Germany - Freiburg

25th October 2014

C and I decided to do a day trip to Freiburg im Breisgau, or Freiburg in short. It's a small city at the border of the Black Forest, south of Mannheim, 1.5hrs by train!

We arrived at 12pm, and wandered around aimlessly till 2 when we finally found a Chinese restaurant for lunch. The restaurant was supposed to be pretty good, according to Google. We had the weirdest Wanton Soup ever, and everything was super salty.

After lunch we went to look for the Freiburger Münster (Freiburg Cathedral), which was located at the Altstadt. As usual, two of us were kind of lost, and got distracted by a lot of things on the way. We bought gummies at a candy shop, bought a box of krabbenchips (虾片), ate an ice cream, and had a hard time finding coke zero and toilet. Passed by the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, and the shopping streets! That took us 2 hours hahaha.

We came across a lot of snacks along the way, like currywurst. And they were cheap! Our krabbenchips cost 1.80€, and the scoop of ice cream was only 1€. :D I chose this funny flavour, which was a mix of lemon and strawberry.

So we only found the Cathedral at 4pm... It had really nice stained glass inside! And we each lit a candle!

As expected, we only spent about 15 minutes in the cathedral, and went over to the Freiburg history museum. We only had 20 minutes before it closed, but we finished viewing in 10 minutes since everything was in German XD

Before the trip, I actually thought that we could find some time to walk along the river towards the Black Forest, or hike up the Schlossberg to get a good view of the city, but I guess I overestimated our speed way too much!

There was a cute cafe at the Münsterplatz, so we went in and got a Latte Macchiato. I had a Black Forest cake and C had a cheesecake. 吃货同行便是如此...

The temperature dropped immediately after the sun set! We had to hide out in shopping centres till we left for dinner :P

Well, the trip was totally different from what I had imagined, but it was definitely a fun and relaxing day!

Netherlands - Amsterdam

17th October 2014

I joined a trip organised by pm2am to Amsterdam. We left Mannheim at 10.30pm, and after picking up more people at Darmstadt and Frankfurt, we headed straight to Amsterdam. I was pretty surprised at how long the journey took. We arrived at about 7am, with 3 short stops in between to allow everyone to pee, and probably to let the driver have a rest.

I was totally exhausted when we arrived. I kind of slept on the bus, but woke up several times. The seat was not extremely comfortable and my butt hurt a lot after the whole ride. I also got a bit carsick. So you could imagine what a relief it was for me when I finally stepped out of the bus. Standing had never felt so good!

We waited for a while for a Dutch guide to give us a city tour. The sky was still dark at 7am, and you could just begin to see the red hue.

We had a really short 1-hour walking tour, which covered the main area near the metro station, with the old church, red light district, national monument, etc. The guide was pretty funny, and really open when talking about drugs and prostitution. He kind of spent 10 minutes talking about how much prostitutes pay for rent, how much they charge for what kind of services, how much they earn, etc. Well, I guess they are really used to talking about such things since they're legal.

The architecture there is very similar to Brugge, I would say. Some houses were leaning, apparently because they were built on wooden foundations, and the area used to be rivery and swampy, so gradually the buildings started to lean sideways. Some houses, if you observe them, also have walls that lean forward, ie towards you. The guide explained that this was done intentionally as it was aesthetically more appealing (wooden structures typically look like they are leaning backward when viewed from far), and the internal floor space increased.

This is the Amsterdam Central Station. I thought that it was a really nice building. Very representative of Amsterdam's architectural style. Something interesting about the station is that there are showers in the washrooms, for which you pay 0.50€. It's a pretty good deal if you are travelling by trains for a few days (or even weeks) like him and do not want to stink.

Spot the red house with the smallest width in the picture below! It's quite funny if you can imagine how weird the structure of the house must be from the inside! Haha. And the reason why the house was built like this was because the city charged tax based on the width of the property and this could save a lot of money for the owner.

We had breakfast at the Pasta Bar. I had an English breakfast for 4.95€, despite being in an Italian restaurant :P I don't know if I was still feeling sick from the ride or the breakfast portion was just too huge for me. All I could taste was oil when I was eating the eggs and the sausage. Had a lot of leftovers :/ Somehow, I think it was just because I wasn't feeling well. The food looked pretty good and delicious. Don't be discouraged by me to try the restaurant.

After breakfast we began walking towards the Anne Frank Museum. We walked through a really long stretch of shops that are just perfect for shopping. It's almost like Orchard Road. Lot of brands, variety, and mid-season offers!

There was a fun fair in front of the Madame Tussaud area. Looked quite fun! And it got really crowded and nice in the evening. The rides were not very expensive, about 5€ per person.

We randomly came across this museum (free of charge) that had some displays that were annotated with their historical significance. It's probably the most inconspicuous museum you could ever find. It was quite interesting albeit small. There was a nice open space inside, where you could sit down, grab a drink, and chill.

