Perth, tropical north, Denmark and the windy southern ocean all in less than two weeks.

Lately my blog has been rather quiet which is ambitious since more than a few events have been taken place. The coolest thing thou was to see Katrine again after more than two months apart. We spent the Easter break in the area around Cairns together with Katrine’s mother – that was visiting.
Cairns is situated in the tropical north of Australia famous among all backpackers as this city usually represents either the start or the end of the cruise along the east coast. We rented a small apartment for the week and soaked up the city’s relaxed, tropical ambience by the giant artificial saltwater lagoon as there is no access to the beach which is dedicated to the crocs. The city offers a walking trail with a beautiful waterfront views and behind the horizon awaits the Great Barrier Reef – a World Heritage-listed spectacular of coral islands and marine life, the primary reason for Cairns’ popularity.



We visited Green Island for a day which offered the possibility for snorkeling directly from the shores of this little island covered of rainforest 45 minute boat ride from Cairns. Unfortunately has this exotic spot been discovered by the mass tourism several years ago. The constant flow of tourists that are being unloaded to the island has a severe impact on the surrounding reef. The scenery was therefore reasonable disappointing in contrast to the outer reef which Katrine and I visited two days later.



The surroundings of Cairns include magical rainforest thought to be the planet’s oldest surviving tropical rainforest and home to Australia’s most diverse range of plants and animals. We didn’t see any fresh-water crocodiles sunning themselves on the mangrove-lined river banks, but other tropical birds and animals.
The different pockets of rainforest offered excellent hiking opportunities all different from each other’s thereby emphasize the diversity of this unique area of our wonderful planet. In the quaint rainforest village of Kuranda we browsed the street markets of this old hippie town. Here we were surprised by a heavy rainfall - rainforests are by the way characterized by high rainfall which no one had told us.
All in all wonderful and relaxing weekend with Katrine and her mom, that lasted too short. The worst thing was to say goodbye again but Katrine is fortunately visiting me in Perth in two weeks time.

It was strange to return to Perth without Katrine now missing here even more, but I had a task to fulfill as the university’s handball team needed some assistance to qualify to the Australian University games. The sport is hardly known in Australia why each line of the court was measured up and illustrated with tape during a general orientation of the rules before we could play. It was a great afternoon of fun, losing only one match against ECU that consisted of the majority of the Western Australian state team and played one draw thereby awarded a 3rd place which might be sufficient for the team to enter the university state games in the fall. Unfortunately for the team will the star of the team no longer be among them, a clear weakening of the team’s ability to score and play constructive handball.



After the handball tournament I was picked up by my housemates and our finish friend Suni to explore a part of the south western region of the Australian continent. First stop towards the coast and the surroundings of Albany was Katanning, the hometown of Jackie. Katanning boasts the largest country based sheep selling complex in Western Australia, but Katanning is known for more than be a regular farmer town. Their playground has a unique variety of giant equipment so unique that I will be back as there was no time to play. The local pub offered me a unique glimpse into the heart of true outback Australian farming communities and the warm country charm. After just five minutes I had already witnessed my first bar fight among real men. It turned out to be some tough loving – a huge hug between two friends that couldn’t be done standing. I meet some of Jackie’s friends and her sister that went on exchange to SKAGEN last year.



We stained the night at Jackie’s lovely parents that served first class breakfast before we continued. Our first stop was the Stirling range national park. This park consists of beautiful mountains suddenly rising from the surrounding fields of the flat western Australian landscape. The park is home to the highest peak of Western Australia standing 1000 meters above sea level, the park is one of the top ten biodiversity hot spots in the world. More than 1500 species of wildflowers make this a location I certainly will return to.
Albany was the first European settlement in Western Australia, the perfect base to explore the great southern. The coast is pounded by the southern ocean, creating dramatic cliffs, white sandy beaches and bays. The waters are rich with marine life, including dolphins and seals. Whales can be seen plying in the waters, but unfortunately I didn’t see any of these massive creatures. The rich soil and cooler climate of the region produce wine and many wineries offer tastings, which we utilized.
We visited the valley of the Giants where a 600 meter tree top walkway rises 40 meters above the forest floor and provide a breathtaking experience with a bird’s eye view of the tall ancient forest.



