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A great year is over

2005-08-31T23:09:00.000-04:00

Being home again I can look back on a great year in Canada. This homepage will finally find its rest as this might be the last update on it.
Thanks to everyone who visited this site during the year as my thanks also adresses all the people which made the year to what it was: A great and unique experience!

May the legend of this blog survive and help to reminisce these fantastic times.

Download a last memory!

2005-08-31T01:09:00.000-04:00

As a special feature you can download the official "Sven-in-Canada-video" now in three different qualities. It summarizes my exchange year within a couple of minutes. Go for it!

Best Quality (38 MB)
Medium Qualtity (18 MB)
Poor Quality (10 MB)

Enjoy!

Vancouver

2005-08-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

Vancouver is the favourite city of many Canadiens and exchange students. The nicest part of the town is certainly the district Gastown, especially the Water street. Main attraction is the world oldest steam clock which plays every hour the "Westminster chime".

left: The Water Street with Harbour Centre Tower in the background; right: since 1870 the steam clock plays a melody every hour.

Starting point was the visit on the tower of the Harbour Centre (167m) from where a complete view over Vancouver is possible. In the middle of the picture above you can see the BC Place Stadium, the roof was once the biggest airbag roof in the world.

Also in Gastown you can find the traingular building from 1908 (left). Some blocks further, in Chinatown, the "Dr. Sun Yat-sen Classical Chinese Garden" (right) offers a nice atmosphere to take a break and relax.

Above: Where a harbour centre is there should be a harbour as well.

Close to center of Vancouver the Stanley park is located. In earlier times natives lived here, now it is an urban recreation area.

From here you can see a fantastic skyline of Vancouver (left) and a whole bunch of totempoles (right).

Vancouver Island

2005-08-21T12:11:00.000-04:00

The capital of the province British Columbia is Victoria on Vancouver island, the biggest island in Canada's west.

Main attraction is the parliament building (left, behind us) which has been designed by Francis Rattenburry when he was 25 years old. It appears very glamorous in the darkness of the evening when the decoration of 3333 light bulds is activated (right).

Other attractions: left: The Faimont Empress Hotel is also designed by Francis Rattenbury and is located nicely at the habour. right: In the Tunderbird park you can see some totempoles.

In Tofino we participated in a whale watching tour.

In non-photo distance we saw the back of a greywhale. Other animals we could watch: Sealions (above), a seaotter, some dolphines and a bald eagle.

On the Cathedral trail (above) we saw huge giant trees, some of them up to 800 years old.

There are lots of hiking possibilities on Vancouver Island. Above you can see the battleship lake.

Above: A nice sunset on Vancouver island

Jasper and the Rocky Mountains

2005-08-15T01:12:00.000-04:00

As the biggest national park in the Rocky Mountains Jasper has an area of 10878 km². The city of Jasper which is in the middle of the park has a population of around 5000 people in the winter and 20000 in the summer, tourists not icluded.

We arrived by train (left) in a very rainy Jasper townside. Although the weather forecast predicted heavy rain we dared to make whitewater rafting trip on the Athabasca river (right, without rafts). This river is the heart of Jasper and its water is the melted ice of the Athabasca glacier. The 3°C of the water and the not much warmer but stormy rain made the rafting tour to an incredible adventure. After we were totally subcooled by these conditions the sky turned into clear and we could enjoy the wonderful landscape.

Jasper offers gorgeous lakes in an awesome landscape. The medecine lake (above) is connected to an underground cave system and changes it water level during the year significantly. In fall it is nearly dry.

The pyramide lake (left) offered another nice possibility to enjoy the nature. We used some of the trails for hiking and mountain biking to reach this and other seightseeing points like the Maligne canyon, the Maligne lake, the Athabasca falls... right: fltr: Sascha, Jörn Marten, Daniela and me at the Old Fort Point.

Many animals can be seen in the park (left) or even within the city (right). Unfortunately we couldn't see a bear bur perhaps this was even our luck after all the accidents that happened recently.

Another must-see is the Columbia Icefield (above: 2% of the whole icefield). It's the biggest icefield (325 km²) in the Rockies and consists of 8 glaciers.

And finally the attraction above is very rarely visible in Jasper. That's me. But even without me the visit on the Wistlers Mountain's peak in 2470 m height should be worth it.

Edmonton

2005-08-14T04:26:00.000-04:00

Starting point of our trip into the west was Edmonton, the capital of Alberta. We had just one afternoon to spend there. A must-see here is the famous West Edmonton Mall, the world's biggest shopping mall. Unfortunately it was the evening of this sunday when we arrived there and the shops were already closed.

The West Edmonton Mall offers far more than just shopping: It contains bars (left), exotic animals to watch (right)...

...several entertaining attractions (left) and, of course, a big ice rink (right).

The West Edmonton Mall has more than 800 shops and seems to offer shopping in a nice atmosphere. OK, I haven't seen it in the busy time.

My Waterloo is over!

