click here: Back in Germany

A fingers touch upon my lips, it’s a morning yearning. Pull the curtains shut try to keep it dark, but the sun is burning. 
The world awakens on the run and we’ll soon be earning. With hopes of better days to come, that’s a morning yearning.
Another day another chance to get it right. Must I still be learning? With her morning yearning.
Like a summer rose I’m a victim of the fall, but am soon returning. Your love’s the warmest place the sun ever shines. My morning yearning...

Berlin - 22/01/09 7.45pm = Sydney time 23/01/09 5.45am

Yes I'm back in Berlin. After 42hrs of travelling around the globe (Newcastle-Sydney-Bangkok-Dubai-Frankfurt-Berlin) I made it. Very tired, exhausted, cold and sad...

I got picked up by Susy, Sophia, Anni and my parents. Thanks a lot guys I loved it.

Even after three days now, I'm still hoping someone would wake me up and I would find myself in Newcastle :)

I am very glad about all the amazing experiences I have made and about all these wonderful people I met. Hope you are all good and give me a sign of life every now and then.

I miss you all...                                                                                               (25/01/09)

So here it is. I am back in Newcastle after almost five weeks of travelling Australia. What a fantastic time. My time in awesome Oz is coming to an end and it makes me very sad to leave this wonderful peace of world next Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who made this time so unforgettable and to an amazing life experience for me.

More stories and pics on lukas-conquers-australia.jimdo.com

Two days just relaxing. As it was raining a lot Luky and I convinced the Oldies to go to Tully – “A pretty wet place”. Yes, it is stupid but we wanted to see the Golden Gumboot :). All the fault of the Big Lobster and the Big Mango. The height of the gumboot represents the amount of rainfall recorded in Tully in the year 1950 – 7.9 metres – the Australian record. Well, of course it was raining when we were there. On the way back to Mission Beach we saw a cassowary, actually two: a male with its kid. Yep, it’s the male that breeds the eggs and cares about the offspring. Smart guys... The lady at the tourist information had smiled on us and had said we have to be very lucky to see one of the most dangerous birds as there are just 1500 left in the world. Wow, now I can say I saw 4 cassowaries in nature: those two guys, another one on the next day (“you have to be VERY lucky”), and one back in July at Cape Tribulation.

Today we drove all the way up from Airlie Beach to Mission Beach. The area between Proserpine and Townsville is popular for the cultivation of sugar cane and mangoes. So I was not very surprised when we discovered the Big Mango in Bowen. I don’t know..., I kinda started to like these sculptures. Help! Anyway... In Townsville we decided to see the biggest tourist attraction of the city. ReefHQ Aquarium remains the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium and houses thousands of species of animals and plants from throughout the Great Barrier Reef. This includes all these dangerous animals you never want to meet in life, e.g. the deadly stonefish. It has 13 spines along the back which are grooved to allow the neurotoxin to move easily into a puncture wound. Ouch! Or the box jellyfish which is known as the most deadly creature found anywhere in the world. Unfortunately it is stinger season in North Queensland at the moment. So swimming in open water is not recommended or you should wear a stinger suit like we did in the Whitsundays.

74 Islands out of the blue. The Whitsundays. One Great Barrier Reef.

The Whitsundays lie midway along the Queensland Coast – a group of 74 islands bordered by the Great Barrier Reef and cradled by the calm and sheltered waters of the Coral Sea. What an amazing destination. We went to Airlie Beach the centre of access to the islands and the reef. We chose a jet boat for a day trip. So our first stop was Whitsunday

Island, the largest of the 74 Islands. Whitehaven Beach which stretches over seven kilometres along Whitsunday Island is a definite “must see” in the Whitsundays. The crystal clear water and pristine silica sand awarded it as the “Most Beautiful Beach”. It was unreal and magnificent. At the northern end of Whitehaven Beach is Hill Inlet, a stunning cave where the tide shifts the sand and water to create a beautiful fusion of

colours. We went to a lookout point where the view was just awesome. What a gorgeous nature. Later on we stopped right before we passed Hook Island to go for snorkelling. Well, so here it was. The family and the Great Barrier Reef – face to face. The World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It’s said to be the world’s largest living structure with over 2000km on length.

