Germans stole my passport...

As a follow up to James’ post, I now have also braved the German Consulate, and returned relatively intact. It is worth noting that there is officially no good way to get to the damned place. Forewarned by the peak hour traffic conditions James had faced, I thought I’d be clever and take the train. On a map, it doesn’t look too far away from South Yarra station…. right?

It was a comedy of errors. I planned to catch a train that gave me plenty of time. I missed that one, though this was a blessing in disguise, for in my preparatory haste, I’d failed to pack several vital pieces of information I’d need for my application. After getting hold of everything I needed, I'd missed another train. Technically, I could still get there on time - the trains I'd missed would have delivered me early, now I'd just be cutting it fine. Yet my hopes were dashed - clearly I haven’t been watching the news in the last month; all it takes is a warm breeze and Connex just gives up for the day. Flinders Street was awash with the chorus of 'Train not taking passengers'. By the time I got to South Yarra I was already running rather late, and that isn't counting the dash from the station to the consulate. What I learned: Metlink maps can make things look deceptively close together.

I must say, given that I was 40 minutes late for my appointment, they were remarkably polite, and despite a waiting room full of people I was called within moments of my arrival. They took my forms. They took my passport.

If all goes well they’ll give it back to me soon.

P.S : I found this in our travel insurance fine print, under incidents that they ‘do not cover at all’:

‘A loss caused by, arising directly or indirectly from or in any way connected with the use, existence or escape of nuclear weapons material, or ionising radiation from, or contamination by, radioactivity from any nuclear fuel, or nuclear waste from the combustion of nuclear fuel.’

In short, we aren’t covered for nuclear war.

asking permission

next hurdle: CLEARED!

On Tuesday I journeyed my way to the German Consulate in Melbourne (South Yarra).
9:15am meeting meant a 7:30 get up and 7:45 departure. It was brutal. This was compounded by: a) peak hour traffic and b) trying to park somewhere. Three security gates, one frisking and a mistranslation later I arrived inside the consulate with not a moment to spare.

Or so I thought.

I am silently ushered to a small room off to one side and it is indicated that I should wait my turn here. I figure there are only 2 other guys in the room, how long could it take? What I didn't anticipate was the Russian lecturer in Bio-Chemistry, living in Australia on some obscure visa and trying to secure himself a visa to Germany for a conference of some description. That, coupled with his tenuous grasp of English resulted in a 25 min paper-work translation fest ultimatly resulting in the Consulate representative (Corine) agreeing to let his secretary fax everything else that was needed.

I am up to the plate and it is a breeze, 5 min and I'm out, I come back with cash 15 min later then out the door again. 1 passport and $120 lighter.

Another hurdle indeed cleared!

lists

Planning has hit an unprecedented high for Dave and myself. We have actually nailed down the itinerary for the first 2 and a half months of the trip. This impromptu planning session took place on Monday, and with the aid of an A1 print, some coloured pencils and much debate, we have managed a city by city journey that takes us from London to Stuttgart. The trip thus far in a nutshell: UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia and then Germany.

Interesting additions to the trip:
• Side Trip to Croatia, the “new Italy” of Europe, also the ex-armpit of the Soviet Union!
• A sojourn into Northern Africa, namely Morocco, home of couscous, belly dancers and Casablanca!

Next on the list to plan is:
• Detailed trip plans Germany and Morocco
• Foundations for Italy, France and Spain
• Continued work on the Scavenger list
• Purchasing of a camera
• Organisiation of various connecting flights
• Purchasing of extra insurance
• Purchasing of train tickets
• Possible... this list is distressingly long...

Anyway, things are happening, the wheels are turning and time is ticking.

progress

A premature celebration perhaps, for the real thing is still in the post. Confirmation however was conveyed via email in forceful capitals: YOUR PASSPORT IS COMPLETED. I guess this means I passed through all the requisite background checks, and I hope this also means I won’t have the same trouble as my uncle going through airports. There must be a Dennis Young out there who’s done some naughty, naughty things; his name seems to cause a lot of strange delays.

So now I’m (almost) licensed to travel, there are only a couple more hurdles before being set to go. Firstly, getting permission from the Germans to stay in their country on a working holiday visa – meetings are set up for the next couple of weeks. Then we just need to get some transportation arranged for whilst we’re over there – Eurail, Britrail, and possibly the odd flight. Throw in a final dose of travel insurance for a detour through Morocco and we’re ready to take wing.

we needed your help.

Edit: Despite a shout out to the interwebs, there was no assistance to be had for us travellers. It was folly perhaps, to ask the masses for input at a time when there clearly were no masses. Thus this post shall remain as a testament to our over-enthusiasm.

Really, the only reason I'm not deleting it is because the picture makes the blog look more wholesome.

let the rambling commence

And so it begins. Many years in the dreaming , and very few hours in the planning. I think it is fair to say that I am ready for this trip, but not at all prepared.

For me, the major thing lacking in life up until now is the scope for real adventure and exploration. When you are young, everything is new and foreign, but as you hit your teens you fast realise that it'vs all been done, and all you have to do is jump on the net to get a feel for almost anything in the world. And in the case of Dave and I, not only has everything been done, its been done to a standard far beyond what Dave or myself are capable of.

So rather than just following in someone else’s footsteps, or just going to all the “must see” sights in Europe, we have opted for a much more open ended journey. We know what countries we are going to (kind of), how long we are spending there (roughly) and the major things we want to look at or experience (some of them anyway), but on a whole we can plan as we go (totally wing it). The one thing that Dave and I do have prepared, is our own unique style. A level of unnecessary complexity that we add purely for the sake of our own entertainment.

With this in mine, I would like to announce the Scavenger Ramble! A list of beers to be imbibed, foods to be consumed, as well as the usual (and unusual) sights to behold. Any and all input is welcome! Just bear in mind that suggestions may be noted, and ignored if found wanting.

J.