Sunday, November 23, 2014

Airport Security

Over the past 27 years I have been travelling overseas by plane at least once a year. I embarked on my first overseas flight when I was 8 weeks old and have never looked back. During these years I have watched the airport security evolve. In the humble beginnings of my flying life a bag scan and walking through a metal detector, sometimes with precautionary pat down was considered more than ample. However, step by step, scan by scan, under the hushed (or sometimes shouting) tone of 'preventing terrorism', these checks have become more and more intense. You can now also enjoy full body scans, bomb swabs, questioning and surrendering of your liquids and knitting needles with each overseas flight.

While I quietly feel that putting under 100ml of liquids in a clear bag and surrendering nail files is a touch ridiculous, I go along with it as much a the next person. Laughing at the fact that while airports in countries such as the UK and USA scrutinise everything from the flakes of your skin to the souvenir snow globe you just purchased, many airports in smaller countries don't really give a damn and sometimes don't even scan your carry on (let alone care about liquids).

On my most recent flight, however, leaving Stanstead, UK things went too far! I have reached my breaking point with this system. Let me tell you why. After my bag went through the scanner it was put to one side. After waiting a few minutes a friendly lady greeted me and promptly opened my bag and proceeded to dig through my dirty knickers (I was on my way home...). Confident it would just be my empty water bottle I chatted away with her, until she delivered a foul blow. An insult which will make Australians abroad cry. She extracted a brand new jar of Vegemite and then, announcing to me that it is classed as a liquid (has she ever even seen Vegemite???), she promptly threw it in the bin. I was shocked. I wanted to cry. She didn't even let me say goodbye, or taste its bitter salty flavor one last time. Does she know how was this jar of black gold is to find in the Northern Hemisphere? I promptly informed her that she has just saddened Australians worldwide.

I call to you now people. Enough is enough. Stop this ridiculousness! I know that no one understands Vegemite like Australians, and I know that English people think Marmite is better. But really, do they have to go so far as throwing out a brand new jar because it is a 'liquid'? And all to stop terrorism.... Really now, we have to be going too far.

End the reign of 'terror', stop convincing people to be afraid and let us keep our Vegemite!



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Zagoa - a journey through the Merzouga desert

A Goosebumbs game box appeared out of nowhere...
It started with a journey. A long, hot, roundabout journey. We had packed our bags and left the hostel on the edge of town. It was the middle of the day, but the hostel owner had promised us it was 'just 15 minutes' to the meeting point. We set off on foot, bags on our backs, into the desert, not knowing exactly where we were going. We followed the road initially, taking detours across the sand to see the names of near by hotels, all that we knew was that we were looking for Kasbah Timbouktou and that it was the finest hotel in the area.





Hiking through the sand
Heat rose from the sand, distorting the hard lines of the buildings in the distance. We gave up on the road and walked in the direction of a cluster of buildings. As we drew near, 30 minutes later, two men under a woven palm leaf shade waved us over. 'Come my friends' they beckoned, 'take a rest, it is very hot'. We gladly accepted, the sun was high and we had already been walking twice as long as we had expected, with Timbouktou nowhere in sight. We asked our new friends where to find it, 'oh it is not far, 15 minutes from here' they said. They offered to call us a taxi or accompany us, but we politely declined, we had set off on foot and we wanted to complete the journey on foot. Besides... it was only 15 minutes... The men gave us directions, we thanked them for their shade and once again walked out into the heat.

The wrong hotel on the hill
After following the directions given for 15 minutes we spotted a hotel on a hill in the distance. That MUST be it we said, we kept our heads down and kept on trekking. The sand had given way to hot black shale, every small breeze brought a wave of heat, scorching our skin and it wasn't long before the water in our bottles was as hot as we were. By the time we had reached the hotel on the hill I was dizzy and delirious, my heart broke as we realised it was the wrong hotel. We sat in the shade in the car park of the hotel, hot and faint. A staff member saw us and beckoned us inside, we gratefully followed him. He gave us tea and peanuts and let us hang out in the lounge area for as long as we pleased, showing true Moroccan hospitality. Once we had revived ourselves we asked him about Timbouktou, 'It is not far, just 15 minutes from here' he said, although somehow we were expecting this answer. He took us to a window and pointed to a building in the distance 'That is Timbouktou'. At last we could see it, it really did exist! We picked up our bags, thanked our hosts and continued on our way through the desert, our spirits revived.

