Be Happie No Worries Smile More c",)

2009-09-14T04:29:00.002+08:00

There are many great escape stories from the east germany to west germany hehe.. U should go to the musuem.. really interesting.. which I will go later.. haha..

Aroma cafe... where our lunch is..

Ham & Cheese sandwich haha..

Aroma ice blended coffee... not really tat nice as publicised..

2009-09-14T04:20:00.002+08:00

Icon in Berlin haha.. a pretty cute car.. but noisy..

People who voice out their opinion in east germany are subjected to violence.. so ppl escapes to west berlin.. Hence, in order to prevent more from escaping to west berlin, berlin wall is built.. The wall above is the 4th generation wall.. Swamp pipes are used to defray ppl from climbing..

These are the path that marks the previous existence of berlin wall

2009-09-13T22:17:00.001+08:00

Nazi architecture..

Picture showing the faces of the jewish.. despair.. and sadness..

Visible bullet holes on the wall..

Buidling where Valkeryie is being filmed.. By tom cruise.. so cool rite haha..

2009-09-13T22:04:00.002+08:00

Stones of various heights..

Feeling really negative while walking thru the stones..

I think its the museum where u can find out more info.. so do go there. haha I din have the chance..

This is the momerial for the muder of 27m jewish of europe.. really sad thing to know.. I know the jewish were tortured and killed during the world war period.. but din noe that there were so many.. hmmmm next time i shld really go to the concentration camp to see... and experience..

Walking through the stones... not sure if its becoz after what the tour guide said.. i do feel sense of negative.. not sure if its sad or pressured feeling.. tour guide mention its the type of feeling that the jewish felt during that period... OH YA pls DO NOT STAND ON THE STONES and SMOKE...

The above car park kinda marks the place where Hitler's bunker was previously.. pretty big place..

2009-09-13T21:39:00.002+08:00

Carvings on Brandenburg gate..

Parliament house.. wif a really cool dome @ the top... its free entry juz that its a long queue.. so be smart go after dinner or early in the morning..

Another view of pariser square..

Heard from tour guide its a protest.. seems to be against nuclear energy..

u will see on the street 2 rows of bricks on the road.. its showing where previously the berlin wall was..

Check in check in.. so we can start our trip....

2009-09-13T21:09:00.004+08:00

Haha.. after getting down from train haha.. its time to get the map, a must have I realize haha.. to move around easily haha... so we went 2 tourist info & got a map & museum guide for 2EUR.. not too bad..

Havin a city mobile pass EUR6.10, you will be able to get ard on tram, buses and metro free... funny thing is that you need to validate the ticket before using it haha.. If u get caught on the rides without a valid ticket, no mercy its fine of EUR100+..

But then the funny thing is that we took several rides for the whole day, I haven't seen any ticket checkers haha... bet they are dressed as commoners waiting for ur guilty look haha...

Check in counter..

Very modern lobby.. nice..

We made our way to our hostel haha.. warmbats is our hostel's name.. pretty cool. we got a 4 room mixed private dorm.. it has lockers in the room so u can lock ur personal and valuable stuff. There is a toilet in the room which is great.. walking distance to metro station.. u shld consider tis hostel if u wan to come to berlin..

Our tour guide (very animated speaker)..

After we checked in, we waited for a while in the lobby for a free walking tour haha (to be exact) its not really free haha.. u will give a tip to the tour guide (voluntary amounts) haha gave 10EUR coz she is really gd.. man... she practically has the history textbook scanned in her head.. so much details.. I'm lost...

If you are interested in the walking tour, just proceed to the Pariser square (where the brandenburg gate is) at about 11am. Look out for starbucks the group are waiting there. Go get your ticket from the guide... Highly recommended tour for those who are in Berlin for the 1st time.. U will know how to get around beta after tat..

Besides this tour, there are others like the concentration camp (too bad we dun have the time), its a tour to show how was the Jewish being kept and tortured during Hitler's time.. i will tink its a great experience.. u nid to pay for tis tour....

