Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Paris 19
Hi all! Back from Germany just now. Eager to blog about it while the memories are fresh and share some experience with you guys. Germany gave me a very structured ‘engineering’ feel. Weather is cold. The buildings are clean and well-organized, and the service is mostly efficient. Not the best place to go for honeymoon though, as it is not the most romantic place and most of the places I visited are places of history. If you dash across the traffic light while it’s red, you’ll get fined 40 Euros if caught, likewise if you do not have a train ticket. Scary. I spent quite a lot on transportation and food.
Upon reaching Bonn, we met up with Magdelene who was a great host to us. She even prepared lunch for us on a day with her Polish friend. She’s having her internship with DHL in Germany now. Went for Kebab and tea which were good.
Es, can understand why you miss la-teh so much.
Then, Laura and I sat the overnight train to Berlin and spend a day there. The train ride was around 6 hours and it was very punctual. It reaches exactly on time and leaves in 2 minutes. If you missed it, it’s a waiting time of an hour. Laura and I made it, but we alighted at the wrong stop though. But in the end we made it to Berlin. Visited the Unter Den Liden and Alexandraplatz ( a shopping square), Bradenburg Gate, a church, Eastside Gallery, Jewish Museum, and Checkpoint Charlie.
On the train
The church
Bradenburg Gate. Looks like the one in Paris.
Simi Eastside Gallery?? Backstreet le?!
Weixin what are you doing on the Berlin Wall?
Muack.. This happened when East and West Germany united I believe, where the 2 men kissing are heads of their respective parties.
Lunch at Berlin: Curry Sausage, Cordon Bleu and Turkey Breast. Germans like Fries. We had loads of them. Need to start Detox session man.
At the Jewish Museum. I think this is a cool place to visit as this Museum is different from the rest. The audio guide is I-pod (quite cool to begin with) and the style is interactive, where it is not just reading and looking. Enough said. You guys should check it out yourselves.
Checkpoint Charlie
On day 2, we went back to Bonn and met up with Magdelene for a short trip to Cologne. Cologne is a more developed place than Bonn, and I was impressed with its shopping square, called the Schildegasse city shopping. Very comprehensive and lively place. Visited Kolner Dom which we climbed up 509 steps and got terribly exhausted, and also tried Kolsch (a local beer, it’s good) and Gluhwein.
Kolner Dom, like the one in Vienna, gothic design.
View from 509 steps.
Dinner, drinks and dessert with Mag at Cologne. Mostly pork and pizza.
Cola Kolsh and pipping hot Gluhwein. The heater at the back is damn power too. I like.
Ice cream desserts from the shop 4D recommended by Magdelene
Shopping square.
Massive train station Haupbanofts and massive trains
On day 3, which was a Sunday where everywhere is closed except museums, being typical Singaporeans Laura and I did not want to waste any time and went to check out the museum of German History which was all in German and we did not understand anything other then making out our own deductions from the photos. The museums in Germany are high-tech and wordy, hence not to my liking. I prefer less words, more photos and more audio guides. In the afternoon after lunch with Magdelene and her Polish friend, we went to Aachen together 2 hours by train. Checked out another Dome there which is famous and visited the Christmas night Market. Ate Champignons, sausages, chicken drumstick, cookies and drank Gluhwein. Shiok la. Lam if you come to Germany you confirm damn song. Sausages all around. They had sausages with curry sauce too. Laura enjoyed that place very much, so did Magdelene and I.
After seeing too much Doms, it can get quite boring actually.
Scenes from the Christmas night market
Me with the Drumstick and looking fat
I like this painting.
On the last day, Laura and I decided to visit the Rhine River and some Villas and Castle beside it. Woke up at 6 am but in the end couldn’t find anything except battling the cold. The sky was gloomy too and all sums up to a bad start as the website we got instructions from were poor. Oh well. We then spent the rest of the day exploring Bonn and some Christmas markets before making our way back. Read a book from Laura, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini at the airport. He was the author of ‘Kite Runner’. The 2 stories are both great and sad.
