Bye-bye Plastic Bags On Bali

A friend of mine just send me a link about a petition in Bali.. If they get 1 Million signatures they  will get a law that forbids the use, sales and productions of plastic bags on the island of Bali…

If think that is a wonderful idea! Especially if you’ve already visited this amazing island, you know how much plastic bags are used for everything… Even if you just buy something really small that would perfectly fit into your bag or even pocket you will always get a plastic bag… (Actually that’s not only a problem in Bali.. but this competition could be the beginning of something big!)

So, if you read this and care about this wonderful Island or about anything that has to do something with pollution just sign that petition! It doesn’t coast you anything
Here’s the link: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/Byebye_Plastic_Bags_On_Bali/?ccoOfgb

Yogyakarta

After one and a half week in Jakarta, Sentul and Bogor we decided to take a four day trip to Yogyakarta – the city in Central Java I fell in love with about 6 years ago.
I can’t explain what exactly makes me fall in love with Yogya everytime I put my feet in this wonderful city… There’s just something about the people and maybe the architecture (?!) that’s really unique! I felt comfortable even though I had no idea where we had to go!

Tugu Yogyakarta

The first day we went to see my boyfriends relatives, there are sooo many of them in Yogya! We had a great time with them and I ate my first “Gudeg” at their house…
Gudeg is a traditional meal from Yogyakarta. It’s really sweet especially in comparison to all the other meals from Indonesia – mostly all of them are really spicy…

Gudeg

The second day we went to the graves of my boyfriends grandparents. It was the first time I went to a cementary in Indonesia. Both, my boyfriends grandma and grandpa, were part of the indonesian independence war. That’s why there are signs on there graves – the Indonesian Flag and the writing “Pejuang” which means “battler”. So everyone knows what they have done for their country.

Jakarta At Its Best!

Of course we spent a lot of time in Jakarta – not only because of the traffic! Which is especially in Jakarta kinda  unbearable! But you have to live with it! That’s Jakarta   Even though I’m not really used to that kind of traffic I still love Jakarta – the things you can see, the people, the food, the differences and just the city itself… There is so much to see and explore!

Maceeeettttt!!! (Traffic)

When we were in Indonesia there was a research result that Jakarta has the most malls worldwide!! That’s a little bit shocking and in my opinion nothing to be proud of. Because a lot of malls look nearly the same, the shops are mostly the same and well the architecture isn’t that amazing too - especially the facade and the outer presence… I don’t wanna sound that negative, the inside in nearly every Mall is great… Particularly if you’re from Hannover and you just know the ‘Ernst August Galerie’
So for the sake of being from Hannover I had to take a picture in one of the about 100 (!!!) Malls

Anyone in Jakarta who knows which Mall this one is??

Now back to the beauty of Jakarta !! During an AFS gathering I had the chance to see Jakarta from above… The gathering was held in one of the many skyscrapers…. what a view!!!

 

 

There are ways to ‘enjoy’ the never ending traffic… Of course you can eat (), talk about the world and what’s going on in your lifes aaannddd I took a lot of pictures! If it wasn’t for the traffic I wouldn’t have gotten these pictures…

Bunderan HI (‘Welcome’ Monument), Central Jakarta

Somewhere in Central Jakarta, Capturing a Bajaj and a Demonstration

All in all Jakarta is a special city with a lot of differences, which you either love or hate… A city full of surprises and beautiful things, if you’re willing to open your heart to this amazing city, you will get some wonderful memories

~ Jakarta, I can’t wait to see you again!! ~

Indonesia 2013

Last month I went to Indonesia (as you can read from the last post)!
I had a really good time there with my boyfriend, his family, my old hostfamily and my friends.
Besides the usual (Jakarta, Sentul, Bogor) we saw a lot of different cities and Islands! Actually we were on the road nearly all the time – by feet, becak, motorbike, car, bus, train, ferry and plane!! They were some awesome 32 days!

Our Journey began in Hannover were we took the train to Amsterdam, because our flight was from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi and then Jakarta.
The first days we stayed in Jakarta, afterwards we slept about a week in Sentul from where we went to Bogor and Jakarta (agaaaiinnn)…

We spent some money on shopping and ate a lot during the first two weeks (of course where else do you find Masakan Padang, Swikee, Ayam Goreng/Panggang, Martabak, Gado-Gado and all the other delicious meals if not in Indonesia?!)

