some duesseldorf pix

so, here's a few photos
old and new

1 - our street! Liebfrauenstrasse ("Virgin Street"). our house is on the left in one of the brick apartment buildings up on the top floor. i think the ikea delivery guys have come to dread visiting us.

2 - ... yes, i love cobblestones, especially overgrown ones

3 - this is the courtyard of Schloss Eller, an old, overgrown castle near our house.

4 - the Schloss itself. it has a great moat and pond. no alligators though, just lots of ducks. and they were pretty ferocious, what with their eyeing my sandwich and all...

5 - wacky modern architecture in the Media Harbour

6 - we ran into some marching bands in the Altstadt on my first day

8 - closely followed by these dudes on horses

7 - on Koenigs Allee, a big boulevard in the city centre

more photos to come soon! must introduce y'all to german bread and beer, and our pink, candy-striped foyer. this is all made possible by our new, at home, *internet connection*. we also have a PHONE now, too - yay! i'll send out a group email with the number.

this weekend tony and i are off to anseremme, belgium to meet up with al, my roomate from sydney way back in 1999. we're going to do a bit of kayaking and get better acquainted with belgian beer.

signing off for now - much love to all you lovelies!

:) kate :)

colour my world

testing, testing... can i upload photos??

ah, here's a lovely one from muneera wallace and james hussain's wedding, may 7, 2006.

setting down roots

we've officially moved into the neighbourhood - protect your children! we are now living in a part of düsseldorf called wersten: close to the university, downtown and ikea: all the most important things in life.

the apartment: we no longer live in a thimble. yay! our place is 72 square meters with lovely laminate floors and has 1 1/2 bedrooms and a big living room and kitchen. you are all cordially invited to come and visit now that we can put you up in our pad properly! not that that ever stopped anyone before. it's on the third floor, which translantes to 4th floor for you non-europeans out there. the landlords live there, as well as their son and daughter and granddaughter. people seem really friendly and welcoming so far - the girl below us offered us the services of her washing machine, and the guy across the hall moved in the same day. he is a language teacher who speaks impeccable english and a variety of other languages.

the stuff in it: we are now the proud owners of a fridge! and sink and stove and cupboards and a bed! i never thought it would happen.

the hood: we're on a lovely street called Liebfrauenstrasse. 'Lieb' means love, as in 'ich liebe dich', and 'frauen' means women. i'm not entirely sure how that translates... street of beloved women... street of women who love... street of loving too many women at one time will get tony in trouble... *NB: ever-wise father informs me that actually 'Liebfrau' means 'virgin'... hmm.*** there are gorgeous, enormous trees in a boulevard out the front, higher than the 5 storey house itself. at the end of the block is an old church which gongs its bell every quarter hour. 24 hours a day. it's quite charming actually, but thank god for the double-glazed windows at 3am. shops and tram and chinese, greek, japanese restaurants and german pubs are all 5 mins away. there are also really pretty green spaces nearby with little rhein river tributaries running through them, and bike and walking paths along side.

more to come, along with photos, soon. email us and we'll send you our mailing address. we'll also have phone and internet hook up in 2 weeks, so will send out a big email then so you can contact us.

muchos love to you all! come drink beer with us soon!

Tony & Fido

Tony Kelly has arrived in Duesseldorf and is alive and well! That is all we know at this point. Look for future posts by the man himself...

Good to see the bidding heating up! Don't forget to pass this site on to your friends and check back: I've added stuff to the original list. Also check the COMMENTS on the T&K Bay post to see who has claimed what.

Does anyone want to take over my CITY FIDO CELL PHONE PLAN? THERE IS NO CONTRACT. I don't need to pass it on because I have a commitment to fulfill; it is simply a good deal that Fido is no longer offering. They will honour these accounts and change the name over for free, but you can't get a new cityfido deal anymore.