Brandenburg Gate.. impressive

Popular Hotel Aldo where MJ threw the kid off.. remember???? And.. its EUR 12,500 a nite.. coz it has butler service & many value added stuff. the most ex hotel in berlin

Yay Berlin.. here we come..

2009-09-13T14:38:00.002+08:00

Yes our train has arrived... Berlin here we come... its a pretty cool ride haha we get to sit in room.. remember those type of movies you see people sitting in rooms and ticket checker opens the door and asks for tickets... haha we got to do that.. its pretty private haha.. gd point u dun have to pay extra for that.. if the room is free u can take it haha..

Tink we are really early haha so the cabin room is available..

Cool ms Jessie..

Me & Minghui..

Passing by scenery in the train..

Berlin Central station

Haha.. yay we have arrived in Berlin.... we slept through the journey haha of coz.. having 3+ hrs of sleep is totally tiring haha.. Now on to exploring Berlin.. exciting another new place..

Aaaawww waking up @ 5.. its been ages since I done tat

2009-09-13T14:29:00.002+08:00

We decided to catch the 6+am train.. so we had to wakie like 5+ in the morning.. got a cab to drive us down to the station.. not far away... Man haha.. the meter in germany's cab jumps like almost every sec haha... my eyes were kinda glued to it for a while haha..

Sun is not out yet..

Can you imagine.. the sun is not even up yet haha.. Pretty cool cause we can buy tickets from the machine and pay with your credit card.. its pretty convenient haha.. after buying our tickets, we got something along the way to eat. Journey is 2hrs.. coz we took the slower train.. If you happen to go to Hamburg next time and want to catch the train, look out for ICE trains.. CE are the slower ones...

Haha... @ least we are not the only early ones haha.

Proof its 6+ haha.. in the morning guys haha.

Shops opened pretty early at least for the food.. Thank god.. hungryyyyy

Ticket machine.. quite user friendly...

I'm so gonna ostracize Radisson

2009-09-13T14:14:00.002+08:00

Well.. this trip's planning isn't really that well done coz there were are a couple of stuff we were pending for confirmation.. me & minghui had book accomodation in berlin for the nite that we will take a train from hamburg to berlin..

But as we arrived quite late 11+pm.. we decided to stay over in hamburg.. man.. u juz couldn't believe it.. the hotels (I don't mean 1 or 2), its like 7-8 that we asked.. all were fully booked.. there wasn't really a festival going on coz I asked the receptionist.. so everyone is going to berlin the next morning??? haha....

well in the end, we tried Radisson Blue as its the largest looking hotel that we have passed by.. we asked for the rate.. guess wat its EUR160 per room per nite.. they dun allow addition of beds.. (which i dun noe y).. so we had to get 2 rooms instead.. They still charge the same rate for a double and a single room.. what kind of logic is that???

In addition, for this kind of rate you are paying, you have no internet access (or even wireless) in the room... U can't believe tis i'm tellin u... there isn't even a phone in the room for rooms to contact one another.. How crazy is that??? I'm so going to ostracize the radisson group if I'm coming back to Europe.... TOTALLY RIDICULOUS... Still feel very angry now..

Impressive looking lobby

Porsh Checkin counter.. I guess tis accounts for part of the EUR160

Toilet... not really not impressive.. I realize hotels so far I been too there isn't really bath tub..

Study desk corner..

Bed that is quite comfortable.. lotz of pillow for u to hug haha I tink coz u can cry ur heart out for the expensive room haha. opppppssss

Yay.. a road Trip... to Hamburg

2009-09-13T13:59:00.002+08:00

After settling down in our apartment, a little checking of email and unpacking of stuff.. though its a little little it seems.. we took abt an hr or so haha.. wanted to juz stay for 15mins or so and move on.. BUT haha the power of internet & our hook up on chat & facebook seems to just drag the time away..

Anyway hehe today marks my 1st road trip (in Europe) haha had 1 previous road trip to JB wif the HR gang haha... Its a 3+ hr drive to Hamburg, where we will stop for the night before taking a early morning train the next day to Berlin..

