I've really missed Aussie food and one of the first things I asked for when I arrived was a meat pie. When I was in primary school, we could have Bakewell pies, pasties or sausage rolls for lunch. Off I went with my cousin to the supermarket where I possibly caused her great embarrassment by sighing over the products. It wasn't just sighing either. When I came across Maggi 2 minute noodles, I acutally picked up the package and stroked it! I can get proper Chinese noodles in Germany but they taste like fish. Yuck! I decided on the spot to make myself a care package to send back to Germany and this is what's in it:

2 bulk packs of Maggi noodles, Vegemite :), Cheezels, Cherry Ripes (a slim, dark chocolate bar with cherry filling. A request from some ex-pat Aussies), Caramellos (chocolate bears filled with caramel flavour. Also a request) and liquorice allsorts. These can be bought in Germany but they are rock hard. Proper allsorts should be soft. I also managed to buy a bag of fresh liquorice but I've already eaten that.

The pie thing continues. When I'm out and about and get hungry, I go look for a pie. I have to make the most of this.

The other day when I was exploring Perth, I suggested to my companion that we go have lunch at a food hall. This was a place I used to frequent when I lived here and I wanted to see if the food was as good as I remembered. It was disgusting. I ordered BBQ noodle soup and got something which was tasteless, had meat with bones in it and even had a chicken leg! I couldn't eat it. Noodle soup is one of my favourite dishes so I'll have to wait until I'm back in Germany to get the real deal again. There's a restaurant there called Jade which is well known for its dim sum and is usually full of Chinese people - always a good sign. Their food is fabulous.

Next: driving on the left.

This is not exactly the busiest airport on the planet. I think they may only handle one international flight an hour so it makes travelling a relatively calming experience. It was something I  and my fellow passengers commented on particularly as most of us has started in Europe. I'm not a huge fan of having to take a bus to a plane and I'm pleased to say that at Perth, with it's single runway, we parked at the terminal.

We flew in over the mighty Indian Ocean and my first glimpse of Perth was a few tall buildings surrounded by flat land. I'd forgotten how flat and brown it was. Quite a change from Germany where everything is green, lots of hills, lakes etc.

As I said in a previous post, I'm not used to going through passport control anymore. Leaving Germany I was face to face with a grim policeman. In Perth I was fast tracked through the biometic line. I'd never done this before so was confused as to the procedure. I've always found just standing looking like stunned mullet attracts help and so it proved in Perth. I followed the instructions: I scanned my passport, pushed the screen to say I hadn't just arrived from South America or Africa, twice, the second time it tells you you'll be in serious trouble if you lie. Nice welcome. Then I took my ticket, put it in the machine and stood mesmerized as the lights flashed up and down while I was looking at the camera. Call me cynical but I don't think anything really happens. It's all smoke and whistles.

After being offically allowed into the country the next thing was to collect my bag. I don't know about you guys but I always feel like a winner in the luggage lottery whenever I see my bag on the belt. To date my bags have never been lost. Touch wood. Then it was through security AGAIN! This time around it was to adhere to the quarantine laws. My experience has taught me that, at this point, you just tell 'em what's in your luggage, offer to open the bags and they say no. Simple.

I was met by my family. Whilst talking on Skype has it's advantages, nothing beats seeing people in the flesh. Away we drove into the peak hour traffic and so endeth the first day.

Next: getting reacquainted with Aussie food.

As I said in my previous blog, Emirates is a great airline to fly. I bought a Vanity Fair magazine to read in case I couldn't get to sleep but it was unnecessary. I was too busy either playing with the close to 1,000 channels ( I think ) or clicking onto the two cameras which showed the front and down views, I especially liked the front view as we took off from Dusseldorf, as it was daytime, you could see virtually what the pilots could see. Arriving in Dubai at night, it was better to watch the large screens as they had a higher definition. How can I describe arriving at Dubai? The whole place seemed to be lit with lights, it was gorgeous. Lucky they have so much oil to play with although I couldn't help but wonder about our poor planet.

When we arrived at their enormous airport, those of us who were in transit had the surreal experience of finding our gate. Following the signs, we walked to a set of escalators and went down to the next floor, then followed the sign which indicated we go up the escalators again. You can imagine the confusion as we all milled around the escalator wondering what to do. What else could we do but go up and it magically took us to the gate we needed.

Through security again! This is perhaps the first time I've managed to get through the machine without it beeping. I was a tad offended to see the guy who was supposed to be watching the baggage actually texting on his mobile. Some security!

