Casts: Adek and good friend Lin
Genres: Comedy, Holiday, Horror
Running Time: 2 weeks
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language
And this is how the story goes...
~~~~~~~~
28 April 2007
Frantic Panic
The adventure started this morning at KL Sentral. Bought tix for both myself and Lin and joined the dozens of people queuing to check in at KLS. It was a long, slow process and it was a good, or rather bad, half hour before we got to the counter.
Only to be told that as there was less than two hours before our departure, the system had been blocked and that meant we could no longer check in at KL Sentral. I was furious and told the lady that we had been queuing for so long and it wasn’t right for her to imply that we had been queuing for less than the minimum two hours required. Lin, being the calm girl she always is, reasoned that we should just head for KLIA so we rushed down but the train was only leaving at 7.30 am. Which meant that we would only reach airport at close to 8 and a mere 50 minutes before departure time.
I pointed this out to Lin and voiced my fear and concern that we may not be able to check in, or worse, board, as we’d be too late. After all, even AirAsia closes its check-in gates 45 minutes prior to departure.
And what do you know, there were literally thousands of people at the airport; long queues everywhere so much so we didn’t know where one started and one ended. In panic, we searched for an airport official and Lin managed to locate him first. He assured Lin not to panic and to proceed to counter D17 or something for immediate check-in.
Phew!
Somehow the 12-hour flight didn’t seem so long or unbearable. We reached Stockholm Arlanda airport at 3.15 pm. The custom was smooth and before long, we were reunited with our bags. We decided to take the airport coach into the city over the Arlanda Express. After all this is Sweden and not at all a cheap destination. This is my second visit to Stockholm.
We arrived at the City Terminal 40 minutes later and took the Tunnelbanan or T-bana to Mariatorget station and walked down to our hotel-boat. Yes, we thought we might as well do it in style and stay in a boat/ship! Hotel Rygerfjord is anchored at the north part of Somermalm Island overlooking the stretch of water that is Riddarfjarden. Our cabin was a charming double-decker ‘room’ overlooking the river and was directly across the river from the City Hall, which dining hall is used for the banquet hosted after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony.
After shopping at a nearby supermarket for our stock of mineral water and fruits, we rested. I bought carbonated mineral water by mistake [euwww!].
29 April 2007
Hardly Stockholm Syndrome But Overall Swede Experience
This bright and sunny albeit cold morning, we ventured out to Gamla Stan or Stockholm’s Old Town. We walked up and down the pedestrian-only street and found the narrowest street in Stockholm, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd. We then came upon Stadshuset or the Parliament and followed the waterfront to Kungliga Slottet or the Royal Palace. We walked on and decided to take an ‘Under The Bridges of Stockholm’ boat tour that took us under some 15 bridges of Stockholm and lasted close to two hours.
After all that sitting, we walked to the Royal Palace and bought tickets to enter the Hall of State, the Royal Apartments, the Apartments of the Orders of Chivalry and the Royal Palace Tre Kronor Museum. However, we had less than an hour before its scheduled closing time so we only covered Tre Kronor and the Royal Apartments.
Next, we walked to Stortorget, which is the old square of Stockholm. The buildings here are featured in many Stockholm postcards and fridge magnets. It is also the location of the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building, the seat of the Swedish Academy and The Nobel Museum.
We were sufficiently famished by this time and went for a late kebab lunch. Feeling more energised, we crossed over to Norrmalm and walked up and down the streets.
30 April 2007
Checking Out Of Stockholm; Checking Out Checkpoint Charlie
Another bright and sunny morning but oh how cold! We left the hotel after breakfast and took T-bana to City Terminal. Farväl Stockholm, we are now heading for our next destination, Berlin.
We were reunited with our bags shortly after arrival at Berlin Schonefeld. We then walked to the S-bahn station and then navigated the seemingly complicated transportation system before reaching our hotel at Sickingerstrasse, near the Beusselstrasse S-bahn station.
After freshening up, we left and took a bus to Hauptbahnhof, which looked really modern and recently renovated. From there, we took an S-bahn to Kohlstrasse where Checkpoint Charlie is. We took the usual tourist pictures before entering the Museum.
As you probably know, Berlin was reduced to rubble in the Second World War. Then in August 1961, the city was cut into two by the notorious Die Mauer (The Wall) which split life on either side between the two political polarities. Ironically, the scant remains of the Wall where so many people died not long ago are the tourist attraction today.
We only returned back to the hotel at 10 that night[!]. There was a beautiful full moon which reminded me of the full moon in Rome in May last year.
May Day 2007
Zoo Station
This bright and mild spring morning, we decided to go to Museum Island
or Museumsinsel, but not before checking out Zoo Station first. Not to visit Cute Knut at the Zoo though. At Museum Island, we explored the Altes and Pergammon Museums [the latter houses collections of Eastern and Roman artefacts]. Both museums were huge, massive, and gigantic and I was feeling a bit tired after all that. We didn’t even go into the Bode Museum [it houses Egyptian works]. By the way, very strict guards patrol the museums.
