Berlin - First Contact (2)

'continued...

Took the underground to Friedrichstr. and instantly like the area where modern & historical buildings blend together and filled with outdoor café & restaurants along the river side (absolutely nice in summer time), second to Brandenburger Tor :)


Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palast_der_Republik), the West call it 'The Show Off Building', search for it's old pictures on the Internet & you'll know why. The building was formerly the East government building, now there are only ruins left...
Berlin Dom is under maintenance during my visit...it's 'topless' ;)

Just walk around in the region & you'll find besides many museums well worth seeing, there are also numerous small shops of souvenirs, applied arts and antiques (mostly Russian stuff...gas mask anyone, again?). Walk through the little alleys of the district and feel yourself 'transferred' into a different era, at least that's what I felt :)

Then of course, dinner time. I was brought to a small cosy movie themed restaurant for German food (my request). Picture starting from top left (clockwise): 'Black forest' noodle with pork slices in thick mushroom sauce, curry wurst, grill thin pizza with spinach & feta cheese (ok, this is not originally German), Einsbein (pig knee '咸猪手') with sauerkraut & the cover of 'German encrypted' menu. Everything tasted good except the menu :p

Berlin - First Contact

Berlin has a very comprehensive public transport system, some of the trains & stations are really old but still well functioning. The only downside with the old trains is the carts doesn't not interconnect... My first train stop is at the 'gigantic' Hauptbahnhof station which consists of 5 storeys building & so many shops / eateries, looks more like an airport to me, I feel so small...
Right outside the train station, the traffic light caught my attention, yes, the traffic light. Former east Berlin has funny traffic light 'man' which is so popular among the tourist that there're special souvenir shops and even a restaurant themed on Ampelmännchen (traffic light in German).

Ampelmännchen products range from typical tourist souvenirs (key chain, postcards, fridge magnets, ear-rings, necklace pendants, T-shirts, umbrella) to weird CDs featuring 'train station sound in the morning' etc and jelly gums in Ampelmännchen man shape. There are even areas in western Berlin where broken / aged traffic lights have been replaced with ones that feature the cute traffic light man.

Germans have quite good sense of humour in 'nick-naming' some buildings...like the press's beach (not really a beach but the press usually sit back & relax by the river side after interviewing politicians at the nearby government buildings), the washing machine (which is actually the federal chancellery), the pregnant oyster (the Congress Hall)...

Pic: The Press's 'beach'

Pic: The 'washing machine' (my friend says everything is round inside...she wrote a letter to the relevant party & tried to get me in there for a visit but we have to wait half a year, oopss...)

We walked to the nearby Reichstag (Parliament house), wanted to go to the glass Reichstag dome for a 360 degree view of Berlin landscape but just the long queue (circled in red in picture below) scared us away...instantly we reached to mutual agreement: next time!

Pic: Reichstag with long queue to the dome

So we continue walking towards the well-famed Brandenburger Tor (which is my favourite attraction in Berlin, will talk more about it in a separate blog) & then the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a relatively new attraction built in the memory of all Jews killed during the Nazi time (http://www.scrapbookpages.com/berlin2002/JewishMemorial/index.html).

Honestly, I think it's a little creepy to walk among the stones (some are twice or even more? my height) & don't feel quite safe as there're no visibility at all at some locations, anything could happen without anyone knowing. My friend told me the authority has to hire guards to petrol in the memorial area to ensure pedestrians' safety.That's the first part of my day1 first 'encounter' with Berlin which I think is long enough, hehe...well I have a long & interesting first day but I can't wait till everything is 'reported' to post the blog, so, the rest will be continued in next blog, hopefully soon...

Stefan & Susi

I have the nicest friend in the world who met me at the airport upon my arrival in Berlin, kind enough to accommodate me for a week, rush to pay all the bills, bought me a tour guide book (in English), find out attraction details, spend time touring me around despite working days & even get me a Germany SIM card to ease communication.

In Germany, surprisingly quite a number of people still don't speak English. My guess is they understand but are not really fluent with English so they try their very best to avoid speaking English (purely based on personal experience).

A lot of restaurants still don't have English menu (especially if they're not located near tourist attractions) and the waiter/waitresses definitely don't speak much English. The only one that I encounter (so far) that speaks English is in Haagen Dazs. Funny guy...when I asked 'Can I have this please'; he said 'Yes, you can have everything including me', lol...

So I'm glad to have my friends as 'translator', when they're not with me, I carry a small yellow English-Deutsch dictionary for 'emergency' purposes. Stefan & Susi also serve as my tour guide providing explainations. Susi is sort of the group entertainer, provides her funny stories that'll often make me laughing uncontrollably, she's so cute. Will try to share her stories when I go back to Copenhagen (& have the time), it's too funny to be kept by myself.

Here's a picture with 3 of us in front of the famous Brandenburger Tor:-

Portobello Antiques Market

Portobello market 'wakes up' as early as 6am, unfortunately I don't wake up as early. Anyway, reached there at 9am & the crowd is almost as big as Oxford street.

Antiques are very subjective, they could be very valuable to some but just junk to others. I have no idea how to judge if it's real antiques (but the price surely makes them seem like one) so my trip is merely for eye-opening purpose.

On top of antiques, designer accessories (which are gorgeous but also very expensive), funny gadgets (even gas mask are sold), cloths, leather bags/jackets, vinyl records, food (exotic instead of English, funny) etc can also be found along the very long stretch street.