SO: $45 per month for unlimited calling anytime from Bowen Island to Hope: no minutes to count. I also pay about $5 for voice mail and a $7 service fee, plus tax and whatever long distance I do. It's more expensive than a land line, but cheaper than a land line and a cell phone. If you're intersted, please let me know ASAP. The phone is available on July 12.

Kate

T&KBay

Hey y'all!

In our preparations for mass exodus from Vancouver, we are creating an online listing of stuff we need to get rid of. We're sharing this site with friends, family, coworkers, Kate's choir and anyone who wants any stuff; please pass the link on to your friends if you think they'd want anything.

Here's how it works:
1 - check through the list and locate something you just can't live without.
2 - post a comment to claim your item(s). if you don't want to open your own account, use our guest id and password: both are tonynkateguest. don't forget to add your name at the bottom of the text.
3 - pick up your item from Kate at our house.

Prices:
- Bidding for all items starts at CAD 0.01 (except for the two futons - $50 each.)
- ALL OFFERS ACCEPTED.
- In the event that two people want the same item... how BAD do you want it??!? The highest bidder will take the item! Proceeds from the bidding war will go to the TONY & KATE BEER & GERMANY START-UP FUND to grease our wheels and palates in preparation for the Big D and to help us build our nest there.

LET THE BIDDING WAR COMMENCE!!! :)

The List:

1) General Stuff

- 2 futon couch/beds, both double size ($50 each)
- armchair (gold corduroy) Tony: "Mint condition!! Never use - Only used once, briefly! I swear!"
- TV (circa 1922. if unclaimed, may have 'accidental' fall from balcony.)
- VCR
- 2 stools ROSS has first bid
- 2 orange throw pillows, good for pillow fighting
- stereo (only working radio and double tape player. ditto TV.)
- "shelf" (ie, bricks and nicely finished plank)
- metal filing cabinet; 2 drawers; about 1 meter high
- big brown bookcase (1.5 metres)
- big white bookcase (2 metres)
- small white bookcase (ikea) ROSS has first bid
- small brown bedside table/TV stand (ikea) ROSS has first bid
- magazine basket
- fruit basket
- hat & glove basket
- desk chair (swivel)
- fridge magnets
- wax (tony's soy wax, wicks, moulds)
- deck chairs (2 plastic; one semi-broken)
- tack board
- orange clock
- working computer
- flashlight
- 2 milk crates
- silver ikea standing lamp
- bed lamp (screws into wall above your head)
- picture frame (large)
- linens and towels
- grey shoe mat
- wall sized guinness poster
- laundry basket (plastic)
- bookends
- desk stuff: (felts, pens & pencils, erasers, protractor, glue, etc)
- pottery soap dish
- tealights and candle holders
- tupperware
- canning jars and lids (celina? kiran?)
- knitting yarn
- folding clothes drying rack
- bathroom plastic 3 shelf roller thing (about 1m. tall)
- small space heater/fan
- electric appliance timer (can turn the heater on at a certain time)

... and, the piece de resistance...

- THE LAST SUPPER paint-by-numbers, artist unknown (bidding for this priceless item begins at CAD $1.00)

2) Kitchen Stuff:

- cutlery, knives, untensils (big spoons, etc)
- mortar and pestle x2
- plates, bowls
- mugs
- glasses
- cutting boards x2
- wok ROSS has first bid
- toaster oven PAMELA has first bid
- bamboo placemats x2 & hotspot
- sushi set ROSS has first bid
- strawberry teapot & 2 cups
- brita water filter
- kettle

3) Food Stuff

- tea in jars & tins
- spices
- dried food in jars (brown rice, flour, popcorn, etc)

***********************************************************************************

Please keep checking the blog: don't miss out on a bid, and we will add NEW items as we discover them in our packing process...

ALSO, we have copious books and cds to rifle through, and Kate will be sorting through clothes, so GIRLIES come by this coming weekend (June 17 & 18) to see what she's got.

Wilkommen...

Welcome to Tony and Kate in Deutschland!