"Twilight... film and book"

Those amongst you who know me personally also know that I usually show strong feelings of dislike when it comes to one special topic: "Twilight".

The Twilight phenomena

The book by Stephenie Meyer has suddenly turned extremely famous. Everybody seems to be totally nuts about it even people who have claimed - before reading the book - that they do not like it either. I admit, I am mystified. What is it about this book? Some kind of spell under which people are put?
Fact is that everybody who starts reading the novel seems to develop a strange kind of addiction. I was puzzled concerning the effects and decided: no, I am stronger than the book and I will still be able to resist it, if it is not after my fancy.
Now it is kind of tough to rail about a book you have not read yet, even for me. You might have clever arguments, even an ace up your sleeves (where ever you might have picked that one up because - remember? - you haven not read it yet) but as soon as it comes to the "have you actually READ the book?" you have to confess sheepishly "nope" and suddenly your points are not that clever and witty any more and worse than that, maybe are even deflating. Same goes for the film.

A decision

Well, what to do? I was on the horns of a dilemma and decided to give the book a go. That is the least I could do after all and afterwards I could still continue my slandering, this time professionally.
My only problem was that nobody I knew - at least nobody living close enough - was able to call this book her/his own and lend it to me. There you go, I took it as a token. No book, no read, it is as simple as that. Was I relieved, even happy? I think so, yes. At least till I was hit by this glorious brainwave of mine. I looked Meyer's book up at the uni library and guess what? They have it in their repertoire. I was a bit shocked. They seriously have books like this at an institution like that? I was also clearly embarrassed of myself especially when I had to pick the book up and face the librarian for that purpose. Two days later I am already on page 220. But hold on, do not make a hasty judgement! Do not even think into that direction but wait for my explanation first. I might not be addicted after all.

Reading and watching "Twilight"

Last Thursday - the same day I borrowed the book from the library - I also met up with my sister in law for a girls-only fun evening which included DVDs and yummy food. One of the DVDs was (you might have already guessed it) "Twilight". I had already started the book when I saw the film and now I am in the lucky position to know both: film and (ok, only half of it yet) book.

The film

I do not understand the fuss about it?! There we go, I have not even started my little review but I am already complaining. Sorry, but I cannot help it. After two hours of this film I clearly had enough and I only survived the film because we kept on talking through the course of it. I have never seen such a boring film in all my life. Well, okay not exactly true: Karin, do you remember this awful French film? The one who started in the middle of a play and during which most of the audience left the cinema?!
No, so maybe not THE most boring film but certainly VERY boring. The thing about the film I did not like was that NOTHING happened. Nothing. Except for 5 min. at the end but 5 min. are definitely too short.

Geisha girl or vampire boy?

Edward (Robert Pattinson) was also rather disappointing and a real bore. He for sure was not handsome enough to tempt me and seriously, he was totally different to the Edward I had in mind after reading the first 30 pages of the book while waiting for my sister in law in town and her promised lift.
Yes, you might have guessed it, I would have imagined a Jan - dropdeadgorgeous - Ammann kind of person, too beautiful to be real (hey, I am only a girl and he is my only weakness - matter of fact he would also be my perfect Dorian Gray).

the most beautiful vampire ever: JddgA (center)
(c) http://www.stage-entertainment.de/

Maybe it did not help either that I have heard about an interview of Robert Pattinson a few months ago where he stated that he usually does not use styling gel but simply refuses to wash his hair to achieve the wet-look on his head. Now how disgusting is that?! Iiiiicky. Yes, I know, actor and fictional character are never the same person but sometimes it is pretty tough to keep that in mind and draw the line. I am still shuddering at the mere thought, fighting the urge to collect some money for R. Pattinson and buy the poor boy some shampoo (the actor, not the fictional character, silly!). Hence I am also not at all surprised that I was not smitten by his Edward performance. And an Edward with too much of very obvious white powder on his face and lipstick clearly irritates me. Is he a geisha girl or a vampire boy? Maybe I should start collecting money for a proper make-up artist as well?

Bella (Kirsten Stewart) was okay

(c) http://picpoke.com/im/a4by0ex

even though she always looked the same (always a bit on the sulky side) and never changed her facial expression. A bit like Matthew MacFadyen in the new but awful "Pride and Prejudice" adaption?! Okay, I am going to stop here and not into another discussion why there is only one P&P version (BBC 1997 - Colin Firth, yes!).

Been there, done that!

Apart from the "I'm too old for that kind of teen film" point which might explain why I am just not into the film and the fact that it IS a really boring film, I have also another theory for my lack of enthusiasm: been there, done that.
I have already had my fair share of vampire films and maybe you can only experience such enthusiasm once?! When I was 14, 15 or was it 16 (?) I watched "Interview with a Vampire" and was smitten. Lestat and Louis, now THAT'S what I call vampires - the little girl was fab too - and even though I am neither a Tom Cruise nor a Brad Pitt fan (but I adored Christian Slater) I just loved the film. Brilliantly done and I was fascinated by Pitt's character Lestat, a very melancholic vampire. Which was the reason I fell in love with Roman Polanski's great musical "Dance of the Vampires" in 1997 and I am still a fan of it.

(c) http://www.stage-entertainment.de/

See, now we are talking vampires, real and proper vampires, not so called vampires who sparkle in the sun and walk around during day time. No, melancholic and depressed vampires. Hey, I would also be depressed if I would know that I would have to live forever. Sigh. A boring and depressing thought.

