Fiji :)

Hi all,

we are back in Australia :) We had an awesome time in Fiji - 8 days NO mobile, phone, internet, TV, news or any connection to the outside world. Just an island, some natives and other guests, lots of beach, sunshine, ocean, diving, snorkelling, relaxing and eating. Just nice.

Please check out our pictures on Flickr or Facebook and also the dive video that I have compiled from my dives.

We can only recommend such an experience to everyone - it is really good to switch off, think, read and just relax. You'll come across many funny and entertaining things on an island and you may get back in touch with nature a bit more.

Greets from down under.

M&A

Diving and co

Hi all,

trying to keep up with the blog here for once :) Latest news and developments from down under are in a nutshell:

• Job for Mike is not getting better - more and more people are leaving and the fun/motivation gradually goes with it ... lets see what happens but it is certainly becoming more and more frustrating.
• We are about to embark on our trip to Fiji - Mana Island to be exact. This is going to be very interesting - 8 days on a tropical island in the middle of no where with not much on or around it. Just a of quiet time, beach, sun and hopefully some time to finally switch off and relax.
• Oh yeah - and we booked our trip to good old Germany - on the 18 of December we hoping on the A380 and heading back home for a couple of week - pencil that down in your calendar - we have many stories to tell and we want to meet you all while we are in Germany.
• Life in Manly is as good as it get - the weather is awesome, surf is up, lots of get togethers and events happening - all good. The beach volleyball season is somewhat coming to an end. We only have two more tourneys (out of 10) left - one being next Sunday and the other one - the big NBVA Championships with the end of season party on the 24 of April. Raf and myself have been working extremely hard to make that the biggest event on Manly beach in quite a while - we got some sponsors lined up, players tops and grand stands down at the beach :) it will be something to remember (as long as the weather holds).
• Mike is also in the middle of this scuba diving course - i.e. the PADI open water diver certification. Next Saturday is the final exam and then I can go diving :) :) That is pretty damn awesome, especially cuz we have some many famous and beautiful dive sites just in front of our door steps. Pity that it took me more than two years to finally get into and and thanks again to Andrea for making that a xmas present. Bull Shark feeding in Fiji - here I come :p :p (as long as it is not me on the menu) - followed by Whale Shark diving in Exmoth, WA in 2011.

I guess that summarises most of the fancy important news from the other side of the world. Happy to hear from you and looking forward to see hopefully many of you in December.

Take care,

M&A

February 2010

Hi all,

same old same old - right :) Summer in Sydney was awesome for most of it - we had one heat wave after another with a lot of humidity and this seems to slowly come to an end now. The last couple of weeks were backed with volleyball, parties, a bit of traveling and work of course (well, keeping it easy atm).

A whole bunch of us went to Melbourne to play in the Victorian Open event and do a bit of sightseeing of course - some picture are on Andrea's Facebook profile (in case you are interested). I have been absolutely horrifically slack with updating Flickr or uploading any pictures.

What else is new - we are just looking into getting ourselves a nice little apartment here in the area so we finally don't have to pay rent anymore and we just have booked our holiday to Fiji - hell and I swear that I'll bring my camera for that - so stay tuned for some nice pictures by the end of April.

That shall be it for now. Hope all is well with you guys and let me know if you are in the area by accident - We shall be back in Germany for a visit in December this year.

Cheers,

M&A

Merry Xmas & Happy New Year

Hi all,

yes - it has been a long time since the last entry - nearl

y half a year. We suppose that most of our digital life these days happens on Facebook and many of our friends around the world joined up already. So, if you are actually following this blog and wonder why there are so lil updates it is

exactly due to that - Not that we want to force anyone to join Facebook but atm it is the ideal platform to stay in touch.

What happened since our big last trip which ended in August this year ... lots of work, Andrea took on a new role which requires slightly more time than before and I had to put in more time too - so essentially we had a pretty low key life for the last 5 months - work, running the volleyball club and enjoying life on the weekends as much as possible. The recent highlights certainly have been a cpl of BBQs with our friends and the infamous Manly Santa Claus Pub Crawl :)

We are both finally on holidays and this time we decided not to travel but just stay in

Manly and enjoy the beach and life there for once without and hassle. We had a big Xmas BBQ yesterday with a lot of our friends and we are going to the next one in about an hour - Tough life - right :p

New Years is gonna be big this time - we were invited to a NY BBQ at my bosses place which by accident overlooks the harbour bridge and the opera house - so finally we are able to see the world renowned Sydney fireworks first hand and upclose - stay tuned for some videos and pictures.

