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http://ellainllanelli.blogspot.com/

Back "home" in Wales

.... after a week in Sheffield, Leamington and Plymouth. If some of you are wondering, what the hell I am doing in England (Wales is NOT England yeah yeah yeah =)) : I visited all the other plants to collect some data for my thesis.

First Sheffield on Monday/Tuesday: I was quite surprised about the lovely surroundings of this former capital of steel! A huge shopping mile instead of old steel factories was what I got to see! They told me that the steel age ended aprox. 20 years ago and then they knocked the whole area down to build retail parks and shops and so on ...

Leamington SPA: a little town (für die Deutschen: sieht aus wie Baden-Baden! Viele kleine Villen und Alleen und offensichtlich viele reiche Leute) in-beween the woods of Robin Hood - LOVELY !!!
My boss took me out for dinner and then arround the place the whole night to show me all the castles, forts, little streets and all other tourist attractions you can remember .... AT NIGHT! Obviously he wanted to make sure that I have seen everything before leaving the other day ... crazy people ...

Plymouth: WOW !!! Such a beautiful place !!! Situated next to the sea with a lovely marina, a stunning view along the coastline onto the open sea (again, it was almost night when I got there - but at least I catched the evening sky (Abendstimmung) this time) and a really fancy hotel, they put me in. I can tell you, it is SO FUNNY observing businessmen at breakfast :o) everyone acts different and still they all act the same ... They feel so important and want to show off - a kind of courtship behaviour I think (ne Art Balzverhalten) - everybody wants to look most important, but when they're finally sitting on their table, you soon realise that they are nothing but lonely ... [also hier mal kurz auf Deutsch: die busy Businessmen laufen immer wie Gockels am Buffet auf und ab und versuchen am wichtigsten von allen auszusehen. Das ist sooo lustig mit anzuschauen! Und dann sitzen sie am Tisch und du siehst in ihren Gesichtern, dass sie sich wünschten, ihre Gattin würde ihnen jetzt den Kaffee bringen]

The weekend I spent in Cornwall, visiting an outdoor exhibition called "The Eden Project" www.edenproject.com which was really fun, then I drove down the coast and up along the northcoast of Cornwall again, visited some lovely villages, slept in my tent and came back here today. (Rosamunde Pilcher habe ich übrigens nicht getroffen =))

Fotos kommen !!!

Hello from Wales!

To be honest – my English is still the same after five weeks in Wales … BUT with all the Norwegian and German in between it is not surprising (even though I’m a woman and therefore multi tasking, three languages DO in fact create a big mess in my mind!)

Wales is absolutely stunning !!! Have a look at my hotel and the landscape at one of the posts below … I live and work in Llanelli which is only 20mins from Swansea and an hour from Cardiff in the southern part of Wales next to the coast. I’m working at the INA plant of Schaeffler UK writing my final thesis about potential use of Renewable Energy in UK. The work is really exciting and I travel arround in the whole UK (London, Sheffield, Plymouth, Birmingham ….). My working colleagues are really kind (some of them a bit mad – but that’s what I like ;-)) and I’m really enjoying myself.

I live in a 5 star B&B paid by my employer which looks like a castle and I really don’t know how to deserve it ;-) www.llwynhall.co.uk It has only 5 rooms and two of them are engaged by myself and another German girl who does some working experience in the same company I work. Her name is Ella and she is a lovely fellow, always confused and amused about my madness.

The biggest problem to start with was the left-hand driving … even worse with my German Golf that I brought over here! It happened more than once, that I was driving on the wrong side of the road and suddenly facing a car coming towards me! Also the roundabouts: going around clockwise while watching all the mental Welsh car drivers (and they ARE mental!) and the road signs isn’t the easiest thing to do …

The second biggest problem: none.

The third biggest problem: Drinking! If Welsh people are going out at night, they get drunk. And if I write drunk, I mean REALLY drunk! As you probably know, I’m not a lightweight ;-) but the problem is the speed: one pint in one pub, then over to the next bar and a gin&tonic, a couple of cocktails in the next club and all this in rounds (everybody is paying a round for everyone – if you’re not fast enough, it can happen that you have to drink 3 cocktails in a row!). Every night out ends up in a nightclub that is closing at three o’clock. The Germans are very drunk and go to bed – the Welsh are even more drunk and go home to have some bottles of wine …

So far, best wishes from Wales! Helena

Pictures

Tenby bei Ebbe















Pembrokeshire Nationalpark














Ich am Strand












Mein Hotel

... brilliant!