The walk was an enjoyable one, despite the hot weather (yes, surprisingly there's no rain at all in UK the whole week I was there) & painful feet. Even the bargaining process differs a little from the normal market bargaining that I'm used to back home (M'sia). Wish I have more time... efinitely want to go to Copenhagen's flea/antiques market to compare how things differ within Europe.

Anyway, I'll be flying to Berlin for a week's holiday beginning tmr. So again, not so frequent (or maybe even none at all) updates during this period & will resume when I come back. Berlin is caling for me, can't wait...

London - shopping, theater & 'Ben'

Been so preoccupied with house moving lately that I haven't even have time to organize & share my short trip in London. Perhaps I should write something before the good memories fade...the pictures are not really good, taken from my phone. Camera 'died' (battery!!!), so...:(

My first stop in London (after searching hours for accommodation) is Oxford street - shopping! Sales is on everywhere but unfortunately, they're not necessaryily cheap. £395 with 70% discount still cost a lot for a pair of reasonably nice high heel to me. Instead I got myself a pair of cheap flat shoe at only £8, wahaha...

Pic: sneak peek of Oxford street (where it's always full of people, everywhere)

I was walking in London until I can't feel my feet & my toe was bleeding due to excessive walks (friction between 'heeled' shoe & toes). It was only 'discovered' by my friend during a shoe try. Took a picture of it but my foot is just too embarassing to show publicly :$ Anyway, aching feet provides good justification for frequent coffee breaks & I found Nero coffee worth visiting (and revisiting, lol). I like the white chocolate coffee personally.


Big Ben ('Ben')+ WestMinsters + London Eyes + River Thame...I, erm...I 'photographed' with them, can't blame me for not visiting all these attractions. I'm under time contraint pressure, only have 2days in London... and being a very shallow girl, my priority is of course set to shopping & theatre, visiting these attractions simply will consume too much time. Oh...and the weather was really really hot, I can't risk getting sun burn, can I? (blame the weather, lame excuse, I know, recently learnt from a friend, lol)


How can I miss the chance to catch a play in London right? So, a trip to Leichester square where most theatres are housed & a £20 ticket brought me to Buddy Holly. Honestly, I have no idea what the show is about when I bought the ticket, just for the sake of catching a play but it turned out good. In fact, I was enjoying it so much that I hate to see it finish. I must catch another play some other time, not necessarily London though ;)

Pic: Buddy Holly show

Pic: Playboy pink limo in Leichester square

A funny side story: I was with London map, trying to find my way around, standing at a cross road looking absolutely lost & then a woman with address in her hand walked towards me & asked for directions to the address. At that point, I suspected it might even be a candid show & started looking for hidden camera. Perhaps she thinks I have better chance figuring out (since I have map). Gladly, I'm capable enough not to let her down & managed to show her the way :D

Another interesting place that which deserves a blog by its own is Portobello antiques market. Next blog.

'home' sweet home

Finally, dilemma's over, I resolve to an optimum solution to fill up my living room - IKEA's Klippan couch (perhaps even only at half the price, second hand). Denmark has a rather comprehensive second hand resell website which pretty much covers everything from household items to cars, wines. One can even get free stuff...old B&W TV, free soil, waste wood, anyone?

Initially was thinking of buying a new couch but since a 2years old second hand identical IKEA couch only cost me about half the price (I have to buy new couch cover which adds up the price), why not? However, the purchase will be on hold until I come back from a week's holiday in Berlin. Hopefully the couch is still available when I come back.

Received 'donation' of a 14" TV (I know, I know...the size! but it's donated, I couldn't ask for more). Probably should opt for something else in a longer term - 40" flat screen HD TV maybe?? Just kidding. Also received a 3G wireless modem on loan (for 2 weeks) until I get my own Internet setup in the new apartment.

So I'm moving in officially! Been driving & enjoying the Audi (despite my lousy skill) since last Thursday (to & fro some furniture shop etc)...now that I have to leave company house (which also means leaving the car), somehow I feel rather reluctant, sob sob...

Anyway, I really like the new apartment...maybe because I finally have a place of my own where I can call 'home' (temporarily) in a foreign country. Again, no pictures until I get the couch, which means most probably 2 weeks after this post. Stay tuned.

Handy-woman

Took me 3 days to finally get the new apartment 'up & running'...I officially qualified myself to be a certified maid (cleanse every single corner of the apartment); handy-woman (drill & install curtain bars) & 'carpenter' (assembled IKEA beds, tables & chairs).

Got a few cuts & bruises, made some measurement mistakes & bought the wrong stuff (which are not expensive, luckily) but also learn a lot. If there will ever be next time, I'll definitely 'sub-contract' the house moving task out. The feeling of driving back in the middle of the night (to old house while the new place cleaning is in progress) on a freakingly quiet street & feeling my aching arms is not so good.

New place is good now except...there's no Internet (yet). It might take 2 weeks for Internet service to be available upon deciding which Internet service to take up, which I haven't made the desicion yet...Hopefully something will work out, else, my posting rate will just reduced...


After all the hard work, I reward myself with some sushi take away. Not much variety in the sushi take away shop but surprisingly, it tastes good, even better than chain shushi restaurants in Penang. Pricy though. A set of various sushi like this costs DKK150!


Some of my colleagues have visited my new place & they have 1 common comment: you need a couch! So...maybe I shall give in to their comments and buy a couch (hopefully by this week) & fill up the currently rather empty living room. Then again, what's the use of couch if I don't have a TV set right? I'm really in dilemma, not sure if I should invest in couch + coffee table + floor mat + TV (well, one leads to another) considering this might be only a 2years stay...sigh