A year of Swedish meatballs

Kiruna 07

2007-02-14T21:32:00.000+01:00

See Sam's blog for more details.

Evidence that we saw the northern lights:

2007-01-02T11:40:00.000+01:00

Momentous last few days of 2006...
Caught ManUtd live at Old Trafford on 301206...Manchester United v Reading. :)
Counted down at River Thames and caught the fireworks set off at the London Eye on the stroke of midnight.l.

London's fantastic; this is my 6th day here and I'm not sick of it yet. Prices are indeed high, but what's worrying is that Ive learnt to ignore it and stop converting. Coz if I do, I won't need to eat already.
Loads of good chinese food here (my friends have been bringing me to the "very good" places) so that cuts out the gian-ness for Singapore food.

Will post up photos (pictorial evidence of me having been to the Theatre of Dreams! hehe) and videos soon...

It's been a great year and hopefully, 2007 will be better.
Happy New Year!

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year!

2006-12-27T17:29:00.000+01:00

Hello friends, this is a little late, but Merry Xmas to all! Hope everyone had a really nice and memorable Xmas celebration with your loved ones :)

I just got back from London last night (ok 2am this morning to be more exact), and will be heading off to Italy from 29 Dec to 9 Jan 2007. Jo's still in the UK, and will be back on 4 Jan 2007. I'm gonna leave photos and blogging about the Eastern Europe trip to Jo/ Adam and Cx, cuz most of the group shots are with them and also cuz i need to do my laundry before i fly off, but I think i owe my dearest friend Shaina and her bf Eric a note of thanks for their hospitality and generosity!

Jo and I spent Xmas in Sheffield with them (22-26 Dec), and this was one of the most memorable Xmases I have ever celebrated! The girls whipped up a storm in the kitchen for our Xmas eve dinner for 9 hungry adults (think hugeass 4kg turkey stuffed with chestnuts, 3 shepherd's pies, 2 kinds of salads, soup, 3 desserts and loads of drinks), after which we sang karaoke, set fireworks (not firecrackers ok...real fireworks that require you to keep a 25metre radius from the site!!!), woke up early on Xmas day to unwrap our Xmas presents, and spent the day watching movies and Brit tv programs.

Not forgetting, of course, the fun, laughter and friendship provided by Eric's corridoor mates Fiona, her bf Bernard, King and Phil, who generously shared their foodstuff and made me feel right at home. I had loads of fun playing Taboo, baking raisin and choc chip cookies when we were bored on a random night, laughing at/ with each other about silly stuff, and listening to Bernard strumming his guitar and humming and singing. On a side note, I feel guilty once i think about all the egg tarts and lao po bing and Krispy Kremes and M&S sundried tomato focaccia bread and chocolate flapjacks and teacakes and cookies and suppers i consumed...no wonder people grow sideways while on exchange!!! (The Eastern European leg of the trip with Adam and Cx was gastronomically satisfying but terribly unhealthy too- we had loads of fast food, BK, KFC, pizzas, fried noodles, cakes, biscuits, chocolates etc. Yikes.) But hey, its Xmas so i say heck the calories! (or rather, eat first and worry later) ;P

Other highlights of this megalong trip for me-

1. taking BA from London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda marked the first time since i came on exchange that i've taken a proper international carrier from one international airport to another and not a budget carrier (Ryanair or Easyjet) from one secondary airport to another. As sad as it sounds, the sight of complimentary meals and drinks being served put a smile on my face!

2. Being able to meet up (whether intentionally or unplanned) with lots of friends! It was nice seeing Shaina and Eric in UK, Adam and Cx, Terri in Budapest, Sheena Nick Angelina in Prague Vienna and Budapest, Farida Pam Zihua and Xunming in London, and Kah Hee in Prague! Seriously, the world is how small....

3. My first time ice skating in a non man-made rink in Prague! Ok actually, my first time ice skating ever. Haha. But i was clumsy and so slow that they called me ah mah penguin. Videos and photos with Jo/ Nick/ Sheena/ Angelina.

4. Then there was the dimsum lunch we had on my last day in London- hargow, cheong fun, pai guat, feng zhao, char siew bao, lo pat go, bean curd skin rolles, wu kok, fried squid in egg yolk etc...I was one happy girl after that meal!

5. And of course, the fireworks we set off in Sheffield (ok fine the guys set them off and the girls huddled together in a corner for fear that we would be disfigured by the blast from the dynamite) was nothing short of spectacular. I'll try posting a video of the fireworks, but im an IT idiot so gimme some time!

This has also been one of the most eventful trips thus far-

1. double (or was it triple?) locking our cabin on the overnight train from Krakow to Prague cuz Lonely Planet warned of thiefs gassing passengers (the incredulous look on the conductor's face was pretty funny when he saw our locks the next morning),

2. our flight from Budapest to London nearly got redirected to Liverpool due to the fog in London,

3. our bus journey from London to Sheffield was delayed by 4 hrs as we were caught right in the middle of a chain accident involving 4 vehicles and 7 casualties along a major motorway (we reached Sheffield at 2am instead of 10pm, and by the time we got a cab home and bathed and finished supper and went to bed, it was 5am. NB: we had to wake up early to get to York the next morning),

4. my BA flight back from London to Stockholm was nearly cancelled due to the fog, and we got a scare on Boxing Day cuz the security guard at Sheffield's Meadowhall bus station told us that no buses were scheduled for that day (then how the hell was i supposed to get to London to catch my flight home!??!!).

