Happy New Year, yeahhh...

What are your New Years Pledges? I've just found this picture on the web and it reflects pretty much what my goals are for 2011... Well, I guess everybody knows that never - really never - people fulfill their New Years Pledges anyway. So don't worry if you don't have any. I won't realize half of the things on the picture either... Well, 2011 just can get better than 2010, it was a sad year for me... But hey, cheer up!  Have a Happy New Year guys;-)

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5434700

Merry Christmas...

I'm going to spend Christmas in Spain amongst my beloved ones (well, most of them)... I reckon I will miss the snow back home and the Christmas tree as well. But there is lovely food and lovely people too. I wish you guys a Merry Christmas anyway anywhere. As it says on the tag: take it easy, relax, eat, drink and be merry. Do not diet. Smile! So I'm off for one week now, so Merry Christmas to you all!

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5656472

Be creative...

... on Christmas Eve. If you feel like eating some Asian food, do not get bored by cooking it. Look at the creative dish on the picture. Really good idea I think and quite easy to do with sticky rice I reckon. Enjoy...

Source: http://cutestfood.com/146/curry-bath/

Treat yourself with...

... a Lindt Luxemburgerli before heading off to your x-Mas destination. My destination will be Mallorca this time. As there are a some Lindt & Sprüngli Shops at the airport Zurich it is quite easy to get this delicacy. Just chose a few sorts out of a huge variety such as rasperry, lemon, chocolate, champagne etc. and let them melt on your tongue... Happy flight!

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5310454

Hurry up...

... only a few days left to get all the Christmas presents. I decided to create different vouchers for my beloved ones as I really don't like the hectic x-mas shopping at all. It's loud, people are impatient and quite sometimes quite aggressive... And I guess if you are in a rush to get the best deals, you won't be able to find really good gifts. Anyway, you might be better than me and you guys have all your x-mas presents ready.

Source: http://cristendhemstead.tumblr.com/

Don't forget...

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5293792

Pffffff....

Do you recognize yourself sitting in front of the notebook not really knowing what to type in? I would maybe look like this fish, well might be quite the same expression on my face...

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5382827

Ssshhhh...

Ssshhhhh, just look at this picture and enjoy...

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54147197@N06/5028465332/

Thinking about...

...going on a three-week trip on the Transsib-Railway. I know, a three-week-trip is nothing for a real traveler but if you are working, it is long, well quite long... Would be starting off in St. Petersburg. The train would then take me to Moskau and further on to Irkutsk and the stunning Lake Baikal (the deepest and oldest freshwater lake in the world). After a few nights there the train would take me further to Ulan Ude and then to the Mongolian capital of Ulanbataar. After staying in a traditional ger tent the last bit would begin toward Beijing, where the trip ends. Anybody of you guys has any tips for me?

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/829903

It's Friday...

Only a few days left till Christmas. Enjoy the weekend skiing, shopping, sleeping... Whatever you feel like. Happy Weekend!

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/5367088

Sit back and relax...

While I was driving back to the office it was pouring down like hell... Switching through the different radio channels brought me to this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I. Togehter with the raindrops dripping on my windscreen it felt quite relaxing... So sit back and relax while listening to this absolutely beautiful song...

Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/3653637 / Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

Whilst travelling...

If you would like to make a traveller happy you might wanna give him/her for Christmas some ear muffs or even better ear plugs. People in backpackers do all sort of nasty things in a jam-packed 6 to 12 bed dorm. This ranges from snorring noises, sleep talking to weird noises you don't really wanna know exactly what these sounds come from (if you are over 18 you might know what I mean). For daytime an eyemask might be helpful as well. But don't forget to tell your traveller friends to take off the masks and muffs on and off because all these - even nasty - experiences make the trip even more unique...

Source: http://sidewalkisarunway.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/picture2ah7.png

Dust and more...

Dear Santa Clause. If you already have a gift list for me, please don't forget to replace all the dust-catchers with cool stuff such as travel or wellness vouchers, trips, travelgear etc. If you do have things like candle holders or clay statues, please dont forget to include a feather duster (white feathers please).

Source: http://www.manufactum.de/Artikel/74926/Staubwedel-Straussenfeder-lang.html

Lonely...

I think sometimes it is absolutely normal to feel lonely, even if you are sitting next to someone which you love... Not talking to each other for minutes, an eternity it seems. I like to picture I took of those two old men, sitting on a lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. It expresses how I'm feeling just right now...

19 days remaining...

...till the end of 2010. On Decmeber 12 in 1911, exactly 99 years ago, Dehli replaced Calcutta as the capital city of India. India is a very exciting place to visit. You will never see that many people at once again I guess (except maybe for Bangladesh). There are just people everywhere... Even in the rural areas where you think you could go for a pee, no chance... Food is absolutely great although it makes you sometimes go to the loo more often than usual. New Delhi is now the capital City of India, with about 14 million people (might be more though). It is one of the fastes growing cities in India. The biggest city populationwise is Mumbai with over 22 millions living in the metropolitan area, not that many if you think of the total number of people living in India: 1.2 billions! And: population is still growing. 

Cookies...

Is there any better smell as the one of freshly baked cookies and cakes? Yum… I love eating them but I don’t really like the work that comes with it especially when all the kitchen is full of flour. Sometimes it looks like a bomb exploded, but sometimes it does look the same like certain men were cooking or tried to cook. Nevertheless, it is time to spend some time in the kitchen I guess to have this x-masly feeling at home. Not thinking about the calories which come along, packed in deliciously tasting cookies…

Source: http://www.christuskirche-mainz.de/

Tell me a story...

