INTEGRATED HUMANITIES TRIP 2010 TO GERMANY AND POLAND
PART 3: WHERE WE TURNED INTO CHILDREN AND ADULTS, AND WHERE FOOTBALL IS THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
Where:
03 JUNE 2010, FRANKFURT – LIEPZIG – BERLIN
A DAY OF TRAVELLING, TRAVELLING AND MORE TRAVELLING
WHAT HAPPENED:
WOKE UP TO A FABULOUS BREAKFAST AT THE COURTYARD.
BEING THE FIRST DAY, WE WERE UP AND RUNNING LIKE EARLY. [WELL, KWANGMING AND I DID]
THEN WE PROCEEDED WITH OUR JOURNEY TO LEIPZIG, APPARENTLY THE CITY OF COMMERCE.
REACHED THERE AT NOON.
BEFORE REACHING THERE, LUSH GREEN SCENERY AND OVERLAPPING PATCHES OF GREENS FILLED THE SURROUNDINGS.
AND LOTS OF “SHOOTING STARS” - THIS IS DAMN COOL. IT'S LIKE THINGS FLYING DOWN FROM THE SKY AND SHOWING THE EXACT PATH OF HOW IT FELL.
THE WEATHER'S SO COLD IT COULD DO THAT!
WE STOPPED AT A PETROL KIOSK.
NORMAL ROUTINE BEHAVIOUR.
BUT THIS PETROL KIOSK WAS DIFFERENT.
THERE WAS A JACKPOT MACHINE, AND BEING SO WELL BEHAVED, WE DIDN'T TOUCH IT AT ALL.
WE JUST LEFT IT THERE, WHILE THE LIGHTS WERE SHINING AT US VIBRANTLY.
YA THAT'S WHAT WE DID. :P
ANYWAY, BEING SO INNOCENT AND WANTING TO SEARCH FOR OUR CHILDHOOD, WE WENT BEHIND, WHERE THIS PLAYGROUND GREETED US.
WITH SLIDES, THE SPINNING WHEEL, AND A FEW SPRINGY THINGYS.
AND WE JUST PLAYED WITH THEM FOR THE ENTIRE TIME (:
HAVE I MENTIONED THAT THE WEATHER THERE IS AWESOME?
SO MUCH BETTER THAN SINGAPORE'S.
OH AND ONE OBSERVATION I MADE.
THE TOILETS ARE KINDA INTERESTING.
EVERY TOILET HAS A MACHINE THAT DISPENSES WEIRD THINGS.
LIKE CONDOMS, …. (SHOULDN'T WRITE IT DOWN)
THEN UPON REACHING LEIPZIG, WE WENT TO FIND FOOOODDDD
'COS WE'RE ASIANS AND WE NEED NUTRITION TO GROW TO THE EUROPEAN'S HEIGHT.
FRIED FISH AND POTATOES WITH DESERT.
THE ALL ROUNDED NUTRITIOUS MEAL FULL OF PROTEINS AND STUFF LIKE THAT. (:
ANYWAY, NEXT TO IT IS THE MOST AWESOME STORY GLOBALLY.
MACDONALDS.
FINE, I WAS EXAGGERATING.
BUT YOU GET MY POINT RIGHT?
MAGNUM MCFLURRY.
BEAT THAT MAN, SINGAPORE'S MACDONALDS!
ANYWAY, WE CONTINUE EMBARKING ON OUR JOURNEY TO BERLIN.
BERLIN WAS QUITE FAR, AND BY THE TIME IT WAS ALREADY DINNER TIME.
DINNER: TOMATO SOUP, PORK CHOP (AGAIN.) AND GLUTINOUS RICE DESERT THAT TASTED GREAT!
THEN WE WENT TO OUR HOTEL AND CHECKED IN [MENINGER HOTEL]
WHICH WAS LIKE 4 PAX PER ROOM.
AND PROCEEDED TO THE TRAIN STATION NEARBY, WHERE WE TRIED BUYING TICKETS TO GO TO THE CITY AREA, BUT TO NO AVAIL.
