Water Water All Around

and not a drop to drink! My journey to Venezia was an amusing one. I had no idea the trains would be so full that I can't get tickets for the time that I needed... So how did I get there and what did I see?

Staying in A/C is Not Ideal for Travelling

Shanghai was hot, scorching hot. What is someone who melts in any sort of heat to do? Shopping, I guess.

Winter Wonderland: Whistler

Whistler does seem to have a longer "winter" than does home. If we got a foot of snow dumped on the ground the day before, we'd be stuck at home for a week. Luckily, that's not the case in Whistler.

Roma, Roma-ma

My flight to Rome from Eindhoven was cancelled courtesy of horrible weather, so I embarked on a 20 hour train ride instead. I don't regret being stubborn and spending a fortune on those train tickets, though. The Roman experience was more than worth it.

Bits of Germany 2

Germany is a large country, but Bavaria is supposed to have the most beautiful scenery of all. Schloss Neuschwanstein and Garmisch-P has more than convinced me. See for yourself!

Showing posts with label benelux. Show all posts
Showing posts with label benelux. Show all posts

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Luxembourg

This was the first time I've embarked on a journey to a foreign land all on my own. I've spent time in foreign places myself, but someone was always there to accompany me on the outbound journey. This time, I was accompanied by coffee from my favourite café from Maastricht, a coffeelovers frappé.



After 3.5 hours and a few train transfers, I arrived in Luxembourg.

The sign boards at Luxembourg Station.

The city feels like a place that you just have to experience for yourself. For me it was ultimately relaxing with too many options to explore for just a weekend. For others, it was a bore. Luxembourg city was filled with enchanting landscapes with many valleys and plateaus, and many layers at almost any given point of my path. It was somewhat like a maze to me, I never really knew which level to take.

On the plateau at Rue de Prague

Somehow, I just feel that photos fail to capture the magnificence of the landscape. I was once again wandering around the city with few destinations in mind, just soaking up the quiet atmosphere of Luxembourg and relaxing before exams started.

One of the destinations was a town about 30 - 45 minutes away from Luxembourg called Vianden. The tourist attraction of Vianden is a castle at the top of a hill. The scenery from the top of the chair lift was very attractive, though I wouldn't agree with wikiTravel about the impossibly picturesque part.



When I got off the bus at Vianden, a group of 4 older working adults approached me and asked whether if I would like to join their group for the day. They said they noticed that I was on my own and that they didn't like travelling without companions. I thought it would be fun to hang out with someone from a totally different background for the day and agreed to join. Even more lucky was the fact that they had an admission pass to everything for 5 people, so I got into everything free that day!

Back in Luxembourg at Casemates Bock

This is the fortification of the Luxembourg city to defend themselves against the numerous takeovers and rebellions that happened during the course of history. From the Germans to the French, then the Germans again... I can't even remember how many times these wars happened. It sort of looks like a cave inside the wall, and some areas of the wall extend very far down.


I feel like I haven't done a very good job in depicting what I experienced in Luxembourg. It was difficult to select photos that could tell the story, so perhaps if I get a chance, I'll tell you about it in person. I still wish I had time to visit Remich and Schengen, it would've been fun. Finally, I'll leave you with a photo of the Luxembourg downtown area at night and a wonderful lunch I had on my last day in Luxembourg.

Street lights reflecting off the pavement after a brief shower.

Salmon and swordfish, with super tasty potatoes and salad.

Next are the tiny towns of Germany, Monschau and Gemund!

By fishii with 1 comment

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Brussels

fishii went to Brussels on Saturday with a friend! The first train was early so I had to wake up at 530AM... I was really tired by the end of the day!


The transfer here took nearly an hour, so we popped across the street for breakfast... or hot chocolate for me. It was quite cold... Biking to the station froze my fingers. Must get gloves...



Hot chocolate with delicious fresh cream in cone. Amazing.

Second transit point at Liège. Belgium is wonderful architecture land! 

We then hopped on the wrong train by accident. This one is the expensive one! By the time we realized they closed the door and wouldn't let us off... So we stayed on and got off at the next stop. Luckily, no one caught us. =D Fancy this train is, isn't it? This train was supposed to have cut our travel time, but I'm not 100% sure. 

So after another transit (because of the wrong train), we finally got off at Brussel-Centraal (Bruxelles-Central) station. September is design month in Brussels, so I was greeted by an array of colours that represent the exhibit as soon as I exited the station.


I'm lacking a macro shot of the Grand Place! I only have photos of the buildings...

After strolling around a little, we decided to stop for a lunch! By chance we strolled into a restaurant that's listed in the Brussels restaurant listings or something? That's what the owner said in his broken English. Anyway, the son was super nice. When we ordered our Belgian Fries, he asked whether or not we wanted sauce (costs extra, but no matter). So we asked him what's the traditional Belgian choice, and he (perhaps because he can't speak much English) let us try the sauce! Stunningly delicious tartar sauce on equally mouthwatering fries. Heavenly.

But how can you forget about chocolates in Belgium? That would nearly be cardinal sin!


Before we left town centre, we got some Belgian waffles! How could you not have the 3 famous things will in Brussels, right? Fresh cream (you can really taste how fresh the cream is) with kiwi was my choice, my friend picked strawberry and chocolate. They got everything from the waffle to the kiwi down pat.


Taking a relaxing stroll through Parc de Bruxelles.

We left town centre by foot in search for Parc du Cinquantenaire, which according to Google Map, took about half an hour by foot. I didn't look at the clock, so I don't know, but there were lots of things to see on the way. I'm glad to have been on my own two feet. Lots of EU office buildings too!
At the fountain inside the park, we sat down to enjoy a macaroon from Paul's. The chocolate one was gooooood. It wasn't too sweet, but had the wonderful fragrance found in good chocolate. Francophones and their food, I just don't understand.
We ended our day by getting our friend a farewell gift from the famous chocolatier neuhaus. Belgian chocolate all around~ Got home at 10 and was ready to fall to bed. fishii needs sleep...





By fishii with 4 comments