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Final Post

I’m back in Singapore. The last 6 months has been great.

I would like to thank everybody who has helped me and made it such a fun ride for me.

All pictures are up at http://picasaweb.google.com/bergy8

Now, it’s back to reality.

Happy New Year!

What an amazing countdown.

We went ice skating, followed by buffet dinner and was treated to a 40 minute self-initiated fireworks display whilst enjoying good German Beer.

This is it, 2008. Hope everybody has a great year ahead!

It’s the final countdown

First, updates on my December Eurotrip. I visited (in cronological order) Rome, Vatican City, London, Nice, Monaco, Cannes, Marseille, Paris, Luxembourg, Brussels, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Triberg am Schwarzwald.

I don’t intend to do an entire entry on each individual city I visited because there’s just too much to write about. So I’ll just briefly highlight some key points of the trip.

Rome: One of the worst trips made. The Roman ruins were amazing but that sadly is all the city could offer. I felt there’s was a lack of respect in Rome. People spat on the streets, tracffic laws were basically inexsitent and touters swarmed the streets. Staying in a bad hostel made things even worst. I came back to a hostel in blackout and beds stacked away like it had been running an illegal business (which could be the case because the owner had to visit a government office to settle the matter). Everybody in the hostel had to move to another hostel which was really terrible. Stayed for too many nights too many in Rome. It gave me a very bad impression of Italy. And to think visiting the Vatican City would be a Holy and Reverend thing to do, well, it wasn’t, at all. I did see the Dalai Lama in Rome when he was checking into a hotel and that actually felt more spiritual. I must admit though, Italian food is fantastic and didn’t have a single bad meal in Rome.

London: London is simply fantastic. Perhaps I’m biased because I’ve been away from home for so long I found it very comforting and a strong sense of familarity when I was in London. The cars drive on the left side of the road, the instructions are in English, talking to people had never been easier. Besides that, London has amazing museums and they are all free! I could spend hours just visiting some of the museums but I simply didn’t have enough time because there was just so much to see and do. Street theatre’s great, the markets at Covent Gardens, Portobello, Camden Lock were so great fun. Not to forget to mention visiting Wembley and Emirates Stadiums. Thoroughly enjoyed London and I didn’t really want to leave!

French Riviera: Met Winston in Nice. We took it easy in the Riviera. The beaches in Nice are interesting because it has pebbles instead of sand. The weather was good. Monaco is a nice country, but heck what am I talking about, the rich and famous stay there. The Cannes film fest building is darn ugly. Marseille was pretty decent too. The church on a hill that could be seen from the main station was quite an amazing sight. It is the ports and the beaches that really make these places really nice.

Paris: Yes, the Eiffel Tower is overrated. It is pretty in the night, but freezing cold too. Food and bread is alright, not as spectacular as expected. Paris isn’t exactly a very romantic place, there are drunks all over the city and dog poo ALL over the place! A crazy woman was singing “Heal the World” at the metro while being surrounded by Police, quite a funny moment actually. Parisians aren’t that bad as people normally say they are. We had lunch with a Parisian and learnt a bit about Paris from him. Lourve was fun but at that point I could feel a little fatigue from all the travelling. The ice skating performance on our last night there was awesome.

Luxembourg: Wealthy country that’s really interesting because the city is in a valley. One side is pretty modern and other is what looks like an old town where weirdees could be seen. Stopped by to have local Mettwurst for lunch.

Brussels: Comic strip walls and Christmas markets selling square waffles. Taking picture with a boy peeing on my head, no foul play there. Visited Mini-Europe which was really educational. The highlight for my Brussels trip and possibly my December trip is catching a girl in my arms preventing her from falling.

Amsterdam: In terms of governence, it is the exact opposite of Singapore. The Dutch are nontheless very nice people. Sadly, central Amsterdam, especially areas in the inner circle are really touristy and rowdy and insecure. Visiting the outskirts of Amsterdam was very nice. We spent our Christmas in Amsterdam and I’d say we’ve been bad and I wasn’t surprised went Santa didn’t leave any presents for us on Christmas morning. We spent Christmas at the infamous red light district (overrated) and I got drunk, throwing up in the hostel. Felt like shit the next couple of days.

There’s actually lots of stories about the trip but I guess it’ll be more fun if I did the storytelling live so I leave it here for now.

We came back to Stuttgart on boxing day. I was totally beat out. I managed to conjour some energy to leave for Strasbourg and Schwarzwald a couple of days later. So gald I did because although it was terribly cold, it was a lot of fun. I really like the natural sights of Europe and trekking through the black forrest was very satisfying.

In a few days I’ll be back in Singapore. For now, there’s plenty of cleaning and packing to do. Later we’ll be going for new year countdown. I went cycling along the Neckar river earlier in the morning and recalled 5 months ago I was riding along the same track for the first time. Time flies went you’re enjoying yourself.

Neuschwanstein Castle and Salzburg

Andrew and I made a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle and Salzburg. It snowed heavily during our trip to Neuschwanstein castle, yes the lovely castle that inspired the Disney one. Because of heavy snow, we couldn’t get the view of the castle from the Marienbruecke, the view you’ll see on posters and jigsaw puzzles. Nontheless, the trip was great.