Making friends on the road..
After another 20 minutes we were there, we had made it! A man with a backpack on greeted us. 'Are you here for the party?' He enquired, 'They have changed the meeting place, it is now on the other side of the next village'. I was a mix of emotions, half of me wanted to laugh and the other half wanted to scream, but I knew no matter what I had to keep on walking. We were joined by another 6 people from all over Europe and Morocco and all 9 of us set off together, walking steadily, chatting and sharing water. After another 30 minutes a bus pulled over, 'Are you going to the party? Hop in, we'll take you to the meeting point', all out Christmas's had come at once. We all hopped in and collapsed into the seats, any remaining energy we had was sucked out of us once we knew everything was ok. Exhausted and relieved we arrived at the meeting point, a hotel with a pool, and lay in the shade for hours.
Sandstorm in the desert



When we finally arrived to the party in the middle of the desert we felt like we truly earned it. The next few days were a wash of thunderstorms, sandstorms, dancing, colour, hot sun and cold rain, beautiful people and an incredible lack of organisation. We met some amazing people and definitely came out with some strange stories. 
Getting home was another journey altogether! 



Beautiful desert sunrise. 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Marrakech Madness: Souks and Scams

The taxi driver parked in an alleyway, none of the places in sight had the name of our hostel. He jumped out of the car and urged us, without a common language, to get our bags and follow him. He kept a fast pace, winding down endless narrow alleyways. We struggled to keep up as we wound around groups of people with our backpacks on. It was not long before I realised that I would not be able to find my way back again as, in my efforts to keep up with him, I hadn't paid enough attention to the turns we were making. After 5 minutes he warmly greets a man chilling on his motorbike in the alley, they shake hands, hug and exchange friendly greetings. The driver leads us into a small entrance and the other man follows, a sense of relief washes over me as I realise this is our hostel and the man that runs it. It is beautifully decorated in the Moroccan style and we immediately like the place. 


Shops in the Souks of Medina sell
weird and wonderful things...
We had picked a hostel in Medina, the walled old town, as it is close to the hustle and bustle of Marrakech, it wasn't long before we were out exploring our surroundings. The streets of Medina are a giant marketplace in every direction connecting like veins to the heart of Medina, Place Jemaa el Fina, a vibrant, bustling marketplace that has been in action since the 11th century, packed full of snake charmers, drumming circles, henna ladies, handicrafts laid out beautifully on rugs and 50 food stalls all selling exactly the same thing. The surrounding streets are awash with colour; brightly coloured ceramics, spices and clothes fill up every available space. Here you can find everything you could ever want, and more: jewellery, clothes, tagines, scarves from Pakistan, teapots, herbs, traditional medicines, swords, fossils, and even live turtles. Tourists explore the busy narrow streets, street cats and motorbikes dart through them in every direction. "Come look at my shop" The touts beckon, "Looking is free!" More often than not we are greeted in French and we immediately resolve to learn some. Touts we stopped to talk to invited us to drink tea with them, not knowing the etiquette and not knowing if this would be a costly mistake we politely refused the offers.

We weren't in Marrakech long before we were subject to our first scam. We had made our way back to Place Jemaa el Fina and were exploring the busy square. An old lady grabbed my hand and began to henna it, despite our protests, making it sound as though we get a tester for free. After 5 minutes I had a design spanning from the top of my finger to halfway up my forearm, Tom wasn't safe either. "350 Dirham" she said, approximately 35 euro or AU$50. We looked at each other dumbfounded, she had to be kidding. "But we didn't even want it", we protested. "It is very good henna, it will last 3 weeks" she countered (In reality it had started to fade after 5 days and had almost disappeared after 7). We told her it was way too much, I had had it done in Australia for much cheaper. Her arguing grew louder, making sure other people could hear, "But it is a good design, you pay me now". We offered her 50 Dirham (5 euro/$7.50) which of course she refused. We were tired and out of our depth, we convinced her that we only had 100 Dirham on us, which she accepted. It was still way too much to pay, but almost a quarter of what she initially demanded. She smiled broadly and kissed us both on the cheeks and walked off proudly, we knew 100% that we had been had. Henna ladies look old and sweet, but are strong and merciless! 


