12 months in photos.

As much as many of the more conservative and less tech-saavy people seem to think that social networking sites are the work of the devil, I do have to agree. And when it comes to something as important as connecting with loved ones across the world, what an easier [and more practical] way to do so by using facebook.

And what’s my favourite thing about this Zuckerberg founded web-giant? :]
The profile pictures. Simple images that depict what you’ve recently been up to… and after 12 months of traveling around Germany and Europe, experiencing the best it has to offer, I’ve had a range of pictures displayed on my facebook account that give an insight into my adventures. So here’s a little look in to those people who I don’t have on facebook. :]

NB: They get soooo much better as you go along. ;]

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

So yesterday I was singing in the rain snow. :]

Two shots of my street blanketed in a fresh layer of fluffy white snow and two of Munich’s Marienplatz in the evening… gotta love living in Germany. <3

Ryan
x

Rock & Roll… OMG those ribs are delicious.

Last Saturday evening was quite chilled. A few of the exchange students and I headed to Munich’s kicking Hard Rock Cafe where we nibbled on all sorts of yummy treats such as Nachos, burgers and ribs, all in the name of the USA. It was a very delicious [and fattening] thanksgiving to be had. ;]

Just chilling in these pics below. :]

Hope my dear American’s all had a great Thanksgiving too!

Ryan :]
x

Snow, a hut and 30 or so exchange students…

This past weekend I’ve spent my time catching up with the new exchange students in my district, all in a hut in the mountains near Obertsdorf in Southern Bavaria. :]

We got up to some wild adventures during our two nights…
Upon arrival there was our first Schneeballschlacht – snowball fight – and it became an all out war with truces being made between a Kiwi at one point “in honour of the ANZAC’s”. ;] That night we got into the grub – some heavy pasta around the dinner table.

Breakfast however wasn’t all that… some slices of meat and bread. But having to shower with all the others was something a little different. Even after six years of boarding school I found it to be something quite strange; I’m used to having a shower curtain. So I think it’s safe to say we’ve all gotten to know each other quite well ;]

After freshening up for the day ahead, we were informed of the death-defying journey we would soon be facing… an hours march through the freezing snow… but we all had fun pretending to be wolves, throwing even more snowballs, and making some pretty little snow angels. Oh yeah, and we hiked across a river where the water was ice cold. Good times. Good times.

That night it was time to learn some names… so we played a few stupid games. And I really do mean stupid games. For example, we sat in a circle and had to repeat everyones names and their favourite thing / thing to do: “I’m Ryan, and I like fish”. (Which we all know is a lie) ;]

We got even cozier later on when we discussed host families and any troubles we’d been having the past year in a “Candlelight discussion”. We discussed German food, the oddities of the language and even the weather. :]

So that last night turned out to be even more fun… Kim and I played a little game, soon to be joined by the others after we danced the night away to some deliciously trashy club music… and a ridiculous (a.k.a. way over the top) amount of Latin Music. With Leila and Naomi both behind the camera lens, we were the two models following our photographers’ directions. I think we did well…. we took well over 100 photos of absolute shit… definitely good enough for Vogue… ;]

So that was a night to remember… and then we woke up and a whole new adventure kicked off. Sunday meant we had to all pack our crap together and say “see you in Berlin” to everybody, jump on our trains and head home. But, being amazing english speakers, we all headed to our beloved English Cinema in Munich and watched A Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson and Marion Cotillard, among others. Good film, great time laughing at its faults. Can’t wait to do it all again.

I’ve fallen in love with the new exchange students, and I miss the oldies like hell, but the one thing that keeps me going is knowing I’ve still got tons of Germany to see. And I intend on doing just that… even if I do end up getting “accidentally” hit in the face with a water bottle whilst on the train to Munich. Thanks for that Little Miss Ontario Representative. It hurt A LOT!

