Hamburg (11-13 Sept)

11/9
left shelter city today for Hamburg. Caught the 11.13 train which will only require 1 change of train at osnabruck at ~2.20 pm. bought sandwich to eat on the journey. as usual, saw the usual scenery: farmhouses, cows, horses, after a while, everything is nothing unusual. so i listen to mp3, write journal, read my notes on Hamburg. at one of the stations, they actually checked passport. YS sudenly reminded me it was sept 11. but i think it was juz a routine check, nothing to do with sept 11. the train was delayed by ~20 min near Osnabruck due to an engine fault. as a result we missed our connecting train. we had to take the next one which was one hour later. saw a nice vending machine selling different chocolate, snacks and cakes, prices range from 50 cents - 1 euro. by the time we got to Hamburg, it was 5.30 pm. we were quite lucky, we found out that the terminal station for the train we were taking was Hamburg-Altona whcih was exactly where our hostel was located so we took all the way without getting off at Hamburg Hbf and changing to another train. this helped us to save some time and money as well.

Altona station was surprisingly full of activity- there were so many shops selling food that we knew there was no way we can go hungry here. big hotdogs, pizzas, desserts, BK, Macs. it was almost like a Hbf already. we also saw very obedient dogs waiting quietly at the door for their masters and mistresses who have entered the supermarket. the Schanzenstern Altona was easy to find. we met a hao3 xin1 ren2 walking his dog who saw us peering at street names and he approached us to help us! so friendly and helpful :) and he pointed us in the correct direction. the receptionist at the hotel was also very helpful, she gave us a map and recommended us some good places to spend our two days here and also recommended the hamburg card (7.80 euros) which would be very applicable for us.

we went to Landungsbruck whcih was the Harbor with lots of big ships, and had a nice view of the setting sun and there was a nice wind blowing which was not biting but was very comfortable. we met another nice lady who gave YS some tips on taking night shots. we met a third hao3 xin1 ren2 who approached us to ask if we needed help when we looking for the Portuguese area. we had a huge dinner at a Portuguese restaurant. it was probably our most expensive meal to date but it was very very filling indeed.

Sumary of the first day: Regretted not allocating one more day in Hamburg. there are so many things to see!! oh and we really appreciated the hotel after staying in shared dorm for 3 days. the towels provided, the mug for brushing teeth, the hangars and cupboard and most importantly having ur own private space. it was not the best hotel but we were v.v.v satisfied already. at least we dun have to keep locking up everything in lockers and can lay out our shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, facial foam in the bathroom - it's bliss! also we have quite a good impression of the Hamburgers, so far we have already met so many nice pple on our first day.

12/9
went out in search of breakfast this morning cuz there was no b/f provided at the hotel. ate at a little bakery which sold a variety of breads, pastries and stuff. i ate a sugary bun which had jam inside + hot tea. it seems in Germany we have to return our trays after eating. it's a bit like the Swedish Meatball place in Ikea where the trays are stacked one on top of the other on a shelf. at first we din know, it was an old lady who told us but she wasn't nasty abt it, in fact she smiled at us after we returned our trays.

our first stop today was the Kunsthall (art gallery) whcih was supposedly the best in Germany and which the receptionist told us we must never miss this. i realized that i actually quite enjoy looking at paintings. i managed to draw some parallels between art and music, e.g. the interest in the orient of some 19th century artists and composers and the use of the church as a theme by some 17th century artists, similarly a lot of 17th century music was written for the church. to add to that there's pointillism and impresionism. maybe when i go back, i will start reading up on art. if i have time and my interest still sustains... at the cafeteria i saw very nice cakes and they were only 2.50 euros. the cheesecake was really quite large, for S$5 it;s considered quite a big portion and is quite similar to singapore prices. in the toilet, we met a lady who saw me preening in front of the mirror and she was asking if we were from China or Japan.

after Kunsthall we took the U-bahn to Rodingsmkt to go to Deichstrasse whcih accoding to the guidebook is "a row of lavishly restored houses" that date back to the 17th - 19th century. in the end we only saw one row of houses that date back to 17th and 18th century. but that's it. i was quite disappointed becuz i was expecting an area with lots of old buildings (as in really old) but in the end there was only one row of houses that din really look old in the least, probably because they have been restored before. we went to Scherzanstern, according to the receptionist, this had a lot of shopping places which were cheap and not as ex as Jungfernstieg. we weren't impressed anyway. oh we bought a big bottle of water there only to realize that it's gassy water, i tell u, it tastes horrible. it taught us a lesson and in future when we buy water we always check whether it's 'mit gas'.

