I'm soooo knackered! This last week has been so busy, what with moving flat and starting a new job. I must first correct myself regarding my new job title...I'm actually a Senior Product Administrator (scary sounding!) I had 2 days handover with the girl that's leaving on Thursday and Friday and my brain feels like it's going to explode!! There is so much information to learn, I'm a bit worried that I won't be able to do it all, but I guess that's the same whenever you start a new job. The team are really nice, they are all really young and good fun, which is different from working for a government company. I had 2 lunches already, they had a PA lunch on Thursday and a leaving lunch for Roxanne on Friday, so I got to meet some more people. I'm a bit worried about going in tomorrow as I'll be on my own...scary stuff!

We've had a busy weekend too, yesterday we caught the bus to Palm beach for a friends birthday and leaving do, we had a bbq and then went to the pub for a bit. Today we've got more of the flat cleaned up and it's looking pretty good now. We've just got back from shopping now with some more essentials, so hopefully we'll get a nice relaxing evening with a dvd (I haven't had one of those for ages!!)

Here are some pics from the flat

The kitchen

Main bedroom

Spare room

Lounge

Balcony

Our pool!

I finally got offered a job yesterday! It's a 12 month contract, but it's great as I get all the perks of a permanent job (holidays, sick pay etc). It was all a bit last minute, I was supposed to finish at Sydney Water on Friday, but they desperately needed someoneto start tomorrow as the girl is leaving for her maternity leave. I felt a bit bad leaving early, but I have to do it and they understood...so I start my new job tomorrow. I'll be a PA for one of the heads of department at a company called Clearview (financial services). I'm a bit nervous, but that's normal and I'm so used to starting new jobs. So it seems finally everything is coming together at long last!

Some more good news, my Mum has booked her flight over in Feb next year ;o)

It's been a very busy weekend, but we've finally moved into our new flat! We were given the keys on Friday night which was great as we managed to get most of my stuff moved from Seans. We had quite a late night, and up again very early on Saturday. First priority was to get a fridge and a washing machine and a bed too, looking back now, it was silly to go shopping for stuff actually on the day, but really that was the only chance we had due to opening hours and also we wanted to save on delivery costs by using the van. Eventually, we got the bits we needed, we got a really good deal on a new bed too which was great. Jason's friend Rod helped him move the furniture while I stayed at the flat to clean and sort all the stuff out...not an easy task. We didn't stop until about 6pm, I had to go to the shops to pick up some more bits too. Then we had to drive to Jason's work to drop the van off, by the time we got back it was about 8pm so we decided to get some food at a restaurant (looking like tramps, but we didn't care!) When we got home, first thing I saw in the kitchen was a load of ants and a few cockroaches not what I wanted to go home to, I started going a bit mad, well I wanted it all to be perfect! I had seen a few cockroaches on the previous night which had got me a bit worried, especially as it isn't even summer yet. Anyway, Jason managed to calm me down...that was until we wanted to have a shower. Jason went first and came out saying the water was a bit cold...he'd only been in there 5 mins...so I had to have a cold shower....not happy about that! so that started me off again. I thought it might be better the next day, but I'd got half way through washing my hair and it went cold again. We did check the water tank, which is really tiny, so now I'm worried thats all the hot water we will get, there is no way that 2 people can live there with that tiny amount of water, anyway, back to that later. So I managed to calm down again, but had a fitful sleep (not the fault of our new bed..it's so comfy!) I was just waking up worrying about all the things going wrong (there is also no water coming out of the hot tap in the bathroom sink) I even went into the kitchen a few times to see what the bug situation was!

Anyway, Sunday we got up and sorted the lounge out into a reasonable order so it actuallylooks liveable now, we got the kitchen up together too, but we put all the boxes into the spare room, so that looks like a bomb has hit it..I think we will tackle that tonight. Our bedroom looks great, especially with the new bed, I have a whole wall of wardrobe all to myself...that's my favourite bit (Jason has got the wardrobe in the other room) I have spread all my stuff around and bought about 40 coathangers so I can now hang up all my clothes, which is great cos before we moved most of my stuff was folded which made me forget I had them!