This post is dedicated to my mum...
Trees like the ones in the picture will have a special meaning to me till the rest of my life. This picture was taken in the Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand. Somehow they manage to calm you down. It is nice to sit beneath them, read, relax or to have a nap. If they could, most trees would be able to tell you quite a story, good and bad ones, lovestories and sad stories too.

Be a smart...

..ies. Just had a pack full of these colorful chocolate snacks in the office. So nice to be a good customer of certain companies: guys, you get really nice presents and things to eat. Smarties do have a wide variety of usage: you can eat them, play drugdealer and addict, sell them as a pharmacist or put them in the eyeholes of a snowman (which would melt at the moment right now). It is always good to have some chocolate in the office, just to keep on smiling…

Source: http://www.jenk.ch/politik/smarties-familienpackung-ein-bschiss/

White beauty

I almost forgot that riding a sledge is just such good fun. Now living up the hills it's easy to find a good place, covered with a good layer of snow and even steep enough to have a race. Little kids giggling and falling off their sledges, trying to steer these things, now mostly made of plastic. On and off there still can be seen the nostalgic ones made out of wood. Snow can be such good fun: doesn't matter if you go skiing, riding a sledge, having a snowball fight or if you just go for a walk. Go outside and enjoy this white beauty. 

Source: http://ossiwessiami.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html

The Galileo...

...spacecraft arrives on December 7, 1995 at Jupiter. It took the spacecraft six years to complete the journey. The unmanned spacecraft was named by Galileo Galilei and was sent out by NASA. After 8 years of service in the Jovian system, its mission was terminated by sending the spacecraft into Jupiters atmosphere at a spped of nearly 50km/sec to avoid any chance of it contaminating local moons with bacteria from Earth. Sometimes it's quite scary what human beings are able to invent...

Source: cburghardt.de/projekte/bilder.htm

Ho ho ho

Happy Samichlaus! Time again to see a lot of fancy red dresses and stylish white beards. They mostly come along with a dark dressed guy, Schmutzli we call him in Switzerland. On and off he might turn up with a donkey: the donkey would be definately my favourite one of these three creatures. I normally avoid them on the street, don't ask me why... As I said, I like the donkey best.

Source: dhaitz.wordpress.com/2009/12/

Did you know that...

... today, exactly 58 years ago, a cold fog descended upon London, killing at least 12 000 people in the weeks and months that followed. This Big Smoke was a severe air pollution event which affected London UK. Due to the combination of cold weather and anticyclone and windless conditions, airborne pollutants - mostly from the use of coal - fromed a thick layer of smog over London. It lasted 5 days only and disappeard after the weather had changed. It was not uncommon for the UK but the Big Smoke is considered the worst air pollution event in the history of Great Britain.

Source: www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/great_smog.html

Have a whisky or two in Zurich

Looking for a new way to enjoy a glass of whisky? Go and see the different whisky ships at Bürkliplatz in Zurich (till December 5th). There are about 4 different boats with heaps of different counters where you can try whiskies from all over the world. The entry ticket includes a whiskyglass which you take on tour with you. If you feel like trying quite a few types of this very strong delicacy make sure to get some extra tokens at the entry so you are prepared for an exceptional taste-experience! A beautiful location for this type of event, right on Lake Zurich and just opposite the famous circus Conelli. The freezing weather outside with minus temperatures makes this night out even more special.

Sources:

http://www.whiskyschiff.ch/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_Nicol

Exactly 71 years ago...

...on December 1, New York City's La Guardia Airport opened. It is the smallest of the three primary commercial airports in New York. Most flights leave for destinations within the US and Canada. The airport handels about 25 million passengers a year. It ranked last out of 66 airports in the US regarding passenger satisfaction and ranked also last for on-time arrivals. A long way to go then, quality wise at least...

Snowflake

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine

Snowflake

Christmas is getting very close, first snow has fallen. To get the beautiful white scenery, snowflakes need to travel quite a bit. Those frozen beauties fall through the Earth's atmosphere. They could tell quite a story if they could. But a snowflake is not only a frozen crystal, it also is: A flowering plant / An African American actor / A Christmas Decoration / A Concept Data Management... You see, quite a changeable litte thing.

Australia 2010

Australia 2010

This time just 3 weeks of travel... But enough time for me to explore the spot I didn't see in 2006. First stop was in Sydney where I stayed one week in Manly, a good spot to enjoy the surfer lifestyle, the beautiful sea. Enough time to explore town and go to the Blue Mountains by train.

A 2.5 hour flight took me from Sydney to Adelaide to see my friends. In five days I had enough time to go down to Victor Harbour and it's beautiful sourroundings. It had been raining for weeks before my arrival so SA was so lush and green, looked almost like Switzerland... One day I went down to explore Kangoroo Island and its beautiful nature. After 5 days in SA I took the plane to Perth, where I was picked up by my friends.

We went out for dinner, Sicamous, Frio, Mandura, Perth City Beaches, Kings Park, CBD... I decided to rent a car for one week to drive down to Esperance, one of the only spots I did not see during my last travels. I drove over 3000km in total. I went from Perth to Denmark, Albany, Esperance, Cape Le Grand NP, Kalgoorlie,Wave Rock and back to Perth. 

Sad I had to leave again. I just need to say, I'm still in love with OZ, especially with WA...