Fruit Salad and Mixed Veg

I traveled around German during my 2 week break…



I am going to tell you about my time in Berlin…..if you want to see photos then click ‘READ MORE’


When you travel, you need somewhere to stay. You can stay with family and friends…but, if you have no family or friends in a city, this usually results in sleeping in a hotel for 60+ Euro per night, or a backpacker’s hostel for 20ish Euro per night.

I did not do any of the above.

1. I am too poor to stay in a hotel.
2. I am too poor to stay in a backpacker’s hostel
3. I wanted to LEARN about Berlin and meet people who LIVE in Berlin and see things that are not featured in this year’s edition of Lonely Planet.

I couchsurfed! Yes, I stayed with a complete stranger! Now some of you are thinking ‘How could you do that!? You are a girl, alone in a big city, far away from home. You could have been staying with a psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatic!!!!’

And….?

How many psycho chain saw murderer, rapist, sawn off short gun lunatics have you met in your life? Personally, I have met ZERO.
How many normal people have you met in your life? Quite a lot, no?



Couchsurfing is a fantastic idea! I stayed in Berlin for 2.5 days, for free. I stayed in Kreuzberg, a suburb quite close to the city, filled with cafes and bars. I had my own room, with brand new blankets. My host also have me keys to his apartment, so I was free to come and go whenever I wanted. We went to some cafes together, he helped me use the public transport, told me about places that I should visit…


Better than a hotel

Now some of you may be thinking ‘WHAT!? You stayed with a MALE host?! YOU ARE A GIIIRRRRLLL Weren’t you scared?’

No, I was not scared. Why should I have been scared? It’s unnecessary to be scared of everyone! Refer to the graph above.

Many girls I know are scared of walking home at night because they think they will get attacked. They are scared of going to a foreign city alone incase they get lost. Well, they would never go out of ADELAIDE alone, because they are scared. They don’t like to take the last bus home and will get their parents to drive into the city to pick them up. They are scared of doing anything, because they think the likelihood of them getting into danger is too high. The strangest thing for me is, most of these girls are quite smart, some of them study at uni but yet can’t calculate that the chances of them getting into danger are LOW

Read more...

The Bay to Birdwood is held each year. This year the 'drive' was for vehicles manufactured on or before 31 December 1955. The start is by the sea and the finish is a picnic event at Birdwood, a village in the hills and home to the 'National Motor Museum'. The distance is 70km.

If you just thought 'Hey, Kimbers doesn't even like cars!' well, you're right Cars don't interest me in the slightest.

Better explanation:

The Bay to Birdwood Run for historic motoring vehicles, is the largest most continually staged event of its kind anywhere in the world with an average of 1500-1600 entrant vehicles including cars, motorcycles, trucks and vans.

(source)


What did you do on Sunday? I sat on the side of a road with a glass of wine and watched cars drive past


Happy looking people in a green car




The event is not just for cars. If you own an old bike or FIRE ENGINE, you can probbaly enter


Someone didn't want their photo taken...probably knew it would end up on a blog and wanted to protect his identity

Apart from serving idiots and putting up with annoying people, working in a bar isn't THAT bad. You get paid well (better than a check out chick) and you sometimes get free stuff.

Free stuff:
Sometimes we have promotions at work and when there are things left at the end of the night, we can take them home.


A Jack Daniels shirt. It doesn't fit well and I'm never going to wear it, but I don't care because it was free. I can wash the cat/car with it


A Jack Daniel's hat. These hats are great Father's Day gifts.

Sometimes people leave stuff behind. If it's worth something (a jacket, proper hat, handbag) we put it behind the bar and hope they come back to collect it. If it's not worth anything (something worth $2) we know they're not going to come back to get it, so we put it into the bin or take it home (but most of the things go in the bin)


These flowers were part of a $2 headband. I took the flowers off and took them home


The security guard put this black hat on my head...so, I took it home.


Last night
I was in a quieter bar last night so I was able to talk to people. Everyone tells me their name eventhough I never remember their name.

Some girl: "You look too sweet to work here....Are you Christian?"
Me:

Some old guy orders a beer
Me: $5 please.
Old man: Oh..I'm in the band... (people in the band get free drinks)
Me: Ok...I'll just check on that *I go to the other guy behind the bar to confirm this guy is in the band*
Old man: *runs away with the beer*
*15 minutes later the old man is BACK!*
Me: Hey, you didn't pay for your beer! It's $5.
Old man: But I'm in the band...a one man band...*gets out a little flute/recorder*
Me: Noooo! Don't play that! $5!!!
He eventually got kicked out

Then there was a guy who came inside to ask where the toilets were. He was smoking insice though! (against the LAW!) I yelled at him "Hey, you can't smoke in here! Get out!" Then he put it out on the floor! Then he got kicked out

Some guy: *to me* You should really get earrings. They'd brighten up your face
Me: Err...I had earrings...but I took them out...the hole grew over...and now I'm too scared to get my ears pierced again
Some guy: You should get them pierced again. They'd brighten up your face
Me: Wont a necklace do?
Some guy: No. You need earrings
Me: Yeah so then I can look like some little kid who broke into their mum's jewelery box!
Some guy: I'd never say that!