I guess Jo and I have become too 'pro' at planning trips- aside from the fact that everyone now sees us as travel planners and tour guides, we ourselves have gotten used to smooth, hassle-free trips and transfers since we always check out the schedules and timings for connecting buses and trains, directions to get to the hostels, maps of the city etc. But stuff like the fog and highway accidents are out of our control, so being caught unprepared was a different experience indeed.

Anyway, this trip was one successful one! Travelling with Adam and Cx was a breeze and really enjoyable, bumping into Sheena Nick Farida Angelina Kah Hee Pam Zihua and Xunming (all unplanned) was a bonus, and spending Xmas with a very treasured friend (and her friends) in a foreign land was the highlight of the trip for me! I'm so glad that this entire experience was shared with this bunch of lovely people, and im looking forward to spending NYE with my classmate Sol's family in Turin, Italy! :)

On a random note, my lactose intolerance seems to have taken a turn for the better! I've been slowly increasing the amounts of dairy products i consume, and so far so good! No side effects except for the pizza in Budapest! Yay for me.

Pictures below!

Thanks Adam and Cx for being such great and fun travel partners!

The highlight of the Krakow leg of our trip- the visit to Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp. Imo, well worth the trouble it took us to get to Krakow, and getting from Krakow to Prague later.

Yummy dinner at a nice restaurant in a mall in Krakow- 4 huuuuge plates of chicken, beef and fish with sides, all for 10sgd each only!! You'll never be able to get such prices in Stockholm, unfortunately :(

We bumped into Kah Hee and his family on Charles Bridge in Prague! Small world!

We found a really cheap Chinese place in Prague! About 6sgd for a huge plate of meat with rice or noodles. We ate there twice even though service was crap and the Chinese lady boss was nicer to locals than to us fellow Chinese.

We watched Romeo and Juliet at the Opera House in Vienna! A once in a lifetime experience! The grand interior alone made the entrance fee worth it. And these are but a few of Nick's many silly photos- he's taking a picture beneath the 'no photos' sign, i'm making a phonecall beneath the 'no using of handphones sign', and of course his trademark 'thinker' pose.

Cafe Demel- one of 2 cafes that we went to. Sheena Nick Angelina and I shared the house signature hazelnut with orange liquer chocolate cake, Vienna's famous sacher torte and apple strudel, a strawberry yoghurt creamcake, and a sour cherry cheesecake. Burnt a hole in our pockets but well worth the money!

Budapest! The last leg of our Eastern European sojourn, and also the time when we threw caution to the wind and consumed copious amounts of oily food. We managed to find KFC, but not the 'prata' thingamajig that Jo was telling us about. But all was good since we had Burger King for lunch and pizza for dinner one day, and KFC the next. Haha.

With Shaina! My primary school friend whom we spent Xmas with. Babe, im very impressed with your huadiao chicken with shaoxing wine! Shall try to cook that in Stockholm too :)

The food we had for lunch at Wong Kei wasnt that great (the food in London is disgustingly expensive compared to EE), plus we had a 3hr long bus ride to catch, so we bought 8quid worth of egg tarts and lao po bing, as well as 12 Krispy Kremes to tide hunger pangs! Eric (Shaina's bf) very generously shared his stash of Nongshin instant noodles with us for supper too! :)

Day trip to York on 23rd December. My 2nd time there, but i didnt mind cuz i couldnt remember anything about York besides the Minster and the Shambles. The Xmas market was disappointing compared to all the other Xmas markets we'd been to in EE, but the company more than made up for it :)

Midnight baking session cuz we were bored and had run out of games to play. The guys promptly went to bed leaving the baking to us girls.

Marinating our 4kg turkey with loads of herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil, and stuffing it with chestnuts!

Our Xmas eve feast! Turkey, 3 pans of sheperd's pie, salad, soup, cheesecake, ice cream...!!

The lovely people i spent Xmas 2006 with.

The fireworks we set off later in the night. I cant seem to put the video up- let's hope Jo knows how! Heheh.

Unwrapping our Xmas gifts in the morning. That's Shaina and Eric, our wonderful hosts.

Headed down bright and early to London on 26th for the Boxing Day sales! Gobbled a donut down for energy before hitting the shops...It was pure madness! Topshop and Mango and Zara especially, as expected. Kept bumping into Sheena Nick Farida and Angelina while shopping haha! See you next in Kiruna Sheena! :)

After fighting the crowds, Shaina, Eric, Ziqi, Jessica (2 of Eric's friends from NUS Architecture) and I headed down to Chinatown (again) for dimsum! Dimsum is one of the foods that i really really miss, so this lunch was money well spent imo!

Complimentary food and drinks on BA! Beats the 3euros lousy sandwiches on Ryanair hands down (not that i've actually gone and bought one of those).

And when i got back to my corridoor- a pretty tree and gingerbread house greeted me! :) Merry Xmas and an early Happy New Year everyone!

2006-12-11T00:40:00.000+01:00

We'll be off to Krakow tomorrow! Together with Adam and Cx. Promises to be a whale of a trip - hope the X'mas markets in Krakow, Prague, Vienna and Budapest are as good as advertised!