2005-08-13T00:36:00.000-04:00

I have been a bit slack in the last time updating my blog. Basically it happened not much, we had a few BBQs though. Here are some impressions of my last days in Waterloo:

left: a last picture in the bomber (fltr: Martin, Daniela, me, Alex); right: Sascha at the BBQ, he definitely had enough fire this evening.

fltr: Jessi, me, Daniel and Jakob

Repeating myself I just can say it was very good time I spent in Waterloo. Before I'll go back to Germany I will travel into the far west of Canada exploring the Rocky Mountains and the West Coast. Thus, there won't be any updates before I'm back home but then I hope I can provide you with awesome pictures and wonderful stories of my trip before I finish my work on this website.

End of the term again!

2005-07-31T15:36:00.000-04:00

Now that the third term is over my studies here draw to a close. As usual there are some things to do for everyone which makes it always difficult to update this site with interesting events. This term I'm lucky enough not to write any exams but I have to finish my research project during the next days before I start off to my final trip to Canada's west in two weeks.
After nearly one comlete year, a year full of excitement, it's somehow a strange feeling attending a last time a lecture here, dancing a last time in the bomber, shopping a last time at the farmers market, ...

Watch out for the next updates, there might be some during the next days!

JM's birthday

2005-07-18T15:14:00.000-04:00

Today we have finally been invited to a really grown-up birthday: 25 years Jörn Marten, congratulations. As we couldn't expect elsewise from the host, the party was well organized with way too much food.

Before we deserved our first coldie we gave over our presents. JM: "Oh, 2 presents!" Sascha:"Yea, we spent sooo much money for you!" (fltr: Sascha, Daniela, me, Jörn Marten)

Australian wine instead of danish buttercookies from Daniel (left) and canadian buttercookies instead of scottish wiskey from Jessi (right). I'm sure he wouldn't get more presents at home.

Tour d'Umgebung

2005-07-10T23:34:00.000-04:00

The sportive highlight of every summer term is the traditional Tour d'Umgebung. Whereas mainly second row bikers cycle around somewhere in France the main summer classic goes around Waterloo.

At around 8:30 tour organizer "Reini" (waving) opened the race with a very strong field with athletes from team TU-Braunschweig and team TU-Hamburg.

Very soon the first run-aways started an attack (left)...but no danger for the yellow jersey which controlled the field from behind (right).

In Heidelberg the forces of the small leading group around the green jersey of the best sprinter vanished and the lead over the merciless approaching field went smaller and smaller.

In St. Jacobs the peloton could be brougth together and the goal was reached in record time.
vltr: Jörn Marten, Sascha, Reini, Jendrik's girlfriend, Ole, Jendrik, me, Matthias, Matthias and Lutz.

Thousand islands

2005-07-02T22:36:00.000-04:00

Close to Kingston the St. Lawrence River offers a very nice lanscape with over 1000 islands.

Most of them are very small and contain just one little house (left) or even just a lighthouse(right).

It's somehow funny to see that some of these small islands are connected with bridges (left) and the main attraction is the big island with Boldt's Castle on it (right). Americans think that this castle is amazing with all its "details". But good that we had Jessi along with us, our scottish castle guide to disabuse us.

I might repeat myself, but it was again a really nice trip. fltr: Jessi (thanks for teaching me scottish dance on the boat), Daniel the danish guy, Daniela, me and Jörn Marten.

Canada Day in Toronto

2005-07-01T18:39:00.000-04:00

On Friday we went to Toronto to attend the celebrations of the Canada Day. The city was crowded and since it was a very hot summer day we used it more or less for hanging around at the habour.

left: Break at the habour: fltr: Matt, Jörn Marten, Daniela, Beate, Jessi and me; right: Canada Day celebration at the habour

In the evening we watched a Shakespear play in an open-air theater. It was very nice, or at least the parts I could get out of it.

above: "Much ado about nothing" from William Shakespear

Coming soon: Canada Day

2005-06-27T23:31:00.000-04:00

Since this little blog always offered a bit more than just my pure canadian adventures but also a bit of general information and education I wanna continue this tradition by giving you an understanding of the Canada Day, canadas national day, which is celebrated on July 1st (this friday).

The Canada Day goes back to 1867 when on the first July the Dominion of Canada came into act which united the three british territories Canada (todays southern parts of Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (it seems that we Braunschweigers have always been first here).
In 1879 the holiday was created as Dominion Day and changed into Canada Day in 1982.

I'm looking forward to this since it is said to be celebrated very patriotic and entertaining.

The swiss week

2005-06-24T13:11:00.000-04:00

This week Bea, Fabio and my old roommate Thomas returned from their travels through Canada to prepare finally their journey home to Switzerland.
I enjoyed to see them again and Bea and Tom arranged a BBQ to say goodbye to the people who are left.

Lots of stories and gossip at the common diner (fltr: me, Jörn Marten, Thomas, Daniela and Bea)

So my swiss friends: I will always remember these great times with you and especially the living in unit 20. Thanks a lot for this. I wish you all the best in your further ways of life and hope they will cross my again.

