I went out with Ignacio and his brother and father on Satuday night. It was good fun. We went to the bar opposite my flat and then came back to mine and finished off the whisky that my research group gave me before I left Edinburgh. The bar opposite, called Coppa, sells Tapas food. We tried some. The Spaniards were not terribly impressed, about as impressed as I was by Nordsee's fish and chips. When in Germany, eat the German food.

On the subject of German food, last week I tried Maultaschen, a south west German speciality. They're a bit like large ravioli. Very tasty.

Last night I was at Anusch's place for his birthday party. Good fun, lots of German practice. I gave him some Scottish Breakfast tea from Jenner's.

I will be very busy the next few days and might not have time to post much. Not doing anything exciting, just lots to sort out before I leave next week. The current problems:

Where to stay in Genova? I don't have a flat waiting for me, so will have to stay in a hotel for a while. Luca has recommended a place run by nuns, sounds like fun.
How to get to Genova? The current plan involves a train, changing once in either Zurich or Basel. It's about a ten hour trip. If I get up early enough, I can change at Basel for a train with a 'Panoramawagen' for the rest of the trip. Sounds cool, but is it worth getting out of bed at 6am for?
What to do with my furniture? Current plan involves dumping it in a nearby Sperrmüll collection on Wednesday morning, except for the bed, which I will keep until next Tuesday.
Paperwork Of course loads of paperwork to do, including reclaiming tax etc. which is a language nightmare. Better get on with it...