The Kiel Week poisoning

I can't wait until the Kiel Week has been the refrain from every single person I have met in Kiel so far, oh you'll love the Kiel Week they said, irritatingly adding an uneccesary definite article wantonly, even the English speakers (I have even caught myself doing it), it's great, it's international, it's the only time of the year when the city is really full of life and there's lots happening.

Ha. So on Friday night I go to the International Market at the Town Hall Square, which boasted many admittedly quite cool stands from countries like Finnland, the Czech Republic, Mexico and so on, but which also has an Australian stand which sold Fosters, barbeques prawns on a stick, strawberries and cream and some little sandwiches which looked decidedly Danish to me. Oh, and Akubras and Blunstone boots, as well as many hilarious road signs like beware crocodile, world's best nan and so on. And I bought a crepe, my second of the week actually, and I'm pretty sure it made me sick. My feeling has been confirmed by all the people who have said, oh yeah that often happens, by the way we forgot to tell you don't eat anything at the Kiel Week. Especially near the end. Ha.

The upshot of all this whinging is that I got to watch Australia lose, lying on my coayh feeling like I was going to vomit. Strangely though, I feel kind of relieved (not about wanting to vomit). Being ardently nationalistic felt a little like watching myself through glass, it just didn't feel right. Especially when the last game I watched was with a bunch of other Aussie screaming abuse at the screen everytime anything didn't go their way. It was a bit of an eye-opener. Sure, I'm more sypathetic to sports fans now, but I'm still pretty sure I don't want to be one. Not more than once every four years anyway.

It's actually a week of goodbyes this week. Patricia left yesterday for a new job in Munich and Mat's leaving on Thursday. It's terribly sad. I can't quite believe I've been here with him for just under a year. I look back on my first weeks here and it seems like a million years away.


Mat and I went on a last bike ride and found this cool pond in the middle of a big park not twenty minutes from here. There were hundreds of people jogging (alright, maybe twenty), people riding horses and the sound of aircraft overhead but it was still nice and peaceful. I just hope I can keep my adventuring spirit alive when he's gone.