Jinxed at Poland (18th to 23rd Apr)

This has gotta be the most unlucky trip that i've been on so far.. 2 encounters each with train conductors and the police respectively within the span of just 2 days in Warsaw spells out everything.. but before i go into that, i shall touch on the more happening part of my trip at Krakow.

Krakow (18th to 20th Apr)

Krakow was the former capital of Poland before it was moved to Warsaw in 1791. It is one of the oldest and largest city in Poland. We arrived at Krakow after a 3-hour train ride from Warsaw.. but had difficulties navigating to our hostel.. Luckily for us, there was this kind Polish couple who offered to give us a free ride, together with another American whom the wife had met at Warsaw, to our hostel.. absolutely grateful man.. Anyway our hostel was really cheap but excellent in terms of its location, facilities and receptionists.

Right after dumping our stuff, we headed to the Old Town which contains most of the attractions.. On our way there, we were busy hunting down restaurants which served great food.. The prices of the food were stunningly cheap not to mention how huge the portions were.. We had a preview of the Market Square which is a 200 metres square, arguably one of the world's most beautiful plazas. On it stood several attractions such as the Cloth Hall, Town Hall Tower, Church of St. Mary etc. Once again, this city is a major centre of local and international tourism, attracting seven million visitors per year.

Our first dinner at a Georgian Restaurant near the Market Square. The food you get here is superb at affordable prices. It's no wonder that they have several outlets around the Square.The Cloth Hall, by day and night.. once a major centre of trade, now it houses numerous souvenir shops and is still a popular landmark in Krakow. Other landmarks include: (clockwise from top left) Remnants of the City Wall, a two-mile-long walls with 39 towers and 8 gates in the medieval times; Church of St. Mary's, famous for its unmatched giant Gothic altarpiece carved by great Veit Stoss between 1477 and 1489; Town Hall Tower, a gothic tower that stands at 70m.

Knonicza Street, the most scenic street in Krakow, where John Paul II lived as a priest & bishop. (1951 - 1963)

Wawel Royal Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs.

Strangely, you do not spot hotdog stands along the streets of Krakow. Instead, they have bagel stands flooding the entire Market Square.

Another Nazi Concentration Campsite.. the Auschwitz.. kinda depressing to learn about the treatment of the prisoners then.. May world peace prevail. Auschwitz I:Auschwitz II:

Warsaw (20th to 23rd Apr)

Okie.. on to the jinxed city i was talking about.. on our way to take the metro on the first day, we were checked by conductors and realised that we had bought the wrong 3-day passes by genuine mistake.. we were entitled to only 48% discount instead of 50% for polish students.. but well, the difference was just 20cents zloty (~10cents sgd) so the conductors let us off and told us not to repeat the offence in the future.. then came nightfall, we ran into another conductor.. this time round, he refused to budge and even told us we should be buying a 100% priced tic and had no choice but to pay the fine of 86zlotys (~45sgd).. when we tried to reason out with him and plead for leniency, he directed us to the police instead and threatened to detain us till morning.. After an hour or so of explanation, they refused to let us off so we had no choice but to pay the fine..

Then came the second day, 2 policemen came up to us at a traffic light junction, accusing us of apparently jay-walking on a road that was under construction! C.R.A.P! anyway they checked our ID and just when we thought we were going to kena fined again.. they were activated to report somewhere else.. haha..

So moral of the story? dont bother buying a discounted ticket in poland since things are so cheap and dont ever jay walk here.. you dont know who's watching you!

okie.. now for the post proper.. Basically there's nothing much in Warsaw compared to Krakow.. visited the old town, a humongous flea-market and a couple of museums that's about it.. so if you guys have time to choose just 1 city, take Krakow anytime!

So-called Russian flea-market but all we see are vietnamese vendors. Weird!

Stalls surrounding an abandoned stadium.

Old Town Market Place, bustling with visitors on a bright, sunny Sunday morning.

Royal Palace.

Warsaw Uprising Museum, built in 2004 to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

The museum caretaker teaching us to play a typical prisoners' game.. Boy he's darn good at it!Warsaw's most hated building.. the Palace of Culture and Science.. a gift from the Soviet Union.

