21 Oct, Friday

Had my written exam yesterday and my oral exam will be on Monday. This is my last weekend in Dresden. I really enjoyed these past 2 months in Dresden and I hope I have the chance to come back again. The 2 months have been interesting, challenging and sometimes frustrating. It's interesting to be able to get to know people from so many different countries and to learn a foreign language together with them; it's extremely challenging to speak only German any time and anywhere and yes, I did it; and sometimes it's frustrating to try to accustom living with someone from a different culture, referring to my roommate from Uzbekistan. The experiences have been fantastic. If I have the chance to stay here for another 6 months, I believe I would be able to improve my German much much more. My classmates this term are from Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Netherland, Ukraine, Ecaduor, Slovakei and Czech Republic. Some of my classmates are still studying (in Uni, either finishing their Bachelor or doing their Masters/ PhD) and I find it awesome that they travel all the way to Germany to perfect the language. I wonder how things would turn out if I were to know/ be able to decide at their age what I wanted to do in life. They know what they want and are here to achieve their goal. I'm sure I will miss here. Very much.

It's now autumn and the leaves are changing colour. The weather has been poor the past few weeks, compared to the sunshine we have in September.

3 Oct 2016 Dresden

Hi, today is the German Reunification Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit). My first class term has been over last week and most of my classmates and roommate had left. I enjoyed being in my class a lot; the people were fun and we had a really good mix. There were people from US, Spain, France, Norway, Italy, Poland, Brazil and Thailand. I was also the only Singaporean in the institute. The institute had organised weekend excursion trips and I had joined in most of them except for the trip to Moritzburg. We went to Leipzig, Old Town tour, New Town tour, Radeberger Pilsner Brewery, Radebeul Schloss Wackerbarth (a wineyard), Bautzen (a small town where the Sorbish minority group lives) and Sächsische Schweiz Bastei (a national park). I also went to Berlin over the weekend with my cousin and it was great. The learning experience here so far has been great. Many of my classmates were very motivated to learn German and we spoke only German both in and out of class. We had a wide age range in our class but most of the people were very humourless including the French and I remember there was always something to laugh about. I like Dresden. It's a very liveable city and it's not too big or too small. There's a good balance between the Old Town and New Town. My first opera concert in the SemperOper was also amazing. There are also many interesting museums in Dresden, for example the Militär Historisches Museum, Deutche Hygienes Museum and Verkehrs Museum etc. I didn't visit all but it's worth taking a look. Döner here tastes fantastic and it costs only 4 Euro. Looking forward to the following class term and hope I really speak up more and practise, practise, practise.

3 Sep 2016, Sat at Sitges Beach Spain

On the beach now. Today's the last day of my holidays before my classes start next week. Am quite disappointed with this leg of the trip in Portugal and Spain. I felt very left out and I'm not sure if it's me or not. Because I'm stubborn? I have to learn community living and that other people have their own priorities. I'm thinking if it's best that I travel alone and do things alone. I don't know how to live and exist together with other people. I spend too much time in the bathroom, washing and dolling up. I have to seriously rethink my priorities in life because spending/ wasting time in the bathroom is not going to get me anywhere in life. Do I want to continue doing my current job? Am I ready to move to another country all by myself and work there and make new friends? Why do I want to always be different and question against by natural self? I'm quiet and an introvert and yet I hope to be more expressive and being understood by people? Why do I feel so unsatisfied when I tell people where I've previously travelled? In this trip I realised that perhaps it is not how many places or where you go; it's how these experiences impacted me and what value-add I've brought to people I came across. Perhaps instead of thinking/ lamenting my past/ future, I should cherish all the more the present. Make use of what I have instead of thinking about what I don't have. I'm not a likeable person but I hope not to be a tripping stone to others. I thought I know a lot about things yet in the end I know nothing. Have I grown stagnant? Then I really should move on. What's my direction and then focus on what's the most important in moving towards that.

The Best of Lisbon

FISH, FISH AND MORE.......FISH.

HILLS, HILLS AND MORE HILLS.

I guess Lisbon can be summed up into hills and fish (very fresh fish and usually grilled fish). You know I'm not a fish person but surprise surprise, I ate grilled fish every day when I was in Lisbon! It's fresh and only around Euro 9 to 11. Green wine is also a Portugal signature - which is not green at all, refers to wine that has not yet matured/ completed fermentation. If you have not heard Fado music or Portugese guitar (12-string), you cannot say you have been to Portugal. The streets are so narrow, a mixture of tiles and cobblestone, and so hilly. Of course, I musn't forget Portguese egg tarts and the best are at Belem (need to queue). There are also many scenic and historic sites that open my eyes to your country. Thank you! Obrigado.