But I am in a generous mood. I had "Interview with a Vampire" (and was almost too scared to return to my room after I had watched the film because unfortunately it finished about 1 am in the morning and the house suddenly seemed really big and really dark) and "Dance of the Vampires",

Alfred (Aris Sas) and the gay vampire son Herbert

let the new generation of teens have a go at "Twilight"...

The book

I am currently at page 220 (2nd day, remember?) but not because I am that smitten, simply because I read it at work and work can get very boring even though it might be extremely busy at the same time. Thank god I am the master of multi-tasking which enables me to talk and read at the same time. I have been to work yesterday and today, hence that explains why I have already reached page 220 which is a good thing because I have to return the novel to the library in less than 12 days.To be fair I have to add that I much more prefer the book to the film!
The book is quite nice matter of fact, with only a few - but huge - weak points.
It furthermore might not be the most challenging kind of literature but it is neither trash. I can imagine that teens of 2009 might get sucked into it. Even I think that a few parts of the book are gripping but what really annoys me about the book (we have reached the topic of the weak points) is the character of Bella. I think Edward is a great fictional character, I go as far as to admit that I like him!!! As much as I dislike him in the film - I love his character in the book (except the sparkling part when he meets the sunshine, that is soooo girly!) but I cannot stand Bella. She is such an annoying person: little Miss Perfect, an overachiever.
Bella is brilliant at everything she does! Come on, get real.
Examples: Bella is perfect in school, she has no problems to follow anything (except PE), she loves reading and is above all a book-worm. Meyer even included a scene where Bella chooses a book of Jane Austen, nice attempt - it seems that some writers have the urge to mention Austen, Bronte, Shakespeare and the likes just to upgrade their own work, or why otherwise is Bella writing essays on Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" as well as reading Jane Austen? Of course, all goody-two-shoes characters love books and have a weak spot for Miss Austen... Quite obvious.
What else? Bella is above all her perfectness also the perfect daughter of Charlie (could it be otherwise and why does it not come as a surprise?!) and LOVES nothing more than to cook for her Dad. Hello? You okay?! Which 17 year old loves cooking for her parents, does all of the housework, loves books, school, etc. has the whole of the school as a friend and is admired by all the boysl? The book does also not get tired to mention that Bella looks only average, but why do all the boys fall for her, when she is "only" average?!

The problem of the book

Here we are, we have reached the main problem of the novel: the character of Bella has no faults, she is a personality with no rough edges to her. In short: Bella is too perfect to be real or let alone likeable. Okay the writer does not stop telling us that Bella is also a real scatterbrain and the reader gets the impression that she cannot survive a day without Edward (I am actually still wondering how she was able to survive her first 17 years without him?) because she constantly stumbles and falls over EVERYTHING but that certainly is a bit too much. No person is that clumsy, not even I!

Stephenie Meyer obviously wanted to paint a very typical version of a nice character, someone you can identify with easily and to whom you take instantly. She threw in cleverness, brightness an awful lot of goodness and clumsiness, gave it a good stir and et voilà: Bella was the result. But I am afraid S. Meyer overdid it. It is really hard to read the book because of Bella. She always stays a well planned fictional character and you can always guess why Bella is like she is, behaves like she does. No surprises. I think that is a pity, it spoils the whole fun of the book. Bella is ways too transparent and seems very unreal thanks to her perfectness, opposite to Edward who has his rough edges and whom I clearly prefer - as well as all of the other characters. You may argue that Bella is not perfect because she is extremely clumsy and cannot even walk straight for once without stumbling but then again: how realistic is that? A person with her amount of clumsiness would not be able to survive a week. It does not make the character more likeable, quite the contrary. You figure out instantly why Bella is the way she is. A bit less clumsiness would have helped to actually make her likeable.

Read me

I am not finished reading the novel yet but I am curious what the end will bring and if Bella stays the annoying character she has been during the first 220 pages (I am afraid, yes). At least nobody can say that I have not tried it and have not read the book.

And, am I under the spell of "Twilight"? As you might have guessed by now from my previous statements: only partly. Bella prevented my "Twilight" addiction. Phew.


PS: interested in a really good book? Try "The City of Dreaming Books" by Walter Moers - one of my all time favourites or why not have a go at "Pride and Prejudice" - the best book of all times? But maybe you love Jane Austen and are in the mood for chick lit? Then you should read "Me and Mr. Darcy" by Alexandra Potter.

"Children series..."

I do not know how you feel about this topic but generally speaking I think that children series nowadays have changed a lot from those in my days. Seriously and even though I am not THAT old (stop the sniggering) I have to join the "everything was better in the good old days" chorus.
At least OUR favourite series were nicely drawn ones, being perfectly able to persuade with their clever, witty, intelligent storyline and without all those monsters and I-dunno-what you find in today's series (i.e. Pokémon). Equally bad are those series about certain sponges (how silly is that?) or programmes for toddlers including characters named (shudder) Lala, Po, Tinky and Winky. Hem hem. What does this tell us about the state of our period?! ;-)

My brother sent me the link to Alfred J. Kwak today. Do you still remember him? The little yellow duck with the (not surprisingly) female German dubbing voice and the (surprisingly) dutch accent?! Awww... What I did not realise back then is that it actually was not "just" a children's series but quite the contrary, an educationally one. Highly interesting actually and to be looked up for more details here. The character of Dolf i.e. is not only Alfred's archenemy but also resembles a certain dictator (that's why he is called "Dolf" - the second part of the dictator's original name). Make sure to watch the clip and you will be surprised concerning his speech.

