Is it 3 months already?

G'day

It's incredible how time fly's. It must but about 10 days since my last blog post. Sorry for that my dear followers!

The last 1o days I spent some more time in Melbourne, flew up to Cairns and back down to Sydney. I am now just a few days away from leaving Australia. To be exact, I am flying to NZ on Thursday. I can't believe how 3 months can pass so fast.

I had an incredible time. I saw beautiful places, I met awesome people, had great parties and just loved every moment I spent in this splendid country. I wish i could stay longer but then I can't wait to see New Zealand!

Yes yes I feel a bit lazy today. So many stories to tell but I just don't feel like it :) sorry about that! i promise to be better again when I enter NZ.

The pictures are random pictures from the last 3 months. No specific reason why I picked these. For that reason I have no captions today. I hope you enjoy them nontheless though. The first one is an exception though. My Sneakers were finally (!!) woren through. Finally I could justify buying a new pair!!! Good times I tell you! I love em and being the sneaker freak I am, I just couldn't help showing them off.














sorry about the sucky blog post

Australian Open (part 1?)

G'day and welcome to my (first?) Australian Open special.

To time my visit in Melbourne with the Australian Open ( A major Tennis Tournament for anybody not in the know) was actually a coincidence. I knew the tournament is around this time of year but I didn't know if I would make it. That I actually did is just bloody awesome!

The tournament officially started today but I was already there yesterday. Why? Well because Roger (Federer, again for all of you not in the know), bless him, organized a charity game to raise money for the victims of the floods in Queensland. As soon as I heard this, I knew I wanted to be there. You get two for one. You have a fun afternoon and at the same time your money goes to a good cause. Also considering the ticket for this was only 20 AUD there is really no discussion needed. I guess 15'000 other people thought the same because the event was sold out in 15min. I know why I was sitting in front of my computer with my finger hovering over the "F5" button even 10min before the tickets went on sale.

I am glad to report that it was a great afternoon in a sold out Rod Laver Arena and that "we" raised over 1,5 million dollars. You may pat me on the back!

Today the real tournament started and I dunno how but by a lucky fluke I found out pretty early when Roger would be playing, so I was also able to get a ticket for his game today. The great thing about this ticket was, that I would not only get to see his game, but that it would also enable me to see all the other Swiss players. I think getting access to the Rod Laver arena from 11 am to 7 pm (3 games) and having access to all the other games going on, on the event grounds at the price of 67 AUD is very very fair!

So beside seeing Roger play (and destroy his Opponent 6-1, 6-1, 6-3), I also saw Timea Bacsinszky (sadly lost 6-0, 6-3) and Stanislav Wawrinka (also won 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4) play. Needless to say I am a happy guy tonight. And oh, if you have never heard of Timea, your probably not alone.

I will be at the AO again tomorrow with some friends, but just with a Ground Pass (29 AUD). This gives me access to all the courts except the biggest two. I am there to have some fun drinking with friends. Maybe I will get another ticket to see Roger in the second or third round.. I don't know about that yet though. I have seen him once now so I can tick that of my "to do before I do" list.

Please enjoy the pictures and sorry for the lack of "action" pics. I made plenty but my camera lens hasn't got that much of a zoom so you can hardly see something or they are just blurry. Actually I think I know what they are all blurry but since I just thought of that while writing the blog, it's a bit too late to correct that ehy?

Yes ladies and gentelmen, this blog entry is all about tennis... well you probably know this by now.
to be exact we are at the Australian Open in Melbourne. The first grand slam tournament of the year and for all of those who do not know it: there are 4 grand slams every year --> Australian Open, French Open, Wimbeldon (England) and the US Open.
It really is a pleasure to see a sell out Rod Laver arena and even better when Roger and Rafa are playing.. but confusing though that they are on the same side of the net and playing two women!?
Look at all the big names on the court. Was a good time seeing them fool around.
Roger and Rafa, still weird to see them on the same side of the net.
Timea, still in good spirit.. she would not be so for much longer.
Roger's entrance to his very fast and clear victory
Whenever Roger turns up, this happens.
Hemingway had the best time ever!
Stan the man! He didn't play as well as Roger, but then, who does? I only saw about 1h of his game though.. why? Well after 6h of nonstop tennis it was getting a bit boring AND I was hungry!

Stay tuned, I am sure some more awesome stuff is just around the corner!

I am in love ... with Melbourne

Hi all

I have to admit..... I have a new lover.
Her name is Melbourne and she is a beauty! At first you could think she is a plain and boring one. But then, yes then, as you get to know her better she suddenly gets very interesting. She has many different facets, is a bit underground but not so much that you wouldn't want to introduce her to your family. She has manners but knows how to have a good time. She also has a great sense for fashion and she has a little european touch. Just my type!
I might be in love.

I have been in Melbourne for two and a half days now and I love this place. I am staying in a suburb called St.Kilda and I wouldn't want to stay anywhere else. Wherever you turn you can find hidden gems. Be it a great cafe, a cool bar or a piece of street art. St. Kilda has the perfect mix of run down buildings and brand spanking new fancy stuff.

In other city's little restaurants n cafes usually don't look so appealing so I tend to avoid them but here I just get sucked into them and you know what? I haven't had food this good in weeks! I actually can't wait to get hungry again so I have an excuse to go out and explore another place. YUMMY!

I certainly feel like I could live here. It's weird but I felt at home here the minute I got here. I can't really explain it. Maybe it's the street art (which is everywhere), maybe it's the little alley's that have cool cafes and restaurants hidden in them, maybe it's the trams or maybe it's that the city has a little european touch.

