2006: A World Odyssey

Hello once again, another year has nearly finished, time to remember what the hell happened the past 12 months...

Some of the stuff I did this year:
Visited the motherland Vietnam for the first time
Went to a couple games in the World Cup in Germany
Lived and worked in London and New York in 6 months
Was a couch surfing member of the Valetta Road crew
Had a kebab in 10 countries - and didn't get sick once
Heard endless debate whether I have an Australian or American accent
Said "G'day" to Hugh Jackman in Central Park (well my friend Daniel did, but I'll take the credit)
Returned to my employment roots - flipping burgers! (many thanks Quinn)
Drove on the right side of the road once again (only twice was on the wrong side of the road in Phoenix - don't tell Jason)
Bid a fond farewell to Western Health
Reunited with Ruth after a long few months
Blocking Kara on the last shot of the game - just like old times

By the numbers:
0 - the amount of hours of complete darkness in a summer night in Gothenburg, Sweden (thank you Jenny and Richie)
1 - number of times I saw the Socceroos live (in London, not at World Cup)
3 - airports I have spent the night in
12 - countries where I had a kebab
32 - cities and towns I have either spent the entire day or overnight at

Stuff I'm looking forward to next year:
Starting my job proper in New York (assuming I passed the license exam)
Returning to Melbourne
Exploring more of the US and Canada
Supporting Aussie bands in NYC playing in dive bars
Enjoying living in a Manhattan apartment, and not living out of a suitcase for a while
Watching the Suns win an NBA championship
Watching a Super Bowl on SUNDAY night, not Monday morning!

Favorites
Music
Albums
John Mayer - Continuum
Jurassic 5 - Feedback
James Morrison - Undiscovered
The Kooks - Inside In/Inside Out
Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road
Razorlight - Razorlight
The Roots - Game Theory
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way

Honorable Mention - John Legend, The Zutons, Arctic Monkeys, Muse

Singles
Orson - No Tomorrow
Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
Muse - Starlight
Nelly Furtado - Promiscuous (ft. Timbaland)
The Flaming Lips - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song
Dialated Peoples - Kindness For Weakness (ft. Talib Kweli)
Justin Timberlake - My Love (ft. T.I.)
Bliss N Eso - Then Til Now
The Automatic - Monster

Movies (the only movies I've seen)
Casino Royale
Pirates of the Caribbean 2
American Gun
Little Miss Sunshine
The Inside Man
United 93

Honorable Mention: Date Movie, The Da Vinci Code

Books (only book I read)
Freakonomics

TV
Scrubs
JTV
The Daily Show
The Amazing Race Season 10 (I was nearly in it!)

Events/Other Stuff
World Cup Matches: Brazil v Croatia, Holland v Ivory Coast
Socceroos v Ghana in London [with Sharna and Terry]
Roller Disco in London [with Sharni]
V Festival, Lovebox Weekender, Jurassic 5, Shihad, Take That (purely for work!) in London
Phoenix Coyotes v Columbus Blue Jackets @ Glendale Arena (my hometown!)
Avenue Q in West End, London [with Garnet]
Avenue Q, The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway, NYC [with Ruth & Lisa]
Wimbledon in Wimbledon
Stones In His Pockets (play) in Dublin [with Lisa]

So that's my year in a nutshell. Hope you are having a great time wherever you are. Feel free to send your own year in review!

DN

By the time I get back to Phoenix./Where's my chalupa?

So Jason, Ruth, and I got back to Phoenix, and spend the rest of the week hanging out:

• Went to Phoenix Coyotes - Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game with Kara, Dan B, J, and Ruth. Taco Bell had a promotion where if the Coyotes score 4 goals or more, everyone at the game can pick up a free chalupa with their game ticket. The Coyotes ended up winning 5-4 in a shootout, it was game on for the chalupa! After the game we went to Yard House, a restaurant/bar that has something like 200 different beers - ON TAP! Pretty cool place.
  

• A gathering at Jason's house of old friends, complete with beer pong on a ping-pong table. I don't think I won any games, but I was up again stiff competition...
  

• Eating enough Mexican food to feed a small town. Fact.
  

• Checking out the Christmas lights around Glendale - including a huge Santa Claus the size of a small house.
  

And after the glorious weather of Phoenix, where I walked around in T-shirts and shorts, it was back to the frozen streets of New York Cit-ay. And I never did go to Taco Bell to pick up my free chalupa...

DN

When Danny remet Ruth / Las Vegas

So after 6 months, I picked up Ruth from the airport in New York. The next day we hopped on a flight to Phoenix, my hometown, and stayed with my friend Jason. And the next day, we piled into Jason's truck to for an overnight road trip to Vegas, my first time back since I was 13 - my how things have changed.

On the way we stopped at Sedona, known for its red rocks. After passing through the rocks we went to the only McDonald's in the world with turquoise arches. Then we went hiking around Oak Creek Canyon, which had frozen over the winter. After testing out the strength of the ice by walking and jumping on it (we're so smart), it was back on the truck to San Diego.

