Though I did not have much to do with exams this year – I wrote only one in accounting – it is always a good reason to celebrate and leave the stressful life behind for a few hours, days, weeks…

We started last Thursday, the so called “Weiberfasching” here in Bavaria because it is the last thursday of the carnival time, where women are probably most drunk during the year, wear costumes and do whatever they want, especially they enjoy to cut off men’s ties. The Sausa in IN was completely crowded as every location, but we enjoyed it a lot to party to famous German pop songs as from Wolle Petry – see Daniel’s pics here. Also the TV showed up – ProSieben filmed Rob and Steph dancing on the floor and interviewed me for a second, but I think I scared her away after telling her where I come from ;).

The following Friday was the last day of the exam at our university and there was beer for free from 11am on, but I stayed sober till the evening. At night everybody met a last time before the holidays in L’Evento – the more or less only discotheque in IN. That night they offered “all-you-can-drink” for 15 EUR (of course cheaper for girls) – so it would have been a perfect possibilty to get even more drunk than the day before.

Finally Saturday we celebrated in a small round Fabian’s 25th birthday with a nice buffet, so the party session faded away smoothly and the “holidays” started.

This weekend I went to Hamburg, the city I thought before I would like most in Germany. The close sea and the style of the people fascinated me before – they are not that flashy in their looks as in Munich, but aware what they own. Nevertheless I have not visited the city too often – three or four times the city itself, a lot more the harbour because of my parent’s business when I was young. So I was excited to explore the city deeper, especially beside the so famous Reeperbahn, which somehow is so charecteristic for the city itself, but completely destroys its modern image which it tries to convey, for e.g. in the new to build up “harbour city” – much more modern than London’s dockland.

Some recommendations: First the very stylish café Hadley’s in the district Rotherbaum (Station Schlump) – a former emergency room – and second the Restaurant NIL in St. Pauli on the Neuer Pferdemarkt – very delicious food and innovative ideas about cooking.

From Thursday night to this Monday morning I was in Warsaw again. We went to see some galleries, such as for the Centre for Contemporary Art at Ujazdowski Castle and to Zacheta, where the last day of a spectacular exhibition about the modern China took place. The restaurant “Apetyt Architektów” beside the club Punkt on ul. Koszykowa 55 had a special offer on Saturday (every dish 25% discount), which we checked out as well – a very luxurious and lash place to be with its heavy leather couches.

On my 17 hours way back to Ingolstadt I visited Vienna for the first time – for 3 hours. Luckily Thomas with whom I spend my term in Warsaw last year was also there and took the time to show me the city as well as having a hot chocolate in Cafe Stein :). Unfortunately it started to rain heavily after my arrival, but it did not spoil our city trip.