A Meenzer in Scotland

The End - Back to Meenz

2010-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

this is my last entry in this BLOG! Yesterday after a long and strenuous journey my father and I arrived in Mainz. But I want to tell you what we have seen on our journey!

We had to catch a ferry, so we set out for Newcastle.

The start of the journey showed us; never trust your navigation device blindly. It leads you so often wrong! It set a route cross the country between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, beside St. Andrews on an interstate road. But we took the motorway around which was definitely faster! Near Edinburgh it drove us to a roundabout where we should change the motorways which did not exist anymore. Just as clever as its programmer!

On the half way between Edinburgh and Newcastle we made a stop in Berwick-upon-Tweed which is the northernmost English city on the island. Fourteen times the area of control changed between England and Scotland. Queen Elizabeth I. of England had a massive stronghold built. This can still be seen.

The guardhouse reminds me from another one in ... Berlin!

And the weather was of course great again!

After that it was just a short trip to Newcastle harbour. Here the Princess of Norway was already waiting for us!

It reminded me, why I did not like to take the ferry. It swung and swung. It's a wonder that I did not get sea sick.

After an early arriving in Amsterdam and a long journey over German motorways we arrived at last in Mainz.

What is left to say? It was a great year in and around Dundee. Sometimes pretty hard, but that's life. The people were really nice and their lifestyle was sometimes so much better than here in Germany! And the weather, well you see the last few photos, amazing! Although winter with the short days was a bit depressing. No sun! But that was just a short time. To go there was like one of the tutors said a crazy idea due to all the differences. And it was, but I would do it every time again! It was totally worth!

And now, start back in Germany, how did Scotland change me? I guess the future will show that!

Sören

P.S.: And a last video which fit quite good

Last Weekend In Dundee

2010-05-30T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I just want to give a feedback from my last weekend in Dundee, because tomorrow it's going back to Mainz.

So, what had all happened over my last few days?

Yeah, on Wednesday I beat Kev, the guy from the Games Workshop Store in my last Lord of the Rings battle on "Enemy's Terrain" *G* and leave Tolkiens country with a positive result.

On Friday I went to Fraser birthday party. It was great to see most of the guys a last time. During some nice drinks, we had some chats about, what we do in summer and if I had like my year in Scotland, what I did. After that we went to the Liquid and when they closed we had a last beer in the casino, while we were watching some guys playing blackjack or roulette.

Well, and yesterday my father arrived from his long journey with the ferry. So we went to a pub having nice dinner and a pint of beer and a whiskey. After that we watched the grand final of the ESC with the first German victory since 28 years!!

Today we had a walk through the city, doing some last shopping, got my model from the university and started packing the car!

And at last, even if it is a German car, I could drive on the WRONG side of the street! Actually it is not that difficult, than I thought!

Sören

WE ARE EUROVISION CHAMPION!!

2010-05-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

have you seen that?? Lena, no we are winner of the EUROVISION Song Contest. I can not believe it! OK, Lena and Raab had definitely a great song compared to countries like Spain, France and Russia. Oh my good they were so awful!! And almost every country gave us some points. Some just a few, but some gave us some really big points!! I am a bit sorry for the UK. 10 Points and the last place ain't fair. You were not that bad!!

Now, next year we got the big show. And I hope Raab is doing a great job again!!

Sören

And here is the winner!!

Elie

2010-05-26T03:14:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

due to the fact, that yesterday was such a nice day I went together with some course mates to Elie. Elie is a small fishing village 25 miles south from Dundee. After a short breakfast we first made a walk along the golf course

to the cliff where they had an arranged climbing route.

Some places where really tricky.

But in the end it was worth it.

After we took a route to the top of the hill, because on one place we could not continue due to a probably 2 meter deep part of see, we passed some old British WWII bunkers, we went back to the start.

After that we drove to the harbour. There we met some of the other students who had already started with the BBQ. But before we joined them some of us and me changed into our swim clothes and went to the pier, from where we jumped into the sea. It was cold, although not as cold as I had expected.

After the BBQ we played some ball games, lay in the sun and had a beer or cider.

On our way back, we stopped in another village for some fish and chips. At the coast they are always the best!!

Sören

Sweeney Todd

2010-05-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

tonight I have been in the Dundee REP Theatre where they showed the musical Sweeney Todd.

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street became quite famous due to Tim Burton's musical-movie with Johnny Depp. And the performance of the actors in theatre designed by Richard Murphy played and sang on a same high level. I was very impressed due the scene with the shaving duel with Pirelli. With the same elegance and speed David Birrell, who played Sweeney Todd, shaved his volunteer. The more industrial looking stage did not bother as well, because it played during the industrial revolution, so that was fine.

Beside the good play of the actors, the lightning was really good and you could every time feel the atmosphere of the scene. This all has been rounded off with live music from a small orchestra in the background!

Everyone who loved the film will do the same with the musical as well, and any other will be good entertained. And for a price of 8 Pound for almost three hours of high class entertainment, that's definitely cheap.

Sören

LOST - The End

2010-05-23T12:46:00.000-07:00

If you watch LOST, read this only if you already saw most of Season 6. This May contain SPOILERS

Hey guys,

at this point I have to come out as a big LOST fan. It is my favourite TV series over the last few years. And tonight at 7/6 C the journey of Jack and co. comes to an end in the last episode with felicitous title "The End". After 6 great years with usually more questions than answers, like what is the smoke monster and what makes the island so special, we will see what this was all about. Is it a Happy End, or does the Man in Black win and leaves the island? I read no theories about the end, because I did not what to destroy the suspense which grew over the last 6 years. I only watched one trailer in a moment of weakness and regretted it at the same moment.