In the afternoon, we went to the shopping mall to pick up some more things we needed, including loading up with cockroach and ant traps!! We spent an absolute fortune,and we still haven't got any food in our nice new (well, 2nd hand) big fridge. That is to be done tonight. So apart from the obvious problems, I really like it there so far, it's looking really nice and I've only seen one cockroach since we've sprayed the place. I have phoned the estate agent today and gave him the long list of problems, so hopefully he'll get back to me with some good news!Tonight we're going shopping to stock up the cupboards, I haven't been eating properly for ages, it's a bit difficult when you're living at someone elses house..so I'm looking forward to eating some healthy food again.

We've bought a laptop...yaay! so when we get the broadband set up I'll be able to chat to everyone more, can't wait! Only 3 more nights til we move into our flat, it's going to be so great. I can't believe I'm still in Sydney and I'm leasing a new flat, you just never know what's going to happen in life.
There was a massive hail storm yesterday afternoon. I'd just got out of work and the heavens openened, I had to wait around for ages otherwise I think I would have been injured! I had to go to another recruitment agency to sign up, I tell you most of them are pretty useless,they say they have loads of jobs, yet when you register all of a sudden things have dried up, maybe I'm just gullible! I had to do a few more skills tests, which I've done before, but they're a bit old. My typing was good and my word was advanced (which I can't believe) but my powerpoint was pretty rusty, I think I need to do another course. Mind you, I'm used to using Windows XP, most of these agency tests are on 2000, which is really very old and things are slightly different... not that I'm making excuses! I didn't finish till late and afterwards I felt like my head was going to explode...I've got so much on my mind now, my phone is constantly beeping with reminders of stuff to do, I will be glad when we've moved and I can concentrate properly on finding a job.

We had another busy weekend. Saturday was spent driving to different shopping centres to buy stuff for our new flat. We wanted to buy a new bed, so we went to IKEA, but there weren't any decent mattresses there, I think we need to spend a bit more money on something decent. We did buy some throws for the couch and some saucepans, and a kettle and toaster....not very important, but you have to start somewhere! We have to look for a fridge and a washing machine too, but we can't buy anything til Saturday as we only have the van then. It's all costing a fortune, luckily I had that tax cheque and some savings. But after all this, I have to pay loads for my New Zealand residency too. I've got my medical on Friday, thats $500!

So after Saturday, I didn't feel much like going out, but we did go and meet Linn and Martin, it was supposed to be a quiet drink, but we ended up staying out til 3.30! I still don't feel right now...not good! On Sunday we went to Bondi to meet Sue and a couple of other friends who'd done the Sydney City to Surf run. It's a 14km run, and I think over 60,000 people did it this year. Bondi was full of people. We had a couple of drinks at the pub there, then Jason and I went back to Coogee to meet Paul, who is back from China for a couple of weeks. I really didn't feel like going out, but I had to show my face. I stayed about an hour, then went back to Seans to veg in front of the TV, I'd been dying to do that all day!

So we got our application accepted for the flat last night...yippee! But I'm not going to get too excited until we've signed the lease, don't want to tempt fate! If everything goes to plan, we can move in Aug 19th. Hopefully Sean won't mind us staying at his for an extra week...he's due back tomorrow, so we'll see. I'm really pleased about the flat, it's got 2 bedrooms, with huge built in wardrobes in both of them (that sold it for me!) it has a balcony, which unfortunately faces south instead of north, so we won't get the sun in the evening...but to be honest, it gets so hot in summer anyway it'll probably be a relief! There is even a pool in the complex, a small one mind, but nevertheless a pool. We're very happy people now ;o)

I had a laugh last night, I had to go to the police station to get one of my police checks for my New Zealand residency. First off I filled out the form, when I sat down one of the policeman said to me 'you're not that young'...I'd written 30.6.2006 for my date of birth!! Then I had to go through and get my fingerprints done, not as I expected with ink, but on this digital machine. It was pretty cool actually, but not very easy to use, the policeman said that it's even worse when you've got really drunk people trying to fight you whilst you're trying to get their fingerprints....I can well imagine! It took ages to do all the prints. The last prints were of my palms, he was taking the mickey out of me cos I couldn't get my palms flat on the machine and there was a big white gap in the middle of my hand print. We had to do it a few times, as the machine wouldn't accept them, in the end he had to really push my hand down as far as it would go so it would be flat, it was quite painful actually! I asked him if that was normal for that to happen....he said no...he thought it was very funny, so I've got abnormal hands!

