Office with a different view



View from the building - London Eye, Big Ben and the Thames

I am very grateful to be employed again. It may be for a giant multinational oil company, which I guess I might be against if I thought about it, but beggars can not be choosers.



There are some really cool things - the view from my 7th floor office window is the London Eye and the Thames and Big Ben is around the other side - I definately feel like I am working in London now!




The building has its own gym, so I can avoid the peak hour tube (people said it was bad, and they were not exaggerating) and that is enough motiviation to get me out of bed and on the treadmill. They also have free pilates, pump and yoga classes at lunchtime.

View from my floor - London Eye and the Thames

It has its own restaurant - I can go into the 2nd floor bistro and get a number of things - baked potatoes with fillings, freshly grilled STEAK for £4.80, salmon fillets, vegetables, a massive make your own salad bar, desserts - all at really cheap prices. There is also a coffee shop, serving Costa coffee and a variety of sandwiches, porridge and snacks on the 10th floor. This is all paid for with a cashless chip card that you pre load online. So there is really no need to leave the building - I'm not sure if this is super convenient or a way to keep the workers in the building at all times.




You select the floor you want to go to on the keypad in the lift area and it tells you which lift number to go to. Get in the wrong one and who knows where you will end up - there are no buttons on the inside of the lift if you change your mind!

There are no communal basins in the toilets........each door opens to a little bathroom containing a toilet, wash basin, mirror and hand dryer all to yourself.

Every door is manned by a security guard who either glares at you as you come in or out, or greets you with a good morning / night ma'am.

Only two desks on my floor have landlines (luckily mine is one of them) - we are supposed to use the web based office communicator to make phone calls - but everyone is issued with a mobile phone.

We do not have bins at our desk, only a recycling box. There is a bin in the kitchen area if needed - really handy when you have an apple core or used tea bag and are busy at your desk.

There are no microwaves - reheating food is a health hazard (and why would you need to bring in your own food when you can buy it from the bistro downstairs and make the company more money?)

So it's quite different - mostly I like it and it is nice to be back in office clothes and high heels - but I can't wait to get back on the road again!

Unemployment

I never really thought I was lucky to always have a job. In fact, it was a bit of a pain - just a way to fund the lifestyle I want to live.

The last 4.5 weeks have taught me that in Australia, we are lucky to have such a good employment rate. Lucky to be able to choose which job we would like and to negotiate a salary that we are worth.

Here in the UK, I have really struggled to find a decent personal assistant job with a reasonable salary. The market is so competitive that employers will only consider you if you have worked as a personal assistant in their exact industry - so all my experience in senior roles with large companies means nothing - because I was employed in an accountancy firm, not an investment banking firm. I find that utterly ridiculous - and quite depressing.

I was lucky enough to find an ongoing role to start next week, so hopefully this is the last time I have to deal with the UK job market. I was put forward for the role at the rate I was told I should be earning, had my CV accepted at that rate, was told at both interviews with the company how high pressure and busy the role will be and then offered the role at £2ph lower. I have to "prove I'm worth" the extra £2 per hour. Even if I do it will still only be 2/3 of what I was earning in Australia.

I'm surprised at how worthless that kind of thing makes you feel on a personal level. I have realised how much having a good job and being respected for what I do means to me and I am now truly sympathetic to those that are unemployed and trying so hard to find a job. I'ts a horrible feeling.

London - back to reality (for now)

Sunset at the London Eye

Another overnight bus (hopefully the last!) from Edinburgh and I arrive in London on the 3rd of January with no home and no job. It's quite a horrible and daunting feeling and I am lucky to have some lovely friends volunteer their couches to me while I find my feet.

Searching for a flat was proving to be a bit of a drama - I had been emailing from Hamburg for over a week and found that most people were looking for a longer term lease than the 3 months I will be here for.

The first one I went to view was eye-opening..........so much built up dirt and grime, I was pretty sure you would have to wear Havi's to walk on the carpet or shower.

The second one was a live in landlord who told me that there would be "no doing the business" on her property.


The third one...... I would say the owner was a "collector"...........good luck finding the sink or lounge among the piles and piles of god knows what - although the collection of glittery, plastic flowers in the room for rent were quite lovely.

The fourth one had an interesting housemate - after arranging the viewing via email, I texted on the day to alter the time slightly which was agreed to - then took a phone call from her about an hour later and had to listen to a lecture on why I did not reply to her message (that came through while we were on the phone) and how could I not reply to someone I was supposed to be living with..........gosh.




Fifth time lucky - a nice room, good price, decent location and what seems to be a lovely, young Italian couple - fingers crossed they are what they seem!

