Upon standing at the entrance you are, for lack of better word, greeted with the words “Arbeit macht frei” on the gates.  Oh the irony, in translation I think it says “Through work one will be free”.  Once you open the gate to walk through the mood is set.

We were told that the buildings where the prisoners slept were restored so not everything was quite authentic, although many of the sleeping blocks were torn down and replaced with just wooden outlines of where they once stood.  Now the plot of blocks remain as a memorial to the prisoners.  We were told prisoners would routinely have to stand out in line for long hours, early in the morning as well The group were taken through to the bunks and lockers.  There were rows of wooden bunks and each were small; not even the size of a standard single bed.  We heard that it didn’t taken much to get punished, in fact prisoners could do everything as instructed but the guards would make an excuse to punish them (e.g mess up the locker then tell the prisoner they hadn’t cleaned it).

We were told more about the punishments when we got to the shower block and “cleansing” room (where prisoners were taken upon first arrival to the camp to clean and have their valuables or items confiscated).  Prisoners would be beaten by wooden batons, not only that but have to count after each beating, even if it became to much.  Others had there hand tied behind their backs and to add to the pain suspended from the ceiling, sometime even swung towards one another.  There were more but those are the two that stick in mind.  Very sadistic though. I can’t remember a lot else.  Although we did get to watch a small clip of recordings but the lights were dimmed and the room was pretty dark, my eyes  failing to stay open.  That and my nose was whistling, which wasn’t embarrassing at all…  Try as I might to watch and concentrate but a guy behind insisted on talk throughout the short film. Other places we were taken to were the kitchen, maybe there was something about prisoners getting punished in that area, or was that near the crematorium?  Anyway prisoners who committed suicide, their deaths were treated as natural but nevertheless all limp bodies were cremated.  After all it wasn’t to be known what inhumane things went on in that camp.  No one from the outside was to know any better.

From the pictures shown on display a lot of death was caused by malnutrition, you just had to look at the pictures and know that the prisoners must not have even been given enough food, I think we were told that they were barely given anything to eat and even had to survive without having eating…I don’t know the time-lengths.

The tour was interesting, although at the time I’m pretty sure it didn’t come across that way but to think this all happened because of one man.  Prisoners weren’t just from couple of countries, no.  Joke not intended, it was international.  There were a lot of camps and people from all around the world “retreated” to them, though of course Auschwitz if probably the better known one.  It was worth going and the tour lasts about 5 and a half hours, including journey a 40 minute journey time to and from the Dachau (this is from the Hauptbahnhof by the way) and costs 18 euros (train journey included with the ticket).

Friday 25th February

My friend and I headed to the EMA (East Midlands Airport). It wasn’t until checking out the luggage (as in having it weighed before put through the conveyor belt) that I realised I had forgotten to check-in online – I blame the illness – so unfortunately that meant my friend and I had to fork out £10 for tickets, on top of the £20 for luggage. With more money thrown out the window than we intended we continued through to the security, I was worrying slightly here being that I not only had my tables for the tonsillitis but also some Panadol, and travel sickness medication – wouldn’t look good through a monitor would it? Indeed, as I thought, I had my first narcotics swab. Dramatic as it sounds it felt as if my clean record had been thrown out the window. Having watched a lot of Borders UK (or something along those lines) and Nothing To Declare I knew what and what not to do.

The flight was slightly delayed as the engine needed changing of refuelling, well, from what I would lip read and hear the staff weren’t exactly vocal about it. Nevertheless we and fellow passengers were escorted to a different plane

About 3 hours later we were at the hotel, Tryp Hotel. The staff were really friendly and quick to assist us if there were any issues with the room. The bathroom light didn’t work so I revert to my mobile torch. Yes, it was that dark no light was even seeping through the bottom gap of the door.

