Paul's Blog

Schiffshebewerk Scharnebeck

2008-12-08T11:14:00.003+13:00

Not far from Luneburg is a barge lift - fanatastic engineering! Gerda showed me this on the way to her parents house in Ramm.
This movie will give you the idea of how it works.

It hasn't been over a year has it!

2008-08-14T10:34:00.002+12:00

Hi All!

I have been very remiss! It has been over a year now and this is the first post I have made in all that time! I promised more pictures of the big trip to Europe but never found the time. Even as a full time student I have been too busy! I will try harder to post some more about the trip and some of the other trips (including overseas) that I have done since. Take care all.

Paris

2007-09-11T10:14:00.001+12:00

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Changing of the guard!

2007-09-10T14:56:00.001+12:00

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Pictures from the Tour!

2007-09-10T12:28:00.000+12:00

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Road Trip!

2007-07-11T23:13:00.000+12:00

We left good ol' London Town to see what lay up North! Yorkshire is truly beautiful!
Our first stop was Louth where we stayed with Ali. She is a wonderful host and it was a pleasure meeting two of her sons. We were pleased to see that she had missed most of flooding although it was sad to see the affects on her neighbours. The river was rather swollen and still looked as though it could cause more trouble.
Louth is a great little village. The locals were very friendly and welcomed us warmly - to the point of me being (literally) dragged into a local's home to look at her wine collection - and very nice it was too!
The local pubs were fantastic and I made a point of trying the local ale - man does it go down easily! Very good indeed.

Travelling gave me my first taste of a Service Area on the A1. It is like a mini mall in the middle of nowhere. We bought lollies and a coffee - to keep us awake on the road.
Gina did the driving and I read the map, Iggy gave helpful suggestions from the back and we all found our way pretty well (more or less!).
:-)

Fun in France

2007-07-11T22:58:00.000+12:00

Gina and I headed to Paris on the Eurostar. It is amazing to think that this is a train under the English Channel!!!!
It only takes 20 mins to go through the tunnel. It takes a lot longer to get to the tunnel from the England side - although they are working on the track to make it faster and will soon have modernised another Station to make everything smoother.
We went straight to the Eiffel Tower and stood in a queue for about 3/4 of an hour. It was a brilliant view - although was quite cold and windy at the top.
We went to several great little restaurants and had wonderful food. Snails were on the menu and were delicious!
Didn't see any frogs legs though!
Angelinas is a well known cafe and we enjoyed their famous hot choclate - very rich and creamy! I saw Ben Harper there - he graciously ushered his children out of the way so that I could walk through with my moon boot. Nice guy! :-)
We saw as much as we could in the Louvre. You woulod need a week to see almost everything! It is HUGE! We viewed the "Venus de Milo" and of course the "Mona Lisa". (And yes her eyes do follow your every move!) We got there is good time to miss the crowds and had a great view of her.
Lots more to add later!

Rochester

2007-07-11T06:00:00.000+12:00

Chris and Mel took us out to a very original town called Rochester.
Charles Dickens came from here! From all accounts he had a very tough upbringing until he made it big with his writing. Then he moved back to his hometown.

The Cathedral is amazing! Really old!

The Castle is also incredible - although parts were closed to visitors. We were able to check out the inside though and had a nice chat to the ladies in the shop - we bought a book about the castle - they were very kind to us.

We had a forgettable meal in one of the cafes but had great fun walking down the main street looking in all the shop windows. This place is dripping with history!

London is a great place

2007-07-11T05:53:00.000+12:00

More to come later!

London Rocks!

2007-06-25T07:27:00.000+12:00

Hi all

This is a quick note to show a few pics of Ol' London Town! The picture will come shortly. :-) Please be patient!
I have spent a few nice days in London, getting to know London life in Walthamstow, which is situated North East.
I have been to several cafes and one or two "greasy Spoons", seen the Walthamstow Market (the Longest market in Europe).
I have have enjoyed Turkish cuisine near Bond Street, More to come soon.

Gerda's Flat

2007-06-22T22:09:00.000+12:00

Hi I just thought that I would show you where I was staying in Luneburg. This is the flat where I stayed for several days. The flatmates were fantastic - really inclusive and made a real effort to help me with my German (let's face it - I really need help!)

In London!

2007-06-22T21:41:00.000+12:00

Hi all, This is my second day in London. The 20th June was a travel day so I don't really count that! The Airport staff at Lufthansa were great! They helped me get from place to place and even got us onto a special bus to get to the plane. It saved my foot big time! The tube was reasonably straight forward with only one change to get from Heathrow to Walthamstow. Mel came and met us from the station and took us back to her place.

Chris and Mel are great people! I have heard so much about them and of course not to forget little Bella! (Or Magic the cat!). Gina and I headed for Sainsbury's to get some supplies - impressive supermarket!

Yesterday we went out to a local cafe in Walthamstow and I had a "Coronation Chicken" - very traditional British fare apparently and very nice too! Then Gina and I met Ian to head for Gina's favourite Wood. We didn't do any walking of course but had a quiet ale at the "Owl". I really enjoyed the beer there. Guiness definately tastes better here than in NZ (I find that it has a sharp metalic aftertaste in NZ, miraculously absent from my pint at the "Owl". :-)

Frankfurt 2

2007-06-18T21:27:00.000+12:00

Today is a quiet day. I haven't had many this trip. I am finding it hard to find the time to post to the blog and edit pictures etc. Still it is fun to do it. The hotel I am in is quite nice, although it has very small but efficient rooms. It is right across the road from the Hauptbahnhof (Main Railway Station)so makes for easy transportation. The room was quiet despite being close to the Trains(windows have double glazing). The breakfast, mini bar, internet, and local telephone calls are free (probably quite good value!).
Gina arrives today! I will need to organise a few things for that too. There is a direct link to the Airport aparently but I will have to find out about tickets etc.