Sascha's birthday

2005-06-11T12:12:00.000-04:00

On his 24th birthday Sascha organized a BBQ-party on his patio. It was a good idea to do so since it has been very hot during the week here with temperatures above 30°C (felt like nearly 40°C). Even the fridge had problems to keep the beer cold.

A present and a "luck wish card" for the "birthday child" (fltr: Daniela, Sascha, me and Jörn Marten)
Hope you had a good birthday Sascha, it's another step into our grown-up world for you ;-).

Bruce Peninsula

2005-06-03T19:23:00.000-04:00

For this weekend Daniela, Sascha, Jörn Marten, Matt and me made a camping trip to the national park Bruce Peninsula which separates the biggest part of the Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay. At best weather conditions we enjoyed the nature in a kajak and by foot.

left: Kajaking around Tobermory, the last lighthouse has been automatized 14 years ago.
middle: Amazing cliffs and blue water at the Bruce's trail.
right: A picture of me taken by Daniela

Impressive rock structures (left) and cute animals (right): Bruce Peninsula offers a great outdoor experience

It was a really excellent trip (fltr: Jörn Marten, Daniela, me, Sascha and Matt)

The skyline of Toronto

2005-05-22T21:03:00.000-04:00

After several attemps I finally managed it to go on the Toronto Islands to take a picture of the nice skyline of Ontario's capital.

above: The CN-tower (553m) dominates the skyline of Toronto

The return of Sarah and Delphine

2005-05-12T15:47:00.000-04:00

After their holidays all around Canada my two favourite french girls Sarah and Delphine came back for two days to finally prepare their journey home. It was nice to see them again.

above: the final picture with my french girls at Stefan and Co's housewarming party (fltr: Sarah, me and Delphine)

Girls, I'd like to thank both of you for the time I had here with you and wish you all the best for your further way of life. I'm sure, we'll see us again!

Short stop at Niagara Falls

2005-04-28T17:35:00.000-04:00

On the way back home we stopped at the Niagara Falls again to use the opportunity to see this great spectacle of nature from the american side as well. As an attentive and regular visitor of my side you know that it was already my third visit here, so just enjoy the pictures.

above: Niagara Falls

Washington - capital of the USA

2005-04-27T21:45:00.000-04:00

After having seen two american cities now we finally were prepared to visit the president in Washington. Unfortunately non-americans have to apply at the embassy to get into the White House so we had to wait outside for him: Without sucess!

Waiting for George W.! (frtl: Jörn Marten, me, Sascha)

Even at the other side of the building we couldn't see him (left) so we went to the capitol (right) and again: This great friend of Germany wasn't here! Did no one tell him that we were in town?

OK, change of plans then: We visited the World War 2 memorial (left), the A. Lincoln memorial (middle) and from there we had a nice view on the Washington monument (right). In the last scene I had a suddenly a deja-vu! "Ah, of course, Forrest Gump!"

The Streets of Philadelphia

2005-04-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

In Philadelphia the independence of the United States was declared in 1776. Indeed we felt a much more free and nicer atmosphere than in New York. It turned out to be a very nice, friendly and open city.

First we visited the Independence Hall (left) where Thomas Jefferson's declaration of independence was signed and the United States were born. The famous liberty bell (right) from 1752 is up to nowadays a symbol of liberty and independence.

The city is full of nice places to discover and offers a lot of attractions from the birth time of the USA as well as modern architecture. And: Even the weather was good.

New York - a big city and a small mouse

2005-04-22T16:37:00.000-04:00

For spring holidays Jörn Marten, Sascha and me went to the United States to search for some more reasons why we have chosen Canada to study and not the USA.

Our first goal was the Empire State Building, since 9/11 New Yorks highest skyscraper of the city (381m). On the top we couldn't see much more than the clouds (left) so that we went up the next day again to enjoy the famous skyline (middle and right).

To visit the statue of liberty it took two attempts, too. Because we had pocket knives along with us we have been kicked out at the control check. The other day, without our knives, I was pretty happy that I didn't have the opportunity to kill Miss Liberty. What consequences might that have had?

The Times Square (above) was even worth to be visited twice. Especially in the darkness of the evening, when you can't see the dirt in the streets anymore.

Other famous places we vistited were Central Park (left: fltr: Jörn Marten, Sascha and me), the UN headquarter (middle: UN secourity council) and the Brooklyn Bridge, once the biggest rope bridge of the world (right).

As if this wouldn't have been enough we had a mouse in our hotel room eating our meat during the nights. After blocking one mousehole with a carrot we noticed on the last day that there has been a second one. After a nice talk with the manager using an appropriate voice, we have been refunded for one night.

Not having mentioned several other things I just can say that New York is not my city but this experince was worth beeing made.

Time to say goodbye!

2005-04-21T14:05:00.000-04:00

With the end of the winter term most of the exchange students are leaving. The last party with all the people I spent my last 8 months together had a strong farewell touch.
Nonetheless I don't want to be sad to say goodbye. More than that I'd like to thank all of you for this amazing time with you together and the great memories which result from this.
I hope I could make and keep some friendships. I wish you all the best.