While we were supposed to walk towards the Anne Frank Museum, we probably took a wrong turn in the middle, and we ended up at the Rijksmuseum, where the famous I amsterdam sign is located. It was REALLY crowded there and there were just too many people climbing up the sign to get a picture.

We sat around for a while and moved on. Walking towards the Van Gogh Museum, we passed by this large field, which was really perfect for a picnic. There was a stage where music was being played on speakers (I think there was some kind of an event going on) and some people were dancing or lazying around on the grass. Such a relaxing way to enjoy their weekend!

We didn't enter any museum, because they were all very expensive and I wasn't particularly interested, especially after seeing loads of museums during the previous trips. They were 15-20€ each. I think the famous ones would be the Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank museum, and the Madame Tussaud wax museum.

Oh right, the canals. Amsterdam has quite a lot of them, and it used to be the biggest harbour in the world, at one point of time in history. There are a lot of boat rides that you could take, and they cost about 15-20€ each. I think it would be a good investment if you haven't taken a boat ride before.

I love how flowers adorn almost all the cities in Europe. Although Singapore has loads of them too, somehow, Europe just feels different. Quaint. Charming. Relaxing. 

We managed to see most of the city by lunch time. While walking back to the city centre, we passed by several of these shops. 

And if you do not know, please do not just walk into a coffee shop, wanting to get a normal cup of coffee. Their coffeeshops are the ones selling drugs, like mushrooms and space cakes (which I heard are stronger). According to our guide, the drug in space cakes do not take effect until 1.5hrs after consumption. So be sure to wait for 1.5hrs after your first consumption to get a feel of your body's reaction to the drug, before deciding to eat more of it. Find more information here. 

I had mussels with garlic and white wine sauce for 9.50€ at NRC Restaurant Café. There were loads of mussels, almost 40 of them, fresh and tender. The mussels were bigger than the ones we had in Brussels. The sauce was thick but you wouldn't get sick of it. The mussels also came with bread, which I was too full to eat. I would say it was quite a good meal, considering the price. 

After lunch, the others went for a boat ride, which I was not interested in, so I decided to go shopping! Hooray!! First stop, Forever 21. No particular fondness for the brand, but it was the first one I came across, right opposite the NRC Restaurant. It was having a sale, and a lot of things were crazily discounted, so you could imagine how crowded the shop was! I tried on a few pieces, but wasn't extremely satisfied with them.

I wasn't planning to spend any money in Amsterdam other than on food, so it had to take a really nice piece of clothing and a really good price to get me to spend. Fortunately, I did not come across any. Haha. I also went to Zara, where I got seriously tempted to get a down jacket, which was only 29.90€. Yeah, real cheap for Zara. But I resisted, since I would probably only have the chance to wear it for a month. So proud of myself.

I went on to look around, but my shoulder started to hurt A LOT from my bag and my back was aching like crazy as well. I went back to NRC to grab a drink. Had a small cup of Grolsch beer for 2.60€. It is a Dutch beer, which was recommended by the very friendly waitress. It's not very sweet, but I liked it. It's really kind of crazy that beer might be the cheapest drink you could find in a restaurant!

I sat there for about 2 hours, listening to music and reading Divergent on my phone. I haven't even finished reading 1 book this year. OMG. D: I wasn't really planning to sit around for such a long time, but I got so comfortable. Haha. Sadly, the restaurant closes at 6pm, so I had to go.

My back was still hurting, and I wasn't in any mood to walk around, so I decided to just find a place to eat and sit till 11pm. I was thinking of Macs, or Subway, or Burger King. But guess what? I saw KFC, and just imagine how my eyes shined. Haha. First KFC I'd come across in Europe, and I just had to go in. Got a 6-piece spicy wings meal for 6.95€, but spent another 0.50€ on ketchup, which didn't taste nice for some reason. I was tempted to get the 10-piece since it was only 1€ more but glad that I didn't because I was so full after eating all 6 pieces. I hadn't even started eating the fries yet.

Later on, I got really cold, and put on my jacket, after which I still felt really cold and was shivering. The place had heater on, so I guess I was just sick :/ I fell asleep for a while, and the waiter came to ask if I was okay. Then I continued reading my book till about 10.40pm. I walked back to the Victoria Hotel and gladly went up the bus. I think I fell asleep pretty fast since I was not feeling very well, and we arrived back at Mannheim at 6am. Bus service had not yet begun, so I had to take the tram. Felt so good to be home, and I slept till 1pm haha!

