I slowly but surely tend to updating this journal when the events I want to tell you about already date back a little. Don't blame me, I'm a typical university student, which means: I'm lazy. Have fun anyway!

After the last day of the Kramermarkt had been accompanied with a lot of rain (the fireworks were canceled due to that :/), I headed back for the South on October 8th after almost three months at my parents' house. But I didn't go back to Karlsruhe yet, I went to Düsseldorf. My bf and me wanted to spend some days there to have a look at the city.
The train ride was OK despite the delay, and thus I arrived at Düsseldorf main station around noon, where my bf already waited for me (he had come from Karlsruhe). We went to the information desk, where awaited us. I was really excited because we met for the first time, but my nervousness was all unfounded. Together we went to the youth hostel and stored our bags in the luggage room, because we couldn't check in yet. Then we went back downtown to explore the Japanese quarter. It was like a different world with all those brightly colored wrappings in the stores and cosplayers in the streets. We had lunch at the "Na Ni Wa" restaurant: sushi. It was delicious! Later on, we had some tasty melon flavored ice cream for dessert.
Li then showed us the old town, where we got us some donuts from Dunkin Donuts and then went on strolling through the streets, along the Rhine river and back to the youth hostel. After checking in and a short break, we went back once more and pondered whether to go to the movies and watch "Wall E". But the next show was quite late, thus we ended up at Pizza Hut. We were well fed by the end of the day. At nearly 9 pm, we said good-bye to Li and went back to the youth hostel, where we flopped into bed.
The next day, we wandered through the streets of the old town on our own and checked out the stores. We took a walk along the "Kö" (Königsallee, a noble shopping street) and and we would have loved to spend the whole afternoon in the book stores and buy everything up there. Unfortunately we lacked money, thus we ended up at the theater near the main station, where we watched "Wall E". The movie was fantastic! Afterwards, we gave my father's hint a go and went to the Schumacher brewery. The place was all crammed and we didn't get a seat. But one of the waiters solved our problem and placed us next to two men. It was then that I remembered my father's words, who had said that this is usual.The waiter came back quickly and asked whether we wanted to have a beer. We accepted the offer and got a big, terrific, yummy Schumacher Alt. Generally, the waiters were permanently walking about with trays full of filled beer glasses and they'd put down a new glass in front of you once you had finished your previous beer. Overall, it was very quaint and cozy and we really enjoyed the evening.
We still had some plans for Friday: we met Turtlelover (an online friend from Animexx) around noon at the main station and went to the Japanese quarter to buy some souvenirs and candy. Then we had lunch at the "Na Ni Wa" again and ate yakisoba noodles. Afterwards, we set off for the Japanese garden. It's quite small, but very beautiful and quiet. Nearby was the Aqua Zoo, which we visited as well. Unfortunately, time passed by very quickly, and thus we said good-bye to Turtlelover around 7 pm. That evening, we still wanted to meet one of my bf's friends, who wanted to show us the bars. We went to a cocktail bar and stayed quite long. The coktails were great and the music was awesome. Finally, my bf tried a hard liquor called "Stress", which you can only get in Düsseldorf and only in a certain bar. I refused to take one myself, but nevertheless took a small sip. The recipe is a secret, but vodka and Tabasco are surely part of it. I fear that I'll have to drink that stuff when we visit Düsseldorf again. xD
We left on Saturday after a way too short, but nevertheless very relaxing trip.

One week later, we went to the Frankfurt Book Fair. It was our first convention (it's not a convention in the first instance, but there are thousands of cosplayers). After our arrival, we lined up for 45 minutes to get our tickets. Thereby we could observe the cosplayers and rack our brains what or whom exactly some of them wanted to represent.
We had a look at almost all of the halls and stands. Unfortunately you couldn't buy that much, but gathering impressions and ideas for the Christmas list of wishes is a neat thing to do as well. Around noon, we reached the stand of the "Galore" magazine (an interview magazine) and took a look at the agenda. Philipp Moog (Quackerjack's German voice actor!!) and Ulrich Wickert (a former anchorman) would soon be interviewed. Of course we stayed! I actually got an autograph from Philipp Moog! <3 He came across as a very nice guy and presented his first book. The interview with Ulrich Wickert was great, too, and very funny!
Last of all, we went to the hall with the comics and children's books. It was very crowded, since there were many illustrators who autographed their works. One of them was – I still can't believe it yet – Don Rosa! Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to autograph and most of the books were very expensive. I disappointedly withdrew from the crowd (my bf didn't really care about my sorrows :/) and spotted Joscha Sauer on the other side of the hall! I had already seen him in Oldenburg once, but hadn't had the time for getting in line back then. I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea: should I go back to Don Rosa, whom I would probably never see again, and ask him to autograph my notebook or should I stay at Joscha Sauer's line?
I decided in favor of Don Rosa and hoped that Joscha Sauer would be on tour soon (he actually is!!). I waited almost one hour and Don Rosa autographed my notebook. I was so excited, I couldn't find the right English words. I pulled myself together, shook his hand and wished him a nice evening.
Since we could neither stand nor walk any more, we trudged back to the station and went home. Of course the ride didn't go according to plan, but I didn't care. The book fair was worth it!

University courses started yesterday. I actually missed them, but the first day was already so exhausting that I was immediately longing for holidays when I got back home. But my fellow students and me, we cheered each other up. Let's see what the semester will bring!



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