in the end we had time to visit the Town Hall (Rathaus). It looked a bit like the Paleis in Amsterdam and the Grand Place in Brussels. its true that after a while, everything looks the same. dinner was kebap again. this time it was 2.90 euros, slightly cheaper that the one in Brussels and equally filling. there are so many shops here selling kebap. i've been seeing kebap since day 1 in Europe. think it's a very common food here to eat on the go. i bought this dessert called 'power cup' to go with it. it was juz plain Yoghurt with some muesli. oh anyway i also realized that Germans like to put almond flavoring as their cakes and pastries. i bought this pastry today whcih i thought looked nice cuz there was some choc tinge on it. when i bit into it, i tasted almond again, juz like the choc tat i bought from the vending machine at Osnabruck. maybe i'll acquire the taste soon.

13/9
this morning after dumping our bags in the locker at the Hamburg Hbf (thank goodness there are such lockers), we set off in search of the Alster lakes. Again this is a big lake but there are mainly sailing ships here and small boats. We saw Kennedy bridge, but not Lombard bridge. All in all, think we managed to see what we wanted to see in Hamburg in the short time that we were there. in fact we purposely chose a later train to Berlin so that we could have an extra morning to go look at more places. we had a very hurried lunch of mexican food (escadilla??!!) which was rice wrap with meat at the food court and i had to dabao my nachos with cheese to eat on the train cuz we were running late and still had to take our bags from the locker. we were practically running from one end of the platform to the next cuz our bags were on the other side. but we safely boarded the train which departed at 1.40 pm. Good thing we reserved our seats. at least we can now sit in comfort in a non-smoking car and not be bothered by smoke or having to shift seats during the journey, and it was only at an additional cost of 1.50 euro per person. it is worth it to spend for the comfort. this train looks like the train in Harry Potter. one room has 6 seats, 3 facing each other and a sliding door that leads to a common corridor outside, is a bit different from all the trains we have taken so far.

In general, the weather can be quite hot in the afternoon. during the afternoon and the late morning when we were there, we actually could do without jackets. i was so glad that i brought short sleeve T-shirts there and not all 3-quarters and long sleeves. at nights and in the mornings, the weather can be quite comfortably cool and windy. of course, as i have mentioned, the pple here are so nice! on our last day, we were looking for a WC. we found one which requires 60 cents and the person there actually told us where we can find a cheaper one. can u believe it? and pple are always smiling at u and are so helpful. like this morning when we were trying to figure out how to buy a single journey ticket to get from Altona to Hamburg Hbf, but had a lot of difficulty cuz we couldn't understand all the German instructions on the ticketing machine, we got help from this nice lady and although she herself wasn't very sure, she tried to help us. maybe it's also because we are in a foreign country so any good deed or smile becomes magnified and we become more appreciative than our usual self... haha... maybe.

on the whole, i have a very good impression of Hamburg and its pple. Thumbs up!

Amsterdam (8-11 Sept)

8/9
Reached Amsterdam at arount 12 pm. on the train, announcements were made in English in addition to Dutch and French and some other langs. Had a hard time finding Shelter City, the hostel which we were to stay at. had to ask for directions from quite a number of pple - the guy at the info counter at amsterdam centraal, the girl at the bookshop, the tall guy in the street and even the guy from the shop we lunch at. had pizza and apple tart for lunch. finally found shelter city after lunch. like brussels we had problem navigating at first cuz there were so many little side streets and some may not be indicated on the map, so again we had to keep rotating and rotating the map. anyway for the first night we got a 4-bed dorm, with common toilet and shower, there were enormous lockers within the room to store ur bags under lock and key.

amsterdam is really quite 'za2'. even in the day u can see grps of blacks congregating in corners, women parading their assets behind glass windows. when we were taking photos on one of the bridges, we saw two girls who were probably tourists too not far from us and a grp of guys approached them and asked them whether they speak english but they bochap them. i quickly pull YS away. we took quite a lot of photos, za2 as it is, there are lots of nice bldgs, bridges and canals.

