Marienplatz

Ok actually until now I haven't really shown Munich's places of interest, if you realise, because most of them I have already been to on the previous trip two years. We spent only like 2 days and it was really not really enough to cover all the places. So I will be probably be going to these places once in a while to catch up and tell in bits and pieces. Wouldn't wanna spend my money on the exhibits again though.

Today, I didn't do much. Was enjoying myself alone actually, just wondering around until I got a call that someone needs to rush to use the toilet to pangsai #?$%^& LOLX.... But never mind.

I visited Marienplatz today. Again. Like for the nth time. Haha. But well, it's the different feeling you get everytime you visit the place that discerns the visit everytime. This time round, alone, was relaxed. A kind of tourist, every-anew kindda feeling (although I have seen certain things like for the nth time). Anyway. Marienplatz is the main city square of Munich. One of the main shopping areas, other than Leopoldstrasse at Muenchener Freiheit (literally means "Munich people's freedom). First thing you see is the huge Hugo Boss boutique, which is pretty cool, because I got served by a pretty German babe, who also offered me pastries and drinks. Nice isn't it? Why don't they have these in Singapore? I was referring to both the food AND the person :P As usual, the famous fashion line churns out stylish menswear at the high end of the price spectrum. But seriously, the designs here are really neat.

Then there is the world-famous Glockenspiel (first picture above). This is an extremely overrated show, of an oversized cuckoo bird clock... Allow me to explain. Basically this is a clock tower, such that at 12 and don't-know-which-other-time the Glockenspiel will chime, and then there will be show of a joust between 2 knights of which the Bavarian knight will ALWAYS win. This whole show will reenact itself every single time the Glockenspiel chimes. It's worth the first try but not a second. Just wondering why all lot of the people taking photos down there might have seen it a few times already. It's so bloody high up somemore.... Cannot comprehend.

Then there is the Frauenkirche - Church of the Lady (last picture). A very prominent landmark of Marienplatz due to the twin towers. Most, if not all, the banks can be found in Marienplatz, and almost all the handphones shops. There is also the Viktuelienmarkt, which is a market that sells a legendary (according to the guidebook?!?!) variety of things. But I don't see anything very special from it... There is also the famous brewery Hofbrauehaus. This one will leave it for later days. This is one of the most happening places I have ever been to the other time I come. Haven't had time to go this time. Think maybe when all the others reach Munich and meet up we can go there?? *hint hint*

The whole Marienplatz is actually a very nice cobbled stoned compound. As you can see, people can actually lie down in the middle of thronging shoppers and enjoy the sun.... Also there are usually lots of cultural activities like these people wearing pink hats, or some stunmen or pianists and so on. These are very ubiquitous in Germany actually. Pretty nice I would say.

And Munich is so international, you wouldn't be surprised to see many people of different nationalities, in Marienplatz especially. That's when I realise, within a short span of 2 weeks, I have actually adapted almost fully to life in Germany, despite the language and probably aesthetic differences. Humans are such highly adaptable creatures, don't you think?

Biking to Garching

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Garching is a little town by itself, about 12 km away from Studentenstadt. Which means simply, it is a VERY long way from Munich city centre. CW and I have the 'privilege' of having some, if not all, of our modules over at the super ulu place. So we decided to do some exploring in terms of means of transport, see whether we can reduce our transportation fees by cycling.

Starting from Studentenstadt, we started our journey...

Scenary along the way was superb. Maybe because it is so far, we passed by fields, farms, rural areas, streams and such. Nice weather topped it all up. The only things that were probably bugging us were our strained thighs and buttocks. CW hasn't ride a bike since his OCS days in the army and I haven't since my JC days. Knowing how to ride is not the main issue, riding is :(

But anyway, we reached there in one piece, found some of the locations of our lectures, so pretty much mission accomplished. The Garching Research Centre, as it is translated, really looks very much more like a research centre than an extension of the university itself. Secluded and tight security say it all. Check out the block that houses the faculties of Mathematics, Physics and Computer science. It reminds me of Singapore primary schools, but with a more high-tech edge. See the smooth curves? They actually are slides, fire escapes actually. Damn cool lahz!

