Next stop: Connecticut

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A 23h flight later I find myself in Connecticut, New England, where it is still very early spring and spoilt as I am by the Aussie sun I find it quite chilly but nevertheless beautiful – I am a huge fan of the New English building style and thanks to the abundance of antique and vintage shops the houses here are often as beautiful on the outside as on the inside, as the Inn at Stoney Creek shows. This is where I spent my first night in the States, thanks to my lovely sister in law. What a great way to start this part of my trip!

Apart from that I’ve had a few interesting culinary experiences this last week, starting with dinner at Outback, an Aussie restaurant…but how Aussie is a place that only sells Fosters as Aussie beer and has precisely 1 lamb dish on the menu? I guess I’ve been spoilt during the last 8 months there. Old Heidelberg, a German place, was much more enjoyable – maybe I needed to feel like home a bit too, and the rustic interior and German Schlager music was a great backdrop for a nice dinner complete with pretty decent beer.

My mission for the next week will be to browse through as many vintage shops as possible – and I’ll definitely have another tea time at Tracy’s, a very cute tea room in Seymour, my current dwelling place.

Inn at Stony Creek, Warwick
Inn at Stony Creek, Warwick
Inn at Stony Creek, Warwick
Kent Falls State Park, CT
Kent Falls State Park, CT
Kent Falls State Park, CT
Hopkins Winery
Hopkins Winery
Old Heidelberg
Grammar is not your friend at Old Heidelberg
Aussie food in Murica
Stew Leonard’s
Dream houses of CT 1
Dream houses of CT 2
Dream houses of CT 3
Teatime @ Tea with Tracy, Seymour, CT

Last day

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I guess it is in the nature of things, especially the good ones in life, that eventually they have to end. Sadly, my time in Australia is coming to an end tomorrow, sooner than expected and than I had hoped for, but I’ll take with me a big bag full of memories, experiences and also new friendships.

 

I might usually talk a lot about funny little incidents and observations I make here, but at the end of the day, the things you learn when living in a foreign country are not only the things you learn about a new culture and its people, all their little habits and quirky traits, but also, and in a way more importantly, you learn about yourself.

 

When you are basically at the other end of the world, you will realize what you want in life. And for me, what I want is not here in Australia. Oz you have been good to me, but now it’s time to click my heels and go home…but just hopping on a plane and going straight? I got a better idea, let’s make it a proper trip!

 

So farewell Oz, farewell Melbourne, farewell to your fantastic rooftop bars and grungy laneways, yucky lager and yummy pale ale, dangerous drivers and 40 degree days, thonged and singeleted bogan men and effortlessly beautiful girls, paradise birds in the trees and white tailed spiders in the house, lazy backyard barbies and sunny beach days – how could I ever forget you

 

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Weekend trip to Adelaide

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I got friends in low places…and also in Adelaide. What could be better than paying this lovely place a visit then? Although everyone raves on about Sydney and Melbourne, I think Adelaide is a must see. It’s got everything I like – beaches, markets, great bars and lots of wine. My friend Derek even took me to Barossa Valley in his vintage car where we had a taste – very delicious I tell you!

It’s getting hot in here

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Have you ever felt like you were melting? And as if your eyeballs were burning up? Well you would have if you’d been here last week. 5 days of beautiful temperatures between 38 and 44 degrees. Best of all – our aircon decided to break on day 2 of  the week from hell.

koala

So I learned a few valuable lessons under these conditions that I thought I should share with you, just in case you should ever get into a similar situation:

1. Don’t move

Movement in +40 is definitely optional. Get a good DVD box set (in my case it was Stromberg – what a treat!), put a towel on the sofa and sit back. You aren’t missing anything outside, trust me.

2. Forget about style

Normally I love looking nice like any other girl, but not in this heat. Makeup? Come on! Eyeliner? I don’t think I want to look like a weeping clown after 5 minutes. Surprisingly, this was a very liberating experience. Turns out noone cares if you leave out the warpaint. As for clothes, there is nothing that feels like a suitable outfit in those temperatures. I went for bikini and scarves as dresses, for which I got a few new lovely nicknames from Herr D: Tiger Lilly, Leia and Amazon Huntress. Whatever, I survived this week. Maybe I am an amazon huntress!

3. Hydrate and chill

I think so far I haven’t even told you about one of my latest purchases, a Brita water filter that is a must in every health-concious German household. Mind you, that’s not why I got it. I just don’t particularly enjoy the taste of chlorine which always seems to linger in the tap water here. Bottled water you say? You’d think again if you saw what they charge for it. I love Aldi but $1,29? No thank you. Anyways, my chilled jug of filtered water was my best friend last week. Together with frozen grapes. Seriously, try it. It’s the sweetest healthiest kind of sorbet you’ll ever eat. And at day 5, the point when even the natives decided it was getting a bit uncomfortable, they handed out free ice pops in the mall. Thanks again for that Airport West Mall, that was a nice idea.

