Time and Leather...weird and wacky concept

Hulle se mos geen nuus is goeie nuus...so in daai opsigte moes dit seker die afgelope 2 of so maande goed gegaan het right? Well, in n mate ja, want die lewe hier het n tune van sy eie gekry. Die ritme het sterker begin klop en op een of ander manier, het ek ingeval in die production daarvan. Weird om te dink dat n mens kan aanpas in enige omgewing, dit vat net tyd. En JA, toe ek eers hier aangekom het, het die Germans my woes aangestaar as ek hulle gegroet het met “Hi, how are you doing?“ Firstly, is dit nie die manier om te groet nie...en secondly het hulle dit as n moerse invasion of privacy gesien dat n stranger van my calibre so n “intimate” vraag sou vra. At least is die mense nou meer oop en ‘warm’...die occasional “Hai” word nou meer kere opgevolg met n actual conversation oor die WEER of n TOETS wat geskryf is of nog moet word. So ultimately, I have broken into the small-talk zone...wat n goeie en groot stap vorentoe is in n land waar mense dink jy is kens as jy probeer vriendelik wees. Next step is daai one-on-one’s waar mens nou vra oor die lewe en die lot.

So much has happened and yet so little is of enough interest to write about. Since one of my very good friends put it: “Who would want to read about other people’s lives in another country, if they have their own lives??” In a sense of the word, he was right, but I still feel that sharing is caring. We have attended the annual Köln CSD parade which was a blasting experience. Refer to my previous blog – Köln, Pulsating Nova – to get a picture of the city and now add colour, music, lights, floats and millions of people partying in the streets and you have yourself an experience which stands out...not just because of the city being overrun by hundreds of thousands of gays and lesbians, but ultimately a unity shared by everyone there.

Ok, so hier is n ou storie...alhoewel ek dit nie eintlik wil oorvertel nie, is dit een van daai life-experiences wat ek vir die res van my lewe gaan onthou! So daar is ons, die Saterdagaand in Köln, min slaap en leef op pizza en wyn en nou moet ons besluit waarnatoe ons gaan vir die aand! Dis die ultimate weekend and the people are crazy! Armed met die innernet en vinnige vingers...kry ek toe sommer vinnig n site wat al die listings mooi highlight en verduidelik wat aangaan, complete met directions en admit prices! Sweet...haha...4 minute later, we have it. Köln United, a party for everyone, a big get-together with good house and trance music in the old bahnhof district. Cool! Sounds like fun...dressed van kop tot tone en heel gekletter op goeie SA wyn...stap ons toe nou maar na die location. Daar aangekom, everything seems pretty normal...mense buite in die lyn, bouncer wat jou MOET voel! En jacket-place-thingy....min weet ons!

After a good walk-about, we deduce that there are 2 dance-floors in a huge warehouse type place and an outside area with a good boring view of the old-tracks. So we venture towards the better music and order a drink or two...few minutes later, dancing and just enjoying. Now...don’t get me wrong, I do not think that I have a super-power of detection...but I certainly have sixth sense about things, and mine kicked into 6^th gear right about then. Something in me just said “slow-down, look around...take in the scene.” So I did...

Daar staan ek toe nou oopbek en verstaar myself aan die most weird scene since the Muppets en Marilyn Manson! Nou ek het pretty much al ALLES ge-experience in clubs ens...but this was a new territory, and I did NOT have the map. Flanked aan al 4 kante deur Leather-Bears!! Vir die wat nie weet n Leather-Bear is nie...dis n ouer knaap wat into leather is. Usually kom hulle met moerse magies en n bushy beard...daai wat mens usually op n Harley Davidson fanatic vind! Ja...nou wat? Surrounded and detected...I think they could smell the fear on us, cause the whole world cramped in upon us! Die een het my selfs gevra of ek sy speelding sal wees??? Ummm...NEEEEEE!!! Ok, so after the initial shock weared off, I quickly acted and searced for the most “normal” looking people in the place...and there were...a few...like 5. So, toe gaan staan ek nou maar by hulle en dans en chat en try die wilde vreemde mense ignore! Moeilik om te doen as jy daar is en jy sien iemand met n skimpie leather broekie en n hairy ass wat uitsteek!!! Lol! Ja...eventually kon ek nie meer omgee nie, en die party was toe heel cool...unexpected and definitely iets wat ek in my memory-bank gaan stoor! A true GERMAN experience if there ever was one!

