Vienna II

Eyes meet in an accident as the tray is set down. A moment. Of eyeing. Much to the interest of Turtle who picks up on the subtlety (or lack thereof). A hint of a smile and a small nod breaks it. But eyes linger with backward glances.


The competition is slow and long with practices in the morning and the main event in the evening. Ting & Co. explore the environs: a naked forest, a ruinous church and a children's playground blanketed in pure white snow. Childhoods relived: a snow angel, a downhill run, a snowfight and a merry-go-round.


We celebrated coming eighth out of 25 international teams at the after-party. Team walk-on couldn't have been better. I thought we'd make the finals but at least we got a certificate during the prize presentation ceremony as semi-finalists. I think Coach got got the most kick out of Zuvedra's coach deeming us fit to make the finals.


Hitched a ride back to the barracks with a Serbian team. Celebrated Tanmeister's birthday and spent the rest of the night playing Pictionary until 4.00 a.m.

Vienna

The aisle is crowded, congested. Eyes caught behind straight brown locks: deep, piercing. Features unlike the departing locals, he could be Austrian. Glances stolen in broad daylight right up to the gates.


Third time in Vienna. Nothing has changed. Snow here's probably a first, for me that is. The scaffolding of the Hofburg Palace from two years ago has been removed. The Christmas market before the Rathaus from a year ago is just as busy.


We must've waited for at least an hour on the coach for the second team, Neuss, to turn up at the Sudbahnhof, which they did, eventually: decked in lighted Santa hats and clearly pissed from mulled wine judging from their loud singing of foreign songs. We tried to rival them and I was quite impressed by our own rendition of Botafogo's 'Voices'.



Second time at the Viennesse military barracks. Nothing has changed. Communal showers still the same and the prospect of pulling just as far. This time, sharing a whole dorm with coach and close friends. Pictionary becomes our staple game (other than the dreaded 'Game') whilst noises during the night go unnoticed.

Happiness is a full stomach II

Because of its success, I decided to organize another potluck between us. Only this time, it was us three gay boys who cooked. Two reasons: Ting had been cooking for each of us every now and again and I felt bad for not having cooked for my friends thus far.


So despite not knowing how to cook, I tried to recall any simple dish I knew I could cook other than cup noodles or fried eggs, any whiff of a memory from what mother had taught me when I wasn't listening back then.


I won't divulge which dish is mine although you can probably guess. Coach joined us later on and we got him to guess which was whose. His comments for each of our three dishes were: 'Authentic. Confused. Obviously Tong.'


Yeah. So mine was 'confused' but to be fair, it was pitted against two other dishes cooked by a proper Asian and someone who took cooking lessons in Thailand. So it was well unfair. It didn't turn out too bad though considering how we ended up finishing it.


Coach said my dish brought back fond memories of his childhood days when he used to go camping in the woods with his mates and had to cook over an open fire. It's not very far-off is it? Sitting around the table instead of a fireplace with good food and those who truly matter.


And just for comedy value: our drawings of a wolf after Pictionary which seems to be the latest obsession. We play it at all of our little parties. Guess which one's Ting's.

London domination

So we took on London today: Ting and Tong, Tong's Dan, Tanmeister and myself. The thing about dancers is that they're slightly mental. To be fair, at least there's never a dull moment around. But you can be sure that dim sum at Chinatown will inevitably involve visual marking and violent massacre of the food.



London is as beautiful as she always is. It's not surprising I always feel like completing my medical studies here every time I drop by for a visit. Thank goodness I've already submitted my clinical school application. That said, I wouldn't mind too much if I were offered a place in University College's Royal Free. If I ever do live in London, I'd like the following apartment to be mine.




So the main reason we did London was to catch the musical Wicked. And it was definitely wicked! I could go on and on about why it's so good: the plot, the music, the acting etc. etc. but I guess you'll just have to see it for yourself to really appreciate it.

At the end of the day:
Car fuel: £5
Dim sum at Chinatown: £6
Tickets for Wicked: £50
Spending a whole day with your best mates around London: Priceless

Bremen

So our flight back to England departed from Bremen. I think Bremerhaven was too small a city to fly out from. Anyway, we left our luggage at the Hauptbahnhof and had a look around Bremen's old quarter considering the fact that our flight wasn't until sometime in the late evening.


I didn't manage to keep a journal on this trip what with friends being constantly around and demanding my attention. So I'll just post the first thing that comes to my head based on the photos I took. From what I can remember, Bremen is a really pretty city (as you can tell from the photo above) and I couldn't help but wonder how such a cute 'lil city could produce such amazing hotties on the dancefloor. I mean, joint first Latin Formation World Champions! That's as good as it gets surely.


Took off on my own because I wanted to explore the old quarter proper in my own time. The best-known representation of the Bremen Town Musicians is the internationally acclaimed bronze structure by Gerhard Marcks dating from 1951. It stands on the western side of the town hall. We dubbed it the Ass, Bitch, Pussy and Cock.


The town hall was built between 1405 and 1410 with a facade in the style of the Weser Renaissance that was added in the 17th century. It is apparently one of the most beautiful town halls in Germany. I think Munich's rathaus is better but I guess for a small town that Bremen once was, it is pretty impressive. Together with the Roland statue, it gained UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2004.