Love you still.
Love you all. Newbies, Oldies and everyone in between. :]

Ryan
x

Munich on two wheels… with a bit more of Oktoberfest.

A few days ago I took up an offer from my last host family to tour Munich‘s cityscape by bike and then go to Oktoberfest afterwards, for the second time in one weekend. And what an offer that turned out to be. I saw much of Munich I never thought I’d see… including the Olympic Park, BMW Museum, Ludwigstraße, Odeonsplatz, Munich University, National Theatre, State Library, Englischer Garten and the Glyptothek. Mind you, I’d seen the main sights such as Marienplatz all before. :]

After seeing the Olympic Park (above), along with some other notable sights, we stopped for lunch at the Chinese Tower in the Englischer Garten and nibbled on some traditional Bavarian food. :] (All delicious). ;]

Later on it got even better when we dropped off our bikes outside St. Paul’s Church and headed in for the final day of Oktoberfest. We went on some rides, had a pretzel or two and even went on the world-famous ferris wheel where we saw the huge expanse of locals, beer enthusiasts and tourists that were celebrating the final days of this annual giant.

Towards the end of the night I even did a shooting game… (first time I’ve ever used a gun) and I actually did very good. :p Surprise surprise… perhaps I’m meant to be a copper instead of a journo. ;]

Hope you enjoy the pictures people, because it was one of the best days I’ve had all year :]

Love Ryan
x

OKTOBERFEST… (Take Two)

So on Saturday the 1st of Oktober, I enjoyed the never-ending booze-fest for a second time and on a day that I found rather suitable for its namesake- being the first day of October. :]

Of course wanting to get a table in a Beer Tent meant I was waking up at 4:50am and meeting the other exchangees at 5.30 to get to Theresienwiese before the main crowds… we all failed in that pursuit. It was already packed and we were lucky enough to score a table in the tent… but we were forcibly kicked out at 11.30am due to a reservation… didn’t ruin my day though. :]

Later that evening my host brother celebrated his 18th birthday and boy did we have a good time.

Lots of good stories about that one. :p
But I won’t be mentioning them on here… perhaps on request. ;]

There was a good variety of German food, a lot of dancing (to my amazing music) and there was even a few Shisha pipes. Here’s some photos from that glorious day/evening. :]

Can’t wait till my next birthday ;] 19 Years old… still got quite a while to go though :p Stay tuned for some more Oktoberfest photos. :] Shall be uploaded within 24 hours or so. LOVVVVVE Ryan. x

Beer, Lederhosen and Bretzen…

… I most certainly am referring to the one and only OKTOBERFEST!!

World famous, and rightfully so, this beer mecca isn’t just for the locals… I’m certain that 90% of the drunks within the Hofbräu Beer Tent were Australians… making their country “proud”. ;]

Anyway, just to be clear, I only had four hours sleep from the night before (nothing to do with someone drunk-calling me)… but my host brother, two Argentinian exchange students and I decided to go clubbing… prepping up for the big day. :]
Well worth it normally, I was incredibly tired when we arrived in Munich, but that never stopped me from having a blast with some long-lost friends! Met up with so many people I know… no mentioning names… *cough* Mississippi-mates *cough*… :]

The beer was delicious, the bretzen too (although certainly not fresh), and the rides were great…. after two beers :] Haha. The Olympic themed rollercoaster was a personal favourite, as was the pitch-black ‘Haunted House’ rollercoaster…  :D

So without further adieu (I’m sure that’s how you spell it), I give you a gallery filled with great memories!

Just so we know, I have recently come to own a gorgeous second-hand pair of lederhose… so the next time we go, I’ll be looking all that more authentic. :]

Hope some of you join me there.
We’ll have a ball… and a few beers ;]
Lots and lots of drunken* love…
Ryan
x

P.S. IF ROTARY READS THIS, I DIDN’T DRINK AT ALL… it was all for show. ;]

London’s calling…

It’s been quite a while since I’ve told you how things are going for me. But now I’d like to mention just how good it is on this holiday so far. With many thanks to Lonely Planet‘s hit travel guide Europe on a Shoestring, we’ve made it from London to Corfu in Greece, survived Albania, swum in Montenegro and sailed for a week through Croatia‘s gorgeous island coast.