Another busy weekend of flat hunting. Friday I left work early to see a couple of flats, including one that Jason had seen the previous night. Jason was supposed to pick me up from work and we would go and see them together, but he was stuck in traffic so I had to get a taxi, which was a nightmare in itself. It was absolutely throwing it down with rain, and it took me 20 mins to get a taxi, by this time I was soaking wet! Anyway, I went to the first flat, but it wasn't that nice. I was hoping to see the other flat that Jason had seen afterwards, but the agent couldn't get us an appointment. I did get a bit worried as that flat was due for an open inspection the following day, and even though I hadn't seen it I thought we should get our applications in for it straight away so we didn't miss out. We got our applications in, hopefully there aren't any problems with it, the only worry I have is that my job is only temporary, but we'll see. So after that I was supposed to come back to the city to meet some people who I worked with last year, they were having drinks for Phil who is going away to get married. But by the time we'd done all our stuff I was still wet and I just couldn't be bothered to go out again. We dropped by Rach and Stu's for a bit, then I went back to the flat and Jason went to see the Strokes.

Saturday we looked at about 10 flats, luckily I managed to see the one we'd applied for and it is really nice, I hope we get it. The rest were really awful, I don't know how these people charge so much money for these places, they are so not worth it. Most places in Coogee are really old too, you don't get many modern kitchens and bathrooms here. It wasn't the best day, we were both really stressed, you literally have about 5 mins in between each viewing, luckily we have a car otherwise it would be impossible. In the evening we went around to Rach and Stu's for a bit, then onto a bar in Coogee. Yesterday we went to the shopping mall (to look at puppies) I don't know why we do it to ourselves, we can't get one yet!! there were loads of them, bless them, I feel so sorry for them in those little cages.

Last night we went to the city to meet Jason's auntie and uncle who were over from New Zealand. We went to the Rocks for a drink and some dinner, it was really nice. We ended up eating at the Loewenbraeu bier keller, it was very authentic, like home from home! I ate Kaese spaetzle (bit like macaroni cheese) it was nice, but no way near as good as the one's I've eaten in Munich or the one I had recently in Vienna.

So that's about it. Work is a lot busier which is good, mind you if I'd been busy before I wouldn't have been able to do all this searching for flats and jobs on the internet!! I actually have been offered a permanent position by one of the Managers downstairs, it sounds like a good job - Office Manager - but I'm really not sure about working for a government company again, it's what I was trying to get out of, I want to work for a young company with a bit more of a social and fun scene, and people around my age, so I'm not sure. I have been offered a few more interviews from other applications too, two of the roles are at a magazine publishing company, the one that publishes Australian Vogue and all the big magazines out here, so I'm quite interested in that, but the money isn't as good. Normally that wouldn't bother me so much if it was a good company, but now I need to save as much as I can for weddings, house deposits etc etc, so I'm not sure!

I dragged Jason along to a Buddhism and meditation course on Monday night. It was actually very interesting. It was all a bit profound, trying to understand the subject on Practical Patience was a bit hard to get your head around, I won't even try to explain it! she also talked a lot about Karma. I think I will definitely go back again, plus we did a couple of meditations and I had the best sleep ever!!

Things are still really busy, I've been looking for a permanent job, plus looking for a flat, not really a good idea to do both at the same time, but unfortunately I have no choice! I've registered at a few new agencies, but nothing interesting has come up yet, I'm starting to worry I might not get anything and will have to continue temping. As for the flat hunting, Jason has looked at a couple this week, it's so difficult to see these places as they mostly just show them in the day or late afternoon, so I can't go. We have a couple more tomorrow, and some on Saturday too, so hopefully something decent will come up. I hope we didn't make the wrong decision in not taking that other flat from last week!

I'm so loving staying at Sean's, it really has made such a difference just living on our own...I actually look forward to going home now.... no more sharing flats for me!!

