Friday, October 29, 2010

24th Oct (Sun) - Berlin

PRELUDE:
The overnight coach that I took from Amsterdam to Berlin was stopped by the police on patrol in the middle of the night, like around 2am. At first, I thought the stop was for toilet break, so I totally ignored the lights that went on and continued sleeping (I was on the aisle seat). Then, one of the beefy policeman knocked into my elbow accidentally as he walked passed me to get to the back. Since my elbow was kinda supporting my head, I was jolted awake. They were doing a passport check. So I grugdingly took out my passport and passed it to the officer. He took quite some time to flip through my passport and finally, he found my entry stamp from Paris. And I was allowed to go back to sleep once more.

But sleep evaded me. I was too awake by that point so I looked around and witnessed a few passports being confiscated. The police got back into their car (which was parked right in front of our coach) and didn't re-enter until about 45 mins later. The atmosphere in the coach was strangely tense. The driver too was tense or impatient with the unexpected delay.

When they finally got back on, most of the passports were returned to their respective owners, except for one unlucky guy. I couldn't tell where he originated from but he was asked to go back to the police station with the officers. He didn't put up a fight (darn! I could use some action for entertainment) but he did put up an argument with the police. After about another 10 mins or so, he finally gave in and went with the police. And for the rest of us, we continued on with our ride.

*****************************************************
So. I'd spent the past 3 days in Berlin. As per usual, I joined the free walking tour so that I could get the most info at the shortest time plus some lesser known local facts or tales. But personally, I'm not in love with Berlin.

It's certainly rich in history - from the Nazi history to the Cold War/ Berlin wall. Just these two alone would give anyone an info overload in just a span of 3 days. But, I have had fun learning them. As for the city itself, I didn't get that vibe - the kind that would get you all excited and almost ready to jump at every opportunity. Nope. None of that. Unlike Amsterdam.

However, it's not hard to spot traces of the underground scene within the city, particularly graffiti art. I supposed there really was a hidden energy and vibe behind those tell-tale signs just that I didn't manage to experience it.



Now, just a recap on some of the places that I've been to around Berlin:

1) East-Side Gallery
Overall, I think it's rather overrated. I get it that it was to commemorate the collapse of the Berlin wall and the new found freedom, but some of the works didn't really appeal to me. Somehow, I felt that those few didn't convey the coming of the nation as one or the freedom theme that as strongly. But then again, such things tend to be rather subjective. What's beauty to me may be shit to you. So, there. You could take my comment as a pinch of salt. In any case, if you can't find your way to the wall, you could always get a small book which compiled the artworks in selected souveneir shops in Berlin itself. Or if you still wanna give it a shot, alight at Warschauer Str. and walk towards the direction of Warschauer Str. U-Bahn station. After walking straight down for about 3 mins or so, you would reach a traffic light. You should be able to see the start of the wall/ gallery diagonally on your right.







2) Checkpoint Charlie
Erhhh... apart from the historical significance, much of what we see today appeared to be super touristy. Even my tour guide said that it's rather sad to see that little had been done to commemorate the past. Today, you could see someone posing as an American soldier and you could just go up to him to take a photo at the checkpoint. In addition, you could also pay to get a East Berlin stamp on your passport. This was of course, just a tourist souvenir. Whether you would get into trouble or not at the official customs, it's for you to find out. If you miss the stamp at Checkpoint Charlie, you could also get it from the souvenir shop somewhere along the East side gallery.





Another remaining stretch of the Berlin wall could be found close to the checkpoint as well. The history of the Berlin wall (i.e.: the rise of the Cold War, how the pple felt and fared with the divide, how they tried to escape to the other side of the wall and how some of them succeed or perhaps killed for trying) could be found nearby as well - to be exact, it would be on the sidewalk leading up to checkpoint charlie.

