pics of my new room

last sunday i moved into a new house, in a nice room (with window - finally!!!) with a huge veranda. my 4 flatmates are pretty cool and it´s much more socialising than in the other house. 3 of them are australians and the other one has been here since a while so that i get the chance of living first-hand-aussie-life which is great!!!
by the way: it´s not that common to have a room without a window... not even in australia. most australians were pretty surprised when i told them and i haven´t met anyone else like me... so let me say i had indeed a very unique experience but it´s enough now ;)

doors leading from veranda into my room








my room








view from my room

syyydneeeyyy :D 19.-22.02.

sydney is greeeaaat! a multicultural city with a perfect mix with harbour & beaches and full of beautiful sights. and i visited a friend i hadn´t seen since 2 years - what a fantastic weekend :D

g. & me in front of the opera house!!!












i am sailing, i am sailing, ... :) i wish...









street musician - playing e.g. "purple rain"!!!

fraser island - 14./15.02.

last weekend i went to fraser island, the world´s largest sand island at the eastcoast of australia. i went on a booked tour which i usually don´t like too much but this time it was quite useful because the driver/guide told us a lot about the island, it´s history, their vegetation,... and took us to beauuuutiful places!

some plant - shame i forgot the name... can anyone help out?








this was an amazing natural "pool" - never seen such crystal clear water before!







"coffeerocks" - actually a mixture between sand and rotten vegetation necessary for trees to grow on. if you rub it with your fingers it looks like coffee powder! i wouldn´t use it for my cappuccino though - just because the awakening effect wouldn´t work ;)




beach cruising - rainy edition








beach cruising - sunny edition

straddie!!! 08.02.

some holiday pics :) stradbroke island is a small sand island close to Brissie with nice sandy beaches as you can see...

australian pasta = oxymoron??? ;)

australians cook pasta - and this is the result when you don´t watch it and keep it boiling for a looooong time... anyways, the second try was tasty and a good preparation for a night out in west end incl. jam session.

melting away

today it´s soooo hot, honestly, i´m melting away. outside it´s already gotten a little cooler (finally at 10.30pm) but inside the house you can´t stand the heat. so no pic here, believe me, even if you can´t smell it you wouldn´t like it ;) it´s just because i care for you...
the heat comes from the south, victoria, you may have heard of the huge fires down there. fires have occured quite regularly in the past but this time it affects a big region very badly, far worse than before. the prime minister calls it a "mass murder" and the whole country is afraid of further bad news...

my new home

last tuesday i found a place to stay... which is not that easy here. the turn-over of rooms is really high - you can rent one for 2 weeks sometimes - but that also means that you have to be quick. and that´s what i was that tuesday :) so i got a room for a reasonable price in a nice old-style australian house with some 3-4 flatmates (i still have to find out how many exactly). the only disadvantage is that the room doesn't have a window :( so i still think of moving again sometime. but we'll see. one pic shows the house from the backside/garden. in the morning i usually have breakfast sitting at the stairs and enjoying the sun :) wanna join me ;) the other one shows my room - very basic, isn't it?

brisbane - skyline & southbank

skyline of brisbane pictured from the southbank where you can wander along the river or enjoy the sun at the 'city-beach'! or have a coffee in one of the chilly cafes next to the river... what else would one need ;)

seriously studying ...

i proudly present... the royal children's hospital! that's my place to be from 8 to 5 since monday. i'm attached to the department of paediatric surgery which also includes a special burns unit. it seems to be very well known especially for burns throughout australia and asia. for me it's a great opportunity to see and learn about something that is not very common in germany since we don't have as many burns as they have in australia/asia. a reason might be that these parts of the world aren't as developed as germany and some people are just less careful regarding fire/hot water/...
medical students in their 'elective period' like me are required to follow the doctors and observe (clinics, theatre,...) rather than taking part in the daily work on the wards. it's quite different from what i had experienced in germany but that was also one of the reasons why i chose australia and the british system of medical students' education for a part of my last year. doctors immediately start to explain but also ask questions which is really good to get an old brain moving ;)
a girl from manchester also does an 8 weeks elective with paediatric surgery so i'm not the only one who can't answer the questions ;)

first impressions

i´m still fighting with my jetlag... yesterday it was pretty hard but i somehow made it to stay awake till the night. nonetheless i already got to know the nightlife. i had met another german girl on the plane who has a friend in brisbane we went out with. the pub-area is quite crazy, it reminded me of khao san road in bangkok. and the becks beer doesn´t taste like in germany which is really sad. but the local beer is ok, i will get used to it :)
today i went to a koala sanctuary... the first time for me to see koala bears!!! and not only koalas but also kangaroos. so cuuute!!! especially the joeys - that´s how they call the babies. i´m gonna stop here because it´s really time to go to bed to be at least a little prepared for tomorrow when the internship starts.
all in all brisbane is a nice city, australians are veeery relaxed and easy going and reeeally helpful - they would even walk you home when you ask them for the way.