:)

2006-11-29T13:56:00.000+01:00

Hello guys,

Being the travel planners that we are and also because I feel that this is an opportunity not to be wasted if you are in Europe, please email us if those on exchange in Europe are interested in a trip to Kiruna, Sweden to see the aurora borealis (northern lights).
The dates are more or less confirmed (it'll definitely be the 2nd weekend in Feb) and the itinerary is as follows (the conversion rate is about 4.5):

Option A:
8Feb: Train to Kiruna City at 17:00. Reach Kiruna City 9Feb, 10:30am. --> 399SEK (seat) or 649SEK (couchette)
9Feb: Explore Kiruna City (i.e. Ice Hotel). Stay overnight at Yellow House - hostel (150SEK/person for a 4bed room)
10Feb: Tour with a local tour agency which brings us to Kurravaara 20 minutes away from Kiruna (where we get to see the northern lights better). Inclusive of food, activities and 1night accomodation --> 1300SEK.
11Feb: Reach Kiruna City at 1600 earliest. Train back to Stockholm at 1840, reach Stockholm 12Feb 1200. Same prices as the train to Kiruna.

Option B:
9Feb: Flight to Kiruna City from Stockholm Arlanda, 19:20 - 21:55. (via Flynordic - 960SEK) Overnight at Yellow House.
10Feb: Tour.
11Feb: Reach Kiruna C at 1600. Explore Kiruna, overnight at Yellow House.
12Feb: Flight back to Stockholm, 06:10 - 08:40. Flynordic, 756SEK.

Can play around with when you want to reach/leave Kiruna. But the tour will definitely be taken on 10Feb.
Links to the various websites:

Train from Stockholm to Kiruna

Flynordic

Hostel

Tour

That's about it. The people who are (more or less) confirmed going are Me, Shuwen, Terri, Sam and Bob.

My email add is jo_n37@hotmail.com.
Email latest by 3 December! Tack sa mycket!

2006-11-28T01:47:00.000+01:00

London!! Hasnt changed much since i last went there in 2002, except that LimSJ is now studying there! Was great catching up with her and meeting all her housemates. This is Camden Town Market!

2006-11-28T01:45:00.000+01:00

Food bazaar at Camden Town

2006-11-28T01:44:00.001+01:00

Portobello Market!

2006-11-28T01:44:00.000+01:00

Lots of quaint antique stores, bookstores, random shops!

2006-11-28T01:43:00.000+01:00

Sausage and mash!

2006-11-28T01:39:00.001+01:00

The cupcake store! Pam you would have loved this place!

2006-11-28T01:39:00.000+01:00

Oxford Street at night. Some of the Xmas decorations were already up!

2006-11-28T01:38:00.000+01:00

By the Thames at night, the London Eye, the Big Ben.

2006-11-28T01:37:00.000+01:00

UCL Campus. I really like how the leaves slowly change colour in autumn. Gorgeous!

2006-11-28T01:35:00.000+01:00

UCL hallways, study area and cafeteria

2006-11-28T01:34:00.000+01:00

Hello Chinatown!

2006-11-28T01:33:00.000+01:00

Dad! Mum! Sis! Remember Wong Kei, the chaep Chinese place where we had roast duck, noodles, dim sum etc in 2002? They're still there! The service is as brusque, the food as cheap (by London standards) and the place as cha-chan-teng-ish!

2006-11-28T01:28:00.001+01:00

The obligatory visit to Harrods.

2006-11-28T01:28:00.000+01:00

Yummmm.

2006-11-28T01:27:00.001+01:00

The obligatory Krispy Kreme picture

2006-11-28T01:27:00.000+01:00

Selfridges, Marble Arch, Harvey Nichols, Oxford Street...bye London! See you again in December :)

2006-11-28T01:25:00.000+01:00

HELLO DUBLIN!!! Home to Heineken, Guinness, Bailey's, Oscar Wilde, Molly Malone (yes she is a real person, not just the name of the pub along Circular Road)

2006-11-28T01:23:00.000+01:00

St Stephen's, one of the more famous parks in Dublin. Doesnt KY look spiffy? :)

2006-11-28T01:22:00.001+01:00

Dublin Castle

2006-11-28T01:22:00.000+01:00

Trinity College, Dublin. Really really picturesque campus, where you could almost smell literary talent and academia all around Ok im exaggerating abit.!

2006-11-28T01:20:00.000+01:00

Irish Parliament- where we had a 1.5hr crash course on Irish history and culture haha

2006-11-28T01:18:00.001+01:00

St Patrick's

2006-11-28T01:18:00.000+01:00

Dublin's really a shopper's paradise. So all you UK people who have flights there, please make full use of Ryanair!!

2006-11-28T01:17:00.000+01:00

Pretty shot of one of the many pubs in the Temple Bar area

2006-11-28T01:16:00.001+01:00

More pubs!

2006-11-28T01:16:00.000+01:00

The famous Ha'Penny Bridge, one of many bridges in Dublin.

2006-11-28T01:15:00.001+01:00

Parting shot of Dublin- Heineken and Bailey's, hahaha.

2006-11-28T01:15:00.000+01:00

Bye bye Bob! Till we meet again! (most prob in Singapore next yr)

2006-11-28T01:14:00.000+01:00

Edinburgh- a really charming and livable city, with friendly locals to boot. :)

2006-11-28T01:13:00.000+01:00

More of Edinburgh

2006-11-28T01:12:00.000+01:00

Made a day trip out to Rosslyn Chapel, made famous (to us, at least) by The Da Vinci Code.

2006-11-28T01:11:00.000+01:00

Great weather in Edinburgh!

2006-11-28T01:10:00.000+01:00

Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, where we were kinda freaked out by rattylooking racoons. or squirrels..