AND WHEN WE ASKED, THEY SAID IT WOULD BE CLOSED, SO OH WELL, WE STAYED AT THE TRAIN STATION.
AND ATE ICE CREAM.
WHICH TASTED AWESOME BY THE WAY.
AND COSTED ON 2 BUCKS!
WE MET THIS BUNCH OF SWISS SCHOOLKIDS.
AND THE BUNCH OF THEM STARTED PLAYING SOCCER.
[OWNED BY THEM]
AND OH YA, DOGS ARE ALLOWED IN THE TRAIN STATION.
EPIC.
AND AT NIGHT: BRIDGE AND FREE INTERNET!
END OF A SHORT DAY IN BERLIN WHICH INCLUDED A DAY OF JUST PURE TRAVELLING.
GERMANS AND THEIR ICE CREAM MAKES ASIANS GO WILD.
INTEGRATED HUMANITIES TRIP 2010 TO GERMANY AND POLAND
PART 2: KONICHIWA KIAK KIAK KIAK!
Where:
02 JUNE 2010, FRANKFURT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
TOUR OF FRANKFURT
FRANKFURT STOCK EXCHANGE
GLEDMUSEUM – MONEY MUSEUM OF THE DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK
WHAT HAPPENED:
Oh, and the weather there is really good. Cooling with sudden breezes.
FIRST TIME IN GERMANY WARRANTS ME TO BE EXCITED OVER EVERYTHING.
YOU CAN SEE ALL THE DIFFERENT HOUSES IN THE STREET AT GERMANY.
ALL WERE SOMEWHAT VICTORIAN-INFLUENCED.
QUIANT AND EXQUISITE WITH AN EYE FOR MINUTE DETAILS.
WE TOOK A QUICK BUS RIDE TO REACH THE OLD TOWN OF FRANKFURT (OR Römerplatz/ romberberg square proper), WHERE WE MET OUR GUIDE.
Being completely destroyed in wwii, only one building remained standing and the entire town was reconstructed.
FOLLOWING THAT, SHE SHOWED US A CHURCH [sorry i am not sure of the name. Too many churches there!] WHICH WAS HISTORICAL IN NATURE, AND WITH A STATUE OF A NAKED MAN OUTSIDE.
The exterior of the church was kinda reddish-brown in colour.
WE CONTINUED OUR WALK DOWN TO THE CENTRE OF THE SQUARE, WHERE WE WERE GREETED BY A STATUE OF THE LADY OF JUSTICE WITH SCALES ON HER HANDS [Fountain of Justitia]
IN FRONT OF HER WAS THE MAYOR OF FRANKFURT'S OFFICE.
We walked down the alley to Leonhardskirche. This old church was constucted in front of an area where olden days foundations of a flat could be found.
The interior was breath-taking.
It was really exquisite, all the walls, the designs, the murals, the chandeliers and the huge organ.
Perfect place for a respite and solace in this world of mess and chaos.
We walked to this alley where our hungry stomachs rumbled at the sight of bread.
All kinds of bread was available. [mostly sweet, but hey! They were affordable!]
of course, we couldn't leave out the german sausage at the market nearby.
Strangely, there was an abattoir next to the sausage stall.
But it was delicious!
The texture of the sausage. Soft, meaty, and full of flavour.
Climbing up this ginormous shopping plaza was a roof which overlooked the whole of the city landscape.
Awestruck, but a tad boring, since we didn't really know what the city really had to offer then.
We then left for the frankfurt stock exchange, where there was immediate trading of stocks [duh!] with real-time data transmitting, and huge loads of investments and money changing hands there.
And we saw a business new show being filmed there.
Kinda slackish there, surprisingly, the people weren't really doing a lot of typing and talking and stuff like that. [maybe i was wrong, but that's how it seemed like!]
however, sad to say, with the absence of a guide, we were a little lost, and spent more time outside the stock exchange waiting to enter, rather than spending time within the exchange centre.
We strolled to a nearby cafe for our own-paid lunch.
