Birmingham – Shakespeare in Love <7.6.2008>

I went to Birmingham UK for one week to participate a workshop run by my company. On the way I met Tom in Frankfurt as we spent the time together during this week.
I haven’t been to UK for at least 9 years, so I was curious how it will be. Already when we arrived and drove to our hotel - situated in down town -we were quiet surprised: we only saw people from India, Africa & other Eastern Countries! We didn’t know that Birmingham is known for its multi-cultural mix which was really refreshing to experience.

We stayed at Hotel Jury’s Inn – which is centrally located at Broad Street – known for its “wild” night life. Fortunately we arrived on Saturday night and we could experience what it was famous for. There were houndreds of people on the streets and in the bars, where 50% seems to celebrate bachelor’s party – which are called here “HEN PARTY”. Every one wares customs aligned with a special theme.
How could there be so many weddings? No – we found out they are doing this every weekend x-)
Here you can find a bunch of typical British girls:

But there is more to see then the night life. Birmingham has a real lovely (they use this word in every second sentence ;-) downtown. You can stroll along a canal - which is longer then the one in Venice - passing the old typical brick houses …

... or visit the new shopping centers like the bull ring where you easily can get lost between all the shops.

Exactly those extreme differences between ancient and modern buildings kept me fascinated during my visit.
For example the avant-garde exhibition hall next to the old church:



Beside many interesting buildings and monuments, I have to highlight to huge possibilities in nice cafes, bars and restaurants to hang out and relax. We spent most of our time around the canal or at the mailbox (modern shopping center with many restaurants). Where you can sit outside in the sun, watching people passing by or staying inside following your favorite team playing the EM football games running on endless flat screens.

SUNSHINE in UK? Yes, we had great weather during the whole time! It was most of the time clear blue sky and temperatures up to 26 deg. Much better than the rest of Europe which is suffering from chilly rainy season. Twisted Times!

Nearly everyone knows Shakespeare, but did you know that he lived close to Birmingham? Yes? I didn’t! He lived in the 45 min south-east of Birmingham village called Stratford-Upon-Avon.
We used our warm Sunday afternoon to drive down and explore the village.
When we arrived there we realized it was not so a well kept secret as it was to us – we were within a crowed of hundreds of tourists and visitors. You feel like send back in time in the late 16 century when passing all the old houses and courtyards.

The most famous places are definitely where Shakespeare was born & finally led back to rest.

After several hours walking through history we got pretty exhausted and searched for a nice place to eat. We quickly found ourselves in one of many restaurants situated along the river next to the village’s park - having a decent burger and relax in the hot afternoon sun.

Also the next days we enjoyed the Birmingham flair at outstanding weather conditions which made this an unforgettable trip.

Truly Yours,
Romeo

Shimoda – Surf’s Up! <1.6.2008>

When we woke up next morning, we were kissed by the warm sunlight of - what will be our first real - hot summer day.
Already the view from the window was breathtaking – hard to believe you are just 200km away from Tokyo.


The hotel is really nice and located just few minutes away from Shimoda station. It offers a nice outside hot bath (onsen) with the view over the bay.

Following the recommendation from the hotel staff we went to a beach nearby which should offer some nice surfing.
And they were right - we were really surprised to find this jewel of white sandy beach hidden just 10min away from all the public.


Here we were nearly alone with just a handful people and a hilarious photo shooting team.

So let’s get some boards and catch some waves!

Actually it looks much easier as it is and we were more below the wave then on top x-)

The beach also offers some nice walks around the cliffs – but don’t forget your swim boots as the rocks are slippery and sharp.


I forgot one thing to say – as we weren’t prepared for such great weather, we didn’t have any sun protection with us. After the whole day playing around in the water you can guess the result – we were grilled well done!

Your Rib-Eye

IZU Nakagi – Nudibranch Paradise (31.5.08)

Just 3 days later after I bought my new camera I got the chance to make my first try.
We – me colleagues & friends Franz, Stefan, Lea and I – decided to go over the weekend to south Izu, Shimoda.

http://www.infomapjapan.com/hstore/200606-spfeature2.phtml

Except Lea were all divers. Her plan, to catch some waves at one of the famous surf beaches, didn’t realize as we got a very cold & windy welcome:

So we moved on together to south to Nakagi, were we arrived around 7:45 in the morning. Right I forgot – divers never sleep, you need to get up at 3:45 and leave around 4:30, to be there in time. But this is a little sacrifice to what you get down in the water – so let see…

The weather wasn’t what we expected – just around 17degC outside – but it was getting better. But the way out to dive spot – TOUZIMA - wasn’t for Stefan as cozy as he might expected ;-)

Once in the water we had 20deg, which was better than the weeks before and all the fear was gone.
The sight wasn’t that good – around 5 m only – and the strong surge made my first shots not really easy.
The highlight was a frog fish & a moray which I blinded with my new flash – the poor ones:

The next 2 dives we did in a more protected area (HAYAMA) which had better visibility and less surges.
Here we were in the middle of nudibranch paradise – so many different species:

This was the tiniest of all – just about the size of rice grain. Thanks to my macro lens you can enjoy it bigger then in real life:

After watching those pictures I am really satisfied with the new Camera!
Our 3rd and last dive we finished already around 14:30 – so that was a challenging program as you need that for 2 dives normally. Here you see the survivors + tele-tubbies fan club:

We returned to Shimoda were we had a nice Izakaya dinner and stayed overnight in the Tokyu Shimoda resort.
That’s all for today!

O yasumi nasai

To All Toy-Boys Out There

The time had come, when I needed a new gadget – may I introduce:
I am the proud owner of a Sea&Sea DX1 Underwater Camera Set

It’s claims to be the "world's most advanced compact underwater digital camera system to date,"

Check out the home page:

http://www.seaandsea.jp/dx1g/index.html

Why?
During my last dives I realized that I reached the limits of my previous set, which was a simple Canon Ixy10 + underwater case and so I start looking for alternatives.
Beside Olympus – which has a high standing due to lot of accessories – quickly the Sea&Sea was found. Basically the Camera itself is the new RICOH 100 with just an additional underwater modus. The Camera itself offers a great selection of functions, which only a DSLR normally provide. And with its 220g and small dimensions, it’s a really compact & handy one.

First after reading all the test-results I was little concerned about the high noise it should have and general low rating. However I couldn’t find any test about the entire set on the web.
If you have any experience with this camera – tips or hints – I would appreciate if you can leave me a comment.

After hours’ browsing all information’s & messages boards – I decided that this is the best set I can get in this price range.
I decided to use the one-flash set which looks like this:

From the first pictures I took during my next dive, I was confirmed that I made the right decision!
Sure it will take some time and practice to get used to all the settings, but isn’t that all the fun about?!
Now I can’t wait to show you my first results.

Toy Boy in Paradise