Among the sins, we have: Polish styled soup, Polish dumplings, Pork knuckles, Pork ribs, Pork shoulder steak, Grilled catfish, Apple crumbles, Chocolate cakes, Polish donuts etc etc.

Okie that sums up my "adventures" in Poland.. absolutely enriching experience i must say.. and not to forget meng for his excellent hosting and planning for the past 3 days! Thanks meng!

Cruisin' to Tallinn (14th to 16th Apr)

This wasnt a trip i was looking forward to in particular cos i'm seriously drained from the Easter trip.. but since i've alr paid for it so i just went for it anyway.. it proved to be the right decision.. going on a cruise is a totally different feeling from taking other modes of transport.. the last time i went on one was like 12 years ago? The participants of this cruise were mainly exchange students from various universities in Sweden, all so ready to party that they gave up their dinner for booze.. Being Singaporeans, we checked out the dinner buffet on board.. although it cost like 197sek (44sgd), the money was well-spent with the spread that was awaiting for us.. The journey to Tallinn took 13hours or so.. On board the ship, we just chilled and relaxed in the comfort of our cabin while the foreign students were yelling and partying in theirs.

The Tallink.
Sunset prior to departure.

On board the cruise.

Marvelous spread, with sashimi, caviar and lotsa pastries etc.

Upon reaching Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, we were led by the ESN ppl to the old town. Tallinn's has got similar sights to those in Riga.. No wonder they say "you see one, you see all" in Europe.. Nonetheless, the architecture was fascinating, making it another tourist hotspot. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

Tallinn historical Old Town: (Clockwise from top left) St. Olav's Church, once the tallest church in the world; city wall; school; 3 sisters hotel.Guard towers in the city wall.Attractions in the old town also include the Toomkirik (top left), Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (top right) and Toompea Castle (bottom left).


The most expensive washroom in the entire city, costing 2million Estonia krooni (~S$260000).
View from the parliament house.

Alright, that's all for Tallinn.. didnt get to see much of Estonia since we only had 8 hours of roaming time before the ship departs.. overall, it was a worthwhile trip.. really a good chance to just break from the hectic travelling.

Easter Trip (29th Mar to 11th Apr)

Berlin (29th Mar to 2nd Apr)
Our first stop was at Berlin, the capital of Germany. This metropolitan city is the largest in Germany and houses around 3.4 million ppl.. Its excellent transport system and richness in festivals, contemporary architecture, nightlife and avant-garde arts makes it a popular tourist attraction and economy hub. The public transport in Germany though efficient, cost a bomb.. Being Singaporeans, we decided to test the system by going on free rides.. had a close encounter when 2 conductor officers boarded the train when we just alighted.. On a different note, we had to endure a 32-man dorm with only 1 shower room and 1 toilet cubicle for the gents.. what makes it worse was the fact that the shower was usually flooded by ankle-deep water levels, depending on the time of usage.. which makes it logical for one to either use the shower early in the morning or late at night when the water has subsided..

Our first night at Berlin was spent simply chilling out at a pub and catching up with one another over ice cold beer.

The following day, we went on a guided tour to the various attractions in the city... the trip was free-of-charge but our tour guide, David was so fantastic that we couldnt help tipping him after the tour.. Anyway, by this time, i learnt that my friend from Lyon, Cheong Chye, was having problems at the germany customs.. Apparently, the Berlin police refused to grant him entry into Berlin as he was holding a student visa which prohibited him from travelling out of France.. BULLSHIT! the worst thing was he was detained for 12 hours before they deported him back to Lyon... felt so bad and guilty since i'm the one who invited him to join us for this trip.. So CC, the following pics are for you dude!

The guided tour together with our tour guide David (front row, left most).The group together with Catherine and Yucheng.The Brandenburg Gate, former city gate of Berlin.
The remnants of the Berlin Wall which fell in 1989, permitting the access of East Germans into West Berlin.Checkpoint Charlie: the famous standoff site between the Soviet and US tanks. The Berlin Cathedral.

The painful reminders of WWII.

German Parliament House, the Reichstag, one of the most visited tourist attractions in Berlin. You can end up queuing for hours just to enter the building.

The dome of Reichstag, designed to allow visitors to view the parliament hall from above.

It's amazing what the Germans can do with chocs!

Nazi Concentration Camp... Another painful reminder of WWII. Millions die because of ill-treatment, starvation, diseases and excutions.