On my way to Frankfurt!

2007-06-18T10:06:00.000+12:00

Well I am in Frankfurt now. The train ride was interesting for several reasons. First it was the first time that I had to travel by myself. Second the train was very late into Leipzig and I missed the connecting train (not my fault honest!). And third there was a traveller who had a large dog with him which annoyed the passengers who had to step over him in the aisle. The dog was very placid however and took it all in his very relaxed stride. There was a very kind lady in my carriage who was very helpful and pointed me in the right direction when it came time to change trains. She even spoke to the train staff to see if there was any help available for me in Leipzig. A rather anxious porter was waiting to meet me and assisted me with the pack and gave me instructions on where and when to catch the next train. He was great help.

In Berlin!

2007-06-17T21:36:00.000+12:00

Hi again People
I will add more comment later but needless to say the fast train (ICE) was great and the Doner in Berlin was fantastic - I recommend them! (A Turkish style meal invented in Berlin!). My first impressions of the city are very positive. Berlin is a vibrant city full of movement with a massive historical footprint. The old buildings are stunning and are being repaired and maintained at a huge expense. The Potsdamer Platz is quite the opposite with stylish new buildings in a very modern atmosphere. Berlin accommodates the old and the new.

Luneburg Hospital

2007-06-13T22:02:00.000+12:00

While I was playing a little football in the local park I stumbled over the ball and twisted my foot. It was quite painful at the time and seemed like it was only a sprain. We went to the hospital and after waiting for over 6 hours were told that the x-rays showed I had broken a bone in my foot! OMG! The staff were really helpful and friendly. It is good that it isn't really painful now. They gave me a "Moon Boot" to wear which is brilliant because I can take it off to change clothing, shower and even to sleep. It won't stop me doing anything!!!! Next stop Berlin!

Luneburg Universty

2007-06-13T21:56:00.000+12:00

I visited Luneberg University yesterday. Christian was very helpful and asked his Lecturer if she would allow a visitor and she agreed! I spent an enjoyable morning listening to groups of students delivering presentations of tourist stops around the world. They were speaking in English - I was very impressed with their skills. Here is a picture of Christian's team who presented "Cape Town".

Introducing Bjoern!

2007-06-12T00:28:00.000+12:00

Chris and Gerda introduced me to Bjoern - an energetic nutcase! (in the nicest possible way!) We all went to Hamburg together. It was very warm that day - 30 degrees Celcius!

Wasser!

2007-06-11T22:46:00.000+12:00

Here we are cruising around the Alster in a paddle boat. It was so much fun! We went a long way too! We all felt like pirates!
Well maybe not! :-)

The Alster is a man made lake and has many canals, some of which we explored. We saw birds nesting on floating rafts of twigs.

Amazing Engineering!

2007-06-11T22:08:00.000+12:00

You know the canal lock where the boats are raised and lowered when there is a big difference in water height? Well here is one on STEROIDS! What you are looking at is a barg elevator - it lifts the boats and water and all!

My Wonderful Hosts!

2007-06-11T21:52:00.001+12:00

Here they are!
Chris and Gerda! :-)

Woops!

2007-06-11T21:12:00.000+12:00

Today is a quiet day! Chris and Gerda are at university and everyone is studying. I have been sorting out the photos that I have been taking over the last few days. It has been made easier by the fact that I can't move fast or far as I have just sprained my foot! Chris and I were playing soccer in the City Park yesterday and I rolled my ankle! Ouch! It is a bit better this morning though. I feel alot better now that I have had a chat to Gina on Skype too! :-)

Looney in Luneburg!

2007-06-11T21:09:00.000+12:00

Germany rocks Man! I am really enjoying myself. Chris and Gerda are great hosts – they have been introducing me to their friends and flatmates. They are wonderful tour guides too – I am staying in a little village called Luneburg (which was completely untouched by both world wars) and is a really beautiful example of old buildings and cobblestone streets.
I have been to Hamburg and went to the City Hall (AMAZING!) and boated in the man made lake (More about that Later). The weather is just great at the moment so it is just a really relaxing time. :-)
Just what I need!

Fun in Frankfurt

2007-05-30T10:41:00.000+12:00

Well Here I am! On my way. I’ll be seeing you! Take care! So long and thanks for all the fish. Well..... I have a week to go anyway. At least the pending trip has inspired me to start adding to my Long forgotten blog!
I m really looking forward to seeing Chris and Gerda again.

Paul's Journey

2007-05-29T12:59:00.000+12:00

Hi Folks!
I am about to have a 2 month tour through Europe!

Airforce 3D

2007-03-06T14:18:00.000+13:00

Hi all

Please take the time to listen to the children I worked with on Kids Congress 2006. Please click on the title of this post and Podomatic should do the rest!

Learning@school Conference Rotorua 2007

2007-02-27T14:05:00.000+13:00

For the first time I managed to get to most of my sessions! I found that Julia Atkin's workshops were of the most benefit to me. We looked at School change and the steps teachers go through when taking on board new ideas, methods and techniques. Thank you to the organising committee for a great opportunity!

Roll on ULearn07!

Welcome

2006-08-23T14:21:00.000+12:00

Hello everyone this blog has been created to share a few things about my work as an ICTPD Lead Facilitator.