Finally my own room!

So now to find a job.............I have completed the tedious and time consuming process of registering with 7 different temp agencies - who each insisted on me rewriting half my CV into THEIR template and sit THEIR Microsoft suite testing for up to 3 hours...........they will also insist on my referees (all employers over the past 5 years - no choosing who you provide) completing THEIR form.........I really hope I have references left at the end of it!



The salaries over here have also been quite a shock - very low compared to Australia with some roles only paying around £10 per hour. Hopefully something will come along soon so I can start to focus on my social life!

I'm dreaming of a............non-white christmas?

Christmas in Germany is traditionally celebrated on christmas eve and it is white with piles of snow everywhere. Not this year! We had plus 10 degrees and the only thing coming from the sky was light rain.
We had a lovely christmas eve dinner with Maren's family, complete with lots of food (leberkase - like a meatloaf, cooked ham and potato salad AND the chocolate mousse and green and red jelly THAT I MADE - yes that's right people, I COOKED), lots of wine, presents and crazy kids running round leaving wrapping paper and toys all over.

Christmas day is known as the "first christmas day" and boxing day is known as the "second christmas day". So ultimately that is three days of eating, drinking and socialising - these people know how to do it! Then it is goodbye to the christmas markets - another 11 months until gluhwein and pfaffengluck make their much anticipated reappearance!
Then it was another overnight bus - this time a 4 hour train to Cologne, a 14 hour bus ride across to London (complete with a middle of the night ferry trip from Calais) and getting dropped off at 4.45am in the backstreets behind Victoria Coach Station with 2 suitcases.

Edinburgh Christmas markets

Torch ceremony

Next day straight off again up to Edinburgh for Hogmanay - the New Year celebrations. We stayed at an amazing luxury apartment in a cobblestoned street about 10 minutes walk (uphill - they love their hills in Edinburgh) from the main shopping street.

On the 30th we joined in a torch light parade from the Old Town up to the Castle - thousands of people streched out for kilometres walking along and carrying flaming torches and finished off with a fireworks display - pretty spectacular.

Edinburgh Castle

Apartment street - Circus Lane

The 31st was the big Hogmanay street party - stages with concerts, bring your own alcohol, portable toilets (nearly got crushed in a crowd surge at the 11.30pm line up - then when i finally got to a loo it was almost overflowing - fabulous) and people EVERYWHERE.

NYE fireworks

Fantastic fireworks display at midnight with a perfect view from the street up to the Castle with the fireworks exploding over the top - definately the highlight of the night.

AND STILL NO SNOW!!!

Hamburg in a hostel

St Nikolai Kirche

Surprisingly the 14 hour bus trip from Krakow went rather quickly and we arrive at our hostel on Hamburg's famous Reeperbahn at around 7am. Luckily the (rather drunk) guy at reception lets us check in and after having to swap rooms (the first door wouldn't open which he was rather puzzled about) we get a quick nap before heading to the main square for a free walking tour.

Chile Haus

It was quite good - covered a lot of history of the harbour and shipping, architecture and the smaller churches including St Nikolai kirche, which was bombed in WW2 and has been left in its destroyed state as a monument.

Men's premier league handball

After the first (of many) Pfaffengluck (a herbed damper like bread with melted cheese, ham and sour cream on top) we head to the O2 Arena for the men's premier league handball. It's a great game, very fast and physical and after watching Maren play quite a few times I even sort of understand the rules.

The flying sleigh

Next day we stop past der Michel (which is closed for Sunday service) and take a quick look inside the Rathaus (town hall) and wander through the christmas markets - gluhwein, carols, wooden decorations and candles as far as the eye can see. There is even a mechanical sleigh and reindeer suspended above the market that "flys" from one end to the other twice a day - complete with a real life santa and angel inside!

Prost! Another gluhwein..........

Then to my favourite - the ice hockey! Unfortunately I have managed to get us tickets right next to the Berlin cheer squad (and they win) but is still an awesome game - super fast and hockey sticks flying and players getting slammed into the plexi glass and you get cup holders for your 1/2 litre of beer that a guy with a mini keg on his back comes to your seat and pours you a new one for only 4 euros. WIN!!



A look at the alternative St Pauli christmas markets and another room change at the hostel (this time the door wouldn't lock), then we brave the Pulverfass show - boys pretending to be girls pretending to be boys and some very nice male strippers too - something for everyone! A great show (would be even funnier if I understand all the words I'm sure) but a little bit ruined by the minimum 20euro spend and the fact they were charging 19,50 for a cocktail. OUCH!!