We had a hard time figuring out how the room numbers work. But it worked out in the end.

Ultimately, we timed and it took us about 1 hour plus to Garching from Stustadt and another hour back - not worth it at all, considering the effort as well, just to save a few Euros. What's left in the end is to fill our growling stomachs.... For all the effort and muscle aches and hunger pangs, we ruled out biking as an option in the end. Smart choice I would say :P

Banking in Germany

Now I understood why Frau Verry was so amazed by Singapore's banking system. Because banking in Germany is not that fantastic. At all. Despite the free education, superb research facilities, efficient transport system, first-world country economics and all.... In short, banking in Germany sucks. Nothing compared to Singapore.

One week to open an account and obtain a card. A few days to start online banking officially. 2 weeks to do a bank draft in Euros. 6 weeks to be able to use that bloody amount of money which I don't know for 4 weeks what the hell is going on with the frozen asset. Disgusting. I am totally disgusted.

Thankfully at least I think my accommodation is most probably gonna work out by this Saturday. And hopefully, I really mean HOPEFULLY, I can take comfort in that.

But oh well, I guess it's part and parcel. Word of advice though: do telegraphic transfer even if it means paying a bit more, don't ever do bank draft unless you were here very early and you had money to spare. Or else TT is the way. Don't believe it when the IRO or the DBS cashier tells you bank draft is cheaper and you will get your money ultimately anyway. Yeah, you will get your money absolutely; it's just how long it's gonna take... Time or money, take your pick. Just don't end up with only less than 100 Euros in cash and 2 months more to your unfrozen assets...

Food for thought

Just before arriving at Nuernberg, was listening to CW's iPod, Mr Brown's show, apparently, done up by this group of Singaporeans. With all the 'lahs' and 'lors', yet the English was good as well. So 'rojak', so mixed of the good and bad, so funny, so versatile, so familiar, so authentically Singapore.

Reminds me of home.

After the Nuernberg trip now, after the Nazi exhibition, makes me feel blessed that certain things happened before our times. Now we struggle to survive in this fast-paced society, trying to get a grasp of our humanity in a world that expects us to run at a superhuman speed. You walk through that time portal of a museum and you realise people then were LIVING humanity right in the face - naked bodies: men, women, elderly and children, regardless, all strewn, all shot, all dead. They struggled literally to survive.

Live and let live, people, and treasure what we have without taking them for granted. You never know when they will be taken away.

Nuernberg

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Because of the darn save-the-daylight thing, where they brought forward the time by 1 hour, I slept only for 4 hours and woke up to cold Sunday morning. Thankfully, the weather changed for the better into a sunny, balmy kind that raises one's spirit. Just perfect for a day of sightseeing :P

Nuernberg is a city in Bayern region as well (same region as Munich). It is a city that modernised but yet retain its authenticity in traditional German in terms of architecture and food. Also it is the city where a lot of the Nazi movements and the Nuernberg Trial of the Hitler's cabinet took place. So unlike Regensburg, this is not a peaceful little town, but a bustling city.

Surprisingly on a Sunday, the Hauptmarkt (meaning 'main market') was crowded in the afternoon, and some of the shops were actually open. In actuality, today is a special Sunday because there is celebration of Easter by the Easter Market, which is basically (almost EXACTLY) like our 'Pasar malam', with all the food and cheap utensils and porcelains and ornaments and what-have-yous. The smell of Nuernbergers and Wursts and basically food is usually what send me reeling with exhilaration. Haha, so I ate 3 Nuernbergers, a huge Bockwurst with bread and ketchup. This is REALLY fingers licking good! And they sure smell superb...

In addition to the Easter celebration, we have the birthday of the European Union (EU). Not that I care very much but oh well, it's worth mentioning.