went to tourist office near amsterdam centraal and managed to plan our itinery for the next two days. went back to the red light district to take more photos before dark. almost lost our way on the way back to the hostel cuz by then it was already getting dark and it was harder to read the map and the road names. decided not to enter the red light district again for dinner in case we get lost, so we chose a brightly lit shop on the 'right' side of the red light district whcih wasn't dark and sleazy. i skipped all the items with fries and chose sausage with mash potato with carrot and onion. there was a nice couple who offered to help us take photo together and they were intrigued by the digital camera! the dutch man was proudly showing off to his wife the preview. they actually thought we were from Taiwan and they guessed quite a lot of countries but couldn't get it right. they were quite surprised to hear that we are from singapore, as always.

after dinner, managed to find a convenience store to buy water, then went back to the room to rearrange stuff cuz tomorrow we will be shifting to a 16-bed dorm. went to use the internet for a while, it cost 30 cents for 10 min, so i used it for 20 min. needed to get in touch with Veron to arange tomorrow's meeting, but the phone was not getting thru, or rather it was saying something in Dutch which i couldn't understand. took the chance to email back home and email a few frens, typing at lightning speed.

9/9
CY has passed driving exam!!! guys are usually more steady. actually i am not surprised that he passed the very first time. today shifted to the 16-bed dorm...sianz...

we met Veron at amsterdam centraal. our first stop was Van Gogh Museum. we took the tram for the first time. Tram 2 and 5 go to Van Gogh museum. the entrance fee was 10 euros, in the end we also rented the 4 euros audio guides which turned out to be really worth it and informative and gave lots of information on the paintings. now i know that Van Gogh's art is characterized by pointillism and impressionism as well as Japanese influence. jap art is characterized by bright bold colors in one shade and have clearly defined borders and boundaries (but i was quite puzzled as this would be contradictary to impressionism). before he was influenced by impresionism, his paintings were characterized by dull colors.

had very late lunch at 4 pm. ate vegetable quiche and shared a salmon salad with YS. went to the Albert Cuypt market after lunch by walking. along the way we passed by the Rijkmuseum which we had originally planned to visit but there was no time. by the time we got to the market, it was near closing time, but we still managed to get some souvenirs. me and YS went down to Vondelpark after that, but Veron did not join us. Vondelpark was a nice big park popular with joggers and cyclists and there was a big grass patch where pple were juz sitting there or lazing around and there were enthusiastic pple giving impromptu performances like singing, juggling, typical of westerners i suppose.

on the way back we passed by a vibrant looking place that looked interesting, so we stopped for dinner. we had pasta, price was quite reasonable too, 6 euros. went back to hostel after that.

today we took some really nice photos, esp at vondelpark. think i am starting to get influenced by YS and her photography habits - now i will consider the proportion of sky and land in my photographs.

10/9
actually 16-bed dorm was not as bad as i thought. i actually slept quite well the night before. the only thing is, because there are so many pple in the room and some of them may want to sleep early, u can't stay in the room if u want to do some of ur own private stuff like reading, writing, but have to come out into the common room. for breakfast, i tried the muesli with milk and banana and i felt really satisfied after that cuz this should have less carbo than the bread option. i will probably need to lose weight when i go back so may as well start now when i can.

after breakfast we went to take the boat ride at the Rokin Pier. we found our way there by walking along the tram line. we took some nice pics at the Dam. the Paleis (Royal Palace), Madame Tussaud's Museum and the National monument were all surrounding it. the Paleis was particularly impressive (later in the day i saw it in one of the videos in Anne Frank Huis, Hitler was giving a stirring speech there).

on the boat ride i managed to get some really nice pics!!! the sky in Europe is so blue and cloudless. against the tall green trees and brick buildings, + the bridges and canals, u can get really nice picturesque photographs. really, Amsterdam has a distinct character of its own - the bicycles, trams (u can hv bicycle track, pedestrian path, tram line and cars all running parallel to one another), the canals that occur almost along every street, the thousands of bridges, and in general the hustle and bustle of the street. According to the commentary on the boat ride, Amsterdam has almost 1000 bridges and because there's shortage of housing, some pple chose to stay in boathouses. u need a license to stay in one. i saw the Negen Strajts, which is actually 7 arches in a row, but couldn't get a nice pic. then they talked about the low (really low) railings built to prevent cars from dropping into the canals (but i wondered how effective it is?). on the whole, the boat ride was pretty nice and relaxing.

