As of now, i've already been in Europe for 2.5 months. In this 2.5 months, i've realised how much i DIDN'T know about Europe and the rest of the world. Maybe because I've always been so comfortable in Singapore that i do not bother to check or maybe my friends here just study different stuff from me.
Anyway, Wikipedia has been my best friend here in Europe. So far, i've referred to it for information about Austria, Vienna, Greek related stuff (cos of Evie) and also other random stuff that my friends might have mentioned. I'm sure it has helped my other friends in one way or another as well. Lol~ Andreas apparently went to read up about Singapore after he got to know me, Evie has used it to look up about Singapore food (she's madly in love with Asian food and swears that she will get a scholarship to come visit me next year) and Taina recently got a shock when she discovered that Singapore still has capital punishment.
But of cos, they didn't need it as much as i do. I've referred to Wikipedia for Hundretwasser, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Secession, Otto Wagner, Klosterneuberg, Baden, Cyprus, Greek Mythology, 7 years in Tibet and countless other stuff. Just today, i spent 3 hours reading on Wikipedia. Lol~ Every minute spent with Wikipedia is a minute spent learning more about things you didn't know and that was quite cool for me.
Anyway, today i discovered the cutest article in Wikipedia i've read so far. Nothing i've read even comes near to this. Go check it out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singlish
And even though it was about Singlish, something i should be rather familiar with, i was still amused by how little i know about Singlish. Did u know that there is a structure to Singlish and people have attempted to analyse it as they would do for another language?
Lol~ Okok... it's now like 2.30am le... I should go to bed. Gute nacht~
Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Venezia~
Was in Venice (Venezia) for 4 days last week. Really enjoyed myself cos the place was really beautiful and it was nice for a relaxing week but the place is quite sad at the same time. From the beautiful and old buildings, you can feel that once upon a time, this city was really magnificent and grand. And now, all that is left to it is pretty much an empty shell. The city is filled with tourists and you heard much more German, English, French and sometimes even Chinese than you hear Italian. The stores are filled with sovenirs meant for tourists and seem to have very little for the locals. In fact, the locals don't even stay in Venezia. Most of them stay in the little islands/areas around it instead.
In my 4 days there, i did not get to feel what the locals were like. Whether they were friendly, unfriendly, hospitable or maybe even hostile. I didn't get to experience what my friends meant by "typical Italian men" either, other than the incident with the reception guy at the hostel i stayed at. Lol~ His face was like 5 cm away from mine when he was asking me what book i was reading. It was erms... oh well, a bit scary. It was kinda sad. One of the American girls staying in the same room as i was also mentioned that something was missing in the city. It was like short of a soul.
Anyway, it's time for photos again. Let's see what you guys think of Venezia.
My first glimpse of Venezia from the train from Mestre. This was taken on the causeway just before we reached Santa Lucia, the main train station in Venezia.
This is what it looks like in their bus stops. There are 2 personnel on each waterbus, one is in charge of steering the boat and the second is in charge of using the ropes to tie the boat to these bus stations when the boat needs to dock.
The more romantic ways of getting around Venezia.
The first one is a gondola, you travel like really really slow but it's very romantic and as with most of the other stuff, very geared towards earning tourists' money. It's mega ex, €100/hr and if you wanna be more romantic, you can add in a singer for another €100/hr. But oh well, these people rowing the gondolas really work damn hard so i suppose €100 is not too much to ask for. The second is a water taxi. It's also very expensive but you gets you around Venezia quickly and is not as costly as a gondola.
Told ya guys Venezia's beautiful yea? These 3 photos are my favourites amongst 137. Yeah, i took tonnes of photos and behaved absolutely like how Europeans think Asians are like. Too bad, I was Japanese for a day k? Like how Charmaine would say, Yishan was trigger happy that day. =)
Piazza San Marco, the tallest structure in the city and from up the Piazza, you get to see most parts of the city. I however, chose not to go up. It costs €6 just to get up there and it had a freaking long queue even though this is not supposed to be the tourist peak season yet. The Basilica of San Marco is hidden behind these buildings. I got a photo of it but it didn't turn out so good. Anyway, i queued like 20 mins to get into the Basilica and the tour of it was only 5 -10 mins. (-_-)""
Rialto, one of their market places whereby it actually is possible to hear nothing but Italian for a while (according to my guidebook). Too bad, i heard English and German whilst i was there.