And then to a surprising fact that I wasn’t aware of but, Denmark is a town! A town located in Western Australia with rugged coastline and towering forests with highly acclaimed wines. The landscapes around Denmark are simply extraordinary and offer tranquility to appreciate nature. William Bay National Park right outside Denmark is home to the stunning Greens pool. The transparent water of the pool is beautiful and must be the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. The spot is furthermore the closest I have been to Antarctica which the water temperature also confirmed.



There is really something for everyone in Australia’s South West. For lovers of the ocean, the region truly offers spectacular costal scenery. Inland, you’ll find winding rivers, tall ancient forest and the finest selection of wine and “locally brewed” dairy products.
We spent the nights in a chalet on a camping ground right outside Albany playing “circle of death” a card game that involves drinking the bottles you brought from the bottle shop – a very simple game.

Next weekend we’ll celebrate the arrival of the spring to Scandinavia which is a huge think in Sweden an event they celebrate every year. A Swedish tradition, I have the opportunity to celebrate in the Australian autumn. This great initiative from the Swedes down here and the fact that I’ll be attending simply just shows that we still care about our beloved friends and families back home or maybe just that we’ll make up any excuse to light up the barbeque and have a party.

P.S The school is still good… It’s good

Beer and Quakkas

I really cannot think of a better way to watch a film then chilling out under the stars whilst eating a picnic and sipping on a cool beer. That must be what life is all about, but when I had the change I blew. I went to an outdoor cinema but I forgot the beers. I saw Slumdog Millionaire with a group of exchange students in Kings Parks something I indeed want to try again, with beer.



Later that week on a regular Wednesday almost every exchange student went on a pub crawl arranged by the international student organization on campus. An organization dedicated to organize events for study abroad students. It was a really good evening that ended up in a club that was packed already at 11 o’clock something I’ve never experienced in Europe. The opening hours of pubs and bars still surprises me as do the public transportation system… Yes I’m stingy and my reason is simply because I am a student so a couple of us thought we could catch the last train, but we ended up walking home. It took two hours to get home.

It feels like yesterday I arrived to Perth and still I’ve difficulties remembering what the last couple of weeks have given. Among us exchange students is there always somebody that arranges an event after school, so I’m never really bored and it normally involves a visit to the pub, a quiet night in with movies and dinner or a trip to the beach now and then.
We are a couple of exchange students that have formed a football team that plays every Monday evening. We’ve only played one game so far in a tournament arranged by the UWA sports club and so far we haven’t suffered a defeat or tasted the sweet taste of victory. Next Monday thou I’ll borrow some proper equipment from one of my teammates and thereby leading the team to victory or just make a fool out of myself. Our Captian has an injury so I’ll borrow his boots. André is the captain and founder of the team, a Danish law student which girlfriend is studying in Sidn… Ahh Guess!

Yeah we can relate.

Every Thursday I kayak after school as I’ve signed up for a course called “learn how to paddle”. This course covers all of the basics and safety on the water – which I already learned in a similar course in Denmark with Anne and Katrine, but it’s still very fun paddling away on the swan river. I’m pretty sure that we’ll end up doing the Eskimo. So far we’ve learned stroke techniques, how to maneuver the kayak efficiently and how to the wet exit. So when I return to Denmark I’ve to teach my dad how to control the kayaks that we are going have at Humlebæk – Please DAD

I spent a weekend on the beach since we were 16 exchange students out surfing from early morning on Trigg beach. All of us had signed up for a surf class through UWA sports. It was a wonderful day and I learned how to go sideways in the ways. It was so awesome that my friend Magnus had bought a board the day after. I am planning to follow his example when I have settled into my new place – Yes I’ve found a new place. Now I’m staying in a house in Leederville with Rose and Ben from New Zealand and Jacky from Australia. I managed to borrow a broken sofa that can be unfolded into a functioning bed, a table and some storage for my clothes. There is a garden where we cultivated different herbs and veggies, it’s awesome.

Last weekend I went to Rottnest Island a natural beauty and wonder with unspoilt beaches abundant marine life and wildlife. Vehicles are not permitted on the Island; therefore, the traditional way to explore the Island is on bike which is what we did. We stopped now and then to snorkel among a diversity of fish and coral species, and numerous of shipwrecks found around the Island. It really is a fascinating island found in such close proximity to a capital city. Rottnest Island has a variety of marine inhabitants, from exotic tropical fish, sea lions to the big manta ray – Unfortunately I only saw and abundance of different sized fish and species of coral. The most unique and famous animal on the island thou is the quokka, a small marsupial, which has the appearance of a small kangaroo.
We also went to a boat party after the only pub closed on the Island. We invited ourselves on board a boat, but we had to convince the captain that it was a good idea to let us go on board. It was certainly a good idea - So we stayed on board the rest of the evening.