This send me down memory lane.

Did you know that the Duckdales (German) intro has a touch of a Viennese accent. Watch second 0:08 and "wer verhülft zum Happy Änd"???

The series which had the most impact on my mind - and I am still surprised I was not traumatized in the end - was probably Perrine. Nobody - except myself - seems to be still able to recall this series but seriously, this one was soooo sad. I think everybody died during the course of it. Hardest was the death of Perrine's mum.
Listening to the intro today has made me realise that I should have not been surprised that it was such a sad series, the chorus should have prepared me for the story behind it "(...) then stop crying Perrine".

Yeah well, I was not able to stop crying and who thought that Niklaas was sad, should think (or watch) twice.
My favourite part of the intro always was when Perrine and her dog grab those dandelions and fly away. I always wanted to be able to do just the same, heck, I even TRIED to do just the same, somehow it did not work out for me though. Wonder why?!

Niklaas, ein Junge aus Flandern (Niklaas a boy of Flanders) was also quite sad - remember when his Granddad died? Omg, I think I will never ever get over it! Did you know that the English title is "The dog of Flanders", how funny is that?!
(Couldn't find the opening only, you don't have to watch the whole thing).

And the series nobody except myself (and this time I mean: NOBODY - I mean, after all a few people I asked actually knew Perrine) - and my best friend from childhood days - knew was: 3 Jungen und 3 Mädchen (German title translated: 3 boys and 3 girls). Years later I learnt that the show's original title actually is: The Brady Bunch. I have quite fond memories attached to the show. I always went to my bestie to be able to watch it because my Mum had strong opinions (and strict rules) concerning our hours spent in front of the telly (almost non existing) and our programmes (almost nothing was acceptable). Hence I was being smart and usually watched at bestie's place.

(The intro is sooo cute and the only thing left I remembe - I probably was too young).
Actually, we did the same concerning The Adams Family because Mum would not let us watch that one.

I could rave on like this forever and a day but I will stop here.
And, did you also have favourite children series?! Which ones?

"London, what befell you? ... Part III"