We got onto the strip in the late afternoon, and saw all the casinos I couldn't get into the last time I was there. The entire strip is a few miles long, along the sidewalk you have to dodge tourists and the guys handing out cards promoting strip clubs. The Bellagio casino has to be one of my favorites, with its huge water fountain shows (think the end of "Ocean's Eleven"). The Luxor, the pyramid-shaped hotel was pretty cool too, the elevators run diagonally. Caught up with Eric and her wife Angela at New York, New York, complete with dueling piano bar. Jason taught Ruth and I how to get cheap drinks in casinos, and I lost a grand total of $2 at the slot machines. Yes, I am a high roller.

It was back to Phoenix the next day after our quick visit. Hopefully the next time I go, I'll move up from the 1 cent slots to the 5 cent ones...

Coming (back) To America - Part 1

I stepped off the plane at JFK Airport in New York at about midnight. Fortunately the subway runs all night (but about once every half-hour), and after travelling on the train for an hour and a half, got to my hostel real sleepy.

The next morning I went with above bed bunkmate from Sydney and went to see Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, the Staten Island Ferry and Wall St. Although it was nice to those landmarks with someone, I could have preferred better company.

Me and my not-too-social travel companion on the Staten Island Ferry

But the rest of my time in the first week in New York was spent in the following ways:

• Looking for an apartment to move into. Searching through Craigslist to find decent, affordable housing is a needle in a haystack. First day of searching turned up a hole of an apartment in the middle of a rough part of Brooklyn and a cramped apartment (example: the kitchen, dining room, and living room are the same room) in the middle of the gayest street in the gayest neighborhood, Greenwich Village. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I don't think I could get used to the 2 xxx shops on either side of the door into the building. Luckily the next apartment fit the bill perfectly, and I had to take it.
• Studying for my physical therapy license exam. It was the strangest exam I have ever taken: 250 questions in 5 hours done on computer covering my entire uni course along with extra stuff they supposedly do in the US (but actually totally irrelevant). The results were supposed to take 2 wks but because of Christmas holidays would eventually take one nerve wracking month.
  
• Hanging out with Dan and his friend Andrew from Melbourne. We ended up getting hostels within 5 min walk from each other. That meant revisiting those landmarks I saw before along with others. It was an great time trying to keep with these travel freaks. They made friends wherever they went, many of whom came approached them because of their accent! Amongst the madness of hanging out with these bloody rock starts included these highlights: ice skating in Bryant Park, going on a our own self-walking tour of Seinfeld-related sites, dancing on the huge floor piano from the movie "Big" at toy store FAO Schwartz (by the way, you can pick one up for $250,000 - you can by a soft smaller version for cheaper), and the Christmas tree (f-ing huge) lighting ceremony at the Rockefeller. And to top it off, Dan and I ran into Hugh Jackman and his kids in Central Park! Dan said G'day (I was chicken).

Dan trying to mug someone on the ice - look for the flailing arms

At the Rockefeller Centre

So I moved into my apartment, said goodbye to my travel buddies, and the day after I took the PT license exam, came the arrival of Ruth...

DN

Goodbye Europe, Hello New York

Back in London after a month of travelling around Europe. I'm not sure if I was an annoying Yank or annoying Aussie, probably a little of both.

But here is a quick wrap of my travels through Europe, including weekend breaks while I was working in England:

Top 10 cities: (criteria includes nice looking buildings, friendly locals, interesting history, good public transport, and quality of kebabs)

1. London
People in London seem to complain about living in London, but I like it. The mix of cultures here is huge - you can find communities representing all corners of world, especially Commonwealth nations. The pace of life is quick here - the 4 months I have stayed here have flown by. People are always moving - moving houses, changing jobs, jumping on public transport. It's easy to see why so many people come here, there are a plethora of opportunities if you're keen. The atrocious quality of the kebabs here is appalling, but it's not enough to lose its top ranking.

2. Berlin
This city makes me want to speak German. Rebuilding from the past at such a rapid rate, it's amazing to watch, I could see changes from when I was there for the World Cup (that was only 4 months ago). Beautiful mix of modern architecture, older buildings, and memorials of the past. Cool nightspots restaurants that aren't pretentious are everywhere. It's got an eye on the future, but keeps the sad parts of the past from becoming too distant. And far and away the best kebabs in world so far (though I hear Greece do good work with their gyros)!

3. Barcelona
To be honest, I didn't really do as much sightseeing as other places, but had the greatest time there. But from what I saw, it was breathtaking. The architecture is really unique, unlike anything else I've ever seen. The food and drink were great. It's still pretty grimy in many areas, but it has a great party atmosphere day and night, everyone seems to be in a good mood. Definitely want to go back to see more of Barcelona & the rest of Spain!

4. Edinburgh
This city charmed the pants off me. I was there during Halloween, very spooky streets. The friendliest of people, but the nuttiest of accents. People have such manners (they queue at the bus stop, not barge in like in London). People normally neglect Scotland, but I think it's great. Such a vibrant (and bloody) history, and such a proud nation. Aye, Scotland's grand.

The rest:

5. Paris

6. Gothenburg

7. Dublin

8. Cinque Terre

9. Munich

10. Prague

Honorable mention: Amsterdam, Glasgow, Vienna, Florence, Venice, Rome

Best kebab:
Berlin - absolutely brilliant. Other cities do similar ones (Munich, Vienna, Rome) but they were the first (and the cheapest). They don't cut the bread straight through, they leave the back (like a pita with Turkish bread), and stuff it with greasy goodness.

