~ Goodbye ~

Hello for one last time on this blog!

It's time to say goodbye... goodbye to friends, animals, smells, places, summer, ... goodbye to my second home, my beloved Australia :-( 

I gotta say goodbye to so many people and things... so many dear old friends and also so many new ones that I found during my time here. Sad times... but I'm also happy to have such great friends all over the world and will always keep them in my heart. I consider myself very lucky to have had the possibility to travel, to explore, to find new places, to make new friendships and strengthen old ones!! =)
It's been the most amazing time and I loved every single moment!
Once more, I can only say I LOVE THIS PLACE and always will!!! <3

Thank you Australia and its awesome people!!! :) :) :)

Danica & me @ Lake Wendouree, Ballarat

Cam & Simon, plus German nutcase Bri & me

Shrine of Remembrance @ Botanical Gardens & St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne

Tim, Lachlan, Owen & me went out fishing one last time on my very last day... and Owen & I even jumped in for a short swim! =)

*fishy fishy fishy*

P.S.: Also I wanna say a special thankyou to my friends and wonderful hosts Christiane & Toni in Shanghai, my mate Michael in New Zealand and a very big thankyou to my man Vince in Australia - for not just letting me stay at their homes, but also introducing me to their way of life by showing me around and bringing me together with their friends & families... but most importantly, for making me feel at home!! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH !!! =) xxx

~ 2nd Advent ~

Another very different advent... taking the Dirndl out on the beach, to the State Rose Garden and a christmas concert =)

Xmas beanie dirndl jump @ Torquay beach

~ Nature & Wildlife ~

Hi again everyone!

Just a bit of nature & wildlife from down here for a change... ;-)

Big and little hoppas

Big and little lizards 

Big and little... no, hold on - big and BIGGER moths & Huntsman Spiders!!

Lots of birdlife: litte Red-browed Finches & big laughing Kookaburras

Superb Fairy-wren or Blue Wren and Bronzewing Pigeons

 

Crimson Rosellas (top: grown-ups = completely red & young ones = green)

Mixed-up: Crimson Rosella & Bronzewing Pigeon

Eastern Rosellas

... and some beautiful flowers and blossoms

~ 1st Advent ~

Something different for the start of the advent season down under
1st of december = 1st advent --> and we're out fishing on a 30°C day :)

Fishing / sunbathing crew: Vince, Danica, Benny, Wade (who managed to stay away from the camera...) and me ;)

~ Emergency ~

In emergency dial 000... and that is what Vince had to do last night after I collapsed in the train station... :-/
We still don't really know what happened to me. Maybe an allergic reaction, maybe a spider bite... we dunno. Anyway, I lost consciousness for quite a long time (~10mins or so). Luckily though Vince was with me and called an ambulance straight away that took us to the Royal Melbourne Hospital (apparently one of the best hospitals in the world).
They had the lights and siren on and we were driving through all the red lights... unfortunately I didn't really realize any of those cool things :-P
Anyway, the doctors (mine was actually quite nice and handsome *lol*) checked me thoroughly and now we're just waiting to see if the blood tests show anything... maybe.
The important thing is - I am ok. Back home, all is good, feeling totally normal again. So don't worry guys, I'm good.

~ Bday BBQ Party ~

Hi everyone back home,

thank you all again for all your lovely emails, texts, facebook & whatsapp messages, even phone calls...! Amazing!! I've got the best family & friends in the world !! :-) :-)

Unfortunately you couldn't be here and although I would have loved to celebrate my birthday with you guys, I couldn't go without a party, right?!?
So, I just had to party 'all night long' *sing*... or better all weekend long with my Australian family & friends... we had a ball! ;-)
There haven't actually been that many photos, as everybody has been to busy eating, drinking, chatting, throwing more firewood into the already biiig fire, singing and then more driiiiinkiiinnng...*haha*

It was a great birthday weekend =) thanks everyone!!

pre-bday-dinner-shots with birthday muffin and a '76 port

my birthday cakes *yumyum*

party people =)

 

... the aftermath... :p

~ It's cruising time ~

Hi friends,

straight after the fishing weekend, Danica and I headed to Sydney for a bit of sightseeing and most important, a 2-night cruise trip!! :-)
For Danica though, it was actually a work-trip with lots of conferencing... for me on the other hand, it was pure leisure and excitement! ;-)

Sydney sightseeing day @ the harbour and in the botanical gardens

Ready to board the ship...! :-)

View from our room in the harbour and on the open water

Simply perfect...!!

Cocktail time :-)

Exploring the ship... there are sports facilities like a rock climbing wall, mini-golf, basketball, a running track or roller skating. Also a shopping mall, a casino... and of course bars and even a night club!

... and don't forget all the pools and spas! ;-)

Saying goodbye to Sydney... with our hair blowing in the wind like crazy

Dinner-time...

... and party-time! =)

Once again: simply perfect...!!

Our cruise - The Royal Caribbean "Voyager of the Seas"

Good times... :-)

For all my friends back in Europe... x-mas times down under

~ Fishing weekend ~

G'day mates!

November started with a a simply brilliant fishing weekend! :-)

We were down on the Mornington Peninsula, the eastern side of Melbourne's bay. We went fishing in Western Port Bay on the first day and then on the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay.

1st day: Tracey caught the first snapper...

... then Vince got one as well ;-)

A Barracuda... and what it does to your rod... :p

Lovely warm & sunny day - smiley faces - beer - chillaxing - tasty dinner

2nd day: beachwalk @ Schnapper Point with cute aussie beach boxes

3rd day: sharky-time!!

Vince's gummy shark (ended up as very yummi fish & chips)...

... and Lachlan's Port Jackson shark (was allowed to go back because he's protected)

some atmospheric shots at the end...