My Story, My Life

June - A month of weird combinations (Euro cup, new receipes and flowers)

2008-09-13T13:56:00.000-07:00

*Radio is now playing, ''The day the music died... sooo Bye bye Miss American pie...'' as I am writing this long delayed entry*.

Austria and Switzerland were the hosts of Euro cup this year. At the beginning, I was kinda disappointed that England did not qualify to play. Darn luck! Of all the years, the team has to pick the year to not play when I am in the host country. Shit happens.

In the midst of the game, I took a liking to the Spanish team. Their footwork were unglaublich. Their team spirit was unbeatable. What was not to like about the Spanish? Nothingg! Especially.. TORRES! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Torres

So much had happened during the cup. Conversations were mostly about football.. football and more football. Fans were parading with their flags, showing their patriotic sides.

Loads of Turkish fans (had to stop selling Kababs... bad joke) were showing love for their team. There were also a significant number of Croatian fans. When both teams played, the atmosphere kinda got alittle out of hand. Police was prominently scattered to prevent fights. Another match that was much anticipated was between Poland and Germany.

It was kinda refreshing since most evenings were spent either at the fanzone (where fans went to watch games on the big screen telly) or in front of the telly at home. One of the weekend, Filip suggested to rollerblade to the Stadium to have a look. I doubt that Singapore is the only rules-fastidious country, judging from that signboard outside the stadium.

Another football event was between IMBA and IMP. There was a friendly match between the two institutes end of the month.

Life is not only about football. Ok.. fans.. don't bite off my head. I mean there are other finer things in life. Because we hardly eat out in Vienna (compared to Singapore), it led to no choice that I have to perfect some dishes to stimulate some tastebuds. Here they are.. pancakes filled with marmelade, cottage cheese and almonds; mozarella tomatoes salad; buttercake topped with blueberries. Another interesting ikea item was the apple slicer. The best invention for lazyasses like myself.

A dramatic change in topic would be my love for this flower store on Josefstädterstrasse. Amazing flowers.

30 May-2 June - Land of Robin Hood and the Beatles (Part 3)

2008-08-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

On the last day, we left our guesthouse with dampened hearts. We did not want to leave. On the previous day, we had wanted to go on the Magical Mystery Tour that bring Beatles fans to various places such as Penny Lane, the houses of John and Paul, Strawberry Fields and etc. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a slot since the tour group was totally booked out.

Filip suggested to go to the places ourselves. We had a car, we had a map, and we know the streets where they were... so why not? The host had shown us how to do the tour ourselves.

This link shows the map of the area we drove around.

http://www.rocknrollstuff.co.uk/beatles/map/pennylane/pennylanemap.htm

Our first stop was to go to Penny Lane.

In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs

Of every head he's had the pleasure to have known,

And all the people that come and go

Stop and say hello.

On the corner is a banker with a motorcar,

The little children laugh at him behind his back.

And the banker never wears a mac

In the pouring rain, very strange.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

There beneath the blue suburban skies

I sit, and meanwhile back

In Penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass

And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.

He likes to keep his fire engine clean,

It's a clean machine.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

A four of fish and finger pies

In summer, meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of the roundabout

A pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray

And though she feels as if she's in a play

She is anyway.

In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer,

We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim.

And then the fireman rushes in

From the pouring rain, very strange.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

There beneath the blue suburban skies

I sit, and meanwhile back.

Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

There beneath the blue suburban skies, Penny Lane.

Followed by the houses of John and Paul. John lived at 251 Menlove Avenue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/251_Menlove_Avenue

At that point, we could not find Paul's house on 20 Forthlin Road. The road was so small on the map and we were not sure whether it was spelled Forthlin. Anyway, there happened to be a tourbus in front of John's place and I had the urge to ask the bus driver. He was very helpful and suggested us to follow his lead.

We reached Paul's house quickly. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Forthlin_Road

Our last stop was Strawberry Field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Field

Let me take you down,

'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry Fields forever.

Living is easy with eyes closed,

misunderstanding all you see.

It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.

It doesn't matter much to me.

Let me take you down,

'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry Fields forever.

No one I think is in my tree,

I mean it must be high or low.

That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right.

That is I think it's not too bad.

Let me take you down,

'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry Fields forever.

Always no sometimes think it's me,

but you know I know when it's a dream.

I think I know I mean "Yes," but it's all wrong.

That is I think I disagree.

Let me take you down,

'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.

Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.

Strawberry Fields forever.

That ended our trip. I thought. What I did not expect was Filip had another surprise for me. Right after being at Strawberry Field, Filip proposed to me on a meadow. We were surrounded with flowers, grass and trees. I was so shocked and thrilled. It is hard to explain how I felt at that moment. Butterflies were in my stomach. Tears were in my eyes. I said, ''Yes''.

Goodbye England.

30 May-2 June - Land of Robin Hood and the Beatles (Part 2)

2008-08-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to write about my love for the Beatles. This obsession of them started more than 10 years ago. The influence stemmed from my parents who also adored them. I collected most of their Cds and also some of their books and posters. Their music is legendery and has managed to transcend generations. More than 40 years ag, their music captured the hearts of many and till today, they continue to fascinate the listeners with their lyrics and melody.

Having been to Paul's concert, this would be a perfect time to share my experience in Liverpool (a city that means so much to me - Birthplace of the Beatles and the Football team).

We drove through Sheffield, Manchester and finally at ~11pm, we reached liverpool - European City of Culture 2008. Just like Nottingham, we had no clue where the Waterloo region was. Our hotel was situated in that area. We dropped by at a gas station and crossed our fingers that someone would give us directions. Thank our lucky stars that a good hearted cabby helped us immensely. Not only did he point it out on the map for us, he decided to lead us there. What do I mean? He actually suggested to us to tail behind his taxi and direct us to Waterloo. I mean ... what a kind soul.

That saved us lots of time. We were able to find our Bed and Breakfast in no time. The place was called Woodland Guesthouse http://www.bedandbreakfastsguide.com/Displays/Woodlands_Private_Guest_House_bed_and_breakfast_7573.asp The host was also a friendly man. He upgraded our room to the family room and we had so much space. It was unbelievable.

In the morning (YEaahhh 1st June!! Liverpool Sound Concert date!), a really good breakfast awaited us. Baked beans, eggs, sausages, bacon, toast, cereal and a pot of tea. We planned to start the day by going to the city centre. Waterloo was not close to the city area and in order for us to go there required the train. That was not a problem since the station was bearly 10 minutes walk. It took another 20 minutes to reach Liverpool Central station.

Once in the central, we walked quite abit and ended up at Albert Docks. There was the Beatles museum. The queue to get in was horrendous. Many were well equipped with umbrellas and standing patiently in line. Filip suggested me to get into the shelter (souvenir store) while he stood and waited. Dying of guilt. I went to join him after I got a Beatles cellphone keychain and a Tshirt. The wait took around an hour. It was a shame that photography was prohibited inside the museum, although there were some rulebreakers who continued photosnapping.

The musuem took us three hours. We were given headsets. It started from the beginning - where the guys were born; what their parents worked as; then what kind of music they liked that inspired their future songwriting; how the group was formed; where they played their gigs;...... the middle - their fame;...... till their end in 1970. Even though I had read their stories before, my knowledge was further broadened after this trip.

We had to hurry to Anfield stadium for the Sound Concert. It was still drizzling. When we got there, there was already a lineup. I guess there were people who came really early to get front standing places. Filip decided to get sitting places instead since I was vertically handicapped. Standing places would just be a major disadvantage in my case. Well.. sitting was good. At least the places were reserved.

Not only was Paul playing in the concert, there was also the Kaiser Chiefs and some other group called the Zutons. It was pretty obvious who the crowd was waiting to see. http://www.last.fm/event/375714
http://www.mp3locker.net/2008/06/paul-mccartney-liverpool-sound-concert.html

What can I say?? He is simply the best, better than all the rest!!! He played all the songs I wanted him to and even some other more. The song list included:

1. Hippy,hippy,shake (1:45)
2. Jet
3. Drive My Car
4. Flaming Pie
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Let Me Roll It

7. My Love (He dedicated this song to Linda - his wife who passed away.)
8. C'moon
9. Long And Winding Road
10. Dance Tonight
11. Blackbird
12. Calico Skies
13. In Liverpool
14. I'll Follow The Sun
15. Eleanor Rigby

16. Something (He played on the Mandalin - a gift from George and also dedicated this song to him)
17. Penny Lane
18. Band On The Run
19. Back In The Ussr
20. Live And Let Die (The fireworks started bursting on stage)
21. Let It Be
22. Hey Jude
23. Yesterday
24. A Day In The Life
25. Give Peace A Chance (A song written by John)
26. Lady Madonna
27. I Saw Her Standing There

At the end of the concert, fireworks continued to fly across the sky. We were mesmerised. The concert was definitely worthed coming to. It is sad that the night lasted so short. I wish he could sing all night till dawn. We walked across a huge park to take a bus to the city and go to the Cavern club - the place where the Beatles used to play their gigs. A shame is that the old cavern has been demolished and replaced by the now standing club. When we were inside, there was a band playing Beatles music. The pair was very good. We were impressed by their performance. That ended our night - a night to remember.

