Mrls

Hey everyone, So finally I find a moment to post something. I have been in AUS for about three weeks now, and man, this country is huge. We travel so many kilometers a day it's unbelievable. Starting off in Sydney with Ilona and then on to the Red Centre. This was truly amazing. The desert has captured my heart... Of course we saw Uluru (but did not climb it, no worries mate), but Kata Tjuta and King's Canyon were at least as amazing. We also did a helicopter flight for the first time in our lives crossing some ranges and spotting wild horses and camels (lots of dead ones, though, because of the draught). We had a true desert adventure with the van breaking down in the middle of buttf*** (anyone seen Wolf Creek?), then later ... read more

Sooo, After I traveled for another week on the North Island, visiting The Coromandels and Rotorua, I flew to Invercargill in the south tip of the South Island. Here I met up with Eva, a German girl I met through work at the institute, to travel by car through The Catlins and Otago Peninsula to Dunedin. The Catlins are very quiet and not touristy, which was a welcome change to Rotorua (a volcanic area which is nevertheless mindblowing). In The Catlins and on Otago Peninsula we saw loads of sea lions, fur seals, the rare yellow-eyed penguins and tatatarata: ALBATROSSES! What a sight, these birds are absolutely incredible. In Dunedin, so far the only town I actually like (sort of), I said goodbye to Eva and travelled to Queenstown. I wanted to do some hiking here, ... read more

Hi all, Last night I was made ridiculous by dear, darling Felix and Stephanie, because I have not paid any attention to my blog since the entries on Japan. So, hereby I dedicate this entry to you guys! I am sitting at the comp at seven in the morning on a sunday as an attempt to climb back up from my devastating fall from your grace... This 'd better be appreciated... So now, what have I been up to lately, you wonder? Well, simply said work, work and more work (field work also counts as work, of course!) at the HortResearch institute in lovely Palmerston North (North Island, New Zealand). To give an impression of this city to the Dutchies, think: a cross-over between Wageningen and Lelystad (as some of you might know this is where ... read more

After the list of cool things naturally follows the list of UNcool things in Tokyo. List of not so cool things * No garbage bins to be found in the entire city * Tatami mats suck! * Finding an ATM for international cards is virtually impossible * Tropical climates inside every building or metro or train etc. * Traveling by train is expensive * Almost no one understands English * Japanese green tea ice cream is bleh! (compared the Chinese version) * The ritual of paying is at first funny, but very soon gets on your nerves (just take the damn money and let's be done with it already!) * No trees in the streets, it is brick city during the day until the neon signs start flashing at you at night * The fish market ... read more