One Daily Positive - Week 36 Back to Dubai

Without a car and with lifts being rare, when i travel in and out of the UK I usually have to stay a night at an airport hotel either side of my trip, due to accessing public transport.

I booked 21.40pm flight from Birmingham to Dubai, leaving South wales at 10.25am and getting in at 1.20pm. I would have preferred the 2.20pm flight but if there was a delay in traffic I'd have missed check in. On the coach trip, I received a text to say my flight was cancelled and switched to 7am the following morning.

The lovely check in staff with Emirates called his supervisor, when I arrived to ask for some assistance, and they got me on the 2.20pm flight after asking me how fast I could run to Gate 44.

245 Sunday An uneventful flight, 4 seats and a good sleep, arrived home at 2am, it was 39c. I sat upstairs on the airbus A380.

246 Monday Woke early and had a lazy day, unpacked, washing on (Peter's not mine) went out for a McDonalds and Peter came home early and joined me.

247 Tuesday Off to the dog park to meet up with both human and dog friends. Went for a swim, visited the nail bar and did a food shop.

248 Wednesday Routine appointment for bloods, results will take a few days, called in at the Mall of the Emirates for a walk. Pub quiz and dinner in the evening, we won by a landslide.

249 Thursday Washed down the patio and went for a swim. My friend turned up for the afternoon with homemade scones and clotted cream. I spent the evening at Ibn Battuta Mall for an indoors walk, there's an exhibition on aviation history.

250 Friday Up early and off to the beach for a swim, home by 10am, too hot out there and the sea is warm. Afternoon spent napping and watching TV and out to friends for dinner in the evening. Loving my flip flops from a friend for my birthday.

251 Saturday Up early and off to Dubai mall, getting Peter to stop at various locations for photo opportunities. Met friends for lunch and spent the evening watching movies and snacking.

On the blog this week:

Ettal Abbey, Linderhof Palace and Oberammergau.Places to visit and things to do.
Munich by train. 6 days in bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.
Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.
Innsbruck Austria and the Olympic Ski Jump. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.
Starnburg Lakes. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.
Wolfratshausen, Bavaria and Marchenwald Fairy Tales Land. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.

My Sunday Photo - Construction projects

5 ways of making friends abroad

Wolfratshausen, Bavaria and Marchenwald Fairy Tales Land. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.

I was based in Wolfratshausen a 90 minute train journey from Munich Airport, staying with friends for a week in July. This is my 2nd visit to see them. The first trip in 2016, I explored further a field only visiting their village for a coffee and to catch the train. This trip I spent a day exploring and there was so much to do. There's not a lot of English spoken there, but I got by with coffee and having google maps was a lifesaver, especially as I didn't have to pay roaming changes with my UK sim.

Fountains

Beautifully decorated buildings

Parks

Several river crossings

Maypole

Churches

Monuments and statues

Wonderful little cafes to sit and drink coffee, people watch and watch the world go by

Marchenwald Fairy Tale Land.

Yes please one ticket. It's aimed at families with small children and there were lots of primary school groups visiting when I was there. I felt a little conscious taking photographs and made sure I didn't capture any children in the shots, but it meant I spent a lot of time lurking in the trees, waiting for the are to clear. i was always going to look dodgy whatever I did lol.

All the fairy tales told were accessed by the press of a button in both German and English. 

Indoor play areas

Woodland walks

The story of Rapunzel, is about a pregnant woman who craves some rapunzel or  rampion as it translates into English, which is a salad leaf growing in a witches garden, her husband is caught stealing it and in exchange for their lives they have to hand over the baby girl. At the age of 12 Rapunzel is locked  

in a tower, until she is rescued by a blind Prince who hears her signing, on her release, Rapunzel cries and her tears restore the Prince's sight.

Hansel and Gretel. My favourite Grimm's fairytale. It tells the story of two young children abandoned in the woods, probably due to the fact it was the great famine and families could not afford to feed themselves and their children.

Innsbruck Austria and the Olympic Ski Jump. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.

It was around a 2 hour drive to Innsbruck, driving through narrow lanes in villages through the Alps. The route I drove took me through the old border crossing, otherwise I wouldn't have known I'd crossed from Germany into Austria.

At the border to purchase my vignette

Driving through the Alps

Like the rest of Bavaria, Innsbruck has some fascinating buildings, churches, lanes, markets, churches, restaurants and souvenir shops. It was a very pretty town to photograph and wander around. I didn't visit any of the museums or attractions, I just spent my time wandering around in the sunshine, drinking coffee and people watching. I've now got an excuse to go back.

And of course no visit to Innsbruck is complete until you've visited the Bergisel Ski Jump

5 ways of making friends abroad you may not have considered

Making friends while working or living abroad is an important part of settling in to your new home. Having a good social network is likely to result in a more successful move. But how to go about it?

There are many conventional ways to make friends, but for this post, let's have a look at ways a little outside the box to meet new people abroad:

Friends of friends

It may be best to try this before you leave for an assignment. As you are telling family and friends about your plans, ask if they know anyone in your destination city. If they do, ask to be put in touch with them. While it may or may not work out in the longer term, it can be a good way to meet a friendly face when you first arrive in your new home.

Events

Love abstract art? Jazz music? Slam poetry? Use websites like Eventbrite to find arts, community or charity events happening in your city. The more niche the event, the more likely it is that you can speak to others on a common topic, which should help break the ice.

Dating sites

InterNations Expat Insider survey 2017 showed that more than half of all respondents in relationships were involved with someone from another country. If you are single, consider checking out the local dating scene in your new country. Dating apps are an obvious starting point but if that feels too intense try attending singles events in your area.  There’s no guarantee that you’ll meet the love of your life, you could make some good friends along the way.

Volunteering

If you do find yourself with some time on your hands, consider helping others by volunteering in an area of interest. It could be related to your job or a hobby. Volunteering is a great way to meet people from the local community. It may also be worth checking if your employer has a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme that you can take part in.

Religion

Last but by no means least, if you practice a religion, joining a local church, synagogue, mosque or temple may be a great way to meet local people of the same faith as well as making friends. Many religions have social events linked to practice including shared meals or celebrating events together.

Making friends abroad is one way of looking after your mental health while you are abroad. Building a local support network should help to make living abroad a fantastic experience both in terms of your career and personal life.

Don't neglect your physical health when you make a move overseas, protect yourself and get the best treatment possible in the event of an accident with comprehensive international expat health insurance. 

 This is a collaborative post. 

Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament. 6 days in Bavaria. Places to visit and things to do.

Kaltenberg Knights' Tournament is a Bavarian festival that takes place in July every year in the grounds of Kaltenberg Castle, an hours drive west of Munich.

There are more than 1,000 artists, including knights, jesters, musicians, acrobats and performers whisking you away into the fantasy world of the Middle Ages.

There are more than 100 market stalls and live workshops presenting medieval crafts and traditional goods. Visitors can watch live demonstrations and the camps give an insight into life in the Middle Ages.

There is an array of bars and food outlets.

Entertainers move between the guests and once a day the artists and historical groups take part in a ceremonial parade through the castle grounds.

HRH Prince Luitpold of Bavaria announcing the winner of the Jester's staff in the jousting tournament.

I visited with my friends who I was staying with, it was a great event for people of all ages, with or without children. It's somewhere I visit again and would happily roam around for the day on my own.