After an Indian buffet lunch at Oranienburgerstrasse, we took the Bahn to Brandenburg Tor or Brandenburg Gate. We then strolled over to Reichstag, i.e. the Berlin Parliament. It was a hazy sunshiny day and there were loads of people sunbathing in front of the Parliament[!]. We then walked down the street along Tiergarten to Siegessäule or the Victory Tower [yes, it was featured in U2’s Stay (Faraway, So Close!) music video]. It was about two kms away from Brandesburg Tor.
We most definitely walked for miles, burnt thousands of calories and fat and developed serious leg muscles this day!
And even then, we walked on further and discovered to our dismay that while the museums were opened on May Day, Kurfurstendamm (Ku’damm) which usually pulsates with life late into the night and Berlin’s premier department store (KaDeWe) were devoid of action.
Watched Liverpool play Chelshit but was too knackered to see the game ‘til its end and only found out the next morning that Liverpool had advanced to the final match after beating Chelshit at penalty. Good job Liverpool!
2 May 2007
Auf Wiedersehen Berlin
Today we left Berlin for our next destination. Took the bus to Haupbahnhof and changed for S-bahn to Berlin Schonefeld.
This time the plane ride was longer - close to 3 hours. We landed at Athens International Airport [Elefthérios Venizélos] at almost 5 in the evening.
Took the suburban train into the city to our hotel near Larissis station. Shortly after checking in, we went out in search for food and some groceries and found to our dismay that Greeks sure love their meat, particularly pork.
Dinner was finally had at a deli at the railway station served by a surly waitress.
Watched AC Milan beat ManUre tonight. Yee haa! Go Milan!
3 May 2007
Greece Enlightening
What’s worth seeing in Athens are all clustered around the old town or the Plaka district. So, this morning after checking out shortly after 9 [any minute later and we’d be swamped by the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren], we took the metro to Acropolis station and walked up the hill to Acropolis. They sure didn’t call it city on a hill for nothing. We joined the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren admiring the ruins of Parthenon, Erechtheum, Propylaea and the theatre of Dionysus. The temple Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is held up as the epitome of architectural perfection.
We then went to Ancient Agora located to the north of Acropolis [it was the marketplace and still has the remains of the old administrative centre], then walked past Hadrian’s Library before walking to the Roman Agora. All that walk and being Indiana Jones made us hungry so we decided to go for lunch, but not before stopping by at the Parliament at Syntagma (Constitution) Square to watch the changing of guards which takes place every hour on the hour.
Lunch this time was served by a gruffy waiter. I remember commenting to Lin, ‘What’s wrong with them? They are so bad-tempered around here. It must be the climate.’ Honestly, I didn’t recall them being so rude during my previous visit.
After trekking around the city, we returned to the hotel, performed prayers and set off for the airport. We later performed our evening prayers at the airport, in a chapel – probably that explained my two earlier dreams of praying in chapels. Our flight out of Athens was to take off the next morning at 4.30, yes, talk about an ungodly hour. I couldn’t sleep well in the airport as I kept coughing.
4 May 2007
Cracking Krakow
We arrived into Krakow, Poland, this morning at 6.15 am. We spent a considerable amount of time waiting for immigration clearance. Evidently not many Malaysians had arrived at this airport hence the long process. Anyway, I have been wanting to add Poland as the 40th country I have visited.
It was still a bit cold in Krakow (also spelt as Cracow); after all it was still barely 7 in the morning. We took the train into the city; it took only 14 minutes. The lovely mild spring weather and splendid scenery outside helped to lift my moods. We then discovered that not many Poles speak good English, some don’t speak any English at all! [which I had discovered earlier by watching The Amazing Race: All-Stars]. We were lucky there was a girl who helped us to buy tickets. We then somehow took a tram to our hostel.
After freshening up and breakfast, we walked to Wawel Castle but as the tours that we bought would only start later, we decided to go to Rynek Glowny or the Market Square first. Rynek Glowny, Krakow’s central market square, is the largest medieval market square in Europe. There is the Renaissance mercantile Cloth Hall and Cathedral, some museum and of course, hundreds of pigeons.
We then returned to the Wawel Castle for our tours, had a light meal in between, walked around the castle grounds and even went down to the Wisla River before returning back to the hostel, knackered and beat.
5 May 2007
Salt Mine Tour
This morning, we decided to join a tour to Wieliczka Salt Mine instead of to Auschwitz Birkenau, site of the largest concentration camp in Hitler’s final solution. The weather which had been kind to us all along took a change and was dull, grey and cloudy today.
The salt mine at Wieliczka is an amazing complex of underground mine of miles of corridors [the miles of corridors are supposedly as long as the distance between Krakow and Warsaw!], with many chambers and even chapels built down there. The guided tour lasted for two hours. We first went down 387 steps to 64 metres below ground and as we explored further into the underground complex, we descended further and further into earth’s belly until we reached 120 metres below ground (if my memory serves me right).
I would summarise the visit to the salt mine as fantastic. I was really glad we went there.
We returned back to Krakow and had lunch at an eatery that served seafood [how rare!] before shopping for some souvenirs.