Probably a lot of fans will not be disappointed what Cuse and Lindelof will serve us, but I guess it is going to be a great show with a lot of action, drama and feelings. I am sure that they did their best. And I guess Michael Giacchino, one of my favourite composers, will do a great job too. I hope that he gets a Grammy for that lovely and empathising soundtrack at the end.

This lovely cartoon from Joscha Sauer was placed over the whole season on my desktop.

See more of his cartoons on:

http://www.nichtlustig.de/main.html

and

http://www.notfunnycartoons.com/main.html

Sören

ADAS BBQ and the Degree Show

2010-05-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

the year it's coming to its end and so we all get a bit relaxed.

After getting our degrees yesterday, the ADAS (Assoication of Dundee Architecture Students) arranged a BBQ in the Magdalen Green to celebrate the end of the year

We had great weather, and by the fact that I forgot to use some sun cream I got a sunburn. But it's alright.

Today we met with our tutor Jamie in a beer garde near the School of Architecture ...

... before we went to the Degree Show in the Matthew building were selected students from the different years got some awards. It is also a chance for the students to show their family what they and the university did.

I am a bit dissepointed, that we don't have have something simulare back in Germany.

Sören

The Isle of Skye - Part II

2010-05-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I do not want to keep back the second part of my Skye report, so here it is!

After two days, which were a bit rainy, the Thursday was the first day with a lot of sun. And we needed sun. In the morning we drove to the Bearreraig Bay to collect some fossils.

Unfortunately we found nothing sensational. But we saw a shepherd who summoned his sheep down from the cliff.

After that, we just went across the street to our second destination of the day, the Old Man of Storr. The Old Man of Storr belongs to a rocky hill, the Storr, and is a 50 m weirdly shaped rock pinnacle.

Some may say even Obelix was here.

Anyway, this was our object of desire. And therefore we had to walk through a dark forest ...

... until we reached the foot of the Storr.

There, the hard walk started, but it was worth!!

Quaint, isn't it? On top of the Old Man was a raven's nest!

On the Friday we made a tour across the North of Skye.

Our first stop was Staffin, where we were looking for the dinosaurs footprints.

After that our next stop was the Trotternish Ridge, which is a range of hills, with an interesting form.

We took a hinking trail along this scene.

After our return to the car, our last stop was the Bornesketaig Gold Cave. On the way to it we saw a little highlander village. Actually it was a museum.

Then we finally arrived at the gold cave.

On the Saturday we went back to Dundee. This time we took the ferry.

But we made a break at the Urquhart Castle at the coast of Loch Ness.

We even saw the monster of Loch Ness. But it was so scary that I could not post it here. If you really want to see it, go to that link:

http://s7.directupload.net/images/user/100513/2dqsyks9.jpg

I will upload my photos in the next few days to this link:

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/184906/v4rWcHGFpG/0

Sören

Freedom

2010-05-11T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

since Monday afternoon I am free. After a long semester two I had my final presentation this Monday. I think it went pretty. I had some nice sheets and a really GREAT model (it just fit through the door and I needed to get a taxi). I could present my whole presentation without being interupted by the tutors. Good feeling! And I think I countered their questions quite good.

The only thing, which was a bit boring is, that my presentation was an hour later, because the previews presentations had overrun.

I later ended up with some of the others in a pub with a few pints, which we had earned!

Sören

Liverpool vs. Chelsea in 3D

2010-05-02T08:09:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

yes you read right. This time I report form Liverpool vs. Chelsea in 3D. Whilst you guys have to go to the cinema to watch a movie in 3D like Avatar, the guys here in Britain make progress. Sky started this April airing English Premier League Matches in the UK and the Republic of Ireland in 3D. Over 1000 pubs are already joining.

I heart about that last weekend, when Anastasia, Torsten and I were in Alice in Wonderland and saw the Sky trailer. But I was not sure if the quality could be the same on a TV like an a big screen. It can. It was really awesome.

The first winner on the screen is the ball. In the standard shot you can now always see where the ball ricochets. I have often some problems with that in 2D, not in 3D. You also get a more deep in the shot.

The second winners are close-ups. At least if there is a couple of people and the ball! This is really great.

My personal favourite shot is from the stands, when you see the spectators. It actually feels like being in the stadium. This is legen ... wait for it ... dary!!

There is only one I can say. Great job Sky!! This is one of the best things since a long time. And you can see that they using the real 3D technology, not like most of the Hollywood Studios, which just convert their 2D movies for a couple of hundred thousand Dollars and deliver us a second class 3D! Cameron was right!!

I can't wait to see the Bundesliga in 3D too. World cup would be fantastic too!

Sören

First HiRes Rendering for my Project

2010-04-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

after some test renderings for my project I just finished (after 18h, 25 min & 58 sec) my first High Resolution rendering. It's one of the toilets. Hope you like it.

Sören

Torsten back in Wonderland

2010-04-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

this weekend was a nice one, because my cousin Torsten came back for a visit, this time with his girlfriend Anastasia. And they were lucky, because their flight was one of the first which flew regular after the eruption of the Icelandic volcano.

After a lunch (Steak Pie), we went to the McManus Museum and in the evening to some pubs. We ended up in The Bank Bar, where they played live music. I love that!!

