Back in volleyball action

back in action,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

My ankle injury prevented me from playing volleyball for almost 2 months, but now I'm slowly making my way back. Last Saturday I played in a game again, well, I tried to :) I didn't jump very high, I wasn't fast, but it was a good start with a few points by me (although most of them were serves :) We won the game in 3 sets and my team (Melbourne Renegades) is on top of the ladder. Please keep your fingers crossed that we win the title this year!

Back from holidays

sunshine :),
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

My danish friend Kasper and I spent a few wonderful days in the tropical area in North Queensland, Australia. We started off in Cairns and visited the Great Barrier Reef, headed up to the rainforest in Cape Tribulation and then spent a few days on a sailing cruise through the Whitsunday Islands. It was just gorgeous!

Houses & stuff in Melbourne

Storey Hall at RMIT on Swanston St.,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

I put some pictures of interesting houses and other buildings in Melbourne on flickr, like RMIT's futuresque Storey Hall on Swanston St. (picture on the right, with the Melbourne-typical tram in front).
The pictures stem from Geraldine's visit in Melbourne a few weeks ago. Having had an architect as a guest I discovered some facets of the city that I previously hadn't paid attention to.

Austrian culinary delights in Melbourne

wiener schnitzel,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

This weekend I was again pleased to have a guest visiting me in Melbourne. Geri, who I know from Salzburg and who has meanwhile settled in Brisbane, came down to the South for a long weekend. Besides the obvious highlights in and around the city, we enjoyed a few encounters with Austrian "culture" in Melbourne:
After enjoying a delicous "gugelhupf" and a "creme schnitte" in a pastry shop in St. Kilda, we went to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. I know it's German, well Bavarian, but I would argue that it is close to what you'd expect from an Austrian place. Not only did we enjoy Wiener Schnitzel, Kasnocken, Radler & Weissbier. We were also surprised by a glimpse of Alpine culture in the form of jodelling, schuhplattln, vogerltanz and a special performance of the Edelweiss song from the Sound of Music. I'd be the first to leave the venue if just one of these things would happen to me back in Austria, but here on the other side of the world I quite enjoyed the performances. All of which were a bit over the top but very enjoyable for us as well as the Aussie audience.
Similarly I enjoy watching Inspektor Rex here in down under, which is on the TV on Thu nights. I wasn't the slightest bit interested in that dog since I was a kid, but here in Australia it is something I do not only enjoy but also take pride of. Strange, how distance and a bit of nostalgia let you embrace the stereotypical "crap" presented in these instances. I love down under, but a glimpse of home from time to time is just great!

Indoor volleyball is on again...

... and we started with 2 wins into the new season! I'm playing with the men's Honours Team of the Melbourne University Renegades in the top volleyball league of the state Victoria. After the ups and downs last year I hope stay in the best team for this year and contribute to a good season. The start was promising, let's hope we/I can keep up the good shape.

FYI: the results are online on http://www.volleyballvictoria.com.au/vvl2008/results/

Camping during Easter

Bushwalking around Lake Eildon,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

Finally I uploaded a few pictures from the camping trip over Easter to my flickr account. Shawn, Emy, Tom, Juri ... took me to Lake Eildon, which is a few hours north of Melbourne. We did the obligatory bush walks (even one at night, though the bloody possums were hiding away ;-) We then spent 2 days at the Nagambie River, where we went canoing and kayaking to wineries. In summary 4 days with great people, wonderful weather, and surrounded by nature :)

Guest in Melbourne

St. Kilda Pier,
originally uploaded by bernd ploderer.

It's been a while since the last blog entry. I moved to a new place and had a lot of work to do for my studies, so not much to post in here.

This week, Frank, a friend from Salzburg, has been visiting me in Melbourne. It's always strange to see a friend from Austria here in down under, but at the same time it's great I can show him my new home and chat about old times. He went to volleyball training with me and yesterday I showed him a few places in the city. I put some snapshots on flickr and hope I can attract a few more of you to come and visit me.