Weisser family blog

Last weekend was very busy. On Saturday we went for coffee and cake to Daniels grandmother – it was her birthday. There we also met some of Daniels aunts and uncles and it was a big suprise that Sabine from Paris was there too.

Later that day we drove to Markdorf. This is near Friedrichshafen where I worked before I went to New Zealand. Daniel and I were invited to a big BBQ by a former colleague. It was great to see him, his family and other friends again.

On Sunday we had a big party in Eningen as I invited my relatives and some friends to celebrate my birthday. It was great meeting them again and there was a lot to tell. We showed the some pictures and the videos from our skydiving experience and Daniels bungy jump which started big discussion about “How can you do that?” and “Would you do this?”. Finally we could give a possum to the winner of our blog for the largest number of comments to the “Oberaichner” in a big award ceremony.

Daniel and I neglected our blog the last two weeks! What a shame! I try to sum up all important things that happened here:

First of all we had to unpack everything and get organised. By the way our parcel arrived savely and nothing is broken or missing! Daniel has now his ‘office’ in a newly renovated room downstairs in my parents house and tries to finish his thesis. I myself notified the ‘Agentur für Arbeit’ that I am unemployed at the moment and so far it looks like they are paying me some money until I find a job – fingers crossed.

The first weekend in Germany we spend at my parents house in Eningen. My sister, her boyfriend, Daniel’s father and his partner came for a big BBQ. It was great to see them all again. There was so much to talk about and almost no time to show some pictures.

Last weekend we drove to Freiburg to visit Daniels brother (Andreas) and to see some other friends. Daniel had the chance to play beach volleyball again – after one year. He was very bad at the beginning but his performance improved after a while and he is still faster than Andreas . On Sunday we visited Lena (Andrea’s girlfriend) in Kehl and went to a beautiful lake to enjoy the hot summer weather. Later that day we visited Daniels grandparents and his mother and enjoyed delicious selfmade cakes.

Here are some more thoughts about our first weeks in Germany:
- It is warm and hot since we arrived.
- We enjoy watching the Tour the France during daytime.
- We enjoy German saussages and other good food.
- We started going jogging regularly.
- It is fun going shopping and seeing all products again we used to buy.
- Daniel operated the windscreen wiper instead of the indications lights, too.
- The bread from the German bakery is as good as the bread you can buy in Germany.
- Having more room to live is great.
- I miss the big Railway Campus kitchen and watching other people cook.
- We miss New Zealand!

This is enough for today, but before I stop, I’ll give you our temporary address and telephone number – just in case. I will post a picture of the place where we are staying as soon as possible (Please have a look at the car on the left – it is mine!). So you can find the place if you are around! Come and visit us whenever you like!

Birgit Kaschte und Daniel Weisser
Rembrandtstr. 15
72800 Eningen
Germany
+49 (7121) 880715

Today I decided to put some of the NZ pictures online. But I’m running out of webspace. So I opened a Flickr account and if you want to see more pictures just have a look at the Flickr Page.

Yes we are back now! And after putting all our luggage away and drinking the first German beer there are some things that feel awkward.

• Driving on the right side is really strange
• Everybody speaking German is interesting
• Where are all the Asians?

We miss all the guys we met back in New Zealand but we are exited about meeting all our friends in Germany again.

If you want to see more pics with us having fun in Auckland just have a look at Andrea’s blog.

After the checkout we got a taxi for the way to the airport. The ride was really entertaining as the driver didn’t speak any English and we tried to have a conversation on traffic jams and soccer world cup. I’m still impressed how those guys manage to ride their vehicles without constantly crashing. And now another 2 hours of flight and we’ll be back in Germany.

Update: We are back and as you can see all the texts have been published.

Today was the day out of Bangkok. It started with a late pick-up at the hotel, continued with a strange re-arrangement of people in buses and lead to a 2 hour drive to Kanchanaburi. There we visited the military cemetery which is a remainder for the countless victims of World War 2. We went on to the War museum near the river Kwai and finally had the chance to walk over the bridge which is also known by the equally named movie.

After that we went on the train for a ride on the death railway and further with the minivan to the elephant camp. There we had the chance to ride on these enormous grey animals. After a short lunch we went on a boat for a 30 minute ride and then on to some water falls. For the way back to Bangkok the air condition system failed and so we were completely exhausted by the time we reached the city. And in order to be relieved from the long day we got a Thai massage before we finally headed back for the hotel and started packing again.

In the morning we had another short look into the Khao san road and went on to a trip in one of the countless long boats. The captain took us to the real Bangkok life which is lived on the small channels which go through the city. We continued our way on the river to Chinatown where we went for a stroll and enjoyed the various smells and colours of things of which we didn’t have any clue what thy could be. And after that back to Siam square for a last round of shopping.