An Ode to Simi

7 Nov

For the past month Matt has been a huge GC to let me crash in his lounge while I sorted my life out. We had never met before but for some reason accepted me into his home. Our first meeting could have gone better as I called him to let me into the apartment as he was entertaining a female companion. I dropped my bags off and hung out watching TV until he emerged from his room and asked if I wanted some eggs. He cooked up a feed and we made some proper introductions. Over a month later and I feel like I have known the guy for years. Too many good times together including that trip up to Auckland for the finals. The time at the flat was awesome but it is time for me to get my own room. A huge thanks to Matt for the mattress on the floor and you have one in Vancouver when you get yourself up there.

Foggy

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , ,

All Blacks Parade

26 Oct

I ducked out of work for a little while to brave the elements and watch The All Blacks Victory Parade in Wellington.

Tags: , , , ,

Rugby World Cup Final

25 Oct

The boys decided that if The All Blacks made the World Cup Final we would drive up to Auckland. Once the semi-final was won the road trip was set in stone. Saturday morning we got into the car and drove the 7 hours until Taraunga where my buddy lives. We had a night of home cooking until we continued the next day up to Auckland. We stopped and got some beers for the drive (which is legal in New Zealand) and smashed it out. We got to our home base and took in the warm sun which we haven’t felt it a while.

We walked to Eden Park to try and score some scalpers but there were none to be seen so we cabbed downtown. Our driver just happened to be a Calgary Flames fan so there was some great banter in the car. The streets were packed but we eventually found a bar that would let us in. The game started and New Zealand went silent, you could feel the collective nerves of a whole country riding on the next 80 minutes. After the final kick went out the liveliness came back to the streets and New Zealand was again World Champs. We all poured out into the street and threw high fives to anyone we passed. It definitely brought me back to the Olympics in Vancouver but not on the same scale. 24 years after they won their only World Cup The All Blacks finally got their hands on it again. The long wait was worth it as the party that night was on another level.

Foggy

Rugby World Cup

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rugby World Cup

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Scoring a Job

17 Oct

I was sitting in Munich washing down some delicious chicken with a massive stein of beer when I met Johnny a Kiwi from Wellington. We had some good days of drinking together and he told me to get a hold of him when I got to Wellington.

Three weeks later after a brisk trip home to Vancouver to catch up with some people I found myself in Wellington. I called up Johnny and asked if he knew anyone looking for a flatmate. I was in luck he had a friend who was looking to fill a room in her house. He put me in touch with Sarah and we went out for a beer to see if we could actually coexist in the same house without killing each other. After a pint and talking about what we were up to she decided that I was no good to live with. BUT she had a job opening that might just fit my description.

Another week and two interviews later I landed a job for the New Zealand Government. I was pretty pumped to get the job and do something actually productive down here. Just goes to show Mom that good things DO come from drinking!

Foggy

Oktoberfest

Tags: , , , , , ,

Canada vs. All Blacks Haka

3 Oct

Tags: , , ,

Oktoberfest

26 Sep

My friend Franzi picked me up and we drove down to Munich together. We met up with his 2 buddies from Australia Paulo and Keeno and a friend from Austria Lisa. The 5 of us piled into a tiny hotel room for two and the debauchery began.

We chose the Hoffen Brau tent to set up shop and settled in with a large table of Aussie’s that Paulo and Keeno knew. The huge beers started flowing and we thought it would be a good idea to do a big cheers photo. We all wound up and smashed our glasses but one of them exploded and cut Franzi’s knuckle, he was then whisked away to the medical tent. People would get up on the table and thousands of people would be cheering you on to down your whole 1 litre of beer, but if you messed up be prepared for boos and half eaten chicken carcasses to be flown at you. I eventually met up with Franzi and we went to go purchase Lederhosen, we spent way too much money but at least now we fit in.

The next day was filled with more of the same except now that I was wearing the lederhosen I was being grabbed in every direction by ladies in the tent. It was a wild day that ended in me having to take my bags and head to the train station. An overnight train to Frankfurt followed by a plane back to Vancouver, all the time wearing my lederhosen. I feel bad for the people sitting next to me on those rides as I must have stunk of meat and beer the whole way home.

Foggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oktoberfest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Berlin

24 Sep

I got out of my ride share in Berlin and found my hostel I was staying at for the next few nights. I was about to head out for the night when Claire came running through the door and gave me a big hug. Those of you might remember Claire from Turkey when I was traveling with her. It was great to be able to meet up with her again and have a mini reunion. We had made plans to meet up again in Berlin for a couple of days.

The next day we went on a tour of Berlin which was the best I have been on in Europe. It was amazing how much history had gone on in this city from so many different time periods. After the tour we cleaned ourselves up and headed out for the night. We wanted to hit the underground scene in Berlin and were pointed to a club called The Golden Gate. When we got there it was a really dodgy looking place under the tram line covered in graffiti. We decided to walk in and did not regret it. It really filled out around 2am and by the time we left at 7:30 it was still packed. We went home and said our goodbyes before I set out again into the world.

Foggy

Tags: , , , , ,

Ride Sharing

24 Sep

Short on cash and trains are not quite in the budget, and don’t feel like standing on the side of the road with your thumb out. Head over to http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/ and saddle yourself a ride. The website allows you to put in what two cities you want to travel between and on what date. Then it will give you a list of drivers, what time they are leaving and how much they want for gas. It operates in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and Great Britain. It is a great way to meet people from the country and get yourself around for way cheaper than other means of transportation.

Foggy

Tags: , ,

Tschurtschenthaler House

24 Sep

My friend Stephan did me a huge favour and set me up with his family in the west of Austria. They are from a small town of 300 people called Pfaffenswendt in the province of Tirol. The train ride there was amazing as my surroundings started to jet up into the sky as I entered the Alps. Michaela picked me up at the train station and we walked back to her house. They really treated me like family and brought me into the clan. For the next week they fed me ridiculous amounts of food, beer and schnapps. I left feeling 10 pounds heavier but it is a place I know I will come back to.

Foggy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tirol

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Unreal Vienna Host

10 Sep

I got into Vienna early in the morning and just as promised my friend Heidi picked me up at the train station. I knew Heidi from UBC where she did an exchange for a semester. We went back to her dorms at the University that would be my home for the next few days. Heidi went far out of her way to make sure I had a good time in Vienna. She showed me around the city and the good spots where few tourists go. We would cook some amazing dinners together (her being the way better cook), and then hang out and chat. Heidi truly went far beyond any host and I am really grateful for it, I hope one day she comes back to Canada so I can return the favour.

Foggy

 

Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started