Brissie – Australia’s third largest city. After New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Northern Territory it was time for the sunshine state Queensland. We had a super fantastic apartment in Brisbane City directly at the Brisbane River: Albert Street, level 20. Own pool? Of course... what a question. Yes, kind of luxury. And the view... Well, lots of skyscrapers around our Festival Tower but at least a first row spot when a fire broke out in the neighboured house. But it was all good.

We used the time to chill out and relax a bit. I liked to cruise up and down the River with the CityCat and to walk along the shore. We even made it to the cinema to watch Australia finally.

I liked this city and I am wondering how long it will take until I see Brisbane again...

It felt like coming home. Everything was so familiar. Running to Merewether Ocean baths in the morning, walking around the beaches, having coffee at Estabar, sleeping in my bed,...

Opera House

Circular Quay

The Rocks

Kings Cross

NYE at Mrs Maquarie Lookout Point

Taroonga Zoo

Sunset

Alice Springs 

   Todd Mall, John Flynn Memorial Church

MacDonall Ranges

West MacDonall National Park

   Standley Chasm

Ayers Rock Resort/Yulara

Mount Connor

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Mutitjula Walk

Sunset

Sunrise

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre

Kata Tjuta/The Olgas

Karingana Lookout

Valley of the Winds

Olga Gorge

Sunset

Alice Springs

West MacDonall National Park - Simpsons Gap

We made it to Glenelg, a suburb of Adelaide, to spend Christmas there. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and saw a beautiful sunset on the beach. A very different Christmas but a great one.

On Christmas Day we caught the tram from Moseley Square in Glenelg to Adelaide City. Unfortunately it was not a historic tram what Paps hoped although it was Public Holiday. I liked it as they still have ticket sellers instead of impersonal machines.

In Adelaide we went to the Festival Centre Complex and the Convention Centre both located on the Torrens River. A good contrast to the rest of Christmas Day spent on the beach.

With 4350km² Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third biggest island. We took the ferry from Cape Jervis to Penneshaw. We stayed in Vivonne Bay where houses have names and not numbers, so Honeymyrtle was ours. Paps proclaimed it as Honeymoon; close Paps very close :) but yeah it was not unromantic. And the beach behind Honeymyrtle was white, lonely and quiet. What a beautifully untouched piece of nature.

I was impressed.

On the first day we went to the Seal Bay Conservation Park to see the “stars” of Kangaroo Island. Guided by ranger “Yeah”-Janette we could walk to the bay where a large colony of Australian sea lions is living. What an impressive experience to observe them from such a close distance. On the next day we visited the Flinders Chase National Park, highlight of the week for me. I was impressed by the Remarkable Rocks... one word: remarkable!!! How beautiful and fascinating nature can be.

At Cape du Conedic the huge limestone formations Admirals Arch provide a living area for thousands of New Zealand Fur Seals. At the end of the day we were finally lucky with the island’s wildlife.

Actually we saw a bunch of koalas and wallabies. Some kangaroos from far away too. Except for Paps who had to be happy with the dead ones at the side of the road.

On the 24^th we took our annual Christmas picture; this year on the beach and with less clothes on. Luky... well, look at the pic and draw your own conclusion :)

After leaving the Great Ocean Road we drove further west to reach the Limestone Coast. At Cape Bridgewater bluebottles unfortunately destroyed our desire for an ocean swim but the beach was amazingly gorgeous. Instead, we went to the Petrified Forest where I got attacked by hundreds of flies. Little bastards! Sand and salt water formed a crust around the trees and conserved the forest in that way for thousands of years. Well, honestly I was more impressed by those flies...

Then it was time to leave Victoria and to cross the border to South Australia. Minus 30mins time difference to Sydney. We stopped in Mount Gambier which is famous for a mystical phenomenon: the Blue Lake. Still unclear for what reasons the lake changes its water colour with the seasons, grey in winter and shiny blue in summer. I mean Australian summer, so European winter, in December anyway :)  

We stayed overnight in Beachport. The only attraction there to mention is the 772m long Beachport Jetty, one of Australia’s longest ones. I think I saw a sign which said 120 inhabitants. Not sure... but quiet it was.