So, weiter geht's: Die Leute ja .... wie kann ich's am besten beschreiben .... ich beschreib am besten mal mein Meeting am Montag: ich bin erst mal ne viertel Stunde zu spät gekommen - traue NIE einer Wegbeschreibung eines Walisers! (und schon gar keinen Zeitangaben). Dann kurzes Einführungsgespräch mit dem Chef: er ist total begeistert von meiner Arbeit, will mir helfen wo er nur kann, stellt mich gleich mal dem Verantwortlichen für Regenerative Energien vor (der mir Antworten auf alle meine Fragen geben kann. Wow!) und wenn ich dann noch Fragen hab, kann ich die anschließend noch dem Chef stellen. Soviel zum Anfang. Weiterer Verlauf des Meetings:

- Ca. 1 stündige "Führung" durch das Gebäude, weil der Verantwortliche in nem anderen Meeting war

- Dann hat er den Rechner angeschmissen und versucht, über google.co.uk meine Fragen zu beantworten und mir was über heat pumps erzählt

- Den Chef hab ich gar nicht mehr gesehen

- Dem googler hat's dann so leid getan, dass er mich zum Essen eingeladen hat

Kurzum: Sehr hilfsbereite Leute, aber man muss seeeeeehr viel Geduld mitbringen und sollte am Besten keine Erwartungen an sie knüpfen .... super Vorraussetzungen! ;-)

Zu der Zeitangabengeschichte von oben: Ich sollte mit dem Zug nach London zu nem Meeting. 10-15 min braucht man zum Bahnhof hat man mir gesagt. Nach 25 min war ich dann endlich am Bahnhof, hab meinem Zug hinterhergeschrien (der vor lauter Schock noch gewartet hat ;-)) und konnt nicht mal mehr n Parkticket für mein Auto kaufen (das zum Glück am Abend noch unversehrt am gleichen Parkplatz stand).

ooooooooooooh ..... es gibt so viele Geschichten, die ich euch gerne erzählen würde!

Nachtleben:
Die Waliser sind trinkfest! Jedes Wochenende geht's ab in nach Swansea in die Vind Street, eine Strasse, die abends extra für den Verkehr gesperrt wird. Pub and Pub an Bar an Nightclub und alles gut gefüllt (die jungen Briten geben einen Großteil ihres Gehalts für's Feiern aus ...). Jeden Samstag wird ein neues Abendkleid gekauft, manche haben nicht so viel Geld, die tauschen das Kleid dann montags wieder um gegen ein anderes, dass sie dann am nächsten Wochenende anziehen können. Und dann wird gesoffen, getanzt und gefeiert. In jedem Club/Bar/Pub bleib man auf einen Drink (wenn's außergewöhnlich gut ist, dann höchstens mal auf 2) und irgendwann endet man dann in einer Disco und tanzt wie wild, bis punkt 3 Uhr die Musik aus und das Licht angeht (und wenn die Leute dann nicht schnell genug verschwinden, geht auch mal der Feueralarm los). Dann geht's wieder nach Hause. Wir Deutschen fallen ins Bett, die Waliser leeren noch ein paar Flaschen Wein.

Croeso! Welcome to Wales ...