For me, this was interesting. Not sure how other Singaporeans will feel but hey, even in a tropical country like Sg, we don't eat our coconuts like that! And you guys in Europe do not get more South than we do.
On the 2nd day, we went to Campo de Gheto Novo and as it's name suggests, it is a Ghetto. This is the first ever known Ghetto in history. It started in 1516 when all the Jews were asked to move to this island and were locked up in here from midnight till 7am. We also visited a Jewish museum but the museum only managed to piss me off. It had 3 rooms to it and had absolutely no details about how Jews lived in that Ghetto. It only showed us some of the clothes, prayer scriptholders and Hannukah candle holders. -bleahs-
Yvonne, my Dutch friend whom i was touring with.
The sun was out all the time in Venezia and it was impossible to get around without sunglasses. And with that, comes my newest obsession - getting a photo of my reflection on someone's sunglasses.
I told ya i was trigger happy those 4 days. =P
Anyway, do i look like i put on weight? Guys, i need your opinions. I don't trust what my mummy says. She's always saying i've gotten fatter anyway. -bleahs-
In my 4 days there, i did not get to feel what the locals were like. Whether they were friendly, unfriendly, hospitable or maybe even hostile. I didn't get to experience what my friends meant by "typical Italian men" either, other than the incident with the reception guy at the hostel i stayed at. Lol~ His face was like 5 cm away from mine when he was asking me what book i was reading. It was erms... oh well, a bit scary. It was kinda sad. One of the American girls staying in the same room as i was also mentioned that something was missing in the city. It was like short of a soul.
Anyway, it's time for photos again. Let's see what you guys think of Venezia.
My first glimpse of Venezia from the train from Mestre. This was taken on the causeway just before we reached Santa Lucia, the main train station in Venezia.
This is what it looks like in their bus stops. There are 2 personnel on each waterbus, one is in charge of steering the boat and the second is in charge of using the ropes to tie the boat to these bus stations when the boat needs to dock.
The more romantic ways of getting around Venezia.
Told ya guys Venezia's beautiful yea? These 3 photos are my favourites amongst 137. Yeah, i took tonnes of photos and behaved absolutely like how Europeans think Asians are like. Too bad, I was Japanese for a day k? Like how Charmaine would say, Yishan was trigger happy that day. =)
Piazza San Marco, the tallest structure in the city and from up the Piazza, you get to see most parts of the city. I however, chose not to go up. It costs €6 just to get up there and it had a freaking long queue even though this is not supposed to be the tourist peak season yet. The Basilica of San Marco is hidden behind these buildings. I got a photo of it but it didn't turn out so good. Anyway, i queued like 20 mins to get into the Basilica and the tour of it was only 5 -10 mins. (-_-)""
Rialto, one of their market places whereby it actually is possible to hear nothing but Italian for a while (according to my guidebook). Too bad, i heard English and German whilst i was there.
For me, this was interesting. Not sure how other Singaporeans will feel but hey, even in a tropical country like Sg, we don't eat our coconuts like that! And you guys in Europe do not get more South than we do.
On the 2nd day, we went to Campo de Gheto Novo and as it's name suggests, it is a Ghetto. This is the first ever known Ghetto in history. It started in 1516 when all the Jews were asked to move to this island and were locked up in here from midnight till 7am. We also visited a Jewish museum but the museum only managed to piss me off. It had 3 rooms to it and had absolutely no details about how Jews lived in that Ghetto. It only showed us some of the clothes, prayer scriptholders and Hannukah candle holders. -bleahs-
Yvonne, my Dutch friend whom i was touring with.
The sun was out all the time in Venezia and it was impossible to get around without sunglasses. And with that, comes my newest obsession - getting a photo of my reflection on someone's sunglasses.
I told ya i was trigger happy those 4 days. =PAnyway, do i look like i put on weight? Guys, i need your opinions. I don't trust what my mummy says. She's always saying i've gotten fatter anyway. -bleahs-
And lastly, some presents i bought for you guys.
My 3 dearest aunts, please choose. I only have 1 watch but i have 3 aunts here. Who wants it?