Rathaus Chistmas

Last day and we head to the harbour to take a look at Miniature World (my third time this year! but it is great, especially now the airport is up and running) and then catch the number 62 ferry that does a loop of the harbour included in your daily metro ticket which saves the 20euros the harbour trip boats charge!

Hamburg Christmas markets

Then it's time to say goodbye to Ola after 2 weeks together and a brilliant trip (I'm glad I just have to get the train to Maren's and not the overnight bus to Krakow)

NOW what?!

Poland and Pierogi

Krakow - Old Town Square at sunset

First pierogi deliciousness

We arrive around 9pm and I am introduced to pierogi – delicious little boiled dumplings with various fillings – Ola recommends cottage cheese and potato and I am not disappointed. I could live on these things! AND I can afford them, Krakow is ridiculously cheap – a plate of pierogi is less than 3 euros. We take a short walk to the Old Town Main Square, the impressive St Mary’s Basilica (where a bugle player plays the same tune 4 times – once in each direction – every hour), Cloth Hall and Town Hall Tower. Ola’s family is from here and I can hear her love for the city in every word she says
 

Krakow - St Mary's Bascilica

Krakow - Nativity Scene comp.

The next day we walk around the Old Town again, eat some more pierogi (cabbage and mushroom this time) and beetroot soup and check out the Nativity Scene exhibition. People take all year to build these scenes from all types of material – foil, lace, paper toll, even dried food – and some have moving parts. They are pretty special

View over Tatra mountains

Fried sheeps cheese with cranberry

Day 2 we head out to Zakopane, a small town in the Tatra Mountains. It’s really pretty and surprisingly warm for this time of year – much of the snow on the ground has melted and it is around 7 degrees. We walk through the markets and take the funicular up for some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Then it’s time for food – we have potato pancakes with garlic butter, bacon and sheeps cheese, bread with lard and bacon and fried sheeps cheese with cranberry jam. All fantastic.

Stroller sleighs in Zakopane

Back in Krakow we head to a piano concert of Chopin music – the pianist is very young but extremely talented and the music is just beautiful. Then to a cute little vodka bar (complete with a cute and friendly bartender) for “one” shot. We try cherry, vanilla, hazelnut and honey vodkas and a shot with bison grass vodka, apple juice and cinnamon. I sleep very well despite being woken up at 2am with the couple next door very loudly getting it on




Day 3 I visit Auschwitz and Birkenau. It has taken me this long to build up the courage to visit a concentration camp and it is very confronting. I still can’t comprehend it, even after actually being in the buildings where so many atrocities were committed. I just can’t understand how humans could do such things to each other.

The Last Supper..........in salt

Later that day I join a tour to the Wielicza Salt Mines. After walking down nearly 400 steps we walk through passageways that are hundreds of years old and see the amazing salt sculptures – there are statues, chandeliers and chapels all made out of salt. In the largest chamber, a huge room featuring 3 chandeliers and a light show, there are sculptures on the wall detailing Jesus Christ’s life – including a remake of the famous Da Vinci painting, The Last Supper. There is also a sculpture of the Polish hero, Pope John Paul II and even the tiles on the floor are made of salt. Well worth a visit

Trabants

Last day and we head out on a Trabant Communist Tour. The Trabant was a car very popular in the 1950’s at the start of the Communist era and built out of fibreglass. It’s quite small and noisy and when I squeeze into the back I find out that they only believe in seatbelts for the front seats – which is apparently fine in crazy driver Poland.

Vodka shots and pickles

We head out past Ola’s auntie’s apartment and stop at a restaurant where her mum and dad used to go on dates. It is original décor from the 1950’s and they still hold dances here on Friday nights. We get a very interesting historical lesson on the creation of the Communist estate and the propaganda that went along with it. Then back in the car and off to view a Communist apartment – everyone was given the same. Here we try vodka shots out of fish shaped shot glasses and pickles. Then we head to a deserted road where we get to try driving the Trabant – first time driving in 9 months and it’s a column shift manual, on the wrong side of the road, after 2 shots of vodka. Safety first in Eastern Europe!

Sure I can drive

We then visit a milk bar – a worker’s canteen where traditional food is sold at government subsidised prices – I try cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and mincemeat with a creamy mushroom sauce – not bad (but nothing beats pierogi). Great tour although I ensure I write “seatbelts” on my feedback form suggestions.

Ginger hot chocolate and chilli praline

We walk past Krakow castle and down the oldest street in the city – many of the cobblestones are still originals from the 13^th century - and head to Ola’s favourite café where I have ginger hot chocolate and a chilli praline. Then it’s time to head to the bus station for our 14 hour overnighter to Hamburg (yuck).