Guy in red T-shirt: I'll have a Kahlúa and milk thanks.
Me: *pours milk into glass*
Guy in red T-shirt: Ohh Pura Skimmer! (that's what the milk is called for those who don't know)
Me: *looks at bottle* Yes, it is. 99% fat free too *reads more* ...Ideal choice to help you maintain a healthy, balanced diet...
Guy in red T-shirt: That's what it's all about. Balance. *takes a sip of drink* That tastes GREAT! Great taste!
Me: Nutella and orange is tasty too.
Guy in red T-shirt: You can afford Nutella? Well, you know, there are so many different flavours. I suppose orange and Nutella might be good.
Me: There are many tastes in this tasty world. You should write a book about it.

Aboriginal woman: Hi....I'll have a beer...
Me: We're closed. No more drinks.
Aboriginal woman: *Yeah...I know why...it's because I'm black!!
Me: No, it's because we're closed. We're not serving anyone!
Aboriginal woman: No, it's because I'm black!!!!!!!!!

My fellow bar tender tried to put my arms into some 'lock' thing which the security guards use to throw people out with. But, it didn't work on me The only way to throw me out is to physically pick me up and throw me out the window.

On my way to the bus stop I walked a pub and the security guards were sitting at a table outside, playing chess. It was really funny!

My foot has gone to sleep. Time to swap activities....eat or do homework?

It's around 7 months since I started working in the bar. Not many people stay in the job for this long so that's an achievement for me. Also, I have some money YAY! You know, I haven't spent any of it yet which is also an achievement


After 7 months, I've got some simple rules for people to follow.... (though I'm sure most of my readers are great customers when they go out )...there are probably some that I have forgotten too.

• 1. Know what you want to order BEFORE you go to the bar
  
• 2. State your order in a loud, clear voice
  
• 3. Don't do the 'Ugh I've been waiting sooo long' 'Hurry up and serve me!' thing
  
• 4. If you do (3), make sure you know what you want to order!
  
• 5. If you appear drunk, the bartender is not going to serve you OK?!
  
• 6. Sometimes, the bartender may get the order wrong. If you ordered a WHITE wine, but she pours a RED wine, tell her before she has poured you a whole glass of RED wine
  
• 7. If you know the bartender's name, don't keep calling out 'Kim! Kim!' 'Kimmmmyyyyyy!'
  
• 8. The bartender will be super nice if you give her tips
  
• 9. Give the bartender tips because she needs money so she can go overseas
  
• 10. Do not ask the bartender when she finishes work and suggest that you catch up for a drink. There is no way in the world that the bartender would hang out with you (even if you gave her a tip!)
  
• 11. Don't ask the bartender 'Do you think my friend is attractive?'. If your friend is the ugliest person she has ever seen in her life, she can't say that or she'd get fired. If she replies with "He's not 'conventionally ugly'", don't ask what 'conventionally' means*.
  
• 12. If you spill your drink it's your fault. You will not get a free one
  
• 13. If you are in the bartender's class, tell her because then she'll be nice to you
  
• 14. If you are German, you can say your order in German, for this bartender has and likes to take orders in German
  
• 15. Don't ask for an order consisting of 15 different drinks and expect the bartender to remember all of them
  
• 16. If you do (15), don't give the bartender the 'Ugh you're so hopeless' look because she'd like to see how you go behind the bar
  
• 17. If you're a girl: You do not look conventionally attractive or even unconventionally attractive when you're drunk and squealing to your friends about nothing
  
• 18. Please do not spill your drinks so that they spill onto the bartender
  
• 19. Save paper and precious ink by not giving your number to the bartender because it will be put into the bin outside McDonalds
  
• 20. If you store your coat/jacket behind the bar, make sure it's not a black one. They're really hard to find because EVERYONE has a black one!
  
• 21. Don't ask the bartender for scissors, sticky tape or mobile phone chargers.
  
• 22. If you ask for no ice in your drink, drink a bit, then ask for some ice, the bartender will put that on her blog
  
• 23. When 'last drinks' is called, it means LAST DRINKS. Once the bar has stopped serving, it means that they have started counting the money and you CANNOT buy another drink.
  
• 24. 'Home time'= HOME TIME! GO HOME! Some people would like to sleep
  
• 25. Can you NOT put bubble/chewing gum on the tables?
  
• 26. If you want some money, look at the floor near the bar. There is a lot of change down there
  
• 27. Taking your drink into the toilets (where people VOMIT!) is a potential Occupational Health and Safety Issue.
  
• 28. Learn to count your money and don't get the bartender to count all your coins for you
  
• 29. Try not to spit in the bartender's eye. Why? Because it makes her sick and then she makes her friends sick and they get annoyed with her
  
• 30. When ordering, try not to breathe into the bartender's face. If you look closely enough, the bartender is actually holding her breath so she doesn't have to smell yours
  

The most important rule:

• 31.
  

Do not underestimate the bartender. She has above average intelligence** and is most likely smarter than you.


*con·ven·tion·al
adj.
1. Based on or in accordance with general agreement, use, or practice; customary: conventional symbols; a conventional form of address.
2. Conforming to established practice or accepted standards; traditional: a conventional church wedding.

** Thank you to my dad who helped me become smart If he didn't, there is a chance that I could be like some of the people behind the bar AHHHH!