Stuttgart after 6 months - Why the real life is nice and also kind of sucks

Dear real life lovers,

Six months... I cannot make this sound right in my head. I arrived back in Stuttgart six whole months ago. Where the heck did the time go? Of course a lot happened since I got back but it stills feels like less than a month since I left Australia behind to land back in cold old Germany.

I battled a massive jetlag, celebrated my 29th birthday with a beautiful cake with my family, started into the new year with my Markus and started a new job mid-January. Even Christine visited me whom I met in Melbourne and who also visited me in Perth.

My Australia travel video

Dear travel video lovers,
Five weeks ago I landed back in Germany after having been away for nearly a year of which I traveled over 10 months in BIG BIG Australia. I cannot stop thinking about this amazing journey. Putting this 10 months in a video of less than 9 minutes seems pathetic but in a nutshell it reflects my journey. The amazing places and landscapes I have seen, the many and long roads I traveled, the animals I encountered, the things I have done and most importantly the awesome people I have met along the way.
I hope you like my video.
Or watch the Full HD video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXlhNFXKlsM

Thanks so much to everyone who supported me. Please leave a comment!!! :-)
Yours Australia-travel-video-creator Stefanie

Australia Birthday Cake

Dear cake lovers,

This is definitely the best birthday cake my mum has ever designed for me and with the help of my aunt they did a fabolous job, don't you think? :-)

Last year I celebrated with Markus by sailing in the Whitsunday Islands which is still my most favorite place in Australia. It was also the most perfect day I had in Australia but it didn't feel like christmas and also not really like my birthday. Why? Because I missed my family. This year I am back in Germany and we had a chaotic but great christmas eve as usual. I just wished there would have been some snow instead of all the rain.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas 2014!!!

Yours Australia-birthday-cake-celebrating Stefanie

Australia - Some statistics about my travel

G'Day mates, I am thinking a lot about Australia since I came back 26 days ago. I did a lot of rummaging through my bills and came up with this very cost-based statistic that would be of most interest to those who are planning on going there. But I also very much enjoyed the other non-monetary aspects of my travels which surprised even me seeing all listed up like this. This journey was just amazing.
As statistics go, it could get a bit confusing but I try to make it as simple as I can and still interesting (I hope). I have the following categories:

1) How many nights did I sleep where?
2) How much did the accommodation cost me?
3) How many km did I travel by road?
4) How many km did I fly for how much money?
5) What did I achieve and attend?
6) What wildlife did I encounter?
7) How much did the touristic tours cost me?
8) How much money did I earn?
9) How much of my own money did I spend?
10) Cost-breakdown of all the spent money

Stuttgart - Jetlag, bureaucracy and dreaming

Dear home-coming lovers,
Just a week ago I had quite a journey to complete. After my climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge I slept very badly in the warm dorm room. At 6am I was awake and packed all my luggage. With the airport shuttle I got to the Sydney International Airport to check-in my suitcase which weighted 19.6 kg and then got through immigration and onto my first plane with Vietnam Airlines towards Ho-Chi-Minh-City. After nearly 9 hours we arrived there at 5pm local time. I waited 7 hours to board my second plane to Frankfurt Main and luckily had three seats to myself!!! HURRAY! Despite being able to lie down I didn't sleep too well and 13 hours later I touched down on German ground at 6:45am.
Well, I would say thanks to German efficiency within 30 minutes I was out of the aircraft, through immigration and with my suitcase out of the arrival hall and in Markus' arms!!! We were both so overwhelmed that we didn't take any pictures but I was a mess anyway. Markus has brought me all my winter gear: winter jacket, scarf, gloves and winter boots. We got into the car and drove to our first stop: the German Employment Office in Stuttgart!

Sydney - Last day climbing the Harbour Bridge

Dear Sydney lovers,

I AM BACK!

After Markus and I arrived first in Sydney on the 11th of December 2013 I am now back in beautiful Sydney on the 22^nd of November 2014. I got changed in my last hostel for this journey and then I walked through the city.