The henna may have been expensive, but she gave us free glitter!


A Berber Pharmacy  (The bottom
2 are deodorant and lipstick)
The next day we wandered deeper into the Souks, with no real destination in mind. At some point the tourist markets gave way to local fruit and vegetable markets. Raw meat smells wafted though the air, piles of oranges and trailer loads of watermelons are on display, hundreds of bees feast on the open slices of melon. The alley came to a T and we stopped to decide a way to go, a sign on the wall was pointing towards the old palace and we decided this was a good option. Just as we started to move a friendly local man began to talk to us, telling us that there was nothing in that direction and that we should instead go the other direction towards the tannery. "It is very interesting, you must go, it is on today only" he urged. Following his advice we begin to walk in the other direction, down a long, quiet, narrow alleyway. After a 100m or so we stop to survey the street, another man stops to tell us about the tannery, parroting what the first an had said and offering to take us there with him. The enthusiasm of these men gives us a weird feeling and we decide to politely decline and walk back in the direction we came. An hour or so later we met a couple in a local restaurant, they asked us if we had visited the tannery, then proceeded to tell us a similar story to our own, except they didn't turn around. The tannery is there everyday, they had to pay 200 Dirham each for 'entry' (we later found out it is free) and 300 Dirham to the man for the pleasure of his company, 700 Dirham/AU$100 in total. Happy that we were getting better at trusting our instincts we gave each other a mental high 5.

We relaxed after a few days, we had a better grasp on fair prices and we worked on our haggling techniques. We could walk the souks with confidence, drink sweet Berber tea with touts, enjoyed conversations, learned weird and wonderful uses for all sorts of herbs and spices and learned the difference between hospitality and a sales pitch. We even learned how to shake off the henna ladies, although they were never as aggressive as our first night. 





Sunday, April 27, 2014

Buying a car in Austria (For the English speaker)

My partner and I recently bought a car in Austria. Given that neither of us had brought a car before and that my German is less than average this was no easy task.

We did a lot of researching online and posted questions in forums and were fortunate enough to find some helpful people. As I found it hard to find all the information we needed (in English) in one place, I decided to write the following step by step guide, to help people in the same position in the future.

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Finding Cars
To register a car in Austria you need to be a registered citizen with an address. 

Austria is known to be slightly more expensive to buy cars than Germany and some other surrounding countries. However, if you buy a car from another country you must pay an import tax and obtain a road worthy certificate, 2 (potentially large - depending on the condition of the car) expenses you can avoid if you buy the car in Austria.

Good websites to use to look at cars are: 
www.autoscout24.comhttp://www.car4you.at and http://www.gebrauchtwagen.at
Hint: You can translate pages into English by right clicking the mouse and selecting 'translate into English'.



Variables To Take Into Account
The horse power (Pferde-Stärker) of the car will be a major factor on the price of your insurance. The higher the horse power, the higher the insurance.
Pickerl (Report § 57a) is the term for road worthy certificate. You do not need a pickerl to sell a car in Austria, but you do need one to register the car. As a rule, aim for a car with a pickerl as if will help you avoid unexpected costs in repairs when you register the car, as well as the cost of obtaining the pickerl. When the pickerl runs out you have up to 4 months to replace it while you're still driving it. The pickerl can be checked by looking at the sticker on the windscreen - the cars licence plate will be on the sticker - if you get a new licence plate the sticker should be changed - this is free. 