Then we went to the Dokumentationszentrum, which showcases the Nazi movement particularly in Nuernberg before, during and after WWII. This is exceptionally interesting, like the Jewish museum (last picture) we went to the other time at Berlin, because not only is it educational, it is intriguing some of things revolving around the legendary Hitler. The museum itself is actually the site where the Nazi rallies took place. The entire place there was supposed to be a Nazi compound, adorned with the German stadium, barracks, administrative building, rally house etc, to cater to the architectural fancy of Hitler in his exhibition of power. The entire mammoth construction, at the expense of prisoners and victims (Jews and gypsies and the likes) was never totally completed. Thank God it didn't complete, else more people would have died in the process. 'Annihilation through labour' was something the Nazi came up with and that definitely was inhumane; not that alot of other concepts that arose from them was ever humane enough - euthanasia of 'alien individuals', the Holocaust, persecution of impure Germans: Jews, Sikhs, gypsies... Hitler's homogenization campaign was so insane but yet so palpable, the whole exhibition could send a cold shiver down your spine. But seriously it is a must-catch in Nuernberg. Check out a small writeup of the museum here.

Overall Nuernberg is a nice city to explore, one I haven't got the chance to finish discovering and a nice chill-out spot as well, only if the weather is as fine as today.

Our 2 Saviours

Today I decided to dedicate this entry to the 2 heroes that took me and CW when we had nowhere to go, in a foreign land, with foreign people (who took pictures of foreigners*#*#) speaking a foreign language that we could not really till now totally comprehend.... They taught, they helped and most importantly they gave.

*drum roll* We have Wilson (the one in Bob the Builder costume) and Deen (the one with the Sadako hairstyle oder Gorilla... or whatever you think it might be; WTF is that manz!). Ok ok no badmouthing.... Wilson is in his Ski wear (the inside) and Deen was playing poker at Jari's place.

Thanks to them, the homeless has a shelter and the abandoned warmth....

*applause**standing ovation*

220307 - Regensburg

Jari, Maria, Yucheng, Brian, CW and me decided to take a little trip north of Munich, beyond the hustle of urban life, into a small little town called Regensburg.

What's so special about this town is it's preservation - it's not tainted by the destruction of WWII. So here, if you are looking for a little getaway from the world, just take your time looking through the cobblestoned alleys and wide streets, or take a sip of warm coffee while looking out at the detached tranquility around you. No rushing, no shuffling, no thronging; just moving.

But.... Please don't be like us, got rampaged by snow and cold while we go around searching for gold. Like real there is. LOLX. Literally, "rain fort", Regensburg' direct translation. But anyway, the whole city or town, is a very typical German town with the Plaetze (squares), cathedrals, and churches. There is the administrative centre and then shops flanked the sides of wide streets and small alleys. A river runs through the town, with a bridge, that got famous because it was the first bridge of its architecture and technology at that time. We went to the Dom (cathedral) which seems like a replica of the Cologne one we saw 2 years ago. The gothic Cologne one is the second largest cathedral in Europe and the biggest in Germany, so it's more magnificent. Provided a photo here for reference. And also a basilica. But you really have to marvel at the stained glasses, dark and hollow in one and dreamy ceilings, bright and pure contrasting the other, despite both being religious sacred grounds. IF you want to be awed, please visit Cologne's Dom. Photos

One weird incident happened while we were going back. A very young girl came up and snapped a photo of me!!!

Thanks.... I was too cold and too stunned to do anything; not that I could anyway *sianz* Felt some hella specimen: "Specimen catalogued: Chinese, found in Regensburg, Germany, March 2007. Black hair, black eyes." Thanks *roll eyes*...

All-you-can-eat RIBS!

Asado. A Munich steak company. Wednesdays. After 1830. The unlimited SPARE RIBS.

It's not even buffet style. It's served, so you dun even have to walk out of your seats and a "Kann ich einen anderen Teller der Ribs bekommen bitte?" (Can I have another plate of ribs please?) and you have it!

Well I didn't eat as much as I intended to. It is nice at the start but it gets too salty as you eat more. But then again it's only 7.77 Euros for all-you-can-eat of those ribs *singaporeans**roll eyes*. Oh dun you just love the sight of food...

Of Sleep, Food and 'Heroes'

I was awoke by a sudden involuntary shudder. Wondering why it was so cold, I opened the balcony door (which was sealed) in my short-sleeved thin shirt and barefeet. A cold gust of wind greeted me with some white fluff.... And I sneezed. How melodramatic but yes it is true. And yes, it snowed, AGAIN and this time in torrents!! The whole street was covered in a layer of snow!

