The saga of the white bookshelf

About a month ago we decided to clean out our garage and get rid of unwanted stuff.  I posted some adverts in Gumtree an online site for classifieds.

Gumtree covers 6 countries - Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, UK, Ireland and Poland, and various cities in each country. The ads are free unless you want to showcase the items by highlighting or having an urgent sale and you can put some photos to help sell your item.

One of the items I was selling was a white bookcase.
It wasn´t in mint condition but was still usable, so I put a price of $15dlrs on it.

After about 1 week I started getting sms´s or emails about the bookshelf. I got about 5 or 6 people who were interested but only one of those showed up with a car whose seats would not fold, so that we could not fit the shelves inside, so she declined to take them. The measurements were on the advert so I don´t know why she didn´t check them before she decided to have a look...

Another funny episode was an sms I received saying they were interested in the shelves, and would pay $50 for them if I delivered. I replied that they wouldn´t fit in my car, (my seats didn´t fold either) so I could not deliver.
The following day another sms comes and this time, the same person offers $60 if I delivered!!
I laughed so much!! Even if I could deliver I would feel as if I was cheating them by accepting $60 for those shelves. They could probably buy a brand new bookshelf for almost that price (delivery excluded of course).

Eventually another one said she would pop around to collect it if still available, and because I was away in Adelaide, I said she could come and see it the following weekend, but half expecting she wouldn´t come at all.
This past Saturday a couple came with a van and we helped them pack the bookshelf on top of a white desk they had just picked up from another advert and these items would be used as a prop in a children´s school play.
So after over 250 views on the Gumtree pages, and a month later, the bookshelf was finally sold.

Because I still have another 4 items for sale, I wonder what other funny things will happen?

Christmas in July

Only last year did I became aware of the Australian tradition of Christmas in July.

Celebrating Christmas in the middle of summer, we miss out on snow, cold weather and warm foods - the typical postcard Christmas scene....instead Christmas lunch is celebrated with seafood, salads, barbecues and outings to the beach or swimming pools.

My visiting family (from South Africa and Portugal) and friends, on Christmas Day 2007

I confess I still enjoy celebrating Christmas the Portuguese way with the traditional Christmas menu of Bacalhau (salted dry cod fish) with boiled potatoes, boiled eggs and kale - we have managed to find the real Portuguese one here too, (otherwise Broccoli would do) or otherwise any other Codfish recipe, one of my favorites being Bacalhau com Natas (Cod fish in cream sauce).

Cod fish in cream sauce

Traditional boiled cod fish

Desserts would be Rabanadas (Tipsy Slices), Creme Caramel Pudding and Sweet Rice Pudding, and of course the Christmas Cake or the more traditional Bolo Rei (Crown cake) and little dishes with a variety of different nuts and dried fruits.

Arroz Doce -  Sweet Rice Pudding

Bolo Rei (King's cake)  - photo from the net

Of course Portuguese women slave for days before Christmas to produce a huge quantity of food that will be eaten over 2 or 3 days.

The Australians are a lot more practical with their food choice, because with temperatures between 30ºC and 40ºC, nobody wants to be in front of a hot oven, but to me a barbecue is just not Christmas fare. You can have a barbecue any day of the year!

So for the past 4 years I have been inviting my friends to my Christmas Eve dinner offering them my special Portuguese menu. On Christmas day I will then join any one who invites us for a barbecue and a swim.

In the States of Victoria, Tasmania and Australian Capital Territory, in the snowfields, during the month of July, being the peak of winter, various hotels and clubs, offer their guests the traditional Christmas menus, and many Australians travel to these areas to enjoy the snow and to take part in these festivities.

In other parts of the country, even though we don´t get snow or the winters are not that cold, many restaurants offer Christmas in July menus, and a

Fruit Mince Pie

lot of big companies book out restaurants and clubs for their employees to celebrate this date - any excuse for a nice meal,  a couple of drinks and a dance is a good excuse!
Sadly because I work in a small office we don´t get such luxuries, but one of our Doctors who loves Christmas cake and has a sweet tooth, brought in a dozen delicious Fruit mince pies for us to have with our morning coffee, which made me think about this tradition and hence this post.

I don´t know if other countries in the Southern Hemisphere have such a tradition, but when I lived in South Africa we didn´t have it.