Having this road trip reallly motivates me to really get my driving license haha.. I tink it really saves you money if you travel in europe at least in a grp of 4-5... coz you juz nid to pay for the pertrol... border fees there might but from Denmark to Europe there isn't... The trip to hamburg is just EUR 35.. for the petrol..

Gd to have friends so u can chit chat along the way. then 3hrs+ is a wheeze.. gd to have multi drivers too haha so its not so taxing on the single driver..

Wind Turbine.. something we can't really get to see in Singapore.. there are lotz of them..

3 in a row.. its really impressive to see them turn..

Passing by scene....

Haha.. I dun really like to take self portrait pics.. but something juz came over me haha.

Haha my blog back up and running

2009-09-13T13:47:00.002+08:00

Hey guyz.. after the orientation, I checked in to my new apartment.. its really nice.. small and cozy.. tink its like a studio apartment.. own kitchen, own toilet, own bed (haha its a sofa bed so its like a 2-in-1 concept haha...)

Its resided in Jelling another town in Denmark. Abt 30mins drive from the office haha.. I need to rely on my colleague Jessie to go to work haha coz I can't drive as yet.. Luckily there is a GPS that comes wif the rented car.... Phewwwwwww if not we will really nid to figure how to get to the apartment from Hotel Legoland...

Oopppsss

2009-09-13T00:29:00.001+08:00

Ooooppsss haha.. sorry din update my blog for a long long time haha.. partly there is some problem uploading pics on blog haha... another thing is after work, I wan to juz relax haha and not crack my brains haha.. Try to go for a run haha makes me even more tired..

Now in Copenhagen.. resting our legs back in our hotel and surfing net for awhile haha before we set off for dinner.. walking for quite a long time. was out since 10am.. walked till 4+ haha... our theme is walking haha save $$$ haha coz really spend alot of $$$ le..

Well will try to update more k haha..

2009-08-31T14:14:00.003+08:00

Hey hey haha.. another gd piece of advice.. pls do not buy any drinks from any of the souvenior shops or "mama shops" the price difference is really huge from this grocery stall Albert Heijn haha.. A traveller's best friend. No worries about the location, it has several outlets located around amsterdam...

Can u imagine.. a bottle of 1.5 litre mineral water is 3EUR at the mama shop wheares Albert Heijn sells only EUR 0.69.. its almost 5 times the difference.. so pls tink twice if you want to buy any drinks to quench your thirst haha..

I really like buildings in Amsterdam.. they have really nice designs, that we can't really find in Singapore.. Juz take a walk and enjoy the architecture..

2009-08-31T04:48:00.002+08:00

OOooooo this is the I amsterdam card u muz get.... Really a bargain if u were to move ard amsterdam.. I juz found out the canal cruise itself already cost EUR12.50. Museum cost abt EUR5.50.. there is a list of 20+ museums tat u can visit for free... on top u get some discount vouchers for food and other museums.. by the way, juz learnt it from someone tat we can do an online booking for time slot for the museum so u dun haf to queue... but when u are there and moving ahead of long lines, juz say u're going for a meeting... ppl will be damn angry if u told them u arranged an online reservation haha... another gd tip...

Haha while shopping @ the Albert Cuyp Market haha my friend took a pic of this male "nun" haah getting tourists to sing wif him haha.. pretty interesting sight...

Hahah.. ooo ya going back to this dark knight... they are pretty alert on ppl taking pics of them.. if u din pay them, they won't allow pics to be taken haha... juz like the above when my friend tried to take....

wow to tink tat vodka has a museum itself haha cool isn't it... din really go in haha coz i wasn't really tat interested in the history and my friend not into alcohol haha... but it seems to have a long history hehe...

2009-08-30T14:39:00.002+08:00

Boy are we hungry after a really long long walk.. U can't believe it.. u see the brightness of my travel pal's pic (he's too hungry haha... he nids to eat haha...).. Guess wat time haha.. its like 6+pm man... looks as if early afternooon rite. the day here is really long.. it grows dark only at 8+...

