Was out with the girls yesterday and showed them of the city what I knew and they haven't seen. Went to all the typical tourist hot spots like Big Ben, London Eye, Picadilly Circus, Leceister Square and the Tower which are really beautiful at night. Also spotted a half price musical ticket shop right at Leceister Square. Gotta look into that. Also thought about looking into reserving seats at the Odeon for the weekend Sarah and Ursi are here. So they can put their butts, where Daniel Craigs' butt has been a couple of days before. How heavenly devine.



Been also on the whole bureaucratic nightmare trip today. Looked into opening up a bank account. Woof, what a nightmare. I got a proof of adress from the Hostel, but the bank (NatWest) really wasn't into that. They said they needed some real proof of adress, like a gas bill. Good luck at that I thought. So I went across the street to HBSC and they only want some adress confirmation from your overseas adress. So I e-mailed my mother to get something from the bank (in English, they said.) and as soon as I get that, I am good to go, because they have something called a "passport account". And I really do not want to run around London to find the perfect bank. I'll stick with this one. Sounds almost like AC/DC, so it's fine by me.



Also called the whatever-thingy to apply for a national insurance number today with my new mobile number (courtesy of Tesco). What a pleasant phone call. Hope the interview will go well too. Looking forward to being investigated like a criminal on the 21st of October. Woohooo.

I heard it is all the rage at the moment and there sure is a lot of restoring going on, so the streets around Brick Lane really are the up and coming neighborhood in London. And I gotta admit, it is kinda cool there. Loads and loads of vintage shops and Indian restaurants (apparently, it used to be a place where immigrants lived. There are even a couple of street signs that are in Hindi!) and since part of Camden burst out in flames in February, this is the new place to be. Clubs too.

(He desperately wanted to get fotographed by me. So I thought what the heck....)

There weren't that many people around, but I found a book shop and since I finished The Shadow Of The Wind yesterday, now in the safe hands of my Spanish acquaintance Ana, and I bought myself a copy of Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance (by Robert M. Pirsig), let's see whether it is worth all the rage it gets. Bought also a pair of shoes and a cardigan. But I really need that. (Not the cardigan, it was really warm today. I only wore a t-shirt and was fine.)



So that's all for now. Inga and Charlotte want to see the London Eye later, so I'm gonna see that one too.

....and my fucking ass hurts like crazy! (not what you think)

So am getting better at getting round London on my bike. At least I thought so. Today I managed to get lost, driving in the opposite direction that I should've for about 20 minutes. But all is well now, because the nice people from London Cycling Campain actually made cycling maps which you can get for free, for example at that bike shop on New Cavendish Street whose name I can't remember. Still, my spirits concering biking was a little low today, because it actually doesn't help that every other street is one way only and you never seem to be allowed to turn left WHEN YOU FUCKING WANT TO. Sorry, but swearing comes with the territory. Anyways, I still think the bike was a great idea. I'm not that easily defeated, I guess.

I moved hostel today, because they finally have a bed for me at my beloved Dover Castle! And a great plus: free wireless in the room! Woohooo! On the other hand, had to leave Ana and Carrie behind, one Spanish and one Australian girl, two very nice ones at that. But all is well and future contact is secured through the miracles of msn and facebook. God bless the internet. Two funny Swedish girls, a German (grrrrr) and a Swiss (double-grrrrr) in the new room. So amount of native German speakers is actually not improving. Yet.

And the men? Well, they are still beardy and gorgeous, but I haven't met any. And yes, Julia, I remember that I swore myself to go to Popstarz to meet you-know-who (and I don't mean Voldemort).

Just went out and bought a bike at a great place called CamdenCycles right around the corner from Mornington Crescent Station, but also a nice 30 minutes walk from the Generator Hostel (walk until Euston Station, then follow the street on the right/east of Euston Place - there is a sign saying something like "will turn into Eversholt Street" - and follow it for approx. 15 minutes. Camden Cycles will be on the left hand side). When I got there, I told the guy (cute, but not as cute as the two waiters...) that I just wanted a reasonably priced bike to get around the city and he showed me one for £ 50 which he hadn't checked yet, so he told me I could come back in an hour and it will be ready by then. So I got myself a cup of Earl Grey, set down on a bench and read my book (The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, a real page turner and as it turns out conversation starter!) and about an hour later I got back. But they weren't done with the thing yet or hadn't started, so I was told to come back in another hour. A short walk, a Sainsbury Free Range Egg and Watercress sandwich and another chapter of The Shadow of the Wind later, I got back and he told me it's only gonna be another 10 minutes. So I got out once more and got back after about 20 minutes and true to word, my bike was all set. Three time's the charm, they say.