I wasn’t pleased though to discover, on my return back to the hostel, that my freshly laundered Mango long-sleeves tees AND my contact lenses case were missing from the bathroom where I left them when we returned to the hostel. Spent some time hunting for my missing tee to no avail.
6 May 2007
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Spent some more time tracking my tee before deciding to call it quits. Left the hostel shortly after 11 am. Another cold, bleak, dreary morning. Waited for the tram and it didn’t show up. At 1140, we started panicking as our train was due to leave at 12 noon, even contemplated taking a cab to the train station.
But of course, Murphy’s Law prevailed and no cab was to be found when you needed one. We walked like cartoons - I would have won a walk-with-your-suitcase walkathon if there ever is one - and finally we took another tram after walking about a km or so. Got down the tram and walked like mad to the station; it was already 1158 then. The funny thing was - although at the time I barely had time to appreciate the funny side of it - I was at first leading the way, then Lin caught up with me and Suddenly, she overtook me and it was me who was then lagging behind. As she got to the station first, Lin found out that the train was delayed by 5 minutes but still it would have to leave from farthest platform. To my dismay there were flights and flights of steps to be ascended to reach the platform [but of course] and my lungs were about to burst by then. I somehow managed to summon enough strength to drag my suitcase up those bloody stairs and climbed into the train, panting and gasping, and yes, we only had seconds to spare before the train pulled away.
The train was crowded and although apparently we had seats in carriage 11 [we were in carriages 1 and 2 respectively], we decided to stay put as it was impossible to walk through the human traffic blocking the narrow passageway. So there I was perched on my suitcase [for the entire journey which took close to three hours], hanging on for dear life while trying to catch my breath. After a while, I managed to Relax enough to read my novel.
And oh do the Poles love their nicotine. Some chaps who shared the corridor space with me decided to light up [yes, in the train] and I started coughing and coughing. Thankfully, they took the hint and moved to the space in between the carriages to finish off their sticks of cancer-inducing pleasure.
We reached Warsaw (Warszawa) Central at almost 3 pm and it was raining cats and dogs. We walked a bit before taking a bus then walked some more in the rain before finally reaching the hostel. As I didn’t have enough Zlotny left, we told the receptionist that we would pay for our room after having a meal and changing our currencies. Our late lunch was had at a restaurant serving international cuisine.
Later at the hostel, we found out that Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy had been officially announced as the new President of France. And my bomber jacket had a faint nicotine smell to it too. Bugger.
7 May 2007
Unpolished Poles
This morning, the sun sneaked out after 9. We took the bus to Stare Misato and shortly after getting down the bus, I discovered to my horror that I had been pick-pocketed. Yes, all my dosh - Euros, USD, MYR and even PLN and oh, also my credit card, gone. Just like that. I was now penniless.
Thank God I still had Lin. Somehow I found the strength not to cry but by then, I had lost all desire to sightsee. I hated all Poles then. How could they do that to me? Why couldn’t I be left alone without having to be a victim?
We went to a Tourist Information Centre and Citibank but the people there were all expressionless, blank and compassionless when I told them my plight. I felt like shaking them and said, ‘Hey, Cry Me A River, will you?!’ Lin then helped to call Citibank and I reported my card loss. Then I decided I could perhaps contact my friend and asked if she could wire some Euros to me that I can access at our next destination.
We then visited the Royal Castle and viewed the exhibitions. Warsaw’s past is bloody and tragic [just as I was feeling bloody annoyed too and my situation as tragic]; Hitler in 1933 ordered that no stone of Warsaw should be left standing. Patriotic Poles had since rebuilt replicas of the original 19th century structure. After exiting from the castle, we explored the centre of the old town, the beautiful Rynek Starego Miasto (Old Town Square).
After lunch at Nowe Misato (New Town), we took the bus to Lazienki Park and took pictures of the Palace on the Water and Chopin [music composer Fryderyk Chopin was a native of Warsaw].
8 May 2007
The City of Light
After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll around the hotel area to the square before having lunch. Didn’t buy anything today. Not in the mood at all despite earlier daydreaming of buying Polish crystals.
After lunch, we took the bus to the airport for our next destination, The City Of Light. We only landed at Paris Orly at 8.25 pm and after clearing immigration and collecting our bags, we took the Orlybus to Denfert-Rochereau. From there, we walked to our hotel at rue de Moulin Vert.
9 May 2007
Printemps in Paris
*Printemps means ‘Spring’ in French
An overcast morning greeted us today. After breakfast, we went in search of La Poste, the French post office from which I could retrieve the Euros wired to me. With my extremely limited French, I was somehow able to communicate to the lady at the counter and thankfully she was helpful and knew some English. I also discovered that morning that the area we were staying at has a lot of branded store outlets. Alas, we didn’t manage to visit them as they opened too late and closed too early.