Yesterday just the girls and I went to a national park in a friend’s car. The park is home to many different water and bush birds and in particular the endangered Carnaby's black cockatoos which are easy to sight and hear, additionally we saw Western Grey kangaroos and a presentation from an aboriginal, teaching us about the aboriginal way of life and culture.

Did he buy a bike?

I bought a bike not because I’m stupid but just a little bit tired of waiting for the busses. Yes it’s pretty hot, but we are going towards the winter down here so therefore a bike.
I follow the bicycle route along the Swan River to the university and fortunately always with the wind in my back because the wind conditions here are perfect for my part. Every morning the wind comes from the continent and blows towards the sea and in the afternoon when I’m going back “the Fremantle doctor” gives me a push while cooling of Perth as well. For that reason the wind is called “the Fremantle doctor” or “the doc from freo” as the aussies love abbreviations.
This week we had a couple of barbeques or BBQ’s and I arrived an hour late to the first one because of the public transportation almost stops during the weekends and after 8 pm. That was then I decided I had to buy a bike. So now I’ve bought a mountain bike in a store that gives me 40 % back if I return it after my stay and free service is included. That’s nice since one of my pedals already screams for some professional attention.



The BBQ was a great success; we found a spot next to the Swan River and used a public barbie which are common in every public park throughout Australia. Since my Dad is world famous for his abilities behind a grill the others suggested that I should stand behind the grill and grill the meat here among the Kangaroo steaks that were thrown on the barbie. I’m sure that we ate road killed kangaroos as many kangaroos are run over, but it was off cause superb prepared by the chef and tasted magnificent.



I didn’t stop the kangaroo frenzy as I eat kangaroo with some Swedes at my friend Magnus’s place the day after and they accidently bought light beer it must be a bad habit they have inherited from the Swedish society. At first we didn’t notice but it was a great laugh and a great evening. After the dinner we went out for a drink with other exchange students in a suburb named Subiaco or just called “Subi” among locals. We had a few beers in a real Australian pub, nothing much of a difference to the English ones, thou. They closed the establishment at 1 o’clock and we went to a popular club called Lama. For the first time ever I was dismissed at the entrance to a club. The reason I was wearing shorts, well I knew it was impossible they simple don’t allow it throughout Perth, but I wasn’t prepared to spend a whole barbeque and afternoon in 30 degrees wearing trousers, but the refusal marked the end of the night.



The following day the Swedes and I had planned a BBQ in Kings Park and we were joined by the Asian exchange students. We agreed to meet at the central station at 2 pm and do the shopping together. For some reason no one showed up beside me and the Swedes. For some reason the Asian thought we should met at McDonalds or they failed to inform us. Anyway, two hours later we had done the necessary shopping for groceries in the city center. All the others went by bus to Kings Park three kilometer away and I went on my new bike. They used more than an hour to get there while I used nothing more than 15 minutes on my bike.
When they finally came the Asian show really started. They are incredible hard to understand and they don’t understand any of our questions because they kept answering questions that we certainly didn´t asked about. They are incredibly hard to communicate with if just Susan my former colleague at the Department for Pharmacy and Analytical Chemistry had taught me more Japanese. Then at least I could communicate with them. (Susan is now in Japan with her “Boyfriendo” for six months – Her blog is on my blog list.)
The next day after a picnic I’ll never forget I went to see a golf tournament, Johnny Walker Classic, with the Swedes. So now I’ve some worth mentioning according to my Dad. The course was very placed in the “wine country”. We followed a Swede called Niclas Fasth all day. It wasn’t his best round according to himself. He kept swearing after each stroke. After the tournament we went straight to the beach and the cooling waves. It was a great way to spend some of the last hours of my winter break because my classes started the day after.