Pickerl
Image credit:  www.mats.at
 

 See if the car has a valid 'Autobahn Vignette'. You will need this to drive on all 'A' roads and on the spot fines apply if you are caught without one. This can be bought for periods of 10 days, 2 months or a full year.
Note: The Autobahn Vignette does not cover all roads - there are still privately owned toll roads around Austria with varying costs. One way to know where these are is by using online tools such as this one: http://www.viamichelin.com/
If it is coming into winter you should check whether the vehicle has winter tires or snow chains (some restrictions apply with snow chains). Regardless of conditions it is mandatory that you have winter tires or snow chains on your vehicle between 1 November and 15 April. Winter tires can be used in summer as well.
Insurance
Once you have a car in mind you should compare insurance prices. It is compulsory to have third party insurance - known as Haftpflichtversicherung -  when you register your car.  You can organise this directly through an insurer, Versicherungsunternehmen, an insurance broker, Versicherungsmakler or through an online comparison tool such as https://durchblicker.at. With cars over about 10 years old you can only get third party insurance, not insurance for your own car. You can also organise roadside assistance, legal assistance and passenger insurance with your Haftpflichtversicherung.
In Austria you start off with a rating 9 on the bonus/malus scheme, which is the lowest ranked entry level. If you have already had insurance on a vehicle in your home country you can write to the company and ask them to send your insurance record. Be honest with them and let them know you have moved overseas and would like your record to obtain insurance in a new country and they will comply with a nice letter with all the information you need. Most insurance companies in Austria will accept your previous record and rank you accordingly. Depending on how long you have been accident free this can make a huge difference on the amount you pay. If the insurance company you are looking at doesn't accept this, go elsewhere as many companies will.  With some companies you will pay a percentage more if you want to pay monthly instead of yearly. Ask your insurance company if this will make a difference.

Some companies will also offer lower prices (deductions) in exchange for a higher excess in certain situations. For example if the driver is aged under 25, if someone other than the insured driver is driving, if you don't want roadside assistance etc. Have a play around on the websites and see the differences it will make.


Viewing The Cars
Once you have found some cars you are interested in and know the insurance costs you will need to contact the seller. We have found that Austrian's are most responsive if contacted by phone, regardless of any language barrier. Sending emails is easier, but you are less likely to receive a response. If your German is not great, use a translator (such as google translate) to prepare a few sentences along the lines of 'I am interested in your car, is it still available?', 'When could I view the car?' etc, to save being caught out if they don't speak English (though many people do). 

Many prices are 'by negotiation', so if you want the car you can ask for a lower price - although it is rude to bargain if you do not actually want the car. 


The Paperwork
Once you decide upon a vehicle and an agreed price you will need to hand over the cash and fill out paperwork (autoverkauf vertrag)  with the owner, this is the legal document signing the car over to you and is needed when you get your insurance. You will also receive documents about the car, the service history (if available) and pickerl documents. 

You then leave the car with the seller and contact your insurer - you may need to make an appointment. 


Back To The Insurer
Safety Triangle
Image credit: www.rtpromotions.co.uk
Once you have filled out the paperwork for your car with the seller, you need to visit your chosen insurance company, where you will also register the car. You will need to bring with you, your passport or photo ID, (international) drivers licence, the autoverkauf vertrag (Car-sale contract),  pickerl (Report (§ 57a) documents (if your car does not come with a valid pickerl you will need to obtain this before registering the car). The initial registration & licence plates will cost approximately 170-200 euros, depending on your insurer. 

Once the registration and insurance is complete you will receive your licence plates (Autokennzeichen) ready to put on your new car, a pickerl with the new licence plate details (but same validity date) and have third party insurance and be almost ready to drive your new car. The documents you receive will need to live somewhere in your car and the new pickerl is placed on the front windscreen.

By law when driving in Austria you need to have with you a reflective safety vest, a reflective hazard triangle and a first aid kit. These can generally be found in service stations and at border crossings.   


Pick Up Your New Wheels
Go back to the previous owner and car. Put on your shiny new licence plates and pickerl. Shake hands. Drive home. Do a dance and open a beer =D


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Please note I am not an expert and by no means is this legal advice. This is just a collection of information as I believed to be true at the time of writing. Have an excellent day =)



Wednesday, April 2, 2014

I am your servant

Learning a new language, you always discover phrases and sayings that seem hilarious, ridiculous or down right strange. Whilst we have equally as bizarre sayings in English, we are so used to saying them that we don't even recognise the strangeness in what we're saying. Learning a new language in situ gives you the added bonus of learning local greetings and customs that are specific to an area. Here in the Tirol district my two favorite common greetings are 'Servus' and 'Mahlzeit'. they are also used in other parts of Austria and Germany to differing extents. 