Earrings for Wen, Jo and Susu. You girls will just have to wait in suspense to see how the earrings are like. =P
Lastly, a necklace for 猪八戒. Nice right? And i tell you hor... you better start speaking nicely to me when i call back to Singapore. Otherwise, i'm gonna kop this necklace. I'm damn tempted to do that already.
My 3 dearest aunts, please choose. I only have 1 watch but i have 3 aunts here. Who wants it?
Earrings for Wen, Jo and Susu. You girls will just have to wait in suspense to see how the earrings are like. =P
Lastly, a necklace for 猪八戒. Nice right? And i tell you hor... you better start speaking nicely to me when i call back to Singapore. Otherwise, i'm gonna kop this necklace. I'm damn tempted to do that already.Alrightey, now i go work on my papers. Yishan still does work in Vienna okay? She's slack but not totally not working. Bis bald!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
When the sun is out in Wien
So far, it's been a love hate relationship between me and the weather in Vienna.
On days when the wind is blowing and the sky is gloomy, you just hate it. You wanna stay indoors, you don't wanna talk to anyone and u simply feel down and out.
And on days when the sun is shining, you can't help it but fall in love with Vienna all over again. Everywhere looks so postcard perfect that it is almost unbelievable. Sometimes, if i didn't see it for myself, i would think that the pictures i took have been photoshop-ed. The sky is so blue, the grass is so green and the flowers look wonderful. U may even think that i've become a professional photographer.
Today was one of those days. I'm really glad i'm here in Vienna. I'm so in love with it now.
If you didn't see that guy in the right bottom corner, you might have even thought that this was a painting. Anyway, that is Vienna's City Council u see in the bg.
See all the people lying on the grass? Soon it's gonna be my turn. =)
On days when the wind is blowing and the sky is gloomy, you just hate it. You wanna stay indoors, you don't wanna talk to anyone and u simply feel down and out.
And on days when the sun is shining, you can't help it but fall in love with Vienna all over again. Everywhere looks so postcard perfect that it is almost unbelievable. Sometimes, if i didn't see it for myself, i would think that the pictures i took have been photoshop-ed. The sky is so blue, the grass is so green and the flowers look wonderful. U may even think that i've become a professional photographer.
Today was one of those days. I'm really glad i'm here in Vienna. I'm so in love with it now.
If you didn't see that guy in the right bottom corner, you might have even thought that this was a painting. Anyway, that is Vienna's City Council u see in the bg.
See all the people lying on the grass? Soon it's gonna be my turn. =)Saturday, April 7, 2007
01.04.2007 - 06.04.2007
Sharon came with her friend Eva from Barcelona over the past 3 days and i have been busy bringing them around so haven't had time to blog. Many apologies for that. So once again, Yeesh does an entry of what she has done over the week.
Monday(01.04.2007)
Went to Kaiko with Kiki, Chiori, Shinie and Jennifer. Lol... had fun. Now i have one more bunch of girls i can ask out. =)
Jennifer, Shinie, Me, Kiki
Tuesday(02.04.2007)
Spent half the day in bed sleeping then i went out to meet Taina and her bf, Yuca (at least i think it's spelt this way). Yuca is going to be here till next week so i definitely hope i will get to see him again. It was nice chatting to him especially after i've heard so much abt him from Taina.
Yuca is also an addict to cakes and so, after lunch, we had coffee and cake together.
Here you see Mozart Bombe - it is chocolate sponge cake with pistacho nuts cream. =)
Wednesday(03.04.2007)
Sharon, Eva on the way to Schönbrunn after they dumped their luggage in my room.
This time round i climbed up the hill and got myself a great view of the palace and the city. Too bad it was cold. If not, i would have enjoyed sitting in the gardens while waiting for them.
After that we went to a heuriger and as usual, had good good food. =)
Thursday(04.04.2007)
Sharon and Eva went to Stephensdom and after that, met Yvonne and i at Hotel Sacher, the place with the Original Sachertorte and may i say that it's really very very nice. The Sachertorte at other places just cannot be compared to this one.