30 May-2 June - Land of Robin Hood and the Beatles (Part I)

2008-08-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

This was one weekend that I was looking forward to. A long weekend spent in the UK. My first time in UK. And most importantly, a chance to live my dream - to be in A PAUL McCARTNEY concert. I repeat (A PAUL MCCARTNEY LIVE CONCERT). Filip surprised me and bought air-and concert-tickets. *Breathless* That was a dream come true. I mean... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH I have always wanted to sit in and listen to a Beatles concert. Well.. now that that was out of the window, since 2 members are no longer around. A living Beatle is next to the best option.

We headed to Bratislava to take our flight to Luton, London. That is the northern part of London. We intended to head north towards Nottingham and finally to Liverpool. After ~3 hours flight, we were greeted with english signboards. It felt like home. No more ''Ausgang'', ''Eingang'', ''Bitte nicht rauchen''... but ''exit'', ''entrance'', ''Please no smoking''. Not only that, but hearing the accent was hubble hubble drooling experience. Well.. I thought that when I arrived at the customs point, the first person who talked to me would be a fullgrown Brit. I was however greeted by a Ba-e-singh! .. who incidentally spoke the british accent. Cheers...

When we got out of the airport, it was quite chaotic. We did not know which bus to take to bring us to the car rental. There were different buses to take passengers to different points. It took us a while to find our way but we finally did. That was what mattered. Filip had his second experience driving on the left hand side of the road and the right hand side of the car. i.e. his first try was in my dad's car in Malaysian highway and my dad's eyes on the backseat. Anyway, he began with shaky hands, legs, feet but after (a surprising) one hour, he was driving like a pro.

We had lots of luck during this trip. It was not exactly like spriking lottery or winning a jackpot kind of luck. Both of us did not prepare ourselves on where the hostel was in Nottingham (our first stop). We were clueless on where Nottingham was. We simply did not know which city was near Nottingham. When the car rental gave us the map of UK, I looked at UK geography for this first time. That map was a gift from heaven. I guess thats the excitment of it all. The uncertainities...

We were travelling on the highway M1 that thankfully and luckily brought us straight to Nottingham.

Once we neared Nottingham, the horror started. We had no map of Nottingham itself. Hence the location of hostel remained a mystery. Thanks to cabbies, they taught us how to reach our sleeping place - the Midtown Hostel. http://www.midtownhostel.co.uk/ We did not want to fork up on a fortune for rooms on the first night and preferred to stay on 15 pounds per person beds. That was quite an adventure especially for our backs.

The second day was dedicated to sightseeing Nottingham.

I took some photos that are typically British.

Filip wanted to visit the Nottingham Castle and Sherwood forest. We started early in the morning and wanted to leave Nottingham at ~5pm. We had to grab our car before 9am since a minute more would mean a big leap in the ticketprice. Then we drove towards Nottingham Castle. It was quite a sight. Not the usual palaces or castles I have seen in Germany and Austria.

A nice lady welcomed us at the Museum of Nottingham Life. We decided to gain some culture by visiting the place. The museum was not a bore at all. On the contrary, it was full of fun. We were allowed to play/touch with the display. Kinda interactive approach.

Other cool displays

This museum hurted my feelings at one point. Photos tell the story. That was rather depressing.

When I saw that the toys I used to play with had ''promoted'' themselves to musuem material, that hitted the high note. Am I that old?!?

Wise words?

After the museum tour, we walked around castle rock and then had a drink at a local diner, called Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem with a history that went back to 1189 AD. We left the city of Nottingham and headed towards the outskirts - Sherwood Forest. The aim was to look for the big Oak Tree - The Major Oak.

Right after Sherwood Forest, we left the proximitiy of Nottingham and headed north towards Liverpool. On the way, we passed through impressive landscapes, flocks of sheeps and cows. The sky was overcasted, but it did not dampen our spirit. I was looking forward to going to Merseyside, not only to see Paul but to see Anfield. Singalong We will never walk alone.

When you walk through a storm hold your head up highAnd don't be afraid of the dark.At the end of a storm is a golden skyAnd the sweet silver song of a lark.Walk on through the wind,Walk on through the rain,Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.Walk on, walk on with hope in your heartAnd you'll never walk alone,You'll never walk alone.

26-27 May - Penninger lab at Puchberg

2008-08-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Its time to change alittle on the layout of the blog. Oooo pictures on the right hand side. Saucy! We met up early at the institute. The Hanadas (Toshi and Reiko) were kind to give me a ride to our destination, Puchberg. http://www.puchberg.at/

I have written about Puchberg in previous entry, but this time the trip was a lab retreat. We planned to travel up the mountain via train (Schneebergbahn) and then spend a night at a pension. We decided to go for a hike from the pension to the top of the mountain. The next day, we would stay indoors for some scientific discussions. I guess Austria that lacks beaches compensates this with their splendid mountains.

Our boss taking a snooze... Das ist Leben!

It took us approx. 45 minutes to reach the last stop. Halfway through our journey, there was a tiny stall selling traditional bread.

I was overwhelmed by what I saw. Mountains, valleys... Just speechless. Some boys had decided to do the hike from bottom to top. I think that the train was a better choice. O_o

We started our hike once we sorted out our rooms. After much OOoooss and Ahhhhs on different bedrooms, we went back to our room and enjoyed the view from our windows. I shared the room with Rubina, Magda and Urzula.

Later, we met downstairs for our hike. It was surprising that the hotel was freezing cold but it was warmer outside.

The climb was not as easy as I assumed it would be. Even though summer was approaching, the snow stayed on. In order for us to go to the peak, we had to walk up a steep slope covered with snow. Once on top, there was a hut and we sat together to have a round of drinks. Going up was not the problem. My fear was the going down part. Uli was quite a character. He was fooling around (freaking us out), but minutes later was helping the weaker crowd (such as myself). It took me eons to glide myself down the slope. Uli had to carry me and run down. That was rather embarrassing.

Once we finished the hike, we sat in another hut to take a break. There were no Kit Kats though.

At the dinner table... all of us sat in one table.

While the others stayed longer after dinner, I decided to hit the sacks earlier. My wish was to wake up and catch the sunrise. Thankfully, I managed to experience it. The chirping of birds broke the silence. Slowly the sun peeped out from the distance. It itched its way to brighten the sky. Gentle breeze welcomed the appearance of the sun. I would definitely do it again. The best 10 minutes of the trip was here.

After our scientific discussion and lunch, it was time to go back. While waiting for the next train, we lingered on the slopes. Ruth ventured towards the protruding rock. I was too frightened to go with her. However, Uli suggested to hold my hand and lead me there. I was rather reluctant at the beginning, but later caved in.

Soon we bidded farewell to Puchberg.

17 May - A hike in the woods near Baden/BbQ/waterpipes

2008-08-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Baden is located in the south of Vienna. Once in a while Filip and I would go there for a swim. We did not know that the place has more to offer than just nice swimming places. Filip's friends have suggested to go for a hike and then followed by a BBQ. That was a pretty good idea.

We walked through the woods and the trail led us to a small castle. When we entered the castle, there were stairs that brought us to the top. From there, we had an overview of the forest.

The climb was *pants* all worthed it when we saw what laid beneath us.

Other than the greens, there were flowers that sprouted everywhere.

Lamas??? in Europe??? Talk about Lost in Translation.

and rivers...

Rocks.. sadly I do not mean diamonds.

and finally, the highlight of the day!!!

In the evening, I was invited to a beer tasting party. It was also Christoph's farewell party. The game was to taste different beers and rate them accordingly, without knowing which brands they were. My favorite was apparently the Wieselberger, and my hate list is Stiegl.

The list of beers to taste.

I was only able to try 9 of them before pulling out my white flag.

The highlight of the evening was my first ''smoke'' on the shisha -- Don't scream... I am still a non smoker. Coming to Europe did not change me completely into a puff queen.

Joke of May - Flowered toilet paper

2008-08-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

I was speculating what my next entry would be seeing that this is my one hundredth blog. Looking through some photos (thats how I remember the past more vividly), I stumbled upon this picture.

Filip and I had some disagreement on toilet paper purchase. He was seeking to save the environment by buying recycled toilet paper and I (a typical girl) wanted fancy flowery paper. In the end, he got his rough sandpaper and I had no choice but to enjoy a whole bag of ass scratching paper. Filip thought it would cheer me up by drawing flower on his purchase. When I went to the bathroom and saw that... I could not help but laugh out hard and loud.

*sigh* the things your loved one can do to bring a smile on your face. That is truly priceless.

11 May - Badminton and Florent co.

2008-08-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

As mentioned earlier on, Filip and I love to spend Sundays having Polish food. We introduced this restaurant to Florent and his family (his wife and two daughters). Every once in a while we would meet and have lunch there. The slow Sunday took a turn when Filip suggested to have a game of badminton at the Prater. That turned out real fun. His daughters were super adorable. I am sure that they are still cute as ever. A pity we have not met up recently due to busy schedules. Some photos to remember the day.

Prater consists of an amusement park, gardens, open green spaces, sports centre and lots of trees.

The last thing to do before leaving the place, was to have some cotton candy. MMmmm... deli-cious...

2 May - A short weekend visit with the Czajas

2008-08-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

Bartek and his girlfriend, Julia (god i think thats her name) visited us in Vienna. They arrived on Friday. And why do I remember so clearly? Because on this not-sö-typical day, instead of heading off to work, I went to some government sector to renew my visa. Nothing was so special about renewing a visa. What was so special was that I waited from 10am to 2pm for my turn. I mean what an efficient system. 4 hours of thumbs-twingling. Filip was there waiting with me. Thank lord.