Honorable Mention - Paris, simply because they came up with the ingenious idea of the chips INSIDE the kebab! Fantastic.

Favorite things done:

• 2 World Cup games - the 2nd game was an adventure, I think I slept 3 hrs in 2 days
• Party in a bomb bunker in Prague
• Drinking in Barcelona - I will probably not surpass that 5 day bender ever again
• The little Italian town of Orvieto, which sits on a mountain - one of the highlights of Italy
• Getting lost in the streets and canals of Venice
• The entire 3-day tour of Scotland. Brilliant!

Least favorite things done:

• Slept at the airports of Pisa (outside in the cold) and Glasgow
• Paying to use the toilets (especially when you have to go)
• Having to skip smaller towns on the Busabout circuit (Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov)
• Trying to get a regional train ticket in Prague to get to the "bone church". Got to be the most unhelpful, unfriendly situation was ever in. Felt like I was in the middle of an episode of the Amazing Race.

I thought my travels were long, but it seemed like everyone else was travelling for 6 months or something. But then again, now that I think about it, I'm really travelling for a year. Well for someone who used to working 2 jobs at once, a month of not working feels really lazy.

What an amazing time. I saw so much, but I feel like I have so much more to see. I really only had a chance to see the larger cities in Western Europe, next up are the smaller cities and Eastern Europe. But that will have to happen on another trip, it's off to the Big Apple...

DN

Venice - Churches and pigeons

Before arriving in Venice, the bus stops in St. Johann in Tirol for a quick pitstop, fried breakfast, and a chance to walk around this little ski village.

First night in Venice was spent relaxing at our camping village. The days were spend walking around, seeing the sights.

Covered most of the main touristy parts - St. Mark's Basilica and Square, Rialto Bridge, went on a gondola ride, walked around the many islands. My random thoughts -

• Pigeons must be the official bird of Venice, they are everywhere in the square. They even sell bird feed for them. As much fun as it is to watch pigeons eating out of one's hands, they still fit the description of 'rats with wings'.
• There are over 200 churches within the tiny city of Venice, it's like Starbucks. But St. Mark's is beautiful with gold mosaic on the roofs.
• When is high tide, the square can become flooded, and so they use platforms to people can walk around. And life goes on like normal...

The 2nd night involved drinking grappa (think of it as rocket fuel with a hint of grapes), and cards. Staying in the campsite made it difficult to go out at night, so saying in was the order of the evening.

The Venice Marathon was run on the Sunday. Don't know who won, just annoyed that it blocked traffic, slowing our entry into the city. Run faster!

Gondola ride was fun. Turns out our young gondolieri (gondola oarsman) enjoys Italian club Roma play football, and listens to Guns n' Roses. Bit more outgoing then your average stiff gondolieri.

Venice was a lovely city, if you took away all the tourists and pigeons.

DN

Am a loud obnoxious Yank or a loud obnoxious Aussie?

Last night was my 1st night in Berlin - the second trip. Went to one of those pub crawls organised by the tour companies. Unfortuately there were only 4 of us (myself and 3 American lasses), so it was cancelled, we didn't have to pay €10, and we went to the 1st pub and had a beer. After about 30 min, some late comers arrived, and we decided to go on our own improv pub crawl!

It ended up being a great time with people from all over the world - Yanks (Amy, Stephanie, Kim, Joe, Jason), Yank living in Sydney (Val), Kiwis (Justine), Aussies (me, Michael), and Northern Irish (Johnny). I normally remember some of the names of the pubs, but I have almost no recollection of any of the bars - good thing I had a camera!

The crew at one of the bars in Berlin

Kim, Amy, Me and Stephanie

Check out more photos at my Flickr website.

DN

Sitting in Berlin

So here I am back in Berlin after the World Cup, waiting to check into my hostel.

I have slept for less than 2 hrs tonight after going to Cambridge with Tony and Mike, and staying out til about 3am, then catching a bus to Stansted Airport (30 min bus ride), checking in then catching the 7:10am flight to Berlin. So here I am, smelling of stale cigarettes on my clothes.

Hardly saw Cambridge - saw the outside of King's College and St. Mary's Church and the inside of the Bath House pub to watch the England-Macedonia Euro qualifier. Did some bar and club hopping, and then I was off again...

Will probably catch a pub crawl tonight, tomorrow go see the stuff I missed last time round.

It is amazing who you might find on MySpace. Apparently there are about 130 people from the Ironwood High School class of 1997 on it, but I can hardly recognize any of them or remember them! But it is good to see some familiar faces...

DN

My travel itinerary - here we come!

Here it is - the European leg of the world tour continues - done Berlin, Stuttgart, Gothenburg, Dublin, and Amsterdam so far, what's next? Well the itinerary's below. If you are able to meet up somewhere, drop me a line. Red dates are via plane, green dates are via Busabout.