The last day and to mark the occasion I persuaded my fellow traveler to have a lie-in: at least till 8 am. I woke up, spread over the whole of my bed. That's what I call life.
We had brekkie and myself the first faux pas of the day. I noticed an odd looking couple during breakfast. He was at least 30 years her senior, I got carried away a bit and whispered to Grissy that she does not look like his daughter at all, quite the contrary. I continued in that manner till I suddenly realised: those two speak GERMAN. Oh geez, how embarrassing. But worse than that, they spoke German with an Austrian accent. Where is the grave I have been so busily digging during the last few minutes? I wanted to jump into it, to use it as a hiding place. Thanks heaven the pair did not seem to notice though. Phew.
After breakfast we continued packing and finally wheeled our suitcases through our very own personal hallway, directly to the reception where we got the key for the luggage room. We left our luggage in capable hands (= the luggage room) and went for a short visit to Hyde Park. Gosh, I might have been to London quite a number of times already but it has been AGES since I last visited Hyde Park. The weather was brilliant for a little stroll round the park and I redefined the term "to hang out". May I introduce? Hanging out in Hyde Park:No, do not even think to get started. This is certainly not a monkey and if, it is the most elegant monkey ever. But all that hanging out is exhausting, hence we searched for a little spot to rest a bit. This bench seemed pretty close to being perfect.The perfect chance to gain back our strength. And maybe also to enjoy the splendid view: I really love this place. If I would live in London, I would definitely use it as my daily jogging route. Very picturesque.
Since Piglet insisted upon practising a bit of sightseeing on our last outing, we ended up in front of her: you cannot travel to London without seeing something royal-ish, can you?! Aye?
We were running (yes, you might have guessed it correctly) late again. Therefore we hurried back to the Hotel, got our stuff and hurried farther to the tube station. In fact we hurried that much, that we almost forgot our shadows in the park.On the train to the airport I stared at a poster on the wall for I-dunno-how-long (I think it was at least 10 min.) before I actually registered it. And it took me another 5 min. to figure out what it was about. So much about me being bright. Not very bright at all. After I finally got the message of the advert, I thought it is hilarious and hence took the liberty to take a picture. Without flash, otherwise the sleeping woman underneath that poster would have woken up and accused me of taking photos of her (which would have not even been true, iiiicky).The ad reminded me of my Dad. No, that is not true: it reminded me AN AWFUL LOT of my Dad. Must remember next time I call him to pick me up, that he is not, I repeat NOT, my taxi driver!
Once at the airport, we stormed into the next pub (as if there would be more than one) and I had one more chance for fish and chips. YAY. I was extremely pleased with myself and my brilliant idea to go there for lunch. And since I am such a touristy tourist, I took a picture of my meal, though I must admit that the mushy peas looked rather... uhm, peculiar? Maybe I should have changed the view of my camera and took the picture from the other side of the plate instead. Nevertheless it was very yummy and I can now officially recommend a good pub at the airport.If you refuse to look to the right in the pub, you might even forget that you are at the airport. If you do not look too close up to the ceiling, you will not notice the screens with the arrival and departure times of the planes and you will again forget where you are actually seated.
My funniest experience that day happened in the repack zone though. We wanted to weigh our suitcases and it was there I first saw this Austrian family with the not-very-clever teenage daughter. The girl was about 14 yrs and also weighing her suitcase. Apparently it had 9,9 kg (remember, you are allowed to have 10 kg of hand luggage) and she then went to her Dad "I have got 9,9 kg, what shall I do?". He replied "Well, what weighs less? 9,9 kg or 10kg?". She did not reply but had this really worried expression on her face. I tried not to laugh. A few minutes later she approached him again "Dad, what shall I do about my 9,9 kgs?". She was still not able to figure out her TRUE problem. Dad replied very drily "well, what weighs less? 9,9 or 10kg?". Girl turned around only to approach him again a few minutes later, with a happy grin on her face because she has finally made a decision: "I will unpack the boots!". Neither Dad nor I could believe her statement (and I really had to watch myself and not to be bursting with laughter) but I hope Dad has had a serious talk about her maths skills later on. I mean, I might be hopeless of ever understanding maths but this girl... WOW!
Next step, uh, by the way, I had about 8kgs (well, my suitcase, silly!), was the security check and you will not believe my next words. I did not beep during security check. Yes, I did NOT beep. Not a tiny little beep when I walked through this detector-thingy. Omg, when has THAT last happened to me in LONDON? Humph, let me have a quick think: never. Needless to say I was flabbergasted. Oh my, oh my, oh my. I almost froze in the security area and was not even able to make place for the next ones, passing the detector after myself. Nope, the security guy had to beckon me on. Sort of: keep the line going!
And while I was standing there, smiling all over my face and trying to adjust those jeans of mine again which I was almost losing (because my belt went through the security check without me), I saw that they searched Grissy. That day will go down in history as the day I did not beep but this never-ever-beeping friend of mine.
After a short break at Starbucks I had persuaded her that we and our suitcases should go directly to the gates we always go to, even though they were not yet mentioned at the big screens in the big hall. Who cares? I mean, it is not as if R.A. would ever depart from another building, is it? Well, actually, yes, it is. Crumbs! We arrived there after a 15 min. walk which felt like crossing all of London and the little screens at the gates showed only two destinations. None of it was Linz. Oh bugger. I got a bit nervous. Plus we (and two guys who walked in front of us) got told off by a R.A. member of staff who just stood there, at the entrance. What was she supposed to be anyway? Decoration? No, apparently she was the one with the crappy job: telling people off if they dare to enter the building with more than one piece of hand luggage. Fairly easy if you are a woman and take your handbag along too. Naughty, naughty you. It seems that R.A. - this bloodsucker of a low budget airline with the crappiest service ever - has tightened once again their restrictions: one piece of hand luggage means one piece of hand luggage and one piece of hand luggage only. Got that? No? Me neither. Since they are not yet able to charge money for visits to the loo midair, they came up with this really clever idea of how to be otherwise able to bully their customers. It seems they are doing a brilliant job so far.
I put the handbag into the suitcase and still, no mention of Linz? Oh dear. I went to ask one of the R.A. staff but yeah, well, one cannot expect one to be friendly if one is working for a low budget airline, right? The first lady told me that she cannot help me, because she is WORKING (I asked the one who told us off earlier on, so yes, it IS a job), uhhh, sorry for interrupting you. I asked the next one. She needed ages to look up from her computer screen (must have been really fascinating, what was going on, on her screen) but again, she only made vague innuendos and told me, yes, there are also other buildings they depart from (BUGGER!) and my flight (it took me ages and lots of "but my flight?" inquiries later) would depart from this one. Excuse me, what exactly does include the term "this building"? She did not tell me that but recommended that I go back to the main hall and have a look at the big screens. As if the big hall would be just around the corner...! I hurried back to G., told her how things are and hurried back (without suitcase) to the main hall. I arrived there 10 min. later and totally out of breath (and nerves). I came to a full stop at the big screens and guess what? Exactly at that very moment, the text changed and our flight was suddenly scheduled. I was seriously miffed! She could have TOLD me so. Whom was she kidding 10 min. earlier? I was loaded. I went back. It turned out that we actually were in the right building (see, I told you so, they always depart from there) and the lady in question was probably lucky that she was not at her work place when I arrived back at our gate. R.A. and their service seriously sucks!
Eventually we boarded our plane and were on our way back to Austria.Just when I fell asleep, the plane had to land. Pity. We arrived at the airport in Linz because it was cheaper that way. A shuttle service (we and another girl were the only passengers) drove us to the train station of the very same village, small town (?) named Hoersching. Hoersching might not be the place at the back of beyond but you can clearly see it very well from there. And guess what? They do not even have a ticket machine in H.!! We searched for 10 min. all over the place before someone discovered a sign which told us that vandals have demolished it once too often and hence it has been officially removed from this train station. If you need to buy a ticket (yes), you have to buy it on the train (oops). Furthermore the same message told us that we have to approach the ticket collector actively for this purpose, not passively. Uhhuuu? Wonder how you can approach someone passively?We did never approach him anyway, because he never arrived. Well, he did but it was seconds before the doors opened and it would have been a waste of time to approach him at the end of our journey besides he was busy anyway.
We arrived in Linz and changed trains for home.