Jetzt bin ich schon über einen Monat hier und habe es noch nicht geschafft zu bloggen .... das ist schon peinlich .... andererseits verdeutlicht es nur, wie gut es mir hier geht und wie wenig zeit ich vor dem Rechner verbringe ....
Wales: Wahnsinnig Abgefahrene Leut und Einmalige Scenery :o)
Ich fühl mich pudelwohl, bin prinzessenhaft untergebracht (in einem kleinen Hotel, das an Rosamunde Pilcher Filme erinnert ..... ja, auch ich hab die irgendwann mal angeschaut 8-)) und hab mich bereits an das Leben hier gewöhnt.
Der erste Eindruck war schon schockierend: überall im ganzen Land sind Kameras! Wirklich überall!!! An jedem Brückenpfeiler, Straßenlaterne, Bahnhof, Parkplatz, KLO - man ist total überwacht. Ich hab mir sagen lassen, die Leute brauchen das so, damit sie das Gefühl haben, sicher zu sein. Ich frag mich nur, wer das alles auf dem Bildschirm anschaut und kontrolliert ..... naja, lassen wir sie mal in dem Glauben.
Zweiter Schock: Linksverkehr. Nicht, dass ich das nicht spassig finden würde - wenn nicht an jeder Kreuzung ein zweispuriger Kreisverkehr wäre! Die Engländer LIEBEN Kreisverkehre. Sie haben sie nicht nur erfunden, sondern versuchen offensichtlich mit deren Bau auch ins Guinessbuch der Rekorde zu kommen. Krasseste Version: Kreisverkehr auf der Autobahn - KEIN WITZ !!! Und dann gibt es immer 2 Spuren, wobei man dann doch irgenwann einfach mittendurch fährt, weil dann doch immer einer im Kreisel fahrend auf der inneren Spur kommt, dann aber gleich die nächste Ausfahrt rauswill und deshalb vor einem plötzlich auf die äußere Spur wechselt (auf der man eigentlich gerade in den Kreisverkehr einfahren wollte) - kompliziert zu beschreiben, genauso kompliziert zu fahren.
Ach ja, es gibt sooo viel zu erzählen, aber jetzt geh ich erst mal zu Abendessen. Mein Menü wartet ;-)

Bis gleich!

hei yah out there !!!!!!!!!!!!!

ehm ... i'm still alive ... didn't manage to post as often as i wanted to, but anyway, most of you stayed in contact with me the last few months. Norway was fun again! even though some of my friends from last year were missing ... and the rasta-atmosphere as well ... after i finished with my job in oslo i went back to evenstad and started work on the mouse farm. it's a research center for the applied ecology stuff that scientific people at evenstad work with. there we had to catch some mice to "clean" the fields and prepare them for the fieldwork season. afterwards we tried to catch some new mice (another species) down the river "glomma" and released them in the prepared fields. it was a quite funny work and i had a lot of fun with my to collegues. 17th of may (the norwegian national day) we went to oslo all together and had a beautiful an pleasant day there ...



well, i'm back to germany now and working on a center for nature conservation. the work is really cool and i enjoy living in the deep and scary black forest again ;-)



take care of you wherever you are! hugs helena

DAS brot

vor 2 tagen war ich in oslo einkaufen. da sie im supermarkt nur das gewöhnliche norwegische kaugummibrot hatten und dies mir auch schon ein bisschen latschig erschien, dacht ich mir: gönnen wir uns zur feier des tages mal ein brot aus der bäckerei ... gesagt, getan. ich also schnurstracks in eine "bakeri" und dort ein grobkörniges brot bestellt. "wir hätten da ein müslibrot im angebot. etwas süsslich, da mit rosinen, aber sehr lecker", so die verkäuferin. müslibrot klingt gut, dacht ich mir - also: nehm ich.
"das macht dann 50 kronen" ............................. WIE BITTE ????? 50 KRONEN ?????? ....... *überleg* ..... das sind mehr als 6,-€ !!!!! SECHS EURO für ein BROT ??????
ich hab's gekauft. es war sehr lecker. aber bei dem gedanken, wie viel es gekostet hat, ist mir der appetit fast vergangen ... ich hab's vermessen: es war 24 cm lang, 11 cm breit und 10 cm hoch.

ich dachte mir, das ist einen eintrag wert ...

easter ...

happy easter!

hey everyone,

i just came back from a beautiful trip to "gausdal" (northwest of lillehammer) where i had amazing easter holydays! we visited some friends (as you see on the pictures below) and went to the mountains with them. three days on skis and two nights in two different cottages, sun and perfect snow conditions and an amazing view over big parts of the western norwegian mountain area made this trip to a great experience ... happy easter to all of you and a big big hug from norway!

easter holidays

FRÜÜÜÜÜHLING !!!!!!! (-> Springtime :-))

Today, I took my camera with me to catch some spring messengers. It's so beautiful and warm outside and the sun is shining all day! This time last year we were still taking the skis to school, digging a snow cave and ice fishing !!! It's really strange ... but marvelous ... :-)

...