I didn't really have the best weekend. I had a huge row with my flatmate on Friday night, she has been driving me crazy since I've lived there. I haven't mentioned it before cos she is going out with my friend (but now I don't care!) Basically what started off as me just asking if she could use her key and not always buzz on the door when she gets home (I'm trying to be assertive)turned into a big argument when for some reason she started having a go at me, she said some really nasty things to me and also about me to Jason, she really was below the belt. She really upset me. So anyway I moved all my stuff out on Saturday morning, it was a bit like a prison escape, we got up early cos I didn't want to see her!! Luckily a friend of ours has just gone away for 10 days, so he said I could stay there until we get a flat sorted out. I'm still in a bit of shock about it all, I can't believe she was so horrible, but to be honest, I'm so glad to be out of there, she makes mine and Jason's life hell, she's so miserable. It was so great to have a flat to ourselves over the weekend, it feels a bit weird at the moment, but it's really nice.
So on Saturday after that debacle Jason and I went flat hunting. We looked at about 8 properties, only 2 of those were ok, but still not perfect. Some of the places were such dumps, we realised we'd have to put our budget up a little bit to get somewhere half decent! We've applied for one of them, and they have offered it to us, but now I'm not so sure as there isn't much storage space...and you have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom...not so good if we have people to stay. We're still looking anyway.

Here are a couple of pics of the cavoodle

I know I keep going on about time, but really, I can't believe it's Thursday already, time seems to be going exceptionally fast since I've been back at work...and it's not because I'm having fun, that's for sure!! It's been a pretty busy week, I've been trying to sort out things for my residency application to New Zealand and also trying to look for flats (we've only got 2 weeks to find somewhere decent and I'm a bit worried). Tuesday night we went around to Sean's for dinner and did a photo slide show of our holiday pics...I hope we didn't bore him too much! Today I went out for lunch with my old work colleagues from another department, it was nice to finally catch up with them again. Tonight we've got a flat viewing, it looks really nice on the internet, it's a little bit more than we want to pay, but it's either that or moving somewhere not so nice. We'll see. I'm thinking about getting a kitten if we're allowed pets...we both really want to get a puppy, but we're both working and unless we get a garden at our new flat, it wouldn't really be fair on it. I've seen so many cute ones at the pet shop, it kills me to leave them there. We like the designer crosses, like cavoodles and beagliers, our immigration agent has just bought a cavoodle, Jason showed me some pics he took with his phone when he went around the other day...it was sooo cute ;o)

I can't believe another weekend has passed us by...where do they go?! I should try not doinganything one weekend and maybe it'll go a bit slower! As it was, this weekend was quite busy. I met up for a night with the girls on Friday after work. We went to a pub at the Rocks first, then we walked up the road to the Shangri-La hotel. I've been wanting to go there for such a long time, but this was only the first opportunity to go. It didn't disappoint either, the bar is on the 36th floor, and the hotel is right on the harbour, so there are some fabulous views, it really is a cool place to go for a drink...and it has to be just for one drink cos it's so bloomin expensive! The cocktails cost about $25, I just stuck with a glass of wine, which I could have bought a bottle for the same price, but who's complaining, it was well worth it for the view! So, as I said, we had one drink there, then we jumped in a taxi and headed to Surry Hills to Hollywood, then to another pub for some live music and a boogie. It was such a good night, there were 6 of us that came out, a couple of them I hadn't met before, but we all had a real laugh.

By the next day I'd managed to lose my voice, I guess I shouldn't have gone out drinking Friday cos I didn't feel that good, but I'd been looking forward to it all week, and it was worth losing my voice for! So, Saturday we had to get up early to see the tax man to do our tax returns. I thought I wouldn't be as lucky as I was last year, but I was, I got loads of $'s back, really happy about that, so it's going towards our wedding. Jason got a bit, but not as much as me ;o)

After that we did the usual shopping and cleaning and then Jason and I went out for dinner in the evening. We went to our local Mexican restaurant, the food was yummy. We saw one of the Big Brother evictees there, I've seen so many of them around about town, they pop up everywhere....apparently one from last year is working in a shop around the corner...being on Big Brother obviously brought her lots of opportunities...not!!! They are having lots of sex scandals too, 2 of the guys got evicted from the show a couple of weeks ago....now everyone is trying to ban it, even John Howard..funny! Anyway, back to Saturday...we went down to the Palace after dinner, but I tell you we were the oldest people in there, we felt like we were teachers chaperoning at a high school disco.... not good!!

Yesterday was a lovely day, so we went for a walk along the coast. The beaches were packed, it was very warm considering it's winter, it was nice to get some fresh air. I was busy taking lots of beach pics on my new phone, although I've no idea who's got a camera phone for me to send them to.

That's about it really...back to work today, my sore throat has turned into a cold now, but I'm feeling a lot better than I was.