It got to the point when he had to leave to go pick up Bartek and co. from the train station. It is so relieving that this was just once in a year affair. (Deep breath and a sigh) All three of them met me while I was still waiting. I guess it is because 1 May (Thurs) was Labour Day and many took the day off on Friday to get their documents done. Anyway, no more fuss about this. We walked down Mariahilferstrasse and went down to Ramien for some lunch. *Starving* Ramien is really the best!

We walked towards the Volksgarten. Bartek had his cool camera with him. He was trying it out, taking photos over and over again till its puurrrfect.

We strolled along the Ring. There were live performances in front of the Hofburg. At night, we went to this Cuban Bar called Manolos (http://www.manolos.at/), drank Mojitos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojito and went for a while to Floridita (http://www.floridita.at/).

The next day, we were at Naschmarkt. And later, we were also in Schönbrunn. The usual places to bring tourists.

It was enjoyable to have them over. I wonder when Filip and I would go to Dublin to pay them a visit.

4-6 April - Filipie and me in Planai

2008-08-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday (4th April), everyone headed back to Vienna at 5pm, while I waited Filip to arrive in Schladming at around 8pm. The plan was to stay around the weekend to enjoy more skiing since the winter season was coming to an end. The shitty part was to carry my stuff (bag and ski equipment from Royer to another guesthouse). Hence the cab was a better option, but it was not a cheap choice. Oh well... i rather break my wallet than to break my back.

When I was at the doorstep of Landhaus Tritscher, there was no one in the house. http://urlaubsplaner.schladming-dachstein.at/unterkunft/?action=gallery&acco=7818

I waited for an hour before the owner got back. He was not expecting me to arrive so early. A little misunderstanding. I guess that was not so bad. At least he did end up coming home. I will cry if it was the wrong address. While I unloaded my bags, Filip called and told me that he was in the train.

Skiing started the next day. We were blessed with clear skies.

We managed to go to another slope, called Hauser Kaibling and ended our day there. We missed our last ski lift to Planai. Thankfully there was a van of employees who drove us down the mountain.

That was the end of skiing for 2008. Spring starts.. well in my blog's case... summer is ending soon.

2-4 April - IMBA/IMP Ski trip at Schladming

2008-07-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Working in Austria brings some perks. Not only is there seasonal changes, the company where I am currently at organises events to boost the moral of employees. Every winter, IMBA/IMP goes to Schladming for a 3 day skitrip. Schladming is located south of Vienna. It has one of the best ski slopes in Austria. We stayed near the Planai slope, every slope was somehow linked to each other.

We met up at the institute at around 7am. Three tour buses were waiting for us. We collected our bagged lunch and went in search for a seat in the bus. Lucky for us we managed to find one in the double deck. We were greeted with thick, dark clouds. Not a good way to start a trip, but thankfully it was not an every day event during our trip.

The ride took us around 3 hours. Once we reached our hotel called Royer, http://www.royer.at/ we unloaded our bags and ski equipment. Four of us (Magda, Ruth, Rubi and I) shared a room. It was pure fun. Magda entered the room and suddenly called tabs on the master bed. Then came Ruth. I was stoned. No experience in fighting for my rights, no genetic code for claiming property so swiftly. I blame it on being the only child. In the end, Rubi and I shared the sofabed. It was even better since I love a hard mattress - a friend to my back.

The view from our bedroom was marvellous. We could see the slopes right in front of us. The snow was not so fantasic from the bottom. I was quite skeptical when I saw the lack of fluffy snow. Icy patch = falling endless

Anyway, we went for a dip in the pool to prepare ourselves for the next days ski. After dinner, we went to party at the Hohenhaus Tenne, http://www.tenne.com/. I think that was not such a good idea to party till 2am because the next morning was hell. Body was aching and the thought of a whole day ski was not so thrilling. But then.. what the hell.. we came all the way to have a go at it.

After breakfast, we geared up and went out and up. Hello Gondolas.. here we come! Magda looking anxious. I was looking excited, but was dead frightened. Slopesssss!!

Once we got to the end station of the gondolas, Ruth and Chris who had snowboards were ready to go down the red slope. Magda and I looked at the slope, and then at each other. NO way. We needed to practice on the blue first, before we were ready for the steep creepy slidedown. Rubi came with us. She taught me a couple of tricks.

At the end of the day, we had quite a hiccup when it was going to 4pm, but I saw it was 3pm. Thinking there was still time for more skiing, but actually the lifts were going to close. Rubi and I had to go down a couple of red slopes to go to the middle of the gondola. When we were there, we thought that that was also close. We really did panick, but later realised that we had to go to the other side to take the lift down. We were the second last ones down. The relief we felt later on was overwhelming.

Later that night, we had night tobogganing. That was fun, adrenaline rushing. I got injured by falling flat on my face onto a patch of ice and the toboggan flew straight to the back of my head. That was ouch. My first attempt and then the second time I went again... I was slower and more careful.

The last day we decided to take it slow. We took a walk around the town. That was the end of our ski trip. It was a one day affair for me. The rest left to go back Vienna. I stayed for my body massage in the hotel and waited for Filip to join me to continue the weekend ski.

22-23 March - Goodbye Innsbrück, Hello Villach

2008-07-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

On the second day, we woke up early to continue our roadtrip (from Innsbrück to Villach). The weather changed drastically. It was no longer blue skies. We were greeted with the cold winter. We checked out and drove towards the Brenner Highway that took us to Northern Italy.

The Brenner highway is truly breathtaking. We drove through one mountain after the other. Villages were found on the slopes, in the valleys and along the roads. Farm animals were scattered in the fields. At times, clouds hoovered at the top of the mountains. Varieties of landscapes made the journey interesting. It was not too long for us to reach Villach (in the Kärnten region).

http://www.villach.at/inhalt/englisch/7682.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villach

In Villach, there are several lakes - Faaker See, Ossiacher See, Magdalenensee and others. Our hotel was located in a town called Afritz. It was near the top of the mountain. Going up the mountain and finding the place were not as easy as we thought. First hurdle was the snowy slope; second problem was the lack of house numbers. Once we found our hotel, we were relieved. It has an unusual name called Blue Mountain Hotel. http://www.bluemountainhotel.at/index.html

The family run place is run by Aussies who moved to Austria. The owner named the Hotel after the mountain in Sydney. Although she came from Melbourne, she figured that Mount Buller Hotel did not sound as good.

Once Filip figured out how to drive the car up the snowy driveway, we unloaded our bags and drove to grab a bite. We decided on having a meal at an Italian restaurant. After that, we headed to the city in Villach.

Some photos from the mountain we stayed:

On our final day, we decided to use our skis and headed to a place called Gerlitzen. http://gerlitzen.com/download/folder/sommerfolder08_ENG.pdf

http://www.skiinfo.com/Ski-Resort-Info/Gerlitzen-EATXGERLITZEN-103-en.jhtml

Gerlitzen was really fun to ski on. There are combinations of gentle and steep slopes. It was a pity that we did not have time to try the other slopes. We skied for ~6 hours and were tired out. The last place we headed to was Fohnsdorf, where there was a therme called Aqualux.

http://www.therme-aqualux.at/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66&Itemid=53

The roadtrip came to a close after the relaxing therme. Nach Wien müssten wir fahren.

21 March - Go Westtt, Life is mountainous there

2008-07-21T14:54:00.000-07:00

It was the long weekend. Monday was the Easter Monday. While Singapore offers the good ol' Good Friday, Vienna provides no Good Friday, but Easter Monday. Ask me why? I simply have no idea. Probably 'cos the Catholics and Christians want to be different from one another. Thats my lame unintelligent guess.

Anyway, Filip decided to make full use of these 3.5 days to go for a roadtrip together (21-24 March). Whhhoooo wweeee!!! We went in search of the Westend - Innsbrück. We collected our car at ~1.30am from Buchbinder and headed home to load our bags. At 3am, we hit the roads. I tried my best to stay awake, but my eyes were heavy like stones. In the end, my sleep got the best of me and my poor Filip had to drive alone. The speed he drove at was er hem. It took us 3 hrs and 30 mins to reach Innsbrück. We arrived at 6.30am. When I opened my eyes, I was stunned by the beauty of the mountains. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innsbruck

http://www.innsbruck.at/io30/browse/Webseiten/Content

The first thing we noticed was the fresh crisp clean air. It made me feel 10 years younger. haha.. ok... 5 years younger. Thats the Firt we rented. We needed a bigger car to fit our bags and our skis. The idea of this trip was to be spontaneous. Minimal planning. Well, we did book the hotels in advance but the route/ the places we wanted to visit/eat/ski ... we had no clue where to go. I find these ''going with the flow'' trips unpredictable and thrilling.

It was way too early to do anything since it was just past the crack of dawn. We decided to drive to the city area to look around. We stopped our car in front of a tiny park and had our breakfast-brought-from-home on the bench. Well, I tried to be on the bench, but that did not last longer than 5 minutes. It was just too cold.

After breakfast, it took us some time before we found our hotel, located at Patsch. It was on the mountain, away from the city area. Some photos of the view around the hotel. We were lucky with the weather.

When we found our hotel, they refused to let us check in earlier since the rooms were not ready. Filip was aching to go skiing, but I was aching to have more sleep. The solution? He went to ski on some mountain near the hotel, while I slept and wait for him in the car. Filip took some amazing photos when he was skiing. The photo with the parking lot... mmm.. there must be a car with me sleeping in it.

