Beautiful Paris, i am definately coming back next time. I have only scratched the surface in the 3 days. The museum itself is worth many days. And French food is WUNDERBAR !!!! I have never eaten such delicious baguette in my life !!!! Paris is now officially my 2 fav city after Berlin 

The beautiful Basilica of Montmartre.  

The beautiful bridge across River Seine with gold plated statues. Talk about extravagance... 

Looking down from the Eiffel. There is around 650 steps up 

AUfwiedersehen Konstanz

So today is my 2nd last day in beautiful konstanz. I am having a BBQ later, the last gathering with friends i have met here. Gosh.... it feels like just yesterday i was typing my first blog in the library. I am really looking forward to my backpacking in Eastern Europe and Italy, then again feeling sad at the thought of leaving. I feel very at ease here, it is very easy to adapt here. Not very difficult to get around and get things done once u know a bit of German and most of the people are so friendly and helpful. However i think it is impossible to stay long in konstanz cos it is too too small and nothingmuch to do. It is a fantastic place to come and study cos there isn't much distraction but i really miss having supper, singing karaoke, drinking Teh Tarik or even shopping and watching a movie at night with friends. Life here is too slow for my liking, it is good place for retirement and study but not for young people i guess. Nonetheless when i get back to my hectic lifestyle in Spore i think i will miss the pace of life here. Irony.....
I have befriended so many international students and Deutschers as well. Just talking to them and hearing their stories from back home and opinions about the world just make my day. I think Sporean youth should travel more and go out to see the world and realised there is so much to discover out there. It makes u a better world citizen as well.
I will miss the Jogurt, Bread, Spargel, Fresh cheeries and strawberries, Mull Trennbar (They separate their rubbish here, plastic, paper, glass, Bio), Punctual Buses and Trains, Good looking Germans of course haha, FRESH AIR, and yummy Gelato !!!
I was in Paris last weekend, beautiful city however i caught cold andwas coughing very badly. Trying to get well by tomorrow haha quite impossible.... Don want to drop dead in Rome or Budapest.... Will post pics of Paris soon. Meanwhile i will not be blogging for the next few weeks till i am back in Spore on the 15 August i think around 6.30pm.
I hope everyone has fun reading my blog and looking at those pics heeeee.

Spring in Konstanz and terrorism in London + Hausarbeit

It is very cold for the past week. Has been raining nonstop and this weather will continue into the next week. Not bad actually cos i like the cold weather today is 13 degrees and it feels just like spring when i first arrive. I had to take out all the jackets that i have packed.
Yesterday, there was a terrorist attack on London Central. I quickly called Andrea but couldn't get her on the line. Luckily she sms me later to tell me she is fine and the bus actually explodes 5 mins from her house. It is very scary, i haven got a response from FQ yet so wondering if she is fine and all. I was just there in London a mth back. Have past thru Liverpool station and King's Cross, and a mth later the tube was attacked. I was pretty shocked at the degree of damage. London is so lively, so vibrant, so cosmopolitan, and the terrorists struck right in the heart of the city. Unglaublich !! Just hope London will recover soon and i am sure they will, it is a city with such strong resilience !!
2 more weeks left in Konstanz .... haizz dunno what to say. On the other hand looking forward to my amazing race in Eastern Europe and Italy, then again feel sad at the thot of leaving this small town. But i am excited abt going back to NUS and taking the poilitics modules, there are some very cool modules that i want to take this semester. And i feel that the training i have received in Konstanz is invaluable. The research designs i am doing now are actually level 5 modules back in nUS. Hahaha i am an honours student !!!! Nah.. i am just in year 2 !!! Wanna say a big thanx to Prof Schneider for pushing us. The class has shrunk from 12 to 10 to 6 to 4. So is just me and 3 other German students. Quite funny eigentlich. HAHAHAI am writing nonsense as u can tell..... stressed as to how to write the entire research. The first draft is filled with errors and theoretical redundancies. SHITTTT !!!!
But i am glad i tried both research designs, wanted to give up one of them earlier on. Now that both drafts have been approved i can take my time in Spore to do them in detail.

Juni ist fast vorbei.....

June is nearly gone... very fast scares me actually the speed which time past. I thought about the Vigirnia Woolf book i have to write for my term paper "To the Lighthouse", time passes yet the memories remain in the air u breathe in.
I was very depressed this morning because Alex, one of room mates has moved out. He had found a new room in Kreuzlingen. He was one of the first Germans i have met here and he has been very nice. Teaching me German, patiently correcting me. Even though sometimes i don know what to talk to him about cos my German is so lousy and his English is not that fantastic too. Christoph another German housemate will move out tomorrow. Everyone in the house is going away soon.....
Initially i wanted to stay here longer but on further thought, the reason why i like it here was due to the people. However most of them will be gone soon and going back to their familiesall over the world. So there is really no point of me staying here longer. So i decided to come back as planned, and i missed my friends back in Spore as well.....
Tomorrow is Pui Chih wedding, her big day. And i am so kicking myself that i cannot make it. She is someone special to me. Firstly, she was my first backpack companion, back in Cambodia when i was just 18. Secondly, she is always so wise and has lotsa experiences from her backpacking trips and that motivated me alot to go out and explore. And thirdly, she is "gan ma", one of the members of the SHG family whom i cherish alot. Think one of the best choices i have ever made in my life was embarking on the volunteering path and be in the SHG. My SHG family is very special to me and i am glad san ge and liu jie have both found someone they like.

