Student Life!

This was a really good day! I got up in the morning earlier than usual, since I had to go to uni for a lecture. The lecture was totally useless, but at least I now have more clarity regarding the assignment of the course. Before the lecturer wasn't really definite in his explanations and was also mixing our group up with another class he has.

Anyways, after the lecture, which was short and, as mentioned, totally pointless I went with some of my colleagues to have a coffee and to talk a bit, which was really nice. Then I went home and was reading a bit for a group meeting later on.

At 12.45 I went back to uni, which is just a 5 minute walk away and met my group in front of the cafeteria. We had lunch together with some other guys from my intake. After lunch we were still sitting for a while; nobody was really motivated to start working.

We stopped by the coffee place, had a take-away coffee and went to one of the group work rooms and started to talk about our project. Luckily I had my laptop with me and checked my Facebook; just because of that I got to know that people had organized a football match for this afternoon.

We made good progress during the group work and were getting some structure into our project. It was just the second meeting and we made a big step forward. We finished earlier than expected and so I still had time to go home and relax a bit.

Then shortly before four o'clock I fixed myself and went to the football field. We were playing 5 vs. 5, which is just the right amount for this mid-size field. With four people you are not really able to build up an attack and with six players in each team the field is already too full.

Anyways, we played nearly two hours a very fast and therefore exhausting game. Furthermore the temperatures are quite high today the first time this spring (something like 24°C) and the field is fully in the sun; no trees on the side to give at least some shadow.

Now I just had a shower and feel totally refreshed. I was sweating like a pig and it feels like all the dirt is out of my body. Somehow I really like to do sports, but often I am too lazy to go out. Football with the "boys" is just perfect for me. You play just for fun and do not really have the pressure to go if you dont want to. I hope we will go on playing all summer on a regular basis!

~M~

Reading!

Today was a working day! I didn't had anything in university, but I got up early anyways. I have to read a lot at the moment for my courses and since I am a slow reader and also often no so interested in the texts I need more time than usual. Also the fact that I am reading the things on my laptop and not on paper slows the reading down!

Anyways, I got up in the morning, had breakfast and sat down to read. With all kinds of interruptions I at least could determine which texts are more important than the others and will focus on them. We have to read texts and the figure out, which 2-3 are best and then write reviews about them! Pretty annoying, because you always read more than you actually have to!

Now I am done for the day. I still did some research for another subject, where we have to do a creative project. This was way more fun and therefore I kept it until the end! I will however put my feet up now and will talk to A., have breakfast and then watch Top Gun, just felt like it today!

~M~

Long Weekend in HH!

Now I finally found the time and energy to write here again. During the weekend in Hamburg I simply didn't had the time. I rather wanted to enjoy the good weather and the time with A. - who can blame me?! Yesterday after returning to Bad Honnef I was simply too knackered to write, but now after a good night sleep I am back!

After writing the post on Friday I had some lunch, relaxed a bit and went then to the city to pick up A. from work. She finished a bit earlier and so we met already in the staircase of her office building. We went out and headed again to Saturn to buy a camera bag for A's new camera. The old camera was smaller and so the bag was too small.

After the short shopping trip we walked through the city and were just enjoying the buzzing city life on a Friday afternoon. We bought a Streuselschnecke and ate it while walking. When it started raining we decided to go back to the flat to sit down a bit.

On the way back we reconsidered and made a detour to the grocery shop to get something to cook dinner later on. When we were back we basically started cooking straight away, since we were so hungry. We had planned to go out in the evening for a drink, but after the dinner we decided to stay in.

 

The Saturday started lazy, with breakfast and coffee. The weather was really good and we were sitting in the open kitchen window in the sun, looking at the people on the street. Soon we fixed ourselves and made our way down to St. Pauli. We were strolling along the Reeperbahn down to Landungsbrücken, the area down by the Elbe, where the harbor tours start.

The sun was burning and it got really hot. We walked along the water line towards Hafen City, an area of the harbor where old storage houses are turned into luxury apartments and offices. At one of the bridges were two ice parlors and since it was so warm we bought one. The sun, the water and the ice cream made the summer feeling perfect and we sat down on a bench at the water line and were sunbathing.