After a good sleep and Filip's satisfied ski, we checked our bags in the hotel and headed to the city.

And before heading back to our hotel, we enjoyed the sunset. Simple pleasures of life are priceless.

20 March - Altwiener Ostermarkt auf der Freyung

2008-07-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Other than gaining pride from their great Christkindlmärkte (Christmas markets), the Austrians also have entertaining Ostermärkte (Easter markets). Rubina suggested us to visit one in Freyung, located in the first district. It was sort of like the outdoor ''Pa sat ma lum'' in Singapore. The concept is the same; however, the markets here were more pleasing to the eye. A website has displayed the various Ostermärkte in Vienna.

http://www.wien-konkret.at/wirtschaft/shopping/wiener-ostermaerkte/

A pity we did not have time to visit the other markets. Arg! I should have taken photos of the cute bunnies in one of the booths.

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 6)

2008-07-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

Victoria Peak

Prior our visit to the peak, we met to have some wanton noodles. Little bowls of delight.

It was madness going up the peak by tram. The queue, the crowds, the pushing... I was so glad when we were able to make into the tram. We were eagered to go and see the fireworks.

On our way to the peak

Once we were at the top, there was a famous wax museum (Madame Tussauds) with Bruce Lee at the entrance.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/08/28/hongkong.tussauds/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Tussauds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Tussauds_Hong_Kong

Unfortunately we did not go inside to have a closer look.

It was freezing at the balcony. Only Jurek, Filip and I chose to stay outside and waited for the fireworks. The rest of my family chose to go back to the city to view the fireworks from there. The cold and wait were worthed it once we saw the gorgeous fireworks and the nightview of Hong Kong.

5-14 Feb - Macau

2008-07-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Macau is unique in its special way. It is influenced by the Chinese and Portugese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macau

http://www.macautourism.gov.mo/

One can easily travel to Macau by speedboats. It took us approx. one hour to reach there.

If you are a nature freak, there is really nothing much going on in this area. BUT.. if you love gambling, you have stepped into the asian Las Vegas. The place is literally littered with hotels and gambling parlors. The famous ones are Sands Macau and MGM Grand Macau. Casinos do not permit photography so.. taking photos of the interior was not possible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_Macau

I am not a fan of gambling, but I definitely do not say no to food.

As I have mentioned earlier, Macau has been colonised by the Portugese from 1887 to 1999. However, they landed in Macau in the 15th century. There are several architectures that showed the influence from the Portugese, such as the famous St. Paul Cathedral (that was burnt down in 1835 and only the facade remains now) and the Largo do Senado.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruins_of_St._Paul%27s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largo_do_Senado

St. Paul Cathedral

Largo do Senado

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 5)

2008-07-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

The cycling and rowing day at Tai Po

Pictures with no words

My cute mum with her 4 wheel bike.

The surroundings and a fine day

Row row row the boat

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 4)

2008-07-06T13:52:00.000-07:00

Fong Moon Kee in Hong Kong

It just seemed like yesterday when I saw my granduncle and grandaunt. They are friends of my grandparents. They used to travel to Guangzhou every year together. Seeing them reminded me of my own grandparents who have passed away years ago. Oh I do still miss them so much. Life is so cruel. Why must there be a life cycle? There are deaths; there are births. I love to spend time with the elders who share their past stories and dying traditions. There are so much to learn from them, who have walked through the journey of life longer than I have.

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 3)

2008-07-06T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ocean Park

Ocean Park used to be the only theme park in Hong Kong, but now its popularity has been overshadowed by Disneyland. It is a shame. I could still catch a glimpse of our childhood when I was there with my cousin, Michael, although the park is not quite the same it used to be.

Oh sheesh.. I realise now that we did not take many shots from this event.

Before going to take the cable car to the other side of the hill, we went to see the pandas.

I have to say that the lump of furball is so adorable. All they do were to lay on the grass, roll around, eat bamboo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda

Then came the cable car ride.

We went for the seashow that figured dolphins and sealions. I was surprised that they did not have orca whales. I think they had them in the past. Oh well, in a way, it was pleasing that there were no orcas since they should not be kept in captivity. Prior to the seashow, there was a lion dance performance. I am not sure whether its part of growing up, but I found the seashow much better when I was a kid. Everything seemed so dreamlike.. wowww dolphinsss. Now, its more like.. oh 3 dolphins.. oh.. cute. Not as thrilling as it used to be.

Later, we went to the aquarium and saw lots of different sealife.

Lastly, we took 2 roller coaster rides. One of them is in the photo. No... not that tall hell tower, but the one in the background. That kinda summed up our trip. Oh and Thai food for dinner. Yums!

26 Jun - Overview from February to June

2008-06-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

After we visited Hong Kong (i have yet to put all my photos in here), Jurek left a couple of days earlier and headed back to Neuss. I am so pleased that Jurek and my parents got along well. Surprisingly well. We left Hong Kong on 14th Feb. Filip left on 15th Feb to go back to Vienna, while I stayed on for a week longer. It is strange that in some way, Singapore will always be my home, but in other ways, I enjoy being overseas and experiencing something different - some place that values the 5Cs much less than Singapore.

I have tried to do a brief summary in my previous entry, which is helpful to keep track what has happened thus far. And before I make more detailed versions, I guess it would be best to draw up an overview before I forget most of it.

March
20th - Filip and I visited a easter market In Freyung. Easter came early this year.
21st - 24th - We made a 4-day road trip to Innsbrück, Villach, Fohnsdorf Therme AquaLux. The trip consisted of sightseeing, skiing, and lastly the sauna/spa.

April
2nd - 4th - Annual Ski/Snowboard trip with IMBA/IMP in Schladming. Stayed at the Hotel Royer. First day: relaxing time by the pool. First night: Partying till 2am, danced my heart out, drank like a fish. Second day: Skiied morning and afternoon. Half dead and still hammered from the night before. Second night: Night tobogganing. Freaked the hell out of me when I hit the ice patch, followed by the toboggang hitting my head. I ended up with a bruised head and right cheek. The partying was cut short. Darn! The others left at 4.30pm. I stayed on for my massage and waited for Filip to arrive. The 2009 ski trip will be held on 19th - 21st March.
4th - 6th - Extended ski trip with Filip in Schladming. Got a tad better on skis. Worthed every penny.
7th - 16th (excluding weekend) - Labortierkundekurs (Veterinärmedizinischen Universität Wien). An intensive course on laboratory animals (all in German). Faints, but german-improving experience.

May
3rd - 6th - Bartek and his gf came to visit us from Ireland. We brought them sightseeing.
15th - 16th - IMP 20th Anniversary at the Hofburg. Lots of scientific talks at a fancy venue.
17th - A hike and BBQ in the proximities of Baden (Lamars in Vienna?) and a Beer contest (9 different brands of beer out of16/a first try with a Shisha pipe at Christoph's farewell party.
18th - A relaxing Sunday with Polish food, followed by badminton with Florent and co. at the Prater.
26th -27th - A lab retreat to Puchberg. Hiking and a one night stay in a hut.
30th -

June
- 2nd - Trip to the UK. (Highlight: Paul Mccartney Concert at Anfield, 1st June) (A dream come true: I am now engaged. Filip proposed while we were in Liverpool.)
7th - 29th - The reason for not writing my blog (haha) = Euro 2008!!! AT least there is something to give the blame on.
7th - Fanzone Wien near the Kunst Museum. Turkey vs. Portugal
8th - Fanzone Wien near the Rathaus. Germany vs. Poland
14th - Sri Lankan food near Josefdorferstrasse. A walk along this street. We were too lazy to go Fanzone to watch Sweden vs Spain, but we went to Cuban bar with Nedim and Magda for live band.
15th - Appointment made with the priest at Votivkirche. A glance at the Euro cup. A walk in the fanzone in the day. 21st - Rollerblading in the Prater. Swimming at Robert's rooftop pool.
25th - Fanzone Wien near the Rathaus. Germany vs Turkey (Semi Finals). In the first half, weather report showed that the storm was coming. Darn!
26th - IMBA vs IMP football match on Baumgasse. Also on the 26th, Spain kicked Russia out on the semi finals. Woohoo!!!!

I guess these were the stuff we/I have done thus far. Helpful for my train of thoughts. Hope the updates were at least entertaining for you. Cheers! Bis später!

25 May (Sidetrack) - Britain's got Talent

2008-05-25T03:33:00.000-07:00

I was playing about with youtube. God bless youtube. It is brilliant and brings the world closer. Anyway, I would not have learnt about this show,''Britain's got Talent'.

http://talent.itv.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain's_Got_Talent

I discovered the many talents that were on this show. From different backgrounds, different ages, different styles, different genders, they performed with passion. To name a few, there was Paul Potts. A guy who was selling mobiles. Who would have expected a mobile salesguy living in South Wales to have such talent singing opera. Once he won the competition in 1997, he is touring out of Britain and singing his lungs out. So gifted and only to be discovered at the age of 36. He sang Caruso, Nessun Dorma and others. I am looking forward to get his album, One Chance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Potts

http://www.paulpottsuk.com/intro/

Another singer who is also brilliant is Charlie Green. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A_mSR3a3xM

Young talent (10 years old) singing Summer Wind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Wind Who would have guessed that a boy appreciates Swing tunes? Its great that timeless music is appealed by the younger crowd.