Ooooo dinner we settled wif a meal of either steak, chicken or pork ribs wif fries & salad.. haha the salad is juz miserable few lettuce leaves wif shredded carrots and a slice of tomato hehe.. but its rather cheap.. Eur 8.50.. its considered one of the cheapest western food in amsterdam..

I ate pork ribs haha..not too bad

Wat do you noe haha.. Zouk has also diversified their biz haha from clubbing to F&B biz haha...

biz

2009-08-30T14:21:00.002+08:00

Amsterdam is really a candy heaven.. I mean singapore we do have like candy empire etc... but then the choices here are more really more... haha.. chocolates to jelly beans.. to shapes of candy to that of cartoon characters like hello kitty, elmo... impressive..

Haha it seems that the sex icon doesn't really leave the shops as well that seels candy haha..

Hey haha.. isn't that interesting.. this museum showcase the different ways of sex through the ages.. its only EUR3 per person.. u can spend about 1hr inside coz really lotz to see.. aaaaa I dun dare to upload the pics on blog.. u can ask me in private haha.. tink the moderator will purge me out of blogspot haha if i upload the pics online haha.

If u are tired but still feel like exercising your legs while having a beer.. but yet you still you wan to move around haha.. u can try the above haha.. seems pretty cool hhe.

2009-08-30T14:11:00.002+08:00

Not sure if its the norm but there are alot of performances on thet streets and market places haha.. lots of "pa sa mah lam" in denmark hehe... but then there isn't really shopping malls like in Singapore haha.. something that is different haha..

Dance group...

They really have lotz pa sa ma lam..

They even have "ko tai" haha

Dark Knight is in town. .

2009-08-30T14:02:00.002+08:00

Haha.. after walking for so long.. we decided to utilize our tram card already hehe.. put it to good use.. so we took all the way to Centraal station.. this is the place where all the trams will meet haha... pretty gd place to disperse haha.. lotz of ppl.. coz it is also the place where u can buy train tickets to other parts of europe.. I tink haha...

really nice architectures they have..

Haha.. very interesting caption for Hokkien ppl

2009-08-30T13:39:00.002+08:00

Haha.. you can find many asian restaurants here.. chinese, thai, indian etc... which me and my travel pal of coz din try haha come all the way to europe to eat asian dishes... aaaaaa dun waste money lah hehe...

oh ya... we settled our lunch in the market i told u haha.. we bought chocolate.. the above pic is only 100grams haha.. we got each 4 pieces to taste haha.. so nice.. the milk chocolate is really gd.. not so sweet haha...

Minghui searched online and found tat fried fries in mayo is really a hit here in amsterdam.. haha really it is.. practically there is one shop selling fried fries every few hundred meters u walk around amsterdam haha in the town city of coz.. not cheap the one i had is 2.80EUR haha..

Hey haha.. NTU has reached amsterdam too haha.. they expanded their biz from education to flooring specialist haha selling tiles, flooring stuff haha..

2009-08-30T13:27:00.002+08:00

Man.. i guess everyone will juz rush to this shop haha like me haha.. its chocolate man.. all sorts of chocolate. . and its cheap.. EUR2.50 for 200grams.. pretty affordable haha for the food tat we seen so far.. but wat AMAZES me so far is the type of chocolate they sell.... haha "private parts".. so cool haha.. din buy though haha feel a bit weird if i were to buy a dick or breast haha to be eating as I walk haha...

They sell all sorts of nuts too haha..

Fresh seafood aha.. some stalls dun even put ice coz its cold enuff haha.

Wow.. fresh and bright and big flowers.... same rule haha air conditioned air.. flowers live longer..

2009-08-30T13:17:00.002+08:00

We were searching for our lunch haha walking across open air cafes.. boy sandwiches are like EUR 4 to 5.. haha.. normal over there but then if convert back to SGD boy haha its ex wor.. SGD8 to SGD10 for just a sandwich haha..