We then took the metro to Invalides. The beautiful church of Les Invalides with its golden dome contains the mortal remains of Napoleon. Spent some Kodak moments there then crossed the River Seine, walked past Petit Palais to Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Now, Champs-Elysees is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris and one of the most famous streets in the world [Guerlain also has a perfume by this name]. I suppose it’s like what Oxford and Bond Streets are to London and Fifth Avenue is to New York.
We walked on to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile which is the great circle at the western end of Champs-Elysees. There are twelve avenues radiating out from CDG Etoille, much like a ‘star’. In its centre is the massive Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s thank-you to his army.
We then took the metro to Printemps and Galaries La Fayette at Boulevard Haussmann. The restaurants and cafes in Printemps however didn’t seem too accommodating to our taste, so we ventured out to a restaurant in the vicinity. And my, meals in Paris sure cost a lot in comparison to other cities! And do the Parisians love to smoke too! Our non-smoking table was just metres away from the smoking area. Duh! And as in Krakow, we were asked if were from Korea [cool! That’s the first time for me to be referred to as a Korean] and when we said no, we were asked if we were Vietnamese instead [how not cool! Well, I suppose better that than being asked if we were Filipinos or Thais].
After indulging ourselves to window shopping, we took the metro to the Georges Pompidou Centre. The Centre is a modern multi-cultural art centre conceived by Georges Pompidou and opened in 1977. This eccentric structure houses a cinema, galleries, museums and an excellent library.
We returned to the hotel in the evening stopping by at a supermarket on our way and had our dinner at an Italian restaurant much later near the hotel.
As with Stockholm, Berlin and Athens, it was my second time here. And while I am happy to report that the French are not as snotty as I found them to be the first time, I was dismayed to discover that there were noticeably less handsome or good-looking French guys around.
10 May 2007
Paris Highlights
An early morning in comparison as we read that the queue to the Eiffel Tower is normally long. Yes, that was among our planned destinations today.
We reached the Eiffel Tower shortly after 9 am and the ticket counters were not opened yet. The queue wasn’t too long either. There are three stages to the Eiffel Tower and we bought tickets to all three. You can buy tickets to just the first floor, or first and second floors, or to all floors. Or you can also scale the stairs up to the second floor and the ticket for this is cheaper [not sure if you can ascend all the way up by stairs should you wish to]. We got whisked up to the first and second floors by an elevator then changed at the second floor for the elevator up to the third.
The view from the top was superb and I was glad I wasn’t dizzy with the height. It was still a slightly breezy morning after a late night shower [which we slept through] so the weather wasn’t too kind to those in short sleeves and shorts which thankfully we weren’t in.
We descended down after an hour to the RER station and took the train to Saint-Michel Notre Dame. We crossed the bridge to the Île de la Cité, the tiny island where Paris began in pre-Roman times. The eastern part of the island houses the Gothic 13th century Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral is the first church in Paris and this was where Napoleon was crowned.
After some Kodak moments and a stroll through the church, we walked to a cous cous restaurant for lunch. It was during lunch when we found out that Mr Tony Blair had announced his intention to step down as the Prime Minister of the UK.
After lunch, we decided to walk to the Musée Du Louvre. Because it was previously a royal palace, it is a massive structure alright and our feet were aching just trying to get to Louvre itself! The once-controversial 21-metre high Glass Pyramid dominates the courtyard of Louvre. And once inside, we decided to concentrate on the more important and interesting sights [at least to us!].
Among the treasures if the Louvre is the Venus de Milo and the famous Mona Lisa. We also visited the Islamic Art section of the museum.
After that, we headed to a shopping place but as we didn’t think it was all that exciting, headed back to Printemps and Galeries La Fayette. I didn’t have much appetite for Shopping though; besides I much prefer Italian brands to French.
11 May 2007
Au Revoir
Another early morning. We checked out at 7.30 am and took the metro to Denfert-Rochereau and from there, the RER train to Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have a complaint here: Why, oh why, can’t they build escalators?! German technology far impresses me. Oh and another complaint: the train sucked big time. The train from Rome Termini to Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport was wayyy better. And it wasn’t a direct train too; we had to change trains at a station, thankfully to another train on the other side of the platform [or we’d have to haul our bags up and down more stairs!]. We reached the CDG RER station and changed for another train to Aerogare 1 [Terminal 1].
The airport is huge and massive but hardly impressive.
After checking in, we checked out the very few duty-free shops there and bought some chocolates. Not much choice as Belgian and Swiss chocolates seemed to dominate the chocolate store. No Venchi chocolates sold by weight... *boo hoo*.
Plane departed shortly after noon. It wasn’t a full flight, not unlike the flights out of Rome. Some turbulence was experienced but not too bad.
12 May 2007
‘... to all Malaysians, Welcome Home’
Landed 10 minutes to 6 in the morning. As I decided to perform prayers first, my bag was already waiting for me next to the already stationary conveyor belt. Rushed to take the 0630 ERL ride to KL Sentral and reached micasa before 0715.
*Sigh* As Nelly Furtado sings it, All Good Things Come To An End.
~~~~~~~~
Genres: Comedy, Holiday, Horror
Running Time: 2 weeks
Rating: PG-13 for some strong language
And this is how the story goes...