Anyway shiok ah you all, got chalet. Haha. Hope your exams went well too. Take care and see you all.
Upon reaching Bonn, we met up with Magdelene who was a great host to us. She even prepared lunch for us on a day with her Polish friend. She’s having her internship with DHL in Germany now. Went for Kebab and tea which were good.
Es, can understand why you miss la-teh so much.
Then, Laura and I sat the overnight train to Berlin and spend a day there. The train ride was around 6 hours and it was very punctual. It reaches exactly on time and leaves in 2 minutes. If you missed it, it’s a waiting time of an hour. Laura and I made it, but we alighted at the wrong stop though. But in the end we made it to Berlin. Visited the Unter Den Liden and Alexandraplatz ( a shopping square), Bradenburg Gate, a church, Eastside Gallery, Jewish Museum, and Checkpoint Charlie.
On the train
The church
Bradenburg Gate. Looks like the one in Paris.
Simi Eastside Gallery?? Backstreet le?!
Weixin what are you doing on the Berlin Wall?
Muack.. This happened when East and West Germany united I believe, where the 2 men kissing are heads of their respective parties.
Lunch at Berlin: Curry Sausage, Cordon Bleu and Turkey Breast. Germans like Fries. We had loads of them. Need to start Detox session man.
At the Jewish Museum. I think this is a cool place to visit as this Museum is different from the rest. The audio guide is I-pod (quite cool to begin with) and the style is interactive, where it is not just reading and looking. Enough said. You guys should check it out yourselves.
Checkpoint Charlie
On day 2, we went back to Bonn and met up with Magdelene for a short trip to Cologne. Cologne is a more developed place than Bonn, and I was impressed with its shopping square, called the Schildegasse city shopping. Very comprehensive and lively place. Visited Kolner Dom which we climbed up 509 steps and got terribly exhausted, and also tried Kolsch (a local beer, it’s good) and Gluhwein.
Kolner Dom, like the one in Vienna, gothic design.
View from 509 steps.
Dinner, drinks and dessert with Mag at Cologne. Mostly pork and pizza.
Cola Kolsh and pipping hot Gluhwein. The heater at the back is damn power too. I like.
Ice cream desserts from the shop 4D recommended by Magdelene
Shopping square.
Massive train station Haupbanofts and massive trains
On day 3, which was a Sunday where everywhere is closed except museums, being typical Singaporeans Laura and I did not want to waste any time and went to check out the museum of German History which was all in German and we did not understand anything other then making out our own deductions from the photos. The museums in Germany are high-tech and wordy, hence not to my liking. I prefer less words, more photos and more audio guides. In the afternoon after lunch with Magdelene and her Polish friend, we went to Aachen together 2 hours by train. Checked out another Dome there which is famous and visited the Christmas night Market. Ate Champignons, sausages, chicken drumstick, cookies and drank Gluhwein. Shiok la. Lam if you come to Germany you confirm damn song. Sausages all around. They had sausages with curry sauce too. Laura enjoyed that place very much, so did Magdelene and I.
After seeing too much Doms, it can get quite boring actually.
Scenes from the Christmas night market
Me with the Drumstick and looking fat
I like this painting.
On the last day, Laura and I decided to visit the Rhine River and some Villas and Castle beside it. Woke up at 6 am but in the end couldn’t find anything except battling the cold. The sky was gloomy too and all sums up to a bad start as the website we got instructions from were poor. Oh well. We then spent the rest of the day exploring Bonn and some Christmas markets before making our way back. Read a book from Laura, ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini at the airport. He was the author of ‘Kite Runner’. The 2 stories are both great and sad.
Anyway shiok ah you all, got chalet. Haha. Hope your exams went well too. Take care and see you all.
# posted by eastsidebackstreet : 6:56 am
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Paris 18
Hi guys. I came back from Vienna on Monday night. When I was on the plane there I was quite shocked initially to see that the land was covered with white. Saw snow too. Not exactly snow flakes, but more of crystallized rain. It was like ‘ice-dust’. To me, the Vienna people are nice, warm and helpful, in comparison with the French. Haha just some honest comments. Chloe too have been a good traveling companion, and she is also one of the most independent girls I have ever seen.