In Denmark I wasn’t that big a fan of the famous facebook, but here it’s an excellent way of keeping in touch with the other exchange students. Events can be arranged spontaneously and people just show up. We arranged a cinema trip to the open air cinema in Kings Park where we saw Slumdog Millionaire, it was great movie and I can strongly recommend it. Before the movie we ate the food we had brought as this event was a “picnic at the movies”.
I’m trying to arrange a trip to Rottnest Island 15 kilometer of the coast of Perth, an island with great opportunities to go snorkeling among turtles and see beautiful tropical reefs. It’s considered Perths playground and accommodation is hard to get during the summer months so it’s still not certain when we’ll be leaving with the ferry to Rottnest Island. The Island is named Rottnest (“rat’s nest”) because of numerous king size rats according to a Dutch explorer back in the settlements days, but it’s actually just an animal called a Quokka. A furry little fellow closely related to the kangaroos – so the best way to describe theme is to call them mini kangaroos!
I’ve also started to work out again and Dines, Søren and Ole are substituted with Peter and Magnus. On campus we have a sports center where we can do almost any sport known to mankind. So far we’ve only tried out tennis, but several different sports will follow.
So far School has been cool – Funny… I’m especially looking forward to a project I’ve been assigned to with the working title: “Characterisation of hepatospheres comprising mesenchymal and liver progenitor epithelial cells” and for you guys, thinking that’s sounds boring – you are so wrong. I’ll know my thirst for knowledge about how microscopes are working will be satisfied both my subjects have introduced several different microscopes we’ll be using throughout the semester. Maybe I should already make an appointment with an optician because I might need glasses after intense stirring into a microscope after half a year (And a picture of my project - lever cells)



The others in the house where I’m staying are cool enough. All of them work except Neil from Mauricio who is studying management. We usually just sit around and chat during the commercials so we’ve already spoken plenty since every TV show constantly is interrupted, so frustrating. I only watch to have a chat and an opportunity to “surf” the internet as the router is located in our living room. So conclude everything I’m sitting here its Saturday morning and I have just awoken from a long slumber after I was out yesterday in Fremantle and it was a great place! Well I’m off to play some Tennis with my Austrian friend Peter. He wants to be a Roger Federer look alike, but the truth is that he looks like Orlando Bloom just some bonus information to the female part of the readership of my blog.

Manuel

And I’ll be out of reach all day because I’m going to the beach after the tennis match and then to Fremantle visiting a pub or two!

Week 2 - My arrival to the banks of Swan River

Perth’s central part with the tall buildings and its parks are quite extraordinary. Everyone is incredibly friendly and the culture is more relaxed compared to the more stressful way of living in Sydney. The shops close earlier than in Denmark and the international financial crisis has yet to hit Perth. They continue to build giant buildings for banks and mineral companies.
Perth’s and the rest of WA’s welfare are caused by the mineral rich underground, where gold and iron can be found. With Perth as an example it can be concluded that the possession of gold is beneficial in financial times like these. People here believe, however, the crisis will come, but I think they wouldn’t notice it because of their laid back attitude and way of living.



The first two nights after my arrival from Sydney, I stayed at a relative good hostel. I moved because it was then fully booked to another, but really crappy one. So I was desperate to find my own, like many other students, but I have now found a place. A house with four other people staying there that I’ve only met for five minutes, but they seemed alright. I’ll move in on Wednesday, meanwhile I live on a college next to the university. My search for a room started out as a bit of a nightmare, but several other exchange students I’ve spoken to still haven’t found a place yet.

The University of Western Australia (UWA) is located in a incredibly beautiful park. The whole area is taken from an American film and they have really tried to impress us with the “magnificent old buildings”, which are more than 100 years old - WOW.