Summer Wind (one of fav songs)

The summer wind, came blowin in - from across the sea

It lingered there, so warm and fair - to walk with me

All summer long, we sang a song - and strolled on golden sand

Two sweethearts, and the summer wind
Like painted kites, those days and nights - went flyin by

The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky

Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you

And I lost you, to the summer wind
The autumn wind, and the winter wind - have come and gone

And still the days, those lonely days - go on and on

And guess who sighs his lullabies - through nights that never end

My fickle friend, the summer wind

There is a street dancer called George Sampson who is also worthed mentioning. He did not make it when he was 13, but went to dance again at 14. Both performances were fantasic.

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 2)

2008-05-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Journey to the Big Buddha

It felt good to have family by my side once again. -Our one day trip to Lantau Island-

All of us in the cable car that took us to the Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha

It is located on the Lantau Island., near Po Lin Monastry.

Our climb to have a closer look at the Buddha. It was freezing.

What is going to Lantau Island without going to have some vegetarian food.

Group photo and photo with 3 sisters

Time to bid Goodbye...

5-14 Feb - HongKong (Part 1)

2008-05-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the dates of the places we had been. In this case, I would need to write about what we did and these events are not written sequentially. Of course, there are lots of walking around and lots of eating out (more than 3 meals a day). We were staying outside of HongKong city at my mum's brother's place. It was located in Tai Po. Although it takes quite some time to get to the city, it was much better since the air was less polluted and less crowded.

Region in Tai Po

Once we headed towards Hong Kong city, the atmosphere changed drastically. We were no longer in a village setting, but a metropolitan surrounding. Taller buildings, more vehicles, more pedestrians... The pace of life is faster. All it took was a 45 minute express busride to have a switch in lifestyle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/index.jsp

Hong Kong

HongKong is famous for having good eats, fantasic shopping and also notorious for having an overwhelming population number. If you have not seen a skyscraper in your life, most of the locals themselves live in skyscrapers (reaching up to 70 storeys high). Many of them are built to accommodate the growing population. There used to be lots of British occupants (due to HongKong being a Britisch colony), but nowadays, the number has decreased since the country has been returned to China in 1997. Naturally, this is replaced by Chinese (from mainland China) moving South to HongKong.

There are gaps of peace in the city. I love the tiny streets and the contrast between new and old architecture. Some may say that the old buildings look too run down, but I guess thats the trademark of Hong Kong.

As I mentioned earlier, one can find great eateries in HongKong. We spent most of our time eating. I wonder how Hongkongers manage to keep their stick figures whilst eating loads. Herbal tea? The crab in this case is from Hokkaido, Japan. My uncle brought it back with him for us to try. It is common practice for food dishes to be placed in the middle of the round table and for people to pick their desired food.

The next few entries will be about the big Buddha located at the Lantau Island, Ocean Park, a one-day trip to Macau, cycling at Tai Po, the Victoria Peak and other little bits.

5-14 Feb - Nice smelling harbour (Hong Kong) and Bay of A-Ma (Macau)

2008-05-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

My next entry would be on our trip to HongKong and Macau. Hongkong is part of my childhood since my parents and I went back to visit my mum's family. Now, things have sorta changed. My grandparents passed away while I was rather young. We no longer visit the place as often, but still, there are still pockets of memories inside me. I remember how I was totally spoilt by my aunts and uncles who only saw me once a year and also because i happen to be the only girl amongst the other boy cousins.

I will elaborate on our trip next time. There is certainly more to write about and pictures to show.

Clocked out time 1,20am now... ZZZzzzz

A glimpse at my home - Boy do I miss it

2008-05-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

4 Feb - Hi ho... Hi ho... its off the Zoooo we go

2008-05-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed going to the Zoo. Not only does the zoo offer animals, it is filled with greens. The Singapore Zoo has developed beautifully over the years. It strived to make it as natural looking as possible for the animals. Monkeys are allowed to swing freely from tree to branch; lions are lying in their dens; giraffes and zebras are grazing on the open grassfield; oh.. you get the picture. For more info about the zoo: http://www.zoo.com.sg/

The night safari is located beside the Zoo: http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/ It is open at 6pm till 12am. One can easily hop over from the zoo to the night safari when one cannot get enough of the animals.

(Copy and paste from the website)

Opening Hours & Rates
Open 365 days a year, the Singapore Zoo is a must-see destination on every visitor's attractions list. With the following useful information at hand, you can plan your day of fun and exploration with ease.
Opening hours
8.30am to 6.00pm daily
Entrance fees (admission only):
Adult S$16.50

Child (3-12 years old) S$8.50All prices include 7% GST

Map of the zoo

The most interesting part is their feeding times. Since we only got there in the afternoon, we missed pretty much the morning feed (which was a shame). We saw the white tigers being fed and also bought a basket of fruits to feed the baboons (hmm.. does not seem to be on the list).

The Orang Utah was roaming freely in a non caged environment

Recommended Itinerary
Morning Feeding Trail 1
9.00am: Elephant Bathing* (at Elephant Ride area)
10.05am: Polar Bear
10.30am: Treetops Trail & Otter
11.00am: Primate Kingdom

Morning Feeding Trail 2
10.45am: Giraffe
11.00am: Jaguar
11.30am: Island Free Ranging Orang Utan

Afternoon Feeding Trail 1
1.05pm: Polar Bear
1.15pm: White Rhino
1.25pm: African Lion
1.40pm: Gibbon
2.00pm: Treetops Trail
2.10pm: Otter
2.20pm: White Tiger
2.30pm: Pygmy Hippo

Afternoon Feeding Trail 2
3.45pm: Giraffe
4.00pm: Jaguar
4.15pm: Proboscis Monkey
4.30pm: Mandrill
4.35pm: Chimpanzee

Other Token Feeding Sessions
11.00am: Kangaroo feeding*
11.55am: Elephant*
1.30pm: Manatee*
2.00pm: Komodo Dragon (Every 1st and 3rd Sunday only)
2.00pm: Primate Kingdom
2.15pm: King Cobra (Sundays only)
2.15pm: Boardwalk Free Ranging Orang Utan
2.20pm: Arapaima
2.30pm: Hamadryas Baboons*
3.10pm: Polar Bear (Sundays & PH only )
3.30pm: Island Free Ranging Orang Utan
3.55pm: Elephant*
4.00pm: Kangaroo*
4.30pm: Boardwalk Free Ranging Orang Utan
4.45pm: Sungei Buaya Crocodile Feeding (Sundays only)
4.45pm: Polar Bear
5.00pm: Hamadryas Baboons*
*You can purchase food on-site to feed animals

Weeelll... the list is pretty long. There are also animal shows. We went for ''Elephants at work and play''at 3.30pm. The elephants displayed their ability to lift logs, shoot water from their trunks (which got us wet), pick up things with their trunk. We also managed to catch the one called Splash Safari at 5.00pm. The show was entertaining and each of us even got a kiss from the sealion (which was more like a big seal).

At the same time, one can also have photography sessions with various animals. http://www.zoo.com.sg/visitor/animalphotography.htm

Orang Utahs wished us Happy Chinese year with Hongbaos (red packets)

Doing research on mice, I was keen to see how big the world's largest rodent is. We celebrate the year of the rat this year. It resembled alittle like an otter. Lord, I cannot imagine having to genotype it. O_o

Other stuff that are offered at the Zoo include adoption of animals, wildlife education and conservation, lunch with lions or even lending a venue for special occasions i.e. birthdays.. weddings etc. I guess i did enough marketing for the Zoo. Please visit while in Singapore. But if you hate animals, dont go... or hmmm go.. to change your opinion on them.

3 Feb - BBQ place with my mates

2008-05-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

I landed in Singapore on 2nd Feb. What can I say? I was greeted with no one, but heat and humidity. Apparently, my dad mixed up the terminals. Thats the thing about having too many terminals in the airport. You never know which one to go to. He was at T3, then T2.. and finally, he went to T1 to meet me. Filip and Jurek were there to meet me before my daddy. Auslanders/ Foreigners did not even go to T2 or T3.. they went straight to T1. haha...

The first night, we went to East Coast for seafood. MMmmmm SEAAA FOODDD!! something that is less often seen in Vienna. How i miss it so much. I met up with my cousins, the Khoos - Ting and Xing and their mum (my aunt).

The next day, my friends were coming over for a BBQ. The weather sucked at the beginning.. rain! But after a while, bits of rain turned out to be better since it was not as hot. Dora, Pris, Shann, Pauline and Gerald came to my place and we started the fire.. bbqed some meat... etc etc. Jurek and Filip were also there. It was good fun. Just like the good times we had in the past. I guess some things just never change... This year would be our 10 years anniversary we all first met in Sg poly.

The preparation/daylight: Gals in kitchen, Guys in dining room (good life for the dudes).

Thanks Gerald for being the Cook by the fire.

Thanks Pauline and Gerald for drinks (teas, volka...).

Thanks Shannon for the desserts from Bengawan Solo.

Thanks Pris for the Otah.

Thanks Dora for the lemon cake.

I took credit for being the marinated meat person.

Group photos: one dude and 5 ladies. Just 5 women reliving childhood.

Lotsa eating photos.

The night came and we were still at the pit. One wonders how much we had consumed in that party. One thing helped for our digestion (for sure!)

This...

More photos from different cameras.

What is food without alittle music? We went back to my place and the pair played great live jazz. It was so fun... we wanted more.

Till we meet again, my dear friends...