The castle is truly beautiful and magnificient. The Bavarian Alps in the backdrop makes really picturesque. The heavy snow gave a different perspective of the castle. The alps were white like icing on a cake and one of the best sceneries I’ve seen in my life.

Although travelling to the castle is quite difficult, it is well worth it and the train ride there itself is really nice as well getting some really awesome views of natural Germany.

We spent the evening in Salzburg, where the compact and beautiful city had 3 Christmas markets. It is a really nice Christmas market. Extremely traditional and Christmassy. Much better than the ones in Stuttgart and Esslingen I thought. In fact the things sold at the market were more reasonably priced as well. I thought they really put in a lot of effort to decorate and do up the city for this season of celebration. Salzburg has nice sceneries as well with a fortress just next to the heart of the city centre and mountainous views admist the bustling crowds in the city centre. The hills are truly alive.

We walked past Mozart’s birth house without noticing it. And along the main streets witnessing ensembles performing and people enjoying the music with gluehwine in their hand. Austria has strong sense of culture and tradition Mozart will be very proud of.

It was a lovely day trip and definately worth while even though we had to spend much of our time riding the train. I finally had the chance to see some the Alps and enjoy the natural beauty of Europe. After many months of touring and seeing many man-made attractions around Europe, enjoying the amazing natural sceneries of Bavaria and Salzburg was truly refreshing.

Bidding farewell to Fraunhofer IPA

A couple of days ago, we had to bid farewell to our colleagues, supervisors, friends at work. I’m not good with goodbyes and just felt I wasn’t ready to leave. After 22 weeks, I just felt like I’m starting to settle in and get to know lots of people in the company. I felt rather sad we had to leave and perhaps never meet some of our colleagues again. All of them have been really fantastic and nice. I am very grateful for their friendship and thank each and everyone of them to make this industrial attachment such a pleasant and enjoyable one for me.

Nuremberg Business Trip

I know I promised to post about my Nuremberg business trip but things have been more busy then ever and now I’ve finally managed to find the time to do it.

The Nuremberg trip was swell. Once again I was involved in the exhibition from start to finish. Setting up the exhibition is a lot of work and the exhibition itself can be quite tiring. I must give credit to our team leader who was amazing in organisation, management and relations. He was patient and hospitable to guide and lead me. He was composed all the time and always in control. He managed to keep the team motivated and spirit high all the time. That really made the job enjoyable.

The exhibits at the Messe itself were awesome too. Lots of interesting stuff, freebies and games. Had the chance to attend a buffet dinner party for exhibitors, and free food and drinks, enough said. Colleagues were so much fun, everybody entertaining each other throughout the 3 days.

I didn’t go to the city centre or the old town even though I had a day off to do so. The weather that day was usually good too but I didn’t know why I just didn’t feel like leaving the hotel. I managed to see some places though while travelling to and fro the hotel and the Messe.

The Nuremberg business trip was also a first time:

- I travelled above 210km/h in a car. No worries, it is normal on some stretches on the German autobahn. Pretty fun actually.

- I made a Romanian friend.

Really have to thank my supervisor who sent me on this trip, entrusting me with the entire project.

November Updates!

It has been a while since I posted an entry. I haven’t been travelling and been busy at work lately.

Here’s some highlights for November so far:

Visited the Benz Museum. It was free entry for the day because it was Cars and Stars 2007 day. It is an annual event to celebrate the close of the motor racing season. Team McLaren was on show. It was quite fun even for me who’s not into cars. Seeing Lewis Hamilton live was something. Boy do the Germans adore him. It would have been better to see Fernando Alonso but he announced his departure from McLaren just the day before of the event. Some tension was going on when the McLaren was interviewed about the departure.

Celebrated my birthday. Andrew made agar agar. Shiok. I had to wake up early for work the next day due to a project dateline but guys woke me at in the middle of the night. You can see in the photos, I was a bit “seah”. Many thanks too to all for the birthday wishes.

I experienced snow! Well, I always thought that snow is overrated. But seeing it for the first time was quite amazing. From then on though, it was overkill.

Shopping, shopping, shopping. Winston and I went to a factory outlet in Metzingen. All the “atas” brands. Hugo Boss, Polo, Tommy, Nike, Adidas, Puma.. and many more. It is cheap for European standards but not for Asians. The prices of stuff are double due to the exchange rate and so even it is a 50% discount off the normal price, it isn’t any cheaper than in Singapore. In the end, we just splurge at ESPIRIT where the stuff were more value for money. And I got new shoes too! But on hindsight, it was quite a lot of money spent, a little penny wise, pound foolish.

Been busy completing my IA report and I finally managed to finish it. However, I will be on my first business trip next week and it’s going to be busy busy busy once again. If I manage to take time off my business trip, I might do some travelling while I’m there. That means I might post another entry about that then. For now, I’m just trying to make the very best of the remaining few weeks left of my Euro experience.