The other international students had a tendency to go with people they already know from home, but they have opened up a little more gradually. I meet all the other exchange students the day after my arrival to Perth, for a session where we received information that would help us settle into life her in Perth more easily. There wasn’t much time to socialize except a small lunch break. A better change for socializing was given the day after when we went to The Hillarys boat harbour a popular tourist destination close to Perth. Hillary’s contains popular restaurants, shops and activities and is also home to AQWA, the Aquarium of Western Australia, where you can see all 12000 kilometers of Western Australia’s coastline in one place, and animals from seahorses to sharks. Everything was closed when we arrived, so we passed the time on the beach, talked about our traveling plans to different places near Perth during the semester. After the opening of the aquarium and two hours of exploration of the Western Australia coastline I was convinced that shall take a diving license down here and I’ve already found the place. There I’ve the opportunity to take the mandatory courses during the weekends that will keep me busy.
In the afternoon we went to Perth’s number one tourist attraction, Kings Park and Botanic Garden a huge park in the center of Perth and its outskirts touches the UWA campus. There are great panoramic views of Perth and the Swan River. There were no Koalas, but signs saying “watch out for snakes”.
We ended the day in Fremantle which has a history dating back to the mid-nineteenth century (not long compared to European standards, but for the “new worlders” it is pretty good!). Fremantle is a popular place to eat and have a drink in the evenings.
The day after we signed up for our units – I’m only enrolled in two units but they are equivalent to 30 ECTS points together. Next time we meet again I’ve an understanding of the main aspects of cell behavior that lead to tissue formation and homeostasis from embryogenesis through to disease and ageing and much more I hope. The units I’ve taken are taught jointly by the disciplines of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Physiology.
We finished the day with a little barbeque after another session about the life in Perth it was nice and relaxing to “throw prawns on the Barbie”.
Saturday we went surfing at Scarborough beach and the water was carpet bombed with surfers. That wasn’t enough to scare my away from my first dip in the Indian Ocean and it sure wasn’t the last time. The afternoon we passed in a wildlife park that wasn’t so spectacular compared to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, but great way to have a chat.

We were a few that went out as well in a popular suburb called Northbridge. We found a Pub serving the local beer. We left already at one o’clock caused by the lack of sleep and the worries of everybody regarding their own housing situation.

Week 1 - In Sydney with Katwoman

On the Danish web pages we read that the terrible forest fires in Victoria have reached your headlines. It was absolutely terrible and when the wind was in south, we could smell the fires from the northern suburbs of Sydney but they couldn’t be compared with the fires near Melbourne, so mother don’t worry!

This week Katrine showed me most of Sydney – It’s nice to know where Katwoman will live the next few months. We've been out walking on the cliffs at Bondi, and I was impressed with all of Sydney’s beautiful beaches which are accessible by public transportation from the city center. I would still say that the beaches in Portugal are just slightly better, but they are also world class and incomparable.

Sydney offers fantastic opportunities to take amazing pictures of the harbour area where the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge are located. This means that I have hundreds of photos of the Opera House and the bridge. Sydney has something so unusual for a metropolis: a quay used by thousands of commuters every day. Looking at the Opera House, and as a friend of several sailors, I can see the beauty of arriving by sea.



Last Saturday Anne, Katrine and I went on a trip to the Blue Mountains. The name Blue Mountains is derived from the characteristic blue haze seen from a distance. The trip was absolutely fantastic and we had the funniest guide, which also managed to throw us some quality information in between all the jokes! Sunday we went to the famous Taronga zoo. We saw the obligatory Koala, but I still direct my eyes towards the crowns of the eucalyptus trees in the hope of the real thing (People keep telling me, there are no koalas in Perth, but I will keep looking…). But since 14 of the 15 most venomous snakes reside on this continent, I also have to keep an eye on my feet and surroundings. The snakes they exhibited in Taronga though weren’t that active but napping when I was there.



All in all a fantastic week as tourists here in Sydney while we looked for accommodation for Anne and Katrine. Anne stayed temporarily with an Australian friend while Katrine and I had been living at a hostel until Anne’s colleague, Line, suggested that we stayed at her apartment in Hyde Park.
We celebrated crown princess Mary’s birthday with Danes living in Sydney at a place called Sleep in – which was the place where our crown prince couple meat each other – nice place by the way.

Katrine and Anne finally had success in their search for housing after they had visited several places, which did not meet the ladies’ standards or ladies in general. They have now found a nice little apartment by the world-famous Bondi Beach, but there is no "rice included”. Something more than a few landlords offered (a sign of the growing Asian population in Australia).

Before my departure to Perth we went on a trip to Katrine’s University. It was impressive with brand new buildings, small lawns where you could enjoy the weather and great sports complexes, and much more. Can’t imagine Katrine ever sees half of the university before her stay ends. She will be busy this semester before we meet up again, in the middle of the Australian desert; it is rather romantic, if you are using both halves of the brain. I miss her already.

The flight to Perth was 6 hours, but then I had not just crossed a country but a whole continent and three time zones. Perth is the capital of Australia's largest state Western Australia (WA) with a population of 1.7 million living within 100 kilometers of the city center. The area of WA is 2 million square kilometers and the total population in the whole state is 2 million. For this reason Perth is described as the most isolated city on the planet with the nearest city more than 2000 kilometers away...