Sunday, 0:30: Time for Shopping

2005-04-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

One of the great opportunities this land has to offer is 24 hours shopping. For me nighttime turned out to be the best time to go to the supermarket since it is completely stress-free.

above: The supermarket at half past twelve in the night. I'm usually the only customer at this time, enjoying a relaxed shopping feeling with nice music.

All around the clock you can get jam (left) or maple syrup (right)...but it is not possible to get beer after 9pm, not even at a petrol station.

The Braunschweig tree

2005-04-14T19:28:00.000-04:00

My exams of the winter term are over now: time for an update I wanted to do for long. On the picture you can see the Braunschweig tree, planted from the Braunschweig students in 1990 as a sign of the traditional exchange program.
In fall it was the first "Indian summer tree" on campus since it was the first one with coloured leafs, in winter it was the first "winter tree" having lost it leafs first and I'm pretty sure it will be the first tree with green leafs as well. Perhaps it's sometimes a long and deep tradition which leads to fast and unrivaled adaptations.

above: The Braunschweig tree

Final Exam Preparation

2005-04-05T01:43:00.000-04:00

The end of a term always means the beginning of the exam period. During the next days I will have my last engineering exams in Waterloo and even the last ones of the year worldwide. Nonetheless I can't say that I'm enjoying it since I'm now in the most busiest time of this year so far.

above (just for you Phil): ASPEN flowsheet of a (probably) non-existing process

Sarah kicked out of the bomber!

2005-03-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

The last wednesday of the term offered also the last opportunity for a great bomber night. It was Sarah who initiated it and it was finally her who stopped it as well.

It started like a typical celebration night (left) but then Sarah started to paint herself (right) and others with luminous colour.

The evening turned out to be a very good party night (left) and the right picture (with Urs) was the last one I could take in the bomber before the french girl started to throw cartboards at Urs and got kicked out for it.

So what have these three exchange students in common? Yes, they all have been kicked out of the bomber once! I think I can be really proud of my friends.

End of the term beer!

2005-03-30T13:28:00.000-05:00

The second term is over now. Time for our weekend beer we had usually every wednesday. This time it would be our last one.

fltr: Thomas, who could be persuaded of german beer and kept buying it, me having a delicious Löwenbräu and Philip, who tried to tease me by buying dutch beer. Ok, finally it was him who had to drink it

It was always the most enjoyable moment of the week. It's a pity that it was our last common weekend beer. It was great to live with you two guys in this crazy unit.

Nice outside Easter Breakky!

2005-03-27T11:37:00.000-05:00

The Easter Rabbit brought a very nice gift: The spring! At around 9°C it was really enjoyable to take the breakfast outside on the patio (Phil and Tom shoveled the snow away on Saturday).

above: Thomas and me enjoying our breakfast in springlike Easter ambience. (pics taken by Phil who was forced out of the bed due to the nice weather)

Happy Easter everybody!

German Banquet

2005-03-18T00:59:00.000-05:00

One of the official highlights of the Braunschweig-Waterloo exchange is the traditional german banquet in the transalvania club. Started several years ago with just a few Braunschweig students Reini made a big event out of it which all the german exchange students can join.

left: The dinner was typical german: A Schnitzel! right: Change in style: The beer out of the Vogtland was served in cans.

Our exchange group with our co-ordinator Reini (sitting on the chair); fltr: Sascha, Wolfgang, Arne, Matthias, Martina, Jörn Marten, Stefan, Lutz, Matthias, me and Christoph.

Last game, first victory!

2005-03-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

On our last curling draw we were facing a big pressure. Without ever winning a game we started into the last one of our common career. The honour of all international students was at stake. In short: We had to play the game of our lives...and we did.
The game was exciting till the end with changing leadings. Finally we won having one granite around 1mm closer in the house. The victory was more than deserved.

The winning CLV-curling team, fltr: Philip, the australian brushing machine, me, tonights lead, William, our star skip and icebreaker and Urs, our source of experience.

Now another great team disbands. Mates, although we had just one victory, I think we won so much more. I had really fun with you on the ice, thanks for this awesome season.

70s-80s-Party in our unit!

2005-03-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

This saturday night it was our turn again to organize a party in our unit. We took a musical journey back to the 70s and 80s. Since people already expect much creativity from us we even topped our decorations from the last parties.
Somehow this evening turned out to have it's own style: Some people spoke really strange words and acting was also not always rational. "It was a party to remember!" (quotation from Stefan translated from german)

left: People talked about the good old times while listening to the music!
right: Allison: "Are yoyos big in germany?" me:"ahhhh...same size!"

We kept the event under control: (unit 20 fltr: Philip, me, Thomas and one of the best friends of the house: Bea)

left and middle: The visitors seemed to have fun (fltr: Stefan, Allison, Sascha, Philip, Sarah, Fabio, Allison); right: "Sorry I have to go!" Short appearance of Delphine.