I've just realised, it's a year ago since I went up to Cairns for my east coast trip....wow I can't believe that it was that long ago, where does the time go??!!
Not much going on this week, I was a bit sick on Tuesday, I had a funny spell at work, it must be this place, this is where I had the migraine when I worked here last year - perhaps I'm allergic to it!
My mobile phone died yesterday....absolutely gutted...it's not so much the phone that I'm worried about, it's that fact that I've lost everyone's phone numbers :-( I stupidly saved them to my phone and not the SIM, then even more stupidly didn't write the numbers in an address book...doh!! (So expect an email asking for your phone numbers!!!) Looks like the money I saved this week will have to go towards buying another phone, but I guess I can't complain, my one has lasted a good 3 or so years, about time for an upgrade.
On another note, I've found out that our passage to New Zealand will probably not be as easy as we anticipated. Apparently it can take up to 2 years to get my visa granted, so we have to start applying very soon. I have to get police certificates from UK, Aus and Germany (and get the German one translated)then we have to provide evidence on our relationship and I have to have a full medical (loads of money!) I don't want to go through all this again, we've only just got over applying for the last visa, what a nightmare!! Can't I just come back and live in England??!

Had a nice weekend. Jason and I went for a quiet drink on Friday night. Saturday we got some cleaning in the flat and washing done, very domesticated! In the evening we went into the city to meet Gemma and Garry, we hardly ever get a chance to catch up with them, so we had a fun night. We went to a few different bars, then Garry had to take Gemma home, so Jason and I went to the old favourite, Burdekin bar.
Yesterday had a nice lie in, then we went to see Click at the cinema. I would recommend seeing it if you can, it was a really good film, and suprisingly deep (for an Adam Sandler film!). It really made me think about my life (and made me blub too!). In the evening Jason met up with some friends for dinner and I stayed in and phoned my Mum and Chris for a catch up. I'm really happy, my Mum has said she'll probably come to visit in February next year, and my brother and Martina are thinking about coming over too...which would be great! It'll give me something
nice to look forward to. Actually Jason and I have come to the decision that we will only be in Australia for another year (so if you want to visit OZ, keep that in mind!). We are going to move to New Zealand next August and look for a house as you can get a really nice house there and it's lots cheaper. Well, that's the plan anyway!

I got my first wages today....yaay!! I'm so happy to be getting paid again, and the money is great, I've got the same for 3 days that I normally get for 5, so I can't wait until next week to get paid, I'll be loaded!! Work is going ok, it's not that exciting tho. I actually had a phone interview for a travel agency yesterday, I really want to try something a bit different careerwise, so I thought I'd apply. It was quite a funny interview, it's a really sales orientated role so it wasn't what I was used to. I had to do a role play with the interviewer, I had to chose to sell either a camera, a backpack, or some sunglasses....I chose the backpack and I did quite well, I guess cos I only bought one last year so I knew what questions to ask...I think she was quite impressed, she asked me back for another interview in person next week! I've been thinking about it though and I don't think I will pursue it, the basic wage is very very low, you have to earn on sales (which I've never done before) and also, you have to work 10-12 hour days and 2 weekends a month, so altoghether it's not really what I want, especially as Jason and I really need to save as much money as we can for weddings and the future. Oh well, maybe something else will come up soon.
Apart from that, the weekend was quite good, I met Sue on Friday night, then on Saturday we had a couple of birthday parties to go to. Sunday we went to see Pirates of the Carribbean 2, it was really good. I went for a run on Monday night with Jason...I'm still aching now, but I'm going to try and go again tonight. I have to get my Europe photos put online at some point too, I have loads of them, it's gonna take ages!!

I've just finished my first week back at work (well half a week!), it's the first job I've had in about 4 months, so I'm really tired. I'm still suffering a bit from
jet-lag too, I'm getting really sleepy from about 6pm every night, it's really hard for me to try and stay awake until bedtime...I've been going to bed at 9.30 most nights! Work is going ok, it's always a bit difficult doing someones job when you haven't had a proper handover, but so far so good. On Wednesday I even got 2 massages....they employed a company to come over and massage everyone's shoulders as it's the end of financial year (I'm in the finance dept) they were a bit painful though, I felt like I'd been bruised!
We managed to go out last night, a friend of ours had organised a launch night at a club, we were VIP guests, so we were treated to free drinks all night...not that I made the most of it, we left earlyish as we both had work today...I'm so well behaved!! It was a good night,it was at the same place I'd celebrated my birthday last week.
I'm meeting Sue tonight for a catch up, I'm sure we'll have lots to gossip about!! I'm quite chuffed as well, lots of people have been saying I've lost weight...I can't quite understand how, I always put on lots on holidays,especially when I go back home...can't complain tho!!