Exams have also started and I have already written Financial Planning...which did not go off too well, and think that I will wait for the results before I jump to conclusions. The final week of this Trimester is upon us and after that...i have a wonderful 6 weeks of Summer Vacation...wonder how I will be spending it??? Need to still sit down and think about that...

Oh, ons het ook een namiddag n “braai” gehou...well, hulle noem dit “grill” en ek en Francois is toe heel game vir iets wat ons ook ken...you know...stand around the braai met n paar biere en geniet die ambiance. Ons moes 7pm daar wees...ja, hmpf, toe ons daar aankom, toe is almal al besig of KLAAR met eet!!! Wat beteken, ons het die “braai” gedeelte gemis...But when we asked where we could braai our meat...we were shown an Electric grill with an element!!! GREAT!!

Well, hope that I didn’t bore you too much and enjoy the pictures scattered throughout this one...

OC OUT

Köln...pulsating nova!

It is often necessary to reminisce about things forgotten...to do so gives us insight into what we have become and what we aspire to later in life. Today was one such day for me…

…so, its my second day in the city of Köln and I must truly say that it is one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring places I have been to in my life. It took me quite by surprise and even now, at the end of a very peaceful Easter Sunday, I am entranced by what this city has to offer. After a very busy Saturday as well as an extremely fun Saturday night party…I decided to take a walk through the park…wait…I’ll give you some detailed background.

Imagine the city in the shape of a half-moon, more like the Yin-Yang sign, but not…now, around the outer rim of the half-moon (circle) lies a lush green strip of park! It’s almost like Central Park in New York, only not central and not in New York. Now, just beyond that ring, more to the centre of the circle, lies another “Ring”…this is known as “The Ring”, a wide stretch of tar…or road as people like to call it, which passes through all the major attractions. Now the park has been designed so that you see as little road and buildings as possible…but seeing that it is smack dack in the middle of a metropolis, it is often difficult to divert all the attention from the buildings, trains, cars and the rest of the usual inner city repertoire.

…so I took a leisurely stroll through the park, thinking, reminiscing, wondering…(suddenly the opening statement makes sense). It is my first time that I have not been able to spend Easter with my family and it was a sad moment when that thought dawned on me. It is particularly surprising given the fact that I have previously missed a Christmas or two and even been unable to attend a birthday here and there…but never have I missed Easter. Ha! Here I am, halfway across the world, in a different country…and all I want to do is sit and have a Easter lunch with people I know and love. Guess that it comes with the decision and I will just have to live with it…for now…

Walking out of the Main station…you are greeted by Köln’s most magnificent sight…the Kölner Dom.

This unimaginably huge cathedral hits the “shit” right out of your sentence and all one is left to do is stare at it with gawking eyes whilst flies zoom in and out of your gaping mouth…which is still hanging on the pavement beside you. It is majestic to say the least and it leaves a permanent impression on your mind...and that is just the outside. The construction on the Dom started somewhere in the 1230’s or 1240’s and took over 600 years to complete!!! Every nook and cranny is beautifully carved and intensely detailed. They are now in the process of “cleaning” the whole Dom…a process which is likely to take up to 50 years! Small in comparison to the time it took to complete. And cleaning is not merely a “wash and go” operation…noooooo…every millimetre is meticulously and painstakingly chipped away with a chisel measuring roughly 8cm-10cm to remove the topmost layer. I feel for the guy who has to do it though…how boring!