Urs uncommon presence made it possible: The curling team was complete, one evening before their last match. I think a great era draws to a close. (fltr: me, William, Urs, Philip)

Canadian stag night

2005-03-09T02:06:00.000-05:00

Vic, a guy out of my class, is just maried. Time to celebrate the farewell from the bachelor. It started with kidnapping him and ended where it had to end: In a bar where I was not even allowed to take photos for some reason.

Just married: Vic, I hope you like the whipped cream and the ice you're going to have.

Brick's Brewery Tour

2005-03-08T10:44:00.000-05:00

Just for pure interest in my field of studies and for no other reason I joined the tour to Brick's brewery. To my dissapointment it was more a drinking session than a real brewery tour but after asking nicely we finally got our technical introduction.

After checking the vessel of the fermentation reactor (left) and observing the process (right)...

...Stefan and me discussed about process optimization (left). Of course we had to test the product to get sensitive for it (right: here with Philip at the last call). What a pity that we had just 2 hours, so we had really to hurry to get sensitive.

Congratulations Allison

2005-03-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

Allison my australian study mate and good friend of mine took part in a special project last term. She and her team spend lots of time and hard work on designing a hydrogen power park.
Taking part with this project in a competition with several other North American universities her group won the second prize and is invited to Washington now to take part at the hydrogen conference.

Congratulations Allison! I'm really happy with you and admire the amount of hard work you put in there. And I'm really proud to be able to say that I have studied with this great engineer.

A quiet weekend

2005-02-25T18:42:00.000-05:00

For the reading weekend I missed it somehow to join one of the several trips which have been done which gave me the opportunity to take some breath from my studies. On Thursday Thomas, Jörn Marten and me went to Toronto to slack a bit around there. Especially impressing was the hot tempered debate we watched in the Ontario parliament.

On Friday Bea, Jesse, Thomas and me competed in a monopoly game. It started very funny with me owning several railways, the facilities and finally the expensive blue streets. The cost for the hotels there and series of luck of my competitors brought me close to the ruin but a good sense for business always pays off. It ended in one of these endless games that we stopped without having a unique winner.

Monopoly: After 4 hours the game ended draw for everyone.

Outside curling

2005-02-20T23:01:00.000-05:00

After a hard ride through the deep snow we noticed that our curling session was canceled this sunday. Not wanting to give away our passion we decided the go back to the roots of this game and played outside Urs unit.

At least we haven't lost this time: advanced curling

And finally: what's curling without the beer after?

A package from Germany

2005-02-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Today I opened the mailbox and couln't believe what I saw. A package for me. It was a surprise from my parents and its content was a whole bunch of german sweets including a packet of the world wide unique Haribo "Goldbären". Thanks for this back home. I was so happy.

Me and my sweets and the real "Gummibärchen"

Totally out of order

2005-02-12T13:51:00.000-05:00

This weekend my body was on strike. Due to a gastro-intestinal disease I felt like a bucket of real german shit (sorry for this rude expression).
So there is no real update this week because I don't think that you wanna see pictures of me talking all the night to the porcelain telephone.

Karaoke in the silverspur

2005-02-03T01:23:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to the silverspur again to enjoy some karaoke. To fill the bar a bit more up with people we first send our preband on the stage to perform a song of grease. Allison and Bea with their background singer Phil and Paul inspired the audience quite well. Then it was the time for a real boy group.

left: Allison and Bea broke the ice; right: fltr: me, Sascha and Paul performed "I can't dance". This was definitly the right song at the right time.

Then it was time for the main show of the evening: Me, Sarah, Sascha and Phil (fltr) enthused with "I love rock'n roll" and not like I first wrote with "Love fool" (Thanks Sarah!). Somehow it was hard this evening to read the lyrics on the screen, they didn't seem to be very clear.

It turned out to be a good night. Even Stefan was allowed to stay.
(fltr: Sarah, me, Stefan, William)

Kicked out of the bomber

2005-01-29T13:14:00.000-05:00

The main issue in CLV this weekend has been the rumours about Stefan's and my wednesday night in the bomber, a small club on campus.
After an evening of totally loosing control Stefan was somehow kicked out and banned for one year. They blamed him to have stolen beer.
To make it it clear for everyone and for the last time: A German would never steal canadian beer!

Running out of options to socialize Stefan persuaded his roommates to have a party on Saturday. It turned out to be very good night where I even got to know people from our neighbours Austria and the Netherlands for the first time here.

left: Searching for consolation in the cheap wine. Being banned from the bomber is definetly a hard hit. But unit 26 did a good job in running their party (right: fltr: Stefan, Sarah and me).

left: What's a party without our bunny Allison?
middle: Jörn Marten can hardly decide. Who is dressed better tonight? Phil or Sascha?
right: And then there was Julie, a french girl who told me she met me a long time ago and observed me since then inconspicuously.

Timmi, the first Dutch I met here, had all reason to be appaled: she missed our first date!
By the way: Which round reached Holland in soccer world cup 2002? I've really problems to remember.