2006-11-28T01:09:00.001+01:00

Jo and I!

2006-11-28T01:09:00.000+01:00

Documenting their cooking process. Dont u just love the last picture? :)

2006-11-28T01:08:00.001+01:00

NASI GORENG!!! 'Nuff said.

2006-11-28T01:08:00.000+01:00

Now we all know why Adam the BBF made pancakes for Jo and I. It was just a trial run before Nov 25th! But yummy pancakes for breakfast, so no complaints!

2006-11-28T01:05:00.001+01:00

Edinburgh Castle

2006-11-28T01:05:00.000+01:00

The Museum of CHildhood in Edinburgh, shortly before Cx took us to the Fudge Kitchen, where u can see people making fudge right before you!

2006-11-28T01:04:00.000+01:00

Really pretty campus where Adam and Cx have classes.

2006-11-28T01:03:00.000+01:00

The night 1 Indian boy was persuaded to whip up supkam horfun for 3 Chinese girls

2006-11-28T01:02:00.000+01:00

Dry horfun, wet horfun...all overloaded with ingredients and gone before u even blink!

2006-11-28T01:00:00.000+01:00

Must give the horfun due respect. So here it is, Adam's creation in all its glory. Drool away!

The Stockholm I Know (and Love)

2006-10-31T22:59:00.000+01:00

I just had to post these few photos up, to let those who were here (i.e. Bob, Nick, Paul and Dawn) a week and a half ago know that Stockholm is actually really beautiful, when the sun's out and the skies are so clear and blue.
I experienced such fine weather when I first touched down in Stockholm, but I guess the saying's really true - you never appreciate what you have till you've lost it. Thankfully for me, in this case, the "lost" wasn't permanent; the dark and gloomy weather didn't stay and the skies cleared, so I could finally appreciate Stockholm's beauty (what I took for granted when I first arrived) and understand when people say Stockholm is beautiful.
Just a background on why I'm blogging about this: When Bob&theHamburgers were here, the weather was really bad...it rained everyday and it was so gloomy, with the dark clouds looming over our heads everytime we were out. In a way, it probably ruined their trip quite abit and left them with a not-too-wonderful experience of Stockholm. I experienced that weather for a week (it only started pouring when they arrived; prior to that, we had really good weather!) until last Sat, when (goodness I was really excited) the sun came out - I was really ecstatic lah.
So even though I hadn't really started on my studying (yes exam's next Monday and yes, I'm actually still quite unprepared), I decided to join my friend in showing his Aunt (who was here on a short trip) around Stockholm.
So to Bob&theHamburgers, this is how Stockholm is when the skies are clear:

Outside my hostel

On the way to the bus-stop

On the island of Djurgarden (where Skansen is located)

Update

2006-10-26T10:16:00.000+02:00

Since the last post, we have been:

1. to the finals of the Stockholm Open, where we saw James Blake and Bjorn Borg;
2. to Mannheimer Swartling, the largest law firm in Sweden (beautiful library and amazing pantry, btw!);
3. to the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm, which is as modern as the courts in Singapore, but housed in a more traditional building;
4. to school! (lectures, lectures, lectures...)

We have also played host to Kin Yew, Nick, Dawn, Paul and their Turkish friend Dyugu, and are all set to receive Terri and Sam next weekend!

The weather in Stockholm is getting really chilly- it was 5 deg celcius yesterday, it's been drizzling the past 5 days, and i havent seen proper sunshine in a week!
But no matter, since our first exam here is on 6 November 2006.
Bad weather = cannot go out = stay in to try to study.
However, bad weather also = conducive sleep environment (it's really nice to snuggle under my warm quilt) = waking up after midday, while staying in = msn, blogsurfing, watching backtoback episodes of Lost, CSI (for Jo) and random movies.
Pros and cons to everything, huh...

But besides the impending exam, all's been good! Been talking to alot of you guys, and i'm glad to hear all's going well, although the exams/ essays are a pain. But hang in there ok!

Take care, everyone. :)

Photos from Germany

2006-10-11T13:00:00.000+02:00

Because I'm lazy and also because 5 other people will blog about how the Germany trip went, I shall only put up group photos. For everyone to see us and for the 5 others to kop it off this blog...lest they say I'm slow in passing them the photos.
(Btw, Terri! I want photos from you too! Zip the group photos/photos of me and others and send to me please! Tack!)

Berlin:

Sam, Jess and I on the Berlin S/U-bahn

Law students on a tour of Berlin!

Us at a random traffic light...photowhoring as often as possible. haha

Us in front of the Humboldt University's Law Faculty! (Their law fac is really damn...nice. Too bad the woman who took this photograph focused only on us)

Dresden:

We stopped over at Dresden for about 2 hrs coz we didn't want to arrive too early in Munich. Jess emerged with 2 bottoms after a mere 20min in the shop. -.-

Munich:

Dunkin' Donuts for dinner.

Policemen in the background were randomly checking peoples' bags for drugs...

Law students at Oktoberfest 2006!

Me and Jess right smack in the middle of the carnival...

Food was damn good.

The guys had 2 of those each.

We shared a 1L mug - Oktoberfest beer is different from normal beers. Tastes really good (this coming from a person who generally dislikes beers).

:) (The other 2 people in the photo are architecture students on exchange in Paris - 1 is my friend and the other Nick's. What a small world!)

Sam acting cute.

3 bengs in Munich.

Terri enjoying her pork knuckle sandwich.