Great Ocean Road – 200km from Torquay to Warrnambool – one of Australia’s most beautiful and scenic coast roads. It starts in Torquay also known as the surf capital of Australia. Bells Beach is place of an annual surf competition and some surfers swear the conditions are as good as on Hawaii. After numerous lookouts and photo sessions we entered the Otway National Park and stopped after Apollo Bay to go for a

walk in the rainforest. Heading further down we arrived at the Twelve Apostles just in time for sunset. What a day... The nice and tiny Port Campbell became our place to stay for the night. The second day started early. I ventured out to enjoy the first sun of the day. Later on we checked out the London Bridge and The Grotto which are both like the Twelve Apostles bizarre rock formations made of limestone. We also went to the Otway Fly Tree Top Walk where people have the possibility to experience the rainforest from 25m above the ground.

Melbourne – capital of Victoria and Australia’s second largest city. And yes we behaved to 100% like tourists. Ok I know we are tourists. Sightseeing included Federation Square which reminded me on Italy, Flinders Street Station which facade is built in French Renaissance style and gateway to the city, St. Pauls Cathedral, Chinatown. A cool view on Melbourne was seen from the Rialto Towers. With 253m it is the

highest business building of the southern hemisphere. On the second day we caught the Circle Line Tram, a free tourist tram around the inner city. We hoped off to walk on the Yarra River and to see the Royal Botanic Gardens. We then went to the Shrine of Remembrance which is a monument to remember Australia’s victims of World War I. The Sanctuary is constructed in the way that every year at the eleventh

hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (Anzac Day) sunlight lightens the Stone of Remembrance.

To finish our beautiful time in Melbourne Luk and I got tickets for the musical Wicked – The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz at the Regent Theatre. Luk became a real fan resulting in endless repetitions of the CD in the following days.

Yes, the Blue Mountains ARE blue. After 11 months I finally made it to see this spectacle of nature. Located just 100km west of Sydney’s City the essential oils of the thousands of eucalyptus trees gave the Blue Mountains their name as its exhalation appears in a nice blue colour. We went to Katoomba the most popular town within the Blue Mountains. From the lookout Echo Point you have a perfect view on the most photogenic rock formation of the region: The Three Sisters. In regards to an Aboriginal legend the three stones show the three bewitched sisters Gunuedoo, Meenhi and Weemala who were turned into rocks as punishment for their salacious behaviour... We did part of the Giant Stair way down to Jamison Valley but as part of our family gets old we took the Scenic Railway in the end for the whole way. With a slop of 52° it is the steepest train track of the world and was originally built in 1880 to transport coal.

The Hunter Valley is basically known for two things: coal and wine. Today we decided to check out the vineyards. For me it felt a bit like a flash back as I did a Wine Tour in my first week here in Australia. I remember very well how the town name Kurri Kurri caused a lot of laugh on the bus. But I had to realise very fast that Australians love repetitions in names and towns like Woy Woy and Wagga Wagga are not seldom. Anyway... We had some fun with tasting wine, oils, cheese and chocolate. The oldies were a bit tipsy I think although they assured that it was just jet lag. Nah... I’m not sure.

Beach Party 29/11/08

Yesterday was probably my last time on campus. I don't remember if I have ever mentioned it before but the uni has its own bar on campus - Bar on the Hill. And yesterday it was location for an awesome Beach Party with 17 bands on 4 stages. It rained a bit but we imagined it as ocean water splashs in addition to the 400 tonnes of sand to give us the beach feeling... We had heaps of fun especially with the fabulous music by The Beautiful Girls and The Getaway Plan - both Aussie bands, both Aussietastic :) Awesome night, awesome people, awesome Australia! 

More pics here.

So guys, I am officially done with uni in Australia and surprise surprise I'm kinda sad as I really liked uni here in Newcastle. And in addition it just emphasises that the end is near... and so I face the final curtain... :-(                                            (28/11/08)

I joined the gym for the last days as it rains a lot at the moment. Thanks to my friend Johnathan who gave me a free seven day membership card so that I can steel my body in the bodypump class within the next couple of days. *lol* Just kidding but it's fun. And yes I am already sore. Anyway...

Thanksgiving 27/11/08

Last Thursday I experienced my first Thanksgiving. Yep, again not very Australian but American. However, to make it short, the tonnes of food were super yummy and I can't remember that I had ever felt so sick afterwards. My incredibly full tummy did hurt but the turkey was just too good. Honestly I'm very glad that this is an American holiday :) There was just one Australian guy and me among 25 Americans and they all knew pretty well how to handle turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, pies, etc.