I headed to the Paddy’s Market and went crazy on buying souvenirs! It was so cheap, so many things on offer and I felt the urge to take a piece of Australia with me (and I needed some gifts for my beloved ones ;-) ). Anyway, at 5pm I was finished with my shopping orgy and got on the FREE shuttle bus to Circular Quay. Ah, the majestic Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Canberra - Discovering the Parliamentary Zone and a shocking feeling

Dear capitol lovers,

It was time to get into the Parliamentary Zone of Canberra! But first I had to close my Australian bank account which only took about 2 min. The bank clerk asked me how long I have traveled and admired that people like me are not afraid of quitting their jobs to travel for so long. Quite true, it isn’t easy to do it but definitely worth it.

After that I was on my way across the Commonwealth Avenue over Lake Burley Griffin. It was such a nice day and due to the low humidity (in contrast to Malaysia) I didn’t mind the long walk in the sun (but I put on sunscreen anyway).

This is the National Library as seen from the bridge.

Canberra - Australian War Memorial

Dear capitol lovers,

Believe it or not: I finally made it into the very capitol of Australia!

In case you didn’t know: neither Sydney nor Melbourne are the capitol. As a tiebreaker a completely new city has been created: CANBERRA! The problem with it is (in my opinion) that it is a little bit hard to access. I mean, all the cities in Australia are a bit far from each other and all that. But although Canberra is only about 300 km away from Sydney there are not too many flights going there and no direct train connection available. So you have to get one of the coaches like Greyhound or Murray’s to get there. And that’s what I did.

Australia - Birds in the wild

Dear loyal readers of my little blog,
During my time in Australia I had the chance and a fairly good camera to take pictures of lots of different birds in Australia. At one point during my Au Pair time in Perth I had enough time and the energy to look up their names on the internet (it was raining a lot, so no point in going out and exploring the country, right?).

I start with the most beautiful birds in my opinion: the parrots!

Here is a Carnaby`s Cockatoo which I encountered in King's Park in Perth. Only when I saw a picture of it in a Avon Valley brochure I recognised it as an endangered black cockatoo.

Malaysia - Langkawi island - Relaxing pur and last organisation

Dear island lovers (again),
In my third week in Malaysia I decided to get to the next island, further North. I got on the 2pm ferry from Penang island to Langkawi island. The clouds were pretty dark and it rained as well during the three-hour-trip but luckily it wasn't too rocky and I didn't get seasick.

Malaysia - Pangkor and Penang islands - Nice beaches and amazing food

Dear island lovers,
After exploring Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and the Cameron Highlands I decided to head towards the West Coast of the Malaysian peninsular as it was supposed to be drier there. And they have beaches :-) Lots of beaches. My first stop was Pangkor island where I arrived after taking two buses, a ferry and then a motorbike ride to my guesthouse. OH YES! Three Malay-Chinese guys who spoke to me on the second bus helped me to get me and my 20 kg suitcase to my guesthouse in Teluk Nipah on two motorbikes. How nice! After checking in and refreshing I went for a first walk along the beach.

Malaysia - Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and Cameron Highlands - Dutch, chaotic and mossy

Dear Malaysia lovers,
After my week in Bali and my week in Singapore it was time to move on within Southeast Asia. From Singapore I took the bus across to Malaysia and into Melaka (also known as Malacca). This town which is about 120 km South of Kuala Lumpur is a listed World Heritage City due to its rich history. Mostly because of their Dutch occupation but the Portuguese have been there as well and many buildings have been preserved. I had a good look around. Luckily everything is very close to each other and easily visited within a day.

All the trishaws are as heavily decorated as the ones on this picture

Australia - Compared to Singapore - my impression after a week

Dear Singapore lovers,
Guys, Singapore is like SO freaking different to Australia but than in some ways it isn't. I spent a week there after I finished my six months as an Au Pair. Luckily I was able to stay with my friend Eva whom I met in Adelaide in February.

Let's just get a few facts right about Australia and Singapore to give you an idea of how different they are:

Australia - 10 things I learned as an Au Pair

Dear children lovers,
I never thought I would end up as an Au Pair. In all honesty, I considered working as an Au Pair as almost my very last option to earn money in Australia. But then I decided to answer this one add on Gumtree as it did sound quite fair and well, the next week I boarded the plane from Melbourne to Perth to start working as an Au pair - in a French family... I swear this is the best picture of the four kids and me that we could take!