 

 

We headed back to the apartment to have something to eat. After the dinner we wanted to enjoy the last bit of the good weather and were walking through Eppendorf to the Alster, where many people were sitting on the lawn, were grilling and talking. We had brought two beers and sat down on a bench enjoying the view over the water.

In the evening we went to one of A's friends from Hamburg. We met up at their flat and were talking and drinking there. After some time we headed to the city to Sternschanze where we went into a bar/club called Haus III & 70. We were dancing a bit and then headed to St. Pauli, where we hit the Reeperbahn and did some bar hopping. It was nice and funny; we were having cheap shots in a transvestite-bar and were dancing in the super crowded BarbaraBar. It was a nice evening, but after some time we headed home, since A's feet were hurting. 

The Sunday was short. I had set the alarm at 11 o'clock and just after 5 hours of sleep we got up again. Were trying to cure the hangover and I packed my stuff. Then we headed to Hamburg-Harburg where I met K. a guy from my university, who had offered a lift back home. So I said "see you later" to A. and off we were. After just 4 hours we were back in Bad Honnef, I was knackered and spent the rest of the evening hanging around. I was just too tired to do anything.

Anyways, the weekend was nice and I know that I will like Hamburg as a city. I hope I will find a job there in the summer after writing my thesis and I hope that A. and I will find a flat together!

Now I am here in Bad Honnef, just came back from grocery shopping and will eat soon. I have to leave to uni for 2 o'clock and then have to be there until 18.15. I hope it will be interesting. At the moment I am already fed-up with university and somehow can't wait to start working again. This is just so much better than reading boring academic texts!

~M~

Wrap-Up!

Again I am sorry for not posting, but I simply was busy and was also not really in the mood for writing! I have been enjoying last weekend with A. and then I had quite a lot to do for uni and now I am in Hamburg with A. again! Yesterday I was again reading for university and then in the afternoon and evening I was rather spending time with A. than writing here!

Anyways, to summarize: The last weekend was really nice. It was good to be back home after two weeks in uni. I arrived Friday afternoon in Aachen and A. came in the evening. We had dinner together and then the day was basically over again. We both were knackered from the week and the traveling, so we went to bed early.

The Saturday we went to the city to look at cameras for A. The second day she was in Hamburg she went out and somebody dropped her camera, so she needed a new one. After not finding anything suitable for her we walked through the shops and eventually back home, since it was such nice weather.

In the evening of the same day we went to a concert of Herman van Veen, a quite famous artist from Holland. Although he is Dutch, he is also singing in German, which made him so popular in Germany. We had gotten the tickets for Christmas from my parents and the whole family - my parents, my brother & his girlfriend as well as my aunt - was there. We also met some friends there. After the concert, which was very long, we still went out for dinner.

The Sunday and the first days of the week were pretty eventless. A. went back to Hamburg, I went back to Bad Honnef, had some courses and was working for uni.

On Wednesday I came here to Hamburg. I went by train from Bad Honnef to Köln and was there picked up by a guy, which I had "met" over the website Mitfahrzentrale. This website is actually quite nice, people can look for and also offer rides between cities. For something like 25€ you can go from Köln to Hamburg or Berlin. Instead of paying 70€ for the train. Also for the driver it's good. He gets the fuel paid and also does not have to go alone, which is better for the environment!

Anyways, he dropped me off at the train station, A. picked me up and we went with a short detour through the city to the flat she is living in right now. We had dinner and the the day was basically over again.

The next morning she got up early and I stayed in bed for some time. Round 9 o'clock I got up, had breakfast and started reading for uni. Despite of some short break for lunch and for making coffee I was basically reading all the time. In the afternoon I went to pick A. up from the office, was introduced to her colleagues and was talking to her boss. 

Then we went to Saturn, an electronics shop, and were looking for a camera for A. after some time and some bad consulting from one of the sales agents we finally found a good camera for a nice price. After thinking back and forth A. decided to buy it and I think it was the right decision.

Tired A. looking at cameras!

Later that evening, when the battery was charged, A. started playing around with the camera and was happy about her choice. Now you have to check out her blog all the time for all the good pictures she takes!

 

Anyways, now I am gain alone in the flat. Had the same program for the morning as yesterday, but will now stop reading, will have something to eat and the call it a week and start my weekend! I know that it will be awesome here in Hamburg!

~M~

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~