after the boat ride we took the tram to Anne Frank Huis. we take away crossiant for lunch cuz we thought we needed to queue quite long for the tics but later we realized that the queue moved quite fast. the tic was 7.50 euro. when we were queueing, someone who cycled past was shouting something but i think what he was saying was why are we queueing up to see a house. looking at the exhibits and watching the videos made my heart feel very heavy. it must be terrible to live in darkness and to be so restricted in ur movements, canot make noise in the day, cannot go out and play, not enough to eat. it makes me wonder why do pple today (including me) complain so much when our lives are already so good?

after that we bought apple pie from the Albert Heijn supermarket and ate it cold. we passed by magna plaza when we were walking back and decided to go in and take a look. the special thing abt this shopping centre is it looks very old and ancient on the interior as well as the exterior. ok, probably this is nothing surprising in the western countries. oh and the toilets on the 3rd floor had a brilliant view of the hustle and bustle of the city below! i ate smurf ice cream at a shop somewhere near the main street leading from the Amsterdam Centraal to the Paleis. i thought i looked quite interesting - how often do u see ice cream that is blue in color? and it was only 1 euro (with cone). i asked the person what it tasted like, he said ' a little bit sweet, a little bit sour' i was wondering what i was in for. it actually tasted quite good, a bit like vanilla, but not quite vanilla, i can't really place the taste, but it was nice :). how come he told me it tasted sour? can't taste the least bit of sourness in it.

for dinner i tried the shoarma sandwich which i had been thinking of trying for ages at a kebap shop. in terms of value for money and taste, the chicken kebap i ate in Brussels still wins hands down. in the distance we could see the centraal station. after so many days here, we are really starting to get a hang of the roads here. on the first day we were having so much problem finding our way about. by the last day we were quite expert at reading maps and following tram lines and knowing what tram to take without asking pple and we had no problems finding out way back to hostel even in the dark. its always like this, when u have started getting used to a place, u have to move on to a new place and have to start finding ur way again. just like changing jobs?

in general, i think amsterdam is lively, vibrant, and has a very distinct character of its own. walking down the streets, canals, bridges and looking at the houses on both sides really allowed me to feel the distinct character of the place. it was a pity we couldn't see the Rijkmuseum, but i guess 3 days did allow me to see some places in detail, such as the Van Gogh Museum. oh and i saw some interesting food there. i saw kit kat with hazelnut cream in one of the convenience stores (green wrapper) but din see it anywhere else. there were lotsa nice desserts in the Albert Heijn supermarket such as chocolate mousse, ice cream, but no spoon was provided! if not i would have tried more stuff.

looking at the photos i think i am really quite pleased with the photos i took in amsterdam. nice scenery and nice blue sky . on the whole, i had a great time here and i love Amsterdam!

Brussels (6-8 sept)

6/9
Arrived at brussels airport at abt 9.10 am, on schedule. the plane ride was pretty ok. the long ride on qantas had rather decent entertainment, at least the movies could be started and paused anytime u wished. food was ok too, not fantastic, but not too bad. had no problems with the transit cuz contrary to what i thought i din have to switch terminals, so there was no problem getting there on time at all. and to think i have been worrying abt missing the connecting flight those few days before i left... it was totally unnessary.

so i arrived on schedule at 9.10 am and sat at Quick until 1.30pm, listening to mp3, looking at my travel material, planning my itinery for the days ahead. left for Gare Centrale at ~1.30 pm. got on a train but could not get a seat :(. reached Gare centraal at 2.15 pm and met up with YS at 2.45 pm. made our way to Youth Hostel Bruegel, with some help from a friendly guy from a travel shop (which states 'no tourist info'). checked in at 3 plus. hostel was not too bad, we have a bunk bed in our room and our own private shower but had to use a common toilet. after brief rest, we went out in search of the Musee Instrumental.

Had a hard time navigating initially cuz the roads were not perpendicular, and the traffic was really quite messy, cars seem to be turning in from anywhere, we kept rotating and rotating the map to get our bearings... really couldn't get use to the map at all. finally we found the musee instrumental but it was already closing by then. made our way to the famous Grand Place (not pronounced as place, but something like plah, according to YS) & Grote Mkt. sat in the middle of the square surrounded by the Town Hall, King's house and other old old buildings. enquired at the tourist office. hop-on-hop-off bus was a good option but was pricey (16 euros). not worth it unless u want to see a lot of places in one day. we went back to the hostel for dinner and came out again to walk after that. we saw many interesting eating places -- and immediately regretted eating at the hostel. it was expensive (8.60 euros) and was very typical fare when we could have a more interesting meal at easily any shop and even dessert at much lower prices. we decided: no more dinner at hostel any more from now on. a lot of nice looking chocolate too, even got free sample to try :))

on the whole, weather on the first day was quite hot, slightly cooler at night.