The market square with expected Christmas market where those who participated in the tat competition hunted for tat. I entered this cute 'lil glass piggy which contained a very old German coin. It didn't make the finals unfortunately (although it got two recalls I believe). But then again, I simply cannot get myself to buy tat. I think it's just the way I've been brought up. Father would not have approved.


The statue of Roland in Bremen is the largest and most famous of the 26 Roland statues in Germany. At 5.55 metres tall, the statue towers over everyone and has been a symbol of trading rights and freedom since 1404. I can't believe this statue gained World Heritage status because one, it's not very tall or impressive. And two, it's just a statue. I must've missed out on its historical or cultural significance somewhere. Oh well, I'll look it up sooner or later.


The Haus der Burgerschaft or State Parliament was designed in 1966 by the architect Wassili Luckhardt. As you can tell, it was a very controversial building in its day. (I think it should still be a controversial building. I mean, look at it. It's clearly in the wrong place.) Today, it is the seat of Bremen's own parliament, known of course, as the Burgerschaft.


St. Peter's Cathedral is over 1200 years old. Its distinctive early Gothic architecture dates from the first half of the 13th century. Apparently, the oldest parts of the cathedral - the west and east crypts - are especially noteworthy, as are its impressive organs. (It was closed when I visited it.)


Bremen's oldest district, the Schnoor quarter, is a maze of 15th-16th century houses lining the alleys like pearls on a string and now home to artists' and goldsmiths' workshops and galleries. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants in which to sit and watch the world go by.


Historical and modern boats offer daily Weser cruises here from the Schlachte Embankment. This is where people enjoy riverside life in the heart of Bremen during the summer where plenty of beer gardens provide a wide range of food and relaxation. The winter apparently, brings with it 'Schlachte Magic'. Don't even ask me what that is.


From St. Martin's Quay, cruises set off along the river Weser and the harbour to the artists' village of Worpswede or to Vegesack and Bremerhaven. It's a good place to watch the hustle and bustle of the busy embankment.


The pedestrianised arcade, Bottcherstrasse is Bremen's 'secret high street'. A gilt relief called 'Bringer of Light' adorns the gateway. Bottcherstrasse is home to the Paula Modersohn-Becker museum, the Roselius-Haus and the carillon made from Meissen porcelain.


The Schutting or guildhall was built in 1537-1538 in the style of the Renaissance building of Flanders. The magnificent entrance was only added in the 19th century. The guildhouse of Bremen's merchants is home of the Chamber of Commerce.


After having seen all the sites, or at least, the ones worth seeing, I made my way back to the Christmas market where I knew some of my mates would be hanging around. Had a nice steaming cup of mulled wine and shelter from the freezing cold at one of the stalls where I also bumped into them.


Spent the rest of the evening at Alex's where I suddenly had a craving for chocolate ice cream. Bad mistake: Ended up freezing my entire arse all the way to the airport.


Reliving our childhoods just before making our way back to the train station.

Bremerhaven II

I'm not sure if it's a first but it was a tie for this year's Latin Formation World Champions between the Bremen team with their theme of 'Rocky' and the Bremerhaven team with their theme of 'Christina Aguilera'. Not many people were too happy with the result but come to think of it, two German teams joint first? I don't think I'd complain if I were German.


During the semifinals, I placed Bremerhaven first and Bremen second but by the time the teams had danced their last during the finals, I swapped them around. Bremen definitely up-ped their game during the final though. Photos are of the Bremen team. I've got their videos somewhere but I can't be bothered to look for the link. Tough.


Post-competition party: I never club with anyone else, only with my dancemates. I tell myself it's because it's easier to connect and dance with people who are dancers themselves but I think it stems more from vanity. Nah. It's easier to dance with other dancers. Photo of fit girl Iris from DanceEast (I think) above.

Bremerhaven

The Latin Formation World Championships were held at Bremerhaven this year. Coach thought I was ready to represent the British team at the evening reception. 'It's all about good posture', I tell him.


The reception was held at the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum or German Maritime Museum (I think). Bremerhaven is the seaport of the free city and federal state of Bremen, you see. The reception was dreadfully dull with speeches mainly in German accompanied by scant English translations and finger food. I mean, honestly, finger food doesn't count as dinner proper. And if you're not going to serve a proper dinner, don't have it in the evening.


We got bored and fooled around for a bit with some mannequins: you can see me reading the invitation to the Latin Formation World Championships reception in the photo above.


Our car sped through the thick fog. I think our host, Max felt bad seeing as we didn't enjoy the reception at all. He drove us to the Overseas Port of Bremerhaven for a quick visit to make up for it.


Information: The port of Bremerhaven is the sixteenth-largest container port in the world - more than 3.5 million containers shipped annually and more than 1.35 million cars imported or exported annually via Bremerhaven.


At the top of a tower made entirely of containers, we had an amazing view of the port. Eerie in the yellow glow of streetlight attempting to break through the fog. Ghostly as the machines worked silently in the absence of any living soul.