Hoi zäma, So it has been a year without much blogging; aplogies for that. Basically the as the years progress and being away from Australia gets to be more "normal", the intense desire to blog everything seems to have waned a bit
And life sometimes gets in the way of blogging. So just a quick update as to my situation:
Though most of you probably know, back in 2009 the crisis and various other internal issues meant that my job at Rolls Royce Fuel Cells was moved to the US Midwest. For various reasons, mostly a girlfriend in Germany, the move wasnt appealing. So after a few weeks in Aus for Xmas, the first time with Christina, I went to Weil am Rhein in the very southwest corner of Germany, just a stone's throw from Basel in Switzerland, and the French border. This is where Christina found work. During my 3 months there, I was looking for work in the area, and eventually had an offer from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, (interview on my first day in Germany, job approved and visa application started 3 months later). As an aussie without I could only stay in Europe for 3 months. I also started German langauge courses during this time. Most weekends were spent travelling back up to Wallerfangen, Christina's hometown, for various Carnival events and birthdays and so on. So we only had a bit of time to explore the local area - Alscace is 30 minutes northwest of us, the Schwartzwald (Black Forest) 30 mins northeast, and Switzlerland just to the south.
After 3 months I had to leave and go back to the UK where I had a residency permit, to await my visa application. Here I spent 2 months doing basically nothing! A bit of tourism, but also a bit of casual editing work, some more German learning, and catching up on lots of UK TV comedy. Thanks to a friend Michael, who was away, I could stay in his flat in Camden in London, went down to Cornwall for a week and stayed in the dodgiest but cheapest hotel ever, and then relaxed back in Hathern near Loughborough with my mates from the Hathern Band. I also managed to almost-break my elbow being a muppet on a bicycle.
Then I started work in July. We currently want our main residence to be together in Weil, so I commute twice a week from "Basel" to Winterthur - 2 hrs door to door, and stay over in a share house 3 nights a week in Winterthur. Not ideal, but the for the moment it is good. We both play in a local orchestra in Germany, and C has started to build some good friend networks from work, whereas I am spreading myself a bit thin for that with all the travelling and partial living.
And today we are off to Aus. Half our time is spent in Cairns with the family and only a short 6 days in Melbourne, where we are getting married! So lots of stress and things to do...
Anyway, I hope you all have a great New Year, and that we can catch up somewhere, sometime, soon!
And yes, the usual promises for more photos coming soon apply, when the wedding is over...
Weil am Rhein Altstadt - downtown, nestled amongst vinyards and 3 country borders
The famous Vitra chair factory is based here, and has become a center for industrial design, so its claim to fame is being the City of Stools
The new shop Vitra Haus designed by Herzog & de Meuron
The Museum designed by Frank Gehry
Weil am Rhein
Windmusic festival, complete with oversized comic instruments - Alphorn
Haut Koenigsburg, and a Stork, the symbol of Alsace, just 30 mins north of us
THe castle Haut Koenigsburg
Colmar
Colmar - the so called Venice of France (Alsace)
Christina and Julia