Another update....
On the Monday morning, Jason and I sad our sad goodbyes to Mum, Chris and Martina caught the boat up the Danube from Bratislava to Vienna. It was nice way to finish off our Slovakian trip!

it was a bit windy on the boat!!


Vienna was really hot too, we managed to lug all our bags to the hotel which was a lot of effort, then we walked to the Prater where we looked around the funfair and then hired a 2 person bike... for a ride around the park.


After that it was a shower and change then we walked to the city to find somewhere to watch the Australia v Italy match, we found a great big outdoor screen which was good..but we weren't impressed with the result of the match. Afterwards we walked around the city to find somewhere for dinner. It was great to look around...I've been to Vienna before, it still amazes me what a fantastic city it is, all the beautiful architecture is amazing, I really could live there if I had the choice. We had a great dinner, we went for the authentic Austrian food, Jason had Wiener Schnitzel and I had Kase Spatzle...yummmm!! We rolled back to the hotel...we were very full up!
Next day we were up early, we had a very cultured day. We walked around some of the historic buildings, then we went to the Vienna Arts and History museum for a couple of hours (I would definitely recommend the museum). In the evening we went to a Mozart and Strauss concert at Schoenbrunn Palace....



The recital was very good, we thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a storm brewing at the end of the second half, it was a mad storm...it added to the passion of the music!
Weds it was time to leave :-( We were up early to get to the airport...Jason had to practically drag me on the plane...I really didn't want to leave and was very upset. The trip back was ok, it seemed to go a bit quicker than on the way there. There was a few big bumps tho which was a bit scary. So we got home on Thursday afternoon absolutely shattered.
Friday was my birthday, I had a really lovely day, Jason really spoiled me, and took me out for lunch. In the evening, we went to Cherri jam, we had the best night, and it was nice to see Sue and everyone again, we had a good catch up. After the club we went to Rach and Stu's to watch a footie match they'd taped, we didn't get home until 6am, so Saturday was a bad day, didn't feel well at all, was in bed most of the day!! We managed to stay up until midnight on Saturday, then we walked to the pub to watch England's last football game (which I don't want to talk about!) Got back home about 4am, so another late night, again Sunday was a write off!
Yesterday was busy, speaking to agencies about work etc and sorting some bits out. I've got a job today, I start tomorrow, just for 2 months to get me back into the swing of things, but the pay is great. It's at Sydney Water again, so it's a bit familiar to me.

This is the first chance I’ve had to update my blog since last week, things have been really mad!

I’ll start with the Wedding…

Last Friday morning, Chris, Martina, Mum, Jason and I drove to Martina’s parents house in Komarno, which is an hour from Bratislava. We had lunch there and Martina finished a few bits and pieces, then we left for Palarikovo to the place of the wedding. It was nice to see Martina’s parents again, although we cannot communicate very well as they don’t speak English…but we managed as best we could. When I saw the place where the wedding was to be held I thought wow, this is going to be cool, it was a huge hunting lodge, which looks more like a palace or something similar, and inside, the bedrooms were so huge it was unbelievable. We managed to get unpacked and sort out some things, then everyone that had travelled from Germany and England arrived on the coach. It was great to see them all again, it was a bit hard to chat with everyone though as they all arrived at the same time. It was so nice to see some family whom I haven’t seen for a few years. Most people went to find their rooms and then we all met up in the evening for dinner. I managed to do a lot of my catching up then, so it was cool. After a few drinks, I managed to persuade Martina that she should really go to bed so she wasn’t knackered for the next day, as I was her bridesmaid, it was my job to boss her around and make sure she was ok. So we got an earlyish night (I was staying in the wedding suite with her, as of course her and Chris were not allowed to see each other in the morning).

