Rhein in Flammen 2009

Yesterday was a great day! We went out in Rheinaue Park - Bonn, to have a barbecue and watch the fireworks. If you ever come around Bonn in May, look out for "Rhein in Flammen". It is one of the things you must see before you die.
450 000 people attended this year, as Radio Bonn reported today. What a splendid day!

Please share your opinion

Hi guys! I need your quick help on this one. It only takes a minute, and it's fun: I'm trying to participate into a photo competition, and I need your opinion on which photo looks better on a specific area.
Please leave a short comment, by choosing the BEST for each of the categories. You can also vote for each section using the links.
I need your votes until Monday evening, 30th of March!

Diying nature:
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Rich vegetation:
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Formerly desert area, not anymore
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Thanks a lot for your help!

Carnival in Cologne

Just a little after the Cologne carnival, I thought I should share some pictures.




I wonder a carnival like this would be seen in eastern European cities. Are the citizens of Bucharest for example ready to have a 3-day marathon with costumed people everywhere singing and dancing on famous Romanian hits?

Chocolate fondue

 

Today was the first time I've heard of chocolate fondue, and was really curious to try it.
How to you eat it: pick one fruit piece at a time, with a little fork, and dip it into a mixture of warm black and white chocolate. Then watch the small chocolate drops falling along your fruit, let it get a little cold, and then enjoy its taste.
Damn delicious!

German Punctuality

The purpose of this post is not to offend Deutsche Bahn in any way - I am sure they do a great job coordinating all those trains, but rather to inform anyone reading this how to actually plan their time when traveling in Germany.

5:30 AM - It's Monday again, and the alarm clock buzzes the beginning of a new week. I wake up ready to face it, happy that I live in a German country, where everything and everybody is Punctual. I know... that here, no matter where I am, German Punctuality applies. So, I want to also be Punctual. I want to arrive at 9:00 AM in Aachen, to get my student card from the Secretary, and afterwards, at 10 - to attend my lecture. Normally, this is a 90 km track, 2 hours time. I can do it.
With help from German Punctuality, I will catch the train at 7:01 AM, and will be in Aachen at precisely 08:48 AM.
6:00 AM - Shower, breakfast. German Punctuality works.
6:30 AM - Outside, air is fresh. It's still dark, in a cloudy cold and rainy Punctual day.
6:48 AM - I am at the train station, I buy the ticket. Train is announced to be 10 minutes late. I think I am still able to make it in time to catch the connection train - Koeln - Aachen. Few people wait silently on the platform.
7:01 AM - The billboard changes. 10 minutes suddenly change to 15 minutes. Hmm, no problem.. I am lucky to be young and can run to catch the connection in Köln. I'll do my best to be Punctual.
7:10 AM - 15 minutes become 20. OK, my connection in Köln is lost. I'll have to catch the next one, which will arrive half an hour later in Aachen. As of now I am no longer Punctual for my appointment.
7:20 AM - Billboard announces 25 minutes delay now. One employee of the Deutsche Bahn mumbles some bored excuses on a microphone. One old guy near me starts to dance something like a chicken dance.
7:25 AM - Train is still not in Bonn. You can barely move around the station, as now, the station is full of people which waited the train and 7:01, and also the ones who came for the 7:30 train.
7:30 AM - Train arrives, fully packed with people and with a delay of 30 minutes. The employee announces on the speaker that this train, although Regional EXPRESS, will have to stop in every stop on the way to Köln. That's 2 times more stops than usual.
7:40 AM - Still not at the first stop. The train advances a few kilometers, than stops for a pause. Probably this is what it takes to be Punctual.
08:10 AM - I am in Köln. Yeah!!!
Now where's the train? I look on the display on the train station. I find out that my next train which was supposed to be there at 8:20 AM will be 20 minutes late. All trains on the billboard were at least 15 minutes late. Ok, that adds up another 20 minutes to my wasted time.
8:40 AM - I step into the train from Köln to Aachen.
9:50 AM - I am finally in Aachen, almost 4 hours after leaving my house. Bummer, I won't be Punctual today. I quickly WALK to the secretary office, pick up my ID, and finally arrive at school at 11:00 AM. I enjoy the remaining half an hour left of the lecture. Wow, that's a deal: 4 hours travel for half an hour lecture.

It would be OK if this was an one-time case, but it happens 4 times out of 5 when traveling to Aachen and back. One good friend also had this happening to him, but in his case he didn't miss one lecture, but a whole flight. In return, he didn't receive at least one excuse, but had to buy a brand new plane ticket. That was at least 5 times more expensive than the one for the flight he lost.

Bungee jumping

A weekend or two ago I finally did something I wanted to try out for a lot of time. Together with Bianca and Cristi, we went to Stockhorn, near Interlaken to see how falling 135 meters really feels like. It's an interesting experience, filled with lots of existential questions and adrenaline rush.
They call it "bungy" here. Funny :)

Below, it's me in the picture, doing my bungee jump.
And here are some impressions from other people too:

Rheinfal and Rapperswil

Last weekend I got to see yet another amazing places in Switzerland. One was Rheinfall, a nice waterfall on Rhine river, and the other was Rapperswil, in the South of Lake Zurich. Like always, I took some photos.


More pictures here