Heaps of snow = Heaps of fun

2005-01-21T11:39:00.000-05:00

Tonight we planned to build a snowman but noticed very soon that the snow was too fluffy, so we had to change the plans. Knowing that unit 26 (Stefan and co) was out for dinner it was obvious what to do: "Let's block their door!"

Being just 4 people (right: fltr: Phil, Jörn Marten, me and Sascha) we asked my favourite french girls for help. As they rejected we used their unit as a test area and I gave Delphine a refreshing bath in the -20°C-snow.

We finally managed to get enhancement by the swiss Bea, Thomas and Fabio and collected a whole bunch of shovels...

... and started to work.

We did a good job and have been proud of it.
fltr: Phil, Thomas, me, Fabio, Jörn Marten, Sascha, Bea and and an unknown free rider who wanted to get a bit of the honour.

Curling

2005-01-16T11:24:00.000-05:00

For this term we decided to try something new and founded a german-swiss-australian-swedish curling team. Every Sunday we compete now against other teams within the curling club. None of us played this sport before and we noticed that the rules are easier than expected.

Lead by the skipper you try to bring the token in the desired position by handling power, direction and spin. (left) Noticing the token is too slow you can try to keep the speed by brushing the ice in front of it. (right)
The goal is having the own tokens closer in the house than the opponent team.

left:our team fltr: Urs, Philip, William and me hoping that the tooken stops soon
right: every millimeter counts, Phil and Urs gave everything

And the best rule is applied after the game: The winner pays the beer for the looser.
It was a great evening and we even had a small fanblock (thanks to Daniela and Martin) . I'm looking forward to the next games.

Wintertrip to Niagara Falls

2005-01-15T13:19:00.000-05:00

In the silence of the second weekend of the new term we visited the Niagara Falls again. It was quite nice to see them in a winterlandscape since my last trip there has been in the summer.

In the darkness of the evening the Niagara Falls are coloured up by several lights. This leads to a really impressing image.

left: At the canadian side of the falls, also known as "horseshoe-falls" because of their shape, you can see lots of evaporation.
right: The american part is a bit smaller but still impressing.

New Year Celebration in Montreal

2005-01-01T13:15:00.000-05:00

For the New Year Celebration and the final of our holidays we went to Montreal. New Years Eve we spent in a weird club which seemed to be even more degenerated than the good old Jolly Joker.

left: Paul, Daniela and me; right: Fabio, Daniela, Thomas, William and me

The other day we visited the city again. Unfortunatly lots of shops were closed so that the impressions couldn't reach them in the summer.
Unlike last time we visited the Mont-Royal from where you have a great view of Montreal.

The way to the top of the 234m-hill was long and icy...

...but we have been rewarded with a great view!

On our way back home to Waterloo we visited the olympic parc of 1976 again. The photo shows us in the swimming arena.
(fltr: Lawrence, Delphine, me, David, William)

Trip to Quebec City

2004-12-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Quebec (1608) is one of the oldest citys in North America. It has a very historical and european style with lots of old architecture and is surrounded by a city wall. Due to these points it is an UNESCO world heritage site since 1985.

above: Landmark is the Château Frontenac (1893). It is a luxury hotel with around 600 rooms.

The old part of the city with the Rue du Petit Champlain (left) made Quebec to one of the nicest cities I have ever seen. The chateau can be seen from everywhere (middle) and the Place Royal (right) can even compete with Braunschweig's Burgplatz.

The St. Lawrence River is the heart of Quebec. It was very impressing seeing all the ice and snow covering the surface of the water.

We went on the other side of the river and took our lunch break at the coldest place of Quebec. The wind was icy but the view was perfect.
(fltr: Sascha, me and Daniela photographed by Fabio)

Leaving Quebec we visited the Montmorency Falls which are even higher than the Niagara Falls. OK, it was not half that impressing but I've been there.
Quebec is really worth to be visited, but without any french speaking guys you're lost. Fabio from Switzerland handled all the communication for us with bravery.

Christmas in Mont Tremblant

2004-12-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

For our christmas celebration we rented a cabin for a week in the middle of nowhere near Mont Treamblant in the french speaking province Quebec.

On Christmas Eve the majority of the group went out for dinner. Only the german fraction(Daniela, Steffi, Sascha and me) kept their tradition and celebrated the highlight of christmas in an adequate way. After the perfect dinner we went out to church. Although it was a 4km walk at minus 25°C and the service was in french, we had a wonderful christmas atmosphere.
It was a christmas night to remember.

left: our cabin, right: christmas decoration inside

The landscape was really enjoyable.

During the week we went also a bit downhill and cross-country skiing. Very soon they called my "the black flash".