There is another facet of European life that I truly enjoy…and that is their way of shopping! We are so used to getting into a car, driving to the mall, parking and then going into a building specifically built for shopping. Here…the street is your window and browsing is free! Thousands of people walking in tune, generating the pulsing heart of Köln. Street-vendors, side-walk stores, books, fruits, meat, stuff you don’t need, stuff you want, articles from afar and consumables which are produced locally. Musicians, acrobats, mimes and clowns, sellers and buyers and everywhere you look and everything you see is vibrant! All around you feet are scampering and bicycles zip through the human mesh of traffic deftly avoiding any collision. It’s outside and it is amazing! And when you are tired or your feet hurt due to hours and hours of walking up and down…just sit down and watch how everything is synchronized…how it just…works!

We are staying with a good friend of Francois’s! Deon. He used to study at RAU too and his parents reside in the UK, but he has decided to take the high-road and is also going to attempt the student life once more. Thus, he now finds himself living with his girl, Kathi! Very cool apartment in the North part of the city, top floor, small yet eloquently suitable. The apartment is right across from where the park begins and only a few minutes walk away from Media-park…Köln’s broadcasting and entertainment hub. The only downside…to our utter amusement is the shower…let me rather say, the “excuse” for a shower. Since the apartment is on the top most floor, it has been built in the attic space, so the ceiling is about 8cm higher than the top of my head. Now, add that to the ridiculous size of the “shower” and you can see where a problem might start crawling in. I basically crouch down and huddle in the foetus position whilst attempting to get everything thoroughly clean and wet. But then, Kathi was sweet enough to arrange with the downstairs neighbour that we could use their shower…whilst they were not there for the weekend…mmm…funny how trustworthy these people are, as only a few seconds later, I was handed the apartment key for downstairs…before I could even properly introduce myself!!!

Well, the rest of this Sunday was spent in the park, on the grass with a good book, a few beers and my iPod. Watching all these people enjoying the brilliance of the sun. And somewhere…on a bench sat 3 drummers and a guy with a flute, and together they provided a rhythmic and entrancing atmosphere for everyone to enjoy…

OC…out!

End of a Trimester...and a raving lunatic!!!

The timing is once again perfect! Look at the dates from the posts and you will see why I say that…seemingly, I manage to update my blog every month. Not my intention, but life in the fastlane makes us so focused on the “current”, that we often forget about the “overall”. So, the last post was a bit of an inner thoughts one and therefore seemed a bit “retrospective” Haha! Hopefully, this one will be a little more uplifting. One of my friend (jy weet wie jy is) told me that other people’s blogs are quite boring and therefore he won’t read mine…fortunately, I don’t take it to heart and to me this is one good way of communication and updating all of you on what is happening.

Righty then…so, indien julle die anner blogs gelees het, sou julle geweet het dat die tande n probleem was! Ek se „was“, want, ek het so n week terug my verstandtande laat uithaal...moerse moerse MOERSE seer! Hehe...ek het n pic attach van die inevitable swelling wat daarmee saam kom. Bliksem, mar dit was ongemaklik, en ek kan nou vir julle se: „Om vir een week lank net, sop, apple-mousse, sop, yogurt en sop te eet is KAK! Dit lyk darm of dit nou beter gaan. Ek weet net nogsteeds nie wat dit is met die dokters hier in Germany nie...almal van hulle moet vir jou n „step-by-step“ gee as hulle iets doen…interesting to say the least.

Ons het ook nou vir ons fietse gekoop…die goed is maar geroes, want die a-hole waar ons dit gekoop het, het dit buite in die reen gelos. Idiot! Maar…hehe…die eerste keer toe ons natuurlik op hulle klim, gaan ons by so n klein heuweltjie af…ek se nog vir Francois dat hy moet versigtig wees want dis nogals styl. Lol! Toe hy begin briek trek, sien jy net bene oor poephol hoe die agterwiel oplig en hom van die fiets afgooi! Slowmow my ass…

We went out one night to a club close-by called A5, what a night! Now, believe me on this one, try this the next time you decide to drink Tequila. Take a shot and add a bit of cinnamon! OMG, what a nice little shot! Goooood music, good ppl and lots of fun later…I had to attach myself to a pole in order to support myself for the latter part of the night!