Friday(05.04.2007)
Sharon went to Salzburg to meet her Salzburger and so Eva and i spent a quiet day out. We visited the Kaiserappartments, Sisi museum and also the Habsburg silver collection (all inside the Hofburg). It was great. =) Glad that i visited the Hofburg with her.
Me with Hofburg in the bg. Erms... do i look like i've put on weight? It's important to know cos while bringing them around, i have been eating really really rich Austrian food.
The dinner service for the imperial family, the plates are all lined with a gold border. This is their normal dinner service. Can you even imagine the special one?
This is their longest centre piece for State dinners. It's over 30m long. I had to take 5 photos just to get it all in. Luxurious yea?
Look at their linen! It was always folded so nicely during state dinners but sadly, this is a dying art. Not many people can do this now.
A gift from the French to Empress Maria Theresia. Look at the green. it's really super bright and the amount of details on the porcelain is also amazing.
Duck squeezers. They were used to squeeze meat juice out of bones and livers of animals so that Empress Elisabeth could drink them and get her energy. She was always on a diet to maintain her figure.
Sculpture of Empress Elisabeth (or better known as Sisi) She supposedly one of the most beautiful woman of her time (she has a waist of like 51 cm) and is quite popular. But oh well, i don't like her. I almost hate her. Think i'm almost turning Austrian. I just can't believe how badly she treated Kaiser Franz Joseph and how she was never there for him.
Oh, may i add that Kaiser Franz Joseph is now my new idol. I really admire him. He really did so much for the people of Austria!
And after visiting the silver collection, Eva and i walked to a nearby snack stand and got ourselves some food. Lol~ Eva and Sharon still can't believe that one serving of pizza here is 1/4 of the pizza. =) As u can see, Yeesh will NEVER ever do things like what Sisi did. Food is just too important.
Monday(01.04.2007)
Went to Kaiko with Kiki, Chiori, Shinie and Jennifer. Lol... had fun. Now i have one more bunch of girls i can ask out. =)
Jennifer, Shinie, Me, KikiSpent half the day in bed sleeping then i went out to meet Taina and her bf, Yuca (at least i think it's spelt this way). Yuca is going to be here till next week so i definitely hope i will get to see him again. It was nice chatting to him especially after i've heard so much abt him from Taina.
Yuca is also an addict to cakes and so, after lunch, we had coffee and cake together.Here you see Mozart Bombe - it is chocolate sponge cake with pistacho nuts cream. =)
Sharon, Eva on the way to Schönbrunn after they dumped their luggage in my room.
This time round i climbed up the hill and got myself a great view of the palace and the city. Too bad it was cold. If not, i would have enjoyed sitting in the gardens while waiting for them.We also visited the Easter Market after that but too bad it was already closing and so there was nothing much. The cold also drove people away from the markets. Sighz... that's all i got out from the Easter Market.
Cutes right? It was like calling out to me asking me to buy it. =P If it is still there on sunday, i MIGHT just buy it.
Cutes right? It was like calling out to me asking me to buy it. =P If it is still there on sunday, i MIGHT just buy it.
After that we went to a heuriger and as usual, had good good food. =)Thursday(04.04.2007)
Sharon and Eva went to Stephensdom and after that, met Yvonne and i at Hotel Sacher, the place with the Original Sachertorte and may i say that it's really very very nice. The Sachertorte at other places just cannot be compared to this one.
Friday(05.04.2007)
Sharon went to Salzburg to meet her Salzburger and so Eva and i spent a quiet day out. We visited the Kaiserappartments, Sisi museum and also the Habsburg silver collection (all inside the Hofburg). It was great. =) Glad that i visited the Hofburg with her.
Me with Hofburg in the bg. Erms... do i look like i've put on weight? It's important to know cos while bringing them around, i have been eating really really rich Austrian food.
The dinner service for the imperial family, the plates are all lined with a gold border. This is their normal dinner service. Can you even imagine the special one?
This is their longest centre piece for State dinners. It's over 30m long. I had to take 5 photos just to get it all in. Luxurious yea?
Look at their linen! It was always folded so nicely during state dinners but sadly, this is a dying art. Not many people can do this now.
A gift from the French to Empress Maria Theresia. Look at the green. it's really super bright and the amount of details on the porcelain is also amazing.