Besides these new experiences and the gained free time, people are leaving Newie. Not only all of the International students but also lots of the Aussie friends who spend Christmas and the whole summer with their families at home. It starts that I have to enjoy coffee on my own...

Some pics from November 

Just right after the city ends...

Today the first of my house mates - Kelly - left. On her last day we decided to hang out on the beach. So off we went to a, let me say, hidden beach which is approximately 6km south from downtown Newie. Some of you will know it: yep, one of our favourite places last semester - the Glenrock Lagoon. It's located within a National Reserve right behind Merewether. To go there you have to pass Newie Beach, Bar Beach, Dixon

Fat as Butter - 02/11/08

FAT AS BUTTER!!! Yeah, I am finally back... my last concert has been a while. We had a great Sunday at the Fat as Butter festival which was (again) just around the corner from our house. So for one day Nobby's Beach became a real festival area. They had some really good International and Australian acts like The Dandy Warhols, Faker and Butterfingers. Beautiful day, good rock, I liked it.

Hi all! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Well, I finally survived my first American Halloween Party. Yep, American one as Australians don't really celebrate it (for understandable reasons)... We had a house party with pretty much all of the Halloween habits included. Just another intercultural experience for me... pics

Allie, Jess, me and Kelly - 26/10/08

Newcastle, Sunday 26 October 2008. My house mates and me decided spontaneously to participate at the 2008 Avon Race for Research which is a fund raising 5km fun run for the Breast Cancer Institute of Australia. A new record has been set with 3380 people participating in the annual event. Yep, it was crowded and packed but again a cool feeling and it made me excited. The course was kept along the beaches and started and finished respectively almost exactly in front of our house. So it was a beautiful Sunday morning and a perfect start of the day... 

Just a short sign of life today. Finally I almost survived my shingles and gained another chapter of pain experience. It has been three weeks and now I can look in the mirror again without wondering is this f***-up will never end. However my last days of uni here have already started and I will be done on November 24th. Besides I'm still enjoying every day I wake up in the morning and can hear the ocean while lying in bed and think about how beautiful life is. I'm loving it :)

By the way, there is a short video of me crossing the finish line in Sydney a couple of weeks ago (enter 18373). Yes, even I had to watch it twice to figure out where I am. So good luck! I also uploaded the rest of the New Zealand pictures.

Queenstown

Yes I am back in Australia and the last two weeks to which I was so looking forward are over. Luke is in Melbourne, Sophia is back in Berlin, Norman is still in NZ, and I am back in Newie... The week in New Zealand was beautiful. After a great day in Sydney we flew to Christchurch on the South Island of NZ, rent a car for a ridiculous price (thanks to the strong Euro :) ) and cruised around. We decided to discover the Island clock-wise. So we went down the coast from Christchurch to Dunedin, then to Invercargill in the south. We saw Queenstown before passing the mountains and going to the westcoast and driving up and back to Christchurch.

For pics click here. As a result of this trip both of my laptop drives are full. I think I always take too many pictures ;) Well, donations for a new computer are very welcome. No just joking...

It has been exactly 8 months to the day that I haven't seen Luke. That's why I got up at 3.30am this morning to pick him up from Sydney airport. The Mende-kids are reunited and gonna conquer Australia together; okay at least for a couple of days. Well kinda... Luke is bloody tired and exhausted after 34hrs of travelling around the globe. And Newcastle didn't welcome him with the best weather as you can see :)! Hope a few more coffees will help, we already had two or so. I try me best to keep him awake - challenging job I can tell you ;)!

Original quote by Luke in the video: That's exactly how I imagined Australia... AWESOME!  

Happy Linda after the 9km

Hi! If someone would have told me this last year... So, today I did my first serious run in my life. I have taken part in Australia's biggest running festival The Sydney Running Festival 2008 with a total of 25,300 participants. I ran the 9km Sydney Harbour Bridge Run in 00:56:23 with is place 5,747 out of 12,395. Gender place 2,600 and Category F20-29 place 965. But the time doesn't count for me... I am just super proud of myself :)

Running across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishing in front of the Sydney Opera House was fantastic and I felt very comfortable the whole way. The weather was beautiful; sunny and warm and it was so much fun to be part of this event.

