Reference to Finding Nemo. No swimming involved.
Just excitement and jubilation at the fact that...
I ONLY HAVE ONE DAY OF BEING AN OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID INTERN LEFT
(nb. I realise that the rest of my life is likely to be spent being overworked and underpaid, but at least then I won't be the lowly, bottom of the heap intern.)
Oh the joy.
I've got a great idea... let's bomb North Korea. Not only will this destroy their nuclear capacity, but it will mean that we can forget for a moment about that nightmare that is Iraq and Afghanistan AND, if we bomb them now, they won't be able to nuke the West. Sure, they might send a few missiles South Korea's way, but well, that doesn't matter does it? The West can be happy in the knowledge that one less country has nuclear capabilities (only we are allowed those), and once they have been stripped of their defence, the US (oops, I mean the coalition of the willing) can go in to liberate and give democracy to those poor North Koreans and the whole world will be a happier and safer place.
You disagree? But this article makes it sound like such a great idea...
Who ever said life in Fulda was boring? Well, maybe I did once, but no more. Fulda is a sleepy little town in the middle of vast amounts of countryside, but it is a sleepy little town that never fails to surprise. If you want wild nights out, lots of different clubs to choose from and an Irish pub and cinema showing films in their original version (i.e. not polluted with German dubbing) then, admittedly, Fulda probably isn't the place to be. But Fulda does have it's moments of greatness. The Stadtfest, with its Weinfest, 4 live stages, fashion shows, beer tents and great bands, showed a different side to Fulda. A side that we appreciated very much.
Just this weekend we were present at the grand opening of the Red Corridor gallery in Fulda. We stood amongst the high class society of Fulda, and listened to the artists and then to a local councillor. One of the artists and founders of the gallery explained his reasons for locating the gallery in Löherstrasse in Fulda: simply because everyone said it wouldn't work. The artists were extremely convincing in their motivation to want to stimulate debate, push boundaries and to make people think. Fulda is a very conservative town, I hope they succeed.
And, as if that wasn't enough for one weekend. On Sunday me and Ragil took my new bike (yes, Augusta has been replaced) out for a trip into the countryside. We made use of Fulda's excellent cycle paths and rode to the lake. We took some pictures, it was rather picturesque, and then, as we cycled on, noticed a strange, unmistakeable smell. Horses. Sure enough, in the distance stood a car park full of horse boxes and lots of jockey-like types walking around in jogpers. 
We wandered around the back of the barn and happily stumbled upon a show jumping competition. I have never been present at one of these events before and it was really quite an interesting experience for me. Once we had watched about 15 competitors and the presentation ceremony we cycled on home and proceeded to smoke out the flat and stairwell with our debut roast beef experience. Once the smoke had been fought, aluminium foil is apparently the key, we enjoyed a quite fabulous Sunday dinner of roast beef and yorkshire pudding, roast parsnips, mash, carrots, green beans and gravy. Washed down with a nice Riesling from the Black Forest region. Brilliant.
A smashing weekend in Fulda with art, pool, the Gemüsemarkt, posh, cultured types, show jumping and a great Sunday dinner.
n.b: pictures = Fulda during the Stadtfest
After criticism that I have been slacking on the blog front by making posts that contain no writing, I would like to right any wrongs that I may possibly have committed (although actually as this is my blog, I should really be able to do what I like with it, right?!) by leaving behind some scrawlings.
So, yesterday was the weekend. Usually I would be in low spirits today, it being Monday and all, but as tomorrow is (ba ba baaa) the Day of German Unity, today is known as a Brückentag which means, one day of work in between two days off :) So the fact that it is Monday is by no means getting me down today. Other reasons for merriment are that my weekend was rather pleasant and included some exciting activities such as:
* a night of pool in the local pool hall - me and Ragil vs Chryssa and Paul. Ragil is apparently a bit of a pool shark and we were all mightily impressed by his skills. I was also on fairly decent form, which happens occasionally, but all too rarely for my liking, and I didn't wrongly pot the black once (which is possibly a first). I also correctly potted the black on about 4 occasions (also a first). Ja, so that was fun fun fun and will have to be repeated.
* stumbling upon a mock Oktoberfest in Esperanto, the local hotel cum exhibition centre. We wandered in, uninvited, and found tables and benches (somewhat reminiscent of mine and Ange's Bierfest, but not as cool, obv.) and lots of merry Germans, drinking Oktoberfest beer and eating traditional Bavarian culinary delights. We bought ourselves a couple of Brezels and a Maß of beer (that's 1 litre/2 pints to me and you) and had ourselves a jolly time, singing along with the German MC, who was serenading the crowd with such classics as "Ein Prozit" and "A pizza hut, a pizza hut, kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut..." - No kidding. Lucky for me, my Brownie's education paid off and I was able to join in with both lyrics and dance routine for the latter.
* cooking and eating a delightful Sunday dinner, which included yummy lamb sausages, Ragil's mash potato (famous in these parts), veg, a fabulously stylish Yorkshire Pudding and some lumpy gravy. It was scrum diddly. Next week we are going for a roast. Mmm, mmm.
* discovering a laundrette that is open on a Sunday and does not charge €6 per load. Possibly the most useful achievement of the weekend meaning that we no longer need to sneak into our old Wohnheim (student halls) to borrow the washing machine. Hurray.
* I also watched the Fifth Element, which I loved, and Beauty Shop which was hilarious if you are in the mood for a silly, light, film that requires no thought at all.
Ja, und das war's. Love and hugs to all from a rainy Frankfurt.