Saturday 26th February

The day of the fair.  Due to recent events of the economy I thought there was going less use of expensive precious metals but to my surprised there was a lot of white, yellow gold, platinum and palladium.  From the moment I walk through the entrance of the hall I was bedazzled, the jewellery before me just sparkled and I was surrounded by gem-encrusted jewellery.  My friend and I perused around and found the usual big names of the jewellery world: Pandora, Chamilia, Ti Sento and Swarovski.

The jewellery that caught my eye the most were the pieces with colour and some ingenuity to it.  A collection that caught my attention was by Jacqueline Cullen: Granulation.  She utilises Whitby jet ( more commonly associated with Victorian mourning jewellery) to celebrate the qualities of the material, her pieces look quite sculptural but with the delicate details of 24ct gold adds a finer touch to her pieces.

I am very much fascinated by kinectic jewellery and was shown one, I think under the name Luna Collection.  The head of the palladium ring was set with a tiny diamond and the whole head of the stone rotated so it looked as if the tiny stone was eclipsing.  You can refer to Schulte-Hengesbach’s website but it’s not the one I’m describing – it’ll give you the basic gist of what I’m trying to describe.

One ingenious idea I remember seeing but didn’t note down the brand was a flower ring, some of the petals were satin polished, whilst alternate petals contained a cluster of drilled holes, giving the impression of pave setting.  I thought it was clever how they turned drilling into an art form to create reflection and sparkle to the piece.  Unfortunately I didn’t not down, nor do I remember the name of the maker.

I saw a lot more and there was a wider variety of things, only a minute percentage of which I have touched on.  Apart from food I didn’t spend much elsewhere but I did buy the bible of Hong Kong Manufacturing companies.  The directory is almost as thick as the yellow pages and cost me just 5 euros and comes with a CD alternative.  My finest buy I think and will certainly come in handy when looking to outsource my work.

Sunday 27th February

Only had a ticket for the one day so my friend and I spent the day watching BBC News, reflecting back on leaflets and postcards we picked up from the show, and thinking about our final projects.  Then we headed to the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Monday 28th February

Auf wiedersehen Munich and home sweet home.  Strange that my bag didn’t get a narcotic swab…

I’m at that point in life where I have to decide what I’m going to do for a living.  There’s a choice of three paths, one being uni.¹, another being working my butt off to gain a career as a jewellery designer maker or a job working under a business.  Currently I’m letting certain events lead the way but my mind’s decision is constantly fluctuating.

Oh, I had my final exhibition.  My family went so I was really worried that none of my pieces were good enough to show but I have a few pieces in there, which is nice.   During the exhibiting week I had to restock on business cards – Yay.   Although the downside was realising that I had one too many digits on my mobile number.  Bugger.  Hey-ho, more people use email right?

I officially finished university the week before yesterday (Friday) and since it’s been roughly a month since my last post I thought I’d share things that I love:

• Playing the piano – didn’t realise how little I had played during the 2nd semester but it soon told when I went to play certain pieces.
• DBSK².  I had only recently heard their music but I absolutely love their voices.  However, I’ve come to realise that they aren’t a band now (any more?).  Saddens me.  Super Junior are also another K-pop band I’ve been listening to a lot.
• Make-up containers.  I don’t wear much make-up, if at all, so to find them on the cheap is great.  I thought the power cases would be great for separating my extra easy/easy/hard solder, and the bottles would come in handy in storing my liquid solutions.  What can I say?  I’m a nerd for storage.
• BBQs.  Good company and food, what more can you ask for?
• World Cup.  Every time a football seasons ends I always wonder what that time is going to be substituted with.  However, with the World Cup I have no need to worry about that as there’s plenty of football to keep me occupied.  Although there’s not been a lot to shout home about for many countries.  I’m cheering for England but have a soft spot for South Korea and Spain.   Oh, and the England v Germany match just happens to be on my birthday.  Just saying, I’m in no way suggesting that it’s a lucky omen or vice versa but it will probably be the epicentre depicting which way my mood swings, heh.