Do you know of any funny or special traditions that are just celebrated in your country?

HANHDORF and MT. LOFTY

HANHDORF is situated about 27km South East of Adelaide in area know as the "Adelaide Hills".

On the drive there we stopped at MOUNT LOFTY, where from the summit at the height of 700mt you can get a view of the whole city of Adelaide. Unfortunately the fog was very thick and we couldn´t see a thing!!

The thick fog...

Cold and foggy on top of Mt.Lofty

I was very keen to see the view, so I had to drive back the following day and I was lucky the day was nice and sunny and I managed to get some lovely pictures.

There are walking trails for the adventurous, and a wildlife park in the middle of the Botanic Gardens. There is also a kiosk and a restaurant as well as a Tourist Information Center.

Obelisk at top of Mt.Lofty

View of Adelaide, 17km away, I should have zoomed....

On to Hanhdorf then!

This small town was first settled in 1839 by Prussian Lutheran families (around 200 people) who traveled to South Australia on the ship "Zebra" whose captain was called Dirk Hahn. The town was named after him as a tribute to his efforts in helping to settle the travellers.

There is a memorial to Hahn and the pioneering families in the Pioneer Garden in the Main street and a lot of the original buildings still stand, fully restored and being used as shops. 

Don´t miss the Leather shop with a huge collection of leather hats, belts, bags...and an open wooden fireplace burning inside the old shed.

The quaint Leather shop

It is a very touristy spot and apart from the historical value of the town there is lots to see and experiment.

In the Main Street, there are a few shops where you can buy traditional German foods - wursts (sausages), tins of sauerkraut and gurkens, pumpernickel bread and lots more. Traditional German food can be eaten at the German Arms or at the Hanhdorf Inn restaurant, and you can have afternoon tea at the German Cake shop.

German food store

Chilli sausages anyone?  (Bum burner...)

Also on the Main street there are a few restaurants, a couple of arts and crafts galleries and the town´s Museum, where you can read about the first settlers and their way of life.

During the First World War in 1917, the South Australia government closed all Lutheran schools, and all towns with German names in the State had their names anglicized. Despite the fact that most of Hanhdorf´s inhabitants were by now second or third generation Australians, there was a lot of anti-German feelings during the war, and the men joining the Australian Army also anglicized their names.

Hanhdorf became Ambleside between 1918 to 1935, after which the old name was restored to celebrate South Australia´s centenary in 1936 and in recognition of its German pioneers.

There are still a lot of the German descendants living in the town and a lot of newcomers attracted to the

town´s lifestyle and location. It has now a population of about 2000 people.

At the end of Main Street, on the way to Mt. Barker, there is a farm where you can pick your own strawberries (October to May) and where they farm various vegetables and fruits. Beerenberg Farm is the producer of jams, pickles, chutneys and sauces which are well know in various countries around the world.

We had a typical German lunch at the Hanhdorf Inn of Wurst and mashed potatoes and Eisbein (pork knuckle) with baked potatoes, far too much food. Then while walking along the Main St we came across a recently opened Portuguese Restaurant - Por2gal - where we had coffee, Portuguese Custard tarts (Pasteis de Nata) and a Bitter Almond liqueur. Yummi!!  On my next visit we will certainly go back, for lunch!!

The Hahndorf Inn Restaurant

Accordion player singing typical German songs

Pork Knuckle with baked potatoes

Wurst with Mashed potatoes

Inside the German restaurant

Pasteis de Nata -   Portuguese Custard tarts

ADELAIDE - The city of Churches

I have just returned from my first to the city of Adelaide on the south east coast of Australia.
Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and the fifth biggest city with around 1,3million inhabitants.
South Australia is the only Australian state which wasn´t settled by convicts.

Map of city Centre and North Adelaide (grip pattern of centre)

The city is located by the River Torrens and the city centre is set out in a grid pattern surrounded by parks all around and the Mount Lofty ranges to the east.

It is known as the City of Churches with around 24 churches within the centre and in the suburb of North Adelaide across the river. It is also known as the Festival State, as there are many festivals and sporting events happening every month. The wine industry is a thriving business in Adelaide, with two areas within driving distance -  Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. We had no time to visit these areas which will be left for another visit.

We visited Hanhdorf, a former German settlement which was a wonderful surprise and I will writing about this visit in a separate post.

