A TWO day catch up: - Meeting friends and meetings

Ok, a two day catch up in one post... Here we go!

On Sunday, I finally got the opportunity to catch up with a dear blogfriend (a new word!), Maribeth. She is here with her puppy Annaleise for a breeding service all the way from the USA! I caught the S-BAHN out to where she is staying with Uschi.

We all then headed out to Lake Muggelsee and walked around the lake where we had a beer and a chat, a long chat!

Uschi Maribeth Muggelsee, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

After our chat, we then moved to have lunch at the restaurant there, where Uschi and I had the Chicken Schnitzel whilst Maribeth had the White Asparagus. And yes, believe it or not, I even tasted them! I thought it was a little 'watery' in flavour was the hollindaise sauce, but hey, I TRIED IT!!!

Me Maribeth Muggelsee, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

My Lunch Chicken Schnitzel, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We then headed to an ice-cream shop (I will not even begin to tell you where we were OR the name of the shop as MY German is not good), and to another cafe for a coffee before heading back to Uschi's place where I met Annaliese, and Uschi's husband.

Annaleise Maribeth, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Dear friends Uschi Maribeth, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We sat and chatted and chatted some more before I knew it, it was well after 10pm and I had to get the S-BAHN back into town! I had SUCH a great day/night, and we will be doing it again soon!

Yesterday, was my meeting day... I first met with my turf friend in Alexanderplatz, where we had coffee... We then headed out to have a look at some turf trials and so forth. On our way back towards town, we were near the 'Botanischer Garten', (Botanic Garden), so we went in to have a look. This was a well laid out Garden, with a lot of Arboretum and glasshouses, and it had a majestic glasshouse at that!

Botanischer Garten Glass House, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Botanischer Garten Main Glass House, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Botanischer Garten Restaurant Glass House, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Lots of lawns, both formal and meadow type, and colour to be seen... They also had a wetlands garden area, with a LOT of frogs that could be heard for miles it seemed!

Botanischer Garten Frog Calling, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

After leaving the Gardens, we then headed for the Olympic Park and Stadium (Olympia Stadion). We met there with the head greenkeepers (one for each site) and discussed turf management practices. We were then taken around the Park area, which is for training of football (Soccer), training areas and then into the machinery sheds. I also got to see the turf stabilisation they are using in HIGH traffic areas!

Olympic Park Soccer Training Pitch, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Olympic Park Stabalised Turf, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Olympic Stadium Stabalised Turf Type II, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Then it was into the Olympic Stadium, which is the home of football now. It is a non impossing building from the outside, but from the ground inside, its a massive structure!

Olypic Stadium Rear, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Olympic Stadium Rear Cauldron, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Olympic Stadium Bump Out, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

We walked and talked and walked some more, before I caught the U-BAHN back towards where I am staying and agreed to meet a little later today! So here I am, about to head out (again) for the day... This next pic I saw at the entrance to the station... One for the boys...

Olympia Stadion, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Taking the pissoir, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Hoo roo for now...

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Tiergaten: - Berlins City Park

This morning, after going to breakfast of fresh crusty breadrolls, scrambled eggs and coffee, I returned back to my room. And it seemed that my luck with electronic door keys had returned! I swiped my card and the lights turned green, but the door stayed locked! I went back to reception and the girl came up with me with the 'Staff Key' which ALSO didn't work! So the Manager came up with a very small screwdriver, and a key! A quick unscrew of the plate, a turn of the key and I was in... An offer of moving me to a new room was discussed, but after several trials, it appeared to be working, so I stayed. Here is the view from my room and from the hallway outside.

View from room, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

View from hall, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

It was a totally awesome day weather wise! The sun was bright, and warm, however, the air was not clear. All around, I could see little white 'puffs' of pollen that I KNEW was going to cause me grief... I caught the S-BAHN from Berlin Ostbahnhof to Teirgaten. I had been reccomended told I should visit the cities biggest greenspace, so I thought, why not! BUT, when I got out from the station, I found an antique market! Again, as in Paris, there was many things to see that I would have LOVED to buy, but how on earth do I get it home?