- The End -

"London, what befell you?... Part II"

7:00 am. Alarm clock went off. Nasty. I start up from deep, deep sleep and my first thoughts were "uni today? exam to sit?" followed by a relieved "Lord no, I'm in London" and an even more relieved "hooray!". Nevertheless I was terrible tired at the same time, even though we had literally saved 1hour of sleep because it was the day of the annual time change. Lucky us. I left my warm and cosy bed very unwillingly and dragged myself to the bath room. God, that one was its usual cold self again. Iiiicky. Now I WAS awake.
First stop of the day was - quite naturally - the breakfast room. Afterwards we started our tour of the day. We went to the tube station and while queuing up for the lift, I already noticed a funny looking chap. It was a young man, about my age (very young indeed! we have just left nursery, haha) who was dressed very snobbishly or in other words: like a true and proper golfer. For which he might have had a reason because he was actually also pushing a golf bag. Cute blond snobby golfer, in his polo shirt and plaid pants was also wearing thongs! Interesting combination. While we went down to our station, he pushed his golf bag along too, in his thongs. I am still amazed he did not stumble. All three of us entered the tube. Nothing unusual here. Then I lost sight of him. We left after a few stations though and changed lines. Again we had to cross half of the underground before we arrived at our next platform. We were not standing there for long when blond cutie of a golfer came along too as well as his golf bag. He stood next to us gain. The hilarious thing was though that he seriously unpacked his golf bag, took one of his bats out of his golf bag and practised his tee. On the tube platform!!!!
Pity I was too much of a faintheart to take his picture. It was gold!
Our next stop was Shakespeare's Globe. Yes, the shop - I have a weakness for museum shops - and we have already visited the theatre on one of our previous trips to London. Nevertheless we still intend to watch a play there one - sunny! - day. But since we are easily distracted, it took us much longer to arrive at the Globe theatre than intended.At first we passed Kings Cross and hopped off the tube to catch a glimpse of maybe, uhm, Harry Potter's platform 9 3/4? Unfortunately we had to learn that badge in its "honour" seems to stay hidden. After searching the whole darn train station we realised that Kings Cross is very similar arranged like the train station in Munich. And where do we usually have to go to catch our trains in Munich? Yes, till the very far end of the station. To the hidden platforms 9, 10 and 11 if I remember it correctly. I think it also includes an 8. One of its not very famous qualities is that it is always cold and windy. And believe it or not, Kings Cross does have the same hidden platforms. Amazing! How high are chances that they have shared the same architects? In a nutshell we technically found platform 9 3/4 but we still could not reach it. It reminded me a bit of this German folksong.

"There were two royal children
They loved one another so true,
Yet they could not come to each other,
Cross waters so deep and so blue. (...)"

Well, okay maybe this comparison is flawed. I mean, I do not really LOVE platform 9 3/4, do I? That would be a bit odd. Our problem was not cross waters (thank goodness, I still remember with a shudder HOW seasick I was on this tiny little fishing boat in Ireland many, many years ago) but at least a barrier we did not dare to pass. God knows what might have happened to the balance on our OysterCards? Instead we abandoned that idea and found back to the first one: the Globe shop. Off we went. Not for long. Did I already tell you that we are always very easily distracted? I know how Hansel and Gretel might have felt, when they lost their way and ended up in the wood. We did not end up in the witch's cottage (the Knusperhäuschen - like they put it so cutely in Humperndick's Opera) but were attracted by the statue of the Swan Marker. I tried to take over his job, he did not let me though and hence I decided it is time for a little ride on that swan of his. I can be so lazy at times. I would have loved to take that swan home with me but I do not think it would have fitted very well into my tiny little suitcase. Maybe I should have done it like Nils Holgersson and just fly away with the wild geese?!After getting friendly with the swan marker and his swan, some of us enjoyed a little bath in the leaves.Next we really focussed on our old scheme again. Globe shop, remember? Eventually we really arrived there but funnily enough we did not get the thing we wanted most (= calendar with loads of Shakespeare insults) but all the other small things we did not plan to buy. Life is pretty tough, do you not agree? But you do not have to feel too sorry for us because the calendar's fault was to be too heavy for our hand luggage. Hence we had a brainwave and decided to order it via web 2.0. We left the shop with a big smiles plastered upon our faces.
It was still very early but now we were hungry again. How odd. We gave in and headed for the next pub but it seems that we stumbled over a hole in the time instead: past meets future.And pub was still closed. Crumbs. They would only open in about half an hour. Hence we changed plans again and marched on. Like soldiers. Like proper ones. Not the ones in hiding.The past did not leave without making a mark on London. Someone had forgotten to tidy up after it had left. Soon we stumbled over the next gap in the time. They are sprinkled all over London. This time it lead us straight to the future and "we" (well, I think I am the guilty one) had great fun jumping up and down, back and forth on the lights.Our journey also led us - quite involuntary - to the Tower of London but since we were already at it. PHOTOOOOOOS!By now I was almost starving. We hurried back and yep, pub had finally opened its doors. But I must say that fish and chips have NOT improved since last time I was at this particular pub. Quite the contrary. Yucky. Chips tasted like flour and the batter was not very well done. Plus I did not have salt on the table but pepper and accidentally used it like salt. Iiiicky.
Neveretheless it was as very pretty pub. Before lunch we were not able to keep up walking because we felt too faint (starving! remember?), afterwards we were not able to keep up walking because now we felt too full. Life was pretty tough again. We dragged ourselves to the next tube station which was very far off for London conditions. At home we made the mistake and stopped for coffee at Whiteley's. Once back home in the hotel room someone (which again was not me) realised that we would be probably too late for our next musical. Brilliant. Just marvellous. Next time I want to be granted a say. We got changed within minutes - we are experts thanks to years of practise - and hurried back to the tube. Bye, bye little afternoon nap, I wave you farewell. Hello full and crowded tube.
One lady in the tube had the not very bright idea to take a picture, with flash, of the very same. The driver (or was it some higher authority?) acted very witty and told her off in a very British manner. He intervened via loud speaker and said that "it might not be a very clever idea to blind the driver of the tube with a flash" and furthermore "could the lady in the red coat please stop taking pictures using flash?". Everybody in the tube and outside on the platform turned their heads in search for the lady in question with the red coat. I think I saw her. How embarrassing.
We on the other hand started to encounter a little time crisis. We were supposed to pick the tickets up 30 min before the show. We arrived there 15 min before the show and it was our turn in the queue 10 min. before the show. Tickets were still ours though. Phew. Plus we did a sprint. I won (vastly superior *g*). My jogging experience finally paid off. We both looked like a complete mess though.
The show was a musical comedy show called "Talent". Wicked was my special request, Talent was Grissy's. So, what is the story of Talent?