On a side note, going to Roger Federer's Flood relief game at the Australian Open tomorrow. Can't wait! I also have two ground passes for Monday and Tuesday and hope to upgrade one to see one of Rogers games but even if that doesn't work out, at least I can say I have seen Roger play once in my life and I have sat in the Rod Laver Arena. Jealous? I would be!

Enjoy my pictures, more news soon to follow after my visit to the Australian Open!

At first you think, meeeeh just another city with alot of glass
then you stumble upon something like this.. how can you not love a city that has a Street called after a comic hero??? Oh they also have a Batman parc by the way. Looked for the entrance to the bat cave but sadly I failed.
The tourist tram, but I love it! Let's just pretend all the trams here look like this.
Oh how I love the street art here.. and it's bloody everywhere. The best to be found right in the middle of the city or CBD as they like to call it here in Australia. (and yeah, it's Ketchup not Tomato sauce DUH!)
horsiiiiiiiiiiiieee
more street art
This is to be found in one of the shopping mall's. Now, in America this would be a fake. Just something made to look old. Here in Australia this actually genuine. They built the shopping mall around this old Building, how f*cking cool is that?
This is in St.Kilda
Pier at St. Kilda waterfront. I think I am slowly getting the hang of my new camera.

smell y'all later

Touring Tasmania part 2

Hello again my friends.

I spent another two days in the wilds of Tasmania and come back with a hand full of stories to tell. After travelling the west coast for three days, this account is about the way back down to Hobart along the east coast. This took us two days to complete.

Day four was not so glorious. It rained all day and this not in a light way. Therefore no pictures (or none worth posting) exist from this day. the fifth day was a very awesome day though.

We started of with a visit to an animal park. I really enjoyed seeing all the animals that should be seen on a stay in Tasmania. After the visit to the park we drove on to our next and last stop at a national park. This would be our most demanding hike so far. It was more than worth the effort though. The pictures I took sadly don't do it any justice cause the weather was very foggy. At least there was no rain!

We went to Winglass Bay and it was a truly amazing experience. With that done I visited all the major sites that one just visit in Tasmania: Russel falls, Montezuma falls, Mt. Cradle, Bay of fires and Wineglass Bay. Each and everyone of them really deserve the attention they get! Believe me, if your looking a real "back to nature" trip, Tasmania is your destination! I am so glad I came here!

With all that done I feel though that I have seen everything in Tasmania that must be seen so I am moving on. Tomorrow I will fly to Melbourne. There I will stay about a week or possibly a little more. As it just happens I will be there in time for the Australian Open. I really really hope to manage to go see Roger Federer play! Wish me luck with that and if anyone has tips on how to best achieve that, let me here them!!!

on a side note: My thoughts are with the people of Queensland!

Finally a close up experience with kangaroos.. but doing it at an animal park kinda feels like cheating.
hello there snake, thanks for lying in the perfect spot for this shot.
Willy the wombat i decided was his name.
Tasmanian devils in a feeding frenzy. Man these guys are smelly!
Viewing platform near Wineglass bay.
Wineglass bay from above. Such a shame the weather wasn't better.
Awesome nature around here!
Taking a pic of wildlife in nature is so much more fulfilling than cheating at an animal park.
Love it? I do!

thanks for reading :)
[edit] sorry for the bad english. I was very tired when I created this post!

Touring Tasmania part 1

Hi, my friends, family and everyone else who found his way here.

I know I promised to update often for these few days but I can't post if there is no Internet. And not only did I not have Internet, but also no reception on my mobile. To be honest, these last few days on Tasmania have really felt like I am at the end of the world. Far far away from the modern day life.

What have I done these last few days? Essentially I visited many different national parks. in between there were a few cheesier stops like the visit to a salmon farm or a honey manufactury. All in all though it has been a great 3 days. I did a lot of walking, saw some great nature and even some unexpected animals.

We are 13 people doing the same trip and are at the moment in Launceston, which with 80'000 people, is the second largest city in Tasmania. You wouldn't believe how many "towns" I have seen in the last day that consist of no more than 5-6 houses and a general store (sometimes not even that). The roads as you'd expect are anything from perfect. Sometimes they consist of nothing more than a gravel track. It really feels like an adventure!

The weather is sadly not as good as it could be and some things are therefore not that nice. For example the visit to the sanddunes would have been much nicer with sun instead of the rain. But when your out and about for 5 straight days you just can't have great weather all the time. We were lucky though and during most of our longer walks the weather was good.

I probably have much more to tell and some of it would even be interesting but I am sooooo tired. All I want to do right now is fall asleep on the spot. Due to that probably made a few spelling mistakes, please ignore them for my sake ;). By the way, I will have no contact with the outside world starting tomorrow morning 10:30 Tasmanian time until around 6pm tuesday evening. You will get updated on my last two days when I get back to Hobart.

please forgive my lazyness but the pictures are not in order as things happend!

I hope you have a good one!


on top of Donaghy's hill... promoted as having a breathtaking 360 view. This is true, even on a bad weather day!
Lake St. Clair
Russel Falls
I love the tasmanian rainforest!
Why hello there little fellow. Spotted this guy in a nationalpark and was so lucky to get a few shots before he bounced away.
Hemingway is really in enjoying this part of our trip!
Leftovers from an old and forgotten mining railway track. Not exactly sure why I am posting this.
Our merry group at Montezuma falls (Tasmania's highest!)
Mt. Cradle Nationalpark
Mommy, the sky is on fire.
Mt. Cradle in the background and Lake Dove in the front.