4. Go somewhere cool

If you are lucky and your aircon works, that might be your own 4 walls. As this wasn’t the case for me, I had to find other shelters from the scorching heat. The mall, as already mentioned, was one of them. Why not spend 3 hours to buy one pair of earrings and a can of chickpeas? Another great place to cool down was work. I enjoyed teaching my classes even more than normal. What more can you want than a cool classroom and a plate of watermelon and strawberries provided by your lovely boss? Oh and then, of course, there is the cinema. So what if the only thing that’s on at noon is Walking with Dinosaurs? I would have watched this animated Lego film if I’d had to, as long as it meant I could spend a few hours without feeling like a puddle of sweat.

So with these little tricks, I survived my first proper heat wave without too much complaining, which I am a little proud of. Now we are back to 25 degrees and I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever get to hang out on the beach…but as I said, I am trying not to complain too much. The garden it is for the time being!

No worries

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Last weekend it was finally time for the big event I had been waiting for – the Royal Wedding! And let me tell you, a big event it was – if not as royal as I had anticipated. As beautiful as any wedding can be, I guess for us women it’s only natural to use these occasions to take in everything that is happening, and then either thinking: I’d love to do that at my own wedding or to make little mental notes for the things you’d never ever ever would want to happen at your own big day – so guess what I did for the whole day.

We stayed at a campsite a few minutes away from the venue but resided quite in style in a little cabin (or studio apartment, as I was informed). Very well, the night before the big day actually turned out to be quite delightful, listening to music and having a few drinks with the boyfriend and a bridesmaid’s brother. Just that the next day during the lovely outdoor breakfast with family and friends, we were told that we had entertained and kept the whole campsite awake with our impromptu party. Up till today I’m not quite sure what they heard but let’s hope it was only noise. I’m shuddering when thinking about some of the stuff they might have heard that night.

Then, embarrassment aside, I slapped on my finest and we went to part one of the celebrations – the church service. I must admit, I don’t think I’ve ever attended a less formal service – and I have been at quite a few ones for highschool, with a church full of kids. There was a play pew for the little ones, the photographers took their job a bit too seriously and blocked the aisle when the mother of the bride walked up, and the minister-lady was all smiles and chat throughout the whole event. Of course, the bride looked beautiful and her bridesmaids all in lavender added to the picture. So there they were, standing in front of the altar, the paparazzi were finally sitting, and of course the little ones started quacking so that I literally missed the entire vows. Mental note: no babies at wedding. Might ruin a few friendships but everything comes with a price.

All I could hear was the most important question at the end. Which, I think, can only be answered in one way: I do. Or maybe just a simple ‘yes’ would be fine as well. However, the groom giving ‘No worries’ as an answer made the little romantic girl in me shudder and cry a bit. No worries? Really? Of course neither Adrian nor anyone else at the wedding seemed to find that disturbing in any way. Well, no worries then, must be me being stuck up. Mental note: run away from altar if that ever happens to you.  At the end the minister was kind enough to inform us of the shuttlebus times for the reception – I don’t think a German servant of God would feel it appropriate to act as a human timetable but I liked it, made church look down to earth and practical somehow for a change.

After the wedding there happened – nothing. I learned that it is fairly normal to have quite a gap between church service and reception, so that the bride and groom can get their pictures taken. Well, fair enough, going back to the campsite for a drink didn’t seem like a bad idea. Just that 2 hrs later, when it was time to leave again, we were all quite comfortable sitting in the shade, nibbling cheese and crackers and drinking bubbly so that noone really felt like getting up again. The only excitment factor was the little quiz game we had started the night before, so far I had got a point for veil, Adrian had one for corset gown. Now it was time to find out who would win cake and first dance.

The venue was indeed beautiful. A deer and emu farm on top of a hill with great views over the valley and a lake, a lovely outdoor area with a fountain and seating under parasols, a little petting zoo with baby goats (BEST part! side note: petting zoo!) and waiters with appetizers. Fantastic! I glimpsed inside in search of the ice sculpture I had anticipated, but no, just a very beautifully decorated room and a white wedding cake (darn! I had bet on cupcake wedding cake).

I think we were all relieved when we read the menu and found out that we weren’t going to eat the cute goats -or the emus, neither of which would have been too appealing. But just as I had picked which starter and main I’d like, I read a little note on the menu: meals are being served alternatingly. What? I have to play food roulette? But what if I end up with the trout? Or the venison? Noooo, I got to admit, that was my lowest point that day. Side note: let poeple choose their food, if they are anything like me, food roulette makes them grumpy. Well lucky me has a caring man on her side who would eat anything if it means I am happy with my food. But really, there has to be a better option than this.

Well, any wedding has the part of the long and tiresome speeches (side note: hire comedian. burn father-in-law’s notes. turn off mic after 10 minutes. anything but an hour of not very funny variations of the same theme – we didn’t lose…we gained….thank you all for….yaaaawwnn I need another drink.) But then the dancefloor got opened to Lady in Red (score! I had predicted a classic) and I even convinced Adrian to do a little shuffle.