~~~~~~~~
28 April 2007
Frantic Panic
The adventure started this morning at KL Sentral. Bought tix for both myself and Lin and joined the dozens of people queuing to check in at KLS. It was a long, slow process and it was a good, or rather bad, half hour before we got to the counter.
Only to be told that as there was less than two hours before our departure, the system had been blocked and that meant we could no longer check in at KL Sentral. I was furious and told the lady that we had been queuing for so long and it wasn’t right for her to imply that we had been queuing for less than the minimum two hours required. Lin, being the calm girl she always is, reasoned that we should just head for KLIA so we rushed down but the train was only leaving at 7.30 am. Which meant that we would only reach airport at close to 8 and a mere 50 minutes before departure time.
I pointed this out to Lin and voiced my fear and concern that we may not be able to check in, or worse, board, as we’d be too late. After all, even AirAsia closes its check-in gates 45 minutes prior to departure.
And what do you know, there were literally thousands of people at the airport; long queues everywhere so much so we didn’t know where one started and one ended. In panic, we searched for an airport official and Lin managed to locate him first. He assured Lin not to panic and to proceed to counter D17 or something for immediate check-in.
Phew!
Somehow the 12-hour flight didn’t seem so long or unbearable. We reached Stockholm Arlanda airport at 3.15 pm. The custom was smooth and before long, we were reunited with our bags. We decided to take the airport coach into the city over the Arlanda Express. After all this is Sweden and not at all a cheap destination. This is my second visit to Stockholm.
We arrived at the City Terminal 40 minutes later and took the Tunnelbanan or T-bana to Mariatorget station and walked down to our hotel-boat. Yes, we thought we might as well do it in style and stay in a boat/ship! Hotel Rygerfjord is anchored at the north part of Somermalm Island overlooking the stretch of water that is Riddarfjarden. Our cabin was a charming double-decker ‘room’ overlooking the river and was directly across the river from the City Hall, which dining hall is used for the banquet hosted after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony.
After shopping at a nearby supermarket for our stock of mineral water and fruits, we rested. I bought carbonated mineral water by mistake [euwww!].
29 April 2007
Hardly Stockholm Syndrome But Overall Swede Experience
This bright and sunny albeit cold morning, we ventured out to Gamla Stan or Stockholm’s Old Town. We walked up and down the pedestrian-only street and found the narrowest street in Stockholm, Mårten Trotzigs Gränd. We then came upon Stadshuset or the Parliament and followed the waterfront to Kungliga Slottet or the Royal Palace. We walked on and decided to take an ‘Under The Bridges of Stockholm’ boat tour that took us under some 15 bridges of Stockholm and lasted close to two hours.
After all that sitting, we walked to the Royal Palace and bought tickets to enter the Hall of State, the Royal Apartments, the Apartments of the Orders of Chivalry and the Royal Palace Tre Kronor Museum. However, we had less than an hour before its scheduled closing time so we only covered Tre Kronor and the Royal Apartments.
Next, we walked to Stortorget, which is the old square of Stockholm. The buildings here are featured in many Stockholm postcards and fridge magnets. It is also the location of the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building, the seat of the Swedish Academy and The Nobel Museum.
We were sufficiently famished by this time and went for a late kebab lunch. Feeling more energised, we crossed over to Norrmalm and walked up and down the streets.
30 April 2007
Checking Out Of Stockholm; Checking Out Checkpoint Charlie
Another bright and sunny morning but oh how cold! We left the hotel after breakfast and took T-bana to City Terminal. Farväl Stockholm, we are now heading for our next destination, Berlin.
We were reunited with our bags shortly after arrival at Berlin Schonefeld. We then walked to the S-bahn station and then navigated the seemingly complicated transportation system before reaching our hotel at Sickingerstrasse, near the Beusselstrasse S-bahn station.
After freshening up, we left and took a bus to Hauptbahnhof, which looked really modern and recently renovated. From there, we took an S-bahn to Kohlstrasse where Checkpoint Charlie is. We took the usual tourist pictures before entering the Museum.
As you probably know, Berlin was reduced to rubble in the Second World War. Then in August 1961, the city was cut into two by the notorious Die Mauer (The Wall) which split life on either side between the two political polarities. Ironically, the scant remains of the Wall where so many people died not long ago are the tourist attraction today.
We only returned back to the hotel at 10 that night[!]. There was a beautiful full moon which reminded me of the full moon in Rome in May last year.
May Day 2007
Zoo Station
This bright and mild spring morning, we decided to go to Museum Island
or Museumsinsel, but not before checking out Zoo Station first. Not to visit Cute Knut at the Zoo though. At Museum Island, we explored the Altes and Pergammon Museums [the latter houses collections of Eastern and Roman artefacts]. Both museums were huge, massive, and gigantic and I was feeling a bit tired after all that. We didn’t even go into the Bode Museum [it houses Egyptian works]. By the way, very strict guards patrol the museums.After an Indian buffet lunch at Oranienburgerstrasse, we took the Bahn to Brandenburg Tor or Brandenburg Gate. We then strolled over to Reichstag, i.e. the Berlin Parliament. It was a hazy sunshiny day and there were loads of people sunbathing in front of the Parliament[!]. We then walked down the street along Tiergarten to Siegessäule or the Victory Tower [yes, it was featured in U2’s Stay (Faraway, So Close!) music video]. It was about two kms away from Brandesburg Tor.