Fried Crab without the shell (I don’t remember how they call it)

Kue Cubit

Swikee Goreng Mentega (Frog fried in Butter)

Tahu Gejrot (Tofu)

These are some reasons why everyone of us should at least spent ONE holiday in this beautiful country!!! The food is legen…wait for it…daryyy!!!

Reunion In Bandung

Finally…!
After 3 long years Asri and I had a chance to meet again!
Me and my boyfriend went to Indonesia for vacation and a reunion with his family. So Asri and I took the oppurtunity and met in Karawang – her hometown and the city I did my exchange year back in 2007/08.
We met at our old school and were quite shocked about the changes there, that’s why we stayed there for only half an hour.
Afterwards we went to see her mom for a while – she’s such a wonderful person!
Nearly all of our friends from Highschool are studying in Bandung now (It’s about a 2hrs drive from Karawang). That’s why we went there … I haven’t seen the guys during the last 5 years! And gooshh, I missed them sooooo much!!!
We all met at a Place named Cocorico Cafe in Bandung… Actually one of our friends is working in Jakarta now, but he took a day off and came too! That was such a surprise! So after some hours at the Cafe we all were reunited – and my boyfriend finally met my friends from Highschool!
In the evening we went to another place to drink and talk… actually we went out untill 4am!! It was such a great time with them!
Sadly we were only two days in Bandung! We had a lot of things to do and to see in Indonesia, so I’m glad and thankful to my beloved friends that they had the time for this reunion!

I love you guys! And I hope to see you again soon <3 <3 <3

Urbanism–Copenhagen

Four weeks ago I went on a study trip to Copenhagen.
It’s the second time I went to this beautiful city.
To be honest a lot has changed during the last two years.
There are lots of new builings spreading everywhere, new districts are build etc.
We walked all over Copenhagen to see all this newly-build hotels, offices, appartements, residence halls and urban spaces. Of course it was very tiring walking on and on; but it was worth the pain!
We actually had guided tours in “The Crystal” – an office from Nykredit, the SAS Royal Hotel and the Tietgencollegium.

I really was amazed by the Tietgencollegium! It looked very comfortable – they even have rooms for couples! Actually it’s just bigger than the normal rooms (about 48m² – it’s actually bigger than my appartement. And I have the kitchen included!). The ground floors are used for bikes, mailboxes, washing machines, music rooms, handcraft rooms etc. So nearly everything is available in this “little” complex of houses forming a circle with a yard in the middle.
It is really another way of organising and designing residence halls! I’m very impressed by this work!

Tietgencollegium

The SAS Royal Hotel was designed by Arne Jacobsen. Build from 1956 to 1960 it needed to be renovated in the 1990s.
Arne Jacobsen did not only designed the building, but also the rooms, the restaurant and the furniture! After it’s renovation the kept one original room deigned by Jacobsen – No. 606 on the 6th floor. It looks very different from teh renovated ones and has its own charme from the 60s.
Even though the Hotel is renovated you can find Arne Jacobsen everywhere. His furniture – especially the chairs are giving you a warm welcome while entering the Lobby.

First Floor

Room 606

Restaurant on 20th Floor

Laskar Pelangi – The Rainbow Troop – Die Regenbogentruppe

About three weeks ago I bought a new book.
The book “Laskar Pelangi” by Andrea Hirata was published in Indonesia for the first time in 2005.
Now, eight years later the translated version is available in Germany. When I was told about the book “Die Regenbogentruppe” I didn’t knew that it was “Laskar Pelangi”. I actually saw the movie (2008) some years ago. That time I couldn’t really understand the whole movie. My Indonesian wasn’t that good at that time and with all the dialects in the movie it was quite difficult to understand everything.

Well time goes by and now I own the german Version.
I started reading the book after I finished an indian book, which I read several times during the last years.
After reading some pages of “The Rainbow Troop” I couldn’t stop reading!
It’s such a good book! The story is amazing and really emotional, you can identify with the persons in the book. It’s a wonderful story about never losing hope and fighting for the things you want.
Hirata tells the story of his childhood on a small island of Indonesia, the troubles they have getting a school education and how his class managed to save their school from closing.