3) Topographie des Terrors (near Checkpoint Charlie)
The info site was constructed on the grounds of the previous central institutions of Nazi persecution and terror (Between 1933 and 1945). It currently holds exhibitions that documented the “Third Reich”. If you're interested in the history just before the Holocaust, do have a visit. The nearest station would be Potsdamer Platz and a short 5 to 8 min walk to the site from the station. Personally, I was very surprised and partially shock that the crimes/ terror was extended to silencing hospital patients as well. It could be the disabled, the mentally-challenged or those with terminal or infectious illnesses. Children were not spared either.



4) Juden Europas (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin)
There's been a lot of speculations on the meaning behind the memorial. The creator had kept it a secret so that pple could see it for themselves and have their own interpretations. For instance, some said that the stelaes form a graphical chart/ pattern that charted the gradual growth of anti-jew sentiments, its peak and then its decrease. Another saying was that the stelaes represented people of different age/ life stages who had all met with the same discrimination and fate. Despite the different perceptions around the idea behind the memorial, one thing was for sure, it looked like a mass grave. There's also a small museum (free entry) just underneath the memorial. It's really worth to take a look as you would get to read and hear accounts of the victims and their lives before, during and after the terror.





5) The site where Adolf Hitler committed suicide.
There's no museum or memorial to tell you that "hey! this is the site." In fact, you wouldn't even know or notice it unless a tour guide or a local pointed it out to you. This was because, the govt. did not want pple to come here and "worship" the guy behind all the terror nor let it be a mtg place for pple with no good intentions. There's only a insignificant-looking signboard that listed info in a factual, no-nonsense manner. The underground bunker had long been destroyed and all entrances to the remains have been completely cut off as well. Today, a car park's built around it and a green grass patch now grows on top - where residents would walk their dogs and let them poo there. It's located near Juden Europas.



6) Sachsenhausen concentration camp (outside of Berlin - alight at Oranienburg station & walk for 15-20mins)
It's a pity in a way coz back in those times when the war has just ended, the locals were so into de-nazification that most of the original buildings, photos and other precious data/ documents/ items were destroyed. But you would still be able to see a few of them in this camp.









And here's the usual random shots segment to end off this post:







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Monday, October 25, 2010

21st Oct (Thurs) - Amsterdam

Oh man... 2.5 days in Amsterdam was certainly not enough. I should have stayed on for like 5 days or something so that I can spend at least 3 full days around the vibrant city and another 2 days at the minimum to explore the outskirts or countryside. Oh well, now I know.

I was fortunate enough to stay with my sis' friend at a village some 45mins away from Amsterdam city centre. So not only did I get to explore bits of the city, I also got to catch a glimpse of the outskirts/ countryside as well. And more interestingly, I got to stay in a Dutch house with huge windows. I like~ (^o ^) If only SG has houses like this. Hmmm... then again, even if SG does have it, I won't be able to afford them anyway. Oh bother.



Things that I did while I was in Amsterdam:

1) Played with the cute kid...
... who kept saying "dodo" instead of "photo". (^o ^)

2) Did the free walking tour in the rain and in hail.
The weather in Amsterdam was freaking weird. It was bright and sunny one moment, and the next, I would find myself fumbling for the umbrella. And just as it cleared again, it would start drizzling some moments later. So it was quite annoying to keep opening and closing the umbrella throughout the 3hr tour. It even hailed at one point. And oh! My umbrella was not of any good when used against the gusty wind of Amsterdam. Sudden breeze would swept by and threatened to ruin my umbrella every now and then. And it did succeed once. Only once.



3) Had frites aka fries from the roadside stall.
I hate it when they put too much mayonnaise with the fries. The fries alone was crispy but a little too salty. Next time, I shall try Vlaamse Frites for comparison.



4) Searching for Miffy aka Nijntje
Apart from the Nijntje baby cookies I got from the supermarket, it was pretty hard to find it anywhere else in the city centre - even if it's just a postcard. Surprisingly, I found more traces of Nijntje in areas outside of the touristy district. Even then, there wasn't a huge variety. Japan has more. How strange.