4. Advent

2004-12-19T23:24:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Daniela and me produced cookies in nearly industrial amounts. After 4 hours of excessive suicide baking we were finally well prepared for the final advent celebration. It was a nice gathering again and I think we're well prepared for Christmas now. Thanks to all the participants of the adventsteas. It was a nice time for me and a real pleasure to bring a bit of german christmas into our lifes here.

left: 4. advent in our unit; right: D&S-coproduction #2

A Fairytale of Christmas

2004-12-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

There is even hope in he darkest days. After 4 weeks of waiting for my paket from my parents, 4 weeks of walking twice a day to the mailbox, it finally arrived. Reason for the delay was obviously a control check of the costum. Would it not have been easier just to look on my blog?

I was really happy about my presents. Thanks for this back home. I can now open 14 doors at once of my adventscalender.

Final exams

2004-12-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it. The fall term is already over and the final exams are written this week. Today I was twice in action. Especially impressing was the test in Cell Biology which took place in the sports hall. Over 1000 students writing in the same room.
Almost military: Exam in the PAC (physical activity center)

It's cold these days

2004-12-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

Today we had our first real snow fight here. I think it was a christmas one. And when you look at the photos: The guys from unit 20 are quite tough, aren't they?

Later we had our weekly advents section again. This time with the greatest variety of cookies due to the nice efforts of Bea and Thomas. There were just some people missing, probably because of the exams which are going on now. I'm looking forward to have 4 this week. So as I mentioned: These days are really cold.

Christmas Dinner at Reini's

2004-12-05T18:08:00.000-05:00

The christmas mood is getting stronger and stronger now. On Friday our exchange group was invited for a christmas dinner at our coordinator's place. It was a very nice evening and Reini did a very good job as a host.

The dinner was exceptional delicious!

Tritely or not! Wine and flowers are always good for showing ones appreciation.
Or like Phil would say: Bring a bottle of cheap wine to drink the host's beer.

On Sunday we celebrated the 2. Advent with much more nice christmas music than last week. Thanks to Jörn Marten and my brother Sascha for this.

1. Advent

2004-11-28T15:30:00.000-05:00

The first advent we celebrated in our unit, the one and only christmas unit in Columbia Lake Village. We even have a christmas tree and hundreds of tiny lights. Daniela and me could proudly present our selfmade "Christstollen" a german fruit cake, Jörn Marten made the tea and so we had a nice afternoon with christmas music in the background.

The christmas-team (fltr): me, Thomas, Daniela and Phil in front of our christmas tree

My lost sister

2004-11-13T13:50:00.000-05:00

On this evening I've met my lost canadian sister Kelly. Although she said she would have been in my classes during the whole term I didn't recognized her (sorry for this). But I always felt she is close to me.

This picture shows three of the best chemical engineers: Me, Kelly and Paul. (fltr)

Presentation about Germany

2004-11-11T22:24:00.000-05:00

This day we and the exchange group from Hamburg had a presentation about studing in Germany. It is the main event of our persuading attempts to get more canadian students to the "center of engineering".

Our program coordinator Prof. Reinhold Schuster (Reini) opened the presentation (left). Then it was our turn to be on our best behaviour (right).

Due to a lot of advertising we made the days before, we had quite a big audience. As Reini told it was the biggest one in the history of the program. I really hope to see some of these faces next year in Braunschweig again.

In class

2004-11-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

fltr: Allison from down under, Stefan and me in the break of the process control lecture

The day after: Toronto

2004-11-06T18:47:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we went to Toronto again and got some nice impressions.

Eating with sticks is one of the things I really learned here in Canada. OK, where else?

The Eaton-Center is a huge shoppingmall and considered to be the centre of Toronto.

International Party

2004-11-05T17:43:00.000-05:00

On Friday we had a party in our unit. It was an international party because we played just music out of our home countrys. This lead to a mix of german, swiss, swedish, french and australiens sounds.

It began quite nice with lots of ballons.

But later someone broke a bottle of wine in our kitchen. Delphine, Christoph and Stefan are dicussing whose fault it was. But the wrongdoer couldn't hide for long.

The Aussie in his right position: down under
I think he felt like home!

left: Rainer meets his neighbour. By the way: Could you imagine that this girl tore open tons of rats and baby-chickens?
With the same time in the kitchen Urs started to stir again although it was his sober evening. (right)

left: It was definitely Stefans night!
right: The best and most educated conversations are always held in the kitchen. That's the reason why I'm there and therefore on so few photos this time.

A Swiss Girls Birthday

2004-10-29T21:53:00.000-04:00

On Friday Bea from Switzerland celebrated her birthday. Nearly everbody seemed to be really relieved because for most of us the midterms were over. The result was a nice party with lots of people, stupid ballon-fights and a swiss girl who can't remember whom she met 2 minutes ago. But nobody is getting younger.

left: Bea like always: smiling; right: I can't remember this situation

It was the first party since two weeks so some people were quite childish (left) and: even Sarah was smiling for a photo (right).

Studying for the first mid-terms

2004-10-23T14:59:00.000-04:00

This week I spent nearly all my time for learning for the mid-term examinations. I can't remember that I have ever worked so hard and nevertheless I have the feeling of being ill-prepared. It seems to be the darkest section of my academic career.