Whilst I had to do some work on Saturday, they went to Edinburgh.

But therefore I got a free Sunday. First we went together to the Celtic match in Dundee. OK, Dundee lost 0:2, but there was all we need. A second yellow card, a penalty kick, skirmish on the field and molesting fans. And this all by a nice sunny weather!

After that we took the bus to St. Andrews were we walked through the old city, along the cathedral and the Old course to the beach. After some Fish and Chips we went back home.

We ended the day with watching the new Alice in Wonderland from Tim Burton. I liked that one, with its dark Burton style!

Sören

The Isle of Skye - Part I

2010-04-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

sorry that my report is coming so late, but I had to focus a bit more on my dissertation and presentation. But now to Skye:

On Skye, Knut and I hiked the most of the time. At Easter Tuesday, we started our tour through Skye with a walk along the Fairy Pools at the basement of the Cuillin. Fairy Pools are natural pools which had been developed due to the movement of glaciers.

After that we visited the Talisker Distillery, the only Whiskey distillery on Skye.

The last destination on that day was the Dunvegan Castle.

And we also saw the famous cattles.

At Wednesday we went to the Neist Point Lighthouse.

There we walked along the cost, which was really nice, especially the geometry of the cliff. There we also saw young spiny lobsters.

After that we went to Loch Greshornish

After it started to rain, we went cross the road and used a shortcut through the boscage. This felt a bit like a mixture of LOST and The Lord of the Rings.

Next time I will report of the other two days on Skye and pictures of the monster of Loch Ness.

Sören

There can be only one

2010-04-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Knut and I arrived yesterday evening back in Dundee, by the fakt, that we had no internet I will post my reports over the next few days.

On Easter Sunday we went back to Glasgow where we joint one of the City-Tour buses. First stop was the School of Art. Unfortunately the Willow Tea Room was closed on Sunday, so we had to find another place for lunch. So, we took the next bus and left at our second stop, the Glasgow Green that is a park in the east of Glasgow. In the People's Place we had lunch.

After that we made a walk along the bank of the Clyde to the west of the Glasgow where the new BBC Scotland HQ from David Chipperfield and the Clyde Auditorium from Sir Norman Foster are located.

Fosters building was unfortunately closed, and although I got into the BBC building I was allowed to make pictures from everywhere except for the famous staircase right in the middle of the building!

There we took the next bus and left at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. Through the park there we went back to George Square.

The next morning we went with the car up to the Isle of Skye. But on our way there we made a stop at one of the most famous castles of Scotland, the Eilean Donan Castle. You all have seen it in the movie Highlander. There it was the castle of the clan of the MacLeods and it was one of the places I definitely wanted to see.

After that we went finally to Skye. What we did there will follow in my next report! But here is a little sneak peak!!

Sören

Grand Tour with my brother

2010-04-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

yesterday my brother Knut arrived in Dundee for our tour through Scotland. So I showed him on a nice and sunny day Dundee. In the evening we went to a party of Grant. Unfortunately it was not as many people there as hoped. But in the same pub we met Jamie and some other students from my year. So we joined them. And it was pretty cool, because later we changed the pub where they played live music. Awesome!

This morning we than went to Glasgow. On the way, we made a stop in Stirling to visit Stirling castle. It is nearly as beautiful as Edinburgh castle.

After the checked in into the hostel, we finally arrived the city centre of Glasgow. We parked next to the cathedral, which was of course our first stop a really nice Gothic church.

After that we made a small side seeing of Glasgow around the George Square. Then, we visited the second stop I missed last time, the "Lighthouse" from Mackintosh. A nice building, with a great view over Glasgow! After dinner, it was already late; we went to the cinema, in fact to the tallest cinema, which is also in the Guinness Book of Records!

Sören

April Fool's Day

2010-04-01T07:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

of course it was just a joke to April Fool's Day. I'm fine, my laptop is fine and it is a sunny day here in nice Scotland!

Sören

I QUIT!!

2010-04-01T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I just here ate the University and ... well ... I quit! I've got enough of this damn island and its strange people. And this morning the best happened! My foot interlocked with the cable of my notebook, it fell on the floor and is broken! Frack!! I mean, everything is now gone. My dissertation, my project, oh and my laptop!!

And than there is this massive stress here, every second week a review made me sleep less and I ate irregular and unhealthy. I just feel really sick. And there is nothing which makes me happy. I just want to go home again!!

By the fact, that my brother is coming tomorrow, I stay at least a few days longer. I mean that is something that makes me happy, but anyway, I just booked a flight back home at the 11th of April, together with my bro.

Today I'll phone my landlord and tell him, that I gonna leave! I miss Mainz, my family and all my friends!!

Sören

Barbour Up!!

2010-03-25T04:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

today is just a nice day, although it is quite rainy. But that is not that bad, because today I got my Barbour Beaufort Jacket. A nice waxjacket, which is perfect for this awful weather here at the moment. It took Barbour less than 2 months to produce it. "Great" job by the way!

Anyway, now I got it and it is mine!!

Doesn't look that awesome??

At this point, I have to thank the European Union, which had financed this jacket. Thank you!

And the jacket did not come to late, because next week my brother is coming and we are going to the Isle of Skye! And that means: "Barbour Up!!"

Sören

Dundee vs. Abertay on St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

this is probably a bit too late, but it took Grant almost a week, to host the photos I made on St. Patrick's Day.

So, what happened? Last week, during our hour on the Driving Range, Grant asked me, if I would like to join them on Paddy's Day. They were playing for the University of Dundee against the local rivals of the University of Abertay, which is also in Dundee!

