It has been 1 week after I got back and I still miss my vacation. I thank God that the trip has been real nice and I did have a relax cum good rest =) There were hiccups and we were well-covered under God's protection. I know I am blessed as I get to travel around.
Guess what, this trip didn't really inspire me too much but somehow I feel I am more easy and happier after the break. Not much senses being knocked on my tiny little brain and I haven't been reflecting much. Somehow through the places I went, people I met, I begin to believe that God is fair to everybody and He puts everyone in his/her spot for a good purpose. Though we tend to envy one another every now and then, but we would still very much like who we are today and where we live today. It's matter of 'contentment'
More on Scandinavian and Eastern europeI may be wrong. Somehow I can differentiate between the so called 2 'continents' (not continents actually) by the people. Meaning how they look, how they carry themselves, lifestyle and living standard (food, trasnportation, shopping, dressing). Both 'continents' has their own unique and rich culture.
Things are real expensive in Denmark & Sweden, as compared to Hungary, and Czech. Austria falls somewhere between these two, Middle range country. It is more affordable (for Asians) to spend in eastern europe though generally everything is more expensive than Singapore. You will feel the pinch as you spend ;p that's where you need to tighten up your belt and do your calculations before every move.
Copenhagen, DenmarkIt just feels different when you're in Denmark. Guess what I did? I have been observed their hair and eye colors, trying to see how different do scandinavians look, compared to European and American. Bingo, I can't differentiate at all. Haha...
I think Nyhavn is the most prominent landmark there. Colorful stretch of shops along the canal and H.C.Anderson once stayed there. People sit at the side, holding a beer on one hand, and hotdog on the other. Enjoy the sun and breeze! Those who can afford more, they will sit down and take a sip on the coffee!! Cool uh. Btw, I saw quite few Asian there. Maybe it is just too far off geographically and ya, expensive northern europe. Only the rich will go ;p well, I am an exception!
Nyhavn (it means new harbour)
Little Mermaid
You know, you have to walk a long way before you can see this tiny mermaid. Kekeke... Well, it's a famous Danish landmark, it is still worth the effort!
Tivoli
It is a disney-like theme park in europe and you can spot lots tourists and local there. The thrilling rides are quite fun. I din take any. Ha... But watching people playing is quite fun too!
I must mention the Danish pastries! Simply so yumz... *drool* it is quite costly too, around 4 SGD per pc and it is kinda small too.
Danish local dish - Smorrebrod
Malmo, Sweden
It is just a stone throw away from Copenhagen! Haha, nono...it's a bridge away - Oserund bridge across the baltic sea. It gave me a little town feel but it is the 3rd largest city in Sweden.
The landmark, turning torso is the tallest building in Sweden! You just wont see sky-scrapers here, so the Torso is quite visible from everywhere. It is located near the western harbour.
The Malmo Musuem. Kinda run-down uh. Hehe... Butit has unique and special outlook. Dun judge a book by its cover K!
Wien, Austria
I like to call it Wien instead of Vienna. Kekek... I reliase that I still don't quite like Wien. Ya, it's a city of Music and I suppose most musicians like this place and would want to show off their talent in this cosmopolitan city!
We stroll along the Mariahilf Strasse (longest shopping st) and hunting for yummy ice-cream & food. You know, it can get very hot sometimes. So an ice-cream will be able to quinch your thirst but not fill your stomach :)
Nice dinner we had near St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom). Hoho, I love the sausage and the beer whilst sis ordered a baby rack.
After the dinner we head towards Mozart Concert at Vienna Concert Hall, which is located somewhere near State Opera house
Hoho, I think I might have wasted the money on concert but... How often will you goto Vienna, not to mention you attend a classical concert where all the musicians dressed like Mozart or 1930s! Kekeke...
