1 week @ home...

... i was trying to get over my jet leg, met my family, had a relaxed time...sorry i did not call anybody here in salzburg! tomorrow i come to innsbruck, and im happy to meet many of you! i also have a new number: 0043 650 5103652 call me...!
i will be back in sbg in a week or so...and im also happy to meet many of you there!!!

freu mich darauf, viele von euch bald zu sehen...bis dann, sevi

back again...

...i am back. arrived yesterday in frankfurt, and already in the plane i had a little foretaste how the life at home (ok, these guye gave an example of how it would be in germany - and thats NOT austria as we know ;) ) could be. i was upgraded to the first class, and it was amazing. you have so much space, so much (and really great) food, and you are treated really well. a guy infront of me kept complaining that his headrest was not high enough, another guy went 5 times to the stewards to complain for something - before the plane even left mexico!! then, after i arrived, i took some trains to get to salzburg. in the second train the conductor announced that we will have to wait 20 minutes because of some problems...and almost all people were complaining...some getting quite angry. its 20 minutes guys, its friday afternoon!! and in a nother train the conductor announced that the train was running late - 2 minutes!!! i had to think back to india, where a friend checked out of our hostel one evening to leave with the train. 2 hours later he was back in the hostel, checking in for another night; his train was also running late - by 33 hours!! so life is differnt here...!

im now in salzburg, will stay a week or so. right now i dont have a phone...and as well no numbers! but im looking forward to see many of you soon! and i think that next weekend i will go to innsbruck for some time! looking forward to that too!!! (keep some beers cold guys!) but i hope to get a sim card on monday, so it will be easier...

now once again i have to adapt to a different culture...but think that will be easier! today it was nice to see parts of my family again...and the weather is nice as well!! and i am happy that i do not need to meet so many new people here to meet some friends...so please do not ask me all the same questions (like what is your name? where are you from? or WHAT do you do? HOW was your trip?)...joke!

so i am happy to be here, excited how i will be, what will happen in the next months...and as i said happy to meet all of you soon (the ones who live far away...visit austria, its really nice as well...and let me know when you are here!!). in my last months it was so normal already to see for example palm trees every day...i did not really see them anymore...but now i already miss them a bit as well...!! but i know one day - sooner or later - i will go again...to see some more palm trees!!

bis bald, machts es gut!! sevi

(no) more of mexico

first we went to salamanca, a bit more north west of mexico d.f., where the party was. and we visited some towns in this area.
the first one was san miguel de allende. its quite an old town, and its funny, because almost all houses are either red or yellow!! see your self...



one of the many churches in town




yellow and red again!




view from up the hill over the city





even the churches are in these colours




flying through the city




tegl...fuer dich!!

 then we went to guanajuato - this city is the capital of the district with the same name! here the houses were even more colourfull!


in the streets




me on the stairs of the uni...did not think i would return so fast!




some small...




...and colourfull houses...




...everywhere!!



the city from above




again

 a really funny thing in mexico: in many restaurants there are signs that people should wash their hands after using the bathroom. in one bathroom i found this paper, explaining step by step how to wash your hands...!


"you know how to wash hands?"




and in the bus i saw these signs...i like!

 


banana flower and bananas




me in an algave field



then we went more south, to xalapa, the capital of veracruz. one of the clock towers (is this the name?!) is missing...!



biggest church in town





veracruz is the only district where they had slaves from africa

 from xalapa we went to some other villages...to goatepec and xico.


the weather was quite rainy - but therefore, thanks god, colder!




selling fruits - delicious fruits!




he is the man!!





the things for counting the electricity are outside!





beautiful river in xico...




...with a waterfall




it was a really nice place




fresh bananas

 our next destinantion was catemaco, a village next to a beautiful lake. its famous mostely for their shamans...and whiches...for black and white magic! we just did a boat tour - but it was also magic!


the nature is really nice




and many birds live there




on one island are living these monkeys...they are really ugly!





maybe they are some village people...with some magic...!



it was really beautiful





and later i went swimming...there are crocodiles as well, but our guide said it was no problem.

 but actually he was so fat, that he definately did not swim for many years...maybe he did not really know - but anyways, there was no problem! no attac...!


what a colour...its the government house!!




papaya tree with papayas




this bird could talk - really funny!

