now I am back home and dont really know what I will do. Tomorrow I'm off again and I guess I will go to do some grocery shopping and maybe finally start my internship report or think about a topic for my thesis! Uni has started and I am looking forward to my last semester in Bad Honnef!

~M~

Moving (Part II)

I am back in Bad Honnef! I have all my stuff here and now I will stay here for a while. Although I am happy to be back I am also a bit sad. A. left to Hamburg to start her job and we wont see each other for two weeks - at least. After spending nearly three months 24/7 together this will be quite tough!

Anyways, I was unpacking all my stuff this evening and my flatmate S. was cooking for the both of us. He made salad, sausages and potatoes, which was very delicious. Like my flatmate T. from Oslo, he is also cooking with very fresh ingredients and therefore very good! I really enjoyed the dinner and also the wine with it. The game of Backgammon afterwards was rounding up the evening!

Now I am super knackered and will go to bed soon. It will be the first night in the new bed and I hope it will be a good one! Tomorrow I reckon I will meet up with some people and will just enjoy the day!

~M~

Moving (Part I)

Today I partially moved back to Bad Honnef, the cit... tow... village I am studying in. I just partially moved, because I just brought some stuff there, but didn't stay yet. The reason is simple: A. is still here and will leave on Friday to Hamburg and I think it is just easier and better when we are moving at the same time. So I will be moving back to Bad Honnef with all my stuff on Friday!

The day was ok, my dad came with us, since he had something to do in Bad Honnef. We dropped him off and took the car then to my flat. We carried the things upstairs and put them into my room. We didn't really put anything up yet or the clothes into the closet, this I can do, when actually moving in!

After that we took the car back, parked it and went to the center of Bad Honnef. We wanted to have lunch at the Asian restaurant in the pedestrian street, since this restaurant had a lunch buffet earlier. However, I hadn't been to Bad Honnef for over 1 1/2 years and many things changed. The restaurant didn't had the buffet anymore, but since we were hungry we decided to eat there anyways.

After the nice lunch we went a couple of meters down the street to the Italian cafe we had been to earlier. A. and I had been there with some people two (!) summers ago eating ice cream. A. had never seen "Spaghetti Ice Cream", which is quite typical here in Germany. She was so fascinated by it, that she always wanted to go back and eat Spaghetti Ice Cream. So today we went, had coffee and Spaghetti ice cream.

~M~

-.-

Sorry, I am not really in the mood to write anything. Therefore here some pictures of today!

A. getting her hair cut

Walking through the sunny city

A. writing an e-mail

The flower A. got yesterday

~M~

Rosenmontag!

This morning A. and I had an alarm set! We didn't wanted to sleep too long, since we had planned to go to the Rosenmontagszug (Rose-Monday-Parade), which is basically the climax of the carnival in Aachen! However, the parade starts always at 11.11 am and has to make its way through the whole city to the spot where I wanted to watch it. This meant, that we didn't had to be there before 1 o'clock at the earliest!

So we had a relaxed morning with nice breakfast and had the shortly after a snack to have something in our tummies to not starve while being on the parade. We then dressed in our costumes, got our drinks, beer and Jägermeister, and then made our way down to the city.

When we arrived at the parade it had already started and about 14 groups had already passed. With 120 groups in total this was less of a problem. We found a nice spot in the sun and watched the wagons and people passing by. Soon we also started to collect the candy which traditionally is thrown during the parade.

Both A. and I enjoyed the music and the good atmosphere. We hadn't intended to stay for the whole parade, but somehow it was so much fun that we stayed until all groups had passed. Then we went home and were looking at all the candy we collected. Although we had settled just with the "good stuff" like waffles, crisps and chocolate, we had a huge bag full.

Anyways, we had a good time and now we both are going to get so fat. We simply have so much to eat. I really enjoyed the time though; after all I am from this region, grew up with the celebration of Karneval and, different from my brother, I love it still! I can't deny that I really missed it the last years while being abroad!

~M~

Nothing Day!

After being very traditional yesterday with eating all kinds of Karneval food we were doing nothing at all today. Well, ok, A. and I went out for a walk before lunch, which was very nice but cold. The sun was shining, but there was a cold wind. However, on the way we saw a ladybird, which means spring is on its way!

After the delicious lunch A. and I had coffee on the roof in the sun. We were not sitting so long there though, the wind was too cold. Anyways, somehow you have to at least try to get a spring feeling. Later in the afternoon A. spoke to her parents and to a friend over Skype and during that time I was bringing order to my papers. I found things from 2008 that I hadn't put into the folders yet; they were simply lying in my room, horrible! Anyways, now I have some more order and that makes me happy!

~M~