Wiener Pork - Viennese Cuisin
A hiccup. I was throwing tantrum on sis and she gets pissed off. Kekeke... Thank God for the small argument. She was forced to read more maps and info and more sensitive to my stomach need since then. I was quite guiltly la, made my sis angry ;p I was asking mum to pray so that we wont quarrel and mum refused to believe it! I said for sure it will happen! There it goes ;p
Budapest, Hungary
A 3hr train ride from WestBahnhof brought us to Budapest, the capital of Hungary. We met this Hungarian lady in our cabin. AT first we felt that she is quite inconsiderate since she puts her feet on the unoccupied seats beside us. Then when she started to ask about our trip, we started to chat. I notice that she only talked to me, maybe I am too Onz in talking to her. Haha... She suggested that we should go here, go there, visit kispipa restaurant etc.
More on her. She is actually a fencing instructor, going to Vienna to apply a visa to bring her daughter over to Canada for career advancement. She mentioned something like ass-hole son of bitch father. I was stunned, I thought I heard something weird. Then she told us that it was a name for her ex-husband, who refused to take care of their daughter and trying hard to stop her for bringing her daughter to Ontario. Hmm... Getting a partner is important but who the partner is is even more important and crucial! I hope both can make it to Ontario by now. Gosh, I even forgot to ask for her name. aduh...
We stayed at a boat hostel for the first night. Haha.. Something different. Then we moved to Novotel for 2 night stay.
Thanks to the suggestion. We bought this Budapest card which cost us around 38euro aka 8000HUF. It is valud for 72 hrs. Unlimited rides on tram, electric car, bus, and metro. U know what, you need two metro tickets if you ever change a different line and each cost around 1 euro.
The first impression on Budapest is not as nice. It's old and not that clean. And the people dun seem as classy as the northern europeans. You can tell from their dressing. Things are relatively cheaper as compared to kobenhavn, malmo and wien. So we just loosen up our belt a bit. Haha...
The beauty of the unlimited rides is that you can just hop onto the vehicle whenever you feel like. Quite convenient and easy. We roam around the city (Pest), and hill(Buda) freely. Basically Budapest is divided into two sides , Buda and Pest. The view from the CastleHill is superb. You can see those nice and beautiful Gothical building i.e. my favourite - House of Parliament. I dunno much about architecture but it is simple so nice till I would want to see it again and afain.
Fisherman bastion, Catholic church(forgot the name), together with the Castle on the hill give an awesome look. It is especially noticeable and attarctive in the evening. You can see Chain bridge clearly from the castle, the palace turned hotel - Four Seasons Hotel. Wowowo... Because it's a Saturday, we are able to visit the market at chain bridge. I bought a Hungarian spicy sausage to eat! Yumz...
The view from Gellert Hill also quite cool. The air is also fresher. Hahaha...
Famous Chain Bridge
Cruise cruise along Danube River. If you ever visit the place, please pay for the cruise. It is definitely worth the money and time!!!
As mentioned earlier on, Hungarian Folkore dance at Danube Palace
Hungarian cuisine. They like to use paprika for cooking. I dunno the goose liver smell. Haha... But gotta tried at least once. I orderd Pork medallion and Goulash. Honestly, we are quite turned off by the taste so one Hungarian meal is good enough for us.
We took an overnight train to Prague. The journey is around 10 hrs but it was delayed by 2hrs. Horrible. Hehe... We met 3 British who wanted to go Brastilava, the capital of Slovakia. So thruout the trip, we cant switch off the light and they keep talking. Nightmare! But we had a peaceful night after they alighted. We just slely on the seats like nobody business. Never dare to take such ugly picture. A conclusion we have: never take night train again as it consumes too much energy since you can't get a decent rest.
Prague, Czech
When the night comes :)
Not as fanstastic as we thought. Maybe Budapest is simply too beautiful?! I supposed so. There are many gothical and baroque style buildings but paiseh to tell you that I don't really know how to differentiate the two. I just know they look good and unique, at least I don't see much in Asia.
Charles Bridge. It has lots scupltures along the whole bridge. I feel a bit sad as I saw the 'cruxification' view. Lots tourists found in Prague and you can spot them every where! Venice of the East! Hehe... But hor I still prefer the real Venice aka Venezia. I miss the place!!