Alright, that's it in a nutshell - hope y'all are good - take care and let me know if you make the long journey to OZ land anytime soon.

M&A

Around the world - Part II

Hi guys,

yes, it's been another while but we have been pretty much on the road for about 7 weeks - circling the globe in that time. We started of from Sydney to Perth, WA - about a 5 hour flight - from there we got a rental car and drove all the way to beautiful Margaret River which another famous wine region in Australia. We stayed there in a cosy nice little boutique hotel in Yallingup and explored the whole area from there. The landscapes, coastline and wildlife was just absolutely stunning and breathtaking (sometime because of too much wind ;) We got the last gifts for Germany obviously some wine and nuts before heading back to Perth for one day. The hotel there was slightly different to nice lil place we had the days before - much to the not liking of Andrea - eventually we slept there for a couple of hours before exploring the city a bit more and heading of to the airport for our next flight to Munich, via Singapore and London Heathrow T5.

About 28 hours later we finally arrived in Munich and got picked up by our parents right away. The weather was much as what one would expect from a German summer - Rain, foggy and wet - buuhhhh. Nevertheless it got slightly better over the two weeks we have been there. We both had a great time seeing the family and all the friends again - lots of catching up and celebrations (uhm - me got 30 years young) on top of this we had the big famous medieval festival "LaHo" going on which provides the absolute best atmosphere Landshut can potentially be in. It is so easy to see all the people you know, chat, eat, drink and just have fun. After two intense family, friend and old class/uni mates weeks we were due to head to the USA (first time for Andrea). Starting of in Munich via Heathrow (toss in an unexpected night due to a missed plane - still strong dislike@BA) and a couple of hours later we finally touched down in Newark, NJ.

We rented a nice apartment at Park Ave right in the middle of Manhattan to explore and experience NYC. I just loved being back in the city and gazed at everything I haven't seen in years - happy to be there again. Andrea was also quite overwhelmed by the shire size, differsity and atmosphere of the city. We managed to catch up with Annalisa, Jonaliza and Don in the five days we were there. Strolling through the city was the choice of exploring with occasional ferry rides to Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. Central Park in summer is just a dream and enjoying the awesome food in China Town and Little Italy is a must anytime one is in NYC. There are definitely too many impressions to do this place justice so I just encourage to go ;) Kicking of our in the end nearly 4500 mile drive with a nice and comfy Ford Escape in Jersey City, making our way to Princeton, Philly and Washington - lots of sightseeing, friends, food and history (Smithsonian’s are just awesome). After the first 900 miles we finally made it to Russ and Stan in Columbia, SC. Being back in Cola and having a hit with the boys was really nice and reminded me of the good old times when I used to live there. We also chucked in a trip to Charleston and the beach - again lots of food, malls and shopping ;)

Next we headed on towards Orlando - Disney World - 2 days in these theme parks. Andrea loved it and I checked it of as "been there, done that". I have to admit it is impressive and pretty nice what they have put up there however it would definitely not be my first choice if someone would ask me where to spend my time. Well, due to that fact Andrea had to put up with a brief stop at the Kennedy Space Centre ;) which she actually enjoyed a bit. Next up - the drive to Key West. Leaving Orlando and heading onwards to the keys with a brief stop in Miami - the 100 mile drive through the keys is quite scenic and breathtaking - not sure if I would really want to live there as it is remote and hot/humid. Nevertheless, Key West is a lovely little place with a nice vibrant shopping mile and the snorkelling along the reef was awesome. This section would conclude our trip on the East Coast - up next the flight from Miami to San Fran.

American Airlines - a synonym for customer service and friendliness - NOT; anyhow, we made it to San Fran and realised it was quite cold there despite the fact it was summer. The city itself is absolutely lovely - we definitely could have spent more time there just to wander around and enjoy the place. Seeing the fog roll in firsthand is pretty impressive :) After two days we got our next rental car - Kia Optima - not as nice and spacious as the previous one but it also brought us from A to B. We started of going down south on highway 1, right along the pacific coast. I can now definitely confirm that this bit is certainly one of the most scenic drives I have ever made - especially the part around the Big Sur with it's up and downs, rough shorelines and beaches together with the blue sky and ocean and occasional clouds coming through. We went on the PCH till about Morro's Bay and moved then over towards Cupertino - Apple Land :) Unfortunately the company store was close on the weekend so we had to move on and decide if we come back later. Next stop: Tulare - located about an hour away from the Sequoia National Park we managed to get an affordable and nice hotel that had all amenities we required. Being so close to the park we spend one day there enjoying the unbelievable big sequoias and breathtaking views of the hills around us. I dedicate this part to my granddad that passed away last year and who tough me a lot about nature and how we should treat and respect it - looking at those massive large trees that stood there since a couple of thousand years is just amazing and makes you realise how small we are compared to mother nature and also how much of the beauty out there we have already destroyed or damaged in such a way that it will never be the same - Granddad, I wish you could have seen this.