26 Jan-2 Feb - Filip and Jurek at my folk's place (without me)

2008-05-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what had happened at this point of time since I was not with 4 of them. BUT they made a handful of photos together. It was worthwhile to show them. I had such bad vibes before they met.. like scenes from The Shining, or Meet the Parents Part 1 and 2. Little did I expect that my folks and Filip and his dad got along well despite differences in cultures, languages, eating habits, countries... the list continues. I am definitely thrilled that they managed to cross boundaries and had joy in each other's company.

3some at the Orchid centre (Botanical Gardens, Singapore)

http://www.sbg.org.sg/

Father and son at the Bird Park...

http://www.birdpark.com.sg/

and Sentosa with thick, heavy clouds.

http://www.sentosa.com.sg/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentosa

Happy Birthday Jurek! My dad surprised him with a cake from Angie. Wish I could be there to share the moments with them.

23-25 Jan - FANG2008 at Tegernsee Rottach-Egern, Germany

2008-05-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Nothing special happened in mid Jan. Mmm.. not that I can remember. I was looking forward for the end of January since there was a conference coming up in Bavarian. Having never set foot on Southern Germany, the experience was rather exciting. Of course, the conference is ''equally'' important. It was called FANG2008. If you are interested on who the speakers were. Heres it: http://www.fang2008.org/

We left to München aka Munich from Vienna in the morning. I think it was around 9ish and reached Tegernsee in the afternoon.. like 3ish. Once there, the scenery was definitely breathtaking. The place is influenced by tourism. There are nice classy hotels, but at the same time the huts are built in a traditional way. The hotels surround the edge of the lake. What can I say... just GORGEOUSSS!!! Oh.. btw.. speaking of hotels, Ruth and I got to stay in a ***** hotel. Count the stars * * * * *!!!! haha.. not that we made use of their spa/pool facilities since we spent most of our time in the conference. DAMN! But the breakfast was SUPER!...

A pity that I didnt have a camera with me since Filip brought it with him to Poland (i think). Thanks to camera cellphones, we were able to take some memories back to Vienna with us.

On the first day, we were greeted with no clouds and only sunshine. These photos were taken while we were walking towards our hotel.

Once we reached the hotel, we had a couple of surprises. We were greeted by ice lollies and a room with 2 floors, a balcony and a living room area. Our hearts skipped a beat.

Once we put our stuff down, we made our way back to the city area to have a look-see. The conference started the next day. We were welcomed with a good selection of breakfast, ranging from different kinds of cheeses, bread, musli, fruit salads, jams, eggs, was noch? well you name it, I am sure they have it.

Most of the time, we stayed in the conference hall to listen to the lectures. They gave updates on their projects and findings. At the end of the talks, the day was really exhausting. Its like your brain = sponge = some details were dripping out. I felt so maxed out. I was relieved to be able to have a little walk. Ruth came along.

Did I mention that we got a tad crazy from all the talks?

I got to catch up with Andras (Nagy), my ex boss and an unexpected ex colleague from Takeda, Johannes (Grosse). They were also attending the talk. Andras was giving a talk. It was nice to say hi.

2 days of intensive talks. Finally, it was time to go back to Vienna. Farewell to Tegernsee. Thanks Ruth for being a great companion.

3 - 6 Jan - Ed's visit to Vienna

2008-05-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

After being in Vienna for 7 months, a good friend paid me a visit. Ed and I are the aluminus of UoT. We used to live in the same building and were neigbours for a year. During my final year in 222 Elm street, he provided me with all kinds of yummy food and I was his guinea pig. Well since his cooking has rarely been bad, being his taster was not a bad deal at all. Anyway, he was visiting me for a couple of days from the 2nd Jan till.. the 6th Jan.

He became my couch guest. It was great to catch up with an ''old'' friend. And now that I am checking our photos, they are photos of Viennese buildings. Darn! we forgot to make photos of us!!!! Well, Eddy took lots of repetitive photos. Same shots, different colours... I picked a couple of his works.

It was a shame that we could not spend so much time together since I had to work. He did manage to bake 2 loaves of white bread. It was the good ol' days where he cooked and I watched. On Sunday (his last day), I brought him and Filip to IMBA and we played bits of pool. We brought him to try Polish food and then walked to the Belverdere (some photos above).

We also went to the main cemetry - a rather odd place to go but it was actually quite interesting. We tried to find the grave of Beethoven and other famous people, but we did not expect it to be so huge.

Its good to learn that he will come back in July. Much better weather this time. Till we meet again...

Backtrack to Christmas with my work buddies 2007

2008-05-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

HARLOW readlings,

I have forgotten to post some photos from our christmas dinner at my boss's place. Yet another late long procrastinated entry.

No picture of the boss, but fresh sweet faces of his two daughters. If only I fully understood what their play was about...

Another event worth remembering was the christmas dinner held by IMBA, although there were not many photos taken.

31 Dec - New Years Eve at home

2008-04-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Filip and I did not go to any party on the last day of 2007. We cuddled by the window and watched the fireworks glistering in the cloudless dark sky. That was how we celebrated our New Years eve. Sounds rather boring for party goers, but actually it brought warmth to have each other's company. Later on, we went up to the balcony of our building to have an even better view.

Thats the beautiful thing about Vienna. It is legal for people to play with fireworks on certain days of the year. New Years eve was definitely one of those days. Hello to 2008. (well its now in late April, I have said hello long agooo).

30 Dec - Last night in Neuss/Farewell at the airport

2008-04-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

The cool thing about Air Berlin is that they allow their passengers to check-in the night before their flight. Seeing that our morning flight was rather early (at 7ish), Jurek suggested to do the night check-in so that we did not have to rush like crazy zombies during the wee hours.

We spent a relaxing night sipping wine and enjoyed the our last night in Neuss.

Surprisingly, we woke up promptly at 5am to get ready for our flight back to Vienna. Goodbye Neuss/Farewell Jurek. May we meet up real soon. (well, we did.. 'cos we ended up meeting each other in Singapore in February. This time he stayed over at my folk's place.)

29 Dec - Day/Road trip to Holland

2008-04-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

*Cold sweat* Ed just reminded me that its 1/4 of 2008 and I am still writing stuff from Dec 2007. ö_ö Alrighty.. time to get things moving.

I had hopes to go to Amsterdam, but there was not enough time. Instead we settled for somewhere nearer whereby a daytrip was possible. The plan was to drive to Venlo (where Filip did his University) and to Maastricht and then to Aachen.

We started our journey around 10am. The drive took another hour to Venlo, Holland. This town is situated near to the German/Holland border. We walked around in the city centre. It is so fascinating. All it took was an hour ride and we were in a totally different area.

Different language, different architecture, different beers, different mode of transport (Dutch, red bricks, convenient toilet access, bigger traffic lights, light beer, bicycles craze).

We spent some time in the pub for a beer but did not linger long in Venlo. Our next destination was to go to Maastricht. I have no idea what we were looking at in one of these photos below.

We were hunting for a store that sold weed, but it was not there anymore. Darn! I wanted to see how these ''coffeeshops'' looked like. Later on, we found one with a long lineup. Such a cool concept - to legalise weed.

Around 2pm, we drove south to meet the Maas (river) that led us to Maastricht.

Holland is well known for her flat land and no (little) hills.

Finally at +/-4pm, we reached Maastricht. The old town was very pretty and was rather crowded. We walked into various stores. I simply adore a local brand called We. http://www.wefashion.com/

It turned out that we did not have enough time to go to Aachen, since we had to rush back to meet Olivier and his girlfriend for dinner in Mönchengladbach.

28 Dec - Jurek and me at the Tannenbusch, Neuss

2008-04-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Having the privilege to live in 3 places in different continents, I have learnt to adapt to weather changes. Singapore does not have tremendous variations i.e. Sun or rain or.. storm; Canada has the 4 seasons that does not have big temperature changes during each season, Germany/Austria offers the biggest varieties of weather. It can be a cloudy day on the first day and clear blue sky on the next. This is one good example of what I am blabbering about. Compare this photo from the one on 27th Dec.

Filip had some meeting with an old friend. Jurek suggested to bring me for some nature indulgence. Well, why not? I do enjoy ''outback''. WWeeeeeeeee!!! It is not exactly -roll in the mud- sort of nature. We ended up in a park with animals ranging from ducks to goats to reindeers and children (if you consider them animals.. haha).

The park is well organised and is separated into sections. Theres a geology section with OLDDD rocks, a tree section, an animal section and i am guessing in the summer, a flower section. You have to praise the Germans for being so darn organised.

We started walking in the geology section. I am absolutely clueless about rocks. Judging by how old the rocks are, they should be able to spark some interest. It is a shame that I am not so keen on learning about them, but we had good fun with them. While strolling along the path, I was fascinated with this tree which seemed like crying. Jurek later told me that the tree is called tearing pine and it appears to be 300 years old.

We tried to search for the animal area. Along the way, there were a couple of places that were breathtaking.

To immerse one self in greenery, in my opinion beats going shopping all the time. It is sad that we tend to forget about the simple pleasures of life. Most of the time, while living in the city, we are always rushing to go to places or running to go for appointments. It is refreshing that at times, we have a chance to see the blue sky touching the green landscape, to enjoy the sun shining onto our faces, to smell the fresh soil.

The highlight of the trip was to see the wild boars and reindeers. I was wondering whether the boar could find a truffle. heehee. Truffles.. YUM.

27 Dec - Madness in Espirit at Ratingen

2008-04-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

A cloudy day is a good sign for indoor activities. Filip suggested to drive to Ratingen and shop in the Espirit outlet store. He was telling me how good the prices were. ESPIRIT! ooo.. i love their stuff.