 

After I finished reading the book I watched the movie again.
And this time I understood everything. Even though they changed a lot of scenes, there were people mentioned who never even once appeared in the book. But it’s still a good movie – especially for those who don’t like reading
Well, I still prefer books and I will always recommend reading books first and afterwards watching the movies.

Picture Of The Day

Picture Of The Day

Georgengarten

The Sun Is Back

This weekend the weather finally got better. The sun was shining and we got the chance to enjoy some hours outdoor.
We went to Maschsee – it’s an artificial lake in the south of Hannovers center.
It was very full there, I guess because everyone wanted to enjoy the sun.
At the moment Hannover is filled with tourists, because this week is the “Hannover Messe”. I think one more reason for so many people there.

 

Maschsee

 

Maschsee

 

New Town Hall (left Middleground) & Nord LB Building (right Background)

Nyepi - Day Of Silence

On 12 March 2013, Bali celebrated "Nyepi".
Nyepi is a day when people aren't allowed to turn on the lights. It is really dark on that day, and we can’t go out of the house.
When I startet to live in Bali, it was very, very disturbing because I couldn't do anything. 
But actually it is fun and helps to fight against global warming, because no one is outside, no energy wasted and no pollution.
Before Nyepi many rituals are performed by the Balinese.. first they pray at temples and make "ogoh-ogoh" - a symbol of the evil. One day before Nyepi people make a "ogoh-ogoh"-carnival. The "ogoh-ogohs" are brought around to show throughout the community.
After the carnival, the "ogoh-ogohs" will be burned, because they are a symbol of evil. Burning them is a symbol of destroying crime. 
This year I watched the "ogoh-ogoh" parade in Nusa Dua.
Here are some pictures:

Winter Comeback

Last week the spring finally got his breakthrough – we thought!
It was wonderful, the sun was shining, just wearing normal clothes and a trenchcoat was enough! Finally, no scarfs, no gloves, no hat!! It was just wonderful.
I took a ride on my bike to the Georgengarten, read a book and took some pictures.. It really felt like spring!

Looks good right? Well on the next day it started raining and getting cold again. Since Saturday Hannover is covered in snow AGAIN! I think I can speak for nearly all the people here: We don’t want snow anymore!! Were’s the Spring?

Please spring, If you hear us: Come back!!! We need you!!!

Stockholm–Capital Of Scandinavia

In the end of February I went to Stockholm, Sweden.
We (my boyfriend and me) got a very cheap ticket from Lübeck to Stockholm. It was just for two days – actually that’s the reason why the tickets were so cheap.

We arrived at Skavsta Airport – it’s about 1,5h away from the centre of Stockholm.
We took quite a long time to find the right “tunnelbanan” (subway) to Slussen.
Our place for the first night was about 5 minutes away from the station. We stayed at the appartement of a very welcoming and friendly old lady.
It was already 6pm when we arrived there, so after freshend up we searched for some restaurant. First we went to the old part of the town (Gamla Stan), but all the bars and restaurants we found didn’t look that good. So we went back to Mosebacke still starving, ‘cause we didn’t eat that much the whole day.
Finally after more than one hour walking arround we found some Taco Place which looked kinda nice. (Turns out that was some kind of Fast Food Restaurant which is in nearly every part of Stockholm).

On the next day we met with an old friend of my boyfriend – he showed us Stockholm.

The wonderful view from the balcony of the appartement

First we went to the Hostel we would be staying for the night.
Afterwards we went to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa is an old ship, which sunk in the sea close to Stockkholm. After more than 300 years under the sea they lifted the whole ship and put everything that was left on the ship in a Museum. It was really amazing to see this huge ship!

Vasa

Vasa

After our visit at the museum we just walked around Stockholm. Took some pictures here and there, talked about the really good looking people Most of them have a really good taste in Fashion. So it’s actually a lot of fun to just watch the people.

Close to the Vasa Museum

We are definitly going there again, just two days are not enough.
And we didn’t get the chance to go to Junibacken… Actually it’s a place for children, you can find all the characters from the Astrid Lindgren books there!! I’m really curious about that place! I guess some part of me still wants to be a child.. But seriously, if you haven’t read the books of Astrid Lindgren or watched the movies you need to go to a library or a bookstore and start reading/watching!!!