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H3Y 3VRYB0DY
So this week was your conventional week in Germany, involving at least three early morning dashes to catch the tram on time and mean as feasts at lunchtime. I have also begun to really make friends with some super cool dudes and dudettes, one of which is a foosball fanatic like I am (but not quite on the same level as I beat him several times on the school foosball table!).
I also had a really awesome time meeting a family of six who is traveling to New Zealand in two weeks and will be living in Christchurch! So on thursday evening I travelled by tram to the stop closest to their house at about 4pm and met the whole Kind family. I had already met Sophia and Florian at school, and their father Matthias at a Rotary Meeting. So when I arrived I was escorted down to the games room where I met the rest of the family plus some friends! We played a couple of games of foosball (which I somehow lost) and then headed upstairs for afternoon tea and a bit of guitar. I introduced the kids to all things kiwi including hokey pokey and pavlova and they gave me a guided tour of the house - it has three stories! They then proceeded to show me up with their rad musical talent. They can all play instruments incredibly well for their age, I was so impressed! The next thing on the list was helping the kids out with english homework, which turned into a Youtube dosing feast!
By the time we had scrupulously examined every single youtube video it was teatime, and I enjoyed a classic German meal with the family and drank a nice Rathaus beer. I answered a load of questions about the awesome country they were about to visit and also did a wee one man Haka demo which was a laugh. They had never even heard of a Haka before! I was really proud to be an ambassador for New Zealand and I felt really welcomed and honoured by this family who I hardly knew, and yet by the end of the night they seemed just like brothers and sisters! Super cool! So I had a really nice evening and to top it off Matthias lent me several maps and a book all about Karlsruhe in return for all the fun I had had blabbing about the wonders of New Zealand!
The weekend came round pretty quick, and all of a sudden I found myself living in a new home! Every second weekend we move to Charly's place (my host dad) to spend time with him and his girlfriend Sabine. So on friday night Sabine came and picked Anton and I up from the house in Durlach and took me to my second home! It was really cool to be in a different location and we were conveniently close to school, where we were departing for a day of skiing in a school group the next morning. So after a rather late friday night, Moritz, Anton and I woke up at about 5 AM, grumbling and moaning for lack of decent sleep. We hopped onto a bus and piled in our rental skis. Soon I found myself clothed in a mishmash of various borrowed skiing equipments which had some seriously whack colour issues (as shown in the photo attached to this weeks blog). JA MON.
So we finally arrived at the Feldberg skifield (http://www.liftverbund-feldberg.de/) and got our gear sorted for a day out on the slopes! I hadn't skied for quite some time and it took me a while to get myself back into stride, but it felt awesome to be out there weaving in between the alpine trees of the famous black forest! It was such a unique and different setting to any other ski resort I had visited, and I had a totally awesome time, despite devilishly painful ski boots which I believe may have been acting in protest to the pungent odor of my FEET. So after a good 6 hours skiing we took a short break (during which I attempted to wrestle my stubborn boots into an oasis of comfort - and to no avail) and then headed straight back onto the mount. I was skiing with a bunch of Moritz's mates, and it was a real cool bonding time. One particularly memorable moment was Moritz falling on his face in the middle of a run. One of his friends who was skiing in front of me came up with the genius idea of carving towards him and showering him in a violent fusion of ice, snow, and pure cheek. I thought, why not double his misery and do the same. FOOL. As my pair of skis slid towards him at pace I realized that I may not have slowed down quite enough and then a moment later I found myself several meters away from my skis and poles and face down in an ICE PIE. I did, however, succeed in burying Moritz and making everyone laugh. And sooner than I would have imagined it was time to head back to the bus, but not before we hit up the beer tent and enjoyed a hard earned and totally delicious German beer. Boy was I thirsty and keen for a rest! We had a really nice time in the sun with our tall glasses of German beer and todays photo is a testament to that!
On sunday I slept. And slept. And slept. Till about 11:30, when I awoke to an epic brunch feast and enjoyed the company of Moritz, Anton, Charly and Sabine. Charly and Sabine then kindly took me out for a bike ride in the sun, and we visited the famous Karlsruhe palace gardens, and climbed its tower, from which the entirety of Karlsruhe could be seen. The geometry of the city truly amazed me - all the streets radiate outwards from the palace! We then dropped by Anton's basketball game and afterwards enjoyed an ice-cream and a visit to the old quarters of Karlsruhe. Boy would I love to live in a beautiful old house there! And I thought that was the day, but no! OH NO. That evening Moritz took me to a Helmholtz Gymnasium music concert, featuring a number of my new friends and acquaintances, who it turns out ALL have extraordinary musical talent! After the impressive display of jazz, classical, and contemporary pieces, we all headed to the local bar for a quick beer and a wee social time before returning home far too late for a Sunday night.
Of course I returned home entirely slaughtered and super keen for a nice big Skype session with MAX. But instead the second I hit my room I was out to it. SLEEPSTYLES. Sorry about the late blog post too, I was attending a 5 way Skype conference call and became distracted my the BIG M's dance moves. RAD.
Anyway ima sleep now. RUV CHU ALL AND MISS Y'ALL.
Any constructive criticisms on the blog would be MINT, or you could just comment the following:
"Nic. I love you. Your blog rules and I have never enjoyed reading so much ever in my life and I will now die happy having read the tales of your epic adventures in Germany. XOXO"
Chur.
- comments
Bobbie Dear Nic, yes we do love you, and enjoy your updates via this blog. x It does seems that you are getting rather acquainted with the German Lager. Watch out for the beer gut. lol You know, you don't have to do everything all in the first month - you have a whole year. Just saying, don't burn out and get sick etc. (that's the mum in me talking) Oh, what the hell - enjoy it all!
James McPherson Sounds epic bro, i wouldn't mind a few german beers myself...
Santa Nick (nic?), I'm awed by your writing skills, they actually do remind me of Ralph Waldo Emerson! I'm pretty astonished and therefore a little sad that you weren't rambling about how awesome I am in your blog, that definitely needs to be corrected! Oh, and before I forget. You should post some of the words we taught you: For example, Rotzbengel or Heulsuse. Maybe you could use them while talking about Anton, the definition, remember :D
Dad Nic your posts are great fun. Well written with a good sense of humour. Do keep it up but reduce your beer consumption or you will soon develop a 'Bierbauch' ! I remember visiting the 'Schwarzwald" many years ago when I was a house surgeon in France.I unfortunately crashed my brother's Mini Cooper on an icy road there in winter. Had it fixed before returning it and without telling him about the damage.As your probably know the Schwarzwald is famous for it's cuckoo clocks and 'Kirschtorte'.Worthwhile trying! I mean the 'Kirschtorte'. Tschuess Dad.
Nicolas Hey there all! Thanks so much for commenting :) Dada don't you worry about my beer gut, you should be worried about what all the amazing german food is doing to my tum! Haha and Bobbie I will enjoy myself and heed your advice too, I promise not to go too fast and burn out Mrs Mackie! To James: It is epic bro. Ill bring you some back haha And finally to Niko: I figured you out. Santa (like Nikolaus), very clever. Thanks for the compliment and I promise to involve you in the next blog :) And Rotzbengel and Heulsuse will both feature as well! Love to all. Nick
Auntie Jennie Great posts Nic - can we now have some MORE news please?