Duck squeezers. They were used to squeeze meat juice out of bones and livers of animals so that Empress Elisabeth could drink them and get her energy. She was always on a diet to maintain her figure.
Sculpture of Empress Elisabeth (or better known as Sisi) She supposedly one of the most beautiful woman of her time (she has a waist of like 51 cm) and is quite popular. But oh well, i don't like her. I almost hate her. Think i'm almost turning Austrian. I just can't believe how badly she treated Kaiser Franz Joseph and how she was never there for him.Oh, may i add that Kaiser Franz Joseph is now my new idol. I really admire him. He really did so much for the people of Austria!
And after visiting the silver collection, Eva and i walked to a nearby snack stand and got ourselves some food. Lol~ Eva and Sharon still can't believe that one serving of pizza here is 1/4 of the pizza. =) As u can see, Yeesh will NEVER ever do things like what Sisi did. Food is just too important.Anyway, this weekend will most probably be less eventful than the week itself but i'm really looking forward to it. I wanna go back to relaxing, drinking coffee and reading. Will be going for a Heuriger with Alex and Kaman on Saturday. After that, i will be going out for coffee with Andreas and he will attempt to teach me some german. Lol~ Let's hope he succeeds.
Monday, April 2, 2007
My Buddy
After almost 2 months in Austria, i now finally have a picture of my buddy together with me and i can finally blog about him. Lol~
Anyway, his name is Gustav Wagner, he's 22 this year and is a student in his final semester in WU-Wien. This means that he is extremely busy juggling his thesis, his lessons and at the same time, his new found food allergy. A few weeks back, he discovered that he has this food allergy that does not allow him to eat dairy products, grains and even flour! Now he has to cook for himself everyday cos he does not stay with his parents and this is like torture for him. (Well, it will be torture for me if i can't drink coffee with milk or have the usual food i have like pizza and kebap.)
Btw, went out with him and Evie yesterday to MQ and it was so nice sitting under the sun and chatting. Will do that again soon. Now, time for pics!!!
Evie, Me, 1/4 of Gustav. Lol~ i thought that since Gustav has long arms, all 3 of us should be able to fit in but looks like his arms are still not long enough. Hahhhaa... it was really funny that the person holding the camera should cut himself out of the pic.
A clearer shot of him. He doesn't look so good in this pic though. Too bad for him, it's my blog so i have the say as to what photos i post. Wahahhaha...
And finally, a pic of Gustav and I. After having met him so many times, this is our first photo together. Lol~ I should make him take more pics.
Anyway, his name is Gustav Wagner, he's 22 this year and is a student in his final semester in WU-Wien. This means that he is extremely busy juggling his thesis, his lessons and at the same time, his new found food allergy. A few weeks back, he discovered that he has this food allergy that does not allow him to eat dairy products, grains and even flour! Now he has to cook for himself everyday cos he does not stay with his parents and this is like torture for him. (Well, it will be torture for me if i can't drink coffee with milk or have the usual food i have like pizza and kebap.)
Btw, went out with him and Evie yesterday to MQ and it was so nice sitting under the sun and chatting. Will do that again soon. Now, time for pics!!!
Evie, Me, 1/4 of Gustav. Lol~ i thought that since Gustav has long arms, all 3 of us should be able to fit in but looks like his arms are still not long enough. Hahhhaa... it was really funny that the person holding the camera should cut himself out of the pic.
A clearer shot of him. He doesn't look so good in this pic though. Too bad for him, it's my blog so i have the say as to what photos i post. Wahahhaha...
And finally, a pic of Gustav and I. After having met him so many times, this is our first photo together. Lol~ I should make him take more pics.Alright, now that i am done with posting the pictures, girls, you may start swooning over him. I had no idea why but so far, he's been receiving rave reviews from my friends. Cheryl and Anesia both think that he's kinda cute and Cheryl likes his eyes if i'm not wrong. Evie thinks that he's THE catch out of all the guys she has seen in Vienna so far. She couldn't believe that i don't find him cute. Yvonne thinks he is cute and is planning how to bump into us accidentally when i am out for coffee with him. Well, I think he's nice and a great guy to hang out with but in terms of looks, i think he is just average. Lol~ girls in sg, pls give me a 2nd opinion. Am i being weird to find him not someone to swoon about?
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