When I was crossing the finish line Julius Maritim from Kenya finished and won the Marathon in 02:19:01 next to me. This was pretty cool because the crowd cheered very loudly at that moment.

All in all this was another extraordinaryly fabulous day here in Australia. Special thanks to Steph who convinced me to start running one day in May or so. Wish we would have done that together... Pics

Linda and the Great Barrier Reef

Hi everyone! I've finally uploaded part 4 of our amazing East Coast Trip which is already seven weeks ago.

Sophia and Norman have found their way to Australia by the way. And they survived Alice Springs and Ayers Rock, respectively. Just three more weeks to go...

Norman, me and Sophia (yep drunk) 19/01/08

Well I know it's been a while... BUT I booked flights today: Sydney - Christchurch (29/09/08) and return (06/10/08)! I got very excited about our plan to travel the South Island of New Zealand in spring break. And I am so looking forward to see Luke, Sophia and Norman at the end of September. Luke is coming to Australia on a work and travel visa. Hopefully more travel than work :) Sophia and Norman decided to take a time out of Germany and enjoy a great holiday trip in OZ and NZ. I still can't believe that I am the reason... Anyway, NZ will be fun I'm pretty sure. And I have never been +13hrs in advance of Berlin and +3hrs away from home ;)

Besides, Australia is still awesome and I love my life here in Newcastle.

sunset in Australia

Hey! The first week of semester 2 is over and my cold more or less too. Or at least I don’t feel that sleepy anymore. Even my high coffee consumption didn’t really help. I can’t wait till the weather is getting better as it is pretty yucky at the moment... lots of rain and wind. The new roomies are nice although I miss the old 46 Scott Street Crew very deeply. Life became so familiar with these guys. Yep, there are all these small things I miss so much. Sam playing the guitar, Luke doing something strange to entertain everybody and to let me say good boy to him, Devin’s big smile, Brittany’s regular 48hr visits, Rach’s cuteness, Steph’s incredible laugh and our coffees, brownies and crepes at midnight, the way you guys pronounce my surname, cake and soccer on the beach, our messy dirty sandy beach house... just the feeling of a lovely home. Anyway, thanks to the technology of the 21^st century we’ll keep in touch. On increased enquiry I started to sort all my pictures of the East Coast trip and decided to improve my Windows Movie Maker skills again. This will take a while as we took a LOT of pics. So yes, I am still alive; honestly it’s just the usual laziness ;)

Cairns 17/07/08 3am in the morning

Hey everyone! I am back in Newcastle after three amazing weeks on the East Coast. It feels very strange because everything is different. Nearly everybody with whom I spent my time here in Australia over the last 6 months has left. The house is filled up with five new mates from the US again and nothing remembers on Steph, Devin and Sam. I wish they would have yelled welcome home Linda and we would have had a toast session while telling each other our adventures of the holiday. Weird... I miss it.

As you can see on the pic my backpack and I became pretty good friends. Another thing I have to get used to. I loved our daily morning procedure means to cram our stuff into our every-day-getting-smaller backpacks. Room of 45l is a challenge but I made it :). Travelling is over (at least for right now) and uni starts on Monday. Unbelievable how fast time is flying. It's half time on the 22nd :(, then it has been exactly six months since I said goodbye on Frankfurt airport. 

I will upload some pics and comments about our trip in the next few days. Maybe in form of a youtube video again. So stay tuned and keep your eyes open.

Random thoughts this Monday morning. I've been in Australia for almost five months now. Time to say goodbye to a lot of people. Some of them became really good friends. We will all leave in the next 10 days with the exception that I'll come back to Newcastle after our holiday-trip and the rest will not. Strange feeling but hey... you guys give me some good reasons to come to the States in the next years. So yesterday night was probably our last night we spent together - we decided to call it our "Family Night". The last time with everybody of the 46 Scott Street Crew and friends who hung out here in the last couple of months. Steph made her homemade amazing crepes and we had a barrel of laughs.

At 3.30am my father deprived me of my well-deserved sleep calling me on my mobile. Paps, you're getting old. "I forgot the time difference" is not an acceptable excuse :) Even though you are somewhere in Austria and Switzerland I am still eight hours in the future!    