• Sun Oct 8 London --> Berlin (plane)
• Wed Oct 11 Berlin --> Prague (bus)
• Sat Oct 14 Prague --> Vienna (bus)
• Tues Oct 17 Vienna --> Munich (bus)
• Fri Oct 20 Munich --> Venice (bus)
• Mon Oct 23 Venice --> Rome (bus)
• Thurs Oct 26 Rome --> Florence (bus)
• Mon Oct 30 Pisa --> Glasgow (plane)
• Sun Nov 5 Glasgow --> Paris (plane)
• Wed Nov 8 Paris --> Barcelona (plane)
• Sun Nov 12 Barcelona --> London (plane)

So there it is, Europe in 4 1/2 weeks.

The North American and Australiasian legs of the world tour will go something like this (the only trip with confirmed dates is the first one to Phoenix):

• Nov 20 London --> New York
• Dec 11 New York --> Phoenix
• Dec 18 Phoenix --> New York
• May '07 Phoenix --> Seattle --> Los Angeles --> San Francisco --> Auckland
• June '07 Auckland --> Melbourne

So I may be coming to a city near you. Hope to see you all soon.

DN

Dublin, Ireland - ´Tis Grand!

So after my 2nd week at the Whittington, I was off for a weekend mini-break to Dublin.

I left after work on Friday night to catch the flight at Stansted Airport, and just like my trip to Sweden, I cut it way too close. I just made it before check-in closed, but my bag was too big for the new hand luggage dimensions, and then it was madness. Had to pay for excess baggage and check it in, but eventually made it.

Met up with Ruth`s sister Lisa at O`Callahan`s Hotel, and we hit the town. And that basically consisted of Irish beverages, and that may or may not have included Guinness. They say the Guinness tastes better in Ireland, and they`re right - it`s the Irish water.

Lisa and I - "First drink of the day"

Went around Temple Bar and pubs in the area, then crossed the River Liffey to catch a bar called Sin-E, then had the good ´ol kebab/sandwich to close out the night.

Temple Bar (Famous Irish pub) by day - way too crowded at night

Day after we went sightseeing (including St. Patrick`s Cathedral) and saw a play called Stones in His Pockets, which was really, really good. It`s an Irish play that`s been on Broadway and the West End in London, and was back to Dublin. Funny and so clever.

The night consists of more Irish drinking, but this time more spirits (Jameson`s whiskey, Bailey`s, etc).

The next day sees me head down to the Guinness Storehouse solo. Nice place, really shows you how beer (in general) is made, including Guinness. Great views from the top of the Storehouse, too.

After that, it was time to check out and head home. Blessed with great weather the whole weekend. Friendly Irish folk everywhere. Nice one.

DN

Physio job 2: North London

After I finished my job in Bristol on Wed Aug 30, I only had to wait 2 days for more job offers - on Friday I got the call for the next job. My second locum position was an acute neuro/stroke position at the Whittington Hospital. Everything was falling into place - it meant that I could save up just enough to travel through Europe with just enough time to travel before going to New York in November.

The job was stable (5 weeks and could have worked more), but it highlighted the flaws of the English health system and how unorganised the system is. Without going into too much detail, I think the Australian system, though having its own issues, is pretty good in comparison.

Strange to be doing neuro work when I had always expected to work mainly in orthopaedics. Funny how things work out here in London...so instead of not finding any work (as I expected), I was getting steady work, good pay, and probably would`ve been able to get more work (I had another offer from a different agency as well).

But now the job is finished, and my career as a UK physio has probably come to an end for the near future...

DN

Finally! A physio job in Bristol

After 2 months of flipping burgers and cleaning up after people doing market research, I finally hit paydirt - a three-week locum physio position in Bristol, in the west of England near Wales, population about 500,000. I am working in a Brain Injury Rehab Centre, part of Frenchay Hospital (in northeast Bristol).

The job is interesting, and it's good to be using my brain for physio again. The centre is a little old, but the staff are friendly and there is a good team atmosphere. It took the first week to work out the system, and now that I know it, I'll be leaving!

The hospital accommodation is cheap, but nasty. I am staying in 'A' Block (already it sounds like something from the TV show Prison Break). It's like a dorm/motel, with all single rooms and single beds. The hallway smells of old cigarette smoke (obviously someone smokes in their room). The kitchen is full of dirty pans and pots, but with no dishwashing detergent around, I haven't really been cooking. People in 'A' Block are generally middle aged, and of an ethnic background. Haven't really said anything more than hello in passing. After my 2nd night, I decided just to use it only as a place to sleep, and started working out how to get to downtown Bristol.

Works out a bus just outside the hospital can take me there in 35 min. So off we went.

Downtown Bristol is actually quite nice, like any other smallish town. Lots of history and old architecture. There are a few special landmarks:

• Clifton Suspension Bridge - beautiful bridge for one. It is at the top of 2 hills looking down on Bristol, so the views are pretty nice.
• Bristol Cathedral - nice looking cathedral.

Poseidon: "I think the bus stop is this way?" Danny: "No, maybe it's over here..."

That's me next to this huge mirror ball. Imagine the size of the disco club...

The Clifton Suspension Bridge and west Bristol below

There is also the University of Bristol, which is less than a 10 ininute walk from downtown, so I'm sure the nightlife is great during when uni is on. So I have been going there after work every night, checking it out. There are rough areas of town (like Easton where this Internet cafe is), but I'm sure there are places like this everywhere.