We met at the Union and drove with one of the Universities buses to the Panmure Golf Club (http://www.panmuregolfclub.co.uk/). It was a really nice and sunny day. By the fact that my golf skills are not as good as theirs, I took part as the photographer. I joined the first group with Grant and Andy.

Of course Dundee won with 5:3 against Abertay. I mean those guys liked playing in the "sandboxes" aka the bunkers.

After 3 or 4 hours and 18 holes of teeing off, walking, putting and walking we arrived back at the club house were we started Paddy's Day with a cold beer.

Unfortunately Grant did not send me a picture of me in my fancy green shirt. I need to talk to him tonight! If I got it I will add it here!

After we went back to Dundee and a short dinner in one of the guy's flat we ended up in the Union. Although it was not as busy as on Halloween, there where still a lot of people! I guess the rest was already lying in their bed sleeping after drinking the whole day Guinness!!

Sören

Re-opening of the Dundee Art Gallery & Museum

2010-02-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

I am just back, from the re-opening of the McManus Museum. After two years of restoration it has been re-opened for public today. And I was there, and a lot of other people.

In it, history meets modernity!

They Play with light, colours and materials!

In the cafeteria, I meet an old man, James B S Mann. He is a true Dundonian. With him I joined the museum, and he told me a lot of stories about the exhibits and of Dundee's history and Scottish artists.

Sören

From the Trojan War, the Odyssey and the Armageddon

2010-02-20T02:10:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Oh boy, what a week! On Tuesday I told you of the Trojan attacks of my laptop. What happened after my last BLOG?

From The Trojan War:

Well, I went to Hugh, that's the IT guy from our department. He first tried to start with the last known configuration. This did not work. Then we uninstalled AVIRA and reinstalled a new Edition. And again, it did not work. The Trojans won, I could not break through their walls.

But I got a Trojan horse, the Windows recovery CD. OK this means, all my files would be gone, but what should I do.

From the Odyssey:

So I waited for the software which had to be sent to Dundee from Germany via DHL International Express! But unfortunately I had to leave the flat after 12 because I had to continue the work on my design and I could not just stay home and do nothing! It seemed that DHL came in the hour between when I left and my flatmate returned. But they did not leave an information, and if I had not called my mom to check the status I would not have any idea where it was. So I phoned DHL and said, that I want it to redeliver on Friday. I stayed the whole day in my flat, and no one came. So I called DHL again, and it turned out that they forgot my parcel. But they told me, that they definitely deliver it on Monday. When I heard that, I went crazy and insisted on a delivery at this weekend. So she spoke to a manager and they organised one of their employs who stays in Dundee to deliver it to me on his way home.

This time the mountain came to the prophet and Ithaca found me. I just hugged the guy when he came, because I was desperate as you can not believe it. So I was happy again. At the moment I install all the systems and hope that all will be fine again!

From the Armageddon:

Working in my room I can always see, what is happening in front of the pub on the other site of the street. And yesterday at 8 pm it was Armageddon! I mean I saw some street fights but yesterday, that was a new dimension. Police came with at least 6 and sprinters and arrested a lot of the people! That was hell!

Sören

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong!

2010-02-16T02:54:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

I just thought yesterday is a bad day and it can't get worst. I mean, I missed the most important day in the year "Rosenmontag". But then I got after some good reviews a quite bad one yesterday. But this is nothing, to things that happened in the later evening!!

Suddenly the Windows Security alert turned on, telling me that my system has infected. I shut down the Wi-Fi, and started Avira. But so often Windows said: "This application can not be executed, because avscan.exe (which is Avira) has been infected!" Avira found nothing, while the Windows Virus software found a couple of Trojans, which tried to connect me to some XXX-sites. I don't know from where I got this shit because I didn't use any homepage I haven't used for long time!!

Means I have to reinstall my system and loose all my files since my last backup, which was in September!

The only good thing is, that my computer my be a bit faster after that ;-)

Sören

Have a nice Rosenmontag

2010-02-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

Helau guys,

I wish you all a nice Rosenmontag. Celebrate Fastnacht until the cathedral shakes!! I am definitely going to miss it ;-(

Sören

What's wrong with these guys here?

2010-01-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

I'm just back from Tesco, to get some food for the weekend. It's rainy and there are 4 degree Celsius. While I was walking in pullover and coat, I suddenly stopped with an open mouth. There where a couple of girls which were wearing hot pants. I just thought: "What's wrong with these guys here? It's winter! And you ain't that hot!" In fact, some of them were as hot as Jabba the Hutt. I'm glad when I'm back in Germany. At least our girls know a bit more how they shall get dressed

Sören

I am back!

2010-01-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

I'm just back from Germany! So the story will be continued!

Sören

Merry XMAS

2009-12-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

I wish all of you and your families a very merry christmas. Enjoy the nice days.

And here are greatings from Santa's workshop

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/2eGct7SyaMY6AXOy

Sören

I'll be back!

2009-12-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

in a couple of hours I've to catch up my flight back to Germany. I'll stay there a month for Christmas vacation. Hope to see you there. But this isn't the end of this BLOG! With the words of the T-800: "I'll be back!" I'll be back in Dundee. And there will be more interesting stories from me in Scotland

Sören

Dundee United vs. Glasgow Rangers, Reloaded

2009-12-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

yesterday night was the rearranged match between Dundee United FC and the Glasgow Rangers. The weather was really good this time, cloadless heaven and not so windy like due the last time.