We had dinner at a true blue Bavarian restaurant, and Jess and I shared a pork knuckle. Sinful.

Sam and his cordon bleu.

Nick really looks like a robber with his beanie on...haha.

Salzburg: (minus Nick coz he returned to Hamburg after Munich)

This is what happens when we fall asleep on trains...But no one really gave a shit about how photos were being taken of us sleeping then because we were just so exhausted. We had to wake up at 6.30am to catch the 7.45am train to Salzburg!

Me and Terri.

Law students/backpackers in Europe! (Backpacking's no joke-the bags can get really heavy.)

In front of Mozart's statue.

The view of the Alps is really fantastic and amazing...worth the hike all the way up to the fortress.

Cologne:

Guess who's the only one awake during the long train rides...haha

A cold cold day in Cologne.

Us with our new friend in Cologne.

Not many group photos in Cologne coz everyone was tired and the weather was turning cold(er). There was also nothing much to do in Cologne except for the superb shopping.

There are actually many more photos (and stories) I wanted to post, but it's time-consuming and tiring. Looking through the photos brings back loads of memories. It was truly a great trip - thanks for the great company Sam, Nick, Jess, Terri and Shu. :)
Germany was so enjoyable because firstly, we went at the very right times (Berlin before their re-unification day-3rdoct, Oktoberfest in Munich), secondly, the great and very affordable food on offer and thirdly, the fantastic company.

Kraftskiva

2006-09-27T23:53:00.000+02:00

The 24th of September 2006 was a momentous day because it marked the first time I had seafood here in Stockholm! Heheh those who know me will know how much i LOVE seafood...sadly, fish, prawns, mussels and even crabsticks cost 2 arms and 2 legs here (would you pay 7sgd for a pack of crabsticks, you tell me?!?). So to those of you who think we've been living it up here partying, feasting and drinking, you thought wrong! I'm a giamsiap soul who would rather spend on airfares than on crustaceans, which explains why I've taken Ryanair more often than I've had seafood. Hahaha!

Crayfish parties (kraftskiva) are a tradition in Sweden (see here for more info on crayfish parties in Sweden), where crayfish are eaten cold, using the fingers. The usual accessories like bibs, party hats, paper lanterns depicting the Man in the Moon were present, and true to my corridor-mate's warning, we were goaded to take a swig of Schnapps with each crayfish claw, resulting in many extremely red (but happy) Germans. Noisy eating, a rowdy atmosphere with traditional drinking songs and games were part and parcel of this once-a-year experience.

Anyway, for a ridiculously cheap price (by Swedish standards), I had a really sumptous dinner of unlimited crayfish, pasta salad, freshly baked foccacia and baguettes, Vasterbotten cheese, beer, red wine and Swedish schnapps (43%). I was a very happy (and full) girl indeed. Nowhere else in Sweden can you get such a good deal, trust me. Thank heavens for international coordinators and student unions and the bumper load of crayfish caught this year!

Ok photos from the great night out!

Crayfish!

Really strong Swedish cheese

The songsheet on which they printed English translations of traditional Swedish songs.

My mentor Karin, who was sweet enough to email me about the party and take me for it. Plus she gave me a pair of earplugs when i told her i was looking for them. Swedish folk are mostly really nice, methinks!

Announcing the start of the partaj!

Eye candy for the night heehee

This is Emma, a friend of my mentor's, who very kindly taught me the glam(mer) way of de-shelling crayfish with my fingers!

And the drinking and games begin...

It's not that i'm short ok, she's 1.9m tall.

This is Mareike, from Hannover. She gave me some tips on Germany, which will come in handy when we go there tomorrow!

As you can see from my plate, I was very happy with my crayfish.

Haha ok u guys can laugh at my party hat.

Anyway, Jo and I are leaving for Germany tomorrow, where'll we be meeting up with Nick, Sam, Jess and Terri, to cover Hamburg, Berlin, Munich (Oktoberfest!!!), Rothenburg and Cologne. We'll be back on 9th October, so dont bother checking all our exchange blogs till then! :)

Much love!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2006-09-27T22:43:00.000+02:00

Dearest Daddy,

Happy 50th Birthday!

By the time you read this, I will probably be in Cologne or Hamburg. This is the first time in my 21 years that I won't be able to spend your birthday with you. Please forgive me! Be assured, however, that my thoughts and best wishes are with you.

Thank you for all your sound advice, your knocks on the head when i get too stubborn, for always being there for me, and for knowing when to step back and let me learn from my mistakes. You've selflessly provided for our family, acceded to my lazy requests to fetch me around Singapore, gone with me on my countless gastronomic haunts to check out the best soon kueh, BBQ seafood, prawn noodles and cheng tng in Singapore, instilled in me a love for the beautiful game, and most importantly, guided me through all my major decisions in life thus far.

When I think back on my childhood and my teenage years, beautiful memories spring to mind. Of running around beaches and stomping on sandcastles, of you falling down while piggy-backing me down snowy mountains, of bouncing around and falling headfirst off the trampoline just outside our campervan, of staying in motels along the highway, of watching and loving Broadway, of eating yummy ribs in the outback, of having traditional english tea facing the English countryside, of driving down Welsh coasts, of us visiting the homeground of our respective football clubs (which are just a 5min drive across town from each other), of us scrutinising maps and trying to navigate our way around confusing foreign cities, and of course, of walks up Bukit Timah Hill and the yummy dinners we go for thereafter.