Bygdøya - mein Arbeitsplatz :-)

pictures

Biathlon-WM auf dem Holmenkollen
















St. Patrick's Day: von wegen Guinness ...
















birkebeiner: die ruhe vor dem sturm ...
















... und das Chaos danach

My Job ...

After I came back to Oslo and survived St.Patricks Day (it wasn't that funny...), I started my job at the ROYAL NORWEGIAN YACHTCLUB. Sounds very nice, I know :-) but if you think now, that I am going to sail around Oslo fjord for the next three months then you're wrong: the Royal Norwegian Yachtlub owns a forest area on „Bygdøy" which is a really beautiful peninsula, situated in the Oslo fjord. The area has a very rich and varied vegetation and you find a lot of tree species that are rare in norway. That's why a big part of „Bygdøy" was protected some years ago and is now even considered to become a kind of urban national park. The Royal Norwegian Yachtclub wants to build a club house in an area that is not yet protected. My job is now, to find out how valuable this forest seems to be in comparision with the protected forest around. So, first I will map the area, then I will have a look on the tree species and all the small plants and animals, then I will check the aims of nature conservation and compare them with the situation on „Bygdøy" and finally I will tell the Royal Norwegian Yachtclub if they can built the club house or not ... no, sadly I won't tell them because this is someone elses job ... :-(

Ok, I hope you understood what I will do the next weeks. Beside my work there is of course much to do in Oslo: lying in the sun (it's really beautiful sunny wheather here at the moment!), swimming (we got an indoor swimming pool :-)), visiting Morten at the Police Academy, watching stars at night ... and of course: taking care of my knee :-)

Hugs Helena

ps: The Birkebeiner race was actually cancelled after two hours because there was too much and too strong wind on the mountain track. 13 000 participants had to be stopped and convinced to return back to Rena. It was a huge chaos !!!

some informations

yeah!!!

I came back the 8th of march – this time with the Kiel ferry so that i could already experience the Norwegian culture (is it really a culture???) on my way to Oslo: drunken people everywhere on the boat, old women standing on gambling machines for five or six hours waiting to win thousands of Norwegian krones, and a totally overcrowded duty-free shop where everybody tried to buy as much alcohol and cigarettes as possible.
in the evening I actually met two sober (nüchtern) people – a boy and a girl from Oslo – who I could talk to. they were both on their way back from Kiel where they have had a shopping day in the city … I couldn’t believe that people spend like 300 Euros just for boating to Kiel, go shopping there for about 5 hours and then boating back to Oslo the same day! It’s probably because I’ve never been to Kiel for shopping...
Anyway, I had a really funny evening with the two Norwegians in the “discovery lounge”. We talked a lot about what Norwegians think about Germans and the other way round. The girl told us a lot about her messy flatmate - her best friend - but who owes her more than 16 000 krones (2000 €) and who she has to cook, wash clothes, and clean everything for. Now, he finally forgot again to pay the rent for his room and that’s why both of them were kicked out of the flat this month after living together in this manner for over four years … she must be crazy … or in love with him …
Arrived in Oslo, I went to Holmenkollen on Saturday to visit the biathlon world cup which was really fun (of course drunken Norwegians everywhere again … they even talked German to me! and I had to drink a beer with them in the Oslo tram :-))
Tuesday I finally drove up to Evenstad (fuer die, die es nicht wissen: da hab ich letztes jahr studiert :-)) again to visit some friends. It was a strange feeling to come back again … but I met so many old friends and people I know that it was really great. There was a big party at “Biotopen” (the student pub) on Tuesday night so we had a lot of fun and I enjoyed it really much.
Tomorrow, I’m going to “Birkebeiner rennet” again (das was das 50km lange langlaufrennen, von dem ich euch letztes jahr erzaehlt habe …) and after that back to Oslo – actually, I am invited to a “St.Patrick’s Day” party (it’s the Irish nationalday on 17.3.) in Oslo and really looking forward to celebrate an Irish party with Norwegians (thousands of liter Guinness for sure … :-))

take care of you wherever you are! hugs helena

BACK AGAIN !!!

hello everyone,

just wanted to tell you that i`m back to evenstad and ready for new experiences in norway :-)

expect more informations soon or more sooner on this fabulous blog ...

be back in a while, hugs helena

auch für lea

für lea