I'm back from Germany after 9 days. The travel bug has left me totally exhausted and ready for school. :D It was a great trip and I've learnt a lot. The pictures didn't justify the beauty of the place but i'll still upload on Facebook.
In these 9 days, I went from Heidelberg (Germany) to Strasbourg (France) and back to Munich and Berlin (Germany). It was a festive season to be in Germany. When i was in Heidelberg, i think they were having their Beer Festival. The old town was kinda cosy and the atmosphere was fantastic. Live music was blasting and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We bumped into a group of Malaysians and they recommended a restaurant for pork knuckles. It was good and their sausages were great too. It wasn't really expensive for the quality of the food. A really worthy treat. Would like to stay a little longer, unfortunately, we have to leave early to catch a train to Strassbourg.
Once we entered France, the aura was totally different from Germany. The people seemed "cold" unlike the welcoming Germans. Well, there was this friendly french when we alighted at the wrong station but we were kinda suspicious about his intention. It all went well in the end, we didn't follow him and arrived at Strasbourg safe and sound. It was another old town but with a more "romantic" touch. We arrived at night so our journey only began the next day. We took a ferry around the area. But most of us ended up sleeping during the one hour journey. hahaha.. still, it was great. After dinner, I left the group and headed down to Munich.
I arrived in Munich in the morning. Munich didn't leave much of an impression initially cuz the train station wasn't as impressive as the one in Strasbourg. And the city looked normal. A bit old... nothing special. The hotel was located quite far. It was about 50 mins walk from the city. But i didn't want to spend money on public transport plus the weather was not too bad. The old city (again...) was quite cool. I really enjoyed walking around the area. The shopping malls were also located there. And some of the things were pretty cheap. Thought that it would be cheaper in Berlin but that's not the case. If time permits, i would have stayed for another 2 days. One day for shopping and one day to go to more sites - ie. the Mercedes Benz MUSEUM. I'm not into cars but it really looked quite amazing. On the second day, i continued my exploration of the old city and bumped into a "Free tour" guide. The tour guides are paid only based on tips. I joined them for about 15 mins then continued my own tour cuz i have to catch a train later that night to Berlin. Next time we are there, i recommend that we go on this free tour. It's really informative and deepens one's understanding of the area. Went to the OktoberFest. It's very famous in Germany. Initially i thought it was merely a festival where grown-ups drink tons and tons of Beer. But i was wrong, it was a family event and there were many rides for all ages. The people wore their traditional customs and it was fun to see them in it. I wanted to take pics with them but didn't dare to do so. hahaha.. i shouldn't have chickened out. Moreover, the Oktoberfest was the main reason why i was in Munich in the first place. Sigh. Maybe next time :p The Germans were flocking to Oktoberfest, they will take the morning train to Munich and the last train back home. It's crazy. but that also reflected the importance of the festival.
My trip to Berlin was a bit disorganised since it's the last destination. Arrived in Berlin in the morning and met up with my friend at the hostel. It was drizzling and cloudy so we stayed at the hotel till the clouds cleared. We walked around the city and went to some tourist attraction. At 4pm, we joined the "Free tour" in Berlin. It was really good. Basically, my stay in Berlin was like a history lesson on Germany and the WW, the rise of hitler and getting to know more about the Jews. Despite the initial information overload, it was quite a good experience in retrospect. We were told by the tour guide that 3rd oct is the reunification of the East and West berlin so there'll be a festival. The next day, we went on another tour about Germany under Hitler dictatorship and it was again... information overload. But apart from getting to know more about germany, these tours actually brought us to sites that we would never have gone if we were just walking alone. Seriously, it's a waste of money to be with tour agencies in Europe. Cuz there are a lot of free WALKING tours. Yes, it may not be as comfortable but hey.. it's still very good. Later that evening, we went on separate ways cuz we wanna look at different things. At night, i was back at the celebration ground. Yeah. another festival in Germany. Every festival in Germany has a different significance from another. And the resulting atmosphere also differs. So it was a great time to be in Germany. 3 different states, 3 different festivals, 3 different experiences plus, 3 different companions. :D Berlin was so crowded that i didn't manage to do everything i want cuz of the queues.. it was insane. >.<>.<>
9 days was a day too long for consecutive trips but the time i've spent in each city was a day too short.
However, all in all, it was a fulfilling journey within the permitted time.
