Holidays + #Instagram

Following a recent trip to Australia’s other top dog city in Victoria, I can safely say that I’ll never take my iPhone or Instagram account for granted again.

People laugh and poke fun at those who even have an account that’s not Facebook – that too was once laughed at and mocked – simply because they deem it uncool or, as some people tend to put it these days, is “for mere hipsters and not us mortal folk.” Yes, I’m almost certain I didn’t just make that up in my head.

There’s a particular joy that comes with having the ability to achieve photographer genius in under 27 seconds with the use of another glorious Apple product. And then receiving a bulk of ‘likes’ from people who appreciate/admire your creative efforts is just the cherry on top.

Melbourne was a highly Instagrammable city (that too is something I don’t think I just made up), where delights and a European-style sense of street life paved the way for my photographic prowess as I captured all of the most glorious moments for the entire Instagramming public to see.

Out with a bang.

This was not a reference to a bomb explosion… relax, people! :]
This was in fact a reference to two things… although both ironically similar to a bomb, well, explosively speaking at least;
a) fireworks
and
b) firecrackers.
Both of which I encountered in a single New Years Eve celebration in Berlin.

You may often [or not] hear the expression “it was like war”. Well, let me tell you something; if you’re not one of those lucky 1,000,000 people who make it onto the two kilometre ‘Party Mile’ before they close the entrances, you’ll feel like you’re on a European warfront. Apart from the booming of the midnight fireworks (as well as unofficial, and unscheduled firework demonstrations throughout the night), there was a cacophony of bangs surrounding us for the duration of the evening. Firecrackers, as well as the loud smashing of glass bottles (not to mention the “duck or you’ll be sprayed with shatters of glass” dance) led us to hitching  ride in a taxi back to my host dad’s apartment a little after one in the morning.

Oh the joys of exchange. ;]

I’m telling you now… I certainly won’t forget my most recent, and [unfortunately] last, trip to Berlin.

Highlights:

• Cheese fondue before heading into the city for New Years.
• Roncalli Circus, and seeing german actor Christoph Waltz in the flesh
• Seeing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in the Berlin Philharmonic
• Having Elton’s Your Song sung to me by a drunk german
• Spending an hour in Zara
• Watching the musical Tanz der Vampire (Dance of the Vampires) in German.
• Viewing a visually erotic cabaret called Wunderkammer performed by a Brisbane acrobatic troupe in Berlin’s beloved Chamaeleon Theater

Here’s a few pictures… I had a major fascination with the Berliner Dom on this trip…. fascination, not a fetish.

Enjoy.

A highly excited Ryan
x

Rainy ol’ Regensburg

This past weekend was a tough one for me…
it was officially the last time I would be with all the other exchange students before my return home in January. Saying that, it was a rather emotional outing to Regensburg for our Christmas weekend, and I tried my hardest to keep in the tears when we had to say our “goodbyes”, or as I preferred it, “see you soon’s”.

Thankfully I will see some of them again soon… namely the english speakers and those living in my town. :] I’ll definitely try to visit the others all around the world!

Here are some of the photos I took over the weekend. The main sights included the Regensburg Cathedral and the Turn Castle, where we wandered through the stalls of the lovely Christmas Markets.

Christmas is getting closer! :]
But I really don’t want my time here to end. :’[
Ryan
x

We’re off to see the market, the wonderful market of Nürnberg.

The title of this blog entry was meant to be sung. I hope all the Wizard of Oz fans out there figured that out quickly enough.

The past weekend was one of my most special to be had during my entire exchange year… and why? Because I saw the world famous Nürnberg Christkindlmarkt with two lovely people; a classy French VIP and a crazy girl from Washington, USA.

With a whole bunch of mischief up our sleeves, we headed off to Nürnberg early Saturday morning and returned later that evening…

Whilst there, we wandered the streets of the old town, ventured into towering churches and ate the most delicious lebkuchen and Nürnberger Würstchen.

Here are some of the photos I captured on our day out. :]

Is everyone enjoying the festive season?

Ryan
x

100 Ultimate Wishes

In honor of my blog’s 100th post, here’s a list I once kept secretly, that I now wish to share with the world!

When reading through you’ll discover it may just be another Bucket List, but this is in fact an excerpt from my real one that I keep hidden away in my Laptop’s files. :]
It ranges from places and events, to things I’ll need to try at least once, all of which I wish to complete before my time on this lovely planet is up. For convenience, they’re organized into where in the world they’d be done; by country.
So enjoy flicking through my secret list, it’s now yours too, and if you’re open to helping me complete anything on here, I’d love to know what you know; send me an email (ryanaubersonwalsh[@]hotmail.com). :]

View the list below :]

The capital that continues to please.