Thursday 12/06/08 8pm Lyric Theatre Sydney

Wow, fabulous night yesterday! We saw one of the most popular musicals of all times at Sydney's Lyric Theatre very close to Darling Harbour: The Phantom of the Opera! Now we belong to the over 80 million people in 25 countries in 124 cities around the world who have seen this spectacle. It was so beautiful and impressive... and it felt very good to be back in Sydney. Looking at the Opera House is the moment when I really believe that I'm in Australia.

We were back in Newcastle at 5.30am due to track work between Sydney Central and Newcastle. Nice experience to spend part of the night in Gosford and Wyong or wherever. Jane posted on my facebook wall that trains now give her nightmares... I don't know I slept pretty well on the train (or trains to be exact). I know that some of you will laugh about this as you know I'm able to sleep everywhere and in every position. Had some awkward situations in the past ;)

Seems that you are well prepared Luky ;) By the way there are just 103 days left till you will turn your back on Germany in order to spend a great year in Australia.

Hi, the good Australian winter weather is back but I had a lot to learn on the weekend unfortunately. I tried to watch whales on the beach as it is the time when they are moving towards north. But I wasn't very lucky. Anyway, we will head to Sydney again on Thursday because we got pretty fair tickets for The Phantom of the Opera. I'm really looking forward...

Hi everyone! Another beautiful weekend here in Newcastle. As the winter-sun was very friendly on Saturday I and the rest of the house plus some friends spent almost the whole day on the beach. Even the water wasn't very cold so we had fun... On Sunday we went to the annual Darby Street Coffee Festival. Let me say I have my reputation regarding to coffee; not to say I definitely became addicted to coffee. Gee, I really shouldn't spend so much money on coffee! Ah! The picture by the way shows me (just in case you forgot how I look like ;) ) at Steph's and my weekly-Sunday-coffee-café Bogie Hole very close to our place. I don't want to think about the number of coffees I had there and maybe about the number of the word coffee in this short message neither :)

Lukas called me on Saturday night telling me that he booked a flight: Berlin-Sydney on September 21st. Can't really believe that... My little brother is coming to Australia to spend a year of work and travel. Luk, it's always you on whom I see how old I already am; and how fast life is running. Mutti, Paps: I'm a bit sorry for you. Both kids as far away as possible. I was smiling about that when I opened your June package today. Träume nicht dein Leben, lebe deinen Traum. -  Don't dream your life, live your dream. Maybe that's a good description... Seems that I will be very busy in September!

Luk, I love and miss you incredibly. Many kisses and hugs. 

Scott Street at 4.35pm - best place ever

Great news for me on the phone yesterday. And a BIG surprise! Sophia and Norman will come to Australia in September. Didn't you guys meet and get to know each other for the first time on my farewell party back in January??? Kinda strange and funny how things develop... I'm really looking forward to your visit and I'm so convinced that this will be a fantastic time.

Besides, winter is arriving in Newcastle. It's dark at 5pm and freezy cold at night (ok, that's maybe an exaggeration but you definitely need a jumper). That's why we are going to flee from New South Wales' winter after the last exam at the end of June. The plan is to travel up the East Coast to Cairns where summer is never leaving during the whole year. The flight back from Cairns to Sydney is already booked ;) 

Jeeaaaahhhhhhhh... I'm so proud. The video of our mid-semester break is done. I had to split it into four different parts as youtube allows just 10min videos unfortunately. Enjoy them guys! I uploaded some pics from March, April and May too.

Balconies, Grampians National Park

Hi guys! I'm back in town: home sweet home... This trip was FANTASTIC!!!What a great time, amazing! I've never seen such a gorgeous landscape and nature. We covered a distance of 3300km in 13 days crossing three states - New South Wales, Victoria and Australian Capital Territory. And driving on the left side is so much fun, can't believe how fast you get used to it. I will never forget this trip and all these impressions - what a beautiful country...