Cold breeds more metabolism and more hunger pangs which ultimately means more food.... Not that I am complaining *grinz* So after 3 pieces of breads all with Nutella, milk and one banana for breakfast, I went to a huge döner for lunch. Saw that döner in the photo - arguably the best döner in Munich *nod nod*... This döner is stuffed with chicken; not too salty and not too peppery, just PERFECT. Then you have lots of vegetables, all sorts of colours from purple to green salad and tomatoes. Topped that up with the mayonnaise, there you have it: the serving of TWO, not 1 but 2 big macs (the one in the photo is probably slightly less than half of original)!!! Isn't that just superb and all for 3 Euros. And a more wholesome meal of meat and vegetables and starch (bread) at that. Oh I shall have it again soon... *dreamy look*

Then I spent the day watching 'Heroes' at Deen's. Tell you what: I am hooked... Well, I am a big fan of the uncanny X-Men, so it is no wonder I guess... 'Heroes' simply cool.

Dinner was done at Deen's place again... Our chef of the day, CW, hard at work with the cabbages, corns and eggs. The eggs we always took for granted in Singapore cost nearly 2 SGD here for 10. And that's probably one of the cheapest you will ever get... Then I went back 1 hour later and... guess what: I had supper :P I just warmed up the pasta, added the tomato sauce with some olive oil and seasoning - voila, a warm sizzling supper on a cold cool night :P While enjoying more 'Heroes' episodes....

Bon Appetit und viel Spass!

SNOW!

OMFG!! IT SNOWED TODAY!!!

Ok getting abit excited haha because it's my first time seeing snow... I actually wanted to stand out in the snow and wait for it to accumulate on my head then take photo. Then a gust of wind blew right in my face... I dropped the idea immediately - super cold siahz... Gloves are a must-have for the next few days.

Check out the Weisswurst!! Awww, don't they just look yummy and cute... Weisswurst = white sausages and they are pretty of a Munich thing. And they are so nice!! Yes, Xinli, Yizhen, Wilson and Ivan, it's the very same Ausgustiner am Dom manz!

Oh and Chongwee I think I know why the snow melts so easily on the ground: because this is ''wet'' snow. According to Jari, our Finnish friend, supposedly the ''cold'' snow are the ones that will accumulate and layer, the ''wet'' ones just become water. More Photos

180307 - Sum of all 4 Days

Today basically is gaming sleeping chatting surfing again :P Wilson's back today so take this chance to keep using the Net.

Lunch was doener that Deen's finnish friend recommended near the OlyDorf I staying now. Put my German to the test again. haha... Still cmi siahz.... Oughta practise more I think...

Today is so warm AND windy. Yes particularly windy today. The wind blew a bicycle that was leaning against a lamppost down in the opposite direction it was leaning; no kidding. And the forecast mentioned SNOW in the coming week... oh I can't wait to see snow... I haven't seen one mahz...

Finally get down to blogging for all the 3 days that passed as well... Just one point: the photos on this blog are not total. Please click on the Photos link at the end of each post to look at all the photos. You all might wanna use the 'slideshow' function; it's pretty neat.

And the picture above is the Olympiaturm. Doesn't that remind you of some spaceport?

170307 - First Weekend

First Saturday in Munich proves to be a slack one... For the lazy bum like me, it cannot be more pleasurable than this... Surfing, chatting, gaming (yesh! DOTA on Europe server), studying, sleeping... A through and through pigging-out day...

Dinner was to meet up with Yucheng... Haven't seen him in a while manz... While Deen sported a new ponytail, and Wilson's changed his spec, Yucheng hasn't changed much actually. He brought his friend Brian coming from New York along. As the one with the bad memory, I couldn't recognise him as someone from the same unit as me in National Service... But then again what's new, it's just me, LOLX... I don't wanna repeat my tale(s)... Incidentally he is also CW's DSTA fellow scholar. What a small world!