And you know what I've realised? You, mum and sis are a part of all those treasured memories. Every single one of them. All 3 of you are such a crucial part of my life, and the knowledge that the 3 of you will always be there to guide me, listen to me whine and complain, chastise me when necessary and keep me grounded is a comforting one.

So as much as I am enjoying myself on exchange, I wish everyday that all 3 of you were here, to share in this wonderful experience with me, so that we could add it to the long list of memories we have created together. I miss you guys so, so much, and I cant wait to see all of you next year.

I love this picture of our family, with grandma inside too.

Enjoy your seafood birthday dinner, and eat my share of crabs and prawns for me please!

Can't wait till we webcam on the 10th! :)

2006-09-21T23:44:00.000+02:00

Hello all! There are suddenly so many (more) exchange blogs to read, which is great so I can see how everyone's doing all over the world.

I'm blogging now because I'm taking time off from the boring readings that I have to do. Yes, even though it's pretty slack here, we still have readings/assignments...which we of course have to attempt to complete when we're back in Stockholm and before we jet off again (which is 28 Sept -to Germany to meet up with the rest of the Singaporeans! Yay).

Anyhow, to add on to Shu's post, Riga is really lovely. Those in Europe, please do visit Riga if you have the chance to (btw, Ryanair flies there and at a pretty cheap rate too if you catch their promotions).
It's understandable to give Vilnius a miss now, (though I believe that place will be a fantastic place to visit a few years down the road) mainly cos it's still in the transition/restructuring process. After visiting the KGB museum in Lithuania and the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia in Riga, I seem to get the idea that Lithuania was more badly affected by the Soviet occupation than Latvia...ok I don't really know since the the musuems only gave us a relatively summarized version of what both countries went through. Anyhow, that was the feeling I got.
But Vilnius was still a good choice (for me) because it opened my eyes to the (slightly) more backward places in Europe (of course perhaps Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia etc will be even more so, but which I'm not gonna touch!) It's nothing like the places I've been to before. However, the place is very safe (for those who think its #$%@$ dangerous) though the people don't really speak English and it was tough getting directions sometimes.

But yes, Riga is more touristy, the Old Town is amazingly beautiful and the prices of food/alcohol/cigarettes there is freaking cheap too (though I felt so poor because I only had 9-10LVL to spend. For everyone's info, 1LVL=S$3. And I all my money was in coins. I really felt so poor. But in the end, I still had leftover cash because really, food there is THAT cheap, and there's no need to pay for transport coz we cld get everywhere on foot. But anyway the bus to the airport was only S$0.60 lor.) I really liked the place, and the only thing I was quite unhappy about was the size of the place. Riga Old (and new) Town is very small; I wish there was more of the place so I could walk and see more!

Ok, enough words. I'll return with more pictures (+captions) in my next post.

Oh, and I have something to say regarding one of Shu's pictures. BUT I need to obtain her permission before I can blog about it. haha!

Back to work!

Lithuania and Latvia, 13-18 September!

2006-09-21T00:39:00.000+02:00

No time to blog cuz we have an assignment due on the 25th (yes, we have work to do here too), just before our trip to Germany on the 28th. So this is just gonna be a photo update!

Quite excited to finally meet up with some of those on exchange in Europe after so long! So Jess, Sam, Nick and Terri- see you guys soon! Oktoberfest- woohoo!! :)

More photos below!

2006-09-21T00:36:00.000+02:00

From Stockholm, we caught a Ryanair flight to Kaunas, Lithuania, from where we took a train to Vilnius, the capital and largest city in Lithuania.

2006-09-21T00:35:00.000+02:00

There's a reason why people travel mainly to Vilnius in Lithuania only. Not Kaunas!

2006-09-21T00:33:00.000+02:00

From Kaunas, we arrived in Vilnius in the evening. We walked the streets a little before returning to our hostel.

2006-09-21T00:32:00.000+02:00

St Catherine's// Lithuanian Parliament// National Museum of Lithuania

2006-09-21T00:30:00.000+02:00

St Anne's Church- one of my personal favs among the many churches we visited in Lithuania and Latvia.

2006-09-21T00:29:00.001+02:00

Old but still majestic.

2006-09-21T00:29:00.000+02:00

Bright and cheery

2006-09-21T00:28:00.000+02:00

The KGB Museum- one of the highlights of our trip, really. It's where the KGB HQ in Lithuania used to be, and the basement of the building was where they tortured victims. Inscribed on the walls are the names of the victims, while the picture on the bottom RHS documents the number of Lithuanians who were killed, exiled, tortured, executed under Soviet and German rule.

2006-09-21T00:27:00.000+02:00

The torture cells- it was really chilly down there. Gloomy, cold and depressing, the sense of dread and misery hung thick in the air. We nearly lost our appetite for dinner... ok nearly.

2006-09-21T00:24:00.000+02:00

Vilnius at night! Streets prettily lit up, bustling cafes, well-preserved architecture.

2006-09-21T00:23:00.000+02:00

Evidence that Lithuania is not as desolate and backward as everyone seems to think! On a sidenote, Macs has really achieved worldwide domination huh..

2006-09-21T00:22:00.001+02:00

The Gates of Dawn// Vilnius at sunset

2006-09-21T00:22:00.000+02:00

We took a day trip to Trakai, 28km from Vilnius// the famous Trakai castle!

2006-09-21T00:21:00.000+02:00

Dont be fooled- the weather wasnt as sunny as it looks.

2006-09-21T00:20:00.001+02:00

The Choral Synagogue in Vilnius, Lithuania.