Castle Hill. There is St. Vitus Church and Palace there. Again, this is on the hill and you get to see the whole Prague. Btw, I get to eat Pork Knuckle and Grilled salmon there. Yumz... And I miss the beer, Bernard. It is neither bitter nor sweet. Just nice. I tried others like Pilner xxx and xxx (forgot the name again), one is bitter while the other one has a fruity taste.
Church of Our lady (Tyn)
Astronomical Clock with 12 apostles
St Vitus Church at castle Hill
We had better meals when we were in Prague. Kekeke... Maybe it is almost end of the whole trip and we have more money and must find ways to spend money? Haha... Sorry, not much picture on the food. But I can still rem how it looked like in my tiny brain ;p
Kutna Hora is a Czech town which is 1 hr away from Prague. Imagine we walked for 4km in order to get to the town center. Faint. Haha... A Czech boy, who is roller-blading, rushed towards us and spit on us. So rude. Maybe they hate tourists uh! Dunno.
Terezin concentration camp
Again it's 45 min bus ride from Prague. It is for Jews during Nazi time. Basically many died at that time when they were being 'transported' from elsewhere to the imaginary 'heaven' here, highly recommended by Hitler's government. Their lives seem to be worthless in the eyes of the cruel dictator. The pictures they (kids) drawn showed how much they looked forward to the life outside Terezin. Sad to say that only 0.1% of them or lesser get to see that. How sad.
1000 being transported, 3 survived. 1000 being transported, 1 survived. 1000 being transported, no survivors. I went to the little fortress where the Nazi kept Jews. The room/ beds were cramped and they have limited resources to feed all. As a result, many die. Oh my... :( That was the past. Let's not repeat the history in any ways and may God manifests His justice and grace on those who follow Him faithfully! God still reigns!! As He always does!
Rainbow!
I always see Rainbow as i travel! It reminds me of God's covenant and His promises to me. Thank you Lord! I know You're with me. Amen :)
Last day in Kobenhavn
Canal Boat ride
As sis went back one day earlier than me, I gotta plan my day in Copenhagen. I went shopping. H&M. I managed to grab a cheap bag and dress for Kaiyue. Hehe... Well, I bought few other clothes at Vienna too. It's the sales (Saldi) season. Yeah!! Good buy!!
I didn't dare to attend local church service which is held at a bar. So I just walked to Nyhavn on Sunday morning. Since I have around 70kr left, I have decided to take a 1-hr boat ride to tour around the canal. It was a wise choice, I managed to see more, take more pictures and walked less. Haha... Money well-spent.
I must mention that, finally I was able to cook my chu-qian-yi-ding @ YHA. Hehe... So happy that I don't have to bring back the noodles pack and how warm to have a curry-sesame oil flavour instant noodles in Denmark!
I spent most of the time at hostel, reading my book. I thought the time is quite well-spent and I was able to force self to find more questions on Gospel of John for 31 Aug bible quiz preparation. Hehe...
All in all, I thank God for His protection, grace and mercy throughout the whole trip. A reflection is that Singapore or Malaysia are nice countries to stay, given its affordable living standard and culture which is so close to our hearts. A trip widen your knowledge and increase your exposure and causing a big hole in your pocket.
Looking it from another perspective, a trip also enable me to be thankful with what God has given me, where God has put me and how much God has blessed me. And lastly, I have an opportunity to take a break from everything in our daily life. It is not an escape but a short-term runaway from all the challenges and issue.
I was wondering, will anyone miss me or remember me when I am not around? Maybe there wont be any and that's sound sad. Ya, it is kinda sad. But you never know, someone may just remember your smile, your act and your blessing in the ways which aer invisible to your ear can hear, your eye can see and your heart can feel.
In short, I come back as a stronger person, I hope. I trust that God always has good things in store for me and yes, the key is, I should always look up to Him, seek His glory and be faithful before Him.
oya... I threw away a couple fo stuffs. Hoho... Pant, short, shirts, swimming suit, nike shoe, hushhush bag, umbrella and 2 sun blocks. Kekeke... Never been so 'se de' before. I always keep things ;)