Yucheng brought us around like some tour guide bringing along tourists. But hey we ARE chao Asians in a European country. So we went Marienplatz, the main square of Munich. It is bustling with Saturday people. There was magic shows and pianists in the streets. I have no doubts about the vibrant street arts culture in Germany :P And we had our first German cuisine since we touched down at Hofbraeukeller; we had Italian and Turkish (Doener). Also a low-budget but superb authentic German restaurant. Had a hearty limb of a pig! Qooo....

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160307 - Accommodation Crisis!

CW and I received an email saying we need to send in our application for accommodation or else the pre-allocation it will be terminated. WTH! We sent 4 emails and the ONLY reply that came back was "Please be patient, we will be contact you soon with the details. Please do not be worried".... So much for not worrying...

Oh well, it turns out our studio apartments are new and clean. Quite nicely done when we visited it. The only thing is it's super far from the part of the university that we will be studying in, Garching. Probably will take us about an hour or so?!? Common kitchen and common bathroom, we were ok with it... The only thing I am quite not satisfied is that it is slapped in the middle of a construction yard; or rather slapped between its own construction.... Sianz... super sianz... But I think CW was a bit more peeved with the chucking around, because it felt as though we were being pushed all over the place...

Anyhow, we deserved a good dinner. So Deen, and his good friends from Finland (Jari, pronounced Yaa-ri) and Columbia (Maria), brought us to this Italian restaurant that sells pretty cheap and good food. Kewl... I needed the recharge manz.... And the ambience is cosy and warm. Just the PURRFECT place... Too bad Wilson's on a trip to Hamburg with his girlfriend who is having exchange in Sweden (Karolinska Institute)... Ok maybe it is not too bad for him since he is with his beau... tsk tsk... But it is definitely superb for me because I got the room to myself!

Check out that huge dog! I think Anton can fight with it... Anton's from my host family in Darmstadt or even Jag's black dog... But I think like what CW's said, this is gonna be one of millions of huge dogs I am gonna see in Munich haha... More Photos

150307 - Arrival - The Longest Day

KLM plane sux!! For the Dutch airline lovers out there, I am so so sorry. The plane is old, is squeezy, with no personal entertainment... One thing is good though: they sure feed their passengers. We flew from Singapore to Germany, Munich and transited at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Throughout the 12 hour plus plus journey from 12 midnight in Singapore to 545am in Amsterdam and 840am in Munich, other than the stiff necks and crammed buttocks with no entertainment, I had 2 breakfasts and a small snack... CW's the best; he practically glued to his seat throughout the ENTIRE 11-hour flight from Singapore to Amsterdam *5 bodies bow down* (Chinese translation). But bo bian... We had a huge Caucasian man sitting at our aisle seat... and 2 very beautiful ladies in front of us...

After that all that plane thingy, we finally touched down in Munich in one piece. Back in Deutchland!

We decided CW to stay with Deen at Studentenstadt because of his luggage... Mine was only 21 kg, excluding handcarry. Hey I just thought I might have exceeded 30 kg with one luggage.... At least I know when I go back Singapore I would have 9 kg of space haha... So I lugged my stuff to Wilson's place at Olympisches Dorf before we set out for lunch. Yupz the Olympics 1972 was once held in those grounds. I guess the place that supposedly housed the athletes, now became the students' housing.

Anyway Wilson's place has a balcony that sees the BMW museum and factory. The Olympics Tower, which houses the Rock Museum ('Rock' as in the music genre not the one associated with geology or archaeology), and a rotating restaurant, is also in the vicinity. The night view is pretty good siahz... And that is Wilson's room in the night, without his host, only the tenant; Wilson was 'havoc-ing' at a pub. Tired, I decided to rest for the night. More Photos

140307 - Departure

I didn't feel particularly excited by the departure, though like months before I was really looking forward to this day. Weird siahz, humans... So as Chong Wee got thronged by his battalion of friends, family members and his beloved girlfriend, I bade farewell to my mum, aunt, bro, and cute little Huiling (no, she's not my biological sister, but she is like one to me all the same). And the sweet little girl actually cried so loudly when I went into gallery. Awww.... But oh well, kids. They get over it :P (Maybe I just get her something when I come back...).. More Photos