Berlin Ostbahnhof Station, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tiergaten Antique Markets, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tiergaten Antique Markets, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

After walking through here for over an hour, I then headed down the road to the park's entrance and meandered down a pathway. It went along the river and there were some geese being fed some bread.

Tiergaten River Geese, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

I ended up down the end of the park, it is a HUGE park, so I turned around, past some Rhododendron's to the center lake area where there was a couple of cafe's, bar's and some deck chairs. They even had some row boats for hire! After having a brief rest, I rounded a corner where the row boat looked more than a little, 'Monet'!

Tiergaten Rhodie, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tiergaten Deckchairs, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Tiergaten Rowboat, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

I continued along a pathway heading back towards the S-BAHN, and to my surprise, there was some people sunbathing... NOT, 'some' people, but a LOT of people and they were in the nick, nude birthday suits! I declined to get a photo of this out of bad taste...

But, nearing the station, I could not resist getting this photo, as it shows just WHY my hayfever is so bad!

Tiergaten snow good for hayfever, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Today, I went for a walk... And more fool me! Thank goodnes I eventually got some relief!

My Saviour, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Hoo roo for now...

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Goodbye Sydney, welcome to Berlin

Well, I am finally here in Berlin... And thankfully, it is completely different to how I left Sydney! This is some pictures of Sydney when I was waiting at the airport when I left...

How I left Sydney, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

How I left Sydney, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

VH-OQF Charles Kingsford Smith departure, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

And then this was Berlin last night, at around 9.45pm...

Berlin TV Tower, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

It was a long flight, Sydney to Bangkok to Helsinki to Berlin, but I had good flights all the way through. After getting to where I am staying, I had a shower to freshen up and so on, and I had to go for a walk... You see, I had bought with my the WRONG power adaptor! AND, across the road from the train station there was a big department stor... Sort of like Myers/David jones back home... All they had though, was an Eastern Europe to GB adaptor which was ok as I then used my GB power adaptor to then get me to my plug. And on my way home, I stopped at the Sausage place (who's name escapes me just now, but I will be going back as they were YUMM) for some lunch. During lunch, I had a chat with the guy there for around 30 mins, before heading back and having a short nap, or so I thought... What was going to be a 30-45 min nap ended up being a couple of hours!

I then headed into 'Alexanderplatz for dinner... I don't know if this is normal for here, but I thought I was in a goth city with almost EVERYONE in black, black and matching black... Even the guys were wearing black eyeliner and so on! They were extremely friendly though, as a group was playing with a soccer ball and as it was kicked a little wildely, he apologised (I think...) and stopped for me to go past! Nice hey!

Hoo roo for now...

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Germany bound, Housesitter Required and Happy Birthday Dad!

Well, last night, I got everything finalised and booked... I am just waiting to see if a friend is going to be free to stay and look after the house and pets! The neighbours, who are totally awesome in doing it last time, are somewhat busy at the moment with building works, and I don't want to impose on them any further, and a friend of mine has offered up assistance! Thanks! I leave on Thursday, I am going to work for half of the day and then straight onto the airport.

Back in 1992, August in fact, I lost my dad to Lung Cancer... Today, he would be 79. This is a photo of him taken by his work as he had just won the employee of the year (I think... Mum, help me out here!). I often think about him and miss him...

DAD, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Well, I had best get ready for another day at work... I have a fair bit to do before heading to Germany...

Hoo roo for now...

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Baby Jack...

Today, was supposed to be a day of horrid, cyclonic weather with at least 50mm of rain and winds up to 90klm/hr. And I was thinking, OH NO as it was baby Jack's Christening day today... But, thankfully, the East Coast Low pressure cell was slowing and also moving inland and we had a great day.

So, this morning after waking up from a 14.5hr sleep, I had a thought, I will reorganise the kitchen! Just the thing you do when you have to get ready for a christening hey! So I took out the range hood grills, and soaked them in some HOT water and detergent. Then it was onto the benches and I then moved the microwave, the coffee machine (Green Francis Francis) and the soda machine... An hour later, it was all sparkling clean, tidy and I was happy. It was then time for a shower and to get ready!

It took no time at all to get there, in fact I was early, so I simply sat in the car for a little while before I saw other people arriving! We quickly got him changed and into the church. There was three babies being christened today, so the priest was going to be busy! Jack was a little star and didn't cry at all through out the very brief service! The priest was also MUCH better than when big sister Rosie had her christening with the priest stating upfront, NO PHOTOS! This guy was more than pleased for photos to be taken and for the smaller kids to run around! I wonder what he would have said if some of the 'Bigger Kids' started to run around??
Afterwards, we went off to the local clud for Yumm Cha... In a word, YUMM!

Me and J, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

J, L, I R, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

J, I & L, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Family Photo, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Yumm Cha, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

S & M Yumm Cha, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

So now I am preparing for a flight out on Thursday for Europe, again! This time though, there are so many reasons for this trip... Research trip, viewing of a garden over there, and I am hoping to have a day/evening with a very dear friend of mine, but I do not want to spoil her trip, so I will be playing it as it comes... This trip will also be with a new carrier for me (2 actually) so we will see how we go!

Hoo roo for now...

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New bed is now complete and a parcel...

Thursday afternoon, I got a phone call to say that my new mattress had arrived, but due to my illness, I was unable to collect on that afternoon, so Friday was collection day! I could not wait and thanks to a mate, it was collected on Friday morning!
It was no sooner home and on the bed, and I knew I had made a fantastic choice, or at least, the girl at the shop made a great choice for me!! Seriously, I was so looking forward to the evening to come just to try it out! When I got the new frame earlier in the week, I put a new quilt cover on but didn't change the sheets. Today though, it is all new bedding, sheets (not yet flannelet, but an in between as it isn't that cold yet), pillow covers and a blanket and quilt cover... Doesn't it look heavenly?

New Bed Mattress, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

I also got a surprise parcel in the mail on Thursday... It was from my friend M in the USA, and it had me very perplexed as to what it was... It said on the cover, "Seasoning Mix" but I was reading it Seasonal ? and was wondering HOW it got through Quarantine, until I had a CLOSER look! So, as they do it in 'Border Security' I deconstructed the parcel ever so carefully so as not to do any damage, and what did I find? I packet of Cincinnati Chili mix! But I dare NOT try and cook it just now, not with my condition... I already have the runs!!!

Mystery Parcel Unraveled, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Hoo roo for now...

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French Doudou...

Whilst we were away, we stumbled across a little market area on the way down to Notre Dame, Paris. It was quite a nice little market, and one that L would have been at for some time! Now it's no surprise at all to the regular readers (and to those of the old blog we shared), that she liked to collect handmade toys. See what I mean:

L's Crafty Toys, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Anyway, in keeping with this 'tradition' I thought it best that as we found these "Doudou's" from "Sweet Millie" that perhaps I will get a pair for the angle babies...

French Doudou (Crafty Toys), originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Also, after a few weeks prior to leaving for the trip, of technical difficulties with Skype and the modem (long story), my new modem arrived the other day, so now I am just waiting to make a call on Skype to test it out! But so far, it seems to be going OK (shhhh....)

New Modem, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

And whilst I have been laid up for a couple of days now, in the rain (boring), I have been trying to update a lot of stuff on the blog, files at home etc... I am hoping to hear of news any day now for another research trip, this time to Germany and Denmark. This trip should only be for a week to ten day total, famous last words, right!

Hoo roo for now...