Cabo da Roca (Europe's western-most point). It is the first time I was surrounded by so much clouds I couldn't see the sea.

Belem - Jeronimos Monastery. The architecture of that time is really impressive.

Cristo Reis monument - it overlooks Lisbon city. Go for lunch at Ponto Final; you will not regret the sea view.

Overview of Lisbon city

Sintra is also a must-go - Pena Palace is beautiful.

20 August 2016 - Post Poland and Baltic States

Was writing down my thoughts on the flight from Tallinn to Munich -

This marks the end of my trip with Wenyun. Krakow, Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn - the Baltic States or North Europe (they don't call the baltic states east europe. I wonder)? The trip has been amazing and enriching so far and I think I enjoyed myself more than I expected. A lot more insights into this part of the world definitely and also sort of a self-discovery, especially with the company of Wenyun. Thanks to him that I don't have to worry about my luggage and finding directions. We definitely have different interests and priorities but I'm glad to have his company for the past > 2 weeks. Long bus rides are not fun and they are uncomfortable; I felt so terrible during and after the 8hr ride from Warsaw to Vilnius. We discovered that Lux Express Special buses are by far the most comfortable and they have plenty of leg room. I like the food in these cities eg. beetroot soup, cabbage/mushroom dumplings with cream (periogi) in Poland; potatoes and bread in the Baltic States; the beers are awesome too and just judging them by the price, they are way way much affordable compared to Singapore's. I like it that these cities have a lot of history behind them and the people or their grandfather or grandmother have stories to tell and these show in their architecture, attitude towards life and culture. I learn not to be offended if they always appear stern and do not smile (because of the perpetual cold) and that it's okay. The bog day trip two days ago left a deep impression on me. I like the guide (Chris, from traveller.ee) and his dark humour. So far the local guides we came across had dark humour, maybe it reflects their dark past?

Happy re-independence day to Estonia! To 25 years of your re-independence!

Krakow Old Town

Warsaw Old Town

View of Vilnius Old Town

Vilnius Curonian Spit

Riga art nouveau architecture

Lithuania Siauliai Hill of Crosses

Tallinn near Lahemma National Park

Tallinn Lahemma National Park Viru Bog

Krakow Old Town and the Jewish Quarter

We will be staying 5 days in Krakow and are staying at Westerplatte St. which is within walking distance to Old Town (where most of the sights are) and the main train station Rynek Glowny. The Old Town square is huge and many people sit in the alfresco restaurants and cafes since it is summer. Beer is cheap, ice cream is cheap, food generally is cheap except for some touristy restaurant places. Beer in supermarket is 2+pln and that in the restaurant is 8pln (1 SGD = 3 pln). Pretzel on the street is 1.5pln and ice cream is 2.8pln. The Old Town is pretty much nice from any angle (nice architecture). I find the ladies here very confident of themselves and they are quite well-dressed. There are very few Asians here. For the past 2 days we have joined the Free Walking Tour for Krakow Old Town and the Jewish Quarter and the guides are rather knowledgeable including history. They also give out a very useful map at the end of the trip. We also visited the St. Mary's church and the Schindler's Factory. Will be doing Auschwitz and Salt Mine the following days.

Must-see:
- St. Mary's Church. It is a gothic church; very beautiful in my opinion. Go a quarter before 12nn to witness the opening of the altar. Every hour, the guard at the top of the tower will blow the trumpet
- try delicious ice cream at Starowislna St and expect long queue. The coffee flavour is good. 1 scoop is only 2.8pln
- try traditional polish food including pierogi (boiled stuffed dumplings. popular fillings are potato and cottage cheese, mushrooms and cabbage and pork), soups (eg. beetroot soup or other soup and sometimes it is served with sour cream on top), potato pancake etc so many more I havent tried!

3 Aug

Es regnet. Ich bin jetzt im Frankfurt und ich werde nach Krakow fliegen. Die Flugzeit ist eine Uhr fünf Minuten. Die neue Wörter habe ich gelernt:
- abfälle = disposal (cigarette)
- für Ihre Sicherheit = for your safety
- angenehmen = pleasant
- Damen und Herren = Ladies and gentlemen

Mein Urlaub fängt jetzt an.