And this game had every thing, 3 goals (all for Glasgow), 2 balls leaving the stadion and one guy who was arrested by the police during the game.

Unfortuantely I was a little bit in stress during the last week, because of my review at the university. Nevertheless, I still had a lot of fun, because my cousin and Bundebruder Torsten came for a visit for the week. While I was during the day at the university drawing my CADs, he was visiting Scotland. And at the evenings we went together to the city to have fun.

Friday, after the review, Torsten and I visited together the Discovery in Dundee and went up to the 2 football stations, where I got the ticket for the Rangers game. Hope to see more famous faces.

Sören

P.S.: I can still beet him in beerboys *G*

Dundee Christmas Fair

2009-11-29T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho guys,

today on the first advent and reading of friends in Germany who are joining Christmas fairs, I got the first Christmas feelings of the year. So I went to the city today. There was this week a kind of Christmas fair. There were a lot of food booths with international fare and booths where you got all kinds of jumble.

I took this as a chance to have some lunch. I started with a German bratwurst. Awesome!! I mean some of the stuff which I had here was really good. But they can't make good sausages! And this one tasted really like a German one. After that I also tried a Kangaroo Burger and a portion of Paella, which was made by a Frenchman!

A bit freezing I was looking for a stand, where I could buy a warm drink. I just walked along the fair. I mean, I was sure I wouldn't find one which sold mulled wine. But I couldn't find anything. Therefore I turned back I started walking home. When I passed the last booths I couldn't contain myself. One of the stands sold mulled wine. Perfect ending! OK, it wasn't the best I ever had, but it was mulled wine. And that's what count.

At last I had a Christmas Pudding for tea time. Actually it tastes very good!

Sören

Glasgow

2009-11-22T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

this week I said to myself "You need to see more from Scotland!" So I booked a ticket for one of the earliest busses to Glasgow on Saturday morning. This ride took about two hours.

When I arrived in Glasgow I just walked straight to the George Square, the main place of Glasgow. Mirjam and Karla told me that there will be busses for city tours. And they were there, but they weren't driving so soon. I had to wait for an hour. But that was fine, because I was hungry and started looking for a Café. In the rest of the time I was just walking through the city centre, making a lot of photos.

At half ten, I took one of the busses and started with the tour. It's a really cool thing, because you buy a ticket and can leave the bus on several points, visit what ever you want and just get into another bus.

I took this chance to leave the bus after an hour of the tour to visit Charles Rennie Mackintosh's School of Art, which is of such an importance for architects. The representative of the Arts and Crafts movement built the school from 1897 - 1909 which is still in use. The guide told us, that there will be a big celebration in this December, on the occasion of 100 years completion. It is a so beautiful building and it was a shame that we weren't allowed to make photos. For that reason I sometimes fell back to make at least a few photos.

After the visit it was already lunch time. Therefore I went to another building designed by Mackintosh. The Willow Tearooms, which are less then five minutes away from the School of Art. There is a nice ambience there and it was interesting to sit o a replica of Mackintosh's famous chairs. The Scottish Chilli and the Earl Grey tea I had were really good.

After that I continued my ride with the tourist bus and it was funny to see that it was the same one I had left a few hours before. Than back at George Square I went to the Gallery of Modern Art.

By the fact that it's getting dark around 4 pm all the lights on the street were switched on, especially the Christmas decoration. A bit pathetic was to my opinion the Christmas fair. I mean each German village has a bigger one.

When I left the museum I decided to go shopping and this one of the big points for Glasgow. You can spend a lot of money in these untold thousands of shops. I was first looking for Dichloromethane, which I use to glue my architecture models. But I couldn't get it anywhere in Dundee. So I went into a big art store, with the hope to get it there. But they also didn't have it. So I just bought something I thought this may also work. On my further way I passed a model railway store. With my last hope I went in there, and they had it! God save the model-makers!!

All these Christmas lights remind me, that I also have to get some Christmas presents. And I got some.

Oh and I saw these guys, which we also have in Mainz, but I can't remember where they are?! That's Crazy!

After a dinner in a nice and really good Sushi Bar I took the bus back to Dundee!

More photos are here: http://www.directupload.net/galerie/150580/ahf28PRzTt/

Sören

Scottish Breakfast

2009-11-15T03:53:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

thanks to the low-pressure area over Scotland, we have a nice day, today. The fact, that I have a closing door and opening window since yesterday, and got a good response to my design this week, made this to a perfect Sunday.

But when I woke up I had real tummy rumbles. So I said: "Let's have a Scottish Breakfast to start through the day!"

Here are the ingredients I bought for this breakfast:

White beans in tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, an egg, mushrooms, bacon, sausages, Scottish butter, toast and haggis!

And here is the result. After that I was full up.

I am sorry for you in Germany, my friends. While we have nice weather through the low-pressure area, you have a cloudy weather. Hope you still have a nice day.

Sören

5th Season in Scotland

2009-11-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

or I shall better say HELAU GUYS! Yes, the 5th season is finally back! And where am I? In Scotland! A land without any form of carnival! Boring! But you can also celebrate on your own.

What do you need for a small party? Music! So I checked the internet for some carnival songs. On Musicload I found this CD

Unfortunately I couldn't download any songs from Musicload, because I don't live in Germany. Damn it! And now it's going to be funny. I checked just for fun the Amazon.co.uk MP3-Store and they had it in store. I just downloaded it and was so happy. In fact Amazon was even cheaper.

