Pisa and Milan in 1 day!

Yes, we have gone quite crazy! Maybe, it the flame of 'kiasu-ism' in us, hahaha... but we wanted to see as many possible in the shortest time possible. So ASIAN la!!!

I saw one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World!!! The Leaning Tower of Pisa is amazing... and beyond words! I kept thinking, "I can't believe that I am here!!" We spent 2 hours just taking pictures around the beautiful square, and truly... every angle gives a breathtaking view of La Torre di Pisa. =)

After savouring the beauty of La Torre di Pisa, we hop onto the next train, for a 5 hour journey to the fashion capital of MILAN! We have a disappointing start in Milan, with a 2 hour search for the San Siro football stadium! We nearly gave up, but Jack's sad puppy look was too much for us... =P We found it finally, but it was closed, so we took some pictures outside. Sigh...Then, we took the subway to the famous Milan Duomo, but it was under MAJOR RESTORATION work!! Sadness... Still, we comforted ourselves admiring the door carvings and architecture along the sides and back of the cathedral. Next to the Duomo, we visited the famed Milan Shopping Galleria... absolutely beautiful and impressive. McDonald's have a prime location in the Galleria, right at the centre, among names like Louis Vuitton and Prada. ;o)

A short stay in Geneva

The train ride to Geneva was amazing... TGV high speed trains is fantastic!!The fastest train ride ever. It was so fast that whenever another train passes on my left, I would jerk to the right. You have to try it! In Geneva, we arranged to meet up with Walid. At the train station, a man stole Eddy's sling bag!! It was a horribly unexpected incident, as we were laughing and chatting at the moment when the thief stole Eddy's bag together with his precious souvenirs and travel journal.!! We were totally unprepared for this to happen in Geneva, of all places! Sigh... lesson learnt: ALWAYS watch your belongings!!

We met up with Walid... the Maroc-kino. Oh, another joyful reunion!! He looked great and we talked about his new life in Geneva and our misadventures. We walked along the lake, and were below the famous fountain at Lake Geneva. It was really cold... but well worth it. Lake Geneva must have the cleanest water in the world (that I have seen, la!), as I could see right to the bottom of the lake even though the sky was completely dark... no kidding! We also ate the MOST expensive McDonald's meal in my life!! 40Swiss Francs for 3 person!

A small STL reunion in Brussels

The moment Maria, Cezara and Alessandro walked into Brussels Centraal Station... Jack and I ran over and the five of us were just hugging and kissing. I was overjoyed to see the three of them again. =D It has been 2 months since I left my trainee life in St Louis, and their faces reminded me of all those happy times in STL. Eddy and I stayed with Cezara while Jack and LiChing stayed at Maria and Alessandro's place. Cezara have a great apartment, really nice and comfy. I really cherished the girl talks with Maria and Cezara... and enjoyed the company of Allesandro's hillarious humour. Just writing this now makes me nostalgic, and I am missing them already.

Brussels is quite an expensive city compared to Paris. I was quite surprised by that. The one part of Brussels that I really love... is the Grand Place. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful square I have ever visited in Europe: the elaborate city hall and the beautiful guild houses with its golden roof. Its hard to describe, and even pictures doesn't do enough justice. The Palace of Justice is the biggest and most grand supreme court I have ever seen. Quite an amazing building from the outside and also the inside.

On our last night, we did IT again!!! We forgot to make our train reservation and we could only get on the next train to Geneva the next morning!! By the time we realised this, Maria and Alessandro already left Brussels and only poor Cezara was left. Due to obligations to her roomate, she could not take in the 4 of us... and she was feeling so bad that she wanted to pay for hostel for the 4 of us. After some hours, we managed to convince Cezara that we will pass the night drinking at a bar, then we will be at the station till the next morning. Sure enough, we did that... plus when the station closed for 3 hours, we rested by the cathedral. Umm... I also did an embarassing thing, but I will only tell u in person!! Hehehe... This was quite an adventure... and what a FINALE for Brussels! ;o)

Amsterdam with Thomas!

After 3 years... I finally meet Thomas again! I was truly excited about meeting Thomas and Micha after all this years. We were all pretty close friends when they were in Malaysia for their traineeship. Thomas looked great! =) He hosted our stay and I had such a good time. Thomas and his roomates (Bauke and Yves) are a great example of warm and friendly Dutch hospitality... particularly Thomas! He cooked a delicious Dutch meal on our first night: Slavinke with potatoes, broccoli with cheese and lots of mayonnaise... yummy!!