Huskisson, Jervis Bay

Day 1 (12/04/08)

Newcastle, Sydney to Batemans Bay

via Sublime Point, Wollongong, Huskisson, Jervis Bay

Day 2 (13/04/08)

Batemans Bay to Lakes Entrance

via Malna Beach, Yabbara Beach, Merimbula, Eden, Orbost

first time in Victoria

sunset on Whisky Beach, Wilsons Promontory National Park

Day 3 (14/04/08)

Lakes Entrance to Foster

via Bairnsdale, Sale, Port Albert

Ninety Mile Beach, Entrance

Day 4 (15/04/08)

Foster to Cowes (Phillip Island)

Wilsons Promontory National Park

Mount Oberon, Oberon Bay, Squeaky Beach, Tidal River, Whisky Beach

Melbourne

Day 5 (16/04/08)

Cowes to Melbourne

Phillip Island

Pelican Feeding, Chocolate Factory :), Pyramid Rock, The Nobbiest Blow Hole, Penguines

Days 6 and 7 (17/04 - 18/04/08)

Melbourne

Queen Victoria Market, City Circle Tram, Eureka Skydeck 88 + The Edge, Federation Square, House Walking, St. Kilda, Port Phillip, Shopping, Nightlife

Maits Rest Rainforest, Great Ocean Road

Day 8 (19/04/08)

Melbourne to Apollo Bay

via Geelong, Torquay, Bells Beach, Anglesea, Split Point Lighthouse, Lorne, Kennett River

first day Great Ocean Road

Day 9 (20/04/08)

Apollo Bay to Halls Gap

second day Great Ocean Road

Otway National Park, Maits Rest Rainforest, Cape Otway Lightstation, Gibson Steps, Twelve Apostles, Port Campbell National Park, Lord Arches, London Bridge

Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road

Day 10 (21/04/08)

Grampians National Park

Pinnacles (Wonderland Range), MacKenzie Falls, Balconies (Reed Lookout)

Day 11 (22/04/08)

Halls Gap to Canberra (900km!)

via Ballarat, Melbourne, Euroa, Wodonga

from Victoria via New South Wales to ACT

Pinnacles, Grampians

Day 12 (23/04/08)

Canberra to Sydney

Parliament House, Old Parliament House, Captain Coke Memorial Water Jet, National Capital Exhibition, Australian War Memorial

Day 13 (24/04/08)

Sydney to Newcastle

Wildlife Park Sydney, our last coffee at Darling Harbour

Parliament House, Canberra

You see these days were all different and amazing. I can't find the right words for my feelings; it's like an unimaginable dream became true. It will take time to realise what I experienced because I'm so impressed by this beautiful country...

Special thanks to Kristin and Jenna. It was so much fun with you guys. I really enjoyed our holiday :)

Back in Newie, it's raining. And it has been raining here since we left. Winter is coming... it's dark at 5.30pm by the way! But I'm looking forward to the next days, weeks, months in Australia. And sorry for making you jealous ;)

Happy Birthday Luke!!!!! April 10th 1989: A star was born ;)

I wish you were here to celebrate this day with me and not with Serj Tankian. Or he would play in Sydney :) I am jealous, to be honest... I haven't been on a concert for more than four months, what a long time! Anyway, I hope you enjoy YOUR day, I'm thinking of you. Wish you all the best for your last year as a teenager, but don't fool around AND YEP, kicking down a caddy from a bridge and being catched by the police is included ;) You should realize another plan this year, you know what I mean... Stay clean! (I like these German expressions directly translated into English)

Love you! Lindi

Today I fulfilled my first task as a recipient of a TU Berlin scholarship. Yesssssssss...! Pit, Alex and me, we represented our home uni at the Study Abroad Fair at Newcastle University. About 30 students were seriously interested, so I guess we did a pretty good job. I'm wondering if they would be as enthusiastic about Germany as I am about Australia. Probably not... I LOVE this country!

Oh man, what a day! I'm so tired, I feel like old times catched me up. After celebrating Devin's 21st birthday with amazing crepes at midnight and screaming out loudly Eagle Eye Cherry's Save Tonight, I didn't fall asleep before 2am. Unfortunately, Pit and Jenna were waiting for me at 5.30am on the next morning to enjoy the sunrise at Nobbys Beach and to take some really cool pictures. It was FANTASTIC! My

short night of just three hours of sleep was definitely worthwhile. Nevertheless, during breakfast (yep Pit, we will come over again :) ) I decided to skip my whole classes till 1pm... Great decision! Now I'm killing time to have an excuse why I'm not working on my papers and presentations. Hey, but it's Friday, TGIF!!!

