First snow in my home town!

But first I have to write: I got the job in Uppsala!!! I've worked two days so far and I think I was very lucky to end up in this lab. :-)

Happy happy joy joy - as Lucy would have said!

Now for some photos:

Zirro, my mum, Ri, Igor and my dad enjoying the first snow back home. 10 cm of lovely white snow.

Then we took a walk to the lake and saw a wolf!

No... it was only Igor striking a pose.

Zirro instead enjoyed swimming after snowballs that we threw in the lake... and the stupid furball didn't get that the snow melted and turned crazy trying to find the 'ball'.

Last picture - a Swedish fridge..... if you look closely in the upper part of the picture.

Last pictures of Lisbon

Heyyyyy!!!!!!!

Okay, I promise you that these will be my last pictures of Lisbon for a while. I might be sick and tired of being here (more from excess of red tape and being f****d in the ass by Portuguese customs and especially the f*****g Australian carrier - Pack and Send), but I do find this city really cool. Enjoy some views of our 12th Century S. Jorge Castle.

Turrets of S. Jorge Castle

A visigothic water fountain at sundown

Sundown at the castle

View of downtown Lisbon and the river as seen from the top of Castle Hill

Another view from the castle

A picture of me for Kia, with the statue of my nation's founder, D. Afonso Henriques (Henry I the conqueror).

The battlements of the Castle.

Another view of downtown Lisbon.

Sundown over the river Tagus.

My next pics will come from Germany!!!

My Family!

My sister in my old house!

Another one of my sister, Raquel, in my old place
It's getting old, another one of my sister, then again I havem't seen her in 5 years.
Myself, my father and Miête my father's wife
The same but with my sister.
Me and my Sister.

For those of you that complain about me not posting pictures of people in the blog while I am in Lisbon. Here you go. Enjoy!

Where I am going to work.

Poppelsdorfer Schloss where the Mineralogisches Institut und Museum resides and where I am going to work.

Okay, now it's almost official. I have officially accepted the job offer (after getting the forms I needed). It will go to their commitee and get approved which I am told is just a formality. Just as a teaser I am leaving you with a picture of the Department of the University of Bonn where I am going to work. Going back to Muenchen next week so the window for visits to Lisbon is narrowing. The flat I was going to have available for each time I was to come to Lisbon is going to be rented out to someone who can pay a lot more than me, so I will not have a place to stay for all of us in Lisbon any time soon. Sorry for that!

Enjoy!

Raul

P.S. - This is were the Kaiser kept is mistresses in the XVIII century

Clarifications are in order

Dear all,

I officially do not have the position yet. I still have not accept it officially due to the amazing world of German bureaucracy. I am going to send the signed offer back today. It still has to be approved by the University bureaucrats. To make a long story short, I do not have the job yet. I will have the job once I get my contract approved, and money on my bank account. I have just spend the last month in cues to take care of an infinite ammount of bureaucracies, and spend over 1200 euros in customs procedures and in the purchase of several documents which I really needed. I appreciate your enthusiasm though. ;-).

Hugs,

Raul

Still on holidays ...

Dear All,

Great to hear that winter is coming up in Europa Spring arrived in Canberra. Kiri did you already put the skis on? Congrats on the job Raul, so this means we will see soon pictures of Bonn? Sorry took that long for posting again, but surviving is a full-time job without you guys, so we are trying to make the best out of it ... Richard by the way your bike is still in the same spot where you left it, amazing to believe.. but no one has tried to steal it. Kia any nice good-looking Swedish (girl or boy) that would like to come and enjoy the beautiful and fantastic city of canberra for a while to work in the lab?? Is so boring... (Maarten has included the "boy" i mean "girl")

Ok all, have fun

Maarten and Paula


Wombeyan caves, Blue mountains













Wenthworth Falls, Blue mountains

















Champagne pools, Rotorua,
New Zealand









"Mt. Doom" for the
lord-of-the-ring fans
Whakapapa, N.Z.






Brother on top of some mountain,
Mt. Tongariro

Raul hat einen Job - WORKERS UNITE!

Arbeit macht Frei!!! Raul got a job and did not tell to anyone... At least, not to me... F...ucker... But I know he deserves and I am nearly as happy as I would be if I got a [good] job! Well done!

Wedding

It's almost a month late. But here are a few photos from our wedding in the Rockies (Gold Hill, Colorado to be precise). Alex and I are currently stuck overnight in the Washington DC airport and I figured I'd better make use of the wireless here.

The wedding was great. We had such a fun time partying with everyone from 11am to midnight (even though neither one of us could get any sleep the night before). The most amazing part was seeing a room full of friends who had never met and were getting a chance to for the first time. We wish you could have all been there too, but hope you'll find Boulder on your way to someplace in the near future.

Love, K&A

Bonorva: Sunset from the kitchen window at my mom's place

With Paula and Kia on the last night in Canberra

The last night in Canberra

Ischia Island: at the site of "La Madonna di Zara", where the Virgin Mary is supposed to have appeared to three local chldren. My aunt told me I should go there to ask for a miracle for my finger...Obviously, it did not work!

Ischia island's Catholic fervor: local believer at the "Madonna di Zara" site. The Virgin Mary is supposed to have appeared in this forest...

Ischia island: crosses by the sea

Naples: city center with Vesuvius Volcano in the background

Naples: Piazza Mazzini by night

Pompei: Roman eroticism on a mural at the brothel. Clients could learn how to do it from the paintings...

Pompei: You won't believe it: this is the (fallic) sign to the brothel on the main road of Pompei. Among the romans, sex was seriously an open matter! If you follow the fallic arrow you will really find the place to please your senses straight away...So smart!

Naples: political graffiti in 2007: against every form of power

Pompei: Roman political writing in 100 B.C.

In Naples' old city with some friends from the conference

Subway in Naples: the 500, a Fiat car from 1960s, has become a legend in contemporary art