Saturday morning we woke about 7am because of the church bells and all the excitement. It was a busy morning running around making sure some last minute things were done, and of course most importantly, getting ready. I was really impressed with Martina, she managed to stay really calm and didn’t really panic at all, she held herself together better than I did! It was an absolutely scorching day, so we did get a bit hot and bothered trying to get Martina’s dress on, and then mine after that, but we got there in the end! Seeing Martina in her dress and all her veil made me choke, she looked so beautiful, a really stunning bride. I had to leave a bit earlier than her with Chris and Mum (who both looked amazing) in the car, this was the point I started to get really emotional, it didn’t help that my dress was so tight, I could hardly breathe, so I started hyper-ventilating in the car…..Mum managed to sort me out tho and calm me down a bit luckily!! (I do get very emotional!!) When we arrived at the church, Chris, Gary (the best man) and I had to stand at the front of the church, again, I started crying, I looked over at Mum and my aunties and started all them off too, it was a bit like a chain reaction (god, I don’t know what I’m going to be like at my own wedding!!) and there were loads of cameras and a video camera there, so I’m dreading seeing that footage. Anyway, Martina arrived shortly after with her Dad, everyone was in awe seeing her come down the aisle (especially my brother!!). The ceremony was pretty short, even considering it was all being translated (badly) into English (the translator guy is another story!). After the ceremony, Gary and I signed the book as we were both witnesses, then we all went outside to wait for the bride and groom. In Slovakia it is a tradition that guests bring the bride flowers, so when they were congratulating them, Martina accepted all the flowers (I’m not sure what happened to them after).
We went back to the hunting lodge after where the pictures were taken and then a few toasts, then it was off to the reception. The room was decorated beautifully, they really did an amazing job, I think everyone was impressed. First off, Gary did his best man speech, which unfortunately went on for ages because of the translation, I felt really sorry for him, but he managed to get through it. He also said some really nice words about Dad, which made us all emotional. Then it was time for the food, and my god, there was lots of it! I think over the whole night, there were seven courses, and the portions were absolutely massive, we had 4 or so meals that were like main courses, and tons of cakes too. Another tradition is that the Slovakians bring cakes to the wedding, these weren’t even touched, but put on table for everyone to see, they were beautifully made cakes. I was actually quite relieved my dress was so tight, it meant that I couldn’t actually eat much at all, I think otherwise I might have been sick from eating so much food! In the midst of all this food, Chris said his speech, Martina ended up translating in the end (otherwise he may have been there all night too) and it worked out really well like that, it was a lovely speech, and funny. Chris and Martina gave me a lovely necklace for being the bridesmaid and some flowers to our Mums etc.
After all the formalities had taken place, it was time for the real party! Chris and Martina had their first dance, then Chris also had a dance with the flower girl, who was such a sweet girl, it was hilarious, he was picking her up and throwing her around the dance floor, very amusing! Then we all joined in the dancing, trouble was it was so hot in the room, noone really lasted for too long….most people had to go outside and risk getting eaten alive by all the mossies! Later on during another meal (I think this one was about 1am) there was another tradition….a group of folk singers came into the room up to the top table. First off they had to ask Martina’s Dad if he would give her away to Chris, they asked him 3 times (he had to say no twice, then yes the third time), then they asked my Mum the same about giving Chris to Martina, then when she said yes on the third question, everyone was really happy. We went to the dance floor after that for the next tradition. Chris and Martina had to sit down opposite each other, then they took Martinas veil off and put some funny hats on them and then drink some boravichka (?) a Slovakian shot and the folk singers sung some more (not sure what about) then everyone stood up, then all the guys had to put some money into the hat to be able to dance with Martina. After ages, and lots of dances, Chris in the end put his whole wallet in the hat to buy Martina back, I think it was after that that he took off her garter with his teeth! It was a really nice tradition, it was so interesting to watch all these differences in cultures.
The whole night was great fun, we were in and out of the house, we did lots of dancing too. Even Mum was up for a great night, I've never seen her have so much fun!! When we were outside later on, the video guys came around and asked us all to say something to the bride and groom. I won't say what I said, but it ended up in a singing session with Andy (I'm dreading seeing the dvd!!)
I think thats about all I can remember for now. We had a fantastic day, and I'm so happy for Chris and Martina, I know they'll be truly happy together.
Next day we travelled back to Bratislava (having to say goodbye to most of my Munich friends :-( ) We had a bit of a party at the flat in the evening, a few of the guys came back to watch the England game, then I was given an early birthday cake from my family which was sweet. Having to say goodbye to them all was so hard, especially after such a great holiday, I'm really going to miss them all. Chris was so great, it was really nice to spend so much time with him, as he was in Munich with us too ;o)
Next installment is Vienna, I'll write that up soon....