En route, we walked past this starbucks shop that was offering some samples.
Being singaporeans, the front of the pack [including me] retracted our steps and took one sample each!
Which tasted awesome by the way.
And we went to the cafe, where we ordered food.
Authentic German food.
Pork chops with gypsy sauCe.
Interesting flavour!
And the portion was huge.
Then we were given some time to shop on the streets, before embarking on our trip to the gledmuseum.
BEFORE The money museum of the deutsche bundesbank, AS WE WERE WALKING ON THE STREETS, THIS HOT CHICK SUDDENLY CAME UP TO ME, LOOKED AT MY DSLR, AND SAID "KONICHIWA KIAK KIAK KIAK!"
WHICH SHOCKED ME. HAHA.
PROBABLY SOME WEIRD ASIAN TO HER, AND GUO XIN WAS TELLING ME AFTER THAT THAY I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A PHOTO WITH HER. HAHA.
Not much to say, besides we were given the chance to see the different notes from around the world!
Even singapore's.
But mainly the german notes were the centre of attraction, with notes during the great depression period, hyperinflation period, and before the switch to euro.
We learnt how to look for counterfeit notes as well.
And well, interactive learning.
WE WENT BACK TO THE STREETS TO SHOP AGAIN.
AND YOU MUST BE SURPRISED AT WHAT WE SAW ON THE STREETS.
STRONG GUYS CARRYING THEIR WARES AROUND ON WOODEN PLATFORMS BY THEIR NECKS.
LADIES HOLDING BALLOONS.
LIKE THOUSANDS OF THEM.
AND OF COURSE STREET ARTISTES.
IT'S DAMN COOL TO SEE THEM ASK FOR MONEY BY STAYING STATIONARY AT THE SPOT TILL YOU DROP IN A COIN.
WE WALKED TOWARDS THE BRIDGE NEAR THE RIVER, AND BOY WAS THE SCENE GOOD OVER THERE!
THE RIVER WAS CALM.
THE SURROUNDINGS WERE SERENE.
IT WAS LIKE TIME HAS SLOWED DOWN THEN.
WE SAUNTERED ON THE BRIDGE AND LOOKED AT THE SWANS, THE DUCKS, THE CATS, AND THE GRAFFITI ON THE WALL.
IT WAS NICE TO WALK AT THAT PARK, WHERE DOGS RAN AROUND AMOCK, DUCKS QUACK AND SWANS SWAM GRACEFULLY IN THE WATER. [PS THEY LOOK FIERCE]
DINNER: ONION SOUP, PORK CHOP AND ICE CREAM.
NICE!
THEN WE WENT TO COURTYARD AT MARIOTT.
NICE HOTEL, WITH GOOD AMENITIES, BUT AT SOME GODFORSAKEN PLACE. [AKA FAR FROM TOWN]
END OF A FRUITFUL DAY TWO.
the slow, peaceful and interesting life of the germans juxtaposed to the fast, unsettling and mudane life of asians.
INTEGRATED HUMANITIES TRIP 2010 TO GERMANY AND POLAND
PART 1: WHEN THE AIR STEWARDESS IS HAVING POST MENSTRUAL SYNDROME
where:
01 JUNE 2010, CHANGI AIRPORT TERMINAL THREE
PLANE RIDE TO FRANKFURT.
SQ026.
What happened:
LOTS OF DRAMA HAPPENED ON THE PLANE.
SINGAPORE AIRLINES IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD.
UNDISPUTABLE.
PS THE PLANE WAS OLD.
THE TELEVISION WAS SMALL.
AND THE VARIETY OF STUFF ON IT?
HORRENDOUSLY SPARSE.
NEVERTHELESS, WE HAVE YET TO SEE SUCH UNREASONABLE AIR STEWARDRESS ON THE PLANE.
WE WERE ON THE PLANE NEXT TO EACH OTHER – PHYLLIS, JIAYIN, SIMAN, MINHUI, MYSELF, DERRICK AND GUO XIN.
ANYWAY, WE WERE SPLITTED INTO TWO SIDES.