My stay in Konstanz is almost coming to an end. 3 more weeks before i went on my amazing trip to Eastern Europe and Italy as my finale in Europe. As i am enjoying my last few weeks here, i have to rush my research designs as well. Haizzz....very tough but nontheless fulfilling experience to learn something new. I was really happy when Prof Schneider approves my hypothesis this morning.

JUne is here ....

I am so lazy posting blogs so i think i shall just post pictures. So much has happened since my last blog and i will just tok abt a few that are special to me. So on the 19th May Xiaojun came over to Konstanz, and we went over to Salzburg over the weekend. Travelling is always fun and xj is gd company. I think she , Jas and MH are now in Barcelona ....i am jealous... But we realised the kids in Salzburg are very helpful and they haven lost their childlike innocence like most of the kids in Westen Europe. Kids here dressed like adults and are more and more rowdy. Like what andrea said in London, it is ridiculous that we had to shun away from a group of 10 yr olds when we are twice their age. Kids in a group can be dangerous esp in big cities like London.
As you can see from the pics i posted, i have a weakness for mountains. Just feel so free and emancipated from all realities of live when i am among the mountains. And felt small at the same time and realised there are so much in life to do, to discover, to achieve. I love mountains...and you can see the mountains in Werfen are really awesome.
Last Tues, Vijay from my house cooked a great feast of Indian cruisine with curry and all. Very touched to eat Indian food here esp cooked by a friend from India. I cooked curry chicken too when xj came and it was pretty good. Heehee... The other day a girl form Czech said that i am a gd cook and it sent me on cloud nine. But after being here for a while, i learn more abt Western cruisin, mainly pasta and the 101 ways u can cooked them. And the 101 ways u can cook potatoes. The German staple food besides bread....
YEHHHH Liverpool won, what an unbelieveable match. The atmosphere was amazing in the pub.. mainly liverpool supporters. I wished i can be here again next yr for world cup it will be totally insane i think.
Then on Thurs, we had a painting exercise. Painted the whole house yellow, Alex, Christoph, Cheng rui, Maggie and myself. Great fun...but too bad the others didnt join us.
On friday i went down to England to visit Andrea, FQ, Rong rong and Led. More abt my england trip later.
Summer is here and everyone is getting red from the sun. The ang mohs i mean....haha is quite funny to see many lobsters running around....

Military parade in the old city in Salzburg 

The Bavarian Alps viewed from Werfen- 50 min from Salzburg 

Salzburg in the night 

Switzerland - The mountains ....simply astounding

So a day after i came back from Holland, my friend from Thailand asked me to pack up and prepare to leave for Switzerland the next day. I was like....huh...okie i just got back u know, we were talking abt making a trip down to die Schweiz aber i didnt take it seriously. So what the heck....the next morning we were on the train with NOTHING PLANNED AT ALL. We make a stopover in Zürich first cos Air has not seen the city. Another American dude was with us but he did not join us for Luzern. I was quite bored in Zurich but Luzern is realli a pretty city to visit. Lift up our spirits cos the weather wasn't very good. And so we ask the tourist info for a hostel and *thanx the supreme being up there* we manage to get a room. And suprise surprise the view was extremely good and we got a triple for the price of a dorm. HAHAHA. I love surprises.... we walked and walked taking in the sights of Luzern like the Dying Lion, the Alt Stadt is very interesting with the buildings with colourful paintings. The only bad thing was the rain but luckily the next morning the sun was up. I bought a Swiss knife for my Dad, and apparently outside of Switzerland they sell only typical Red SwissKnives, only in Switzerland they sell other colours so i got a black one for my Dad.
We went down to Interlaken cos i like mountains and nature. And i did not make a wrong decision, cos the train ride from Luzern to Interlaken was alreadi worth the trip. Panoramic views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienx and the awe inspiring mountains surrounding as the train makes it way to Interlaken. We gasped at the scenery while eating the bread we stole from the hostle in the morning cos we are too poor to buy Sandwiches. Everything is expensive in Switzerland.
We were lucky to get a hostle again (pls do not try this in summer, cos hostels will be packed) by knocking on doors. And to our HORROR, the trip to Jung Frau costs 178 francs.... We do not have much money left honestly, so we read the Interlaken guide and decide to go hiking from Mürren and to Grimmelwald.
I love to backpack cos u simply do not know what to expect... and the hike was such a lovelz surprise for me. We took a rackßrailway to Grütschalp (old traditional Swiss trains) and hike to Mürren. The hike itself is worth a thousand pics (i took a hundred pics i think). As we walked, on our left are the ridges of mountains including the Jung Frau, Eiger and Monch ( the 3 highest peaks). The mountains felt so close to you that you can almost touched it. Though it is spring there are still patches of snow everywhere, and i laughed that i spent only 40 francs, and i could play with snow, see Jung frau and such beautiful scenery.
Then we went down to Grimmenwald, a lovely village at the slope of the valley. I have seen valleys in Australia, China, but this is the loviest valley i have ever seen. Hard to describe....Deep gorge, green pastures and huge slabs of mountains.
As we are down on finance we have to end our trip after 3 days. But i realli enjoyed such spontaneous travelling. For longer trips planning is a must but the point of backpacking is not only to travel cheap but also attempting paths that are not so popular. Popular spots and routes may be pretty but they are also pricey and touristy.
Air was a first time backpacker so she is very blur and her sense of direction is worse than me. But she was great fun and i realli enjoyed her company. And i influence her to attempt backpacking the next time. HAHAHAa. BACKPACKING & LONELY PLANET RULES !!!!!