Hi everybody! This is definitely the first time here in Australia that I feel stressed... 4 tests, 2 assignments and 2 presentations in 10 days! That is exactly the moment when I'm missing a dead boring surrounding, rainy weather and not having the beach in front of my house. But I'm fine. I'm really looking forward to our Melbourne and Great Ocean Road trip starting at the 12th. AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Yep, I'm a tourist!!! I AM ALLOWED TO DO THIS...

My second time in Sydney was amazing again. After a short visit to the German Embassy (seems that the German bureaucracy is fully "Australian" adapted; we got Jenna's international driver's license in just five minutes), we spent almost the rest of the day in the Royal Botanic Gardens which was fantastic.

Check out more...

Today, I learned to sandboard. And it's sooooo much fun. The Stockton Bight Sand Dunes need to be seen to be believed! Nothing else than sand in an area of over 2,500 hectares along the 32 kilometre long Stockton Beach. These dunes climb up to 30 metres high with slopes up to 60 degrees. And someone had the idea of this awesome sandbording. Unfortunately it was not

mine otherwise I could work on my plans to stay here in Australia forever :) Anyway, this was a very funny day and we definitely will do it again.

Click here to see more pics...

Happy Easter!!!

Frohe Ostern euch allen!!!

I spent this rainy day with some friends planning our midsemester break trip to Melbourne. Great Ocean Road: WE ARE COMING SOON!!! All we need is a camper yet. So keep your fingers crossed for us...

Because there are more and more English-speaking people looking on my website, I decided to switch a bit. So hopefully you guys understand me now :)

More pics are coming soon, I promise. You know me, I'm a bit lazy but now I've got an excellent excuse: I just adapted myself to this wonderful Australian way of life, means take it easy and stay relaxed :)

On multiple demand (yep Sophia, I mean YOU) I uploaded a pic which shows just me. So that you guys don´t forget how I look like... :)

Everything is still going awesome here, I enjoy the pretty excellent weather and everything else... Hope to hear you soon. Linda 

Naja, so macht man´s eigentlich nicht... aber ich bleib dran!!! Irgendwann... kommt der Tag mit der perfekten Welle :)

Das ist übrigens mein Bein, nur so zur Info ;)

Liebe Grüße

No worries, mates! I`m still alive and as happy as I´ve never been before :) This life here is awesome. I really enjoy every second... but nevertheless it feels good to talk to some of you guys, and hear that everything is alright. Your taned aussiegirl at the other side of this world is still thinking of you!

SYDNEY (incl. jetzt auch vom dritten Tag)

46 Scott Street Crew

Nelson Bay (unter Sydney)

http://www.oweek2008sem1.blogspot.com/

vielleicht findet ihr mich ja :) ich sag ja nur, learning to surf

Neue Fotos!

Neuer Bericht!

und morgen geht's übers Wochenende nach SYDNEY *freu*

http://www.sydneycityhostels.com.au/

Brittany, Stephanie, Devin, Luke, ich, Sam macht das Foto

Hallo Leute! Ich hatte in den letzten Tagen doch einige Probleme auf meine Seite zu kommen. Werde in den nächsten Tagen mal neue Fotos und Berichte einstellen. Bis dahin hab ich für euch noch ein paar Links: one of my house mates Sam + so gut wie house mate (da eigentlich immer hier) Luke... Viel Spaß!

Meinen ersten Eindruck von Newcastle seht ihr hier!

Ganz viele neue Bilder!!! und auch mal wieder ein neuer Bericht!

ICH WOHNE SEIT SAMSTAG NICHT MEHR IM HOSTEL, SONDERN IN EINEM SUPER HAUS DIREKT AM STRAND. AUSFÜHRLICHER BERICHT PLUS HEIß ERSEHNTE FOTOS FOLGEN!!!

Meine Adresse:

46 Scott Street, Newcastle East NSW 2300

Neue Fotos vom Samstag

Hab mich super gefreut, dass ihr alle den Weg gefunden habt. Wir sehen uns zur welcome back party :)

Liebe Grüße an alle!

Ich werd dich vermissen...

Noch befindet sich die Seite im Aufbau. Flug ist gebucht: am 22.01.08 geht's von Frankfurt über Dubai nach Sydney. Und dann weiter nach Newcastle, Australia.