So there we were, bride and groom happily drinking shots, the bridesmaids dancing, the cousins from Queensland stumbling in their 15cm heels…and then the lights went on. At 11.30. Because it was time to leave. Now I don’t want to get into any rant about closing times and the appropriate length of a wedding party, but wouldn’t you find it a little disappointing if, after all the time and money you’ve spent, the coordination of 3 wedding events, the selection of flowers, gowns and wines, the organization of shuttle buses to and from the venue and the final decision on who to invite and where to seat them, if, after all those decisions are made, and the actual day having turned out quite impressively, your party lasts for not even 6 hours? Other countries, other customs I guess. Well the good thing was that I awoke well-rested and with a fairly clear head. And with the knowledge that I’d say my No worries in a slightly different way. But I’d definitely keep the goats.

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Australian novelty ideas

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So it has been a while since my last entry but I promise it was only for the sake of research. Since I’ve come here almost 2 months ago I have come across a few intems that made me either giggle or ‘scrunch up my face’ (as I was told) and now is the time I shall share a few of these novetly ideas with you. I’d be interested to hear your opinion on them as well so feel free to comment!

 No. 1: Adult animal onesies

 The first time I saw one of those was actually the day I arrived at Melbourne airport. There, in the crowd, I spotted a teenage girl dressed as a unicorn. Yes, a unicorn. White with a blue mane and horn. Back then I thought this might be some sort of inside joke. Maybe that was her boyfriend’s nickname for her? Maybe she had some sort of airport blind date and told the guy: No trust me, you will find me. But anyways, I was jetlagged and had enough to do trying to find my boyfriend (not in animal costume) in the crowd that I didn’t think too much about it.

But then, a few days later, on my first shopping tour, I saw them again. This time at an Asian shop. Which sell anything from potato peelers to pyjamas here. They had a pretty impressive selection, a shark, a kangaroo, a dragon. Since then I see them everywhere so I am starting to think they must be quite popular.

Now, hang on a second…these onesies aren’t made for kids. I would understand if a 6 year old decided he wanted to be a penguin or a monkey for a day. Fine. But what is the target group of the adult animal onesie? Drunks? ‘Fun’ people? People without friends? Those weird kids that dress up as human dolls?

I am not entirely sure. Neither can I work out an appropriate occasion for sporting this look. Ok, so airport reunions are apparently on the list. But when else could anyone possibly think: I totally wanna wear my cow onesie today. A job interview would be a good idea: ‘I just wanted to make a lasting impression. Dressed as a giraffe.’ Or meeting the in-laws for the first time: ‘Mom, dad, this is Mike. Isn’t he cute in his dog onesie?’ I still don’t quite get it. But maybe that’s because I’m German and serious.          Image

No. 2: Artificial lawn

One of the great things about Australia is that you have space. None of that crazy living in flats the size of a shoebox stuff us Europeans are used to. And of course, when you have space, you usually also have some form of front-and/or back yard. Great! Thinks the little German girl and already makes plans in her head of green lush hedges, flowers in all colours of the rainbow and a neat little shabby chic seating area under a willow tree.

Well. No. Cause what nobody told the little German girl was that Australians do.not.like.real.grass. Which sounds strange to anyone who is dying for a little bit of outside space around their little boxy flat. Here, the general idea is: get rid of the actual green, lay down some stones or concrete (say…whaaat?) or, my absolute favourite of crazy ideas: artificial lawn. The kind of stuff you sometimes find inside shopping malls when they decorate for spring. Or in indoor pools. It is fake, plasticky and actually looks nothing like grass. And, if anything, is for indoors. I can’t think of anything less appealing than having plastic grass in my garden. It’s not all about saving time and effort I think. If you want a garden, you got to commit to it, and all the dirt and insects and lawn-mowing that come with it. Artificial lawn…I don’t think so.

No. 3: Bike helmets

 Now, the bike helmet in itself is nothing that is surprising or new, but I must admit, I was quite surprised when I found out that it is mandatory to wear a bike helmet in Australia. If you don’t, prepare to pay a whopping $180 fine. That’s right. You could buy a new bike for that amount.

Now I understand why you need to wear a helmet when you are doing crazy mountainbike downhill races, but for riding 3 blocks to the shop and back? Seriously? Plus, what about my hair? Clearly, it must have been a man who came up with that outrageous rule. No woman would ever think it’s a great idea to ruin your ‘do by plonking an upside-down brightly coloured plastic bowl on your head.

I must admit, I only tried it once so far. It made me feel like a 6-year-old, just after taking off the training wheels. Plus my lovely boyfriend informed me that I looked like a duck or a mushroom. Neither of which was the look I was going for that day. I guess investing in a pair of hiking boots and then just walking everywhere might be a good alternative. Or is there a law for that too? Yellow warning vests maybe? Good that I’ll have a car soon!

 Reading through this makes me realize I was ranting a bit today. Forgive me Australians, it’s nothing personal. Maybe one day I’ll be able to embrace some of those interesting concepts. Not all at once though. Nobody wants to see a girl in a koala onesie, riding her bike home, wearing a red helmet and stopping outside her house with a lush green plastic lawn out front. That would be excessive, don’t you agree?