It’s talent night at Bunter’s niteclub, and contestant Julie and her fat friend Maureen are waiting backstage. As they are plunged into a world of ukulele wielding pensioners, crotch grabbing comperes and some long buried personal history, Julie and Maureen have to decide how lucky they really want to be.

Talent is a comedy with original songs written by Victoria Wood. It was first performed in 1978 at the Crucible Theatre Sheffield, winning Wood the Evening Standard award for Most Promising Playwright. Adapted for TV the following year, it won her another Most Promising Writer Award and a BAFTA nomination.

“The first and last thing to be said about Talent is that it is very funny – at times, too near the knicker-wetting degree… in its short and pithy span it incorporates a wealth of human disillusion and more comic one-liners than is altogether fair” - Guardian

http://www.menierchocolatefactory.com/talent

I have to say that this show had a strange effect upon me. Up until now I still do not know for sure what the beginning was about? The show just starts... then everything changes and the rest of it might make some kind of sense but I am still confused concerning the beginning?
The show does its genre (comedy musical) every credit but what I missed was not only the end but also a proper story. I am still not over the lack of story yet. I have never seen any musical like it. While I was still congratulating myself that we had front row seats without any problems reaching the doors and hence would be the first during the break who could queue up for the loo, the musical finished. Seriously? That was it? You joking? No? That was really it!?
It finished with a lack in story and a proper end. Plus the jokes. The jokes were highly entertaining most of the time but some jokes just seemed to vanish and were not taken fully advantage off. May I just throw "the plastic hat" into my little speech? Everybody was waiting that this hat with its dubious content would fall off the window sill and... but nothing whatsoever happened, once placed up there it sadly enough stays there. I felt really sorry for such a waste of joke, it deserved better than this.
Performers were brilliant, especially Maureen and Julie but I fear that it is all I can say about the show. Hold on, no. Our view was brilliant. We had 1st row tickets which left us a bit nervous at the beginning. After all it was a COMEDY musical. And the theatre was tiny. Very tiny in fact. Auditorium and stage were almost like a living room and our row was like one big couch. Advantage was that you felt like in your own living room, very cosy. Once the light was out I was able to stretch my legs and the only thing missing was crisps or popcorn. It became a problem for someone else who wanted to leave earlier. Very rude behaviour anyway, he just got up and left the room during the final applause. One of the performers was extremely funny. While the rude guy passed him, he waved cheerfully and said "bye".
After we had left the theatre, we walked into the wrong direction but did not realise it quickly enough. Once we had realised our mistake we decided to keep on walking into that direction, there are tubes everywhere anyway. Plus it was still very early evening and this is London. Hence it was just a matter of time before we arrived at the next tube station. We used the time walking without having a clue where we were heading to for taking photographs again. Lights!! All those funny little lights. And hey, we transformed into shadow people. Eventually we arrived at a tube station and took one to Leicester Square. Starving again. It was time for dinner. We went for Pizza Hut but had to wait AGES for a table, AGES for the food and yes, AGES for the bill. I think I aged for at least a hundred years while waiting.
Next point on our busy schedule was: "Dorian Gray", the film. And I discovered that the Odeon at Leicester Square has a 2 class society. Amazing. I think Karl Marx would have had a few words to say about it. The premium member ship cinema - a grand, nice looking part of the building - and the other one - the not so grand looking building. We experienced the second one, and how cute, very tiny with plenty of long and confusing corridors.
I had two simple reasons for the film: 1) Colin Firth (very strong reason) and 2) Dorian Gray (the novel). Ad 2) I love the book by Oscar Wilde! Fascinating story. In my opinion JddgA would be the perfect Dorian (judging from his looks only of course) and I was very curious how they would have solved the problem of this really beautiful, gorgeous looking Dorian Gray. I mean, I know that Jan - dropdeadgorgeous - Ammann does not have a part in this film. What a surprise. ;-)
I must say that Colin Firth did a brilliant job as baddy. Too brilliant. I felt constantly torn. Should I hate or love him? He was very convincing.
Dorian Gray actor Ben Barnes might not be as beautiful as JddgA but he was definitely a perfect Dorian. Unlike Björn Johan Andrésen who played Tadzio in Viscontis Death in Venice in 1971. I never figured out why they used HIM as Tadzio. I do not think he looked beautiful enough for that part but anyway. Back to "Dorian Gray". The only thing which I disliked about Ben Barnes (Grissy please do not hurt me) are his teeth. Seriously. I am a little teeth fetishist, I know, but why did they bleach his teeth like THAT? They looked ways too white. The only thing missing was a flash every time he smiles.
Conclusion: I enjoyed the film but again, I was not really convinced. They changed too much of the original story. Dorian was reduced to screwing around, being a great womaniser as well as a constant visitor of brothels. I am pretty sure it was not in the original novel even though it was some time ago when I last read it. They even changed the end a bit. Mind you, not the main important thing but others.
End of day: too late again.