Anyway, it took us a while to find the place. We had to ask for directions from the Ratingen pedestrians, including this person whom we were speculating his/her gender. Hmmm..

But once we were there, I was shell shocked. I have never seen such lineups in Europe. It was like the store was about to give away freebes. I mean to queue is not such a big deal, but to queue in the bloody cold is unbearable. Well on the brighter side, we did get a couple of tops ( 2 long sleeves tshirt for Filip; and mmm 2 sweaters, one jacket.. and i think there was something else.. oh a pair of socks and my green tshirt (3 euros)).

25 Dec - Winter Wonderland

2008-04-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,in the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight,we're happy tonight,walking in a winter wonderland.

Well, this photo is not exactly a night photo. Wait.. I will find one photo of us in the Christmas market in Neuss.

Random photos from Christmas day.

In the morning, I was just lazing around in front of the computer when the Sobis decided to go for alittle stroll at the park. Near to Jurek's place, there is a cemetery. I guess its kinda spooky to stay near to a place for the dead. Especially for some old tradition chinese teachings that say it brings bad luck or stuff like that. I find that it is not that bad. Cemetery brings a certain kind of inner peace. Besides, we are all going to that same path one day.

Anyway, we decided to walk into the cemetery since the wind was blasting cold. While inside the ''park'', the coldness stopped. I remember I made a joke out of it. I said.. ''Viele Leute'' which means many people. Go figure the joke. We also ended walking around the neighbourhood.

Christmas day is also the first time I was shown how pierogis were made. Pierogis are Polish dumplings (Wantons lookalike, but with different fillings). In this case, we used Sauerkraut with mushrooms. Anja taught me how to make the dough (from scratch) and also the Sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is called (wait.. i have a bag of them in the fridge now.. whats the spelling) Kapusta in Polish and basically cabbage in English. We had alot of fun making them. Ask me whether I can do it now.. i think i need a refreshment course.

The cool thing is the little device that helps to wrap the pierogi and give it its shape. Very ingenious.

I guess we ended up making a total of 100 pierogis. Plus/minus. I cannot really remember the exact number. We spent like 3 hours making them and the guys inhaled them in less than 30 minutes. *sobs*

That ended our Christmas day. After dinner, we headed to the Christmas market in the city. We drank hot Punsch to warm ourselves up. Not a big fan of Gluhwein, I tried Jurek's drink and it was extra strong.

22 - 24 Dec - Jingle bells, singing all the way

2008-04-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

22 Dec 2007

We packed our bags and flew to Neuss to celebrate Christmas with Filip's folks. Jurek picked us up from the airport. It sure was nice to see him again and also to visit Neuss. The last time I was there, it was in April 2005.

Neuss greeted us with a cold breeze and starless night. To my surprise, there was no snow. The streets were bare. We headed towards the parking lot and had some problems finding his Mazda. As we went in search for his car, I was observing the countless German cars - Audis, BMWs, Mersedes, Volkswagen - different brands, different models. Alrighty... I got the idea that I had landed in Deutschland. We just relaxed on the first evening there. Filip and Jurek got out their instruments and did abit gigs together. It was always entertaining to listen to them. I had my fun while fooling around with Jurek's double bass.

23 Dec 2007

It was madness in the city of Neuss. The main street was closed for pedestrians. People were rushing from left to right to do last minute christmas shopping. They carried bags of all sizes. Filip and I were at Galeria Kaufhof when he bummed into an old friend. I wandered around and got myself a big candle for 4 euros. (Hi Filip! are you wondering how I can remember all these stuff? haha) Later, we walked out of the store and there was a mini market selling titbits. This was the first time I tried (points left) this: deep fried greasy arteries-contracting potatos with apfelmus. On the side line, it tasted utterly yum.

24 Dec 2007 - The eve of Christmas

The eve had three parts: 1. Christmas tree; 2. Dinner; 3. Presents. In the morning, all 3 of us went to Duisburg to pick Anja up (Filip's mum). She came over to stay with us for a couple of days. Anja intended to cook Polish dishes and I was supposed to learn as much as I could. Pierogis was in the menu. What was Christmas without a christmas tree? Hence, before sitting for our dinner, we went to look for a tree and we found (prick! Ouch!) one. The two guys had to prim, trim and groom the tree before the ornaments were hung.

After much effort, the tree looked great, but naked. It was time to dress and decorate. Having a real tree bits a fake tree (hands down).

Then comes the dinner. The soup and dessert were ''sehr lecker''.

All filled up, we headed to the living room for some telly and some Freecell on the labtop. When the night was coming to a close, it was time for PRESENTS. A time for giving and receiving. It was all very exciting. I remember that there was alot of laughter and endless joy. I guess the only downside was that my parents were not with me to share the happiness. Mir fehlt meine Eltern.

Lots of pictures to remember each and every moment... Somehow I dont seem to remember everything, hmm must be the wine overdose. Ö_ö

Mid December - Skiing at Stuhleck

2008-04-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

Austrian countryside is wellknown for being picturesque. Living in the city, it is refreshing to get out of the hassle-and-bussle and breathe the (reduced) polluted air. Seeing that there was clear skies and good sunshine, we seeked for some adventure, some skiing. Ever since we bought our equipment, we had yet to bring them for a test *ski*.

Stuhleck was the place of choice since it was accessible via train (ÖBB). No one ever claimed that skiing was a cheap sport. Not that I am complaining about yet another high priced event; there is nothing to cry about. Money spent was definitely money worth. The only trouble is.. in my case..

Skiing = not good chums with my fear for heights.

Staying in Singapore for the last 20 years, and in Toronto for the other 4 years, where mountains are near to Nah dah (scarce). A piece of land which measures up to 1000m just freaks me out. Dont laugh! I just cant help it. Me on top of (what seems like) Mount Everest and having to maneuver my way through the snowy kills (i mean hills) like some kind of snow bunny, is just unnerving.

Anyway, thats my painful truth. BUT I want to overcome this... so I tried to hit the slopes. Yes! What happens?

Painful truth was converted into painful bum. *_* Oh well... when one fails, one tries harder.

It was painful but there are other things that made the pain go away.

8 December - UN Bazaar

2008-04-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

The UN Bazaar is an once-a-year event whereby members working in the United Nations join together to sell their local delicacies - food, handmade crafts, dishes, flowers, wine, and other stuff. More information about the UN office in Vienna can be found here: http://www.unvienna.org/unov/index.html
I guess if one seeks for an international working environment, the UN office would be the place to be.

I bought marmalade from the UK corner, bangles from the Indian lady (which are broken due to luggage throwing), black mud mask from the Jordan booth, Ginseng tea from the Korean women. There were other interesting things to see, such as the African crafts, unusual looking flowers from South Africa, the carpets from Iran, handicrafts from Norway and Sweden. This event attracted many and then I realised how diverse Vienna actually is. When we went downstairs, the food awaited us. We went to the Peru stand and I tried their kind of rice dumpling (taste is somewhat different from our typical chinese one).

Filip tried something from Iran (if I remember correctly or somewhere in the Middle East). And we had our Mokitos from the Cuban table and watched couples dance Salsa. We met up with Magda and Nedim and afterwards Rubi and Walter. We made up a tiny UN group ourselves. Magda from Uruguay, Nedim from Sweden, Rubi from Armenia, Walter from Austria, Filip from Poland/Germany, and me from Singapore.

It is ironic to see some of the countries offering their typical dishes. United States were handing out hotdogs and hamburgers, Germany was selling sausages and kraut, Belgium was offering their waffles, India was cooking up some curry, Canada had maple syrup, Malaysia (no Singapore booth) had their coconut kways, Finland and Russia with their Volkas? (haha), UK had their pies. The list continued. We stayed there for quite a bit (till 4pm) and then headed home... walking past the United Nation Office with countless flags flew with pride.

Late November 2007 - Wachau area with the Japs

2008-04-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Blogs without pictures seem kinda dull. All the words I have written previously did not seem to paint the events. November was the beginning of cold winds and early dark skies. Toshi and Reiko have very kindly invited Filip and I to a daytrip to the Wachau region. It is (I have some idea where it is, but lets look at the map for the geography-fanatics). Wachau region is around 80km west of Vienna. It is located between Melk and Krems. They are wellknown for their vineyards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachau

Not surprisingly, there are more german sites about Wachau.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachau

http://www.wachau.at/donau/WN/

We met them in Votivkirche on Sunday service. From Vienna, it took us approx. one hour drive to reach. The ride was sceneric. It was warm and cosy in the car. It was only when we stepped out of the car that we realised... lord its cold.

From the Danube, we walked towards the town. There was no one else on the streets. Our laughter and conversations travelled with us. As we made our journey through the winding alleys, we stumbled upon a little house that seemed to be crowded with people. Our curiosity got the better of us and we seeked shelter in this gorgeous atmosphere. We were offered punsch and christmas munchies. When it was time to pay, they shook their heads and hands and refused to accept. Christmas - the spirit of giving.

Once we were warmed up, we continued walking and made a gentle reminder that coming back in the Summer would not be a bad idea. Friends later have suggested taking the boat that takes keen passengers from Vienna to Wachau. We wanted to go into the church but it was closed. We wanted to try the Wachau semmel (a kind of bread) but the bakeries were also closed.

Rather disappointed. We headed back to the car.