As always, there are more pictures to see at www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo.

And if you can also check out my MySpace site at www.myspace.com/dannyn80. Not much to see, but worth a look anyway.

DN

Hurricane Leng

So while I was STILL waiting for physio work in the UK, my friend Leng arrived from Melbourne traveling to Hong Kong and Europe. And from the time he arrived it like a whirlwind of a blast, about the level of a Class Six hurricane.

After picking him up at the airport and checking in to his hotel, we went to go see all the London sights. This was also a chance for me to see the tourist sights, many of which I haven't seen yet.

Lenga on the king size bed in his hotel room

Look out London, the twins are taking over!

Leng and I on the London Eye

The twins on Westminster Bridge, with Big Ben and Houses of Parliament in background

So we went to hit the big tourist spots - London Eye, Big Ben, etc. We ended up walking past 10 Downing Street, and by chance ran into the Changing of the Guard! Well, we didn't actually
missed it, we only caught the Old Guard returning to Wellington Barracks. But went to Kensington Palace anyway to catch the band still playing. No queen in sight.

After that, we spent a fair amount of time trying to finish a duty-free sized bottle of Smirnoff across 2 days. Here is a picture from Day 1:

Leng and I at the base of the Monument

Day 3 was spent seeing other London landmarks, including the London Bridge. That night "the twins" went to Bayswater to meet up with Dan, Mike, Rob, and Tony for a few quiet drinks, before meeting up with Lisa, her housemate Catherine, and her friend Julian down to go barhopping in Brixton (livingbar), which expanded to Clapham High Street (The Falcon, Cafe Sol). One of the my most entertaining nights in London.

Dan, Mike, Rob and Me in Bayswater

Day 4
Can't remember too much, but I do have photos of going to St. Paul's Cathedral.

Day 5
Went to Greenwich, saw Cutty Sark, went to Greenwich Royal Observatory. This is where the basis of the Prime Meridian started.

The longitudes of Aust, NZ, and Sth African cities (where's Melbourne?)

The next day, it was off on a day trip to Oxford. A beautiful little college town about an hour's bus ride west of London, it is home of one of the prestigious universities in the world. After walking through the main streets, we went on a tour of the uni, and checked out Oxford Prison, which has now been converted into really expensive hotel rooms.

Leng and I outside Oxford Prison Hotel

We spend most of the day walking around and seeing the sights, so by the time we got back on the bus back to London, we were exhausted.


And with that Hurricane Leng was downgraded to a Tropical Storm, to just a some meager clouds. But my oh my, it left quite a mark on myself and London. I don't think it will ever be the same.

DN

My near-death experience in London

So I was working at the First (cricket) Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's Cricked Ground in London. I was working all 5 days for Fine Burger Company, and this was Day 2. My friend Tony had just arrived in England after his travels through South America, Germany, and the Greek Islands, and I had got him some work at FBC with me.

Tony and I taking a break during another busy shift of flipping burgers

After our shift, we decided to go for some Friday night drinks and kick back. After some walking, we stumble upon a nice bar called the Stonehorse. We get our beers and sit down at the outside tables. Everything was going well until after about an hour or so...then the 2nd "O" in the Stonehorse sign fell, missing me by only centimetres, bounced off the ground, hit me in the leg, then rolled away. Now this big "O" was a fairly heavy metal sign. If I was sitting directly underneath the sign, my skull probably would've been cracked open. Unbelieveable.

After I realised what had happened, I took it into the pub and did started an impromptu cheer - "Give me an O!"

Me with the "O", a guy calling his friend telling him what had happened, and a waitress trying to work out what was going on

After all that, we didn't get any free drinks for our troubles. What a disappointment.

Another waiter, me, and Tony - still alive and kicking

If you look at the picture, our stuff is just to the right of the door, that's where we were sitting. If the S had fallen, it would have hit Tony in the head.

The view of the sign from my seat

So we're still alive - just. I now have 8 lives left to go. I'm considering returning just before I leave for New York for some final drinks (literally).

But it's got great atmosphere...

DN

A weekend in Sweden

Hello everyone,
Now, back to this trip to Sweden.

My first real trip outside London, and it was adventure just trying to leave! After leaving home for Stansted Airport, I had given myself 3 hours to get there, and I should have given myself 3 1/2. I missed check-in deadline by about 10 min, which meant I had to catch the next flight to Gothenburg. About 3 hrs and £40 later, I was off to Sweden.

I actually stayed in Falkenburg, which is about an hour south of Gothenburg. I stayed at the lovely cottage de Jenny, who along with Richie looked after things. First night went to central Falkenburg, and had dinner in a pub, and watched the World Cup 3rd place game, Germany v Portugal.

Next day and we're off to the local beach, just a 15 min walk down the road from the cottage. And my first game of kubb, a traditional Swedish outdoor game involving wooden blocks. It involves strategy and accurate throwing of these blocks, and it's pretty cool, as long as the blocks don't hit you.

That night had a good 'ol Swedish BBQ at Jenny's parents place and watched the World Cup final. It was so boring, I was falling asleep. The result was not what I wanted either, the diver in the Australia game scoring the winning penalty.

Next day off to Gothenburg to see the sights for a little, then another BBQ at a friend of Jenny's. Final day more sightseeing before heading back to London.