Servus is a greeting that is used all day for any situation where you encounter someone. It can be used with friends and strangers alike as a hello, a goodbye, a polite greeting, when you walk into a shop, when you bump into someone on the street, if there is more than one person involved, you can use it. 'Servus'... 'Servus!' The person will always repeat the greeting and if someone says it to you it is polite to reciprocate. For a casual encounter nothing more need be said, 'Servus'...'Servus' and carry about your business. Servus literally translates to 'I am your servant' or 'at your service'. Whilst it isn't taken at its meaning and rather is used as a politeness it still makes me giggle thinking about an encounter with the direct meaning. Imaging walking into a cafe or bumping someones shoulder, 'I am your servant', 'I am your servant', images of top hats and walking canes fill my mind.

The other greeting that makes me giggle is Mahlzeit. Mahlzeit is used when people are sitting down to a meal, going out for dinner (or breakfast or lunch...) and in some areas is used as a greeting between 12 and 2 whether or not food is involved. When I first heard the phrase I assumed it would have a similar translation to bon appetite, however I soon found out that the literal translation is 'meal time'. I have heard the greeting used in conversations with gusto, 'Hello, how are you? Meal time!' Sitting down to dinner, 'Meal time'...'Meal time!' Passing someone in the street 'Meal time'...'Meal time!' When looking up Mahlzeit I discovered is actually a shortened term of the phrase 'Gesegnete Mahlzeit', meaning 'Blessed Meal time', which makes more sense, like many phrases in the English language the formality has been dropped, however the meaning is still there. Though for anyone who is not from the area the true meaning is lost so all you hear is 'meal time', which alone sounds funny to me.

I often wonder what strange things we say in the English language that must confuse people or make them giggle when they're learning our language, or travelling around different English speaking countries. Of course being that it is all natural to me none of it seems strange. I'm sure I'll think of some soon though.


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Alles ist Möglich

I can't snowboard and I can't speak German. These 2 facts have hit me more than once a week since I have been living in Austria. Sometimes they hit me with hilarity, while I belly slide down a slope unable to stop myself or when someone speaks to me and all my German practice goes out the window and all I can say is '...errrrrr'. Other times they hit me with such defeat that all I can do is sit in the snow, body aching, and cry.  I was very aware of both of these facts before I packed up my life and moved over here, but it doesn't stop it from being any less of a blow. Not when I've fallen over for the 15th time, smashing my head and lower back on the ground and bounced around, sitting up with a face full of snow and a splitting headache knowing that no matter what, I have to get back on the board at least to get to the bottom of the mountain. Each time down the mountain I get a little better at snowboarding and I am significantly better than I was in NZ, however some days it is hard to remember this - even when my ever patient snowboarding instructor (Tom) is sitting in the snow next to me, waiting for me to dust the snow off, encouraging me and reminding me how far I've come. 

Not knowing the local language is a lot more isolating when you're not living in a hostel. You don't have the safety of other travelers who you can band together with. Of course, being Europe and Europeans being linguistic geniuses, 90% of people here speak English, but I don't want to be that person, if you know what I mean. So a lot of the time I opt to not speak unless very necessary (which means poor Tom gets all of my silliness). I am doing online German lessons, which currently provide more entertainment than usefulness. I have learned all sorts of phrases such as Ich habe eine Ente (I have a duck), Ich bin nicht normal (I am not normal), Deiner Mann isst der Insekt (Your husband eats the insect) and Der bär trägt ihre kleider (The bear is wearing her clothes). But there has been not so much on the useful phrases side. I am focusing on the little wins, a few weeks ago I went to a cafe on my own and managed to get through the whole process in German, which I was quite happy about. 

So, I can't snowboard and I can't speak German, but I am definitely trying to do both. Alles ist Möglich - anything is possible, with each phrase and each run down the mountain I get a little better, I just have to remember to keep on standing back up & keep pushing myself to talk =)






Innsbruck is beautiful though =)