From the top of my head those are the main things.

By the way, I’ve bought Pandora’s Box and Mystery Stories and want to know what you think about either of those games.

1. Top up degree.
2. Korean band, a song of whom I was coincidentally learning. ^^

Actually I got back yesterday evening. Here’s a day by day brief of what my friend and I did, from the start of our journey. Don’t really know how to write my adventure without it sounding tedious, heh.

Thursday

Went to uni. to do some bits and bobs…eh…hand in dissertation. My friend went home to finalise her packing, then we met at the train station to head to London Euston. Upon arrival we tried to figure out which train to take to our overnight hotel. Turns out the trains in London aren’t that simple so we’d have to walk a station to get to where we wanted. Opted to take a taxi instead, which was quite expensive but the taxi driver was nice enough to not charge us the full amount and only the guesstimate. The hotel was really nice. Since the menu consisted mainly of spicy dishes I asked my friend what she recommended. It was my first time having an Indian meal because I dared not try it but it was actually quite nice. :9

Friday

The day I dreaded because I get travel sick and was feeling sorry for my friend who had to hack the flight with me. After popping a pill – travel sickness tablets, nothing dodgy – it was okay and I slept my way through anyway. Mind, it was only a 2 hour journey… Arrived at Munich Airport. Took the train from the “flughafen” to Pasing, then dragged our luggage bags to the hotel. Noisy walk, is all I can say. The hotel was, well it looked like it had seen better days but for the days we were staying it was adequate and quite cute. The first thing I noticed about Munich was the vast amounts of bakeries they have. Everywhere you walk a bakery is not far away.

Saturday

My friend and I headed to Inhorgenta 2010. It was interesting, seeing all the jewellery, gemstones and beads.

Jewellery from Inhorgenta 2010.

I managed to haggle without trying. The pearl bracelet which I bought for myself would have cost quite a lot but was sold for a nice price. The Buddhas were bought for my brother and sister as I though they were cute and didn’t really know what else I could get them, without having a big hole in my pocket. The elephant (centre of pearl bracelet) is for my best friend. The rings I just bought as they were cheap and fit my finger, usually my fingers are too scrawny for average rings. Don’t ask me what that purple-y black gem is because I have no idea. I got it for my mum, and though it’s not evident in the photo it sparkles. I’m thinking of turning it into a pendant, that or a keyring. As for the beads…they were just off the cuff purchases. My friend managed to get a good deal and she insisted I choose a few for myself. ^^

Sunday

We knew we were going to be stuck for things to do because we had been warned that a lot, if not all, shops were closed on Sundays. Only eatery places would be open. So, instead of staying cooped up in the hotel room we decided to peruse and plans train journeys to places we want to visit. We first went to visit the Chinese Tea house, which we didn’t find but did find the English beer garden. Walking through thick snow is fun.

After that we went to the a museum. I got the steer a ship. Well, I say steer but it was basically a steering wheel bolted to the floor.

The last visit of the day was the zoo. Once you’ve seen one zoo you’ve pretty much seen them all. Except you don’t get to see the elephants so up close, nor the giraffes for that matter. Fortunately, but unfortunately for my friend, there was no theme park. Maybe next time…

Bear magnet.

This is a bear magnet I got, it is presently stuck on my radiator. ^^

Monday

This was the day we had both been looking forward to. Visiting the castle which Disney’s Sleep Beauty was based on. A colleague at my summer work place told me about this castle and so made it a priority for this trip. There turned out to be two castles to visit and the snow was still in Germany so with the mountains it looked like a winter wonderland.

Hohenschwangau Castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle.

Use Google if you want to see better pictures of the castles, without the obstruction of trees. I highly recommend you go to Füssen to see these castles and take a tour, if you decide to go to Germany. The tickets aren’t dear and well worth the travel. I loved it so much so I bought a mouse mat…and to keep the geeky side of me happy.