7/9
Cold day!! Had breakfast at hostel. then set off for Gare Centraal. Weather was a big contrast from yesterday. bought a one way metro ticket to Heizel / Heysel for 1.50 euros. Took the 1A line. there's 1A and 1B line, so have to go to the correct side of the track. only 1 min between stations. alighted at Heizel and went to Atomium. Atomium, kinepolis and mini europe were all part of the theme park called Bruparck. Could not find our way at first, but met a nice lady who brought us there, although that was not where she was gg.

Atomium was the crowning glory of Belgium. Built in 1956-58 for some technological expo in 1958. Documentary showed how the builders put on pc by pc of the 'Atom', they claimed no accident was recorded during those 3 years (?!). when up to the top and had a nice view of the surroundings (see right). lunch at a quaint restaurant along the way to Bruparck. we had mixed grill whcih was all right, but had too many fries. so i declared to YS, no more fries for me for the rest of the trip. couldn't decide between Brugges and musee instrumental to spend the afternoon. finally decided to take a 1h train ride to Brugges but the train ticket certainly cost us a bomb (11.80 euros for one way, X2 for two way). on the way to Brugges, saw farmhouses, cows, horses... At Brugges station, talked to a bochap guy at the tourist info centre who wasn't interested to help unless we bought the map from him. we went to another tourist enquiry centre which was tucked in a small corner and met another lady there who was much more helpful. she gave us a free map and told us what are the main attractions to see in two hours and even helped us to trace out a route to take and told us what bus to take. what a contrast in attitudes!

we took the bus to the Markt and walked round the perimeter of the square. a lot of buildings and little streets and shops to see. then went on to the Burg and saw more churches, old buildings, and saw the occasional horse carriage. we dun even know what are some of the buildings we took photos of. anyway the weather was ever changing, at times it could be nice and windy, at times it could be sunny prompting us to take off our jackets, and all of the sudden the wind becomes biting. sometimes the wind was so strong that our hair covered our eyes when we were taking photos and we will make the 'Paul Twohill' joke...

on the way back, we met a strolling couple who gave us very clear directions back to the train station. caught the 7.57 pm train back to Brussels Centraal.

Kebap for dinner. u will be surprise how common kebap is in Europe. anyway it was relatively cheap and very filling (3.50 Euros). bought chocs from a chocolatier. was wondering whether to buy more but YS said we will prob see more chocs in Germany, and anyway it will be silly to buy too many things at our first stop cuz we will only add to the weight and bulkiness of our backpacks. point taken. At Grand Place, saw a display of music and lighting up of the Town Hall / King's House (not sure which is it but it's the building with the tall tall pointed roof) in diff colors - quite cool!

8/9
Left Brussels for Amsterdam this morning on the 9.50 am train. (train ride: 2h 48 min)
On the whole, met more nice pple than horrid pple in Brussels, e.g. the nice lady at the tourist info corner at Brugges, the nice couple who gave us clear directions to the station, the nice guy and lady on the bus on the way to the Markt who told us where to get off. the nice old man on the train on the way back to Brussels Central who told us where to get off. the nice salesgirls at the chocolatiers who gave us free choc to try. on the whole the guys at the train station were all pretty willing to answer questions. were called koreans by a group of guys at the Grand Place, but we ignored them. was already 10+ at night but the place was still crowded. anyway, not good to be out so late on the street at night for 2 girls, cuz alot of the streets are actually quite dark and secluded already. but at least YS managed to get the night shots she wanted so badly.

Language there isn't exactly English friendly. french and Flemish are still their main languages. on trains, announcements are made in French only. sometimes when u ask for directions, language can be a real barrier. but when u find someone who speaks English, u feel so relieved!

the weather is ultra unpredictable. on thursday, me and YS were freezing after we got back from our Brugges trip. the wind was biting! we couldn't wait to get behind tall buildings to get some shelter from the wind. just a day ago, we were complaining abt the weather. i think the weather must have heard us and decided to punish us...