(to be continued)

"University..."

Want to have a peek at our new university? Trust me, it's totally worth it. And somehow I am happy that it isn't finished yet. How come? Well, just have a look at the picture.

Isn't it cute? What a unique way to build an university. With trees. Maybe that is the origin of the term "Baumschule" ("tree nursery" - in German: "tree school").

"London, what befell you?... Part I"

There we go again. We (me and my bestie) have not been to London this year, a fact which clearly irritated me for a while. At least till I had persuaded Grissy that it is a matter of some urgency. We had various reasons suggest to go to London immediately: shopping, musicals, plays, shopping, fish'n chips (yes, that is also a very good reason), musicals, plays, shopping, (...).
Finally we came to the conclusion: Yes, we can!
Aye, we really do. Our journey started on the 24th of October. Everything went wrong that morning. I almost put milk into my orange juice instead of the coffee and after I had realised that mistake, I actually knocked the cup of coffee over and spilt the coffee over most of the table, the next chair and almost half of the floor. Crumbs! I spent the next 10 minutes mobbing the floor instead of reading Saturday's paper. Somehow I managed to leave the house unharmed though. We met at the airport at 8.30 am and I was really lucky to not miss that flight. You do not have an idea how close I was to missing it all. Problem is that I have never been able to read the clock properly. It all started in my childhood, when we had to learn the clock in primary school. God, I think I was the worst clock scholar ever. And on various occasion I obviously still proof that I have not really worked it out yet. Even not after all those years. Thank goodness I asked Grissy - by coincidence - a few days before our departure about the time again and realised then that I have to be there one hour earlier than expected. Hence I did arrive in time.
And by the way, I did beep again during security check at the airport. How frustrating. What is the reason? I still have not figured it out but ended up running through the sensor in my "Hello Kitty!" socks instead. Like a real grown-up. At least I was not alone. Grissy beeped too, for the first time ever (if I recall it correctly?).
Everything went very smoothly at the Gate though which was a thing we did not expect to happen. Since when are Europeans able to queue up properly? Without being mean and trying to overtake others while they are not paying attention? Maybe the "mix" was the reason. It was almost young people only. It seems that a whole generation had decided to leave the country for an extended weekend. And we also discovered that Priority Check-In seems to become rather unfashionable. Hooray. I never liked it.
I got the window seat at the plane (why is it always me again? Makes me sound greedy, like a sucker for window seats which I am not. Seriously, I am usually a very nice person and do not necessarily have to sit at the window in planes) and we even got tickets for the Stansted Express from the stewardess. Woo hoo. They were already sold out last time they reached us. Maybe my streak of bad luck had changed? Arriving in London was brilliant. Back. Finally. Yay.
First mission to grab something for lunch. Hence we went to the same little bistro we already knew. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. I was not only happy to finally get my coffee and something to eat - Piglet too...... no, I was also greatly entertained by two young police officers. They walked into the bistro, seriously heavily armed. Machine guns between their legs, they sat at a small table and sipped their café latte appreciatively. Err, yes?
Eventually it was time to leave. We bought ourselves our precious cards for the tube and were rather amused when the ticket guy told me that he only sells those for visitors. "Ah, yes?" I mean, that was the idea, was it not?! Happily we sat on the train to London. We know the way to the hotel by heart by now and hence did not have to look it up. Which is an advantage. It saves you a lot of time. But the tube was crowded and quite sticky. Not like always. Hmmm? We were very relieved when we finally arrived at our station and even more when we finally stood at the reception of the hotel. The receptionist however did not look familiar. He was definitely a newbie. And what a newbie he was. I named him "Casanova". But he was more of a "I want to be a Casanova but I'm not" kind of Casanova. God, I did not like him. You could even go as far as to call it: dislike at first sight. He was actually quite slimy. Yucky. Our room was brilliant though. We were already very curious what kind of room we would get this time and were really surprised when we found out. It was a four-bedroom! How marvellous is that? Uhuuuu! I had the first pick of the bed (thanks Grissy!) and took the big one. After running through the room for more than 10 minutes - you do not have an idea how long it takes to peer into all those cupboards and doors - we decided that we had to get changed as soon as possible and hit the town. Otherwise we would run late and because of that would get our schedule muddled up. Soon we were dressed and our way to the Oxford Street.This time tubes were even more crowded than before and I had the dubious honour to be squeezed into the tube next to a really disgusting guy. He definitely had some kind of a problem and I was squeezing myself very hard against the wall, just to not have too much contact with him. He looked a bit like a maniac and all people round me were doing the same thing: trying to get out of his way. Unfortunately nobody was successful.
We arrived somewhere at Oxford Street but it was packed. Unbelievable. I have never seen it that packed. Clearly something was amiss. I was also lacking the shopping spirit today and Grissy felt the same, so we ended up fleeing from Oxford Street. Leicester Square - Hello! Of course we could not leave before we also had a quick look around at "Waterstones", best book shop ever. I was devastated though when I was not even able to find Lindsey Davis' "A dying light in Corduba" here. It is the book I need to read next which belongs to the brilliant Falco series but I do not seem to be able to lay hands on it. Rather frustrating. Any Lindsey Davis fan out there who can actually help me? Where am I able to order those books? I am stuck at "A dying light in Corduba". You can contact me at vero (at) kaffeeschluerfer.com! Thanks a million.