What else do you need for a party? Oh yeah, a party pipe. So, on my way to university I made a small side trip to Tesco to get some of them. I really regret that I couldn't get a clown's nose.

The only annoying in my plan was that I totally forgot the alcohol. I had no beer or wine. Last one wasn't that bad, because the Britons make bad Weck (rolls) and Woscht (sausages). But it wasn't that bad, because I had a workshop starting at 11 UK time. Means I just had 49 minutes to celebrate. But it was a lot of fun and some of my fellow students sat there and just grinned seeing a silly German!

Sören

Sports Union Dinner

2009-11-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

a few weeks ago, I got an e-Mail from Stuart, the leader of the University Golf Club. There'll be a dinner in November, which was always a lot of fun. I just thought "Sounds great!" And it was a chance to Suit Up!

The dinner was in a hotel, which is just 500 meters away from my flat. Awesome! But once again, there was a big building site. Damn it! So I had to walk all around the site, to get to the hotel!

In the lobby, to my surprise, I met two fellow students Hannah and Tom. It was nice to talk to some known faces before my club mates arrived. From there we saw the firework to mark the Gunpowder Plot.

We've been served a three course meal. And everyone got a half bottle of wine. It wasn't the best meal I ever ate. In fact the soup from the university's cantina was compared to the "Roast Parsnip & Five Spiced Pear Soup" even better. And the dessert, a"Fudge Parfait with Confit Orange" tasted like it was from the nearest Tesco. But at least the pork from the main course "Grilled Ayrshire Port Loin, Roast New Potatoes, Glazed French Beans, Marmalade Carrot & Apple Jus" was fine, even though the beans have been a bit to crispy for my taste.

Anyway, after the last course the organiser opened the dance floor. Apart from the dance on a standing point by moving your arms they were also dancing Cèilidh, which is a traditional Gaelic social dance. At the first time I just stand there and watched them to get an idea how this dance works. I'm still not sure how this works. By the second time someone pushed me to the dance floor. And after some minutes I started to understand the rhythm and the procedure. I really enjoyed it, even though dancing isn't my world. But I realised that you have to be in a good condition if you want to dance Cèilidh. I nearly ran out of breath.

We had a lot of fun, and I learnt some interesting new drinking games and I got in touch with the Cèilidh.

Sören

Dundee United vs. Glasgow Rangers

2009-11-01T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

what's the best thing you could do after a party all night long? Yes, football. And there was a really promising match today in Dundee. Dundee United against the Glasgow Rangers. Awesome!! The only problem, I had no ticket. But when I watched through the window, I saw rain. So I said "There should be some free stands.

Therefore I left my flat to go to the stadium. When I left my flat I saw that in the meantime construction workers had ruptured the street.

When I arrived at the station I asked one of the stewards if there are still tickets. He wasn't sure and told me where the ticket store is. But I hadn't found it immediately, because it was just a small hole in the wall of the stadium. Anyway, before I found it I found an old man who wanted to sell one of his tickets. I was lucky. I just paid 20 Pounds for a ticket which usually costs 25. And the seats were really good. Close to one of the goals, in the Rangers block. An we were well sheltered from the rain.

In the first half-time we saw an exciting match. Dundee was really trigger and two times only the crossbar saved the Rangers from a leeway. But in the 29th minute the Rangers gained in lead by a goal of Steven Davis.

But the rain was really heavy, the ball stuck on the lawn and very often players just slipped on the lawn. For that reason referee Mike Tumilty abandoned the match at half-time due to the waterlogged pitch.

So, actually I still haven't seen a whole British football match, only the half. Damn it! Anyway, it was still really cool to see the game and feel the atmosphere. Maybe I'll go to another one when it's nice weather. The next home game is against Celtic.

Sören

Halloween

2009-11-01T02:56:00.001-08:00

Hey guys,

tonight was the night, Halloween, the night of the living dead. Usually Halloween isn't my thing, because we have Fastnacht and the hype of Halloween in Germany of the last years is gone. But I said, well it's one of the most important days here, so join it.

Then I started thinking how to masquerade. I thought Halloween must be scary, so what's scary? Maybe something living dead?! First I got the idea of a mummy, but then Charlotte, a fellow student, meant I could also go as a zombie. And I said: "Well, I have this awful flannel shirt, which is already a Halloween costume!"

So, I went to the joke store, which is just two houses away and got some stuff. Make up, false teeth and faked wounds. I think the store had yesterday the highest volume of sales, because there were so many people that some of them had to wait outside of the store. Okay, it's a really small store.

In the evening I started to adorn myself. I always put a lot of details in my costumes, so I hope you like it.

In the later evening I went to the house of Jill and Andrea. They made a small Halloween party, before we all went to the other big parties. Last week I got fortunatelya one of the last tickets for the Halloweenparty in the Union. And it was good that I got one, because if I hadn't I wouldn't got in. And I still had to stand in a lane over a quarter of an hour, to get in. It was so busy there. Amazing!

It was a cool night. I had a lot of fun, but still prefer Fastnacht. Now I need to find a green suit.

Sören

Concrete Workshop

2009-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

today we had a concrete workshop at the university. We were put in groups of 5 to 6 people and make three cubes of the edge length of 15 cm and a base of 40 to 40 cm. In my group were Frances, Graeme, Lauris, Ally and Dave. We had a brainstorming this week, what we want to do and how to do it.