Gifts.

The keyring is for a friend who adores all-things Disney, the top left is a fridge magnet. Magnets just seem to be one of those things you buy as a memorabilia. Right? You can see my mouse mat of the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Tuesday

Auf Wiedersehen Mnchen.

Since I have a tendency to say too much I’m just going to quote a synopsis:

“Corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is the consummate modern business traveller, a man totally content with his unencumbered lifestyle of airports, hotels and rental cars. A pampered and privileged elite member of every travel loyalty scheme in existence, he can carry all that he needs in one wheel-away case – and he’s moving ever nearer to attaining his lifetime goal of 10 million frequent flier miles. There’s even romance in the air when Ryan meets the beautiful Alex (Vera Farmiga), who shares his world-view. However Ryan’s boss (Jason Bateman), inspired by Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a young, upstart efficiency expert, is threatening to permanently call Ryan in from the road. Faced with the terrifying yet exhilarating prospect of being grounded, Ryan begins to contemplate what it might actually mean to have a home.” (Cineworld, 2010)

The film got a lot of good ratings and reviews but I can’t comprehend how.  Okay, there were a couple of funny bits and some form of romance to categorise it in the romance/comedy – chick-flick if you will – genre but other than the couple of chuckles the film just seemed to go on…and on…and on.  I was willing for something exciting to happen but it never came.  It was so surprisingly dull that the couple sat in front of my friend and I fell asleep, that and an old lady walked out; just left.  To be honest I almost snoozed away, were it not for my friend who talked to me now and again.  It’s a film that resembles a children’s fiction in that it has a moral but I remember children’s fiction being less bleak.

My highlight was the nachos and cheese I ate. :9

What are your thoughts if you’ve seen it?

So here’s my list of things I’m looking forward to:

• Going to Munich.  I’ve been to Germany before but it was a tour of Europe so I didn’t get to see a lot of Germany.  This will be my first jewellery show I’m going to, and also will be the first time I’m travelling without the family.  I’m going with people at uni.
• Chinese New Year.  A day that’s always good when you’re short of money.   Just kidding.  I always look forward to Chinese New Year¹ as it’s one of the rare times the family are together.
• This will be my last year at uni.² and, to be honest, I’ve not really fully committed  myself unlike the first course I did.  Who knows what’s next for me?  I could get a job or do the Design For Industry course³.  If I do go on to the top up year I’ll have to make a decision this month. Oh… O.o

It might seem a short list but I’m pretty sure there are things I’ve forgot to mention.

On a slightly different note, did anyone see the New Year’s fireworks?  Might have only been me but was anyone unimpressed?  Mind, I am comparing it to that of the Beijing Olympics.

Anyway…I hope this year brings happiness, health and auspiciousness⁴ to you all.  *Cheers*  *Clink glass⁵*

1. 14th February, this year.
2. Until June, that is.
3. Though I’m not willing to drive back and forth constantly so will have to sort that out
4. Is that a word?  Haha.
5. Despite being teetotal.

On Sunday my sister and I were preparing a trip to the Artsfest, and to do a spot of shopping.  We intended to leave at 1pm to catch the 1:15 train but someone couldn’t make up their mind as to what jacket to wear. We opted to skip that train and waited to leave for the next one (2:20pm).  It’s times like these where I feel I should have been born a guy.

We went to the train station but was told we’d have to take the bus to the Wolverhampton station, as no trains were available to directly take us to Birmingham.

Arrived an hour later, and went to see what clothes there were but the fashion is all lacy, flowery and the like.  Why do most women tops have some degree of transparency to them?  The shopping side of things was a little disappointing but that’s mainly due to the fact that we had to power our way through the shops; not a lot of time to browser.

There was still time to kill and we felt peckish so we ate at Wagamama’s. :9  The food was delicious, although it felt strange having an ice lolly for dessert, hah.  Never a big fan of strawberries, I think it’s the texture.  I had always thought they were too sweet for my liking – guess not.