We visited the famous Anne Frank House, flowermarket and walked along the canals. The houses along the canals have interesting architecture. The houses are usually narrow along the canals because the houses used to be taxed according to the width of the house... so they are typically narrow but long. The visit to the Anne Frank House confirmed this.

It rained during our entire stay in Amsterdam. What a bummer, but Thomas saved the day! He drove us to The Hague where it was sunny!! =D We stopped by his mother's house and had tea. Beautiful Dutch house, good tea, and more Dutch hospitality!! We had a good time talking to Mrs Wolters and his sister, Helen. We looked at pictures of Thomas in Malaysia and reminense about those days... =) We had a nice stroll in The Hague... and Thomas asked us to try herring (type of fish eaten raw). I had quite a culture shock when I saw 2 ladies holding the fish by its tail above their head, and ate the fish. Its a typical Dutch snack and it actually tasted quite good. It was just the way of eating that shocked me initially... but good experience!!

Before I end this entry... I have to add my unforgettable experience at the Amsterdam red light district and the coffeeshops. ;o) Walking along the red light districts, I was initially shocked with the open way the prostitutes display themselves at the window, scantilly dressed. I am of the rare female species on the other side of the windows, mostly men. The atmosphere is safe though, and women visitors are left alone. I actually witnessed a transaction... a men paid €30 to a young and beautiful prostitute for a session... closed curtains. At the coffeeshops... we had our first experience smoking joint. I didn't particularly enjoyed it as I did not know how to smoke in the first place... but one person in our group threw up and the other one zoned out for 4 hours during the first time. Wonder who.... ? Hehehehe....

The beautiful city of Paris!

Paris is indeed as beautiful as what everyone says. Even the cynic in me was taken aback with this city. I think, seeing Paris at night is just MAGICAL. The Parisians did an excellent job of lighting up Paris beautifully at night.

I was expecting difficulty getting help/ friendliness as I do not speak French and I have always heard that the French are immensely proud of their language and plus, historically the French and the British have not been the best of friends. However, I am pleasantly surprised again. Paris is very tourist friendly and at the tourist spots there is always someone that speaks English. =)

Throughout my 3 days in Paris, I am impressed with the way the French people conserve their history and culture. Although not very tangible, I can really feel a strong sense of art, history and culture: Beautifully restored monuments, impressive architecture, Lido, street artists and musicians... The Arch of Triumph is an amazing monument; gigantic in size, down to small and detailed carvings. Visiting the Notre Dame was pretty exciting for me... as a huge fan of Disney, I cannot wait to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame again. Most of all, Versailles is REALLY IMPESSIVE. I never expected it to be so huge and beautiful. Walking amongst the palace rooms, and reliving a bit of the French history is amazing.

Well, another type of highlight... sleeping on the streets of Paris! We missed our train to Amsterdam, and had to wait till the next morning. Since the station is only closed for 2 hours, we figured we would get into a cafe or walk a bit. However, the cafes turned out to be really pricey. We adopted an Israeli girl who was harassed by some guys at the station earlier, so she wanted to joined us. The 5 of us sat down by the sidewalk and decided to just rest and talk... after a while, everyone started to fall asleep! At about 3am, a lady came out from a van and started speaking French to me. Initially, I thought she wanted directions to some cafe or bistro. However, after some chicken and duck talk, she said something that sounded like "We are the association of the homeless people in Paris...." GOODNESS!!! I thanked her profusely and assured her that we had a train to catch in 3 hours.

Amazing life experience... we are still joking about this. What a way to end an amazing trip to Paris!! This definitely goes into Emily Tan's History Book. Hehehe...

Koeln and Luxembourg in one day

We did a quick trip to Koeln/ Cologne just to see the famous Cologne Cathedral. It is HUGE!!! As I am exiting the train station, the cathedral loomed big right before my eyes. I think its location beside the train station is pretty cool...