We most definitely walked for miles, burnt thousands of calories and fat and developed serious leg muscles this day!
And even then, we walked on further and discovered to our dismay that while the museums were opened on May Day, Kurfurstendamm (Ku’damm) which usually pulsates with life late into the night and Berlin’s premier department store (KaDeWe) were devoid of action.
Watched Liverpool play Chelshit but was too knackered to see the game ‘til its end and only found out the next morning that Liverpool had advanced to the final match after beating Chelshit at penalty. Good job Liverpool!
2 May 2007
Auf Wiedersehen Berlin
Today we left Berlin for our next destination. Took the bus to Haupbahnhof and changed for S-bahn to Berlin Schonefeld.
This time the plane ride was longer - close to 3 hours. We landed at Athens International Airport [Elefthérios Venizélos] at almost 5 in the evening.
Took the suburban train into the city to our hotel near Larissis station. Shortly after checking in, we went out in search for food and some groceries and found to our dismay that Greeks sure love their meat, particularly pork.
Dinner was finally had at a deli at the railway station served by a surly waitress.
Watched AC Milan beat ManUre tonight. Yee haa! Go Milan!
3 May 2007
Greece Enlightening
Greece is the word
Greece is the word, is the word that you heard
It’s got groove, it’s got meaning
Greece is the time, is the place, is the motion
Greece is the place we are in
What’s worth seeing in Athens are all clustered around the old town or the Plaka district. So, this morning after checking out shortly after 9 [any minute later and we’d be swamped by the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren], we took the metro to Acropolis station and walked up the hill to Acropolis. They sure didn’t call it city on a hill for nothing. We joined the hordes of other tourists and schoolchildren admiring the ruins of Parthenon, Erechtheum, Propylaea and the theatre of Dionysus. The temple Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, is held up as the epitome of architectural perfection.
We then went to Ancient Agora located to the north of Acropolis [it was the marketplace and still has the remains of the old administrative centre], then walked past Hadrian’s Library before walking to the Roman Agora. All that walk and being Indiana Jones made us hungry so we decided to go for lunch, but not before stopping by at the Parliament at Syntagma (Constitution) Square to watch the changing of guards which takes place every hour on the hour.
Lunch this time was served by a gruffy waiter. I remember commenting to Lin, ‘What’s wrong with them? They are so bad-tempered around here. It must be the climate.’ Honestly, I didn’t recall them being so rude during my previous visit.
After trekking around the city, we returned to the hotel, performed prayers and set off for the airport. We later performed our evening prayers at the airport, in a chapel – probably that explained my two earlier dreams of praying in chapels. Our flight out of Athens was to take off the next morning at 4.30, yes, talk about an ungodly hour. I couldn’t sleep well in the airport as I kept coughing.
4 May 2007
Cracking Krakow
We arrived into Krakow, Poland, this morning at 6.15 am. We spent a considerable amount of time waiting for immigration clearance. Evidently not many Malaysians had arrived at this airport hence the long process. Anyway, I have been wanting to add Poland as the 40th country I have visited.
It was still a bit cold in Krakow (also spelt as Cracow); after all it was still barely 7 in the morning. We took the train into the city; it took only 14 minutes. The lovely mild spring weather and splendid scenery outside helped to lift my moods. We then discovered that not many Poles speak good English, some don’t speak any English at all! [which I had discovered earlier by watching The Amazing Race: All-Stars]. We were lucky there was a girl who helped us to buy tickets. We then somehow took a tram to our hostel.
After freshening up and breakfast, we walked to Wawel Castle but as the tours that we bought would only start later, we decided to go to Rynek Glowny or the Market Square first. Rynek Glowny, Krakow’s central market square, is the largest medieval market square in Europe. There is the Renaissance mercantile Cloth Hall and Cathedral, some museum and of course, hundreds of pigeons.
We then returned to the Wawel Castle for our tours, had a light meal in between, walked around the castle grounds and even went down to the Wisla River before returning back to the hostel, knackered and beat.
5 May 2007
Salt Mine Tour
This morning, we decided to join a tour to Wieliczka Salt Mine instead of to Auschwitz Birkenau, site of the largest concentration camp in Hitler’s final solution. The weather which had been kind to us all along took a change and was dull, grey and cloudy today.
The salt mine at Wieliczka is an amazing complex of underground mine of miles of corridors [the miles of corridors are supposedly as long as the distance between Krakow and Warsaw!], with many chambers and even chapels built down there. The guided tour lasted for two hours. We first went down 387 steps to 64 metres below ground and as we explored further into the underground complex, we descended further and further into earth’s belly until we reached 120 metres below ground (if my memory serves me right).
I would summarise the visit to the salt mine as fantastic. I was really glad we went there.
