Barcelona trip

Just came back from Barcelona for a Christmas trip. Amazing city! I had the sun, the rain and some snow. The sea and the mountains. A complete landscape. When you get bored you can just walk on La Ramblas. It is always something happening there. The city looks like it was built for the pleasure of the eyes. All the buildings have something different and the hand of Gaudi is everywhere. I really liked the Gothic neighborhood with its narrow streets. It almost felt like I could see the carts with donkeys walking around with people screaming and selling stuff. And nothing is better than a walk on the beach, even if it's December. Now I will wait for the Sagrada Familia to be finished in 2026, to visit it. Great city!

Picasa pics and fails

New hobby: Tagging failed face recognition made by Picasa. :) New pics from Freiburg:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Freiburg#

Just a thought

Could it be that the only place where you might find what the people around us think about you is in a court of law? Is there anyone truly honest with the others without being pressured? Just a thought inspired by Camus...

Our times

In these times of recession I happily remember the lyrics of a song dear to me called "Back to the primitive" by Soulfly. I think it describes quite exactly my thought about the consumer society. Here are some bit and pieces:

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your politics (we all agree with this)
We got our life to live (we should not be governed by our commercials, but by our true needs)
The way we want to be (do we really need all this artificial BS around?)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your bullshit
Were back to set it free
Confronting the negative (strong will guides strong men)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all you wannabes
You don't mean shit to me
Let it bleed (this is for all the banking systems and all of its leeches; may you die in peace)

Back to the primitive
Fuck all your politics
How it used to be
Check your reality (wake up!! think for yourself!)

Now, wasn't this quite refreshing? Guide your life according to some principles of your own, not according to the TV, banks or other fucked up institutions. Think!

Conditional love

It's like standing in front of the window and not being able to touch the object of your desire.

Romanian post - De ce?

De ce ai da acelasi loc la 2 oameni intr-un autobuz care nu e plin?
De ce ai cauta scuze puerile pentru a lungi cursa de taxi, in calitate de sofer (eg. E agomerat pe acolo!, Vai, am uitat sa fac stanga aici! etc.)?
De ce Romania e singura tara din lume unde se plateste taxa foto la muzee si cladiri istorice (care urac uneori la 30 de RON)?
De ce la poalele muntilor sunt mese si scaune pentru picnic, dar nu exista nici un cos de gunoi?
De ce site-urile de prezentare ale oraselor turistice nu sunt si in engleza?
De ce in gara Predeal exista scaune doar afara si nici un scaun in incinta garii?
De ce avem atatea statui dedicate soldatilor si razboiului intr-o tara care nu a castigat niciodata vreun razboi?
De ce trebuie sa ajungem cat mai repede peste tot?
De ce trebuie sa fii cel mai bun?
De ce nu se fumeaza in aceasta unitate?
De ce nu poti primi banii inapoi pe un serviciu care nu l-ai folosit (eg. daca pierzi un tren)?
De ce nu pot comanda savarine la ora 10 seara la cofetarie (in speta, la cofetaria Select in Iasi)?
De ce ai strica marcajele pe un traseu montan?
De ce cand oferi un loc unei mame cu copil ti se raspunde cu "DA", in loc de "Multumesc"?
De ce nimeni nu incetineste cand esti aproape sa treci pe trecerea de pietoni?
De ce ai face un centru de informare turistica DOAR in limba romana in Iasi? Pentru cine?
Mai revin cu alte intrebari cand ma intorc de la mare...

The little town

Today I played my first game as a goalkeeper for the USC Saar handball team. We had a friendly game in Rodalben, a really small city/village in Rheinland/Pfalz district. I said it before, it is one of the best things here in Germany that you can enjoy playing your favorite sport and get a good athletic practice. Even for this friendly there were around 20 people watching. And the game was between 2 teams that played way low in the leagues. But the feeling is good. Hopefully, I will still have the chance to play some other games when the season starts. And don't forget, kids, follow your dreams. :)

Frankfurt pictures

A new album of photos for Frankfurt:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/FrankfurtAmMain

The most "American" city of Europe. I really had the same feeling as in North America. Only that the history stuff began in 1900s in Canada and in 900 in Germany. Just a "small" 1000 years gap. :)

Frankfurt people

I went for a quick touristic visit to Frankfurt. And among the nice places, like the sky-scrapers, the old houses and churches, right next to the train station there was a group of gipsies playing dice ("barbut"). Probably some honest people with a strong will to succeed in life through hard work and dedication. :D This encounter is a preview of going home, I guess. Anyway, not a very pleasant site seeing, especially after I heard Romanian talk. The good thing is that I won't meet them in Romania, at least. :)

Stuttgart and Mannheim view

New pics from

Mannheim: http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/MannheimPart2
and
Stuttgart, including Mercedes-Benz museum:
http://picasaweb.google.com/iursu04/Stuttgart

Wallis and what???