Here's just a few piccies of the wedding

The bride and groom


Jason and I


Chris, Mum and Martina


Me and Chris

We've been having a really nice time in Slovakia the last few days. Tuesday we did a bit of sightseeing, we went for a walk around the old town, it really is very nice, lots of little roads and alleys with loads of cafes and restaurants. We took some nice photos of all the old buildings, although we had no idea what they were as we didn't have a tour guide! In the evening we had a nail biting time watching the England v Sweden game, luckily we didn't lose as if we had England would have been playing Germany on Saturday (which is my brothers wedding day, and nobody would have been happy!) but as it turns out they play on Sunday, which is great news.
Yesterday I went with Martina to try on my bridesmaids dress, it was really lovely, mind you I wished I was skinnier, but you can't have everything! Then we went to try on her dress (I'm not giving away any info on that one - all I'll say is she looked stunning!!) When we got back Jason, Mum and I went to the castle which is really close to my brothers flat and had a look around there. Last night we met up with my brothers friends who had come over from England and went out for a meal.
Today Jason and I went for another walk around town and had a look at the river Danube. I am really struggling with the heat, it really is so hot here, there was a huge storm last night which has cleared the muggyness, but it still is boiling.
We are off to Martinas parents tonight, then the big day on Saturday! I have to go now as I'm melting!!

What a busy and brilliant fun week in Munich we've just had, we've been right in the heart of the world cup, we couldn't have picked a better time to go. We arrived in Slovakia yesterday evening and I'm feeling a bit sad at leaving Munich and my friends.
We had a late night on Wednesday after watching the Germany game. The streets were full of people partying, it went on till the early hours.
We were up quite early on Thursday, we had arranged to go up to Nuernberg which is where the England v Trinidad and Tobago game was being played. The atmosphere there was amazing, there were so many England fans travelling up from Munich, we had such a laugh. We went to the main square first which was heaving with people, they'd set up a beer garden there and everyone was drinking and singing away. It was such a hot day, absolutely boiling. We had a few beers there first, and then we got on a tram (which was crammed full and boiling hot) to the fan fest which is just by the stadium where they set up a huge screen so everyone could watch it. It was absolutely packed there, there were about 25,000 people (most of them England fans). The game wasn't the best, obviously until England scored twice at the end, that bucked everyone up!! After the match we got the bus back to the centre of town, it was heaving there, everyone was singing and dancing, we were having such good fun waving our flags at everyone when we went past them on the bus. We didn't stay in town long as we had to get the train back to Munich. It was a nightmare train journey, it went on for ever....when we got back to Munich most of the people that got off were England fans.
On Friday Jason and I took advantage of the weather and went to one of the outdoor swimming pools. It was very busy tho as all the kids were off school. In the evening Andy came back from Bremen (we were staying at his and Nicolas) so it was great to catch up with him again. We went to Tollwood which is an outdoor festival with lots of beer tents and food stalls, but typically for Tollwood no sooner had we arrived it started to rain, unluckily we were outside so had to shelter under the umbrellas. When it had calmed down we made a run for one of the tents and met up with all the other guys. After a few beers we went to Murphys for old times sake, and then to the Shamrock, we had such a laugh, Andy and Jason did a dance off, it was hilarious! It was a pretty late night so we were knackered the next day. Jason and I went to the Olympic park and then had some food at Tollwood. In the evening, we went to Ned Kellys for a few beers... it was really great as a lot of my old friends turned up to say hi.
On Sunday we went to the Fan fest at Olympic park in Munich for the Australia v Brazil game. We got there about 2pm and it was already full for the Croatia game. We eventually managed to get in and found somewhere to sit for the long day. It was a really hot day so none of us were drinking any beer, I was even sat under my umbrella to get some shade. I think there were about 20,000 fans there, all in yellow and green (for both teams), it was an amazing atmosphere, we had a fantastic day, what a great experience. We went for dinner after and saw all the Brazilians celebrating on the streets.
Yesterday we were just travelling to Vienna on the train. Chris picked us up and then we picked Mum up from the airport and went to Chris's flat, which is lovely (I daren't touch anything for fear of breaking it!). It is really hot and muggy here, I hope it cools down a bit, it's quite unbearable. We're off out this afternoon for a look around town, then it's time for another England game tonight.
Keep posted for some photos, I just haven't had a chance to do them yet. I've got some good'uns!!!