 the bird was part of the family where we stayed in catemaco. when we left the house somebody said something, which we both did not understand. so we asked the guy to repeat - and he told us it was the bird. it could say "hola", "gracias" and some more things...but i could not really understand it. but this does not mean that the bird is not speaking well...the spanish changes every  few meters you travel - and thats difficult for me, since it makes it very hard to understand! so i guess the bird did a good job talking...like i have to guess with many people who talk to me as well!!!


i saw many churches in the most funny colours...damn different to austria!




cacao




and more cacao!



 so now you guys are up to date with my life again - finally!

i had a great time travelling, and i had a super time in mexico, living there. thank you so much...!!

was nice that all of you joined me on my trip - at least a little bit! i had a great time, but i am also exhausted of this life...its time to come home. at least for some time...

...so see you (at least the ones of you who are living in austria or around) soon...

...and the rest...see you around!!

hope you had a good time with this blog as well...and for the next trip - it will come for sure! -- it will be activated again!!

looking forward to my country, to my family, my friends, to really understand the people again (at least the language!), to be "normal" in thet street...to good food, tab water, mountains, colder climate...

...but i still hope that the summer will be good!! just please not more than 40 degrees!!

see you all SOON

hasta pronto, sevi

sorry, it took some time...!

hey everybody! i am doing well, sorry for not writing for a long time... and thanks for some worried mails (even though that was not the reason for not writing for such a long time! but it was nice to get more mails then usual!!). the reason was just that sometimes its difficult to find internet with the possibility to upload pictures...and sometimes its difficult to find the time!

so in guatemala we climbed the vulcano the next day after my last blog...it was quite nice - but when we finally got up there it was so cloudy that we could not see anything!! but still it was a nice walk.


lake atitlan, where san pedro is located




up on the vulcano




me with "el abuelito"

 this is the biggest and oldest tree on the vulcano...and preople call it "el abuelito", "the grandfather"


on the top with amy and sean




it was quite cold up there!




down again...through great nature




coffee plantations on the vulcano - the red berries are ready!



small palm tree in the lake




locals washing




lago the atitlan




market in san pedro - women with traditional clothes



great fruits...mangos and bananas



tamales...polenta, filled with meat

  its quite good, really cheap, and typically cooked in a banana leafe or a mais leafe




the lake again



some beautiful graffities!!!




2nd paragraph...haha thats the service of a internet cafe!!




old man in traditional clothes of the area of san pedro

 the people have their own traditional clothes, and as well in the villages around the lake they speak their own language.


sun rise

  from san pedro i went up north again, one more time to mexico!!

 the first city where i stopped was san cristobal de las casas, where i have been before. and it was a sunday again, so i went to the market a second time! and managed to take some more pictures!!


selling chicken




selling more chicken!




tacos - typical mexican food. small tortilla with meat and onions




all babies are transported like this



as you see!



some shops here are like this - in guatemala most were!

 you ring the bell, somebody comes, and you order what you want to buy!


from san cristobal i went in a 14 hour busjourney to mexico d.f. (mexico city), where i met adriana again!
in the city as well as in whole of mexico you often see that their presidente, calderon, is quite unpopular. he tries to stop drug and human traffiking to the US with a huge military and police presence...which costs the life of thousands and thousands of people.

a sarkopharg with the 40.000 people killed because of calderon



the main cathedral



"more than 35.000 killed, 70% unemployement, 9.0000 more poor,..."



popular job...and a popular restaurant!




me, the cathedral, and shoes "from" the dead




street art!!




thats how i expected mexico!

  one day we went to the ruins of teotihuacan. i saw many ruins in mexico already, but all of them were in the south, enar the border to guatemala - and they were all maya ruins. teotihuacan is older than the maya ruins, and besides all the pyramids and temples was once a huge city - probably the hugest in pre - columbian america, with about 200.000 inhabitants. the ruins are still impressive...


the "avenue of the dead"




a tourist - but not a gringo!

 because gringo doesnot just mean white, but means us american! but i am often mistaken...


huge pyramids




my reason to return to mexico!




beautiful view!!



its nice there...but exhausting, because there is no shade




view from the second pyramid (pyramid of the moon)




looks like this - everywhere!!




pyramid of the sun (right) and of the moon (left)




this is really a mexican stereotype, no?!




they are huge...!




in the streets of mexico city



and another mexican stereotype!!!

 we went to a birthday party, and then went more south...back to merida. about the journey you will see in the next post! hope you are all doing well...

hasta luego sevi