Off to play in duty free where I bought a bottle of absinthe for my family. Man this stuff is strong. One sip on arriving home was enough. I resisted going wild in the gold shops when I saw the prices were all by the gram but oh, it was all so pretty. The duty free procedure at Dubai is, buy something, have it sealed in a box on which your name and flight is handwritten, go to the departure gate where the staff put a label on it like luggage, walk down to your plane but give the box to the waiting person who has it loaded into the cargo hold. You have to collect it at your destination like regular luggage.

Onto the plane we went. It's a very orderly procession here, you're called by zone which is printed on your boarding pass. After being fed and watered, the cabin lights were turned off and here is where the starlight comes into it. On my side of the cabin, the ceiling was lit as if we were looking at stars!!!! It was incredible.  My flight back is all during daylight hours but this time I hope to see the desert.  

Tomorrow: arriving in Perth.

After almost 10 years away, I've finally made it home for a holiday. Just a short one, only 3 weeks then back to Germany.

Fly Emirates. Fantastic airline, great food, great service - and if any Emirates check in personnel are reading this, can I have an upgrade please?. It was a long trip from Dusseldorf to Dubai but worth it. What an amazing airport and such a lot of gold shops!!!!! You can imagine my 'delight' when, on the Dubai - Perth leg, the pilot announced that at some point we would be flying over Iraq. I looked out the window to see if I could see any explosions but we were too high up I guess.

Let's start this travelogue with Dusseldorf airport. There I was waiting to check my bag in when 2 Budddhist monks stood in line behind me. They were wearing what looked like the most uncomfortable shoes in the universe - wooden with only a knob held between the big toe and second toe. Behind them was a gaggle of nuns. Is it possible to say a gaggle of nuns? A flock maybe, a congregation, a swarm? Anyhoo, imagine my surprise when, in a secluded part of the airport, in a departure lounge, I got to see the 2 monks change into WEstern clothes. Why they didn't use the mens room is beyond me. I discreetly took myself off somewhere else. One of the neat things about German airports is you can watch the planes, even from the rooftop. I like watcing the ballet of incoming and outgoing flights plus the flurry of activity when a recently arrived flight is prepared for departure.

One thing I and the other Europeans commented on when we landed at Perth International Airport is how quiet it is compared to the rest of the world. There's one runway and perhaps just one international flight an hour. It's all very quiet and calming.

Back to Dusseldorf. I'm not used to going through passport control anymore. In the EU, there are no borders so once you've checked your bag, that's it, onto the plane you go. It felt strange having to front up to a grim faced policeman - no polite chit chat here as they're all business- and have myself formally seen out of the country. Onto security and the kerfuffle of putting everything but yourself through the machines then I found myself sitting next to one of the nuns. As we took off she crossed herself and I wondered if she knew something I didn't and perhaps it was a good thing to have a believer next to me. Could come in handy if you front up at the pearly gates or wherever. She seemed a littler nervous and didn't like the rather loud sounds the wheel retraction made but calmed down after awhile. Lucky thing managed to get some sleep on the way to Dubai.

I was dreading the long flight, 2 days travelling, but being on such a wonderful airline made the time fly - no pun intended. (Am still trying to wiggle my way to an upgrade with that last sentence).

Tomorrow - more of the trip including starlight in the cabin.

There are a couple of things here which are noticeable by their absence and one of them is people using mobile phones, or Handys as they call them here, in the street. Unlike other countries, and other nationalities here, the Germans don´t seem to be surgically attached to the things. No one walks down the street, sits on trams, trains or buses, screaming at the top of their lungs about inconequential stuff. It´s even rarer to see a man - does a woman ever do this? - with that Bluetooth cyborg thingy in his ear.

The other thing you don´t see is children in restaurants in the evening. Even at lunchtime it´s unusual. I guess the thinking is evening is adult time and I couldn´t agree more. Who doesn´t quickly become annoyed by parents who let their children run around uncontrollably? There´s nothing cute in this behaviour.

Drunks. The Germans love their beer and could drink it all day long but it´s rare to see anyone staggering around drunk.

The older generation crossing the road when the little man is red and there are no cars in sight.

Something you do see here is smoking in bars, pubs and restaurants. I was surprised when I first moved here as Germany tries to be green. No smoking in public eating places is becoming the law in most of the EU and, seeing as Germans LOVE following laws, I would have thought they would adopt this one as soon as it came out.