holiday thoughts

Had a full-on weekend..frankfurt on friday, heidelberg saturday, and rudesheim today. de main destintation was de oldest castle (stone) in germany..dating back to where da first king of all germany was appointed. i took da guided tour and am glad i did.. today in rudesheim i visited a lot of places, one of which was the medieval torture museum.

The castle has endured a lot since it was built..wars, expansion, conversion, different occupiers [even da english was there at one point] and so on. The torture museum exhibits different tools used during the medieval time, who did it, to who, why, and so on..

In this article i am talking mainly about the following religions [in no particular order] Catholic, Protestants, Islam, Judaism, and the concept of religion in general.

So at these 2 occasions, i was reminded again how the concept of "religion" been working throughout the different eras of mankind..altho these 2 days have been mainly on the medieval, gothic - renaissance, but as u noe, the same picture of "religious" conflicts have been around since da beginning of time to this day.. destruction of civilisation, forced conversion of society and churches, "repentance" by torture, torture and burning of women accused of witchery, or to anyone questioning the state's religious doctrine. For women, they dint even hav any say in any religious institution back than. In fact, some religious institutions todAy still do not allow women to be in higher positions [Yes modern christians on ur horses, im talking about u too...]

everyone of u will hav a say on this..and yes i do noe dat diff institutions from the same religion have different policies on any matter..which ironically..only convinces me how inapplicable the concept is in building a more harmonious society..

i realy..and i mean realy...dun want to identify myself as one of these people..i was one for a long time..in da ministry and all.. but the more mature and learned i am [i do not claim to noe everything about all religion..neither am i da wisest amongst all of u], the more i think religion, any, is not contributing to world peace.. granted, men will still kill others over many things if not religions, it has however, contributed to the cause for way too long..

[yes2 religions dont kill people, people kill people, its nvr da religion, its da people..yah da yah da yahda.. open ur eyes!!! it has been a great cause to slaughter fellow mankind throughout da ages!!!]

i wana post some pictures up..jus so u noe wad im talkin about..mayb on later days..am passing out soon after miles of hiking..i think im rambling..

temperature, a gift , and hapkido

i woke up late this mornin..shud hav left for the academy when i was still pooing n my fren knockd on da door.. so i rushd out of my room after shower, grabd a quick sandwich to go..n off we went.. der was only snow leftovers...some water puddle lookd pretty solid tho... found out it was -10 degree [yep mInus 10] when i arrived at de academy..shud hav savourd it more..was my first time xperiencing such low temperature..

anyhow..had a pretty funny day..wudnt cal it gud...rather weird..funny.. lotsa bumps working with da machines..got it through after a long while.. i guess we learn by mistakes.. managd to make somtin for my s.o. tho.. she better treasure it..i almost wrecked a machine makin it..4 times or more on different mistakes haha..

ow btw...i went to a hapkido dojang yesterday in seligenstadt...about 15 mins by bus from my bus stop [which is about 10 mins walk from da hotel]. It was called the '"Shinson Hapkido" the dojang was awesome...it was new, smelled new, spacious, had a large bistro in front of da hall, and the Sabeumnim Yoseph [the head instructor/owner] lives on the second floor of the building..da whole building was modern but da hall had traditional oriental feel to it still.. very inspiring.. wud definitely keep this place in mind when i build my future dojang hehe..

the training was coreographd differently to anything ive done before..other than da korean countings and kicking commands [less than 10%] all others were in german..cudnt understand a thing..so i jus followed wad de others are doing haha..i think it workd alrite.. the people were friendly too..some of them who dont speak english still have friendly faces..and get this, after training and shower, they hung out at the bistro, in the dojang outside da hall to have a light meal..someone must hav bought da cheese, ham, sausage and beers to just talk and chill out!!! this shockd me..first time in my life ive seen this..definitely want a bistro in front of my training hall in my future dojang haha.. was uneasy for me..dat being my first visit and all..to join in da gathering..but i was made to feel welcomed..

so dat settles it. dats where ill be training twice a week for another month..hopefully more.. i might jus train there everytime im here in germany..seems like ill be visiting germany for another few times..wud buy their dobok for keepsake and souvenir if its not dat expensive...it was either 60 or 90 euro =[

Frankfurt

Frankfurt was a nice breath of modern civilisation after da week..im talking all da shabangs like mals, KFC, McD, Burger king, Zara..well i dint hav to take a pic of those.. so here goes.. [darn laptop lost half my pics when i cut n pasted..guys "copy" nxt time jus to be safe]


Yep..there he was a humble Jedi jus walkin pass..jus had to take a pic, de other was just as cool...


and then there were the nightshots..which i was bummed about cuz i cudnt set my timer...


no i am not a religious one..in case u wonder..but great statues..


this is like THE part of frankfurt..




The first parliament building The youngest was probably mid 30s..shocking..


This cafe was right in da mids of frankfurt..probably the most expensive rent in town.. Great chai latte too!!! i wishd my s.o. and my other coffee mates were here =[


No mom, ci astrid, guys, and my s.o, i did nOt go back there later dat nite.... *to my guy frens: i noe!? right?!!






yep..evangelists....dey're everywhere...da pony was not....


This restaurant/bar i went to, have been around since 1479..it looked great inside....ns beer..food was okay..


yep..naruto lives here too..wif da duck n all..

more photos

my morning walk




yep 0 degree


it snowed!!!! [classroom view]

more photos

My toilet..it's clean..bright, w wireless broadband.. im happy lol..

photos

will post more pics later...this place is even more beautiful than i thot it wud be..


...window view...1 pm btw..doesnt get brighter than dat


...yep dats my bed..


...first impression...

first day in obertshausen, germany

Well..second, actually..i just woke up from a 12 hour 'nap'..after 14 hours of travel from jakarta..not including bandung-jakarta car travel.. Pretty hungry, thankfully i bought some food on my arrival at a nearby shopping centre [i was told everything here close on sundays, so i had to get my supplies].

This 'hotel' is more like a college dorm..the ones i wanted to move in in melbourne jus for the experience [altho i did live in an apartment]. so yeah its all good with the minimalistic bed and toilet [will upload picture later] and the all-important heater.. afterall its 3 degree max outside..will be 1 degree max tommorow..too bad no more snow..

So yeah..so far obertshausen is a small town with lotsa senior citizens with some english-understanding-non-speaking people who seem to have poker face.. oh yeah..apart from my first 'taxi' driver 'Ali', a genuinely friendly muslim on a 3 degree Frankfurt morning..

I hope ill find a dojang to train in while im here for 5 weeks..or maybe a dojo [not karate], or a boxing/kickboxing gym, or maybe ill get desperate ill take anything i find..

2.30 am now n i had 12 hour 'nap'..hopefully ill get sleepy again soon after some browsing..dun wana be too jetlaggd during da day later...