We have written about 2 mid-terms and one final exam paper now and I am still waiting for the result of the mid-terms…maths and ethics, we shall see, but hopefully, I will do alright. We are very busy and the days are literally flying past us with astonishing speed! However, the workload…as mentioned is BIG! So, I have been thinking of maybe spreading it out over another 4 months, that way, I won’t have to take so many subjects in one Trimester and the work with SAP will also work out better…but that is still a decision I need to make…

Gister, was ons weer in die stad gewees (Karlsruhe) na werk vir n bier, nice plekkie gevind wat amper soos Sandton square is! Ons begin nuwe eetplekkies ontdek en soek maar so vir plekkies om te shop. Dis ook amper vakansie en ons wil verseker n bietjie in Europa gaan rondploeter! Nou...Amsterdam is n moet (vir obvious reasons), maybe Engeland...Frankryk of Italie! Net bietjie rustig wees en gaan toer vir so n week of wat. Die crap is dat ons nogsteeds final research papers in die hollies moet doen en vir SAP en die ander werk het ons groot deadlines! Ek het ook met Tjekboek kontak gemaak in die laaste maand en dink nogals daaran om vir hom in Skotland te gaan visit sometime soon!

Hierdie is Karlsruhe

Anyways...gistraand in Karlsruhe. Wag, nou skets mens eers bietjie background info: Know, dat mens nie sommer net publieke toilette vind nie...as hulle nie goed weggesteek is nie, is hulle donners ver! As hulle nie ver is nie, is hulle non-existant (en ek moet pee) en as hulle non-existant is, dan freaking moet jy betaal vir een...indien jy een sou vind! Belaglik…€1 sodat jy nou kan gaan Pee…!!! Nou het ons die bier gedrink…en soos gewoonlik, met enige mens, werk jou sisteem die alcohol deur die bloed en die vloeistoef af na die blaas...(ek moet erger begin pee)...ons moet ook die trein vang terug huistoe en staan maar toe en wag vir n tram!

Very uncomfortably I shifted into a position where the least amount of pressure is put on the bladder..hehe! Now, we are waiting, ek sit met my iPod in my ore en blast Linkin Park! Suddenly, there is a bit of a commotion at the tram-station and people are staring, pointing and generally just bemused by this absolute DRUNK homeless dude…(hy was moerse groot!!!) with a beard that reeks of vomit (hy het naby genoeg aan my gestaan om dit te kan ruik) Hier loop die dronkie toe nou deur al die mense en begin erg skel en vloek en gooi letterlik sy enigste besittings (n mandjie, met n rol toiletpapier, n lee bottle en newspaper) daar rond!! “Ich bin nicht ein idiot…wieso sind alle so beschissen…aschlögger!” Very casually...he struts till right next to me...stops, looks me straight in the eye (red red red) and spits right in front of my feet...ek dink even n bietjie recoil het my op die wang gevang!! Eish…what a sight…lol…dit was nogals anders. Amper soos die keer (now, since Europe is soooo liberal…there are a lot of weird ppl here….and especially PUNKS, the real ones, spikey hair and all) waar Francois per ongeluk 1 sekonde te lank vir een van die punks (n chick met rooi hare en meer piercings as die body-shop assistant) gekyk het…sy begin hom toe jaag in die strate van Karlsruhe af!! All the while skree sy ook agter hom aan en vra vir geld of something…

We have 3 weeks left of this Trimester, 2 weeks of classes, and 1 for finals! There is still sooo much to be done and therefore, I’d better get started right…

Miss you guys and this is me signing out till the next update

Die son skyn in Bruchsal....lalalalalala!!!!!

Rainer (OC)

P.S. - Check out new updated photo's at http://picasaweb.google.com/rainerlabarre