I had a bit of experience with younger children before due to my younger cousines and my goddaughter but these three kids have teached me quite something, I can tell ya!

Bali - Great but not as relaxing as intended... I blame Australia!

Dear Bali lovers,
I flew to Bali in Indonesia!!! Who would have thought I would do that when I arrived in Sydney exactly 10 months ago? To be totally honest, I felt a bit like I'm betraying Australia when I headed to the Perth International Airport. But than, it is a typical Aussie get-away right? I planned this to be a totally relaxing, slow-paced cultural holiday to regain some energy for my further travel. Well, that didn't quite go to plan.
After a smooth flight and a long immigration queue I got picked up by the owners of the homestay which I chose in Ubud. I arrived there at 8pm and settled into my room before I went out for dinner. I was a bit overwhelmed by the hot and humid weather and all the noises, smells and looks. Visiting any part of Asia is so different to any Western country or Australia. I know a bit from our family holidays but I haven't been to Asia in over 10 years. (Shocking, I know!)
The next morning I enjoyed a Banana pancake on the terrace of my room. That's how a holiday should be like!!!

Swan Valley - Au Pairs taste the best of what is on offer

Dear Swan Valley lovers,
On Saturday the 4th of October 2014 my hostfamily packed their Holden Jackaroo with all necessary things for a holiday in Exmouth. Well, they would have loved to take me with them but they ran out of space due to all the luggage they need for six people. Instead I will stay in the house alone while they are away. And I took the chance to organise a day out in the Swan Valley with three other Au Pairs, our Italian driver Veronica and two German Au pairs who live close to me, Angelina and Alicia.
I have been to the Swan Valley twice before, once on my own and then again with my friend Christine. So the other three totally relied on my knowledge and hardly informed themselves about what there is to see and do. So I took them to the places I have been before.
We started at the Sandalford Winery where we had a little walk around the vineyards before we went inside to see what is in the shop.

Perth - Zoo visit with children

Dear Zoo lovers,
The Perth Zoo is only a few kilometers away from my hostfamily, just a 10 minute car drive. But I never bothered to go there in the five months that I have spent here in Perth. Why? Because it didn't offer me anything special or new that I wanted to see and at 27 AUD entry fee for an adult I wasn't willing to pay that. During the spring school holidays and just 11 days after the birth of Éléonore my hostmother asked me to join and help her with the four kids at the Perth Zoo where she would meet two other French families with their kids to spend the day.

I took the chance to take some close-up pictures of my hostchildren.

Perth - Royal Show is on! Food, craft, rides and lots of animals

Dear Royal Show lovers,
I had to shift some of my other regular jobs around to have this day off to go to the Perth Royal Show! I was seriously excited about it, even more as I would not spent it alone :-)
The Royal Shows around Australia started as agricultural get-togethers of the regional farmers and to compare their best cattle and other animals and farm produce with each other and nominate the best of the numerous categories they have. At some point they got the permission to call it royal and up to this date it is one of the main events of Perth. At 9:30am I made my way through really jam-packed trains to the Claremont showgrounds where I met Twiggy and we got inside. We got a map and a list of the day's activities and events and made our way towards the cookery pavillion.

We had a look at the different stalls and showbags and got the chance to pet a really soft-haired huge horse along the way.

Fremantle - With James at Little Creatures

Dear meeting up with friends lovers,
This is my fifth month in Perth and finally James (who I got to know on my Tasmania tour back in February) and I managed to meetup. I totally forgot that he lives here and thanks to Facebook he replied to one of my pictures of the Pinnacles that we should meet up. Due to his holidays in Europe and my West Coast tour and then the birth of the fourth baby of my hostfamily it took us quite a while.
But we managed to find a convenient time for lunch and we decided to go to the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle.

Manning - The baby is here!!!

Dear baby lovers,
In the afternoon of Saturday, the 20th of September the fourth baby of my hostfamily finally arrived (9 days after the due date...). My hostparents didn't want to know the gender of their kids before the birth, so here SHE is:

Éléonore, fit and healthy, a French born in Perth.