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Random Dozen #1

OK, so I thought I might try this meme that a friend of mine is doing... Here goes!

1. Would you rather host party or simply attend a party? Any day, I like to host the party... That way, I can have a drink (or two)!

2. Tell us about the most memorable party you've been to. I have been to a couple of 'Fancy Dress' parties, but these are really NOT my scene. So it is easier for me to say what was NOT memorable! But when I was on stage, there was some fantastic 'After Show Parties' that's for sure!

3. What is one thing you hope for in the after-life? After-life? Well that is TOO easy... To see 'L' again and all of the babies that became 'Angle Babies'...

4. What do you enjoy most about sunshine? Oh the warmth! After working outside for close to 20 years before moving into the office, I so miss it... BUT, I am also grateful I am not out there all the time now with Skin Cancers needing checking every so often...

5. When you attend a bridal/baby shower, do you prefer to bring your own gift or chip in with others to buy a larger gift? I like to give gifts that are a little bit quirky, but still useful, and when it comes to the kids birthdays etc (nephews/nieces), I love to think of educational toys that just HAPPEN to be noisy!!!

6. Would you rather have a FREE week of having your house cleaned or all of your meals cooked for you and your family? Hmmm... Can I have a half a week of both and help out with both as well? I love cooking, and I quite like cleaning, so this is a hard one indeed!

7. What song describes your mood today? Gloria Gaynor's, "I Will Survive" (but from the Australian Hit, Priscilla; Queen of the Desert) Sing the opening line with me now, come on, you KNOW the words... "First I was afraid, I was petrified. I kept thinking I could never live without you by my side..."

8. What is something you received for your own bridal shower/wedding that you still own or use? (If you are not married, feel free to sub a gift you received a long time ago.) We got a Pasta Maker, and we only started using it in the year prior to L dieing. She loved it, and it was a lot of work, but my GOD, did it taste good! I think I might have a 'Pasta Party'! Then all of the people can help me clean after the party!

9. Your favorite flavor of ice cream is? Chocolate, Rum 'n' Raisin... YUMM!!

10. When was the last time you felt "tested?" Almost every day since April last year...

11. "A Roast Dinner" is a food that once I start eating I find really hard to stop."

12. "L" was and ALWAYS will be, the best motivation.

In other news, I am not having much fun today, stuck at home sick and it is raining something fierce... But I am enjoying the new bed, when I am in it that is...

Syd Radar 26052010, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

The BED, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

Hoo roo for now...

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Whilst I was away... And now that I am back!

As was widely reported, there was a little volcano that was causing all sorts of grief around the world for travellers, and thankfully, that was NOT us.

However, the other day, I was emailed some amazing pictures from this event, and rather than email them around, I thought I would share them here. Now, I have absolutely NO IDEA who took these, but suffice to say, it was NOT me!

Iceland Volcano, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

1. IV11, 2. IV10, 3. IV09, 4. IV08

Iceland Volcano, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

1. IV19, 2. IV18, 3. IV17, 4. IV16

Iceland Volcano, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

1. IV07, 2. IV06, 3. IV04, 4. IV03

Iceland Volcano, originally uploaded by AussiePomm.

1. IV15, 2. IV14, 3. IV13, 4. IV12

Since coming back, I have been having a few little technical gremlins with my Internet, nothing serious, just really REALLY annoying! As a bit of a 'back story' I have Skype, on both my PC and my laptop. Now originally, this was great, but then I started to get a gremlin in the system. When EVER I used the laptop and Skype it would cause the modem to freeze. Freeze, is not really the right word here, as it becomes VERY hot to touch! And then on Friday night, it froze again, but this time, there was a slight smell of smoke coming from it... So it is now turned OFF (I only turn it on to use Internet for a VERY short period of time...). I am talking with my ISP today, and hopefully, I will be getting a new one as this one is barely 12 months old, under warranty!

Hoo roo for now...

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