Visit to York and Life in Sheffield

York Minster,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Lisa visited me in Sheffield over the last few days. We spent most of the time in Sheffield, which is lovely to live. However, for her last sightseeing trip in Europe we had to go to York, which is only 1 hour away by train. York is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the primate of England (whereas the Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ALL England :) The church is incredible and also the rest of the city centre is very charming and resembles the atmosphere of the Middle Ages (though in a much more touristic way :) We ended this trip in a traditional pub where we tasted ales with Peter Wright and his wife.

Some notes about Sheffield:

• We walked across the town over the last few days and discovered some beautiful patches.
  
• It's got one of the best independent cinemas I've ever been to (I wish I had time and money to go there every day).
  
• I also found good coffee, though for the most time it's safer to order tea.
  
• And I watched a great game of football - Sheffield United beat Norwich 1-0.
  
• Finally, I've become physically active myself and participated in circuit trainings in the gym - omg, my muscles are sore :) I hope it will help me playing volleyball again.

Arrival in Sheffield, UK

Why 2 separate water taps?,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

From Jan to April 2009 I am a visiting student at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. I will use these 3 months to to get to know other people with related research interests and to make some progress in my thesis.

My impressions after 2 days are predominantly positive. Sheffield seems to be a nice town, although it's actually quite big. My uni is close to where I live, directly in the city centre. My host and my colleagues here have been very supportive and I think that I will have a good and hopefully productive time here.

Two things that I can't understand however are: Why is it impossible to get good coffee here? (tea is nice, but it can't replace coffee) And why do old and new basins have two separate water taps? In this way you can chose between burning your hand or freezing, hmmm...

Christmas / New Year in Austria

Lisa's first snowman,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Lisa and I had a wonderful (though chilly) time in Austria over Christmas and New Year. During this trip I was reminded of several things:
1) How beautiful Austria is with all the historical places, the wonderful nature and pittoresque landscapes that the weather at various seasons paints.

2) How good Austrian food tastes, the bread, the meat, the pastry, I really missed it :)

3) How dreadful smoking is, especially in Restaurants and coffee bars. I can't see any reason why it is still allowed and accepted.

4) Finally, how valuable my family and my friends in Austria are to me. Thanks to you all, and especially to Mum & Fritz, Dad & Heidi, Anita, Doris,Arnold, Mario, Lorenz & Silvia, Wolfgang & Laura, Celina, Frankie and all the Spartakaners, Lena and Juergen, for such a wonderful time. It's great to know that it is possible to keep up the friendship despite the geographic distance.

PS: I put lots of photos on Flickr