Barcelona

I had a truly wonderful time in Barcelona. I loved everything about it.

To begin, the Gaudi works really stood out and was totally unique to the city. The layout of the city is simple and easy to get from place to place. I like that the apartments all have balconies facing the streets and so you can hang outside your room and see what’s going on in the streets.

I think Barcelona has the best weather in the world. It gets great sunshine and it doesn’t get too cold. I enjoyed the Sun so much and I could afford not to wear my jacket when travelling for the first time in 3 months.

I’m terribly ashamed that Singapore promotes Sentosa beach as a tourist attraction. Clearly they haven’t seen what the Barcelona beach has to offer. It is autumn now in Barcelona and yet there were still plenty of beach goers. It’s a pity we didn’t manage to get seats for lunch at a restaurant by the beach, but having our takeaway grilled chicken on the jetty was also great fun. The beach is so beautiful I can spend an entire day there just basking in the sun with the sand in my toes and sea breeze in my hair.

Food, oh, I just love the food. It is affordable and we get to eat seafood and tropical fruits that I’ve haven’t had much chance to eat in the last few months. I probably put on a couple of kilos during the 3 days there judging the amount of food we ate. We had 3 meals of buffet and not to mention the hot chocolate that was just sinful.

The Spanish lifestyle is such that they have meals much later. Dinner can be anytime from 830pm to midnight which means a lot of restaurants and shops are also open till late. At 1am in the morning, there are still plenty of people on the streets and even in the alley ways. It is great that the city doesn’t sleep so early such that it is not unsafe to roam the city after dark. This brings me to my next point.

Barcelona gave me a good sense of security. It is not like what the guidebooks had written. There were guides the moment we arrived at the airport who approached us and assisted us. There were plenty of staffs around the train stations who offered help to anybody who looked unsure. At night, there were police on patrol and there’s even a mobile information booth providing directions and routes of night buses. Sure there were the usual homeless and beggars on the streets. But these people don’t bother you unlike those in Prague.

The buskers are highly talented here in Barcelona. Probably the best I’ve seen around Europe so far. They might be better in Paris perhaps, we’ll see when I get there.

Spaniards are really nice people. We didn’t get the funny stares we get in some parts of Germany. Spaniards are expressive and classy. Even when expressing a simple gratitude when we hold the door for them is said with grace. The youngsters are mature in behaviour. And people there sure do know how to enjoy themselves.

We managed to watch a football match for the first time in Europe. It was Barcelona vs Almeria at the Nou Camp. Many of you would know I’m quite the soccer fanatic and no words can describe being able to catch a game live in Europe’s largest football stadium watching players like Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho, Messi play. It was actually easy to purchase the tickets online and we got seats on the 2nd row. We came as close as 3 metres away from Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho! Unbelievable, truly unbelievable.

I cannot emphasise more the amount of fun I had in Barcelona. I am finding out more about it so hopefully I can go back again in the future.

Berlin

It was a long getaway that included trips to Berlin and Barcelona. The first day at Berlin was pretty lousy. I blame it on the shitty weather. It was cloudy and cold.

I visited the Berlin Olympic Stadium where the World Cup final was held and some of the other attractions on the western part of Berlin. Met up with Winston who went to the zoo and we ventured around the shopping districts of Berlin and had Chinese lunch at a huge gourmet outlet in KaDaWe.

After lunch, it was a trip to Potsdam. The train ride was 40 minutes and after walking no longer than 20 minutes we found ourselves behind schedule and had to head back to catch our flight to Barcelona. We didn’t get to see much in Potsdam and almost didn’t have transport back to Berlin. Thankfully, a nice old lady along the way helped us and gave us alternate directions.

Things were so much better on our return to Berlin on the last day. We arrived in the evening and checked-in to one of the finest hostels we’ve stayed in so far. We spent the rest of the night walking along the main street of Berlin and checking out the night life. There wasn’t much nightlife being a Tuesday and it was cold so most of the action was inside the pubs and clubs. There were plenty of hookers lining up the streets though, seemingly desperate for business. Retired the night on one of the most comfortable beds we’ve slept in the past 4 months. The buffet breakfast the next morning was truly awesome.

We got up early the next morning to visit all the main attractions of Berlin. It gave me the creeps when we visited the place where the former Headquarters of the Gestapo once stood and the area where several were shamed and killed during the Holocaust. I read and studied about it in history class but to be at the very location where it all happened was really something.

It was solemn seeing the exhibits of the Berlin Wall as well. People were killed and suffered from the division caused by the Wall. To think that this was all stuff that didn’t happen very long ago.

After much walking we had lunch, a 2 Euro Doner Kebap. The cheapest Doner around I think one can find.

Berlin is a nice city. It is liberal and much more interesting than Stuttgart. I’m really impressed by the standard of graffiti in Berlin. The artwork on the walls of buildings are of very high standard and sometimes it actually beautifies the place.

Overall, this trip to Berlin didn’t give the same feeling I have on my other travels. I didn’t feel so much as to have enjoyed myself or find it a great holiday getaway. Instead, it was educational and insightful, more like an excursion then a holiday.