I`d like to thank everyone who mailed, messaged and even got a card to me (thanks Nan, your letter was really nice), I won`t reply to all of you individually, but it was appreciated. My birthday really started on the 9th when I flew into Stansted to catch up with Mum and Dad and found out they`d booked the most luxurious hotel room I`m sure I`ve ever seen. I had a whole rrom for myself for the entire week, and after 2 weeks in a tent, and 2 months in hostel dorms the privacy and space was so needed. We spent the week in Rottenburg in Germany, Dads original hometown. It was very cool to see a cemetary will Saile headstones, something you don`t see in Australia. It seems we spent the whole week eating, I had my fill of schnitzels, pretzels, maltauchens (spelling?) and cake, acres of cake and coffee! After subsisting on rations through Scandinavia, I feel like a normal person again instead of just a being who was just going through the motions of existing - I`m thinking it was lack of iron due to no red meat. It was a top week and like I saidm I really needed it. After bidding Mam and Dad adeiu I spent the next couple of days in Bled in Slovenia. It`s funny, I was saying to Mum the week before I hadn`t found somewhere that really felt like a holiday town that I`d happily go back to year after year. It turns out Bled is the new Bicheno! It's really got stuff for everyone, a huge lake with crystal clear water perfect for swimming and fishing in trails all around for walks and a massive castle on the hill. It's also the budget adventure sport capital of the world. I treated myself for my birthday to canyoning, white waterrafting and walking tours of the region. Amazing fun. The only thing I didn't do was hydrospeed (look it up), but I'll save that for America. The weathers warming up again as I head south. I've got my eyes set on the Croatian Islands next for a week or so of swimming and icecream. Have fun at work!