We decided it may be a good idea to get light through the concrete. So we put some sticks of balsa wood in the form, which we will remove or burn after the concrete is set. In the second one we put some sticks of green and transparent plastic, which shine when they are in contact with the light. And in the third one we put copper tubes. In the base we gave some green colour and hope that it blurs with the concrete.

The concrete itself was produced on a very old way, just by handwork.

Even it was graft, we had really fun this day and there were some really cool ideas. My favourite was the yellow of lemon smelling concrete.

Sören

Imagines

2009-10-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

finally I was able to download the photos of my Flash Card and I edited the last view reports.

I'll also upload much more photos to the following links over the weekend:

Krakow: http://www.directupload.net/galerie/144825/HkU4jWrd25/

Auschwitz: http://www.directupload.net/galerie/144826/TBZSZRsIWJ/

Sören

There and Back Again

2009-10-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I just returned from Krakow to Dundee today. Unfortunately I still couldn't get the photos from my card, but I hope to manage it next week!

Sören

Auschwitz

2009-10-17T03:47:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

yesterday, we've been in Auschwitz I and II (Birkenau), the biggest Nazi concentration camp. We went there by train. Sometimes I felt very nostalgic. We were in a really old train which shook and joggled us.

Then we arrived in Oświęcim and after a ten minute walk we arrived Auschwitz I. There we made a tour with one of the guides there, who showed us also Auschwitz II. It was really amazing and oppressive. I knew that it was big, but I had never thought that it so gigantic. We walked along the famous railway in Birkenau and after five minutes, we were just in the middle. There was an original waggon from that time, which was given the museum by Germany just 3 days ago.

Sören

Measure Drawing

2009-10-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

today, we had to work in groups. Yesterday, the tutors had formed, in a very complex system, 4 different groups which should compose of the different tutor groups. For some reason our group (17 persons) contains of 9 of my tutor group.

Anyway, our group got the biggest area. A part of Grodzka Street from the famous arcade buildings to the baroque Church St. Peter's and St. Paul's.

I think we worked very effective and won't have big problems with the finish in Dundee!

Sören

Snow in October

2009-10-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

did I said it was cold yesterday? Today, when I woke up and I was really agape. It was snowing!

Nevertheless, we had to go to our trip. At least we were visiting some museums. We started at the Jewish quarter where we went to the museum near the synagogue.

Then we went to the building of the Department of Architecture of the University of Krakow. It is in a very historic building, the Oskar Schindler Factory. Amazing! There we had a lecture of Krzysztof Ingarden, one of the professors of university. He was taking about some of their projects like the Tourist Information Building in Krakow or the Polish Pavilion of the EXPO 2005 in Japan.

After the lecture we just walked through the building, which is also used by the Department of Arts. There were some nice pictures at the walls.

At last we visited the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Techonology at the coast at the Vistula. A really fascinating architecture.

Sören

Nowa Huta

2009-10-13T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

it's the second day in Krakow and it's getting colder.

Today we went to Nowa Huta, the workers part of Krakow. About 200.000 people are living in Nowa Huta. And I couldn't believe it, there it was even colder, than in Krakow. I was freezing even trough I looked like an onion. In Nowa Huta we went from the Lenin Steelworks to the Ronald Reagan Central Square, where we visited different buildings and places especially some churches.

After our return to Krakow and a small lunch we went back to the main square to visit some places we have to analyse this week in groups.

On my way back to the hostel I had to see something scary. Two of the trams had had an accident. One of them jumped of their rail. And we were taking one of them 4 hours ago 8-O

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First Day in Krakow ... and it's rainy!

2009-10-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I just want to give a short report of today. Today we met at the Rynek market, which is the heart of the old town, at 9 am. We were parted in three groups, each with a tutor to explore th city. Unfortunately it started raining at 11 and all museums were closed on Monday.

For that reason the tutors said, "Enjoy yourself. We meet at the square once a hour and if it stops raining we go on with our tour."

After a lunch in a restaurant facing the German secretariat-general the rain stopped. It was about 14 o'clock. Then David showed us some nice parts of the town including the oldest remaining building of the university. In the courtyard of the building David started telling something about the university, but suddenly there was music. It was "Gaudeamus Igitur". There was a clock with some statues marching th the music. Really nice.

Tomorrow we will visit Nowa Huta!

Photos will be here next week. I found a USB interface, but it seems that this computer is not fast enough for this exercise!

Sören

Leaving Scotland, Arriving in Poland

2009-10-11T04:57:00.000-07:00

Cześć facet,

that was Polish and means "Hey guy"!
You may wonder, why I speak in Polish? It's simple! I'm in Poland, or more precisely I'm in Krakow. But what do I do in Krakow? It's simple again, I'm on a study trip with my course year!

Unfortunately the plane started at 7:10 am, and there is no bus or train so soon to Edinburgh Airport. Damn! What did I do. Something a lot of people may have done in their lives. I slept at the airport. At least I tried and it didn't really work. You don't believe how many people there are at an airport at night. Even all the stores closed between 9 and 10. Then they started cleaning the hallways. And then, when you are close to sleep, there is a woman who asks you if you are taking one of the early flights and when you need to get up. Nice woman, but too active ;-) And at last, when you are close to returning to sleep, suddenly there is music from the next coffee store between 2 am and 2:30 am. But it still doesn't open.

So I decided not to sleep, take one or two coffees and try to sleep in the airplane. In this case, I was really lucky. When I came to the gate, there where a lot of people, but lucky me, they where all in the wrong queue. Oh well, who can read has definitely an advantage!