2006-09-21T00:20:00.000+02:00

Haha can u believe cigarettes in Lithuania go for about 2.5sgd per pack??// A pilot-to-be we met while waiting for our Eurolines bus to Riga// bus station

2006-09-21T00:18:00.000+02:00

Riga! St Peter's Cathedral// town hall// random streets and beautiful architecture

2006-09-21T00:17:00.000+02:00

We stayed at Friendly Fun Franks Backpackers' Hostel- the dubious-sounding name aside, it was really a great hostel! Huge screens showing the EPL meant we were able to catch the Chelsea-Liverpool and Man U-Arsenal match absolutely free, there were 6 computer terminals with free internet, free linen and towels, the kitchen and dining room was fully equipped, it was located right in Riga's old town, friendly staff... we really couldnt ask for more.

2006-09-21T00:15:00.000+02:00

Our 6-bed dorm (we paid for an 8 bed dorm but they gave us this 6-bed one, bless their souls!)// the Latvian version of fastfood// pastries galore!!

2006-09-21T00:14:00.000+02:00

Yay we managed to find this highly-recommended Russian pancakes place! It was really cheap too- i paid 0.70 Lvls which is equivalent to abt sgd 2.30!

2006-09-21T00:13:00.000+02:00

Strolling down one of Riga's many bridges (like Paris, Riga is divided into the left and right bank by a river)// i love kids!

2006-09-21T00:11:00.001+02:00

Fireworks!

2006-09-21T00:11:00.000+02:00

St Jacob's- we went for Sunday service! Though it was in Latvian, the hymns sung brought back memories of my convent primary school days! :)

2006-09-21T00:10:00.000+02:00

The Freedom Monument of Latvia// some smart aleck testing the soldier's patience// across Brivibas square

2006-09-21T00:09:00.000+02:00

We passed by another Russian pancakes cafe! I couldnt help but snap pictures of the yummy (though greasy) pancakes. There's plain pancakes, pancakes with banana (aka goreng pisang), pancakes with cheese, pancakes with meat, and pancakes with i-dunno-what-else-they-can-think-of.

2006-09-21T00:07:00.000+02:00

Haha this collage is for all those of you with a sweet tooth. The aroma from this small cafe-bakery was really out-of-this-world!

2006-09-21T00:05:00.000+02:00

A Russian Orthodox Church- really quite grand.

2006-09-21T00:04:00.000+02:00

The Latvian Museum of Genocide and War Crimes

2006-09-21T00:02:00.000+02:00

We had time to squeeze in lunch before our flight back. Russian dumplings from this popular joint called Pelmeni!! They charge according to weight, but its dirt cheap compared to Stockholm!! That bowl there cost less than 2sgd! Should have piled our bowls higher..

2006-09-14T20:07:00.000+02:00

Hello guys!
Shu's in the bath now so I'm taking the time to do my share of updating. :)
We checked the Singapore Idol results not too long ago and Shu's pretty upset that Jasmine got kicked out. Hehe.
Anyhow Vilnius is very different from the other European countries I've been to. For those who did history, there's plenty of it here. We went to the Museum of the Genocide Victims today - it used to be Lithuania's KGB building. Now they have converted it into a museum, but the basement remains untouched, the basement used to be where they housed prisoners. And it was pretty...eerie (for me), to say the least. I'll blog more about it (with photos) when I get back.
Ok, we're heading off to Trakai tomorrow - an island castle 28km from Vilnius. It's supposed to be very nice, so hopefully I'll have (more) nice photos tomorrow. :)
Riga on Sat!

Vilniul Backpackers Hostel

2006-09-14T09:04:00.000+02:00

Hello all! It's now 0959 in Vilnius, Lithuania, and i'm blogging from the hostel while Jo's in the toilet getting ready.

We arrived in Kaunas, Lithuania, yesterday, to a rather desolate airport. But it was expected la, since Ryanair seems to like to fly to all these run down airports in ultra ulu locations in Europe. Anyway, we wandered around Kaunas abit, realised the airport wasn't a misrepresentation of what the rest of the town was like (it really was so desolate and ulu), and so scrapped our original plan- which was to take the 1900pm train to Vilnius. Instead, we caught the 1630 train, arrived in Vilnius at 1800, looked for our hostel, bought dinner, and explored Vilnius's Old Town a little.

Vilnius is much more touristy than Kaunas (though signs in English are still scarce)! We're going to finish up our exploration of the Old Town later, check out this country within a country (Uzupis- abit like your Christiania, Sam!) and maybe head to the KGB Museum if we have the time. The weather here is great too- sunny and not too windy, about 18 deg celcius in the afternoons and 6 deg celcius at night. The best thing is- no rain! Haha i really hate it when it rains while i'm out, cuz it means the temperature dips and the wind gets super strong.

Anyway, Jo's done already, so i gotta run. We'll be in Vilnius for 2 more nights, then it's off to Riga, Latvia, till the 18th. Lastly, I just wanna reassure all those who have expressed their concern, that these countries aren't as backward or dangerous as you guys think! We will look out for each other so don't worry for us.

Ok, more updates and photos whenever we can!

