Berlin Victory Column, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial

It was such a sunny day! Posing for photos in the sun's glare was so painful! We swore to get sunglasses the moment we reached Czech soil ;p
The scenic view was simply amazing! All around, you could see the faintest traces of spring: tiny green leaves, and the smallest of buds :)
And then, we found the Victory Column.
"Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 meters high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners, with their fondness for giving nicknames to famous buildings, call the statue Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy"."
We chanced upon some sculptures, of which JC recognized as Atlas. JC then proceeded to tell us about the myth of the one called Atlas...

"One of the Twelve Labors of the hero Heracles was to fetch some of the golden apples which grow in Hera's garden, tended by Atlas' daughters, the Hesperides, and guarded by the dragon Ladon. Heracles went to Atlas and offered to hold up the heavens while Atlas got the apples from his daughters.

Upon his return with the apples, however, Atlas attempted to trick Heracles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver the apples himself. Heracles, suspecting Atlas did not intend to return, pretended to agree to Atlas' offer, asking only that Atlas take the sky again for a few minutes so Heracles could rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. When Atlas set down the apples and took the heavens upon his shoulders again, Heracles took the apples and ran away."

Spring is here!
"The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin."
"The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (German: Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas), also known as the Holocaust Memorial (German: Holocaust-Mahnmal), is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims and other victims of the Holocaust, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro Happold. It consists of a 19,000 square meter (4.7 acre) site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs or "stelae", one for each page of the Talmud arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. It also includes statues of non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust at its corners. The stelae are 2.38m (7.8') long, 0.95m (3' 1.5") wide and vary in height from 0.2 m to 4.8m (8" to 15'9"). According to Eisenman's project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason."
Maybe we shouldn't look so gleeful at the memorial... JY looks a little possessed here ><
We left the memorial and chanced upon the German Science Centre. Our tummies were growling, so you could just guess what we did next... :)) Lunch!

Berlin, Germany ( Hello Berlin, and the Reichstag Building)

After two days of grueling lessons, we were all ready to embark on our trip to Berlin, the capital of Germany! In our previous trip, to Vienna, insufficient preparations were made, and so it was a rather unmemorable experience for me.

This time, we were well prepared. We did ample research on the history of Berlin as well as her many places of interest! At about two in the afternoon, we grabbed our backpacks and headed to Florenc where our bus towards Germany awaited us! And as usual, we had our Nutella sandwiches with us, it made the five-hour bus ride a hell lot easier!

It was already nightfall when we arrived in Berlin, approximately 8p.m. We then went to the nearest metro and bought our CityTour passes at 15.90 euro a person. It was recommended by wikitravel :)) these passes were really worth it because we got discounts the many attractions that we later visited! Awesomeness! Thank u wikitravel!


At the same station, we just couldn't resist the German chocolates that lined the vending machines!


I was bone tired by the time we checked into our hostel! Just ask JC and and JY! I would probably rate our hostel as the worst part of my Berlin experience! We had to share our bathrooms and WC with the rest of the kids on our floor. Yes, you heard me, we were staying with a bunch of noisy Spanish teenagers! Oh, what a racket they made! Some boys even tried to scare us when we were showering! :( Immature kids!


Still bleary-eyed from the lack of sleep, we trudged on to the metro. There, a nice German gentleman helped us with our directions! :))


The German metro was quite a challenge! Check out its map online and you'll see what I mean! But we eventually found our way to the Reichstag building at approximately eight in the morning. The audio guides loaned to us for free were absolutely amazing! It was detailed in the history and was also clear in its explanations :)) Two thumbs up!


"The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe." - a quote from wiki



A paranomic view of Berlin!

Taking the elevator down towards the ground floor with a whole bunch of tourists! We were the only Asians in the elevator! I'm getting used to the curious gazes already :)


As we left, we were shocked by the crowd gathering to enter the Reichstag! Many thanks to JC who woke us up early in the morning to avoid the crowds! :D


"In 1916 the iconic words "Dem Deutschen Volke" ("To the German people") were carved above the main façade of the building, much to the displeasure of Wilhelm II who had tried to block the adding of the inscription for its democratic significance."

Berlin Today! A 3 day trip

Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.5 million. It is the capital city in Germany.

Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its internationality and tolerance, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, for its street art, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest.

Berlin is a relatively young city by European standards, dating to the thirteenth century, and it has always had a reputation as a place filled with people from elsewhere. Someone who has lived in Berlin for ten years will see themselves as a "true Berliner," looking down on the person who has been there for only five. It may seem tough to find someone born and raised here! This is part of Berlin's charm: it never gets stuck in a rut.

German is of course the main language in Berlin but you can easily find information in English and sometimes in French.

The public transport system (U, S-Bahn, bus, tram) uses a common ticket.

Vienna

I'm finally blogging about our 4-day trip to Vienna, in Austria. On Thursday morning, JY, JC and I met up with Ricky before heading off on a 5 hour bus ride to Vienna. It was a long ride! Upon reaching said destination, we took the metro and a bus to our hostel... the scenery was just amazing! The hostel was located away from the city, and the view was just amazing! For the rest of the four days, we visited attractions in Vienna such as the markets, watched an opera, watched the Vienna boys choir sing, visited the torture museum, walked through the central cemetery! My best memory of the place was the wonderful dinner at the pub near our hostel! The food was delicious and the portions were humongous!

Austria

Hey guys! We're off to Austria on Thursday and returning on Sunday! So much things to do and so little time :P

From a while back... in CNY

HAHA, we ate Bah Kwah during CNY but I forgot to post this pic! And then I caught a cold a few days after >< and got a bad sore throat too (T-T)

I'm Dancing in the Snow without a care

Finally! It's here!!! Squeals!!!! Last night, we found a note stuck to the tag board at the lobby of our apartment. It was a note to inform me that I had a parcel! Thanks Aunt Ju, I finally got the parcel your sent me. Will chow down some of the chocolates tonight :D



My first parcel in the Czech Republic... I was practically dancing with joy when I got my hands on the parcel! I love it! There's just so much fun in the simple things in life :) Haha... and Victor (JC's "special" friend) will be sending us a parcel too! I think he said that his parcel contains 4 tubes of moisturizer and some seasoning... how thoughtful of him!



This morning, we awoke to the heaviest snow fall that we've ever seen!



Every thing was covered with snow!!! It's so freaking cold today! Feeling elated from the sight of the snow again (we thought spring was here, and winter was gone) we bundled up in our warmest clothes and headed out. We had lunch (fried cheese burgers) at Wenceslas Square, and then we roamed around prague on tram because it was just too cold to explore the place on foot! Coincidentally, we found ourselves at Namesti miru, where the longest escalator in the Czech Republic is :) haha and JC took a video of us on it. So I guess you can wait for it to be uploaded onto facebook :)



Here's jingyi all dressed up and pretty! I think she was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia :) heh heh... that's why she's so in love with flower prints. JC did most of the styling for JY's outfit! Not bad, not bad at all... by the way, do you find her coat familiar? ;p

We then met Ricky, a Malasian friend from NUS at Wenceslas Square for lunch, where we had out first ever fried cheese burger! Yum! Then we invited Ricky him home for dinner! Our first house/ apartment guest!