We returned back to Krakow and had lunch at an eatery that served seafood [how rare!] before shopping for some souvenirs.
I wasn’t pleased though to discover, on my return back to the hostel, that my freshly laundered Mango long-sleeves tees AND my contact lenses case were missing from the bathroom where I left them when we returned to the hostel. Spent some time hunting for my missing tee to no avail.
6 May 2007
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Spent some more time tracking my tee before deciding to call it quits. Left the hostel shortly after 11 am. Another cold, bleak, dreary morning. Waited for the tram and it didn’t show up. At 1140, we started panicking as our train was due to leave at 12 noon, even contemplated taking a cab to the train station.
But of course, Murphy’s Law prevailed and no cab was to be found when you needed one. We walked like cartoons - I would have won a walk-with-your-suitcase walkathon if there ever is one - and finally we took another tram after walking about a km or so. Got down the tram and walked like mad to the station; it was already 1158 then. The funny thing was - although at the time I barely had time to appreciate the funny side of it - I was at first leading the way, then Lin caught up with me and Suddenly, she overtook me and it was me who was then lagging behind. As she got to the station first, Lin found out that the train was delayed by 5 minutes but still it would have to leave from farthest platform. To my dismay there were flights and flights of steps to be ascended to reach the platform [but of course] and my lungs were about to burst by then. I somehow managed to summon enough strength to drag my suitcase up those bloody stairs and climbed into the train, panting and gasping, and yes, we only had seconds to spare before the train pulled away.
The train was crowded and although apparently we had seats in carriage 11 [we were in carriages 1 and 2 respectively], we decided to stay put as it was impossible to walk through the human traffic blocking the narrow passageway. So there I was perched on my suitcase [for the entire journey which took close to three hours], hanging on for dear life while trying to catch my breath. After a while, I managed to Relax enough to read my novel.
And oh do the Poles love their nicotine. Some chaps who shared the corridor space with me decided to light up [yes, in the train] and I started coughing and coughing. Thankfully, they took the hint and moved to the space in between the carriages to finish off their sticks of cancer-inducing pleasure.
We reached Warsaw (Warszawa) Central at almost 3 pm and it was raining cats and dogs. We walked a bit before taking a bus then walked some more in the rain before finally reaching the hostel. As I didn’t have enough Zlotny left, we told the receptionist that we would pay for our room after having a meal and changing our currencies. Our late lunch was had at a restaurant serving international cuisine.
Later at the hostel, we found out that Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy had been officially announced as the new President of France. And my bomber jacket had a faint nicotine smell to it too. Bugger.
7 May 2007
Unpolished Poles
This morning, the sun sneaked out after 9. We took the bus to Stare Misato and shortly after getting down the bus, I discovered to my horror that I had been pick-pocketed. Yes, all my dosh - Euros, USD, MYR and even PLN and oh, also my credit card, gone. Just like that. I was now penniless.
Thank God I still had Lin. Somehow I found the strength not to cry but by then, I had lost all desire to sightsee. I hated all Poles then. How could they do that to me? Why couldn’t I be left alone without having to be a victim?
We went to a Tourist Information Centre and Citibank but the people there were all expressionless, blank and compassionless when I told them my plight. I felt like shaking them and said, ‘Hey, Cry Me A River, will you?!’ Lin then helped to call Citibank and I reported my card loss. Then I decided I could perhaps contact my friend and asked if she could wire some Euros to me that I can access at our next destination.
We then visited the Royal Castle and viewed the exhibitions. Warsaw’s past is bloody and tragic [just as I was feeling bloody annoyed too and my situation as tragic]; Hitler in 1933 ordered that no stone of Warsaw should be left standing. Patriotic Poles had since rebuilt replicas of the original 19th century structure. After exiting from the castle, we explored the centre of the old town, the beautiful Rynek Starego Miasto (Old Town Square).
After lunch at Nowe Misato (New Town), we took the bus to Lazienki Park and took pictures of the Palace on the Water and Chopin [music composer Fryderyk Chopin was a native of Warsaw].
8 May 2007
The City of Light
After breakfast, we took a leisurely stroll around the hotel area to the square before having lunch. Didn’t buy anything today. Not in the mood at all despite earlier daydreaming of buying Polish crystals.
After lunch, we took the bus to the airport for our next destination, The City Of Light. We only landed at Paris Orly at 8.25 pm and after clearing immigration and collecting our bags, we took the Orlybus to Denfert-Rochereau. From there, we walked to our hotel at rue de Moulin Vert.
9 May 2007
Printemps in Paris
*Printemps means ‘Spring’ in French
An overcast morning greeted us today. After breakfast, we went in search of La Poste, the French post office from which I could retrieve the Euros wired to me. With my extremely limited French, I was somehow able to communicate to the lady at the counter and thankfully she was helpful and knew some English. I also discovered that morning that the area we were staying at has a lot of branded store outlets. Alas, we didn’t manage to visit them as they opened too late and closed too early.