After some discussions we decide to take the burden upon us and drive all the way back to Cupertino to get some much anticipated apple gear - having done so we went straight down Interstate 5 to LA to check out all those famous beaches: Malibu, Venice, Manhattan and Hermosa. Definitely impressive and just massive compared to everything I know - not to mention that there are hundreds of beach volleyball courts all along and everyone enjoys a good lifestyle. Tom was so nice to guide us around for two days and also take us to little festival in Santa Monica - awesome :)

I guess this little story describes our 6 1/2 weeks outside of Australia and leave us with these conclusions:

- Enjoyable time (and the AUD to USD exchange rate stayed in our favour)
- Andrea bought the whole A&F catalogue
- I have seen more Malls from the inside than I would ever liked
- We ate too much (but it was soooo good)
- Apples are addictive and motivate you to do crazy things
- Fog can really "roll" in
- Temperature can vary greatly within a 1h drive
- Curvy roads are nothing for a weak stomach ;)
- Trees can get unbelievable big and old
- Venice Beach is a freak show
- There can be more than 50 permanent beach volleyball courts in on spot
- Friends will be friends and unfortunately I haven't seen everyone I wanted to ...

Cheers,

M&A

Around the world

Hi there :)

As we did not update the blog for a while I will do that by telling you a bit about our little around the world trip.

We started of with a couple of days in Perth / Margaret River. Stunning landscape & fantastic wine :)

We flew to Germany and had a great time with Family & Friends. Thank you!!! It was great to catch up and see you guys after such a long time.

We also enjoyed the medieval festival in Landshut and I was happy to get some Bavarian food ;)

After two weeks in Germany we started our trip in the USA. Our first stop was in New York. This city is amazing - I loved it. It is perfect if you like good food & shopping :))

We travelled down the East Coast and stopped in Charleston, Princeton, Philadelphia and Washington before we had some fun in Disney World / Orlando ;) ... and later on in the Kennedy Space Centre.

It was lovely to drive along the Keys.

We spent the last two days of the East Coast in Miami. We did not see much from the city itself, but we spent a bit of time at Miami Beach. It is really beautiful there.

I immediately fell in love with San Francisco. The style of the city is somehow unique. I loved the colored houses as well as the traditional cable cars.

The city has definitely a lot of charm. The drive along Highway No 1 was amazing. Long & beautiful beaches and a stunning coastline.

One of the most scary moments was when I bumped into a little bear in Sequoia National Park. Thank god it was not hungry, it was just looking for some desert and I was apparently not sweet enough ;)

Of course we made a little detour to stop by the Apple Headquarter on our way to Los Angeles. This is given when you are traveling with an IT guy ;)

Los Angeles was the last destination. I would not necessarily need to spend a lot of time in downtown (for my taste way to touristy). The beaches however were soooo nice. We visited Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica & Venice Beach.

As time flies the 6 weeks were over quickly. If you wanna see more have a look at Mike's & Andrea's Pics.

All in all it was an amazing trip & we had a great time.

We arrived safe & sound in Manly and had a warm welcome ... now back to real life ;)

Take care!

Cheers,

M&A

Time flies ...

Hi all,

wow - it's mid June already ... how time flies. Amazing. My sister was just in Australia for about 3 months and now she is back in Germany. Many stories to tell and many more experiences to share ;)

The beach volleyball season is also over and guess what - for the 3 time now in 1 1/2 years the courts at Manly beach have been washed away by a big swell over several days - but never so severely as this time. This means we have to wait for at least 2 or 3 months before we get them back and before every one can play again ... in the mean time it is back to portable nets along the beach. As always check out the latest pictures either on Flickr or on Facebook.

Work's been really busy as well but hey - even despite the crisis there have been some rewards and I took the next step - Manager :)

We are also closing in on our around the world trip and we shall stop by in Germany briefly before heading to the USA ;) Hope to see many of you during this trip.

All the best,

M&A