The original winter wonderland – Tromso

Sunset at noon flying into Tromso

Early start to the airport (with correct train tickets purchased) and I awake after a brief nap on the plane to what looks like icebergs floating as far as the eye can see. We have arrived in the Arctic Circle, right up the top of Norway – home of 24 hour darkness in mid-winter and the midnight sun in summer. It is 12pm and I take photos of the sun setting as we land and I am stunned by the beauty of the scenery, it is like nothing I have ever seen before and it is truly breath taking.

Tromso Cathedral

Tromso main street

And I thought there was a lot of snow in Oslo! We have to walk up a reasonably steep hill to our accommodation and I don’t think I will make it with my suitcase but my snow boots (thanks Mum) go well in the fresh powder and we are checked in and asleep in no time, ready for our Northern Lights tour that evening.

Fire on the snow covered beach

We find all you can eat pizza for around AU$16 (never want to eat pizza again either.) and then meet our guide and head out around ½ hour outside Tromso while he informs us that the weather conditions are some of the best for a while and we should see the lights at some stage during the night. No luck at the first stop and it is FREEZING standing out on the ice (only around -5 degrees and luckily no wind but still cold!). We head to the next stop – a beach. Yes, an icy beach – we stand in the snow on the sand while guide Gunnar builds a fire and listen to the waves – it’s amazing. Unfortunately the lights never make an appearance – we have a good time standing around the fire, chatting and marvelling at the surroundings but we are all surprised and disappointed when we finally head home.



View over Tromso from lookout

Next day we reassure ourselves that surely we will see the lights tonight – and head up in a cable car to a lookout over Tromso. What we see from the top is a picture perfect winter scene – snow, water, rows of little houses with lights on and the inky blue of the early afternoon dark. We would have stayed outside forever taking photos if we didn’t lose the feeling in our fingers and have to go inside for hot chocolate.

Ola and I in our survival suits

That night we do what is quite possibly the most amazing thing I have done in my life – head out into the middle of nowhere – the Lyngsfjord Alps – to go Husky sledding. We suit up in survival suits, thermal boots, snow mittens and fur lined hats and head out to meet the dogs. Our team of 4 is very keen to get going, as I climb into the fur lined sled I am convinced they will take off into the wilderness without the guide. Luckily they don’t and Ola is standing behind me “steering” (we don’t really have a choice where we go, the dogs are in charge – but we do have a brake) and as soon as the guide’s sled goes, ours is moving too.

Dashing trough the snow

My huskies

It’s not actually too fast and it is unreal – we really are isolated up here. Both of us have been half joking about running into polar bears – I hope the guide ahead has a gun. We fly through snow as far as the eye can see, past rivers of half ice and through a forest (that has quite a few dips and bumps – I’m sure the dogs go faster here on purpose) and there is snow falling. I actually cry a few tears of happiness and sheer amazement at what I am doing. Halfway through the 15km trail we swap over and I find that I only have 2 bits of skinny wood to stand on whilst the dogs speed us away. It’s quite easy to get used to but I don’t know how I stayed on through the forest – the driver of the pair behind us got thrown off – starfished into the snow! We get up quite a bit of speed on the last downhill part and I have to jump on the brake with both feet to bring us to a stop. We get to play with the dogs for a little while; they are so well trained and friendly.



We then head to a Sami (local people) tent for a traditional meal and make snow angels (I have always wanted to do that!) in the snow outside. We come to a realisation that we won’t get to see the Northern Lights as the sky is covered with cloud, but I don’t mind as much anymore – the trip up here was worth every second.

AMI Hotel left a light on for us

The snow falls all night and all the next day – big, beautiful flakes float down outside the window and pile up in front of it. Unfortunately this is not good news for our flight – the airport closes for an hour when we first arrive and our flight is delayed for 4 hours (which really helps my fear of flying. Almost as much as Ola talking about “oh you remember that plane crash last year when all the Russians were killed” just before we take off. She swears we were talking about Polish/Russian relations and didn’t even think about what she was saying. I think it was the “it’s snowing” in reverse).

Snow all around in Tromso

We finally leave from a gate that is normally used for flights to an island even further north and see two signs as we walk in – one warning of the Rabies outbreak on the island, the other depicting two polar bears mauling a man and warning of the real danger of polar bears! Glad we didn’t see that on the way in!






We land in Oslo after midnight and have to stay at an airport hotel as our hostel reception is already closed. This means we head straight to the other airport on our last day (missing out on ice skating and trying the elk burgers – but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing) for our flight to Krakow