Renting in Munich

First you have to join the renters union, 2.5k euro!!
Then you pay the realestate agent, 2.5 months rent!!
Then you pay 3 months bond!!!!
Then you must install a freaking kitchen!!!!!!!!!! Yes they take the kitchens with them.
Then pay for it to be painted!!!
Oh and the pay 1.5k - 2k euro rent per month!

I must find a way around this!

First impressions of Munich, Bavaria

- cool city, very nice
- big! Like Sydney size
- feels very European, ie in many places it looks quaint, old buildings, churches
- soaked in culture and things to do, art, theatre, photography, mma
- relaxed Germans :) Bavarians, it's known as the free state, lots of jeans, very friendly people, lots of help and assistance
- great beer, meat, pastrias, chocolate
- ski fields one hour away, chur 2.5 hours
- far too many smokers
- amazingly cool transport, trains, ubahn, trams
- horrible apartment renting system, see next blog post
- coldish temperature wise, but great central apartment heating

Tomorrow I visit my new workplace!

Our 2 night stopover in Dubai

Atlantis! The long lost city! Now found on the Palm Islands in Dubai!

A perfect paradise, hot sunny days, warm clear water, unbelievable friendly service from caring Philippinos, giant water slides, celebrity chefs, and 5 star luxury.

Well, near perfect anyway, with all it's glory it's without personality, it's environmentally catastrophic, serviced using cheap imported labor, the guests are rude and probably far too rich, there are restricted women rights and people have their own servants.

After our visit we are still not sure what Dubai is but it is spectacular in it's positive and negative extremes.

The visit was indeed a great "experience", and i do recommend it as a stopover to Europe, especially if you are traveling with little ones.

The fishtank was amazing and the giant near vertical 26m waterside was a rush.

Total cost for the three of us (including accommodation, food, and all expenses), was around $1200 NZD.

Flying long distances with babies

(for long distance flights).

1. Leave at night when they would normally sleep. This worked great for Leon, he slept for most of the 14 hour flight!
2. Go shortest way. Perhaps obvious but seriously pay a bit extra and avoid an extra stop or longer trip
3. Get a baby harness and baby sleep seatbelt (which can also be strapped to the parent)
4. Fly Emirates (you get baby packs, great service, extra luggage, priority seating, plus they are really friendly.

films to see

All must see!
The Box - great sci-fi thriller, better than Moon.
Invictcus - excellent
Couples retreat - Hilarious!

Touchfire

I can't believe how many downloads i get of Touchfire (my little simple test iphone "game").
Apple now lets the developers read all the reviews (for which there are hundreds).
Here are some stats from mine:-
* 95% are positive.
* 80% say to fix the lag
* 10% have other good suggestions, bubble mode, make it compatible for older iphone OSs, iPad special features, etc
* Many people use it for their kids/babies! (surprise)
* Most of the 5% which are not positive are from the people who paid for it (a few hundred)... so i made it free again and will fix the lag and add the new features (soon hopefully) :-)

itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touch-fire/id329945294?mt=8

Auckland vs Sydney

My reasons for living in Auckland:
- the nature! Can ski, surf, bushwalk, camp, swim, fish, all with ease.
- the people, people are definitely more friendly and family/life orientated
- house prices, a nice house is affordable (ie for under $500k nzd)
- can do friendly attitude
- bugs, snakes, creatures, plants, ants, etc don't try to kill you
- fishing and diving is great!!

My reasons for Sydney:
- great weather! Its warm! Warm!!! Such a nice climate!
- big city, culture, things happening all the time.
- lots of jobs around, even in 3D.
- my family is here
- better dollar and pay

And the BBC's view :)

Why New Zealand is a lifestyle superpower

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8683377.stm

Got Kids - Go Emirates

They give you 10KG more luggage than other airlines (30kg each person)
They give you 10KG for your child/baby.
They give you space for a pram or stroller.
They let you take your own travel cot on the plane.
They are really nice to you :)
They take a polaroid photo of you

Spreakin Sie English??

Ive just realized i dont know how to say "oh my God i can't understand anything" in German!