From Cologne, we took a 3 hour train ride to Luxembourg. The scenic train ride is the MOST beautiful one so far: along the Rhine river, with vineyards and countryside settings. Once in Luxembourg, we walked around the city centre, and even to the new area where the EU buildings are situated. We walked soooooooo much la! Overall, I agree with the guidebooks... what makes Luxembourg City unique, is its location in a hilly area. Throughout the walk, we saw valleys and hills... but with parks, medieval houses and buildings. I will post some pictures when I get back to Malaysia. =)

Berlin, Germany

Berlin is COLD! I remember feeling sooooooooooo cold when we were in front of the Reichstag/ Bundestag. I guess due to the open land around there, cold gusts of wind just kept blowing. Reichstag is really beautiful, a mixture of ancient and modern architecture. Nearby, the Brandenburg Tor is a breathtaking sight... esp because we were there during sunset. From Brandenburg Tor, we walked along Unter Den Linden, and it is such a beautiful walk. Eddy even asked, why don't Malaysia have walking lanes like that?? Well, personally, I think its too hot in Malaysia. ;o)

We took a free tour around Berlin, and saw the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Holocaust Memorial and learnt a bit of history. Berlin was a city much devastated by the WW2, and the the cold war even more. I think it is such a sad circumstance that a city was divided like this. My tourguide was right... Berlin may not be architecturally as outstanding as Prague or Vienna... but I left Berlin very much touched by its history and turmoil.

Munich... again!

Highlight: Hofbrauhaus, the beer hall where Jack got soooooo drunk!

Back to Munich again, but this time... showing Jack, Eddy and Li-Ching around. We visited the churches, Rathaus and wondered around the old town. When the rest decided to see the staduims, I slit and visited the Residenz by myself. Like Schonbrunn Palace, the rooms in Residenz are beautifully and extravagantly decorated. Listening to the audioguide, I learnt some Bavarian history, especially the famous King Ludwig II.

At night, we went to the beerhall, where the atmosphere is quite similar to the Oktoberfest... lots of people, mugs of 1 liter beers, singing, dancing. After a round of beer, we were joining the crowd clapping and cheering. (By the way, I liked the White Beer more) After 1.5 hours, Jack looked really red in the face and was singing rather loudly. I figured he was drunk, and true enough he was! He threw up while walking to the metro, and along the way, he was singing loudly while being supported by Eddy and Li-Ching. He can't even walk unassisted!! =P

Vienna, Austria

Highlight: Visit to Schönbrunn Palace

One of the most memorable experience... touring the palace, and learning the history of the Hapsburg dynasty. There is also the tragic story of Sissi, the unwilling empress of Austria. There is a famous Viennese play called Sissi that I did not get to watch, but maybe there will be another chance, another day. For more story on Sissi, check out: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1605/sissy.htm

Vienna is overall, a city with MANY beautiful buildings. Walking is so much better than taking a tram/ metro because one gets to view all those amazing architecture. A few things that I did not do, like attending a Viennese orchestra and watching a play as it was quite expensive. I will definitely keep this in mind when I visit Austria again.

Budapest, Hungary

Highlight: Listening to the Budapest Tourist song... hehe...

Budapest was a great experience, mainly because our Hungarian host, Rita made it memorable. She was a wealth of information and full of hospitality. I had the BEST meal of Hungarian goulash at a canteen, socialist style. I would seriously go back to Budapest for that! Together, Rita and her flatmate, Nicole made dinner and after dinner sessions memorable. I never laughed so hard in a long time... when Rita and Nicole started singing the goofy Budapest Tourist song.

One last thing... Hungarian wine is goooood! Check out the Tokaji label. ;o)

Prague

Highlight: Walking along the Vltava River

Prague is really as beautiful as people say... with a touch of magic. The old town is beautifully preserved, and filled with historical buildings. The architecture is beautiful. This is largely due to the fact that Prague escaped the devastation of WW2, the bombs. One of the most beautiful building is the Municipal Building. We were all entranced. Charles Bridge and the castle area was captivating too. I spent many hours there: walking, taking pictures and enjoying the great view. We also tried pilsner beer, very famous and typical Czech brew. The most famous one is Pilsner Urquell.

Another highlight was visiting the famous bone ossuary in Kutna Hora. It is actually a small chapel, with unique skeletal decorations. Remarkable masterpieces include a massive chandelier, a cross, chalices, a monstrance or Schwarzenberg coat-of-arms. According to estimates, bones of approximately 40,000 people were used to decorate the chapel, creating this unique ossuary – a reminder of the transience of human life and the inevitability of death.

