day four . 4 may

brussels, belgium

belgium is well known for all its good food. it would be impossible to list all of them with one hand. chocolates (motherland of pralines!), gaufres (more commonly known to us as belgian waffles), moules or mosselen (steamed mussels), frites (belgian fries), beer (did you know that the trappist ale, a beer brewed by the monks in trappist, and can only be tasted there, is being rated as the best beer in the whole world?), and we are about to discover more.


the authentic belgium waffles! who need gelare?

and i never knew that tin tin is from belgium! and apparently brussels is the only place in the world which has a store devoted to selling everything tin tin. yinghao, being such a fan, almost wanted to raid the whole store. i settled for a vintage looking postcard (:

tin tin boutique!

grand place, the main square in the brussels. we were happy just to snap pictures and admire the nice architecture. this is also the very place which has been described by victor hugo as the most beautiful square in the world.

grand place

one of the many squares we are about to see for the next 2 months!

we tried many different kinds of gaufres – from the plain ones, to those with sugar, to the chocolate coated, to the kind with fruit toppings. They are generally quite different from the ones we get in Singapore. over here, they tend to be chewier and less crunchy, but delicious nevertheless.

yums

next up is the search for possibly the most photographed boy in the world – mannekin pis, the peeing boy. i say search, coz it took us a good 1 hour to locate it. and when we finally did, it came as such a shock that it took us probably another 15 minutes to get over the shock. the boy is small. nopes. i am not talking about his genitals. i mean the statue itself is so small, we actually walked past it without realizing!!! it’s a pathetic bronze statue hidden in a corner of a very busy street, and had it not for the throngs of tourists, cameras in hand, crowding around it, we would have missed it the 2nd time.

mannekin pis

yes. we kept eating when we were in belgium.

we headed over to the atomium for some photo-taking opportunities. this is apparently a famous landmark in brussels but since we had enough of paranomic views of cities, we saved some cash and didn’t attempt to climb to the top of the structure.

@ the atomium

after some belgium frites, we went over to the european headquarters. it was interesting for me to find out that the HQ of is located in Belgium, so a quick check with natalie solved the mystery for me.

potatoes to waiting to be cut and fried!

once upon a time, 3 european countries, namely, belgium, netherlands and luxembourg, being equal in terms of economic wealth and status, decided to form some sort of agreement and alliance. and this became to what we now know as, ta-dah – BeNeLux. anyways, BeNeLux was so successful that the other European countries decided that they should all form some sort of alliance too - have a set of agreed regulations, use the same currency, etc. so the european union was formed and what better place to locate its HQ than in a place that was centralized, and the very place the idea originated from.

now you know!

as we were meeting natalie for dinner only at 7ish, we decided to while our time away in the park. (ya. the park is simply called the park) we ended up falling asleep on the grass in the middle of nowhere. i couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend our time (:

the park

EU HQ!

for dinner that night, natalie brought us to a nice restaurant near her office. we had steamed asparagus (it’s the season! woohoo!), stooofpot (meat patty like stuff that came in a pot) and witloof (veggies similar to sauerkraut) we also got to try the cherry beer, which was really nice. belgium food rocks!

cherry beer!

asparagus never tasted so fresh!

day three . 3 may

mannheim, deutschland - luxembourg city, luxembourg

since our train was at noon, we had time to walk around abit more. on our way to the train station, we got to see zhirui’s school, and he brought us to a water fountain, which was apparently the landmark of mannheim.


guess who it reminded us of?


mannheim







for lunch, we da bao-ed kebab, which I must say, is the nicest i have tried during my entire stay here. and its really cheap too.

we got into luxembourg in the late afternoon due to some train delay, and on the train, i met a nice old man whom i chatted with till i had to get off at koblenz for my connecting train.


on our to mannheim


a nice old german man i sat with during my ride

he’s a writer and he and his wife are both from dusseldorf. apparently there’s much more at dusseldorf den wat we saw the other time, so it’s a real pity we didn’t get to see most of the stuff he mentioned.


i heart bridges ((:


one of our many "below-the-the-train-station-name" shots to come!


streets of luxembourg


pretty flowers!

the city was shaped like a bowl, so it was quite interesting. that day we were there also turns out to be their night marathon race day, so the streets were packed with runners, supporters and police officers.


bowl shaped city


marathon fever!


brazalian buskers!





in the evening, we took a train over to antwerp, where we met up with natalie who has very kindly agreed to take us in for a good 4 nights.

day two . 2 may

schwarzwald-mannheim, deustchland

today was the day for our long awaited trek to the highest point in schwarzwald – feldberg. the climb was very different from what we usually do in the malaysian rainforest. instead of mud and leeches, we got lots of snow and erm, more snow. it wasn’t easy balancing ourselves on the snow, but it was an interesting experience.


trekking in black forest


mums pushing their babies up the hill




atop feldberg


we have reached!

we also introduced trail mix to yinghao (smux invasion! yay!) and it felt like trekking all over again.

snow capped @ 1493m!

