Category Archives: Travel

Oh what a night!

Posted by defaude on October 12, 2010 3 comments

roughly 7 p.m. Returning to my hotel after the first day at the WebTech. Trying to get some sleep, but it just won’t work. I’ll never be able to fall asleep before midnight, I guess…

11:30 p.m. Getting up again, taking a shower, preparing myself for the night.

00:30 a.m. Taxi ride from Mainz to Darmstadt, where the headquarters of the “Deutsche Telekom” are. The taxi driver is a little weird and stinky, but friendly in general.

01:00 – 06:00 a.m. Assisting with the launch of the software platform my company has been working on for the past few months.

06:00 – 06:30 a.m. Taxi ride back to Mainz – Friendly, but weird and stinky driver…

07:00 a.m. Taking a shower and trying to fall asleep as fast as possible.

08:00 a.m. Getting up again after not having slept at all.

08:27 a.m. Rushing down to grab something to eat before the bus back to the conference comes.

08:38 a.m. Leaving the breakfast lounge / Running to the bus station.

…

09.00 a.m. Already at the first talk of the day 🙂

WebTech 2010

Posted by defaude on October 11, 2010 5 comments

I’m attending the WebTech 2010 in Mainz – it’s a hybrid conference together with the international PHP conference taking place in the nice Rheingoldhalle right next to the Rhein river. Oh my… So many geeks in one place! And almost no women here! (and those few that are here… well, you know…)

Anyways, I’m looking forward to another two and a half days of interesting talks and new insights to technology and the software industry in general.

PS: I did not forget about the pics of my appartment, it’s just that I couldn’t find the time by now… (and, to be honest, not so much progress has been made since my last post on that topic…)

Final post from Croatia (kind of)

Posted by defaude on September 4, 2010 4 comments

’nuff said! It was legendary! Thanks Stephan and Vera for the GREAT GREAT GREAT time I had!!!!

More pics from Croatia

Posted by defaude on August 23, 2010 4 comments

Some promised pictures

Posted by defaude on August 18, 2010 5 comments

Because I took so long since my last real post, here are some facts and some pics! First the facts:

Moved to the new appartment
Had some exhausting weeks at work (but liked it)
Went to Croatia for holidays (that’s where I am right now – and maybe I only find the time for posting this because I’m so far away from home, from the job etc. 😉 )

And now, some random pics:

A thing that i DO miss, actually

Posted by defaude on June 26, 2010 No comments

As mentioned in an older post (back from the time when I was in Japan and still writing in German), the weather in Japan is really humid and hot during the summer. Back then, I was complaining a little bit about it. However, at the end of my stay there I realized I actually started liking this kind of weather. And when I think about how the summer here in Germany was so far this year… yeah, I have to admit that more sunshine, higher temperatures and all that stuff would be nice 🙂

Speechless

Posted by defaude on June 3, 2010 2 comments

When I saw that video for the first time I was just left speechless. First, I could not find the words to say because I was simply stunned and overwhelmed. I’ve been thinking about all the feelings it ignited in me and want to state this: It reminds me of so much, touches something deep inside of me. However, this video barely even scratches the surface of the sheer beauty and all the nasty things I’ve seen during my stay in Tokyo! All the good and all the bad memories I have from that time have changed the way I think, no, the way I am in a very profound way and everyone who knows me knew that the original plan was to return to Japan for a few years – maybe even for good. Well, things turned out a little different and I admit that I was being resentful for not getting what I wanted most for quite some time…

However: I know my constant babbling about Japan annoys many people – especially those around me who would have missed me if I had left Germany. And I’m sorry about that, seriously. I don’t want to point out that living in Germany (or especially in Munich) sucks – not at all! Germany is great, Munich is even greater and I enjoy being here to the fullest.

I do, however, want to embrace this moment to point out that I’m really grateful for all the things I have here: Living in a city that’s (in my opinion) the best place to be in whole Germany (aside from Hamburg, maybe). Having a great job where I can actually do the stuff I enjoy doing while decently getting paid for it. Tons of good friends who’ve been with me through all my ups and downs and who still stick with me even though I sometimes step on their toes by taking them for a little too granted and by not acknowledging their friendship in a more appropriate way. And most importantly: my family is here, my roots are here, the very essence that I came from is here. Even though I sometimes enjoy pointing out how not-German or how not-Bavarian I am, I still am and ever will be!

As much as I’m thankful for my time in Japan, I’m even more thankful for the time here! And that’s because of all of you crazy people in my life

Always keep in mind that no one ever ends up where he or she expected to end up – it’s all about what we make of the chances that are given to us and how we overcome all difficulties and how we deal with all the setbacks that life throws at us.

Bye, Barcelona

Posted by defaude on May 17, 2010 2 comments

And again, I have to point out that time flies when you’re happy and when you’re having a good time… Because I had a good time this weekend and it went by so damn fast! On Saturday, Mark and me went to the beach and enjoyed the sun. In fact, there were clouds coming up and hiding the sun the very moment we arrived at the beach so almost everybody else packed their belongings and left. Hence the beach was ours! 😎 We basically ignored the wannabe-bad weather and that the sun wasn’t shining. It came out again, eventually, and we even ditched into the ocean for a short while. Right there on the beach there was a cool hut selling drinks and food and they also played finest electronic tunes – to Mark’s and my pleasure 🙂

When after a while the clouds were closing in again (and we were getting hungry) we decided to have “lunch” there and that decision was rewarded with the best bocadillos ever. The very moment we started devouring those, rain started pouring down. Well, we did what we can best and just ignored the bad weather while we were enjoying the bocadillos under the hut’s roof. Just as we finished our awesome meal, the sun was back

In the evening we returned home for the big birthday party. It was big fun (and we had tons of great food) and I wanna thank Ela for hosting and having us there! Unfortunately, we all forgot to take more pictures…

Not having had a big load of sleep, we were all kinda lazy in the “morning” on Sunday. And because Mark had to leave for the airport anyways, we decided to just stay at Ela’s place, clean up the typical after-party-mess and relax a little. The weather was unbelievably beautiful, by the way, so Mark and me barely left the balcony where we tried to absorb as much sunshine as possible. But all good things have come to an end, eventually, and so Mark had to leave in the afternoon 🙁 Ela and me left the house with him, but instead of going to the airport, we went to the beach and met with a group of her colleagues and played beach volleyball for the rest of the day. 😎 Side note: I’m the world’s worst beach volleyball player, seriously. And I did my best to defend that title 😀

In the evening, we gathered a group and had dinner at a great pizza place in Barceloneta. And after that, we decided to retreat to Ela’s place and have the birthday party 2.0 … Unfortunately, I had to get up at 5:30 today in order to get my flight back to Munich. Too bad the volcano ash cloud wasn’t there when I needed it most 😉

Thanks again to Ela for hosting and to all the funny people I met in Barcelona! I’ll be back, promised!

Mark Roland Barcelona

Posted by defaude on May 15, 2010 4 comments

Woke up at 11. Scrambled eggs, Mousse and Nespresso. Relaxed at Ela’s place while rain was pouring down outside. Went out at 2 when the sun came out, eventually. Strolled down the Passeig de Gràcia. Bought my first Ray Ban. Bought a new Kukuxumusu shirt in the store next to the Santa Maria del Mar church. Took the metro to Ela’s workplace and said ‘hi’ to the beach. Took a long walk to and up the Rambla de Santa Monica. Had a little rest after returning home. Had extremely delicious Tapas at the Nou Candanchú. Had extremely delicious ice cream in the heart of Gràcia. Had a drink in the Raïm Bar… Now this is what I call a nice day!