5) Went to the red light district as part of the free walking tour
Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures 'coz I may just end up taking a picture of a display window (which houses skimpily-clad women/ prostitutes) unwittingly and the woman/ women would have every right (irregardless of whether they are really in the photo or not) to delete that photo or worse still, destroy your camera totally. But I did learn from the tour guide that most of these women were there by choice and the government, in a bid to clam down human trafficking, has began to cut down the number of windows around the area and limit to only a handful of streets. Which in turn means that, if the government is successful, the red light district facade would totally change.

And one more interesting thing that I'd learned of was that there's a panic button in every of these windows. So if a pervert, psycho or a bad customer tried something funny on the prostitute, she would press that button and all the other fellow workers on the street would gather to clobber that guy. And after some time, the security would show up, drag the guy into safety before interrogating him (perhaps with physical "persuasion" as well). And then some time later, the police would show up and take the guy (or whatever that's left of him) into custody. Hahahhaha.

Oh well, there were other stuff that the guide had mentioned but I'm too lazy to type. :P



6) Got shown around some of the more reputable coffeeshops (these were places where you could get soft drugs like marijuana and not the coffee houses where you drink real coffee)
It's not legal to blatantly mention you are selling it. So these coffeeshops often have imagery or names that you could indirectly associate with. For instance, smoke rings as part of the shop logo design.



7) Went into quite a few souvenir shops...
... and was surprised to find that they even sold instruments or kits that aid you in the inhaling of those soft drugs, and even kits that could help you determine the purity of the drug and etc. What an eye opener... Too bad i wasn't allowed to take pix of them :(





8) Open-air market - stumbled there by chance



9) Van Gogh Museum
I'm not sure about The Sunflower. I personally preferred his other works. The museum however, was one of the few museums that really took pain and effort to plan its exhibits and its boutique. It really carried out a consistent theme - unlike The Atom which I'd visited while I was in Brussels. The latter looked great on the outside but crap in the insides.



10) Anne Frank Huis
It was hard to tell that it was the Anne Frank Huis (aka Anne Frank House/ Museum) from its exterior. It looked really modern (after the renovation) and the only tell-tale sign was a small signage (which was hidden in the long queue) at the entrance. Unfortunately, photography wasn't allowed inside so I couldn't show you how the rooms looked like. But I do have a photo of the exterior. To be honest, I've almost forgotten the content of Anne Frank's book though I vaguely remembered the gist of her documenting her life whilst hidding in the hidden annex. Initially, I wanted to buy a copy of her book so that I could read it along my trip, but it was (1) rather expensive and it would cost about the same or cheaper in SG and (2) it was a rather thick book. In the end, I decided to scrap the idea. But I will get the book someday in SG.



I'm itching to go back to Amsterdam already. Next time, I would probably split my time staying within the city and also some time at a local countryside farm. Lalalalala~

Usual random shots segment :P













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Sunday, October 24, 2010

18th Oct (Mon) - Brussels

Yawn... 3 days in Brussels was a long time. The first day was rather fun but it got real boring real quickly from the second day onwards.

Had met up with Uma on Saturday, and we went around like typical tourists, hunting for waffles and the Comics Museum. At first, we walked up the street in the wrong direction (ok... my fault), then we decided to ask the locals for directions to the museum instead. Surprisingly, 2 out of 4 people we had approached didn't know the way either. But all the locals we (or rather, Ms. Uma) had approached were really friendly and enthusiastic in communicating with us albeit their limited English vocab.

When we finally reached the museum (which was tuck behind one of the main streets), we got ready our cameras and began snapping :) The museum had quite a wide range of nice comic strip exhibits from various artists but sadly, only 2 panels or so were dedicated to The Smurfs and Tintin. So I was a bit disappointed 'coz without knowing the context of the other comics, I couldn't truly appreciate them.