But, as there is simply way too much to talk about for one post, I think I might start things off with a mention of Sunny London- the place I’d love to live in a few years time (followed in the next post by a brief run-through of what we got up to before hitting Croatia’s beautiful coastline). :]

So, it’s a city and the capital of England with a population of about…. pssh you all know the stats. Onto the juicy stuff :]

Flying in from Munich was just the beginning. Independent from the get go, I was looking forward to London for a bundle of reasons, ranging from it’s culture, world influence and importance, to its people, infamous weather and funny looking phonebooths. Upon arrival, I wasn’t too impressed. Heathrow is a BIG airport… I was in terminal 5 (Sydney only has 3 terminals…). Thus, it was a chaotic rush just figuring out how to locate the train that would connect me to the city itself.

The other thing that came as a worldly shock was the fact that everyone was speaking english… it felt so strange to see it everywhere on signs, posters and all over people’s lips. Clearly i’ve been stuck in a german frame of mind. :p No english what so ever.

Once I eventually found the hostel, I got to share a room with some lovely Swedish girls and we ended up going out together for an evening stroll through Buckingham Palace gardens, Trafalgar Square and a Tesco’s supermarket aisle, and then hitting up a nightclub till four in the morning. (Then we hit up Maccas) :] Then eventually I ended up in bed…. at 5am :p It was a good night…. that’s all to be said.

Above are some photos I took on the very first day in London. It wasn’t till the next day however, that I caught up with my aunt and uncle. 10am in the morning (yes, that works out to be only five hours sleep) I was startled by a knock at the door and I finally saw the faces of my two relatives. So naturally I said hello: “Can you grab me my towel? You were supposed to bring it right?”.

FC Bayern vs. FC Barcelona. What a game.

So I went to the final for the Audi Cup at Allianz Arena, Munich, last week with my host brother, a friend of his and his father. There were two games. One between Milan (Italy) and Internacional (Brazil), the other between FC Bayern (Germany) and FC Barcelona (Spain).

Final Scores were:

Barcelona 2-0 Bayern
Internacional 2-2 Milan (+2 penalty goals for Internacional)

That means the team I supported didn’t win… but it was still a hell of a competition! :]
Photos below.

I love Allens lollies lots. They make my heart go….

What is that song? I would be truly delighted if someone was able to tell me the accurate words. I don’t trust the internet, and I’m secrelty hoping that someone else makes the same error as I do. Shame I don’t really know Allens‘ famous tune off by heart. Also a shame that I can’t buy them here in Europe when we head off for a day at the movies. Absolute bummer! :/

I have to point out that Lily, the dummy that she is (I know right, what is it with Canadians and being stupid?), decided to make us trek around Munich to find an open grocery store, even though the intelligent Mexican declared it was Sunday and that everything would be closed. Lily’s response: none. She was an ignorant b***h. God love her :]

The cinema, kino as it’s called in German, was an English theatre and rightfully so, the English exchange students went along – excluding the Americans, adding a Mexican to spice up the mix a little. We ate nachos joyfully and laughed at the fact Torrington is so clumsy he doesn’t know what to do when he loses something precious of his. Note the photo of what the ‘Rescue Team’ was forced to face.

We faced a giant metal grate..... So heavy.

We were watching the new Pirates of the Caribbean if you wanted to know. Good film, not wondeful. Schade. We also caught up with one of the outbounds, that is, someone who’s leaving the country on exchange. We saw Freddy who’s off to Mexico. (Viva Mexico!) He gave us a short tour of the Botanischer Garten and was nice to see München (Munich) in the Summer, not covered by bundles of fresh snow and ice.