Chloe and I
On the first day, we arrived and checked in at our hostel. Good location and clean. Only bad thing that happened was on the first night there was this fat Japanese middle aged guy who slept near me and snored like a 5-tonner. Next, we visited the Vienna Parliament House, Town Hall and the Vienna Opera House. I liked the Town Hall the most. There were many push carts around it, all preparing for the imminent Christmas. People were selling all kinds of Christmas stuff, and many people were drinking this piping hot alcoholic fruit punch. I tried it too but couldn’t appreciate it. Watched a play at Vienna Opera House for 3.50 Euros but left halfway as I did not understand their language. The Viennese ticketing system is such that the seats are very expensive, but the standing ones were either free or very cheap, but very squeezy too. I had bad encounters with some Vienna people because of this. And it was funny halfway through the concert I remembered the TJC choir performance we watched together and we kept laughing at the ‘Hai Dao’ face.
My hostel
The Parliament
The Town Hall
The Christmas feel
At the flea market around the Town Hall
The Town Hall at night
Chocolate pastry
Inside the Opera House from the standing gallery
On the 2nd day, we visited the Hofburg Palace, saw the Vienna Boys Choir at the Royal Chapel (Xin, the Marists Boys Choir are better really haha) and learnt about King Franz Joseph and Princess Elizabeth, also known as Princess Sissy, who was an incredible beauty of her time. She is one of Vienna’s national icons and her story made me a little angry as I thought she was someone who did not appreciate everything she had and only complained incessantly about her loss of freedom. Her waist was only 51cm as she was obsessed with sports and dieting. Oh well. Went for lunch and tried Viennese veal which was fried and tasted ordinary, really like chicken cutlet. Next, we went to visit the St Stephan Cathedral which had a very gothic design. In the evening, we went to the ‘Torture Museum’ as it was the only museum opened at that time. Not very worth it and it also brought back memories of ‘The Hostel’. In fact I did not even want to go in except that Chloe seemed rather gung-ho and I decided not to appear wussy. At night, we walked around Stephanplatz and the Museum Quarters.
The Boys Choir. As we bought the cheapest tickets we could only see the projector and hear them 'live'. Quite pointless.
Lunch. Viennese style Veal. Look like chicken cutlet? haha.
Hofsburg Palace
St Stephan Cathedral
St Stephan Cathedral at night
Torture Museum. Yikes.
Mozart Garden
Museum Quarter
The Vienna attraction places are concentrated around a big ring connected by train. Talking about trains, I did not spend a single cent on transport, except for paying when I met a train conductor on the way to the airport. The train system was based on an ‘honest-policy’ system, where there are no barriers in and out of the platforms. Many locals did not pay and I think it is only a matter of time when they switch to another system. But if I were Viennice though, I would have paid as I would have wanted to uphold this hassle free honest policy system.
My favourite ticketing system
On the last day, we went to visit Schonbrunn Palace. Hofburg Palace is the Winter Palace, and Schonbrunn Palace is the Summer Palace. It has a big garden, like Varseilles Chateau. Actually people always complain that when they go China all they do is visit temples. But in Europe it is the same too as we see churches and cathedral as well. China still remains as one of my favourite places to visit. And actually I think that so long that as place has a rich history it is definitely worth visiting. We went to have lunch. This time I had Coachman’s- something, which was a Vienna cuisine as well. It is a beef stew and tasted good. Had Melanche, Vienna coffee, which was good too. Finally, we visited Mozart’s house but did not enter due to a constraint of time. Walked around some shops and this marked the end of the Vienna journey.
Garden of Schonbrunn Palace
Castle and garden
Greenery and ice
The snowman and the cafe on top
Bird's eye view
The frozen lake
Lunch
Haha nothing impressive, but this was the place where Mozart lived when he was Vienna. Dom Platz. Now it is a museum.