Next up, we went over to MOKAFE (which was highly recommended in the guide for young travellers) to try out their waffles and some other desserts. The 2.90€ waffle was really crispy but not sweet enough.



We also tried out some other street waffles (usually about 2.50€) just for comparison. The latter was sweeter but not as crispy. ARGGGGGHHHH... why couldn't we get one in the right combination of crispiness and sweetness... I think because Brussels was known to be the land of waffles, we tend to have high expectations around it. So at the end of the day, though the waffles were nice, I still think waffles in Brussels were overrated.



Btw, the locals told me that they usually go for the plain waffles (either sugar on top or sugar inside) whereas tourists would go for waffles with extra toppings (i.e.: choc or whip cream) or a silly waffle with loads of cream, fruits and choc. (^ o ^)



And oh, we went by Manneken Pis as well and I was like "huh!!! so small". Oh well, I wasn't the only one. When I went back there on the 3rd day to get chocs from the nearby Leonidas and Godiva, I heard other tourists saying the same thing too. Hahahaha.



We'd also checked out the flea market on the Vossenplein/ Place du Jeu de Balle. There wasn't much to see there though - unless you were looking for some really old cameras or used/ antique utensils.





The Sunday market at the Gare du Midi station was a bit of a disappointment as well. It was supposed to be like a market where you could gather food from all over the world, especially local pancakes and etc. But when we were there, huge sections of it were dedicated to clothes, shoes and fruit/ vegetable stalls. Only a handful of carts sold grilled chicken (which smelled really delicious), cheese, waffles, hamburgers & etc. And these were scattered across the huge ground and not conglomerated together. So you may end up going one whole crowded lane selling clothes before you finally see one or two food stalls. Sigh.



On chocs (which Belgium's famous for as well), I had asked my hostel recep on what were the brands of choc that locals usually went for and what were the premium ones as well. So she pointed out Cote d'Or as the usual supermarket brand and both Leonidas and Godiva for their praline chocs. Apparently, praline was supposed to be the best and there was like a huge variety (i.e.: different flavours) to choose from. So I ended up buying bars and boxes of chocs which I intend to bring back to SG. But because it was getting rather heavy, I ended up finishing my box of Godiva. Bleh. Who knows, if I get too lazy or too poor, I may end up eating the box of Leonidas as well.



Let's see... I also ate a huge pot of Moules-frites as well (mussels cooked in white wine and served with fries). It was so much that (1) the pile of shells was pretty much as tall as my face, if not higher and (2) I became mussles-phobic overnight. It was darn good... but too much of it and now think I have grown an allergy towards it. Oh well.



On the 3rd day of my trip, I got so bored that I'd wanted to get out of Brussels and head over to Bruges. But it seemed that Belgium disliked me 'coz there was a rail strike on that day itself. So I ended up staying in Brussels and went over to Place Stephanie to shop for my winter wear (in preparation for Iceland and Scandinavia).

Glad that I got myself a nice North Face fleece jacket and a pair of insulated skiing pants (North face kids), amongst some other things. Felt really happy 'coz I finally did some real shopping since I started on my trip. But at the same time, I felt super heart pain as well. My bill for that one shopping trip had burnt a huge whole in my pocket (and bank account). It came up to a whopping 305€... ARGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Converted to SGD, it was almost 600 SGD. FAINT. The first 2 items listed already cost about 215€. Stupid North Face. So expensive. But I still love you.


*P.S. #1: The weather was super sucky on Sat and Sun. And my card refused to work when we had dinner (where I had Moules-frites). I "blame" it on my companion. :P 'Coz the weather turned out great and my card worked again after she left.

*P.S. #2: Don't bother visiting The Atomium. It's a classic case of looks-good-on-the-outside-but-totally-crap-in-the-inside. The organisers should really pay more attention to the types of exhibits there, how to utilise the space better and improve on the things sold in their boutique.



As usual, here are some random pix to end off this post:





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