Regardless I accepted the invitation of the french girls Delphine and Sarah and joined the original french crepe evening on Friday. Thank you for this, I'll pay back sometime.

No update this weekend

2004-10-17T01:01:00.000-04:00

For the very few people who are visiting my site regulary just to see a new update.
Sorry guys! I'll try to update it at least every weekend, but there are mid-terms coming soon and I spend nearly all my time for studing now.
Furthermore I think it's not that fun for you to read posts about process control and Aspen-Flowsheets. Even I wish I hadn't spent so much time doing it.

Sarah's Karaoke-night

2004-10-07T22:09:00.000-04:00

This evening we went to the karokebar "silverspur" and practised our singing skills. It was an awesome night which everyone who took part will remember forever. By accident, it was sweet Sarah's birthday when Delphine and me entered the stage at 12 am to perform our first song. Of course we sang a french birthday song first before we presented a very special version of a Shania Twain hit!

left: "Don't look back in anger" Oasis couldn't have done better
right: rough but nice atmosphere in the "silverspur"

Philip's Birthdayparty

2004-10-04T21:35:00.000-04:00

On Monday we celebrated Philips birthday in our unit. It was a very nice party with a lot of nice people. Only the fact that it was just his 20th birthday was a strange feeling. But this is our german fate.

The party had everything what an amazing party need:
A very good host (left), deep discussions (right),

a lot of nice visitors (left) and some people sitting on the stairs (right)

Trip to Toronto

2004-10-01T10:17:00.000-04:00

Landmark of Canadas biggest city is the CN-Tower, the highest free standing building of the world. Of course we have been on the highest platform (447m) to take a view over the city.

2004-10-01T10:11:00.000-04:00

Me on the CN-Tower

2004-10-01T03:09:00.000-04:00

In the evening we visited the baseball game in the Sky Dome, a huge sports stadium beside the CN-Tower. The Toronto Blue Jays played the New York Yankees, the champions of the eastern division. Somehow the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees and every visitor got a pizza for free.

The evening when this homepage was born

2004-09-23T23:43:00.000-04:00

From left to right: Thomas, my swiss roommate, Urs, he's from Switzerland too and always funny, Philip my australian roommate and finally thats me! We're drinking canadian beer in my canadian room.

The amazing Niagara Fall trip

2004-09-19T16:38:00.000-04:00

This is William from Sweden and me at the Niagara falls! I'll never forget this trip!

2004-09-19T15:48:00.000-04:00

fltr: Delphine, me, William and Nicolas
"I wanna stay here forever!"

2004-09-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

Just a nice photo in Niagara:
fltr: Nicolas (France), me, Sarah (France), Sascha, Matthias (both BS-Germany), William (Sweden), Jörn Marten (BS-Germany), Miriam (Mannheim-Germany) and the unique named Delphine (France)

Not very sophisticated!

2004-09-19T10:16:00.000-04:00

On the way to Niagara Falls we visited a winery and tasted several wines. But never try the 4th one!

Canoe tour in Algonquinpark

2004-09-06T17:19:00.000-04:00

In the middle of the lake it started to rain

2004-09-06T16:19:00.000-04:00

fltr: Jörn Marten, Wolfgang, me and Stefan

2004-09-06T07:20:00.000-04:00

It was the final of a fantastic journey!

Ottawa: The capital of Canada

2004-09-05T10:17:00.000-04:00

We are standing right in front of the main parliament building. It was an nice atmosphere to sojourn.
(fltr: Stefan, me, Jörn Marten, Wolfgang, Sascha)

2004-09-05T09:58:00.000-04:00

This is the Rideau channel. It was built in middle of the 19th century and is used as a recreation area today. On the right you can see the Fairmont Chateau Laurier (1912). It's the most famous luxury hotel in Canada.

Montreal

2004-09-03T16:44:00.000-04:00

Our first trip led us to Montreal a realy impressing city. It's the second biggest town in Canada and has a very french flair. I enjoyed our stay there.

2004-09-03T06:08:00.000-04:00

This is the olympic velodrome of 1976. Today there is the Biodome in it, a zoo where 4 different ecosystems are recreated. The photo is taken from the highest skew tower of the world (175m).

left: view over Montreal from the skew tower
right: Basilique Notre-Dame (1829)

Braunschweig-Waterloo-Exchange: The chosen few

2004-08-27T23:27:00.000-04:00

This is the 26th group of the very traditional BS-UW-exchange programm:
From left to right: Christoph, Stefan, Matthias, Sven, Matthias, Arne, Martina, Jörn Marten, Sascha, Lutz and Wolfgang

We are studying now for one year at the University of Waterloo, Ontario,Canada. This exchange-program is the oldest one in the Faculty of Engineering and has a high reputation. I'm proud to be member of this group.

Special thanks to my roommate Philip from Australia for creating this site and Urs the crazy swiss guy who got not tired to tell everyone from our first meeting on that I must be famous. This led to the wonderful title of this homepage!