I guess Amsterdam is a great place for you if
1. It's your first time in Europe. For me, I can no longer feel the same excitement I had when I first came that would make every destination seem awesome.
2. You want drugs / prostitutes. Prostitutes typically charge about 50€ for basic services, and additional if you need additional services.
3. You want some night life. I have to say, Amsterdam is pretty happening at night. When I left KFC yesterday night, the streets were still busy and bustling with life. There are lots of pubs, clubs and arcades around, and even a casino.

I think you should go into the museums and take boat rides, if you are not on such a tight budget like me. And definitely take a day to travel out of city to see the windmills/tulips! I will definitely be back in Apr/May in the future to see my tulips and windmills :)

Greece - Athens

11th October 2014

Our Athens apartment was really awesome. We got it on Airbnb, and it was just 2 minutes from the Akropoli metro station. Super convenient, although slightly expensive. I think it was worth it. The view was great too - you could see the Temple of Zeus on the left!

We woke up late as usual, and decided to find a nice place for lunch before anything else. I found a great restaurant on trip advisor, but we couldn't find it!! So we went to Smile Cafe Restaurant which also has a pretty good rating. We had gyros for lunch, pork (3€) and chicken (3.50€). It was really the cheapest meal ever. And the gyros were really good!

After lunch, we decided to explore Plaka first, afraid that the shops would be closed on Sunday. There are a lot of shops selling souvenirs, leather goods, food, drinks, etc. I was really tempted by the leather goods as they had so many pretty bags and shoes!!! But the prices were a bit steep.

After 2 hrs of walking, I got super tired, so we went back to our apartment for a rest. I fell asleep again. Lc almost left me to sleep and went Acropolis himself!!! Hahaha. OK can't blame him cos I refused to wake up :P We had free admission at Acropolis with our student passes. If not then I guess the 12€ combined ticket for all the places of interest that is valid for 4 days would be the most worth it.

The Acropolis is quite small, compared to the Palatine Hill at Rome! It was quite empty as well, maybe because we went to Rome during the super-peak period. The climb up wasn't too difficult.

The second picture shows the Old Temple of Athena, and the third is the famous Parthenon. The view on the hill is great, and you could even see most of the places of interests.

After that we visited a few other attractions, such as the Temple of Zeus. We had dinner back at Plaka at the Fish Cafe. We were searching for another restaurant actually, but couldn't find it again!! Anyway, we had a seafood platter, which was huge and only 14€. I thought it was quite delicious as well!

We strolled around Plaka again, and the ambience at night was pretty good!

There was a bar, called Brettos, which was super nicely decorated with colourful wine bottles on the walls. It is apparently the oldest distillery in Athens. Should definitely get a drink there!

We continued walking around and ended up at Monastiraki, which is another area with lots of shops and flea market. There are a lot more locals there, compared to Plaka.

There were a LOT of food. I'm sure you will drool when you're there!! Slowly, we walked around, and then back to Plaka for a drink. The Brettos was too crowded, so we ended up in a random restaurant.

I actually just wanted to get a beer, but everything was so expensive in this restaurant, so we looked at the menu, and found this: Ouzo. Cheapest on the list. And recommended by the waiter.

Apparently it is the most popular drink in Greece! It has a super strong anise flavour that you can't miss, once you put that wine into your mouth. And it tastes pretty weird to me. But the locals love it. And it's pretty strong, 40% according to the internet, but the waiter insisted that it was NOT strong. -.-

And before we resigned to our beds, we got a pork souvlaki from the place right outside the Akropoli metro exit. And it. was. awesome. Even better than what we had in Santorini. The meat was so tender!

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12th October 2014

We had lunch at Smile again, since it was so near our apartment. We had a Moussaka and a Pastitsio, which is basically baked pasta. The Moussaka was fine, but definitely not as good as what we had at Daphne (mentioned in the Santorini post). Lc also tried the greek coffee, which smells very strong but tastes okay (we don't like strong coffees). And it has this special taste that I can't describe! Gotta try it yourself.

We visited some museums and then went to the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympic Games. The track was quite small, definitely not 400m. Maybe 300m?

Since it was our last night in Athens, my darling decided to treat me to a seafood dinner. So we got another seafood platter, which cost 39€. Pretty expensive for a meal in Greece! It was good, and other than the calamari which I always love, I loved the prawn too!

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13th October 2014

So our trip ended here and we headed back to our cities. Lc's flight was at 2pm and mine was at 4.30pm, so I waited in the airport by myself :'( I witnessed the longest check-in queue ever. And it did not even move. Took an hour of queuing to get myself checked in. And no, there was no online check-in. They had to add 2 more counters to avoid getting the plane seriously delayed. Having said that, lc's situation was far worse. Get the story here.

I took Air Serbia, flying from Athens to Belgrade, then Stuttgart. Well, can I consider myself to have been to Serbia as well? :P Anyway, Belgrade looked really beautiful from the plane.

I really loved Greece and I have to bring my mum to Santorini next time. I think she'll love it!