We stumble upon very different things and places in life. But I am always amazed on how diverse, unknown and surprising the life in the small islands next to Australia is. I just discovered an island called "Wallis and Futuna". A very appropriate name, I might say. Here is some link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_and_futuna
It is, quite obvious, in the middle of nowhere. Here, the nowhere is described by the Pacific Ocean. a piece of dirt in a land of sea. Must be nice to live there, just owning a coconut field or something. Sounds like a peaceful life...

In Rainbows

I just love the new Radiohead album. It's like a disease. It is the only thing I am listening for the past week. Here is some preview:




Most relaxing music for long flights and late hours in trains...

Train stations

The train is the main mean of transportation across Germany. And this means that the trains and train stations look very nice and the system is almost similar to the one in airports. This means you can have optimal routes chosen, to change a train is like in an airport (just go to a different line) and everything is accessible through the Deutsche Bahn website. The website is (http://www.bahn.de) is very well organized and you can choose many options regarding your trip.
I noticed some things, though. In the train stations you have to pay for the toilets. And the money you pay ranges from 50 cents to 1,10 euro (in Koln train station). Even the McDonalds restaurants inside the train stations have a sign that you should use the train station toilet. They do not offer one. I think it is a mentality thing. You pay for everything, but in the end you get a decent service. I noticed this with the internet, also. There are many hotels where you have to pay a lot of money yo get Internet access. For example, in US or Canada it's almost impossible to not have free Internet access in a hotel. Different mentality.

Amsterdam

Last weekend I was in a trip to Amsterdam in Holland. Only there I could see the difference between the very touristic and friendly "Amsterdamers" and the pretty unfriendly Germans. It was a very nice trip. The best thing about Holland is that everybody speaks English. You gotta love this when you go t a new place. In my German home I can use my English only with foreigners. Never with local people. They usually refuse any attempt of English, even in the stores or public services.
Another nice thing about Amsterdam is that the city is really lively. You have the feeling that it never sleeps. The transportation is available all day and night. The stores and bars are open all the time. I do not think you can get bored. And the parks are really neat. You can find some green spots everywhere you go. But I think that comparing a small city in Germany with Amsterdam is like trying to fit circles in square places.
Anyway, I seem to find fascinating big cities. After Vancouver, I found Amsterdam as another city where I would like to live some day. Or, at least, to be there more often. And Amsterdam is not even big. Just 700 000 people. But it is attractive because it is open minded.
Can't wait to go there again!

Study system in Germany

It has been a month since I started the courses here. Looking at the system, it is somewhat like the one in Romania. But only when it comes to its calendar. Otherwise, there are differences. Biggest one is that you can choose your courses. This is something that I missed back home. And you can choose as many or as few as you want. If you feel you can do more, you can just pick another topic.
The first month is for course hunting. Meaning you don't need to decide what course to take. You go course-shopping and decide afterwards what you like or dislike. I did this with a course of Automata theory. I wanted to do it, but after only 3 lectures I gave up. It was something else than I wanted to study.
Another difference is the use of the Internet. All the courses or study related things are available online. The registration for exams is also online. And the teachers are much more helpful. They have office hours when you can ask anything related to assignments.
The seminars are more interactive. Every student gets a paper and prepares a presentation for that paper. This way, at least he will understand one thing very well and hear about the others.
And the best thing is that the teachers clean the blackboards. :)
Still, the things tend to get pretty chaotic especially in the practical courses. But I can live with that. At least school ends in July.
However, I have heard that not all universities have the same system. But I can only talk from my own experience.

Germany and sports

This Sunday I went to see a handball game at the University. I was invited by my colleagues in the handball practice, as it was their last game in the league. For all the people that don't know, handball is the second most popular sport in Germany, after football obviously. And since my homework could wait (me grinning...) I went to see the game. The game itself wasn't really attractive, more kicking than playing (just like in Romanian football), but what amazed me was that the place was almost full and people were actually enjoying the game and the atmosphere. And we are talking about a seventh league game.
After the game the teams went out together and had a beer and a wurz (national food aka sausage). This was even more surprising, to see the home team invite all the people to a beer and a grilled wurz after the game. I actually found out when discussing with the others (people notice me easily here because I am the only one that speaks English :D) that the trainer of the team went to Iasi and he liked it. I really felt like in a real sporting event. It was like going to a show, not for a beating with some other guys. :)
One thing I noticed a lot here is that people don't smoke packed cigarettes, but they tend to have their own equipment for rolling some joints. I guess they prefer smoking what they know. And, anyway, who cares about smoking when you have a white beer in front of you?! :D The ultimate joy: white beer and wurz.