Having arrived in Krakow in rain, we went to our hostels. I had some problems to find mine. Because I left my directions at home. Frak! But with some help I finally found it. It's a really nice flat and I have my own room, because there is no one else *G*

Sören

One Month in Scotland

2009-10-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

now I'm here in Scotland over a month and I feel really good. Even though I have nearly been blown away by the storming wind we had in Dundee today.

But what happened in the meantime? This week we had a German visitor, Prof. Heribert Hamann from my University in Mainz. He was just on a short visit of the partner university and us three.

Then we had our first presentation of our group analysis in front of the whole year and the tutors. It was a hard day from 9 am until nearly 5 pm. Of course we were the last group. Frak!

And at last I joined a, for me quite common, way of drinking beer. In a "Boat Race" two teams drink the beer in front of themselves as fast as they can and put their glass over the top oftheir heads. Each of the team drinks half a pint and the last, the anchor, dinks a whole pint. My team took the fact that I was from Germany as a reason that I had to be the anchor.

Unfortunately we didn't win. There were two teams which were really fast. And we had to face them both. Damn! We won the first one.

I hope I'll get some photos from that night. It was really fun!

Sören

My first golf lesson

2009-09-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I'm just back from my first golf lesson with the University Golf Club. Therefor we drove with the bus to the Balumbie Golf Course outsite of Dundee to tee of some golf balls at the driving range.

It was really nice to be their and lucky me, Andy one of students from my group was there as well. And it's proved, that Andy is a really good player. He and another good player showed me and a girl of our golf group some nice tricks.

After our return to Dundee University we went to a pub called "Templelane" which is close to the university and seems to be the constant of golf and tennis players. There we drank some cocktails a a bit of whisky and chat about the evening and got to know each other.

Funny thing by the way. There were also some other Germans. But we all said: "Let's talk in English!" :-)

Sören

First week is over

2009-09-20T02:37:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

the first week is over, and we started straight with full speed. We were separated in 5 groups of 14 students. Our exercise: Analysis of a part of Dundee were our own design should be placed. Working together with this group is really nice and we got a really good start. We built an 1:500 model of the area and decided which points are important for our analysis. Even Jamie, our tutor said, that we are on a good way, and we may manage it without any problems.

Here are some pictures I made during the last week

Orlaith, Sammy, Sophie and Gabriella (from left)

Jill, Sammy, Gabriella, Sarah, Magnus, Andy (from left)

There are Olly, Ally, Ciaran, Dave, Blair and me as well.

Sören

St. Andrews

2009-09-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

yesterday afternoon, after some bureaucratic matters, like getting the study card or visiting the ERASMUS office, I decided to make a visit of St. Andrews. St. Andrews is the city with the oldest Scottish university. So I took the bus to the city where Prince William studied, which took less than half an hour from Dundee. In St. Andrews are beside the university also some other very interesting places like the cathedral from 1160...

... with it's graveyard ...

... or the the castle ...

... as well as the Old Course.

It was a really nice day there. My flatmate, who works in a hotel in St. Andrews, showed me all those nice places.

There are more photos of the day in this nice place on

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/137084/T339OSBjJ2/0

Sören

Such a nice day

2009-09-07T10:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

today was matriculation at the university. So I had to stand up soon. At 8 o'cklock!! :-)
The university building may not be the most beautiful building but is has a nice view to the Tay. And on the other site of the road, there is a nice Pub.

Back to topic: There I met Neil, Dundees manager of the exchange programme. He's a real nice guy. He brought me in contact with Jamie, a third year student who showed me the whole building. And more than I found myself.

After a small chat, I said: "Well! It's a sunny day ... let's make some photos. Here are a few of them!

There's wast as well!

More photos are on:

http://www.directupload.net/galerie/136402/J6r8wsUwmy/0

Sören

... and Welcome Scotland

2009-09-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

just wanna left some words about my arrival. That was really relaxed. Ok the weather wasn't fine on Sunday, but since yesterday wo have sunshine. Bu there's a really awful story. It's always told that Scots are avaricious. I don't think so, but their cash points are. One of the ate the bankcard of my father. Of course we got it back, but I don't think that I'll ever catch up some money their.

Today I moved in my room. And after a short clean up I feel confortable. Room is bigger than I thought, and I got some good views form my desk! May not be a 5 star hotel, but it might be worst.

Sören

Goodbye Germany...

2009-09-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

just got internet today, so sorry I couldn't BLOG a single word. So what happend meanwhile? Last Sunday after a very short night, Thank you Bros., I took my plane to Scotland. When I entered the gate, which was an hour before flight, Rynair startet boarding. I said, "Woh, a Rynair flight without any problems!" ... But of course it wasn't ... After 2 or 3 minutes they had boarded nearly the half, but they all went back, because our plane wasn't finished. They all needed to stay behind the barrier like chickens in their cage. Lucky me, I wasn't boarded yet and could take a seat. Those many people led to the next. They were so many people that the door to the airfield had to stay open. And that led to a very loud alarm because the door stood open. Unlucky me, I knew what I had forgotten, "Ohropax".

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And so it begins ... A Meenzer in Scotland, my BLOG

2009-08-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

I do it. Blogging. I decided do make a blog, that all my friends should know what I do here in Scotland. Far away from Mainz. For all of you, who don't know where I'm going, I'm going to Dundee, at the Firth of Tay. To study the next few months here at the University of Dundee.

But this may be enough for the moment.

Sören