Study tour

Well, well - I have been one lazy guy indeed. Wait… I havent been really lazy I’ve just been having a whole lot of fun. Was on a study tour which took me through at least 5 great places in Germany: Hamburg, Bonn, Damstadt, Cologne etc.

Now as the cliche goes… a picture is worth a thousand words and I’ll let the pics do the talking. Watch this space tomorrow.

Global village

Globalisation is great. There’s no denying the wisdom and experience one gains from having friends from all over the world.

Exchanging notes from all over...

The night scene in berlin is crazy… take for instance this dj/protest I saw at a club last weekend. He was wearing something which only a picture would describe (note the light emanating from his head, perhaps symbolising enlightenment)

Protest artist at club in Berlin

Madame Tussaud’s Berlin

Madam Tussaud’s Berlin was the bomb. Where else in the world would you meet Sarkozy, Bush and Tom Cruise all at one go. Oh and you can also turn the clock and face-off with the great Ali.

Me and Churchill observing stuff

Great minds…

You know you’re in a free country when…

…journalists queue up for lunch together with politicians in that nation’s Parliament Building.

This, my friends, was the first shocker during my current visit to Berlin, Germany. Coming from an African state as I do, I was quite surprised to know on my first Monday that - not only could I eat with this ’special’ breed of people - they were also entitled to queue behind me whenever they reported late for lunch in the common canteen.

A far-cry from back home, where senators walk on air and are generally treated like an endangered species, not to be touched and deserving of special protection by the state.

Apart from the ‘amazing’ lunch, I was blown out of the water by the level of sophistication reached in the public transportation system. The trains are on time, the buses are new and shiny and  the trams don’t jam traffic in this lovely city.

While the inevitable litterbug occasionally leaves his or her shameful mark, the streets are clean and the new cars gleam invitingly, as if inviting you to take a spin on the famous autobahn.

The city’s people are warm and friendly, minding their own business wherever they are, although one has been warned that this is not necessarily the case in certain neighbourhoods.

The beer here isn’t priced too dear. For a single euro, I acquired a chilled article of a mildly intoxicating nature, which quenched my thirst and tingled my tastebuds with the renowned taste of German beer.

Likewise, supermarkets are not out to rip consumers off, if my math serves me right. On being told that my cartload of groceries would cost less than twenty euro, I had to double check my receipt to ensure that the girl at the till had not made some mistake and left some items out. She hadn’t. Despite her assurances I still headed for the exit feeling like I had robbed the place because the prices were just so fair!

Hot South African video

Check the dancing in this video guys. South Africans know how to get down

Culture shock!

There’s nothing like visiting another country and experiencing a different culture. In my country, the mere mention of the word penis is virtually a taboo.

Imagine my surprise, therefore, when I visited an art gallery in Berlin, and saw this statue of Prometheus complete with genitalia.

Me, my friends and Prometheus

The sheer size of the statue meant that our Greek hero’s groin is positioned smack in the line of vision of any visitor of average height. There was no avoiding seeing this guy’s tacklebox. As the saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. My friends and I shrugged off all cultural inhibitions and decided instead that this was a great photo opportunity.

You know you’re in a free country when…

…journalists queue up for lunch together with politicians in that nation’s Parliament Building.

This, my friends, was the first shocker during my current visit to Berlin, Germany. Coming from an African state as I do, I was quite surprised to know on my first Monday that - not only could I eat with this ’special’ breed of people - they were also entitled to queue behind me whenever they reported late for lunch in the common canteen.

A far-cry from back home, where senators walk on air and are generally treated like an endangered species, not to be touched and deserving of special protection by the state.

Apart from the ‘amazing’ lunch, I was blown out of the water by the level of sophistication reached in the public transportation system. The trains are on time, the buses are new and shiny and  the trams don’t jam traffic in this lovely city.

While the inevitable litterbug occasionally leaves his or her shameful mark, the streets are clean and the new cars gleam invitingly, as if inviting you to take a spin on the famous autobahn.

The city’s people are warm and friendly, minding their own business wherever they are, although one has been warned that this is not necessarily the case in certain neighbourhoods.

The beer here isn’t priced too dear. For a single euro, I acquired a chilled article of a mildly intoxicating nature, which quenched my thirst and tingled my tastebuds with the renowned taste of German beer.

Likewise, supermarkets are not out to rip consumers off, if my math serves me right. On being told that my cartload of groceries would cost less than twenty euro, I had to double check my receipt to ensure that the girl at the till had not made some mistake and left some items out. She hadn’t. Despite her assurances I still headed for the exit feeling like I had robbed the place because the prices were just so fair!

The first word

This is a test, to see how my first day as a blogger is coming along. I would have written an article but Jan insists that we must write the serious stuff after lunch, so i’ll just ramble on instead.

Berlin muttering

This is a test, to see how my first day as a blogger is coming along. I would have written an article but Jan insists that we must write the serious stuff after lunch, so i’ll just ramble on instead.