So whatever your interests there is something for everyone and most of these areas are not too far away from the city and you can make your own way or there
are plenty of tours available.

Scots Church in North Terrace, the 2nd oldest church

River Torrens - behind the Convention centre

Rundle Mall

Two of the 4 bronze pig sculptures in Rundle Mall

I enjoyed strolling along Rundle Mall - a pedestrian only street surrounded by shops plus 15 arcades with a lot of unique shops. My favourite was Adelaide Arcade, an old fashion shopping area with very quaint  shops like a Button Bar, or a Hat shop or a bespoke tailor.

The area is open 7 days a week, and there is a huge choice of eating areas in each arcade, plus some live entertainment by street performers.

Inside Adelaide Arcade with its quaint shops

GLENELG

View of Glenelg from the air with Marina to the left and Pier to the right at end

We stayed in an hotel in Glenelg, a seaside suburb 10km from the city by the coast. Being winter the area felt a bit empty, but I can imagine it will be full of locals and tourists in the summer time. There was a tram line, and the trip into the city took about 20min, with a new tram coming every 15 minutes.

Glenelg Marina

Beach and Pier

Glenelg - Moseley Square

Sunset - taken from Glenelg Beach

Foreign language experiences and life in Braunschweig

When my husband was seconded to his company´s head office in Germany for 1 year, I accompanied him on our first overseas trip together.
He had done a 3 month intensive German language course about 1 year before we actually left, so that by the time we got to Braunschweig much had been forgottten along the way...I knew nothing.
I stayed home, no kids at the time yet, so my activities consisted of house cleaning, window shopping in the city centre, meeting with South African women whose husbands worked on the same project, sewing, and a lot of tv watching. The fact that we watched an English TV channel - BFBS -  British Forces Broadcasting Service, didn´t do much for my learning of a new language.

Kohlmarkt

Eventually I decided that if I lived in Germany I might as well learn German, so I enrolled in a 3 month Basic course. I learned enough to get me by while shopping, to watch and understand a bit of what was being said on German TV. Our original 1 year was extended to another year, and another...so that by the time we left we had been in Germany for almost 6 years.

Our first hurdle with the German language came when we had to go to the doctor the first time we fell sick with a very bad cold. The Doctor managed to tell in a broken English that we had an African virus - this because we had told him we had recently arrived from South Africa!
Another South African couple who happened to have taken a detour via New York on the way to Germany, was diagnosed by the same doctor with and American virus! We had a great laugh at this diagnosis.

The first couple of times we went shopping we used to take an English/German dictionary with us and we would peruse the products and try to figure out if they were what we wanted.
What was "dandruff shampoo" or "shampoo for dry hair"? What about the names on meat cuts, some of them we couldn´t even find a translation for them.

The very first time my husband went by train to Hannover, he asked for "Ein Ticket nach Hannover". The vendor asked him "Ein weg oder Zuruck"? (one way or return?) and he would just repeat "one ticket to Hannover". Eventually after asking 3 times, he just issued a one way ticket.

Another time, sightseeing in the city, we were trying to locate a street in our map, as we stood under a sign that said "Ein Weg". We looked in the map directory and we just couldn´t find such a street name, and were puzzled that the map was recent so it should have that street. After a while we decided to ask a passerby to show us on the map where we were. He was a bit puzzled, but explained to us that it wasn´t a street name, but meant that street had only one traffic direction (One way street).

Me and the kids 

Since I was home we decided it would be a good time to have children. Germany was also a very child friendly country who welcomed any addition to the nation, as their birth rate was very low - so our two babies were born there 18 months apart. 
We were lucky to find a "Hebamme" (midwife), Frau Franke, who worked with the Obstetrician, who wasn´t afraid to speak English, as she had an English partner. 
She even told me to phone her at home if I had any queries and she would get her boyfriend to translate if she didn´t know how to explain. What a darling!

It was a lovely experience for me, I met some nice people and made some friends, despite the fact the Germans are a bit cold and closed.
But the weather was for me the worst to get used to, with long snowy winters and summers with not much sun or warmth.    
I couldn´t wait to get back to South Africa and it´s beautiful weather.

Due to the instability and crime rate in South Africa, we left a few years later and settled in Portugal....and much later we moved to Australia.