walking on snow

in the afternoon, we packed our bags and took a train out to mannheim, where zhirui kindly took us in for the night. actually it was more like he managed to borrow a room from his friends who are away on holiday for us.

that night, we met up with more singaporeans from ntu, on exchange at mannheim university. their hostel, though located at some seedy area (just a week ago, there was a shooting case in the neighbourhood!) had a nice pub, so we kinda just sat there and chatted the night away.

day one . 1 may

schwarzwald, deutschland

having heard so much about schwarzwald (black forest) and the mystique surrounding it, we were excited to finally set foot on this place after all this while in germany. this place had inspired many tales, one of the most famous of all being hansel and gretel. the place got its name as the trees in the forest are apparently so dense that the canopies overlap one another, causing it to be “eerily dark” when one is in the forest.

we reached freiburg in the afternoon (after which we took another train to feldberg-barental) and finally reached our hostel at hebelhof slightly after 2pm.


@ feldberg barental station

lunch was at a quiet italian restaurant, after which, we headed over to titisee, the place of cuckoo clocks. it was also here that we got our taste of the original blackforest cake! in fact, their version of the blackforest cake is quite different from what we usually eat in singapore. the cake is nice and soft, the berries, a little stronger (and sour) in taste.


black forest cake @ its place of origin!


streets of titisee


boating on titisee



we also went boating in the beautiful titisee! it was a nice and relaxing afternoon just to row along and enjoy the scenery.




lovely view on titisee





the cuckoo clocks are really pretty, but the hefty price tag and transportation cost is enough to put us off.


in the cuckoo clock shop. the original cuckoo clocks are made from the wood found in black forest!

for dinner that night, we tried the gluwien, a local specialty, and goulash soup.


high on gluwein

august revelation

the august heat is setting in and i cannot begin to tell you how much i hate singapore’s weather. but that’s not the point of this entry. so my complaints shall end with that first line. for now, at least.

with august here, it also means i’ve been back from europe for over a month now. and its amazing how something that took up a good part of my time this year seems like all a distant, but nevertheless, sweet memory. and wats more amazing is how life just seems to fall into place so easily, and you can just pick up where you left off, as if it wasn’t 6 months, but just a mere few days that you were away. Its like everything is always changing, but yet, some things don’t change. i dunno. or maybe its just coz i’ve been moving too. and since we’re all moving at the same speed, its so easy to catch up and not be left behind.

the past one month has been nothing short of exciting. and its been a long time since i felt so happy and comfortable. work’s been great, too good to be true in fact. boss is really nice, colleagues frenly and approachable, the interns a great and funny bunch and work, manageable.

weekends are spent doing fun stuff too. cycling to rengit for seafood was enjoyable – not just coz of the food, but the great company. kayaking made me realize how long its been since I last trained, and my muscles ached so much. gatherings were plenty – potluck at nyan’s place, high tea to celebrate lp’s graduation, poker night at ryan’s place, mambo night out with ltb mates, crew gathering, dinner and drinks with d2d team, meeting up with jc canoeing mates, and more to come in the next few weeks. driving lessons are underway, and weekend trip to KL are on the cards.

so yups. as much as i really miss the freedom, the excitement and joy of waking up every morning, seeing different things, immersing in the colourful cultures of the european cities, admiring the beauty of castles, rivers, cobbled walkways aplenty, i love everything in my life here in singapore as well. and im really looking forward to my next trip already. i know europe will always have a special place in my heart, and that i will prolly never get the chance to backpack across any continent over a span of 6 months again. i really miss walking along the streets of porto, climbing up the steps in lisbon, rowing in the beautiful lake in interlaken, looking up at the statue of liberation on the citadel in budapest. but the thought of all the other places i want to go – south america, south africa, north america, the islands in the indian ocean, and many many more is enough to keep me going.

it seems like now i finally know what i want to do with my life and I can hardly wait.

(:

end

i cant believe it! today's my last day here in europe. currently sitting in sis's kitchen here in london, typing away. it seems like yesterday when i bade my frens and family farewell, and got on that plane (not a very pleasant ride i rem) to start this crazy adventure. and here i am, six months later, eighteen countries conquered, countless more friends made, and a lifetime of adventures to be remembered.

i guess with every trip and experience, there are the highs and lows. living in a foreign place for four months, doing things that i never use to, like cooking everyday, doing my own laundry, cycling to school and shopping for grocery are things that im not sure if i will get to do again. maybe thats wat makes the memories even sweeter. travelling across the continent, visiting places that i always wanted to go and better still, places that i knew nothing about was one hell of a ride. the company was good, but let's just say that three isnt exactly the best number to travel in. when there's an odd number, someone's bound to feel left out, and it isnt the best feeling in the world. shrugs. still, i guess with all that i managed to see and do on this trip, i wouldnt have exchanged it for anything in the world, and i am glad to have embarked on this journey.

i should be posting the pictures and entries really soon, and im excited just thinking of reliving each and every of those moments.

see everyone back in singapore real soon! (: