too lazy to post about it... hehe... so i shall let the pictures do the talking!! enjoy~ :)
Kelvin
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Berlin Trip...
Ok.... this is a very very very long due post... haha... been kinda lazy lately... but well... going to take a flight 0620(gotta leave at 0400) so decided to just do this post in the mean time... LOL
Berlin Day 1 - 07/11/2007
We got to Berlin on Thursday night actually... but since it's night time... nothing much to do... our journey so essentially starts on Friday... We have saw quite a few flyers advertising about free Berlin tours... so we decided to try one of them out...
We went for the New Berlin tours... Before we left our hostel.. we met with this British guy who is giving a tour on Berlin too.. more indepth and there charges obviously... lol But oh well... we still decided to try out the New Berlin tours(though the people at the hostels seems to say that it's not a good one..)... Well, our tour guide for the New Berlin tour is an American..(with a German Girlfriend) and since he major in History... so he seems to be quite knowledgeable about the place...(well, he is a tour guide.. lol)
The whole tour starts off at the landmark of Berlin... the Brandenburg Gate...
Brandenburg Gate
One interesting thing from the tour guide... Since the Quadriga was won back from the Paris, there might be some hidden meaning that the square that the Goddess of Victory overlooks is called "Pariser Platz"...
Pariser Platz
Berlin Day 1 - 07/11/2007
We got to Berlin on Thursday night actually... but since it's night time... nothing much to do... our journey so essentially starts on Friday... We have saw quite a few flyers advertising about free Berlin tours... so we decided to try one of them out...
We went for the New Berlin tours... Before we left our hostel.. we met with this British guy who is giving a tour on Berlin too.. more indepth and there charges obviously... lol But oh well... we still decided to try out the New Berlin tours(though the people at the hostels seems to say that it's not a good one..)... Well, our tour guide for the New Berlin tour is an American..(with a German Girlfriend) and since he major in History... so he seems to be quite knowledgeable about the place...(well, he is a tour guide.. lol)
The whole tour starts off at the landmark of Berlin... the Brandenburg Gate...
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate at night
Quadriga (with Victoria, Goddess of Victory)
This gate was initially a symbol of peace, however, after the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon took the Quadriga(a statue of the goddess of Peace, Eirene, a winged woman driving a chariot drawn by four horses) to Paris, however, after his defeat in 1814 and the Prussian Parisian occupation by General Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin, and Viktoria's olive wreath exchanged for the Iron Cross, becoming goddess of victory. This symbol of peace became Victoria, the goddess of Victory by adding a Prussian eagle on an iron cross to her ensemble.
Quadriga (with Victoria, Goddess of Victory)One interesting thing from the tour guide... Since the Quadriga was won back from the Paris, there might be some hidden meaning that the square that the Goddess of Victory overlooks is called "Pariser Platz"...
Pariser PlatzSome interesting buildings around the Brandenburg Gate includes...
French Embassy (As if naming the square after Paris is not enuf.. =X)
Hotel Adlon... for all those who don't know.. this is the Hotel of the infamous incident where Michael Jackson did the 'baby-dangling' act... =X
French Embassy (As if naming the square after Paris is not enuf.. =X)
Hotel Adlon... for all those who don't know.. this is the Hotel of the infamous incident where Michael Jackson did the 'baby-dangling' act... =XAfter listening on the history of the Gate and some stories on the West/East Germany... we headed on to our next stop... a short walk to the Holocaust Memorial for the Jews...
Holocaust Memorial
The slabs undulate in a wave-like pattern. Each is a five-sided monolith, individually unique in shape and size. Some are only ankle high while others tower over visitors. The designer hoped to create a feeling of groundlessness and instability; a sense of disorientation and i would most certainly agree that he succeeded.
Next, we walked another short distance to Hitler's Bunker... Also known as the Führerbunker...
Führerbunker
Well, this place isn't very well signed and if there's no tour guide, i guess it'll be a little hard for us to find it... it is now actually (as u can see) just a car park... LOL, well apparently the Germans aren't proud of Hitler(thank god!) and they don't wish for Hitler to be celebrated in any sense... Well.... for one thing... the look on my German tutor changed when someone mention Hitler during German lesson... that shows their hate i guess...?
After that we continue to walk towards a place called Checkpoint Charlie.. but before that, we reach a section of the Old Berlin Wall... For those who don't know(HELLO? YOU FROM MARS?) it's the wall that separates East Berlin and West Berlin... well... Since During that time West Berlin was doing better than the East, Jarred(our tour guide) told us quite a few amusing stories about how people manage to use different methods to cross the wall to the other side... either for a better life or just to see their family..(alot of the Germans are separated from their family as the wall was erected)
Well, as the Berlin wall fell, people actually took pieces of the bricks to sell... and esp with increasing Tourism.. u can see people selling pieces of 'Berlin Wall' all around... and as our guide says... if u gather all the pieces that are on sale or sold... u can probably build 3 or 4 more Berlin walls.. LOL.. But...... i bought some too.. haha.. well, let's hope that's real!
but then again, the Real Berlin Wall pieces would contain Asbestos, used in cement for the wall... inhaling of that could cause serious illness... so have to make sure those bought are sealed carefully.. =X
The Berlin Wall
Ok finally, we are at Checkpoint Charlie... well... it's just one of the Checkpoint between East and West Germany... But well, it's a tourist attraction now... and i really mean it!! too touristy in my oppinion... and hell, they even employed a 'guard' to stand there.... for us to take photos? haha... Oh My Guanyinma~
"You are entering the American Sector!!" yeah right...
Oh someone guarding the post... May i ask you.... How much do you earn per hour? =X
Well... it started to kinda rain sometime around then... and things get a bit too cold... haha... next we went to the Bebelplatz.. it's best known as the site of the book burning ceremony held on May 10, 1933 by members of the S.A. ("brownshirts") and Nazi youth groups, on the instigation of the Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. The Nazis burned around 20,000 books, including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and many other authors. Today a glass plate set into the Bebelplatz, giving a view of empty bookcases, commemorates this event. Furthermore, a line of Heine is engraved, stating "Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen" (in English: "Where they burn books, they will also burn humans in the end")...
The plague that states the quote
Holocaust MemorialThe slabs undulate in a wave-like pattern. Each is a five-sided monolith, individually unique in shape and size. Some are only ankle high while others tower over visitors. The designer hoped to create a feeling of groundlessness and instability; a sense of disorientation and i would most certainly agree that he succeeded.
Next, we walked another short distance to Hitler's Bunker... Also known as the Führerbunker...
FührerbunkerWell, this place isn't very well signed and if there's no tour guide, i guess it'll be a little hard for us to find it... it is now actually (as u can see) just a car park... LOL, well apparently the Germans aren't proud of Hitler(thank god!) and they don't wish for Hitler to be celebrated in any sense... Well.... for one thing... the look on my German tutor changed when someone mention Hitler during German lesson... that shows their hate i guess...?
After that we continue to walk towards a place called Checkpoint Charlie.. but before that, we reach a section of the Old Berlin Wall... For those who don't know(HELLO? YOU FROM MARS?) it's the wall that separates East Berlin and West Berlin... well... Since During that time West Berlin was doing better than the East, Jarred(our tour guide) told us quite a few amusing stories about how people manage to use different methods to cross the wall to the other side... either for a better life or just to see their family..(alot of the Germans are separated from their family as the wall was erected)
Well, as the Berlin wall fell, people actually took pieces of the bricks to sell... and esp with increasing Tourism.. u can see people selling pieces of 'Berlin Wall' all around... and as our guide says... if u gather all the pieces that are on sale or sold... u can probably build 3 or 4 more Berlin walls.. LOL.. But...... i bought some too.. haha.. well, let's hope that's real!
but then again, the Real Berlin Wall pieces would contain Asbestos, used in cement for the wall... inhaling of that could cause serious illness... so have to make sure those bought are sealed carefully.. =X
The Berlin WallOk finally, we are at Checkpoint Charlie... well... it's just one of the Checkpoint between East and West Germany... But well, it's a tourist attraction now... and i really mean it!! too touristy in my oppinion... and hell, they even employed a 'guard' to stand there.... for us to take photos? haha... Oh My Guanyinma~
"You are entering the American Sector!!" yeah right...
Oh someone guarding the post... May i ask you.... How much do you earn per hour? =XWell... it started to kinda rain sometime around then... and things get a bit too cold... haha... next we went to the Bebelplatz.. it's best known as the site of the book burning ceremony held on May 10, 1933 by members of the S.A. ("brownshirts") and Nazi youth groups, on the instigation of the Propaganda Minister, Joseph Goebbels. The Nazis burned around 20,000 books, including works by Thomas Mann, Erich Maria Remarque, Heinrich Heine, Karl Marx and many other authors. Today a glass plate set into the Bebelplatz, giving a view of empty bookcases, commemorates this event. Furthermore, a line of Heine is engraved, stating "Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen" (in English: "Where they burn books, they will also burn humans in the end")...
The plague that states the quoteAfter that stop... Jarred brought us to the Museum Island where there's quite a few exhibition going on... and there's a few buildings that stood out like the Berliner Dome and the TV Tower(at a distance)... And he brought us to the side and told us a final story... lol... Well... we tipped him in the end... it's only right i guess... and i tot he did quite a good job..(even though the hostel people was like condemning this tour... LOL) maybe it's due to my shallow knowledge of Berlin... =X
Berlin day 2 - 08/11/2007
2nd day for Berlin trip... we planned to visit one of the concentration camp... the one we are going, with New Berlin Tours again.. is called Sachsenhausen concentration camp... And our tour guide for the day is a Swedish lady called Jessica...
Well most people would think of such camps as those extermination camps... however for this one, it is not the case... Sachsenhausen was not designed as a death camp—instead, the systematic mass murder of Jews was conducted primarily in camps to the east.
Home to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp...
Railroad to death? =X (Take note.. they have yellow box for smoking too!)
Berlin day 2 - 08/11/2007
2nd day for Berlin trip... we planned to visit one of the concentration camp... the one we are going, with New Berlin Tours again.. is called Sachsenhausen concentration camp... And our tour guide for the day is a Swedish lady called Jessica...
Well most people would think of such camps as those extermination camps... however for this one, it is not the case... Sachsenhausen was not designed as a death camp—instead, the systematic mass murder of Jews was conducted primarily in camps to the east.
Home to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp...
Railroad to death? =X (Take note.. they have yellow box for smoking too!)On the front entrance gates to Sachsenhausen is the infamous slogan Arbeit Macht Frei (German: "Work Makes [You] Free"). About 200,000 people passed through Sachsenhausen between 1936 and 1945. Some 100,000 inmates died there from exhaustion, disease, malnutrition or pneumonia from the freezing cold.
The tour to this concentration camp was quite a good one.. especially that i felt our guide jessica, was very emotional when it comes to explaining the stuffs... though sometimes u can feel sarcastic remarks.. but well.. as what she said as a parting speech, that we should all take this as a lesson and never let history repeats itself...
After visiting the camp, we went to visit the Reichstag, or German Parliament House... This is the exact place where Hitler manage to gain power from the Reichstag fire in 1933...
Today, there's a glass dome over the plenary hall. The dome overlooks the debating chamber for the Bundestag and a central mirrored cone draws light into the plenary chamber... well, quite a nice structure... and after a long long queue to get into the reichstag... we walked to the tp.. where we saw that there is nothing much.. LOL and came back down for photos... but, the Reichstag is definitely a maginificient building that is worth the visit... :)
Berlin day 3 - 11/11/2007
We were a bit tired from the last 2 days.... and i was feeling damn lerthagic... haha! and well.. when we woke up.. it started to snow... seeing the cold weather... we decided to tkae it easy today... and just laze around Berlin.. ehhe! Well, to summarise... we really slack the whole day... haha... walk around a bit... search for food.. just trying to explore the part of the city we haven't went to b4... =X
Well then.... finally finished this post... haha!!! it's almost time!!! shall go prepare le... hope i get to see Northern lights!!!! :D
Wish me luck!!! May Guan yin Ma Bless me~
Kelvin
The tour to this concentration camp was quite a good one.. especially that i felt our guide jessica, was very emotional when it comes to explaining the stuffs... though sometimes u can feel sarcastic remarks.. but well.. as what she said as a parting speech, that we should all take this as a lesson and never let history repeats itself...
After visiting the camp, we went to visit the Reichstag, or German Parliament House... This is the exact place where Hitler manage to gain power from the Reichstag fire in 1933...
Today, there's a glass dome over the plenary hall. The dome overlooks the debating chamber for the Bundestag and a central mirrored cone draws light into the plenary chamber... well, quite a nice structure... and after a long long queue to get into the reichstag... we walked to the tp.. where we saw that there is nothing much.. LOL and came back down for photos... but, the Reichstag is definitely a maginificient building that is worth the visit... :)
Berlin day 3 - 11/11/2007
We were a bit tired from the last 2 days.... and i was feeling damn lerthagic... haha! and well.. when we woke up.. it started to snow... seeing the cold weather... we decided to tkae it easy today... and just laze around Berlin.. ehhe! Well, to summarise... we really slack the whole day... haha... walk around a bit... search for food.. just trying to explore the part of the city we haven't went to b4... =X
Well then.... finally finished this post... haha!!! it's almost time!!! shall go prepare le... hope i get to see Northern lights!!!! :D
Wish me luck!!! May Guan yin Ma Bless me~
Kelvin
Friday, November 30, 2007
Home Sickness...
Well.. i guess it's time for me to feel homesick.. haha... as i've told some of my friends... i always thought i'll not get home sick at all.. but apparently it's kicking in a bit now.. not alot though... just that at times.. i will haev this feeling of nostalgia...
well.. so what do i miss?? 1stly of cos, family and friends.. quite miss the familiar faces that i get to see at home.. the familiar places, familiar routes, familiar voices...
2ndly... language... well, probably MOE wouldn't be happy to hear this.. but.. i miss SINGLISH... yeah i sure do speak singlish to my singapore friends here... but i guess it's just the common usage of it that i miss... everytime when u meet european friends (or other nationailty), we have to speak in English.. so yeah... it'll be great to be able to speak Singlish..(i was so happy when i realised there' other NTU ppl here.. haha)
and not to forget.. the foooooooood! haha... yes i miss all the unhealthy food in singapore! lol, seems like i'm having healthier food here(since brocoli etc is cheap)... but recently been cooking alone and.. quite a few unhealthy food i made... here's example.. :)
baked spaghetti... tasted quite nice to me actually..hehe :)
Fried rice~~ hehe... with vege ok!
Another fried rice.. with potato salad... and fruits!! healthy ok.. =X
well.. so what do i miss?? 1stly of cos, family and friends.. quite miss the familiar faces that i get to see at home.. the familiar places, familiar routes, familiar voices...
2ndly... language... well, probably MOE wouldn't be happy to hear this.. but.. i miss SINGLISH... yeah i sure do speak singlish to my singapore friends here... but i guess it's just the common usage of it that i miss... everytime when u meet european friends (or other nationailty), we have to speak in English.. so yeah... it'll be great to be able to speak Singlish..(i was so happy when i realised there' other NTU ppl here.. haha)
and not to forget.. the foooooooood! haha... yes i miss all the unhealthy food in singapore! lol, seems like i'm having healthier food here(since brocoli etc is cheap)... but recently been cooking alone and.. quite a few unhealthy food i made... here's example.. :)
baked spaghetti... tasted quite nice to me actually..hehe :)
Fried rice~~ hehe... with vege ok!
Another fried rice.. with potato salad... and fruits!! healthy ok.. =XIt might be ironical to say this... but sometimes, i felt like i miss NUS... LOL it even feels weird to say that! haha.. ok.. that's all.. Berlin post will be up asap...
Kelvin
Kelvin
Sunday, November 25, 2007
TREKKIE MONSTER!!
haha i know... but i'm just so hooked on Avenue Q that i have to make another post on it... did a search on you tube and got this hilarious video on an interview with Trekkie monster... :)
Kelvin
Kelvin
Friday, November 16, 2007
UK Trip...
Hey guys.. sorry for the late update...(yeah.. very late...) been quite tired lately so kinda lazy to update... anyway... here's the updates for my UK trip... Berlin one coming right after~ :)
1st Nov 2007, Thursday, Cph -> London
Finally is the trip to London... well i guess London needs not much introduction, most people would know a fair bit about the City... But anyway, just in case.. London is the Capital of UK... LOL, for more information just click on this!
Took an easyjet flight over... Easyjet is a budget airline based in the UK... the air tics was quite cheap, cost less than S$150, quite a good bargain i would say... but unfortunately, unlike the UK, there are very limited budget airlines in Denmark or the Scandinavian region... so... flights around here are pretty expensive... sigh...
It was an ok flight, about 1 plus hours journey so nothing much for me to complain also... haha! Arrived at London Stanstead Airport and was supposed to take a bus into the Central London... but the bus was late... so waited for quite sometime...
Met up with Zico and Daryl for dinner after that... went to a place called "Hare and Tortoise" for dinner... Finally after so long.. some decent Asian Cuisine!! haha... it wasn't really cheap.. 5 pounds for a bowl of laksa, but i must say it tasted quite nice(after so many months of absence of good spicy food) and relatively cheap...
Due to the stupid bus delay, everything ended kinda late and i slept(after playing 2 rounds of 5v5 AI dota map) on the couch... :(
But anyway... long day tomorrow so better just have a good rest ba........
2nd Nov 2007, Friday, London
1st stop... Tower of London... well, one thing about this trip.. i didn't do much research about it... hehe... cos it's Anthony's turn to plan so i decided to just.. tag along~ :)
So, my 1st impression of Tower of London... yes, a Tower... so i was kinda surprised to find out that it's actually a Palace/Fortress/Prison! lol...
Tower of London Entrance
Tower of London from the Side...
Within the Tower of London, there are places like the Jewel House where the Crown Jewels are... The Queen's House, built by Henry VIII Ann Boleyn, who was soon afterwards beheaded.... =X The White Tower, a central tower at the Tower of London built by William the Conqueror. Also the most prominent and most commonly icon used to represent the Tower of London... There's also some interesting names of places like the Traitor's Gate and the Bloody Tower... It is also interesting to note that Tower of London is also a prison and hence, there are torturing chambers within this complex... in fact.. the old torturing chamber have been renovated and changed into the gift shop now... LOL =X
We followed the Yeoman Warden Guided Tour.. it wasn't a very long tour.. maybe 40mins to an hour? It was quite informative, however maybe it's due to my bad English, i find it hard to catch the UK accent... lol so in fact, i only maybe caught 60 to 70% of what the guide says........ =X
One of the special things about this Tower of London is that you can see Ravens there... The look very similar to a crow, just that they are much much much bigger... lol.. in fact when i 1st saw it, i was in awe... wondering how come crows in London is SOOOOO BIG... lol
According to the Welsh Triads, Bran the Blessed (Welsh: Bendigeidfran, literally "Blessed Crow" head was buried in London where the White Tower now stands. As long as it remained there, Britain would be safe from invasion. It is usually linked to the still-current practice of keeping ravens at the Tower of London under the care of Yeomen Warder Ravenmaster, and with this story of Bran, whose name means Raven.
After the not too long visit to Tower of London, we met up with Kaiting as he said he will be bringing us around London today... Lunch was at a Korean Restaurant which he had reserved seats at... food isn't too bad, quite nice but it cost quite a bit.. but ok la.. at least you are paying for decent food.. not like Norway... =X
After Lunch, we made a short visit to the British Museum... and i really mean short... haha... didn't really have the time to go through any of the exhibit... so.. all i can say... the interior looks nice... LOL =X
Due to the lack of time... most of the places we went are kinda touch and go.. LOL... anyway, we visited places like......
Piccadily Circus...
Trafalgar's Square...
(Feel like you are playing Monopoly?!?! lol)
Nelson Column in Trafalgar's square... there's 4 lions guarding it... and erm... can't see the whole column... hehe
Here's the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square..
British Museum... didn't really get to visit the exhibit... it's more like a touch and go here... =X
Me and Ant at China town!! see the gate behind? good place to eat Asian food and get all the chinese condiments u need!!! damn... why don't they have one in Copenhagen.. :(
Red telephone booth..(standard London icon.. lol)
Me at Kaiting with London Eye behind... Didn't go sit on it though... one full ride think will take 30 mins.. dun have the time la...
Tube station in London... The call it the Underground.... I find that it is very similar to what we have in SG... i guess we kinda take London as a model...Since we have so many scholars going to London to study every year...... well for instance... they have a very much developed CIRCLE LINE... =X
And of course... not forgetting, London's House of Parliament..
The tall tower by the side is the Famous Big Ben....
After walking around London, 'touching and go' the various famous landmarks of London.... we hurried on to The Noël Coward Theatre to catch the Musicial, "Avenue Q"..
Well, the description was quite true... it's really a hilarious Comedy and the story line i thought, was quite nice... well it's quite a provocative Musical... with topics like racial discrimination and sexuality(gay)... with taglines like.. "it sucks to be me", "everyone's a little racist" and "If you were gay"... well, take it as a light hearted comedy and it really makes u laugh your guts out... lol
Oh, and not to forget... it has sexual explicit scenes.... imagine... sex on the stage... BUT... it's puppet sex... =X
so here's a few clip i manage to find on youtube... quite like the song "for now" haha... funny and comforting... =X Have fun~
Inside the Theater... with the large background...
The seating... we are on the 2nd floor...
Video : It Sucks to be Me...
Video: Everyone's a little bit racist
Video: The internet is for porn... (Yes, alot of you should have seen the popular Youtube cartoon video.. yes it's from this Musical..)
Video: If you were gay
Video: For now...
ok... so that's alot of video... haha... sorry but i liked it alot la.. =X
Anyway, after the Musical...(i just can't get enough of it!) we went to eat the famous four seasons duck...
Well.. it is not bad... but maybe my taste buds aren't that sensitive... didn't feel that it is really THAT incredible... =X
well.. after this long day... we went back pack our things and head for Cambridge... taking a night train over and will be staying with Kaiting for the stay...
3rd Nov 2007, Saturday, Cambridge
Cambridge train station... hehe...
Well.. Why are we here? needless to say... to tour the world famous Cambridge University... since Kaiting is studying here.. we got free lodging!! and free tour guide of course! haha... :)
I must say... Cambridge is a very beautiful town... with very old and nice looking buildings around..(check out the colleges!! haha) well, we stayed for 1 day.. which i thought is a good choice cos 2 or more days would make it seem boring...hehe
Well, Kaiting planned the itenary.. and we just followed him... he gave us a short tour around his college(Homerton College) and we attended a Maths lecture... well, i concussed maybe about... 15 mins into the lecture? haha.. =X it was an interesting experience though...
After that he brought us on a tour to the various colleges of Cambridge... more famous are the King's College, Trinity College (Where our PM is from) and St John's College...
Oh.. we also did Punting after Lunch...
It was quite fun... since it's my 1st time.. haha.. Kaiting Punted 1st and after that we took turns to try... it's quite tiring!!though it does seems easy...
Some interesting things along Cambridge River.... The Bridge of Sighs... it got its name as this is used to be the bridge the students would take to receive their results... how apt! haha
King's College
King's College Entrance
St John's College
Trinity College
Trinity College Courtyard
I must say... The colleges are really very impressive... it's really beautiful and the structures are very amazing... When Bingjia said he went to Cambridge when he went London, i asked him why... now i know why... haha!
After the tour around Cambridge... we hurried back to Kaiting's place where we get dressed up for the Formal... It's a traditional meal held at some of the older universities in the United Kingdom at which students dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine... well... i seldom dress up so formally so it's quite a nice experience... though i do prefer to have casual dinners... LOL
Well as tradition.. we had wine...(damn cheap!!) and as usual.. i turned red... sigh... :(
Had quite alot of fun there... it was indeed a good experience... dining at the harry Potter like style table... haha... oh and also wearing the Cambridge gown... and taking photos as if it was ours... =X
Well.. the night ended with... DOTA... yeah... it's kinda lame i know.. but oh well.. it's been sometime and i guess i'm all high from the wine... hehe...
4th Nov 2007, Sunday, London
Well... after the night of DOTA... we deciding to take the 1st train back to London... as Kaiting had went to sleep... we left after leaving a note... i tot it was kinda rude... but well... i hope he doesn't mind..(i think he wont'...=x)
After one whole night of DOTA... i cannot tahan le.. so i slept thru the whole of Sunday... yes.. i'm seriously.. i wasted 1 day of my holidays sleeping!!! =/
but oh well.. went to meet Daryl for dinner at Covent garden..(i always tot it's Kovan garden... LOL) where we had Fish and Chips... how can come London never eat that right?!?! haha... well.. it's not bad... and for a very reasonable price too! :)
5th Nov 2007, Monday, London
Well.. not much plans today... but decided to go to watch the Change of Guards Parade at Buckingham Palace... another trademark of London.... It's damn crowded la... didn't really get to see much... mostly only see heads and more heads... LOL... so... i guess... it's ok loh... =X
After the COG... we had a little more time.. so we decided to walk to the Tower Bridge... since we only took photos of it from far.. now we shall step on it!! haha
Well, after that... we don't have much time left so we left for the airport to take the plane back... to Copenhagen...
It was a fun trip.. i've seen the beautiful buildings... seen the major landmarks of London... watched a very nice Musical..(which makes me want more!!!) Seen the Monopoly like places.... it was really a great experience... and someday.. i won't mind visiting England again.. maybe other city next time! :)
Kelvin
1st Nov 2007, Thursday, Cph -> London
Finally is the trip to London... well i guess London needs not much introduction, most people would know a fair bit about the City... But anyway, just in case.. London is the Capital of UK... LOL, for more information just click on this!
Took an easyjet flight over... Easyjet is a budget airline based in the UK... the air tics was quite cheap, cost less than S$150, quite a good bargain i would say... but unfortunately, unlike the UK, there are very limited budget airlines in Denmark or the Scandinavian region... so... flights around here are pretty expensive... sigh...
It was an ok flight, about 1 plus hours journey so nothing much for me to complain also... haha! Arrived at London Stanstead Airport and was supposed to take a bus into the Central London... but the bus was late... so waited for quite sometime...
Met up with Zico and Daryl for dinner after that... went to a place called "Hare and Tortoise" for dinner... Finally after so long.. some decent Asian Cuisine!! haha... it wasn't really cheap.. 5 pounds for a bowl of laksa, but i must say it tasted quite nice(after so many months of absence of good spicy food) and relatively cheap...
Due to the stupid bus delay, everything ended kinda late and i slept(after playing 2 rounds of 5v5 AI dota map) on the couch... :(
But anyway... long day tomorrow so better just have a good rest ba........
2nd Nov 2007, Friday, London
1st stop... Tower of London... well, one thing about this trip.. i didn't do much research about it... hehe... cos it's Anthony's turn to plan so i decided to just.. tag along~ :)
So, my 1st impression of Tower of London... yes, a Tower... so i was kinda surprised to find out that it's actually a Palace/Fortress/Prison! lol...
Tower of London Entrance
Tower of London from the Side...
Within the Tower of London, there are places like the Jewel House where the Crown Jewels are... The Queen's House, built by Henry VIII Ann Boleyn, who was soon afterwards beheaded.... =X The White Tower, a central tower at the Tower of London built by William the Conqueror. Also the most prominent and most commonly icon used to represent the Tower of London... There's also some interesting names of places like the Traitor's Gate and the Bloody Tower... It is also interesting to note that Tower of London is also a prison and hence, there are torturing chambers within this complex... in fact.. the old torturing chamber have been renovated and changed into the gift shop now... LOL =X
We followed the Yeoman Warden Guided Tour.. it wasn't a very long tour.. maybe 40mins to an hour? It was quite informative, however maybe it's due to my bad English, i find it hard to catch the UK accent... lol so in fact, i only maybe caught 60 to 70% of what the guide says........ =X
One of the special things about this Tower of London is that you can see Ravens there... The look very similar to a crow, just that they are much much much bigger... lol.. in fact when i 1st saw it, i was in awe... wondering how come crows in London is SOOOOO BIG... lol
According to the Welsh Triads, Bran the Blessed (Welsh: Bendigeidfran, literally "Blessed Crow" head was buried in London where the White Tower now stands. As long as it remained there, Britain would be safe from invasion. It is usually linked to the still-current practice of keeping ravens at the Tower of London under the care of Yeomen Warder Ravenmaster, and with this story of Bran, whose name means Raven.
After the not too long visit to Tower of London, we met up with Kaiting as he said he will be bringing us around London today... Lunch was at a Korean Restaurant which he had reserved seats at... food isn't too bad, quite nice but it cost quite a bit.. but ok la.. at least you are paying for decent food.. not like Norway... =X
After Lunch, we made a short visit to the British Museum... and i really mean short... haha... didn't really have the time to go through any of the exhibit... so.. all i can say... the interior looks nice... LOL =X
Due to the lack of time... most of the places we went are kinda touch and go.. LOL... anyway, we visited places like......
Piccadily Circus...
Trafalgar's Square...
(Feel like you are playing Monopoly?!?! lol)
Nelson Column in Trafalgar's square... there's 4 lions guarding it... and erm... can't see the whole column... hehe
Here's the Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square..
British Museum... didn't really get to visit the exhibit... it's more like a touch and go here... =X
Me and Ant at China town!! see the gate behind? good place to eat Asian food and get all the chinese condiments u need!!! damn... why don't they have one in Copenhagen.. :(
Red telephone booth..(standard London icon.. lol)
Me at Kaiting with London Eye behind... Didn't go sit on it though... one full ride think will take 30 mins.. dun have the time la...
Tube station in London... The call it the Underground.... I find that it is very similar to what we have in SG... i guess we kinda take London as a model...Since we have so many scholars going to London to study every year...... well for instance... they have a very much developed CIRCLE LINE... =X
And of course... not forgetting, London's House of Parliament..
The tall tower by the side is the Famous Big Ben....
After walking around London, 'touching and go' the various famous landmarks of London.... we hurried on to The Noël Coward Theatre to catch the Musicial, "Avenue Q"..
THE AVENUE Q STORY.
LIFE MAY SUCK ON AVENUE Q, but for a bright-eyed college graduate called Princeton, this is his new neighbourhood. A tiny bank balance and a variety of weird and wonderful friends and neighbours lead Princeton on a hilarious journey of self-discovery. Performed by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets(!), AVENUE Q was the winner of the 2004 TONY AWARD® for BEST NEW MUSICAL, BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE!.
Well, the description was quite true... it's really a hilarious Comedy and the story line i thought, was quite nice... well it's quite a provocative Musical... with topics like racial discrimination and sexuality(gay)... with taglines like.. "it sucks to be me", "everyone's a little racist" and "If you were gay"... well, take it as a light hearted comedy and it really makes u laugh your guts out... lol
Oh, and not to forget... it has sexual explicit scenes.... imagine... sex on the stage... BUT... it's puppet sex... =X
so here's a few clip i manage to find on youtube... quite like the song "for now" haha... funny and comforting... =X Have fun~
Inside the Theater... with the large background...
The seating... we are on the 2nd floor...
Video : It Sucks to be Me...
Video: Everyone's a little bit racist
Video: The internet is for porn... (Yes, alot of you should have seen the popular Youtube cartoon video.. yes it's from this Musical..)
Video: If you were gay
Video: For now...
ok... so that's alot of video... haha... sorry but i liked it alot la.. =X
Anyway, after the Musical...(i just can't get enough of it!) we went to eat the famous four seasons duck...
Well.. it is not bad... but maybe my taste buds aren't that sensitive... didn't feel that it is really THAT incredible... =X
well.. after this long day... we went back pack our things and head for Cambridge... taking a night train over and will be staying with Kaiting for the stay...
3rd Nov 2007, Saturday, Cambridge
Cambridge train station... hehe...
Well.. Why are we here? needless to say... to tour the world famous Cambridge University... since Kaiting is studying here.. we got free lodging!! and free tour guide of course! haha... :)
I must say... Cambridge is a very beautiful town... with very old and nice looking buildings around..(check out the colleges!! haha) well, we stayed for 1 day.. which i thought is a good choice cos 2 or more days would make it seem boring...hehe
Well, Kaiting planned the itenary.. and we just followed him... he gave us a short tour around his college(Homerton College) and we attended a Maths lecture... well, i concussed maybe about... 15 mins into the lecture? haha.. =X it was an interesting experience though...
After that he brought us on a tour to the various colleges of Cambridge... more famous are the King's College, Trinity College (Where our PM is from) and St John's College...
Oh.. we also did Punting after Lunch...
A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole.
It was quite fun... since it's my 1st time.. haha.. Kaiting Punted 1st and after that we took turns to try... it's quite tiring!!though it does seems easy...
Some interesting things along Cambridge River.... The Bridge of Sighs... it got its name as this is used to be the bridge the students would take to receive their results... how apt! haha
King's College
King's College Entrance
St John's College
Trinity College
Trinity College CourtyardI must say... The colleges are really very impressive... it's really beautiful and the structures are very amazing... When Bingjia said he went to Cambridge when he went London, i asked him why... now i know why... haha!
After the tour around Cambridge... we hurried back to Kaiting's place where we get dressed up for the Formal... It's a traditional meal held at some of the older universities in the United Kingdom at which students dress in formal attire and often gowns to dine... well... i seldom dress up so formally so it's quite a nice experience... though i do prefer to have casual dinners... LOL
Well as tradition.. we had wine...(damn cheap!!) and as usual.. i turned red... sigh... :(
Had quite alot of fun there... it was indeed a good experience... dining at the harry Potter like style table... haha... oh and also wearing the Cambridge gown... and taking photos as if it was ours... =X
Well.. the night ended with... DOTA... yeah... it's kinda lame i know.. but oh well.. it's been sometime and i guess i'm all high from the wine... hehe...
4th Nov 2007, Sunday, London
Well... after the night of DOTA... we deciding to take the 1st train back to London... as Kaiting had went to sleep... we left after leaving a note... i tot it was kinda rude... but well... i hope he doesn't mind..(i think he wont'...=x)
After one whole night of DOTA... i cannot tahan le.. so i slept thru the whole of Sunday... yes.. i'm seriously.. i wasted 1 day of my holidays sleeping!!! =/
but oh well.. went to meet Daryl for dinner at Covent garden..(i always tot it's Kovan garden... LOL) where we had Fish and Chips... how can come London never eat that right?!?! haha... well.. it's not bad... and for a very reasonable price too! :)
5th Nov 2007, Monday, London
Well.. not much plans today... but decided to go to watch the Change of Guards Parade at Buckingham Palace... another trademark of London.... It's damn crowded la... didn't really get to see much... mostly only see heads and more heads... LOL... so... i guess... it's ok loh... =X
After the COG... we had a little more time.. so we decided to walk to the Tower Bridge... since we only took photos of it from far.. now we shall step on it!! haha
Well, after that... we don't have much time left so we left for the airport to take the plane back... to Copenhagen...
It was a fun trip.. i've seen the beautiful buildings... seen the major landmarks of London... watched a very nice Musical..(which makes me want more!!!) Seen the Monopoly like places.... it was really a great experience... and someday.. i won't mind visiting England again.. maybe other city next time! :)
Kelvin
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
ZeitGeist
Was just watching a few documentaries... Fahrenheit 9/11... then this... Zeitgeist Movie... It presented some really interesting perspective of the 9/11 incident and various other issues... including religion... well i must say, it come with a very strong opinion... so if u guys decided to watch it, watch it with an open mind... and maybe... do some thinking after that to judge for yourself, which u think are acceptable and which aren't...
personally, i find it a bit too extreme towards the end... haha...
here's the webbie! http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
Regarding my tour post... will be updating it this weekend... hehe~
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace..."
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!"
Kelvin
personally, i find it a bit too extreme towards the end... haha...
here's the webbie! http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/
Regarding my tour post... will be updating it this weekend... hehe~
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace..."
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely!"
Kelvin
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Scandinavia (Almost all of it...) Adventures... 2/2
16th Oct 2007, Tuesday, Narvik -> Fauske
Only have about half a day in Narvik today... so main aim today is to do some trekking up the longer mountain trails up Fagernesfjell... But before that... we have to go for our FREE breakfast!! haha... well, to my pleasant surprise.. the breakfast was very good... it's quite like those breakfast you will have at hotels(Narvik HI Hostel shares the same building as another hotel...) except the fact that there are no waitress around to serve you and you have to clear your own plates... but that's ok... the most important thing is.. the breakfast was good.. haha! bread with ham and cheese... and also scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon... :D
Along the upward urban trek... we can across the mountain cable car..(which is closed sadly...) and a school... kids here must be damn healthy... have to climb the hill everyday... lol =X
due to the absence of exercise for so long... i was quite tired after that short climb... :(
On the way up...
Narvik School!
With the climb... my body got heated up and for the 1st time after so long.. i sweat!!! wahahahah... well, i remember reading somewhere regarding the gulf stream that keeps Narvik's temperature from plunging down(despite it's high latitude)... Anywayz, after reaching the top of the trails, we took a short rest and i suggested to continue on further in... that's when it becomes more like trekking.. haha! well it's kinda muddy all around...
the muddy road up...
After sometime... i was thinking it's not really quite safe to continue... the terrain is changing and there appears to be more big rocks and alot of grass which is seemingly harmless, but actually are hiding large holes which you can fall into... so i decided to turn back... However, manage to take a few picture while i'm up there.. :)
Halfway up...
At the end of my trek..
Mountain side view...
After the trek.. we made our way down...(me almost losing my way... wahahahah) Well, glad that there's no accident this time.. =X quite an interesting trek.. though it was a really really short one... but at least have a bit of fun la.. hehe~~
On our way back to the bus station... we drop by the Tourist information to see if we can get hold on any nice postcards... when we are there, the very helpful lady was talking to us and she intro us to this Norwegian version of 'dried fish', seems similar to our salted fish... when she took one out.. it really smells.. haha... but according to her, if water is added to it, it'll expand and it's colour will change from brown to those kind of white colour we see in cooked fish... interesting eh?? haha.. she didn't add water to it though... it is expensive.. =X
While waiting for the bus... we went to explore areas around the bus station.. and came across this large pyramid shaped silvery thing... was wondering what it is.. but there's a plate at the bottom.. with words written in the opposite way..(ie: when seen from the reflective silvery thing, you can then see what is written) On it is was written "For Fred og Frihet" 1st thing i thought was this is for some person called Fred of something... haha.. but with the help of the translation tool, it actually meant "For Peace and Freedom"... well it suddenly make sense... since Narvik was actually conquered by the Nazis during WWII...
Anyway, we are taking bus to Fauske... somehow this bus ride reminds me of those i took in China, where the driver will be practically driving in a totally dark road at times... at high speeds... lol... Deja vu eh? =X... one interesting thing would be that to get from Narvik to Fauske, the bus actually took a ferry... lol, yeah was quite surprised cos didn't expect it.... was kinda shocked when i see the bus enter the ferry...(wondering where they taking me to sell.. LOL =X)
The bus took us to Fauske.. where we waited about 30 mins for the train to Trondheim to come...
17th Oct 2007, Wednesday, Fauske -> Hell -> Trondheim
From Fauskem we took a train heading towards Trondheim.. however we will be stopping enroute at Hell... yeah.. i mean it... Hell.. i'm going to Hell.. =X
just stopping by for the novelty of it... it's a rather small town... with only a population of 352... lol... Click here for more information on Hell! ok i'm joking... it's here la...
The train ride to Hell was a tedious one.. cos it takes 8+ hours.. and unlink the Kiruna train ride... we don't have a couchette... meaning we have to seat for 8+ hours... damn shagged... :(
Next stop, Trondheim! Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway... After Oslo and Bergen... It used to be the Capital of Norway and was founded by the Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997. It is famous for being a Harbour... and also for being rainy...
In fact, it rained pretty much the whole day when we are there... so it's quite... demoralising.. lol... but well.. we still managed to do a bit of exploring...
1st stop, the Old town gate... Locals refer to it as the "Bridge of Happiness" and claim that your dreams will come true if you wish for them fervently as you walk across it... yeah i did make a wish...........
ok i lied.. i made alot of wishes... wahahahaha!
Old town Bridge...
However, the wind was strong, and the rain was beating on my face... quite a bad experience... haha... so hurriedly we walked across the bridge to see the Bicycle lift...
Well... as most of you guys can guess... no one actually use it... haha.. just too expensive to use la...(even for the Norwegian) People tend to just get down and push their bicycle up... =X
Our next stop, the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Cathedral... However, enroute we pass by the Thomas Angell's Hus. It was originally built in 1770, and extensively restored according to its original design in 1903, this was conceived as a retirement home for indigent widows. Later, its venue was expanded to allow widows to cohabit with well-recommended widowers outside the bounds of traditional marriages -- a liberal 19th-century trend of which many Trondheimers seem appropriately proud. There's a pleasant garden in the building's interior courtyard, but hours of visitation are erratic(according to online sources) and we are lucky that the gate was unlocked when we are there... haha... just really a stroke of luck.. but well, it's not really something that is so magnificent anyway.. =X
Continuing with our tour... we head on to the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Catherdal. It is quite a magnificent Cathedral, and i have to say that it is the most grand one i've seen so far... It is also said to be Scandinavia's largest medieval Church... If you think the exterior looks grand enough, wait till you enter and see the interior... it's astonishing... haha... i would have went for a guided tour(which cost money) to fully understand this Cathedral... However, as there is a Funeral going on later... all tours are cancelled that day.... sigh............
Nidaros Domkirke
Nidaros Domkirke(Side)
The West Front... click for more info
After the breath taking self tour on the Nidaros Domkirke, we carry on to the Torvet, Trondheim's most prominent traffic circle... in the middle stands the Trondheim Torg, a soaring granite column. At its top stands a statue Olaf Tryggvason, founder of Trondheim. Markings on the pavement, tracking the seasonal direction of the sun, define the column on which he stands as the world's largest sundial...
Trondheim Torg
After seeing the viking king...(ok i can't see him cos he's too high up there... -.-)
we continued to the fish market for some salmon burger~~ haha... the burger was pretty nice and fresh... but it's texture felt like fish cake like texture... so i guess something was added... but well, it's pretty cheap.. 55NOK... quite rare in Norway... lol!
That sort of ended our Trondheim trip... the rain is still going on... and we are waiting for the next train... towards Bergen!!
The train we are taking will be an overnight train... and there are no couchette left... only Sleepers... cost quite alot.. :( but well... it was quite high class la... still got key card one... well on the bright side... i had a god night's sleep after sometime... :)
18th Oct 2007, Thursday, Trondheim -> Bergen
Met with Chiao Luan and Weixian (CL & WX) in Bergen... Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norwaym after Oslo... Bergen is famous for being the gateway city to the Norwegian Fjord... indeed, we are here for the Fjords! haha...
We waited at the Station for a while... cos it's cold outside and you can only check in at 9am.... lol... but well, after we reach the hostel, it seems that we have to wait till 12pm b4 we can check in as the previous tenants have not checked out yet... :(
So we decided to just visit the Tourist office to see where we can go 1st... This Tourist information is rather large(as compared those in Narvik etc)... The lady recommended us some places to go and that got us started for our journey of the day... Our 1st stop is the Bergenhus fortress, enroute we will pass by(as said by the tourist officer) some 18th century wooden houses... and some careful observation would reveal that some of the houses seems kinda crooked and doesn't seem all that steady... haah! but i'm sure it's safe...*cross fingers* =X
The Bergenhus Fortress seems like quite a nice place... some of the buildings are built during the 1200s, but most of those that we see are actually built during the 19th century... well, along the way we saw a lot of kids(seems like kindergarten age...) they seem to be on excurison... and it's quite funny to see a whole group walking along the streets... haha..(with a few teachers of course) Anyway, we saw them at one of the open field in Bergenhus Fortress... kinda nice eh... miss excursions? =X
Next stop, St Mary Church, as recommended by the tourist office... When we 1st got there... we were kinda disappointed... cos in contrast to the Trondheim Cathedral... it kinda pales in comparison... haha... but well... this building is from the 12th century and is Bergen's oldest building... so.. not as grand.. but you can feel the difference after you enter the church...
After visiting these few places, we went back to our hostels to check in.. and we bought some tuna and decided to have lunch back in our hostels... and that's when we realize... the hostel give free tea!!! wahahahaha... being the typical Singaporeans... all of us had our fair share of FREE stuffs.. :)
Next stop, the Fantoft Stave Church... Saw pictures of this church quite frequently... from magnets to post cards... so i think it should be quite a famous Church... This Church is very different from the few i have seen... it kinda don't look very Caucasian... haha.. and one of them commented that it looked kinda Thai actually.. lol the original Church was built in 1150 and was moved to Fantoft(hence the name) during the 1800s and was burnt down in 1992 and finally rebuilt(an exact replica) in 1997...
We were kinda lost at the start... kinda went the wrong way... and wandered into someone's yard...(lucky we were not prosecuted! haha...)
Did a bit of running around to take photos from different angle.. and being the curious me.. i actually climbed to the other side to see if i can get a better angle.. which well.. it's kinda blocked by trees... haha...
Stave Church
Way back...
After visiting the Stave Church, we took a bus back to the city... and started to climb up Mount Floyen...
the journey up was another tiring uphill climb... (what's with so much climbing.. haha) Kinda similar to Narvik... just that this mountain has more developed pathway up... there's this tram that goes up the mountain(like Hong Kong's Peak...), but we decided to walk up and take the Tram down... Along the way... as we got higher.. we get to see better view of Bergen... it was a nice view really...
Halfway thru...
When we finally reach the top.. view was quite stunning!!(and cold!!!! brrrr) like the view there.. especially when we are there at almost sunset... nice... haha... can see alot of joggers there too... seems like people here will also be very healthy eh..
We also saw a playground at the top... and me and CL decided to try some childhood fun! haha.. swing~~~~ it really feels different swinging at mountain top... looking at the sky... feeling the coolness(or coldness)... so niceeee.... :)
After that.. we took a tram down... and yeah.. it's dinner time!!! However, the things here seem to be pretty expensive...(ok it's ex everywhere in Norway..) and we manage to find a shop with... well, reasonable pricing... we decided to try... the fish!! haha.. i had fried Salmon.. and yes it's delicious... haha... CL and Ant had cod fish and apparently it is very very salty... CL ended eating it with sugar.. =X
Here's the pic.. they looks nice though.. =X
18th-19th Oct 2007, Thursday/Friday, Bergen -> Flåm -> Voss
We left Bergen in the early morning for Flåm... Flåm is situated at the inner end of Aurlandfjord... To get to Flåm, we have to take the Flåmsbana... The line is 20.2 km long. The top station Myrdal is 865 metres above sea level, while Flåm is by the fjord at sea level. In order to manage the climb up the mountainside, the line twists and turns and has twenty tunnels to gain altitude; even so, the steepest incline of the railway is 1:18, the third steepest adhesion railway in the World. Like most of the other operational railway lines in Norway, Flåmsbana is a standard gauge (1435 mm) railway and electrified.
The scenery at Flåm is really amazing... haha... i didn't think it would be that good... and well i guess i'm wrong... coupled with the bright and sunny weather... even when i look at the pictures now.. i really felt that it stood out so much!!
Stunningly beautiful
I really liked the photos taken where the snowcapped mountain had it's reflection in the water with green/brown mountain beside it.. the colour is so vivid.. haha
See what i mean?
We decided to wander around and follow one of the trails to Brekkefossen Waterfall.. However, in the end due to time constraints... we didn't manage to reach the waterfall.. :(
We rush back to take a ferry... yes... ferry ride to Gudvangen and then finally a bus ride to Voss.. where we'll stay for the night...
The ferry ride was... ok... scenery was nice.. but wind is too damn strong.. haha.. and there's alot of erm, Japanese around... and kinda noisy actually.. hehe =X... it would be nice to just take the cruise with your loved ones...(with no one being so noisy around you of course..)
After the ferry ride and bus ride... we finally got to Voss... kinda tired after a whole day of activity so we quickly walked to our hostel... it's quite a distance away though... :(
Well, one good thing that happened is that we got extra discount for our room... hehe.. ok.. it's not a very good thing but... we are entitled to 15% discount cos we have HI card... then the receptionist was calculating... and it appears that it's very hard for her... and after we have calculated the correct value for her... she did another 15% discount from that value......... well... we didn't cheat her... we just didn't tell her that is wrong... =X
the room was very good... comfy and nice.. though a bit far from the city center... but well.. we got quite a discount.. so no complains.. =X
Well... i slept pretty much as soon as i finish showering.. haha.. was kinda tired la.. =X and another long day tomorrow ma... hehe...(now everyone knows i sleep alot! =/)
20th Oct 2007, Saturday, Voss -> Finse -> Oslo
Woke up early today too... another early train ride.. haiz... had our quite nice complimentary breakfast(yay! free!!) at the hostel... then off we head to Finse.. just a short 40mins away...
Finse is at 1,222m is the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system. Since there are no roads to Finse, the railway provides the sole means of transportation to and from Finse. During summer, however, it is possible to walk or cycle to Finse.
WX said that there's Glaciers here but well, i don't think i saw any... haha... but weather was good and at Finse... we managed to have our 1nd round of snowman building... and... snowball fight!!! haha!!! i was quite good.. i feel.. hehe... though i tio 'head shot' by CL...(didn't expect it ma..) but well.. it's quite fun.. but we were playing around a muddy area... so after we have depleted the snow.. the mud appears and... yeah... it get a little messy... =X
After hours of snow fun... haha... we continued the long long train ride to Oslo... we bidded WX farewell halfway through the journey.. and well.. slept through the rest of it... ehe...
Finse...
Oslo was just a stop over as we are planning to take a cruise from Oslo to Frederickshavn(in Denmark)... I was busy walking around Oslo trying to get rid of my Norwegian Kroners... since i won't be coming back anytime soon... and exchanging it back to DKK would be quite stupid.. so shop around for souvenirs lor..(or food!) hehe
well.. thought we were early at 1st.. so we walked around a bit.. and got to a pretty junkie area... see alot of those Norwegian Ah bengs and Ah lians... =X don't really have a good impression of Oslo... cos it's too expensive... and i find that of the Scandinavian capitals, Oslo is the one with the most junkies... hehe...
We ended up kinda late for the Ferry... so we ran there... yes ran... cos we are scared we will get left behind.. till Someone told Ant(who is infront) that the ferry won't be leaving so soon... phew.... really sweat like hell this time... :(
However, when we enter the Ferry.. to our surprise... it's actually a Cruise! haha.. and we got a cabin for ourselves!!! so cool!! and it cost us only 75 SGD!! so cheap... =X Cruise for 75 SGD leh... well it's pretty much like a cruise ship.. there's restaurant.. casino... bar.... etc etc... CL went to buy her perfume..(i went to smear some on myself..wahahahah) and we bought a Baileys to drink.. hehe... Ant drank very little.. followed by CL.. and i drank the most and soon, i'm floating around.. =X
21st Oct 2007, Sunday, Frederikshavn -> Skagen -> Cph
Last day of my 10 days trip... we are going to Skagen today... At Skagen, you can find Grenen, the northern-most point of continental Europe... in addition, this is where the two parts of the North Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak meet and this makes for turbulent seas and strandings... As the train station lady in Denmark told us.. u can see the 2 seas 'swooosh... swoooshh....' LOL! and it's really true!!! haha... u can really see the 2 waves clash to each other and u can seldom see it anywhere!
It's a really nice place to just have a leisurely tour and walk along the beaches... But in my oppinion, there's just too many tourists... haha... u see the “Sandormen” (”The lug worm”) bringing loads and loads of tourists into Grenen... and well.. it kinda make this picturesque place too... human?? haha!!
Grenen
Initially we planned to visit the Church in Skagen that is overwhlemed by sand dunes... but as we are pretty tired(in particular me and CL...)... we decided to call it a day... and took a leisurely walk..(though it start to drizzle..) back to the station... where we realised we missed the train and have to wait anoter hour for the next train.. we had lunch at a rstaurant near the station...
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Over the trip was a very eye opening one... though it was kinda rush... i always liked leisurely tour... but i'm really glad i got to see the stunning scenery that Norway have... to play with snow... it was fun! haha.. to experience a different culture... travel in train... now.. time to rest... and recharge myself for my next trip!!! haha!! :)
Kelvin
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Now playing: Missy Higgins - Going North
via FoxyTunes
Only have about half a day in Narvik today... so main aim today is to do some trekking up the longer mountain trails up Fagernesfjell... But before that... we have to go for our FREE breakfast!! haha... well, to my pleasant surprise.. the breakfast was very good... it's quite like those breakfast you will have at hotels(Narvik HI Hostel shares the same building as another hotel...) except the fact that there are no waitress around to serve you and you have to clear your own plates... but that's ok... the most important thing is.. the breakfast was good.. haha! bread with ham and cheese... and also scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon... :D
Along the upward urban trek... we can across the mountain cable car..(which is closed sadly...) and a school... kids here must be damn healthy... have to climb the hill everyday... lol =X
due to the absence of exercise for so long... i was quite tired after that short climb... :(
On the way up...
Narvik School!
With the climb... my body got heated up and for the 1st time after so long.. i sweat!!! wahahahah... well, i remember reading somewhere regarding the gulf stream that keeps Narvik's temperature from plunging down(despite it's high latitude)... Anywayz, after reaching the top of the trails, we took a short rest and i suggested to continue on further in... that's when it becomes more like trekking.. haha! well it's kinda muddy all around...
the muddy road up...
After sometime... i was thinking it's not really quite safe to continue... the terrain is changing and there appears to be more big rocks and alot of grass which is seemingly harmless, but actually are hiding large holes which you can fall into... so i decided to turn back... However, manage to take a few picture while i'm up there.. :)
Halfway up...
At the end of my trek..
Mountain side view...
After the trek.. we made our way down...(me almost losing my way... wahahahah) Well, glad that there's no accident this time.. =X quite an interesting trek.. though it was a really really short one... but at least have a bit of fun la.. hehe~~
On our way back to the bus station... we drop by the Tourist information to see if we can get hold on any nice postcards... when we are there, the very helpful lady was talking to us and she intro us to this Norwegian version of 'dried fish', seems similar to our salted fish... when she took one out.. it really smells.. haha... but according to her, if water is added to it, it'll expand and it's colour will change from brown to those kind of white colour we see in cooked fish... interesting eh?? haha.. she didn't add water to it though... it is expensive.. =X
While waiting for the bus... we went to explore areas around the bus station.. and came across this large pyramid shaped silvery thing... was wondering what it is.. but there's a plate at the bottom.. with words written in the opposite way..(ie: when seen from the reflective silvery thing, you can then see what is written) On it is was written "For Fred og Frihet" 1st thing i thought was this is for some person called Fred of something... haha.. but with the help of the translation tool, it actually meant "For Peace and Freedom"... well it suddenly make sense... since Narvik was actually conquered by the Nazis during WWII...
Anyway, we are taking bus to Fauske... somehow this bus ride reminds me of those i took in China, where the driver will be practically driving in a totally dark road at times... at high speeds... lol... Deja vu eh? =X... one interesting thing would be that to get from Narvik to Fauske, the bus actually took a ferry... lol, yeah was quite surprised cos didn't expect it.... was kinda shocked when i see the bus enter the ferry...(wondering where they taking me to sell.. LOL =X)
The bus took us to Fauske.. where we waited about 30 mins for the train to Trondheim to come...
17th Oct 2007, Wednesday, Fauske -> Hell -> Trondheim
From Fauskem we took a train heading towards Trondheim.. however we will be stopping enroute at Hell... yeah.. i mean it... Hell.. i'm going to Hell.. =X
just stopping by for the novelty of it... it's a rather small town... with only a population of 352... lol... Click here for more information on Hell! ok i'm joking... it's here la...
The train ride to Hell was a tedious one.. cos it takes 8+ hours.. and unlink the Kiruna train ride... we don't have a couchette... meaning we have to seat for 8+ hours... damn shagged... :(
Next stop, Trondheim! Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway... After Oslo and Bergen... It used to be the Capital of Norway and was founded by the Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997. It is famous for being a Harbour... and also for being rainy...
In fact, it rained pretty much the whole day when we are there... so it's quite... demoralising.. lol... but well.. we still managed to do a bit of exploring...
1st stop, the Old town gate... Locals refer to it as the "Bridge of Happiness" and claim that your dreams will come true if you wish for them fervently as you walk across it... yeah i did make a wish...........
ok i lied.. i made alot of wishes... wahahahaha!
Old town Bridge...
However, the wind was strong, and the rain was beating on my face... quite a bad experience... haha... so hurriedly we walked across the bridge to see the Bicycle lift...
Designed to assist bike riders in their ascent of the steep hill, this mechanized conveyor belt (most of which is concealed underground beneath a metal-edged groove in the pavement) hauls bicycles, with their riders, up a steeply inclined stretch of a scenic bike path. The cost for 15 minutes of continuous operation is 100NOK (30+SGD), which you can pay by inserting coins into the machine's coin slot.
Well... as most of you guys can guess... no one actually use it... haha.. just too expensive to use la...(even for the Norwegian) People tend to just get down and push their bicycle up... =X
Our next stop, the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Cathedral... However, enroute we pass by the Thomas Angell's Hus. It was originally built in 1770, and extensively restored according to its original design in 1903, this was conceived as a retirement home for indigent widows. Later, its venue was expanded to allow widows to cohabit with well-recommended widowers outside the bounds of traditional marriages -- a liberal 19th-century trend of which many Trondheimers seem appropriately proud. There's a pleasant garden in the building's interior courtyard, but hours of visitation are erratic(according to online sources) and we are lucky that the gate was unlocked when we are there... haha... just really a stroke of luck.. but well, it's not really something that is so magnificent anyway.. =X
Continuing with our tour... we head on to the Nidaros Domkirke, Trondheim Catherdal. It is quite a magnificent Cathedral, and i have to say that it is the most grand one i've seen so far... It is also said to be Scandinavia's largest medieval Church... If you think the exterior looks grand enough, wait till you enter and see the interior... it's astonishing... haha... i would have went for a guided tour(which cost money) to fully understand this Cathedral... However, as there is a Funeral going on later... all tours are cancelled that day.... sigh............
Nidaros Domkirke
Nidaros Domkirke(Side)
The West Front... click for more info
After the breath taking self tour on the Nidaros Domkirke, we carry on to the Torvet, Trondheim's most prominent traffic circle... in the middle stands the Trondheim Torg, a soaring granite column. At its top stands a statue Olaf Tryggvason, founder of Trondheim. Markings on the pavement, tracking the seasonal direction of the sun, define the column on which he stands as the world's largest sundial...
Trondheim Torg
After seeing the viking king...(ok i can't see him cos he's too high up there... -.-)
we continued to the fish market for some salmon burger~~ haha... the burger was pretty nice and fresh... but it's texture felt like fish cake like texture... so i guess something was added... but well, it's pretty cheap.. 55NOK... quite rare in Norway... lol!
That sort of ended our Trondheim trip... the rain is still going on... and we are waiting for the next train... towards Bergen!!
The train we are taking will be an overnight train... and there are no couchette left... only Sleepers... cost quite alot.. :( but well... it was quite high class la... still got key card one... well on the bright side... i had a god night's sleep after sometime... :)
18th Oct 2007, Thursday, Trondheim -> Bergen
Met with Chiao Luan and Weixian (CL & WX) in Bergen... Bergen is the 2nd largest city in Norwaym after Oslo... Bergen is famous for being the gateway city to the Norwegian Fjord... indeed, we are here for the Fjords! haha...
We waited at the Station for a while... cos it's cold outside and you can only check in at 9am.... lol... but well, after we reach the hostel, it seems that we have to wait till 12pm b4 we can check in as the previous tenants have not checked out yet... :(
So we decided to just visit the Tourist office to see where we can go 1st... This Tourist information is rather large(as compared those in Narvik etc)... The lady recommended us some places to go and that got us started for our journey of the day... Our 1st stop is the Bergenhus fortress, enroute we will pass by(as said by the tourist officer) some 18th century wooden houses... and some careful observation would reveal that some of the houses seems kinda crooked and doesn't seem all that steady... haah! but i'm sure it's safe...*cross fingers* =X
The Bergenhus Fortress seems like quite a nice place... some of the buildings are built during the 1200s, but most of those that we see are actually built during the 19th century... well, along the way we saw a lot of kids(seems like kindergarten age...) they seem to be on excurison... and it's quite funny to see a whole group walking along the streets... haha..(with a few teachers of course) Anyway, we saw them at one of the open field in Bergenhus Fortress... kinda nice eh... miss excursions? =X
Next stop, St Mary Church, as recommended by the tourist office... When we 1st got there... we were kinda disappointed... cos in contrast to the Trondheim Cathedral... it kinda pales in comparison... haha... but well... this building is from the 12th century and is Bergen's oldest building... so.. not as grand.. but you can feel the difference after you enter the church...
After visiting these few places, we went back to our hostels to check in.. and we bought some tuna and decided to have lunch back in our hostels... and that's when we realize... the hostel give free tea!!! wahahahaha... being the typical Singaporeans... all of us had our fair share of FREE stuffs.. :)
Next stop, the Fantoft Stave Church... Saw pictures of this church quite frequently... from magnets to post cards... so i think it should be quite a famous Church... This Church is very different from the few i have seen... it kinda don't look very Caucasian... haha.. and one of them commented that it looked kinda Thai actually.. lol the original Church was built in 1150 and was moved to Fantoft(hence the name) during the 1800s and was burnt down in 1992 and finally rebuilt(an exact replica) in 1997...
We were kinda lost at the start... kinda went the wrong way... and wandered into someone's yard...(lucky we were not prosecuted! haha...)
Did a bit of running around to take photos from different angle.. and being the curious me.. i actually climbed to the other side to see if i can get a better angle.. which well.. it's kinda blocked by trees... haha...
Stave Church
Way back...
After visiting the Stave Church, we took a bus back to the city... and started to climb up Mount Floyen...
the journey up was another tiring uphill climb... (what's with so much climbing.. haha) Kinda similar to Narvik... just that this mountain has more developed pathway up... there's this tram that goes up the mountain(like Hong Kong's Peak...), but we decided to walk up and take the Tram down... Along the way... as we got higher.. we get to see better view of Bergen... it was a nice view really...
Halfway thru...
When we finally reach the top.. view was quite stunning!!(and cold!!!! brrrr) like the view there.. especially when we are there at almost sunset... nice... haha... can see alot of joggers there too... seems like people here will also be very healthy eh..
We also saw a playground at the top... and me and CL decided to try some childhood fun! haha.. swing~~~~ it really feels different swinging at mountain top... looking at the sky... feeling the coolness(or coldness)... so niceeee.... :)
After that.. we took a tram down... and yeah.. it's dinner time!!! However, the things here seem to be pretty expensive...(ok it's ex everywhere in Norway..) and we manage to find a shop with... well, reasonable pricing... we decided to try... the fish!! haha.. i had fried Salmon.. and yes it's delicious... haha... CL and Ant had cod fish and apparently it is very very salty... CL ended eating it with sugar.. =X
Here's the pic.. they looks nice though.. =X
18th-19th Oct 2007, Thursday/Friday, Bergen -> Flåm -> Voss
We left Bergen in the early morning for Flåm... Flåm is situated at the inner end of Aurlandfjord... To get to Flåm, we have to take the Flåmsbana... The line is 20.2 km long. The top station Myrdal is 865 metres above sea level, while Flåm is by the fjord at sea level. In order to manage the climb up the mountainside, the line twists and turns and has twenty tunnels to gain altitude; even so, the steepest incline of the railway is 1:18, the third steepest adhesion railway in the World. Like most of the other operational railway lines in Norway, Flåmsbana is a standard gauge (1435 mm) railway and electrified.
The scenery at Flåm is really amazing... haha... i didn't think it would be that good... and well i guess i'm wrong... coupled with the bright and sunny weather... even when i look at the pictures now.. i really felt that it stood out so much!!
Stunningly beautiful
I really liked the photos taken where the snowcapped mountain had it's reflection in the water with green/brown mountain beside it.. the colour is so vivid.. haha
See what i mean?
We decided to wander around and follow one of the trails to Brekkefossen Waterfall.. However, in the end due to time constraints... we didn't manage to reach the waterfall.. :(
We rush back to take a ferry... yes... ferry ride to Gudvangen and then finally a bus ride to Voss.. where we'll stay for the night...
The ferry ride was... ok... scenery was nice.. but wind is too damn strong.. haha.. and there's alot of erm, Japanese around... and kinda noisy actually.. hehe =X... it would be nice to just take the cruise with your loved ones...(with no one being so noisy around you of course..)
After the ferry ride and bus ride... we finally got to Voss... kinda tired after a whole day of activity so we quickly walked to our hostel... it's quite a distance away though... :(
Well, one good thing that happened is that we got extra discount for our room... hehe.. ok.. it's not a very good thing but... we are entitled to 15% discount cos we have HI card... then the receptionist was calculating... and it appears that it's very hard for her... and after we have calculated the correct value for her... she did another 15% discount from that value......... well... we didn't cheat her... we just didn't tell her that is wrong... =X
the room was very good... comfy and nice.. though a bit far from the city center... but well.. we got quite a discount.. so no complains.. =X
Well... i slept pretty much as soon as i finish showering.. haha.. was kinda tired la.. =X and another long day tomorrow ma... hehe...(now everyone knows i sleep alot! =/)
20th Oct 2007, Saturday, Voss -> Finse -> Oslo
Woke up early today too... another early train ride.. haiz... had our quite nice complimentary breakfast(yay! free!!) at the hostel... then off we head to Finse.. just a short 40mins away...
Finse is at 1,222m is the highest station on the entire Norwegian railway system. Since there are no roads to Finse, the railway provides the sole means of transportation to and from Finse. During summer, however, it is possible to walk or cycle to Finse.
WX said that there's Glaciers here but well, i don't think i saw any... haha... but weather was good and at Finse... we managed to have our 1nd round of snowman building... and... snowball fight!!! haha!!! i was quite good.. i feel.. hehe... though i tio 'head shot' by CL...(didn't expect it ma..) but well.. it's quite fun.. but we were playing around a muddy area... so after we have depleted the snow.. the mud appears and... yeah... it get a little messy... =X
After hours of snow fun... haha... we continued the long long train ride to Oslo... we bidded WX farewell halfway through the journey.. and well.. slept through the rest of it... ehe...
Finse...
Oslo was just a stop over as we are planning to take a cruise from Oslo to Frederickshavn(in Denmark)... I was busy walking around Oslo trying to get rid of my Norwegian Kroners... since i won't be coming back anytime soon... and exchanging it back to DKK would be quite stupid.. so shop around for souvenirs lor..(or food!) hehe
well.. thought we were early at 1st.. so we walked around a bit.. and got to a pretty junkie area... see alot of those Norwegian Ah bengs and Ah lians... =X don't really have a good impression of Oslo... cos it's too expensive... and i find that of the Scandinavian capitals, Oslo is the one with the most junkies... hehe...
We ended up kinda late for the Ferry... so we ran there... yes ran... cos we are scared we will get left behind.. till Someone told Ant(who is infront) that the ferry won't be leaving so soon... phew.... really sweat like hell this time... :(
However, when we enter the Ferry.. to our surprise... it's actually a Cruise! haha.. and we got a cabin for ourselves!!! so cool!! and it cost us only 75 SGD!! so cheap... =X Cruise for 75 SGD leh... well it's pretty much like a cruise ship.. there's restaurant.. casino... bar.... etc etc... CL went to buy her perfume..(i went to smear some on myself..wahahahah) and we bought a Baileys to drink.. hehe... Ant drank very little.. followed by CL.. and i drank the most and soon, i'm floating around.. =X
21st Oct 2007, Sunday, Frederikshavn -> Skagen -> Cph
Last day of my 10 days trip... we are going to Skagen today... At Skagen, you can find Grenen, the northern-most point of continental Europe... in addition, this is where the two parts of the North Sea, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak meet and this makes for turbulent seas and strandings... As the train station lady in Denmark told us.. u can see the 2 seas 'swooosh... swoooshh....' LOL! and it's really true!!! haha... u can really see the 2 waves clash to each other and u can seldom see it anywhere!
It's a really nice place to just have a leisurely tour and walk along the beaches... But in my oppinion, there's just too many tourists... haha... u see the “Sandormen” (”The lug worm”) bringing loads and loads of tourists into Grenen... and well.. it kinda make this picturesque place too... human?? haha!!
Grenen
Initially we planned to visit the Church in Skagen that is overwhlemed by sand dunes... but as we are pretty tired(in particular me and CL...)... we decided to call it a day... and took a leisurely walk..(though it start to drizzle..) back to the station... where we realised we missed the train and have to wait anoter hour for the next train.. we had lunch at a rstaurant near the station...
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Over the trip was a very eye opening one... though it was kinda rush... i always liked leisurely tour... but i'm really glad i got to see the stunning scenery that Norway have... to play with snow... it was fun! haha.. to experience a different culture... travel in train... now.. time to rest... and recharge myself for my next trip!!! haha!! :)
Kelvin
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