Notes:

• Almost everything they say about the Swedish is true. NO, not everyone is Sweden is blonde. But YES, most people in Sweden are attractive. YES, most Swedish are friendly. YES, the cities and countrysides are beautiful.
  
• The cities are really nice, with cobblestones, large plazas, few cars. The people just seem quite content, as if life is good. No homeless on the streets, nobody looking like trouble. As Tony and I said, we think they have worked things out up here.
  
• In summer the days are LOOOOOOONG. It doesn't really get dark, just navy blue. The sun comes back up at 4am or so, it's nuts.
• It has to be one of the more expensive places to live. More expensive than England.

Overall, Sweden was an awesome place to be. I am fortunate to have friends in Scandinavian places, I probably would not have been able to go otherwise. And I can only remember one word in Swedish - but I cannot repeat it here...

DN

A Day Out in Wimbledon

I never made plans to go to Wimbledon, if things worked out that way, then so be it. And so they did - I had a day off between my two jobs on the one cloudy day during Wimbledon - and rain was forecast. Nevermind, I was set on going to at least see the famous tennis grounds.

I got to Wimbledon Park around 10:30am. Normally you are expected to queue for HOURS before getting entry, some sleeping overnight to get Centre Court tickets. But today there was no queue, and I walked straight into the gates without stopping! Not only that but when I got to the gate, there were still show court tickets available (again, highly unusual). So got a Show Court 2 ticket and I was in.

After entering and buying a program, that forecasted rain starts to fall. I rush to find some cover under the nearest building. To my luck I realise that I'm under Centre Court! There was no security guarding the entrance, so I walked right in. There were some other people wandering around the stands too, but it was generally empty! So I sat on Centre Court for about an hour until the rain stopped.

Inside Centre Court at Wimbledon - but not much court action

The scoreboard on Centre Court

Then it was off to Show Court 2 where I saw (in a rain-interrupted day):

• Aussie Rennae Stubbs playing in a women's doubles match (won)
• Part 2 of the longest men's doubles match in history including Aussie Todd Perry (lost)
• Marcos Baghdatis beating Lleyton Hewitt on the big screen
• A Chinese pair beating Martina Navratilova

When I bought my ticket I did not pay attention to the seat position. Once I got in, I realised I was on the FRONT ROW! Amazing. I talked to the guy next to me, who said he had queued since 4am for his seat! I must have taken a spare one on the front row.

So many cool things about Wimbledon:

• This history and tradition can be seen everywhere. The way the linesmen and ballkids enter and exit the court, the geeky uniforms, the scoreboards done by hand, I could go on and on.
• Strawberries and cream. Yum.
• Pimm's and lemonade. Glug.
  
• Henman's Hill or Murray's Mountain or whatever they call it these days, nice way to kick back and enjoy the matches on the big screen.
• If people didn't get a ticket to Show Court 2, it's not a total loss. If you buy a ground pass, you get access to SC3 next door. If you get to the top row, you can actually look over the top and watch SC2!
• Walked next to John Fitzgerald (Aussie Davis Cup captain) for about 5 min as he walking in grounds. I don't think too many people recognised him.

Out of 8 hrs of possible play, we got about 5 hrs, so it wasn't too bad. All in all what could have been a total rainout turned out to be an amazing day on the hallowed home of tennis.

DN

Australia/USA in the World Cup

I know it's long gone but I haven't had a chance to have my say.

June 17 - Italy v USA - I'm at the airport, so I missed the game!

June 22 - Ghana v USA
As I'm heading towards the Walkabout, I miss most of this game, but I watched goals from a pub somewhere. Disappointing run by us Yanks, we should have beaten Ghana to get through, but failed. Makes the last World Cup run to quarterfinals look like a fluke.

June 22 - Australia v Croatia at the Walkabout (my last visit) Jam-packed with Aussies (including half the housemates), all was in readiness for a great game, and it didn't disappoint. Two great goals, Australia qualifies for the 2nd round to face Italy, and another group of immigrant Aussies face divided loyalies (after the Greeks and Croatians before). Emerton picks up a red card, Kewell becomes a hero, Kalac choked on his big game.

The Socceroos play the game the right way, but this would eventually be their downfall.

The only downside to the night was the silly behaviour of drunken Aussies smashing stuff. But I would expect nothing less when you get that many Au-stray-liens together. After the game, I disappeared from that place, never to return....

Me and Sharna at the "Walkie" - hot as an oven in there

Me and the Valetta Road girls past & present (Bec, Sheena, Carla, Sharni)

June 26 - Australia v Italy @ home (Valetta Road)
With nothing to lose, we're all looking forward for Australia to go for it. Wish I was back in Melbourne somewhere - instead I'm at home (everyone else is working - arrgh) with housemate Ryan (NZ).

Socceroos look good, play together well but can't get past the Italian defence (nobody else could either). It takes a dive to get Italy through, but the Aussies can be proud of their team, they fought above their weight and held their own.

From here, I pretty much lost most interest until the business end of the competition.

DN

London

Arriving in London, the lovely Sheena was there to pick me up and take me to the house. It is in Acton, in West London, about 6 train stops from the centre of London. Ten people living in a 5 bedroom house, the similarities to Big Brother are endless (except for the cameras).

Had time to put my bags down and relax for a few hrs before hitting the town into the early morning.Initiation to London - Me and Sheena in a phone box in Covent Garden

Some things about London:

• Public transport runs all the time. Trains run every few minutes until midnight, but buses run all night. But with no air conditioning, they are sweatboxes in summer. In fact there's hardly any air conditioners at all...
  
• I am not classified as "Asian" here - that refers to people from the subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, etc). The term Oriental is still used - I haven't heard that word since I was little...

After recovering from the 1st night, it was off to watch Australia v Brazil. Disappointing ending, but not suprising, Australia didn't lose any respect in losing. We watched the game at the Walkabout pub. Well our nearest one anyway - it is actually a huge chain of pubs across the UK, designed to look like an outback pub. Nice to visit if you ever feel homesick, but not a regular hangout.

After the game, it was off next door to see NZ band Shihad with some my Kiwi housemates. They warmed up the show by performing songs as an AC/DC tribute band (with guest singer), and then they came out and blew the crowd away with their songs. My shoes have never recovered from this gig.

Simon (Jon Toogood) says "clap your hands"

The first week was spent mainly registering with agencies and looking for physio work, but with no luck. Thanks to Sharni, got a job working for Fine Burger Co., who not only own restaurants but also run outdoor mobile units that appear at sporting events, concerts, etc - that's where we work. Pay's ok (slightly better than bar work), you get free food, and free entry to cool events that we work (more on that later). Bad news is the work can get pretty hectic, and you walk out with a few layers of grease on your entire body.

Then next week I got a 2nd job working for Wyoming Studios, a company that provides a swish venue/catering for companies who want to run market research. Job just involves looking after clients and making sure food/drink is stocked for everyone, then cleaning it up when everyone leaves. Again with the pay and free food, and it's in the basement of a building, not a big metal box, and it's greaseless.

Note: if you want to see more picures, go see http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo.

DN

Berlin last day and Potsdam and Stuttgart

So for my last day in Berlin I went to the nearby town of Potsdam, about 1 hr west of Berlin.

Potsdam like everything else in Europe is steeped in history. It's the home of Frederick the Great who built a few palaces in Potsdam.

The town feels similar to Ballarat, smaller town with lots of history near a big city.

Big palace inside Sanssouci Park - was a looooong walk to get to this one

One of the smaller palaces

Back to Berlin to see Engand vs Trinidad and Tobago at Fan Fest. T&T put up fight but eventually went down 2-0. Then the Stuttgart adventure begins.

Background: I have a ticket for the Holland-Ivory Coast game on June 17th organised for me
Mission:

• Meet a man named Karl at the Stadium's blue entrance at 4:30pm before the game at 6.
• I have never met Karl before and have never seen him before. I am told he is wearing a big straw hat with Deutschland and wearing a German football jersey. And he may not speak the best English
  
• Get to the game, then get back to Berlin Airport by 8am on June 18th to catch my flight to London

First night train from Berlin --> Stuttgart required a 5am train change at Augsburg, then I arrived at Stuttgart at 7am with almost no sleep. Saw the local sights during the day, then went down to the stadium at 2pm so I could nap before the game.

The Dutch fans gathering in the morning near Fan Fest - they were all drunk, topless, and sunburnt by 10am

Napped until 4pm, sat at the entrance until 4:30pm, and there was no Karl in sight. Getting worried. 4:50pm comes around, I go back to check the map - I'm at the RED entrance, not BLUE - the BLUE entrance is 50 mtrs away around the corner! Whoops. Race to the blue entrance, still no Karl. More and more people go through the gates until it's just me and the scalpers. Finally at 5:30 when all hope is lost - Karl appears. It was probably the happiest I have ever been to see a complete stranger. His English was ok, and we communicated just fine. So we made just in time for national anthems.

Me and Karl and his big straw hat

The game itself had a great atmosphere, with lots of orange worn by fans of both sides.

Yellow shirt in a sea of orange

The Germans were going for Cote d'Ivoire (Iv Coast) to win, as they didn't want Holland to win (sort of like Aust v NZ), and as I was with Germans, I did the same. Luckily were in the Iv Coast fan section anyway. They lost 2-1, but they put up a good fight.

After the game, it was back to the train station, and another night train back to Berlin sometime around 5am. Grab my bags, and off to the airport, London here we come!

DN

Berlin - Days 3 & 4 (Go Socceroos)

Note: remember there are more pictures at my Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo

Was on my own in the morning - went to go see the TV Tower first. I think it's a bit shorter than the Realto Towers. But it has a rotating restaurant on top, simiar to the Hyatt in Phoenix. It's crazy watching the restaurant turn as the center part of the tower where the cooks are stays still.

Me in the TV Tower

I went walking on my own around Berlin, looking at more buildings and taking more pictures until Australia's 1st game vs Japan kicked off. After the game, all the Aussies who were in Berlin and not at Kaiserslautern for the game went nuts (in true Aussie style). Inflatable kangaroos flying through the air, the beating of drums, and amused Germans looking on. I think the celebrations in Melbourne would've been unbelieveable.

Australia Wins! Come on Aussie!

Afterwards, met up with the other three amigos, and we hit the town again. On out way to dinner, Phil bought a bratwurst from the 'GrillWalker' Sausage Man - I thought it was pretty cool.

Phil buying a Brat from the GrillWalker

We met some of Richard's friends and hit one of the more popular streets around where we lived full of restaurants and bars. After dinner, we went to this outdoor bar that looked like somebody's backyard, junk lying around, picnic tables, etc. Anyway hit a few more bars, and before you know it, it's 5am, and the sun is coming up.

The boys outside a restaurant having more cocktails

After a very late start, I saw some more of Berlin before going to the Brazil - Croatia match. Great atmosphere, so many passionate fans for both sides. But no hostility, everyone was in a good mood, playfully cheering on their team. I was sitting close to the Croatian fans, and they made a ferocious sound. They even had a call-and-response thing with Croatian fans on the other side of the stadium!

We all know who Skippy is going for...go easy on the tail, though!

Ready - Let's Go!

The game wasn't of the highest standard (Brazil won 1-0) but it was just great to be there amongst it all the excitement, an absolutely priceless experience (and it's only the first!)

DN

Berlin - Days 1 & 2

Well, today is actually July 20, but we'll have to go back in time a little...most of my time has been spent either looking for physio work, or working elsewhere, or having fun, so I haven't had much time to sit and blog.

So I arrived in Berlin via Frankfurt after a nice mammoth flight from Saigon on June 10. Checked into the Circus Hostel, and it was real nice, friendly staff, nice rooms. I stayed in a 5-bed dorm, but there were no other roommates for the first two days! After check-in, went to check my Email - and got the great news that I got a ticket to the Brazil-Croatia match after 5 months of waiting! So I ran off to pick up the ticket at the stadium. When I got back, I went to the other Circus Hostel (there are two of them, within walking distance), and watched England-Paraguay, on the 2nd day of the World Cup. And then slept - a lot.

The view from the balcony of my Circus Hostel dorm room onto Alexander-Platz

Ticket to World Cup - finally!

Day 2 in Berlin, and it was off on a walking tour of the city. I went with Brewer's Berlin Tours, and it turned out to be a great experience. It brought back all the history I studied back in high school and more. Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Book Burning Memorials, war memorials, Hitler's Bunker, it was amazing to be standing where all these significant events in history happened. The tour guide Sylvia was a French-Canadian who was living in Berlin. There were Canadians, an Aussie living in NY, and a few others on the tour. After the tour, a few of us went to watch the Netherlands - Serbia & Montenegro game at Fan Fest. Fan Fests are in each host city, where they setup huge screens so people can watch. The Berlin one is GIGANTIC - it stretches along a street for 1 MILE (1.6 km) and has 4 huge screens!

Me, Marc, Fay, Ryan, Sylvia, Phil and some lost child as the Dutch celebrate their goal on the big screen

That night the four amigos nuevos kicked on and went to watch the Portugal - Angola game at the most amazing venue - it was this old Turkish-style baths converted to this groovy lounge. Imagine sitting in the middle of an empty pool (bottom covered in carpet), old architecture all around, ceiling about 3 stories high, big screen over the deep end of the pool, sitting on bean bags, with a Berliner beer in your hand. All locals around, no tourists. Amazing.

After the game we found some food, had a few cocktails and stumbled home after a big day.

Some notes:

• Berlin has the best kebabs I have ever had. They're not big, but they do two things that make it the bestest: they toast the bread, and they don't cut all the way through the bread, so it's a pocket, not a sandwich. Yum. I think I had one almost every day I was there.
• Public transport is fantastic. Trains and trams run all day and night, and often. And it's mostly air conditioned too.
• Currywurst - bratwurst with tomato sauce with curry power and bread roll. Very tasty, will have to do it at my next Aussie BBQ.

And on to Day 3...
Don't forget you can see more pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo

DN

Saigon

And from Hoi An in central Vietnam, I arrived in Saigon (officially Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC) in south Vietnam.

My family picked me up, and I stayed with them for the 3 days I was there.

One thing I quickly noticed about Saigon is that it's more sprawling than Hanoi. Streets and homes are wider (but they still are a number of stories high and squeezed together). Living with my family meant I lived in the 'burbs, not in backpackerville, so I hardly saw backpackers around, and spent all my time around local Vietnamese. The expected questions asked of me - "Where you from?", "Are you married?", "How old are you?" - were only prepping questions for the real purpose of their asking - "I have some daughters I want you to meet..." The answer is the same as I give here - "Thanks, but..."

Street where my family lives - not major street in Saigon

My days in Saigon revolved completely around eating. If I wasn't eating, I was probably digesting. My family kept a relentless barrage of fantastic homemade and "outsourced" homemade food ticking at a furious pace. It was like a restaurant banquet 3 times a day.

Day 1 was sleeping and said eating, Day 2 involved more sightseeing around central Saigon. As the days are very warm and muggy, people really don't come out until night, when the streets are packed!

Me pretending to ride my uncle's motor scooter

Day 3 involved a little bit of shopping, and the eating of a certain "mystery meat". For more info, you"ll have to go to my pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/sneakykangaroo.

Me and family at the airport before leaving for Berlin

DN