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS MEANT THAT PHYLLIS, JIAYIN, SIMAN, MINHUI AND ME WERE ASSIGNED TO THE
MEANEST
WORST ATTITUDE-D
AIR STEWARDESS IN THE HISTORY OF SINGAPORE AIRLINES.
THE PLANE WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE SINGAPORE AND MINHUI WASN'T FEELING TOO WELL.
SO SHE ASKED FOR A CUP OF WARM WATER FOR HER MEDICINE.
THE AIR STEWARDESS SAID IN A CURT MANNER: “CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY RIGHT NOW?”
AND THAT BLACK FACE AND OBNOXIOUS ATTITUDE MAKES YOU JUST WANT TO THROW SOMETHING AT HER.
AS IF THAT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH.
TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL.
IN THE MIDST OF OUR FLIGHT, GUOXIN ASKED FOR A PACKET OF PEANUTS.
SHE THREW FOUR.
(THREW BEING THE WORD.)
HOW NICE.
AND THEN THIS IS WHERE THE REAL DRAMA UNFOLD.
(SIMAN BEING THE VICTIM)
THE “FASTEN SEATBELT” SIGN WAS SWITCHED ON.
THE AIR STEWARDESS ASKED EVERYONE TO RETURN TO THEIR SEATS.
SIMAN LEFT.
THEN THE AIR STEWARDESS ACCUSED HER OF BEING SMUG AND RUDE.
AND “DEMORALISED” THE HELL OUT OF HER.
COME ON.
THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS ACCUSATION ON EARTH.
RIDICULOUS.
ANYWAY, SHE JUST TOTALLY SPOILED OUR MOOD DURING THE TRIP.
SO THAT'S ABOUT IT.
THE FIRST DAY OF OUR TRIP.
NOT REALLY WELL RECEIVED AND SERVED BY THE MOST DISGUSTING AIR STEWARDESS.
THANK YOU,
Superficial deletion of memories no longer work.
Life is so unpredictable.
Don't you just feel that something are beyond your control?
Yesterday I was watching Despicable Me with two of my closest friends.
Despicable me is about this mad villian who is fighting against another villian to go for the greatest steal of the year/decade/century.
The only way to do that is to shrink the moon and steal it.
And how to shrink the moon? The shrinking machine thingy.
Only three girls can steal that.
And blah blah blah, they grew to love each other.
It's about family love.
Something which is obviously lacking in some families.
It accentuates the importance of family.
[PS It is super funny! Almost comparable to toy story 3 and How to train your dragon]
anyway, Today, those two friends turned into enemies.
Life is just like that.
Full of things you never envisioned yourself encountering, but subtlely, they infiltrate your heart and mind.
They just come at the most unexpected times and blow you away.
YOU YEARN FOR THESE THOUGHTS TO VANISH AND DISAPPEAR.
YOU WISH THAT THESE THOUGHTS NEVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
However, we humans are inbuilt with emotions.
“No man is an island”
I always feel that i was in control of my life.
Let's just say things spiralled out of control.
The interjection of a person into my life.
The bus, On MSN.
I didn't know what I was thinking of.
I supposed I should have listened to my mind.
However, I went with my heart, for I knew that the most beautiful memories are created because of irrational decisions.
Really.
Think of a huge ocean.
Thing of what you can do in the ocean.
You can swim in the ocean, but that would mean exercise only.
You can dive in the ocean, but for how long are you able to hold your breathe?
You can snorkel in the ocean, but that would mean only looking at things superficially.
or
You can scuba dive in the ocean and see the most beautiful sites under the sea.
Even when that means risking your life.
Nevertheless, it is all worth it.
I decided to dive into the deepest realm of the deep blue sea.
And trouble just came up to me directly.
I thought after one term, one holiday and one block test, I would be entirely over the incident and proceed with my life.
Nah.
Wish me luck to continue my journey on being over and done with this incident.
But I know that it is all worth it.
10 years later, I will tell myself not to fall into the hole i dug this time again.