However, there was a twist of luck during tea/early dinner. Toshi drove us to this family owned restaurant. They served the warm Wachau semmels plus different kinds of ham and cheese and wine. The trip turned out to be a blast. Many thanks to Toshi and Reiko.

November 07 to April 08 - where have I hibernated to? First Blog of 2008

2008-04-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

The time has come when my writing cells are urging, even singing to me to once again put something on my blog. I have admitted earlier that I am no devoted blogger. It takes way too much time, too much energy,... too much committment. I have great respect for bloggers who spent their every waking day filling the pages. Me? I ask myself how they find the motivation to let their fingers do the ''walking''. I think I am repeating myself on this. Anyway, it is now April. I have stalled this for nearly half a year. Its unbelievable really. It does not seem that long. *Sweep the junk away... rolls sleeves.. lets get this cracking*

Just a tiny summary on my ''up and coming'' life
Late November - A day trip with Reiko and Toshi to Wachau area.

8 December - Made an appearance in the UN bazaar in Vienna.
Mid December - Went skiing in Stuhleck. First ski try since my last one in Toronto. Fell my ass off.
Christmas and New year - Birds fly down South to avoid the cold winds. Us? we flew North to celebrate the holidays with Filips parents in Neuss, Germany and I think we ate some form of winged animals along the way.

January 08 - Edmund visited us. A regular guest on our couch.
23 Jan - 25 Jan - FANG2008: 3 Days Conference on Mammalian Genome. Held at the Conference Centre Tegernsee Rottach-Egern, Bavaria, Germany. I met up with my exboss, Andras and also a ex colleague, Johannes.
26 January - Filip and Jurek made a house call at my parents' place.

1 February - I made my way back home to witness the bonding between my parents and the 2 dudes.
2 February - Finally set foot in sunny and humid Singapore. Where is my dad? LATE Where is my boyfriend? LATE
3 February - BBQ at my place. I caught up with my old pals - Dora, Pauline, Priscilla and Shannon.
5 February - Hurried our way to Hongkong to spend Chinese New Year with Mum's siblings = Uncles, Aunties and their offsprings = Cousins.
14 February - Back to Singapore
15 February - Filip left Singapore and flew back to Vienna
15 Feb - 25 Feb - Spent time with my super parents and friends

pants *what a marathon*

15 March - Filip and I hanged out in the first district, near the Hofburg. We went to a typical Viennese cafe and there was live Classical music - a violin, a piano and.. a cello? Later, we walked to Altwiener Ostermarkt, Freyung.
21 Mar - 24 Mar - Road trip to Innsbrück, Villach and Fohnsdorf (AquaLux therma)

drum rolls *Endlich* birds chirping, flowers blooming, spring fever

APRIL... APRIL...APRIL
2 Apr - 4 Apr - Schladming ski trip with IMBA.
4 Apr - 6 Apr - Schladming ski trip with Filip
7 Apr - 16 Apr - Mouse Practical and Theory course. All spoken in German = hangwoman = me.

Thats pretty much what I have done so far. Its lots of balls and pins to juggle with. There have been lots of fun definitely. Now it is just putting up all the photos. Its great to spend my hour documenting all these and not forgetting all of it. There are of course other things to look forward to. Filip surprised me with a trip to Liverpool to watch Paul McCartney in June (The Liverpool Sound Concert). I am totally excited about it. 1. I always wanted to immerse in the English culture - English accent, English bands, English bed and breakfast, English brunch, English cabs, English countryside, English dudes, fast forward, English pubs,... list goes on. 2. I get to see a living Beatle. A Beatle who will sing, play his guitar, perform his gigs and not on a CD or mp3 format. That will be the greatest moment of my life. Another highlight would be to have a company dinner at the Hofburg (I think thats also in June).

I will post up the pics as soon as time permits. Thanks for waiting this long for this blog to start up again and thanks for the compliments thus far. They are my motivation.

A slow slow month of November

2007-12-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

Nothing much happened in the month of November. After the trip, I just kinda started to hibernate. Life was starting to be stale as bread. Filip and I made a point to have baking Sundays to spice our life up. We were welcomed with snow and cold. Unlike Toronto, Vienna did not offer much snow. It was not that cold either.

Some photos of November

The Cold

Our First baking Sunday - Kiwi cheesecake

I am guessing that from here, there will be another pause in my blog. Updating massively during this period has blown a bulb in my brain. The month of December will be probably written some time later. Thanks for reading and looking at the past events of October and November.

17 Oct - Chapter 2: The Vatican City and alittle more

2007-12-30T03:32:00.000-08:00

At the bottom of the Palatine Hill, we took a bus to take us to the Vatican City. The bus driver however suggested us to take another route. Italians are super friendly. Filip noticed that the driver resembled like Antonio Banderas. That was so true! What a hot driver!!! A pity we could not openly take a picture. Lets do bits of comparisons...

Anyway, it took us 30 minutes to get to the Vatican. Technically it took us longer since we kinda lost our way and had to ask the way. The nun was most kind and brought us there. We reached at around 2pm. Again, there was a great crowd waiting to get into the St. Peter Basilica. Arggg... we were not sure whether it was worthed it to wait in line. I planned to go back to Piazza Navona for my portrait to be drawn.
http://www.vatican.va/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter

The 12 apostles stood at the top of the Basilica.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Apostles

An idea suddenly stroke me. Why not send some postcards to my parents and friends from here. The stamp is one of the kind.

We made our way into the Basilica.

Once inside, we visited the tombs of various popes. We also saw that John Paul was buried there. Due to respect for the death, cameras are forbidden within this area.

The dome ceiling was designed by Michelangelo.

We left the Vatican and rushed back to the Piazza Navona to find the artist in black. I was so worried that he was not there.

Thank goodness he was still there even though the day was drawing to a close.

My first portrait was drawn. The price was rather steep (40 euros), but for good art it was worthed it. I sat there and waited while he sketched. He asked me how I would like it to be and I just told him to use his imagination. People strolled past us. Some stopped to see. I was wondering how it would turn out. He was an entertainer as well. Once or twice, he tried to make me laugh. He told me to sit straight.. not to move so much.. but it was so tough to stay put for an hour.

Well.. this was the outcome from one hour of non movement. He indeed used alot of imagination.

We ended our night by eating at a traditional pizzeria. The pizzas were so yummy. Wish that I could have them now... That ended our trip to Italy. We flew back to Vienna the next day. Italia, still we see you again.

17 Oct - Chapter 1: Colosseum and Palatine Hill

2007-12-30T01:33:00.000-08:00

After the crazy schedule from the previous day, we decided to make it lighter this time. Firstly, we headed to Colosseum to ask for one of their guided tours. The history about Gladiators particularly interests Filip.

To avoid the huge lineup, please stay clear of the weekends and also to go during the early mornings or later in the afternoon. We were lucky with the lineup. Filip bought the ticket at Palatine Hill, which did not have such a long queue. The ticket to get to Colosseum is a combi ticket for Palatine Hill.

Once we got in, the architecture is breathtaking. How could the Romans managed to build this in just 8 days and with minimum technological help?? There was a wooden stage (which is no longer there) and from above, we had a clear view of the underground passage that once housed different animals. It is believed that there was an elevator system to bring the animals to the platform for the fight. The battle between gladiator and the animals was exciting and this also created a chance for the audiences to see animals from different parts of the world.

The guided tour was useful and she took us around the Colosseum where she briefly described the happenings of the building. I find that having a tour is much better than renting audio guides.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

We walked around for around 2 hours and decided to go to the Palatine Hill. This is situated within the Roman Forum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine_Hill

Some shots at the Palatine Hill.

We decided to take a bus that led us to Vatican City, which is located across the Tiber river. It was exciting to see that Vatican City is not a part of Rome, even though it is in Rome. The tour in Vatican is covered in the next chapter.

16 Oct - Piazza di Spagna, Fontana di Trevi, The Pantheon, Ponte Fabricio, Trastervere...

2007-12-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

The long title is a reminder of what one can do in a span of one day. Sounded quite ambitious I guess it was like one of those typical "Asian" stereotype tours. Take photos, breathe bits of air from there, snap a couple of photos and then zoom off to the next destination. The difference here is that we did not have comfy tour bus to tag us along. I kinda enjoy this challenge though. And for a loyal Liverpool fan, I can sing "WALK ON!" (Walk on through the wind...Walk on through the rain)

I am a fanatic when it comes to getting postcards. Its a way to point out what places I have visited so far.

Our first mission was to go to the Spanish steps (Piazza di Spagna). The steps were built with the money from a French, Étienne Gueffier (1723-1725). One can also see the Barcaccia Fountain at the bottom of the steps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Steps

http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/spanish_steps.htm

My love for cute little crafts... We saw this toy store while searching for Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi).

Once we saw the fountain, the view shocked me. It was overwhelming. The details of it was refined, simply gorgeous.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevi_Fountain

One tip if you happen to go to Rome is... I found some sweet boots at Sore. We left and headed towards the Pantheon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

After that, we found Piazza Navona. This was heaven for me. A space for people to sell art pieces, artists to draw portraits (live or cartoon). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_Navona The artist in black is so good. I had to go back and do one too. However, we had no time this day.

We crossed Ponte Fabricio to reach Trastervere. In this case, Ponte means bridge in Italian.

Walk on... walk on... we are finally in the Trastervere region. I found San Michele area within Trastervere and hunger stroke us. We also grabbed dinner from here. The yummiest seafood pasta and tiramisu. With our satisfied tummies, we went back to rest.