Volzy

My Favourite London Restaurants:
As a self-confessed lover of good food, here are some of my favourite restaurants both in London and in Hamburg....

ZUMA
This is an absolute treat and comes in handy to show off when I have friends over. Always a winner for food and atmosphere. Have been known to spend the odd night down there in the kitchen learning from the pros...

Gourmet Burger Kitchen
I've tried manyof the upmarket burger places like Byrons or the Fine Burger Company but this is where my vote goes - even though I don't like big chains, which GBK has become due to its success. The chocolate milkshake and cheeseburger are top notch (double of course!)

AUBAINE
Breakfast venue where I also buy my bread. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I just love fresh bread. Its not German schwarzbrot but then how many German restaurants can you find in London? These guys are doing a great job.

J SHEEKEY
This one is all about fish but in a true English environment. Don't worry, I won't ever be tempted into prawns again. Red mullet when you go there (being German it had to be the mullet for me didn't it...)

Henssler & Henssler
This Hamburg favourite is a fish restaurant with a Japanese influence. It's run by one of Germany's celebrity chefs and the sushi is amazing. It's conveniently located in the docks which is where the fish comes in.

DAPHNE'S
The Italian Job - unfortunately very posh and sophisticated so most of the time I'm not dressed the right way to go in spontaneously, but for this food I don't mind getting out my Sunday best.

NANDOS
The quantity option with the lads. Here you don't talk because you are constantly loading up with chicken and rice. Who needs cutlery when you have clean hands. Get in there!

Mutterland
This is a great breakfast/lunchplace in Hamburg that also includes a deli. It does great teas and chocolates as well as fantastic breakfasts and lovely soups.

YAUATCHA
My favourite Chinese restaurant. It's in Soho and teh interiorispretty funky with aquariums etc. Great smoked spare ribs and the venison is the best I've ever had...

Tunes on my iPod

We've Only Just Begun

Lee McDonald

Calypso Blues

Calypso Rose

Grenade

Bruno Mars

Empire State of Mind

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

Islands

The XX

The Resolution

Jack's Mannequin

Falling Slowly

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

Come Pick Me Up

Ryan Adams

We Are the People

Empire of the Sun

Bently's Gonna Sort You Out

Bently Rhythm Ace

It's Bigger Than Hip Hop

Dead Perez

Sky And Sand

Paul Kalkbrenner

Things that the Germans are best at...
I was flicking through a German magazine called Stern and they had this classic article listing all the things that the Germans excel at, so I thought I'd share it with you....

X-rays
in no other country will more X-rays be done than in Germany

Baking bread
on average, us Germans eat more than 80kg of bread a year!

Separating Rubbish
we're apparently the best at dividing our trash up into different categories for recycling. Well, we would be - it involves organisation and efficiency. No blurred lines!

SMS
we send more text messages than anyone else in the world

Speed-walking up the stairs of skyscrapers
the world record holder is a guy from Steinach

Walking backwards
untouchable at this apparently

Bombing
I mean in swimming pools before you ask, and our women are especially good at his by all accounts

Cherry stone spitting - we can spit them further than anyone else. In the men's category, a bloke from Cologne holds the world record at 19.56m. We hold the women's record at 12.92m as well. I tried this with my friend Michael Rensing from Bayern Munich but I only got 6.72m. More practice needed.

Fireworks - we have more firework displays than anyone else

Charity-giving
we're the most generous when it comes to giving money to charity.

Tax rules
we're the world leaders. We have 100 main rules, 96,000 different sub-rules and over 5000 guides in how to do your tax return!

See what we contribute to the world??!! Where would you be without us!!

VOLZY'S GERMAN PHRASE BOOK

If you're going to Germany, here are some phrases that you may find useful...

Wo kann ich mir meine VokuHila Frisur blondieren lassen? Where can I get my mullet highlighted?	Wo kann ich die neue David Hasselhoff CD kaufen? When is David Hasselhoff's new album out?

Ich brauche einen fruheren ruckflug? Can I change my plane ticket for an earlier departure date?	Kann ich meine sandalen ohne tennis socken tragen? Can I wear my sandals without socks?

Wo ist die Currybude? Which way to the curried sausage stand?	Mir juckt's in der Lederhose My lederhosen are a little itchy

Was ist dein Lieblingswitz? Can you tell me your favourite joke	Was heist das du hast keinen? What do you mean you don't know any?

Kannst du meine aermel abschneiden Please can you cut the sleeves off my denim jacket	Wo ist der pool? Ich will meine handtuecher hinlegen Which way to the pool? I would like to put my towel down.

Ist der Linienrichter russe? Is the linesman Russian?	Habt ihr Elfmeterschiessen geuebt? Have you been practicing penalties?

Die Technick ist super aber ich haette lieber einen Fiesta I know the engineering is good but I'd rather have a Fiesta	Mein Trabi ist kaput! My Trabant has broken down!

Wo gibt es fisch und pommes? Is there a fish and chip shop near by?	Wo kann ich einen Tee trinken? Where can I get a cup of tea?

Kann ich HP Sauce haben? Can I have some brown sauce with that?