So we went to explore "ba sha ma lam" concept haha its their market hehe.. we went to albert cuyp market.. its a really nice place to venture.. u shld really come.. lots of stuff here.. its almost similar to the bugis village we have back in singapore. clothes, accessories, luggages, food.. many more.. but they have really cool stuff here like cheese, really fresh fruits man the colour of the fruits are really bright.. and .......

2009-08-30T12:59:00.003+08:00

More pics of the van gogh museum.. boy lotz of ppl queueing haha.. well me and my friend not really those who can really appreciate paintings haha we gave it a go haha.. seeing the queue to explore other places..

So nice rite haha.. the river.. man.. tat's y u shld really go for the canal cruise lor.. the rivers runs around amsterdam.. there are 3 boat companies.. haha.. blue boat, holland international rondvaart, and Canal Bus.. the Iamsterdam only has free canal cruise either for blue boat or holland international rondvaart hehe.. we still deciding which one to take haha..

Its the pic of the tram hehe... looks cool rite haha coz we dun haf it in Singapore haha.. inside is really warm haha coz no air conditioned since outside is already air conditioned already hehe.. the tram runs around amsterdam and is really a convenient form of transport... But of coz if u wish u can cycle around amsterdam haha..

Oooo for those who like beer experience.. haha heineken brewy is here in amsterdam. for Eur15 wif 2 drinks included u can see the place haha.. wif Iamsterdam card u get 25% off haha.. but then since me and my travel pal dun like beer haha we juz took a pic and went off exploring ... so lucky haha if not i will haf to drink beer haha..

2009-08-30T11:53:00.002+08:00

Hey our first stop is @ Rijksmuseum.. the largest museum in Netherlands.. muz visit... too bad for us.. half of the museum is on renovation.. phewww still got half.. we tot it was closed... its quite a cool museum displaying lotz of stuff.. from paintings to pottery etc.... it has a cool station where u can take a video msg and send to ur friend's email haha. u shld try hehe..

The above is the really famous I amsterdam logo haha.. pretty nice.. everyone all wants to take a shot of it hehe...

Man where do we see such a vast green patch in Singapore.. its really huge this grass patch hehe.. really gd place for picnic haha..

Oooo another u shld not miz if u really like art painting.. van gogh painting haha.. wow its really popular.. lots of souvenior shops are selling postcards on van gogh paintings haha.

2009-08-30T11:22:00.002+08:00

Haha so we began on our adventurous trip for the day haha.... the weather here is really cooling.. quite cool breezes all the time.. Advice dun act hero and wear ur t-shirt and berms wif slippers.. u gonna regret big time.. juz reminds me of my grad trip to japan... i was at the lake at mount fuji.. its freaking cold haha & i juz wore t-shirt and berms... "act hero" haha

Oh ya.. pls look @ my blog.. can really provide u wif tips on saving money... 1st one was to get iamsterdam card.. tat comes wif 2 cards: 1 card for free visits to several museums (not all are free with card but has quite a wide range) and a free canal cruise, 1 card is the tram, cum bus and metro free for the activated no of hrs depending the type u bought. They have it for 24, 48 and 72 hrs. You juz need tap when on and off the ride.. juz like our ezlink card.

You can go to webby to see more details http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/iamsterdamcard

If u walk ard amsterdam, u will see a number of very nice statues...

U shld really go to tis park Vondelpark haha I haven't gone in yet. But according to iamamsterdam webby, this park has performances in the evening. ppl do go there for picnic a few hrs before the performance. Going to explore it tonite..

Ooooo cycling seems to be really common here. and be careful also.. pavements are divided into 2 segments for pedestrians and cyclists. Quite gd actually coz its really a big place here.. haha me & my friend we walked coz want to enjoy the scenery haha..

2009-08-30T03:30:00.002+08:00

Wow... such a big patch of grass patch..

Iconic for amasterdma...

Good and big park.. got nice evening happens like dance, plays etc...

Its a favorite way of getting ard... quite popular..

One very exquisite stat tues...