Vienna is a good place to visit. Like Paris, it has a rich history and has many places of attractions to visit as well.
Chloe and I
On the first day, we arrived and checked in at our hostel. Good location and clean. Only bad thing that happened was on the first night there was this fat Japanese middle aged guy who slept near me and snored like a 5-tonner. Next, we visited the Vienna Parliament House, Town Hall and the Vienna Opera House. I liked the Town Hall the most. There were many push carts around it, all preparing for the imminent Christmas. People were selling all kinds of Christmas stuff, and many people were drinking this piping hot alcoholic fruit punch. I tried it too but couldn’t appreciate it. Watched a play at Vienna Opera House for 3.50 Euros but left halfway as I did not understand their language. The Viennese ticketing system is such that the seats are very expensive, but the standing ones were either free or very cheap, but very squeezy too. I had bad encounters with some Vienna people because of this. And it was funny halfway through the concert I remembered the TJC choir performance we watched together and we kept laughing at the ‘Hai Dao’ face.
My hostel
The Parliament
The Town Hall
The Christmas feel
At the flea market around the Town Hall
The Town Hall at night
Chocolate pastry
Inside the Opera House from the standing gallery
On the 2nd day, we visited the Hofburg Palace, saw the Vienna Boys Choir at the Royal Chapel (Xin, the Marists Boys Choir are better really haha) and learnt about King Franz Joseph and Princess Elizabeth, also known as Princess Sissy, who was an incredible beauty of her time. She is one of Vienna’s national icons and her story made me a little angry as I thought she was someone who did not appreciate everything she had and only complained incessantly about her loss of freedom. Her waist was only 51cm as she was obsessed with sports and dieting. Oh well. Went for lunch and tried Viennese veal which was fried and tasted ordinary, really like chicken cutlet. Next, we went to visit the St Stephan Cathedral which had a very gothic design. In the evening, we went to the ‘Torture Museum’ as it was the only museum opened at that time. Not very worth it and it also brought back memories of ‘The Hostel’. In fact I did not even want to go in except that Chloe seemed rather gung-ho and I decided not to appear wussy. At night, we walked around Stephanplatz and the Museum Quarters.
The Boys Choir. As we bought the cheapest tickets we could only see the projector and hear them 'live'. Quite pointless.
Lunch. Viennese style Veal. Look like chicken cutlet? haha.
Hofsburg Palace
St Stephan Cathedral
St Stephan Cathedral at night
Torture Museum. Yikes.
Mozart Garden
Museum Quarter
The Vienna attraction places are concentrated around a big ring connected by train. Talking about trains, I did not spend a single cent on transport, except for paying when I met a train conductor on the way to the airport. The train system was based on an ‘honest-policy’ system, where there are no barriers in and out of the platforms. Many locals did not pay and I think it is only a matter of time when they switch to another system. But if I were Viennice though, I would have paid as I would have wanted to uphold this hassle free honest policy system.
My favourite ticketing system
On the last day, we went to visit Schonbrunn Palace. Hofburg Palace is the Winter Palace, and Schonbrunn Palace is the Summer Palace. It has a big garden, like Varseilles Chateau. Actually people always complain that when they go China all they do is visit temples. But in Europe it is the same too as we see churches and cathedral as well. China still remains as one of my favourite places to visit. And actually I think that so long that as place has a rich history it is definitely worth visiting. We went to have lunch. This time I had Coachman’s- something, which was a Vienna cuisine as well. It is a beef stew and tasted good. Had Melanche, Vienna coffee, which was good too. Finally, we visited Mozart’s house but did not enter due to a constraint of time. Walked around some shops and this marked the end of the Vienna journey.
Garden of Schonbrunn Palace
Castle and garden
Greenery and ice
The snowman and the cafe on top
Bird's eye view
The frozen lake
Lunch
Haha nothing impressive, but this was the place where Mozart lived when he was Vienna. Dom Platz. Now it is a museum.
Vienna is a good place to visit. Like Paris, it has a rich history and has many places of attractions to visit as well.
# posted by eastsidebackstreet : 1:03 am
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