:)

Finland 7Sept06

2006-09-13T07:10:00.000+02:00

Rushing to get ready to go to the airport soon to catch our flight to Kaunas, Lithuania. But I'll just post some pictures taken in Helsinki, Finland (coz I promised Shu I'd do it).
Weather in the morning that day was great, but it started raining like crazy in the afternoon (which spoilt the trip a little). Anyhow, in my opinion, Helsinki's a nice small town - there aren't many famous attractions (typical of Scandinavian countries I suppose) but it's a nice place to live in. Provided it doesn't rain. Ok, pictures! (No time to do captions, I'll edit it when I return - pictures are also not in order)

2006-09-07T13:24:00.000+02:00

Our one and only class yesterday was cancelled last minute (like, the night before the lesson), which was really irritating cuz Jo and I realised that it meant that we actually had a 5 day break from lessons- WHICH MEANT WE COULD HAVE USED THE TIME TO TRAVEL.
Argh. So much for trying to plan around the timetable...

But anyway, we decided to make use of the spare time we had to explore Stockholm further. And being the cheapo Singaporeans that we all are (admit it, you're one too!), we sourced out a couple of museums with free entry. Surprisingly, there're quite a couple of such museums around! Before that, though, we had to pop by the Finnish, Latvian and Lithuanian embassies to get maps and guides to Helsinki, Riga, and Kaunas and Vilnius respectively, cuz that's where we will be heading for our next 2 trips! :)

Once we we done with that, we were off to the Army Museum, the Music Museum, and the Nordiska Museum! I'm quite a museum person so I enjoyed myself, taking my time to stroll down the corridors and admiring the exhibits. Best of all, it was FOC (ok cheapo Singaporean in me surfacing again)!

Anyway, we're leaving for our Viking Line cruise to Finland in about 1hr (abrupt ending here cuz i just realised my packing is only half completed). Will be back on the 9th of Sept, to get a couple of days' rest before heading off to Lithuania and Latvia from the 13th to the 18th of Sept. Updates when we're back!

Take care friends! :)

2006-09-07T13:22:00.000+02:00

Our first stop (cuz it was nearest to the Lithuanian Embassy)- the Army Museum! It would help if the explanations to the exhibits were in English...haha.

2006-09-07T13:21:00.000+02:00

The Music Museum! Pretty entertaining i must say. They let you try out Swedish folk instruments etc.

2006-09-07T13:19:00.000+02:00

The Nordiska Museum (www.nordiskamuseet.se)! Quite a grand place. There were two temporary exhibitions going on in addition to the permanent collections.

2006-09-07T13:17:00.000+02:00

The toy and shoe exhibitions! The Swedish are very proud of the craftmanship of their wooden carvings and sculptures. Haha and i miss wearing heels!!

2006-09-07T13:15:00.001+02:00

Exhibition on interiors: Mum- look at all the pretty plates! Dad- look at your fav antique wall clocks! :)

2006-09-07T13:15:00.000+02:00

What we've been having for dinner the past 3 weeks. Hahaha. I WISH.

2006-09-07T13:14:00.000+02:00

There was an interesting interactive exhibition on the problem of alcoholic Swedes- the sale of alcohol here is government-controlled, which accounts for the high prices. P/S: the Swedes use Japanese computers too, haha!

2006-09-07T13:12:00.000+02:00

Swedish living quarters from long ago

2006-09-07T13:10:00.001+02:00

Gamla Stan-Stockholm's Old Town; Stockholm's cafe culture; the Nobel Museum!

2006-09-07T13:10:00.000+02:00

Ok so not exactly everyone looks like Ljungberg...

2006-09-07T13:09:00.000+02:00

But people here really do look really good on the whole- blonde hair, huge blue eyes, perfect complexions, neverending legs, killer smiles and impeccable dress sense. Welcome to Sverige!

More Photos!

2006-09-03T11:57:00.000+02:00

We finally got down to touring Stockholm yesterday; and it was a very lazy, relaxed and carefree Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness the weather held out (cos it seemed as if it was gonna rain when we were leaving Lappis) and it wasn't too hot or too cold. ;)
We actually hopped onto random buses which brought us around Stockholm, into the neighbourhoods and not to anywhere in particular. Got off as and when we liked and walked around the areas...
I think the thing about Stockholm is that there isn't any particular landmark which MUST be seen (unlike say Paris or Rome etc...) therefore, having a relaxed, nothing-in-particular-to-see mindset and walking around the different areas in Stockholm is the best way to enjoy this place. For you'll then be pleasantly surprised by what you see. :)

Stockholmers really know how to take it slow and enjoy life. Check out the numerous benches where people just sit and do absolutely nothing. Being puzzled by how they can just sit there and stone, me and Shu sat there too. And really, 1 hour past by in a flash, as we sat there people-watching.

We were just taking buses to nowhere when we saw this long flight of stairs and I suggested getting off the bus to take a look at what was at the top. Turns out to be an attraction - this photo explains why the place is special.

The slanting house

Shu in front of one of the houses

Bird's eye view of Stockholm. Stockholm's made up of 7 (i think) main islands all connected to each other by bridges.

Walking along one of the many "bridges" in Stockholm.

A church in Gamla Stan (Stockholm's Old Town)

The interior

The Royal Palace - Sweden has a King (or Queen) though they are just representatives of the people and are actually powerless. (Sounds familiar...)

Whilst walking, we saw a huge crowd of people by the water. So being kpo Singaporeans, we walked over to see what was happening. Turned out to be a Mercury F2000 race (Scandinavian powerboat racing - the equivalent of F1, albeit on water). It was quite exciting and very interesting. We were lucky to catch the Stockholm leg of the race. Though the commentary was in Swedish and we really didn't understand who was what etc...

Stockholm!