Back to my story. Us at Leicester Square We could not resist this very touristy picture.
Then it was time to go back to our hotel again. We had to get changed once more. This time for "Wicked", the musical.I was really eager to see it. I have wanted to go to a Wicked show for AGES. But I could not get over myself and order tickets for Stuttgart. Hence I missed Mark Seibert as Fiyero. Pity really. But then again... Who knows what London would bring? Usually we buy our theatre/Musical tickets directly IN London, at the only official 1/2 price ticket shop. This time we booked tickets in advance, just to make sure we would actually get tickets for Wicked.
And gosh, we definitely did not regret it! In honour of Wicked I picked something green for the show and we could also not resist the obligatory picture in front of the venue. Too tempting but very touristy, I know.
I already look very wicked on this one, sorry.
The show itself. The show was brilliant! Seriously. I was smitten. First of all we had marvellous seats, a magnificent view - except maybe for the guy in front of me, who was rather on the tall side and obviously enjoyed moving his head CONSTANTLY as well as the lady next to me, who was rather on the big side but at least she did not move! But hey, I got even used to them. View was great. After getting used to the two already mentioned guys, I truly enjoyed the show.But where shall I begin? Very tricky. I am not sure everybody wants to read a full review of Wicked at this point hence I try to cut a long story short.
My only comparison was the already mentioned German cast of Wicked. I might not have been there myself but I got the record. Was I sorry before the show (and very sorry I was!) that I had not the chance to catch Mark Seibert as Fiyero due to the wrong country, I was very happy afterwards that I was lucky enough to get Oliver Tompsett instead. His Fiyero was amazing. I am quite sure Mark Seibert's would have been equally brilliant but I have to say that Oliver Tompsett's did a very good job here. Same goes for Alexia Khadime as Elphaba. She has an absolutely impressive voice and I really enjoyed her "Defying Gravity" even though I am already a bit fed up with this particular song cos it gets always performed during TV shows and Wicked presentations. My most favourite song stays my most favourite song "No Good Deed". Furthermore - even though I hate to say it - I think Alexia Khadime betters the German (Dutch) version of Elphaba, namely Willemijn Verkaik.
I think I will not have to mention that I also quite enjoyed Dianne Pilkington as Glinda and especially Alex Jessop as Boq. Well, and all the rest of the cast too of course. I think I will stop here. Cannot mention all of them and besides... point is that the whole show was just PERFECT. I think I have never had such a perfect cast before. Seriously! The Ludwig² cast in Fuessen (including Jan - dropdeadgorgeous - Ammann) was already pretty much close to being perfect (JddgA certainly IS perfect) but the Wicked cast of London beats it all. Should you happen to be in London or should you intend to travel there: go and see this musical.
The funny thing was though that the the storyline of the show reminded me a bit of AIDA and another musical I cannot think of at the moment. You just have to compare the set-up of the relationship between Fiyero and Elphaba (Wicked) and Radames and Aida (Aida). Very similar. I would go as far as to say they are the same. In either instance they first have a strong dislike for each other which eventually turns into love, only to learn that they are not allowed to be together. They overcome those gaps in class at the end. And in either instance there is a very envious but appropriate first relationship which gets destroyed during the course of the second one and who in either instance react rather harsh. Both first relationships are blond and on the dumb side but also very entertaining at the same time. At the end both of them help to unite the "real" lovers again. Come to think of it. I think someone has copied from someone here. ;-)
After the show we originally intended to go home before we almost bumped into Oliver Tompsett which was a very nice surprise and of course it did help that we obviously passed the stage entrance at just the right time. A few minutes later I nearly bumped into a hunky guy in the tube station, Grissy accused me of doing that on purpose but no, I swear, I really did not see him coming my way.
I have forgotten what time it was when we finally arrived back home. After a bit of moth hunting who turned out to be a lady beetle in the end on my part and who above all almost attacked me, while I was hopping up and down on the fourth bed to catch it, we fell into our beds like dead. Good Night!

"First snow..."

When I looked out of the window today I could not believe my eyes. Snow. It was snowing this morning - and since it is already 9.30 pm I can safely add a - and on a few more occasions later on.
I do not want to sound ungrateful but it felt so wrong. May I remind you that we are not even in the middle of October yet? Okay, by tomorrow we actually are but nevertheless, since when is it supposed to snow in October?! That just does not feel right and above all, it makes life more difficult. Ever tried getting up in the morning when it is warm and cosy in your bed? Yes? I felt like that today.
Before I left for the bus I even managed a photo of the first snow. Awww, ain't it pretty nevertheless?
Even though I am not a huge fan of snow - what an understatement - the first snow is always something very special.
When I left the house it was still snowing - yes, that was snow, no rain. Pity that I could not find my winter shoes though. I had to use my sneakers and hence my toes were almost numb when I left town again in the late evening.
This morning I stood at the bus stop, freezing like hell. Although that it is probably a paradox, you can hardly freeze like hell, can you?!
And anyway, the little white fluffy things on my coat - normally it is a BLACK coat, the lightening's fault - are snowflakes. Real proper snowflakes! With this in mind, ho ho ho, Merry Christmas. Just joking ;D