I adjusted the seat, got myself a ridiculously expensive lock (35 quids, but it actually has an insurance for the bike included. For a year at least, which is all I need.) and braced myself for driving on the wrong side of the street. If I were religious, I probably would have prayed, but I survived anyhow, apparantly.

Now I have to go by Dover Castle today to check whether they're gonna give me a bed long term, so I can get a proof of adress from them, so I can open up a bank account. With that and the national insurance number (which I will call about tomorrow), I should be all set for work. At PRET A MANGER for example.

Hello Campers! Ladida!

Gosh, what a day yesterday.... Had a wonderfully relaxed time packing and getting to the airport with Laura (thanks again, hon!) and also had a easy flight and an easy bus ride to the city (for anyone traveling to London with easyjet: they have a shuttle bus service to Victoria Station and it's only 2 quids, if you pay in advance). At Victoria Station, I got into the tube (five minutes in it and I already saw someone with a FREITAG bag. I thought only Switzerland is crawling with them?) and took the three different lines that would get me to Borough station and Dover Castle Hostel. Please note, that I still was very optimistic at that moment. That changed when I got to the reception and they told me: "Sorry, we do not have a bed for you." (there was a pityful look from the receptionist for sure)

So I asked her, if she can help me in any way with that and she said there were a couple of people here just before me that she had to turn down and they said they were gonna go to the Generator Hostel and she even called them for me to check whether they had any beds left. They had six left, but there was no way of reserving one for me. So I got out of there as quickly as possible, got into the tube and tried to find my way to Russell Square Station. The plan was quite simple: take the Nothern line to King's Cross and transfer there to Picadilly line which will bring me directly to Russell Square. Or so I thought. Because Russell station is closed at the moment for god knows what reason, so I had to try and find a bus from King's Cross to Russell Square, by now been carrying a 19.4-kilo-rucksack on my back for about an hour. So I finally got to Russell Square, but by then I already had forgotten what that fucking hostel was called. Never mind I thought, got into the nearest pub and asked them where the Controller Hostel is. Funnily enough, the cute lad behind the bar knew what I wanted: "You mean the Generator? Well, I don't exactly know where it is...", but he gave me directions anyways. After getting into another pub and asking another cute bartender (what's up with that? btw, heads up for the ladies, because beardy seems to be the new thing, so it must hit the continent pretty soon) for directions, I finally found the bloody thing and score! they had a bed for me. That was around 10.30. Lucky me.

Next funny thing: I get into my room (at approx. 10.40) and the three other guys in there where already sleeping! So I guess I wasn't gonna be their most favourite person in the world and surely they would also disagree with the receptionist who said that Swiss where the nicest people. 1....2....3.... aaahhhhhhh!!!!! Anyways, I tried to unpack as quietly as I could, headed out to find that tesco metro across the Russell Square tube station and bought myself a nice dinner. No salt and vinegar crisps this time though.

Now, I'm soon gonna head out and do something. Maybe Tate Modern, though I'm still a little tired (they might go to bed at 10, but they get up at six too!!), so we'll see.

So cheers mates and peace out.

EDIT: Tate Modern, as if! Ended up in Camden and buying two vintage shirts and a vintage tie. All for 15 quids, so it was a bargain. Also have to mention that I haven't felt this unstylish in a while. Finally some competition! (and I am seeing the world through Armani glasses, I told myself. It can't be that bad.)

From time to time I will update this with all the books I read over this year.

The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón: What can I say... this book is a real page turner and nothing short of brilliant. A translation from Spanish, but a good one at that. The story really gets to you and doesn't let you go that easily. There are moments to break out in laughter and ones that make you like reallyreally sad. So all what a good book needs. I can definitively recommend it.

Zen And The Art Of Motorcycling Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig: OK, seriously people, this is probably the biggest shit ever and no, I won't finish it. If I want to have bad philosophical advice, then I'll read whatever people write at toilet stall walls. Seriously, it's just shit. On another note: Does anyone want my copy? (because I personally don't have a fireplace)

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: I read this book once a long time ago and back then I didn't really appreciate it. I actually thought it's not as good as the movie. But I like it more now. Less pretentious. Plus a lot darker. Beautiful.

The Remains Of The Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: OK, now seriously, I almost freaked out in the end, because basically nothing happens in the whole entire book. Weirdly enough, it was still amazingly great to read. Now that's what I call writing talent. But I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It's probably hard to keep interested in. Since nothing happens and all that. And I am not exaggerating or anything. Nothing happens. Still, I liked it. Despite the frustration I felt at the end.