Back to Germany

Nathan went back to Germany for a few weeks in April (for work). He stayed with friends from the Leipzig English Church - Jeff and Wendy. Here they are posing during a visit to a castle a few hours drive from Leipzig.


So what had changed in Leipzig? One of the first things that Nathan noticed was a new ice cream shop - "Australian Homemade Premium Ice Cream and Chocolate". Australian ice cream and chocolate? He was quite intrigued and had to find out more. The shopkeeper only spoke German, and all Nathan understood was that the founder of the chain (from the Netherlands) had an auntie who lived in "The Outback" and came up with the special ice cream recipe, whilst the chocolate comes from Belgium and has nothing to do with Australia. There is a website that doesn't explain any further. Nathan dutifully taste tested the ice cream (didn't taste particularly Australian!), and then bought a block of the chocolate. It was only on returning to Australia that he found out there is a branch of the chain in Pitt St Mall, Sydney!

Other than that, most things were the same. When not working, Nathan spent alot of time catching up with our old friends. Jo was quite jealous that she couldn't be there also.

It was "Raps" flowering season in Germany. Rapeseed oil (Canola oil is from the same family) is used in Germany to create Biodiesel. It's really taken off, and is commonly mixed with standard diesel or sold as pure biodiesel. In order to supply the oil, many of the fields around Germany have been growing Raps, and the yellow flowers are quite spectacular.

Wow, this was a completely Owen free post! Must be because he was stuck in Australia during the trip. Don't worry, the next post will make up for this. By the way, we've added the ability to post comments on our blog, as well as to have a "Feed". Not sure how well they are going to work, but please feel free to try them out.