Germany barbershop

I went today to get a haircut. And since it was a Saturday, I decided to go on the other side of the city, near to the border with France, where there is some big place that looks like a mall. It's called SaarBasar. Now, hearing the name wasn't that convincing, since in my head I could see only one basar, the Romanian one. The Romanian basar is a bunch of people selling usually stolen or alsmot broken things. Apparently, in Germany this is not the case. After a bit of confusion caused by the transportation (at some point I had to change the way of walking), I arrived at the mall. And, what do you know, the first thing in the place was a barbershop called "Figaro".
There were some things different from Cyprus or Romania. The hairdressers were young women, with pink died hair and full of tattoos. That's a new thing to see. I expected to see these kind of people in the mall, not doing haircuts. Also, the magazines available for reading were actually from this week and not from 2 years ago, like in Cyprus. In Romania you can barely find a decent place with something to read while you wait. Unfortunately, they still didn't speak English or French. Just good old German. Good thing I know how to say "short" and "shorter" in German. It helps a lot. You still get a haircut even if you don't know German. :-)
While being there I also tried some pizza place. It was the weirdest serving place. You would pay at the counter and sit quietly at a table of your choice. And at some point some guy would come and scream the name of the food in the place. If you felt it was yours, you would just raise your hand. I've never seen before this kind of restaurant. Might be some new Italian way of serving the food. :D That's why the Italian people is famous for the chaos, I guess.

Accomodation and papers

I arrived in Germany. Good. But I have no place to stay! What to do now? Actually, I did have a place to stay for a few days. But, still, the first priority was to find accommodation.
I was really lucky to have a friend that could help me with the local stuff. As mentioned before, the English language is not the strong point here. That is why I started the saga of papers in Germany.
It is a known fact that when you move to a new place you need to make tons of papers for various reasons. And they always go in the same order. You must have a medical insurance in order to register to the University (or get a work permit). After you get the medical stuff done, you need to make a bank account (at least it's not BRD, the worst bank I have ever dealt with). After you finish with the bank (yeah, online banking rullz even if it's in German :)) you can, finally, make a rental contract. However, there might be some permutations in this order, since the rules tend to bend according to the situation. And, so, I found a place to stay in some remote corner of the city. The first thing to ask was about the Internet connection. And there was one. :) Good enough for living...
Good side about the papers was that Romania is in the EU and you don't need to justify too many things to have a bank account or why are you here. Bad side, at least about the bank, is that they don't give you a VISA/MASTERCARD, but an EC card, meaning Electronic Cash, which is a card useless for online shopping. And you have to make a separate request in order to get a VISA card. Also, all the papers or services have only German language choice. Kind of limited.

First impression

First choice I had to make was about how to get to Germany. Since I wasn't going into a big city, but to a rather isolated small city, I had to find some convenient way of getting there. From the multitude of travel routes I finally decided to take the shortest one, meaning a flight from Iasi to Frankfurt with the always "lovely" company TAROM. And from there to take a train directly to Saarbruecken. Said and done. There are a number of different ways for getting here, but this is the shortest route that I could find, the longest being a bus ride from Iasi (not that comfortable or pleasant...).
So I arrived in Germany. First issue: I don't speak German!! Big problem. Since the city is kind of isolated, the people tend not to learn any foreign language, so you are stuck with German. Good thing my sign language wasn't rusted. :) It came in handy while in Turkey. It did came in handy in Germany, also.
As a first impression, I was amassed by the infrastructure in transportation here. What I also liked was the colors. It may sound weird, but living in the dusty Cyprus with mainly yellow colors, one comes to appreciate the green, red or any rusty color different than yellow. :) I really liked that they have so many woods and green places.
And, finally, what impressed me the most was the architecture of all the places in Germany. It is a big change coming from the famous communist buildings with 10-stories crammed apartments. I love the neatly aligned houses with gardens and flowers. The city looks like a well-organized place. There are exceptions, like Frankfurt, but if you just take a train or a car and roam around you understand what I mean.
And the roads are not full of holes. :D

The times before arriving to Germany

About 3 weeks ago I moved to Germany. More specifically, to a small town, called Saarbrücken. This small town is situated in the Saarland region, the smallest in Germany. It looks like a small dot when you look on the whole Germany map.
Why did I move? Because I want to follow the courses of a Master in Computer Science here, at Universität des Saarlandes. This was the first reason. Other reasons would be that I wanted to have a change in my life and that I wanted to see how is it to live in Western Europe. After all, almost two years of living in Cyprus should be enough to get an idea.
While leaving Cyprus I had the "opportunity" to see the true Cypriot working class mentality and stupidity ranging from a "I forgot to send the documents to the bank" excuse and having a climax with "Oops! It seems we misread your travel plan for going home and did not see that you live in Iasi!". I can't say it was such a pleasant leaving, but at least I had some fun with my friends in the last days.
Before coming to Germany, I did go home for a week. It was such a pleasant week. I got to meet many friends and I didn't have to work afterwards. :)
I left for Germany with mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited to try a new life, on the other hand I was a bit scared of going to an unknown place and starting over. But I guess that the excitement was more powerful.