Europe: Germany Series: Trier

This will be the last post for our series of trip to Europe. So, what can I say about Trier. We went there by train. And before I type on further, I would like to proclaim my undying love for Europe mode of public transportation, namely, the most efficient buses and trains. Seriously! They are clean, well-organized, efficient and most importantly punctual. So punctual, that you can’t afford to be late even for a second. Best to be at the bus or train station at least 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. So, I kind-a miss the buses and trains because it’s a rare experience for me. Back home, I have my own car to drive around but even if you ask me to use the bus to go to town, I’d rather not because you know-lah how our public transportation is. Sad case. Okay, back to Trier. It is the oldest city in Germany according to Oliver. So, I imagined it to be old, like medieval old. True enough, when we arrived in the city of Trier, we entered this huge stone brick façade and beyond us, was stretch of wide alley with quaint looking buildings on both sides of the alley. And I recall Oliver telling me something about the buildings’ door entrance. Back in the old days, there were no entrances or doors on the ground floor. The doors are on the second floor and one must use a ladder to climb up to the entrance door on the second floor. Like the one below. But the building below have been modified and made into a cafe. But you can still see the door at the left wall of the building.

Other than that, well, why not I just show you pictures of Trier, aye?

So, that's the end of the our trip...Sigh. Miss those travelling days. Hopefully, if all is well, we might be planning another trip this December. Still deciding... :) Leave you guys now with my favourite picture from the entire trip. :)

Cheers,

Oli and Mel

Europe: Germany Series: Heidelberg

Heidelberg, at first glance- from the cobbled streets, historical landmarks & statues, castles, ruin facade, red and brown bricks of buildings to quaint alleys and vendors, made it look like any other historical cities we visited prior to Heidelberg itself. But just the idea of being in a 'never-visited-before' city made it a worth while experience. For instance, walking up the approximately three-hundred steep steps to visit Heidelberg Castle perched up on the hills was daunting but exhilarating, nevertheless. Not. We spent our time just walking along the streets of Heidelberg. Alas, the sun was peeking out and we could see everyone was appreciating that bit of ray and heat from the sun after the long stretch of winter. We had lunch at this quaint Indian Restaurant and ice creams afterward. We walked for a bit more and came six pm, took a train to Mannheim, a neighbouring city to meet up with Yoshiko and Sebastian, friendly and funny couple. Anyway, I'll leave you with pictures taken in Heidelberg and a bit in Mannheim.

#1 Us making funny faces

#2 Nicholas and Eriko, whom we travelled together with.

#3 Us again

#4 Across the road

#5 Walking up the steeps steps to Heidelberg castle

# View of Heidelberg from on top of the hill

#6 Oli look so cool here *Dreamy*

#7 Spiral Stairs in Heidelberg Castle

#8 Yours Truly

#9 :)

#10 The famous bridge in Heidelberg

#11 One of my favourite pictures of us

#12 Me again

#13 From Left to Right: Yours Truly, Yoshiko, Nicholas, Sebastian and Oliver

#14 Group picture of the night. A bit dark though..:(

Alrighty. That's Heidelberg and last post on Europe but not the least, will be about Trier, which was pretty much like Heidelberg. Then, it will be the end of my Europe trip post. For this time around. Because, I'm already planning for my next trip. But I shall not reveal it here yet. Wait till confirm then only say lah.

Till Trier, Tschuss..

Europe: Germany Series (Day 1 & Day 2)

We took Ryan Air from London to Zweibrucken, Germany. When we reach Zweibrucken Airport, there were no buses, taxis or any sort of public transportation to get to the city. The buses were on strike and taxis are usually on call. So, for awhile, we were clueless. And we began walking for miles, tugging our luggage along. Though it was sunny, thank God, the constant breeze was cool and it made those walks a pleasure. So, the reason why we were in Zweibrucken in the first place was because Oliver wanted to shop.*Gasp* For once, he actually initiated shopping. In Zweibrucken, there is a huge Designer Outlets which has some of the well-known brands such as Esprit, Mango, Nike and et cetera. So, after walking for about half an hour and with the help of the signboards along the way, we finally reach the Designer Outlets and off we went shopping or more like, Oli went shopping while I just tagged along.

After a few hours and a few shopping bags, Sonja (Pronounced as So-nia) fetched us and drove us back to Kaiserslautern. Journey took about an hour. By the time we reach Kaisers, it was already dark. So, I finally got to see where Oli lives for the past two years. It was in a student apartment. Space was scarce but still comfy. Was introduced to Eriko-Chan and of course, Nicholas, Oli’s friend from TAR while he was in KL is also staying with him now.

After a breather, we were set to meet a few of Oli’s friends in the city for dinner.

 

From Left to Right: Nikki, Eriko, Evan, Polly, Steph, Yours Truly and of course Oli.

That was the only nice picture we had that night. After a fulfilling dinner, we all went back home and got a good night sleep.

The next day, woke up early to go to Church. Oli needed to practice since he led the worship team that morning. Again, met a lot of Oli’s friends from church. Everyone was nice and friendly. After church, I think (well, it was awhile back and I had to recall), we went back home, made lunch and it was just a free and easy day. Come evening, we prepared some dishes as the church was having pot luck dinner at Pastor Drew’s place and the theme was Asian Night. It was a fun night, we hand made sushi-s, dinner was great, everyone were talking to each other, we played poker and even though I was new to the game, I played fairly well.

Here are some pictures from the night:-

#1 People

#2 Yummy-looking sushi

# 3 Mash potatoes

#4 Honey Chicken

#5 From Left to Right: Sonja, Chelsea, Me, Eriko

#6 Oli and I with Chelsea and Ps. Drew

#7 Yours Truly

Anyways, I’ll write about Heidelberg next but don’t know when. I’m so bogged down with work right now it’s not even funny. But oh well.

Tchuss! (Bye in German)