You’d think that having been in and out of the city for 3+ years¹ I’d know where places were but evidently not.  I couldn’t navigate my way round a paper bag if the Centre was anything to go by.   Took a few, back and forth, round and round, tourist-sign-looking to get remotely close to where the Kerrang Fest was meant to be.  Eventually I remembered Googling “Centenary Square²” and finding a picture of Symphany Hall.  Wah-lah…that’s how we found Centenary Square.   Good alternative to a TomTom for pedestrians?  No?  Okay.

We meandered our way through people to find a standing spot, away from the stage (read: mosh jumping pit – a kid came out with a black eye. :S).  Situations like these make it hard being a short person.   Then, two presenters came on stage.  “Singing Henry” lost sound on his microphone – I was actually hoping he’d sing some travel just for a laugh but sadly that did not happen. Not long after Saving Aimee were introduced.  Couldn’t hear much of what was being sung but I suppose that’s not the entire point of these kinds of gigs.  Their performance was energetic, especially the keyboardist.  There was one funny incident where the lead singer hopped onto the barrier with a guard holding him by his trouser belt ring³.  The crowd pulled the lead singer, resulting in two other guards having to take grip of the singer.  Eventually the singer lost his microphone so the keyboardist’s mic. was borrowed.  Two guys ran away from the within the crowd inconspicuously.  I know, subtle right?   As they were running people stared, I could hear, “Well, they’ve taken the microphone”.  Come on people, if you’re going to steal something don’t run hunched.   Not that I condone stealing by the way.

After roughly 6 songs there was a stage change and sound checking.  Elliot Minor came on after.  The bass at the start seemed to have problems but nothing major happened.  Some unfortunate woman was shown on the big screen clearing her nose, to put it nicely.  Nevertheless she smiled and waved at the camera after the initial shock.  Mind, she was at the back so probably wasn’t expecting to get shot.  They were good, and had people screaming for them and singing along.  Bottles were thrown towards the stage but not sure if there was intent of malice or some strange initiation for new performers of the Kerrang Fest.  The second main singer threw one back at the crowd, playing along I suppose.

The evening was a bit nippy and I wore short sleeves so after the gig I changed into a hoodie I bought.  Thing was I got changed near a church.  I say changed but really only took of my three quarter length jacket and put on the hoodie. Hah.

We stopped at the nearest MacDonald’s for some hot drinks, then realised the time.  Had 5 minutes before the 8:40 train. :S  I thought we had arrived smack on time but the timetable said 8:48. :/  Making me run anxiously with a drink is never safe nor good an idea.

There’s a bit more but I think I’ve rambled on enough, heh.

That is another thing I can cross off my things to do list.  All in all I can give it a thumb up.  Loud music is not my things though so I think my gig/concert attendance will be far and few.

1. University.
2. where we were meant to be
3. The bit where you slip your belt through.  Is there a term for that?

Mind my last visit was several years ago but I don’t remember having to stop and start so often around the wildlife area.  Seems strange having traffic lights but it is understandable as there are more animals who are free to walk about.

Things I learned:

• Goat are happy enough to eat from your hands but don’t appreciate straying hands, which may veer towards their head or, more dangerously, their horns.  That is a no go.
• Rhinos need not be provoked to “charge” at you.  A rhino stepped closer to our car, almost angry, until one of the keepers nudged the it away with the front of her car.  It was quite funny, rhino vs Kia.
• Animals in general seem to like facing backwards so you can’t get a nice picture of them.  The backside isn’t what we pay to see.
• African Wild Dogs have a strange fascination with car exhaust pipes.
• My camera is slow, so front shots which I had hoped for turned into side shots.   Unfortunately my camera missed the rhino face to face with us.  Twice.

Photo goodness after the cut.   Animal naming fail ahead.