First Taste of Backpacking

I said goodbye to Sonja and Sandra at the Innsbruck Hbf... and began my solo journey towards Prague. The train ride to Summerau was very smooth and I slept a bit along the way. Once arriving in Summerau (border town with Czech Rep), I got panicked when I could not find a connection to Prague till the next morning... plus, no one really understood English! Finally, I figured that I would take a train to Ceske Budejovice and then find a connection to Prague.

After waiting for 3 hours, I finally had my first taste of Czech train. Riding on Austrian rail (OEBB) for the past 4 weeks, got me unprepared for the more modest Czech train, with the dim lights, not-so-fresh paint and less luxurious interior. I got over that pretty fast and enjoyed the ride. Everyone spoke Czech, but the conductor was friendly and helpful. At Ceske Budejovice, I dashed around, getting cash from ATM, finding connection and boarding the next train to Prague.

I arrived in Prague around midnight, and realised that Jack would arrive from Krakow at 7.25am the next day... hmm, 7 hours to kill. A man kept approaching me for hotel rooms, but I refused. He finally told me that the station closes between 1am - 3am!! Wahlaueee! Panic, panic... and decided to get to our hostel. I spent the next 3 hours wondering around the streets of Prague, taking the tram (without ticket... but how the heck am I supposed to know where to get the ticket?) and finally found the hostel, but IT WAS CLOSED!! So, I had a nice time walking and riding the tram (again) back to the station.

Got back to the station at 3.30am... and killed time getting to know every inch of the station. Many people were sleeping, and the security kept waking people up. I even saw 2 man... so deep in sleep that they fell from their chair!! It was loud, and quite comical, and I had to bite my lips from laughing. Hehehe... Somewhere between 5am - 7am, I managed to lost my VISA debit card (Oh, nooooooooo!) and I got busy cancelling my card. I kept thinking... "Emily... not AGAIN!!" I was upset with myself!!

Finally... after a looooooong night, I was overwhelmed with joy, when I saw my baby Jack on the platform! So relieved that I survived okay, and now in good hands. ;o)

Goodbye... Innsbruck!

Its hard to believe... leaving Innsbruck, and saying goodbye to the faces that have just become dear to me.

Yesterday, Sandra organised a farewell gathering dinner for me at her place. I cooked Malaysian dishes: Pineapple fried rice and Beef Rendang. They all loved it and I told them that they should seriously consider coming to Malaysia. We ate and talked till midnight: Sandra, Sonja, Ulrich, Clarissa, Hannes and all. This was one of the best moments in Innsbruck.

In all honesty, there are 3 special people in Innsbruck that will always have a special place in my heart. Sandra (LCP) who took care of me as a friend from the first till the last day. Ulrich, my host for 3 weeks that graciously took the couch while I get the bed... walking mate and good friend. Sonja with her passion and warmth towards people and life.

Innsbruck will always have a special place in my heart, and I long to come back again... one day!

Opera

Today, I attended opera for the first time... thanks to Sonja Turjisan (passionate AIESECer). She was so enthusiastic about opera that I felt I had to go... to witness this very European culture. So, we paid €8 for a booth seat for La Nozze de Figaro... an Italian opera.

Firstly, we were late... running and being able to sit down as the orchestra starts. Then, I was wearing my NIKE shoes while everyone else was all formal... scarves... and all. The orchestra was simply beautiful, and the opening piece was Mozart. Austrian laaaa.... Throughout the show, Sonja and I was whispering a lot.. mainly because I don't understand Italian and don't read German. The 2 ladies in front of us started fidgeting and finally turned around 2 times... (hint, hint... shut up!!!) The Austrians are sooooo polite... coz I would have thrown a black look at myself in their place. Hehehe...

The final most embarassing moment was when I tried to take a picture during the show and as I clicked my digital camera...a BLINDING WHITE LIGHT blinded even myself!!! I never felt such embarassment IN MY LIFE!!! I felt like I want to disappear, or better melt away to thin air. The worse thing was... NOBODY MOVED!!! Its like those awkward silent moments where noone knows what to do. Wah lau eh... they must think: What a dumb, ignorant asian.

When I relayed this story to the AIESECers, Clarissa insisted that I should stay longer in Innsbruck and go opera with her again... and I can repeat the spectacle!!!! She even, offerred to adopt me! Sigh.... Emily....!