Quite recently, I made it back from Berlin for a second time, and much like the first time, I saw many of the sights that had to be seen. However, for some bizzare reason, I enjoyed myself much more when I did the trip with fellow exchange students. :]

We were rowdy, boisterous and always tired… and they’re just the positives. ;]
I thoroughly enjoyed my time last week, and I mean every single part of it. We managed to see a great number of attractions in Berlin, and I believe the small map below makes it quite easy to see where we were. :]

View Larger Map

For a whole bunch of crazy and whacked out photos, stroll through the gallery below… there’s a lot to see. ;]

And for those of you who prefer learning through reading, here’s a quick summary of a few ridiculous things we got up to. :]

• Went to Potsdamer Platz and ate in an Aussie Restaurant… tried Crocodile and Kangaroo
• Shortly afterwards we went and took pictures with a lego giraffe… because we’re cool like that.
• We dressed up for halloween with costumes including: zombie teacher, zombie sailor, a VIP, tranny-hookers, a fox-thing, a cowgirl, the freaky girl from The Ring and a greek goddess…. etc.
• Blue Man Group…. was a “surprise” from Rotex.
• Visited the sex museum located directly next to our hostel… great choice of accommodation! ;]
• Wrote on the Berlin Wall :]
• Ate a late night Falafel…. and a Döner too ;]
• and did all the tours of the numerous well-established museums. :p

Hahaha. Enjoy!

Lots of Love,
Ryan!
x

Oh the joys of Google Maps

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I’m proud to let you know I’ve created a new feature. :}
An interactive map that allows you to see where i’ve been and link to the related post. :]

So go on then, give it a whirl.
The map will be featured permanently on the [the stats] page. ;]

View Larger Map

Have fun. :]

Ryan
x

Just casually…. off to Berlin.

Thanks to Rotex, the exchange students from Rotary district 1840 and I are leaving this evening and we shall be returning this coming Friday back home.

Thus, there probably won’t be any blog updates for a little while, but bear with me… i’ll be back online soon. Until then, I’ve got lots of old content to flick through, so have some fun seeing what I’ve already uploaded. And don’t forget to do me a huge favour and share this post around the world. We need to make a change. ;]

Soon enough I’ll be in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world… and I’ll once again be seeing old favourites like those below.

Read about my last trip to Berlin here.

Peace,
A thoroughly excited Ryan. :]
x

Mamma Mia! I’m in Italia!

People, people, people. It’s hard to believe isn’t it? I’ve hit another European superpower… and lived to tell about it. :] But first…

…here’s your opportunity for two things. ;]

1. Let out all the anger I may have caused you in delaying this post for such a lengthy amount of time.
2. Get over it and read this to the end, enjoying all the lovely photos I’ve uploaded specifically for your enjoyment. :] mmk?

Anyway, the last time I left you wondering about my adventures in Italy, I’d just finished speaking about London, Albania and Croatia. Finally I’ve gotten around to the big one, so enjoy the photos below!

Arriving in Bari on Italy’s Eastern coast, we had our first overnight in an odd little hostel (thankfully with air conditioning) and the next morning picked up our hire car (a sexy Ford Fiesta) and drove west, just as the Village People first suggested in 1979. We were headed to Sorrento, on the furthermost tip of the Sorrentine Peninsula. One problem though, we had to drive across the country in a day (literally) and the last strip would turn out to be the worst… four hours along the infamous Amalfi coast; beautiful but deadly… for driving. The entire journey as we weaved along the narrow cliffside road, dodging buses and other cars by centimetres, with mopeds ducking in and out of the traffic at top speeds, I was scared. In fact, I remember saying something along the lines of “I’m frightened for my life”, whilst clenching the front seat with all my might.

Thankfully we made it there, and I was rather impressed with Sorrento, particularly after having seen so much of it on account of our non-functioning GPS not being able to get us to the camping ground we’d call home for the next three nights. By night, the camping ground would come alive, filled with Italians traveling from far and wide, as well as numerous German, Spanish and Australian tourists, all flocking to the bar that was served well with some delightful Karaoke music. Have you ever seen a fifteen-year old Italian sing Karaoke? Don’t. It might ruin your opinion of Italy.

The first day we visited the town that was ruined after nearby Mt. Vesuvius erupted and its gases suffocated the townsfolk. Pompeii was truly fascinating. We saw how the old Roman world functioned, from the collecting of water, to satisfying the sexual appetites of city officials. (There’s a famous brothel, noted for its erotic murals). Being a large city (see map below) with absolutely no shade whatsoever, the 40 degree (celsius) sun certainly had a bite. Sunburn was imminent and no matter how much sunscreen I applied, my skin couldn’t help getting sunburnt. Thanks pastiness, you’ve done it again. When the day was out and we’d done all the wandering our feet could manage, we headed back to the campsite and dined out… again. Italian food, I have to say, is the real deal. :]

You’ve got TOEMAIL

So, as an update to my lovely blog post about Croatia where I was travelling with my Aunt and uncle, I’d like to let you all know that one of my photos from near Mljet has ended up in the Toemail collection, a blog that contains “Pictures of toes, pictures of feet” and is “making the world a better place, one foot at a time.” Quite an interesting bit of fun really. Worth checking out!

You can check out the short post with my pic here.

Have a good day/evening/night people. :]
Ryan.

P.S. Don’t mock my pink drawing… the feet are very… Picasso-esque. ;]