Leaving our mark in Berlin.

Pubcrawl on the 2nd night.. basically you get the chance to go to 5 different pubs and a club at the cost of just 10euros with free beer and great company!
1 is never enough.

Prague (2nd to 5th Apr)
Okie next up was Prague.. Arrived in the city after an arduous 4 hr train ride from Berlin.. our Prague apartment was heavenly.. spacious, clean, exclusive and best of all.. cheap! There happened to be a Chinese restaurant just opposite our place.. so being Singaporeans, we ended up patronising it at least once per day.. so much so that the lady boss gave us free wine at the end of every meal in appreciation.. haha.. With that i leave you guys to marvel and enjoy the pics of this beautiful city.

Highlights of the Old Town Square:

Tyn church, a Gothic church founded in 1385. Astronomical clock, a medieval clock mounted as early as the 15th century. Entrance to Charles Bridge.. constructed on 9 July 1357, at 5:31 am (135797531) by Charles IV.National Theatre. The unconventional office building, nicknamed "Dancing House". St. Vitus Cathedral across the Charles Bridge. Bird's eye view of the city from the Prague Castle. Petrin Tower. Doesnt it resemble Eiffel Tower?

Vienna (5th to 8th Apr)
Yet another capital... this time of Austria.. this city is not only Austria's economic and political hub, it is also the cultural centre of the country and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001. True enough.. upon arriving there, we came across numerous museums, art galleries, music house and concert halls... Our first task was to source for cheap accomodation which we managed to once again.. comes with breakfast buffet too! =) all for just 16euros per night! One thing unique about this city is that the attractions are located in a circle instead of the usual town square, facilitated by the tramline which goes in a ring... Also, Vienna has got really nice sculptures and architecture throughout the entire city.. little wonder why this place is a popular tourist attraction throughout the year.

Museumsquartier, the 8th largest cultural area in the world, consists of a number of different museums featuring various exhibitions such as dance, architecture etc. Kunsthistorisches Museum opposite the identical Naturhistorisches Museum.Heldenplatz, a historical plaza where Hitler announced the Anschluss of Austria to the Germans in 1938.Intricate sculptures and carvings everywhere.The Rathaus (Town Hall).Main shopping street.
I LOVE SPRING!!!
Schönbrunn Palace. A pity the flowers havent started blooming yet.. Prater amusement park and the Hundertwasser House.

Bratislava (8th to 11th Apr)

Our last stop for this Easter trip was Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. We chose this city without knowing a single thing about it, besides the fact that things are really cheap here and we can somehow live like a king.. The only thing bad about this city is that the ppl do not really understand English so we had a bit of a problem trying to find our way to the hostel. It was really bad timing for us too... the streets were really dead on this Easter Sunday and none of the shops along the main shopping street was opened at all... The only restaurant that we could find was MacDonald's whose prices were comparable to that in Singapore... Finally! So after checking into our hostel suite, we wasted no time in grabbing a tea-snack at MacDonald's even though we just had that for lunch in Vienna.

Satisfied, we headed down to explore the Old Town which was a total contrast to what we just seen.. the streets were bustling with tourists and there were a number of restaurants and pubs in that area. The city wasnt as bad as i thought after all... it wasnt as run-down as what Eurotrip has depicted in the movie.. it resembles most of the eastern Europe countries like Lithuania and Latvia..

Old Town.

Group 6 in Europe, missing ym and hsuan.

Town Hall.

View on top of Bratislava Castle built during the 15th century.

One of the highlights of this trip was our picnic at Devin Castle (without SH and FL though), located on the outskirts of Bratislava. The oldest finds came from the New Stone Age (5th millenium B.C.), so you can imagine how old this castle is man.. But the only letdown was we went on a Monday when it was supposedly closed! We had to settle for a picnic by the river but it was one good experience too.. just lazing around, enjoying the sun, the breeze and of course the food!~ Look at how much Duan is immersing himself in the surroundings and you'll know how much fun we had.. THIS IS LIFE!

With that, i shall wrap up this post on my Easter trip.. it has been a helluva break.. visiting beautiful cities and having great company and food.. has been an enriching experience throughout.. Alrighty, i shall end here and move on to my next post.. Stay tuned! ciao!~