We then took the metro to Invalides. The beautiful church of Les Invalides with its golden dome contains the mortal remains of Napoleon. Spent some Kodak moments there then crossed the River Seine, walked past Petit Palais to Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Now, Champs-Elysees is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris and one of the most famous streets in the world [Guerlain also has a perfume by this name]. I suppose it’s like what Oxford and Bond Streets are to London and Fifth Avenue is to New York.
We walked on to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile which is the great circle at the western end of Champs-Elysees. There are twelve avenues radiating out from CDG Etoille, much like a ‘star’. In its centre is the massive Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon’s thank-you to his army.
We then took the metro to Printemps and Galaries La Fayette at Boulevard Haussmann. The restaurants and cafes in Printemps however didn’t seem too accommodating to our taste, so we ventured out to a restaurant in the vicinity. And my, meals in Paris sure cost a lot in comparison to other cities! And do the Parisians love to smoke too! Our non-smoking table was just metres away from the smoking area. Duh! And as in Krakow, we were asked if were from Korea [cool! That’s the first time for me to be referred to as a Korean] and when we said no, we were asked if we were Vietnamese instead [how not cool! Well, I suppose better that than being asked if we were Filipinos or Thais].
After indulging ourselves to window shopping, we took the metro to the Georges Pompidou Centre. The Centre is a modern multi-cultural art centre conceived by Georges Pompidou and opened in 1977. This eccentric structure houses a cinema, galleries, museums and an excellent library.
We returned to the hotel in the evening stopping by at a supermarket on our way and had our dinner at an Italian restaurant much later near the hotel.
As with Stockholm, Berlin and Athens, it was my second time here. And while I am happy to report that the French are not as snotty as I found them to be the first time, I was dismayed to discover that there were noticeably less handsome or good-looking French guys around.
10 May 2007
Paris Highlights
An early morning in comparison as we read that the queue to the Eiffel Tower is normally long. Yes, that was among our planned destinations today.
We reached the Eiffel Tower shortly after 9 am and the ticket counters were not opened yet. The queue wasn’t too long either. There are three stages to the Eiffel Tower and we bought tickets to all three. You can buy tickets to just the first floor, or first and second floors, or to all floors. Or you can also scale the stairs up to the second floor and the ticket for this is cheaper [not sure if you can ascend all the way up by stairs should you wish to]. We got whisked up to the first and second floors by an elevator then changed at the second floor for the elevator up to the third.
The view from the top was superb and I was glad I wasn’t dizzy with the height. It was still a slightly breezy morning after a late night shower [which we slept through] so the weather wasn’t too kind to those in short sleeves and shorts which thankfully we weren’t in.
We descended down after an hour to the RER station and took the train to Saint-Michel Notre Dame. We crossed the bridge to the Île de la Cité, the tiny island where Paris began in pre-Roman times. The eastern part of the island houses the Gothic 13th century Notre Dame Cathedral. The Cathedral is the first church in Paris and this was where Napoleon was crowned.
After some Kodak moments and a stroll through the church, we walked to a cous cous restaurant for lunch. It was during lunch when we found out that Mr Tony Blair had announced his intention to step down as the Prime Minister of the UK.
After lunch, we decided to walk to the Musée Du Louvre. Because it was previously a royal palace, it is a massive structure alright and our feet were aching just trying to get to Louvre itself! The once-controversial 21-metre high Glass Pyramid dominates the courtyard of Louvre. And once inside, we decided to concentrate on the more important and interesting sights [at least to us!].
Among the treasures if the Louvre is the Venus de Milo and the famous Mona Lisa. We also visited the Islamic Art section of the museum.
After that, we headed to a shopping place but as we didn’t think it was all that exciting, headed back to Printemps and Galeries La Fayette. I didn’t have much appetite for Shopping though; besides I much prefer Italian brands to French.
11 May 2007
Au Revoir
Another early morning. We checked out at 7.30 am and took the metro to Denfert-Rochereau and from there, the RER train to Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have a complaint here: Why, oh why, can’t they build escalators?! German technology far impresses me. Oh and another complaint: the train sucked big time. The train from Rome Termini to Rome Leonardo da Vinci Airport was wayyy better. And it wasn’t a direct train too; we had to change trains at a station, thankfully to another train on the other side of the platform [or we’d have to haul our bags up and down more stairs!]. We reached the CDG RER station and changed for another train to Aerogare 1 [Terminal 1].
The airport is huge and massive but hardly impressive.
After checking in, we checked out the very few duty-free shops there and bought some chocolates. Not much choice as Belgian and Swiss chocolates seemed to dominate the chocolate store. No Venchi chocolates sold by weight... *boo hoo*.
Plane departed shortly after noon. It wasn’t a full flight, not unlike the flights out of Rome. Some turbulence was experienced but not too bad.
12 May 2007
‘... to all Malaysians, Welcome Home’
Landed 10 minutes to 6 in the morning. As I decided to perform prayers first, my bag was already waiting for me next to the already stationary conveyor belt. Rushed to take the 0630 ERL ride to KL Sentral and reached micasa before 0715.
*Sigh* As Nelly Furtado sings it, All Good Things Come To An End.
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